All posts filed under: z96

“I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning." Jesus (Luke 10:18) Photo: Matt/Flickr/Creative Commons

La verdadera historia detrás de la primera Navidad

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English: The real story  behind the first Christmas Noche silenciosa Santa noche, todo está en calma todo es brillante… Cuando Franz Xaver Gruber y Joseph Mohr de Austria escribieron el famoso villancico Silent Night en 1818, pintaron una imagen tranquila e idílica de la Navidad. Junto con muchos villancicos de Navidad retrató el nacimiento de Jesús tal como lo vemos en Lucas 2: 1-20 y Mateo 1