All posts filed under: z95

Gibraltar Crossing near the city of Tarshis Credit: Cubanito, Wikipedia

Did an ancient Babylonian priest refer to Jonah?

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Though known primarily for his confrontation with a whale, Jonah was a well-known prophet in Israel and is referenced several times (Judges 16:23-24; 1 Samuel 5:1-7; 1 Chronicles 10:8-12; 2 Kings 14:25). But of course it’s his story of calling the city of Nineveh to repentance that he is most known for. When Jonah refused to obey God’s call and took passage on a ship heading towards Tarshish near the Strait of Gibraltar on the coast of Spain, God stirred up a storm to get Jonah’s attention. After the sailors threw Jonah overboard, he was swallowed by a Grey whale (my vote but far from certain) and after a three days was coughed up on a beach undoubtedly along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. From there Jonah headed far inland to Nineveh that was then part of the nation of Assyria and delivered a message of repentance. Led by the king, the city responded and repented. Some have suggested, the king may have been impacted by Jonah’s whale story, because one of the …

Lo que el diablo ve

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English: What the devil sees En el libro de Zacarías, el profeta transmite una serie de visiones que dan breves vislumbres en el reino espiritual. Sin embargo, hay uno que hace más que eso. No solo arranca el velo que cubre el reino espiritual, también muestra cómo los ángeles y los demonios ven a las personas en el mundo natural. Nos ven de manera diferente. En el capítulo 3: 1, el profeta Zacarías muestra  a Josué, que era el sumo sacerdote en Jerusalén, de pie ante el Ángel del Señor. Zacarías también observó a Satanás de pie junto a la mano derecha de Josué pronunciando una cantidad de acusaciones contra el Sumo Sacerdote.  Josué probablemente realizaba algún tipo de sacrificio o trabajo asociado con sus deberes sacerdotales. Nadie, en el ámbito terrenal habría visto al Ángel de Dios o a Satanás de pie junto a la mano derecha del Sumo Sacerdote. Era solo otro día en el templo, pero todo el infierno se estaba desatando en el reino espiritual. Y Josué estaba vestido de vestiduras …

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Bodies by Design

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In Psalm 95:6 David opens his heart and declares “Come let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord God our Maker, for He is our God…” David had the revelation that we were created, intricately crafted by the masters hand. Three thousand years have now past and scientists are continually amazed at the complexity in the design of our bodies. When you consider our brain consists of approximately 12 billion cells, with 120 trillion interconnections allowing us to see and do amazing things. And when you also consider the human eye with its 10 million photoreceptor cells in the retina that are so complex, it would take a Cray supercomputer a minimum of 100 years to simulate what takes place in the eye several times per second. Not to mention the 20 feet of blood vessels intricately woven into every square inch of skin and the 72 feet of nerve fiber in each square inch of our hands. The list of masterful design goes on and on. The blueprints that map …

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Who were the imprisoned spirits?

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In what some consider to be one of the most puzzling passages in the Bible, the Apostle Peter talks about how between His death and resurrection, Jesus preached to the spirits that were imprisoned in the days of Noah. 18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 19 in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, 20 who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. (1 Peter 3:18-20 NASV) It is a difficult passage to understand. Some believe it refers to Christ preaching to the souls of those who died during the Noahic flood. Certainly this is a plausible explanation. Others believe it refers to Noah preaching to the people while he …

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Deep Calls to Deep

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There are times when ‘life happens’ for all of us. We find ourselves stranded in deep waters where waves of trouble and trials crash over us again and again. Our emotions are in turmoil. Many times, I have found myself in a place where words could not be spoken. The heart cry of my sadness and grief echoed out over the waters of my despair. But during these times God reaches out to us: “Deep calleth unto deep at the voice of thy waterspouts; all thy waves and billows are gone over me. Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindess in the day time and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life. I will say unto God my rock why has thou forgotten me? (Psalm 42:7 KJV) This is also the only place in the Bible that refers to waterspouts. Waterspouts are created during ocean storms when funnels touch the water connecting the ocean with the heavens. It speaks of the connection that God …

Billy Graham speaking in Oslo, Norway in 1955. Credit: foto.digitalarkivet.no/Wikipedia

Billy Graham’s ‘Valley of Decision’

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Billy Graham died Feb. 21, 2018 at his home in North Carolina. Born Nov. 7, 1918, he was 99 years old. Graham was arguably the most famous Christian preacher of the last 100 years. It is estimated that he spoke to nearly 215 million people in 185 countries and probably 100’s of millions more watched him on TV. And his TV ministry had as much of an impact as his live preaching. He differed from many modern TV evangelists in that Graham’s TV ministry reached non Christians. When I was going to seminary, there were two twin brothers, both who went into full-time ministry, who were saved watching Billy Graham on TV. The former pastor of the church I attend was also saved watching Billy Graham on TV. In 1934, at the age of 15, he was led to the Lord by a traveling evangelist Mordecai Ham who was holding revival meetings in Graham’s hometown of Charlotte, NC. So much is being said about Billy Graham, that I really don’t know what I can add.  …

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What does it mean to be a prayer warrior?

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Español: ¿Qué significa ser un guerrero de oración? In the book of Colossians, the Apostle Paul talks about Epaphras a person who was now traveling with Paul. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. 13 I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. (Colossians 4:12-13 NASV) In this verse, Paul describes Epaphras as being from the Colossae church and tells how Epaphras was “wrestling in prayer” for those in his home congregation. Other Bible versions translate it a bit differently, with some saying he was “laboring fervently” in prayer. The word translated “wrestling” by the NIV is the Greek word “agonizomai.” Thayers Greek Lexicon describes the word this way: “to enter a contest, contend in the light of gymnastic games. To contend with adversaries, fight.” The word “agonizomai” is derived from another Greek word “agone,” that …

Taylor James from "Samson" YouTube Capture

Is the Nazirite vow for today?

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I read an interesting interview with actor Taylor James, a Christian, who plays the role of Samson in the full-feature movie “Samson” released earlier this month. In an interview with “Pure Talk,” Taylor talked about a vision he had a few years earlier that actually prepared him for the lead role in the movie. Taylor said: “I had a vision as an actor and a person a few years ago to grow my hair and to maintain a certain physical appearance. It was my guiding light.” After this vision, another Christian provided further revelation on what lay ahead for Taylor.  The person added that at some point Taylor would be returning home to South Africa and leading “his people.” Taylor had actually been born in South Africa and lived there for six years. When the role of Samson came up, Taylor auditioned for the lead role and was surprised when reading the script that much of the movie would be shot in South Africa. Then, when he noticed the movie’s subtitle “A man who leads …

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Is God Real? or Donuts in the Snow

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So, is God real? If yes, why is there suffering in this world? Why doesn’t God fix our problems, if He loves us? This is an old argument, and I learned the answer a few days ago. Here is some background. Right now, where I live in Canada, we are in “Roll up the Rim to Win” season at Tim Hortons. Timmies is a cultural thing here, we all go there for coffee or tea and conversations. We also eat too many donuts there. In season, we roll up the rims of our paper cups and learn what we have won. I usually win a chance to play again; they are very kind when they say “no.” When I win a free donut I tear off that statement from the rim, and keep the ticket. One thing I really don’t need is a free donut and I can think of something worse, two free donuts. I had two winning tickets that I carried with me like a guilty pleasure. I do contract work, and some …

Nagasaki, Japan located on Kyushu Island Credit: 663highland/Wikipedia

Fourth super volcano discovered off coast of Japan

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There are three super volcanoes in the world. One is found underneath Yellowstone park in the United States, another near Mexico city and the third in Italy. But according to a report in the Dailymail, a fourth has been discovered off the coast of  Japan’s Kyushu Island and there are indications it’s active. Japan is made up of four main islands and Kyushu is the third largest and most southern of the four. It has a population of 12 million and perhaps its most famous city is Nagasaki that was hit with an atomic bomb in World War II. The volcano discovered off the island’s coast clearly falls into the “super” designation. Its dome is 10 kms wide (6.2 miles) and is 600 meter high (1,968 feet). They estimate the cauldron located beneath contains about 32 cubic km (7.68 cubic miles) of lava. According to the Kobe Ocean-Bottom Exploration Center (KOBEC), the group that made the discovery, a new dome is building in the crater of Kikai volcano that is about 19 kms (12 miles) …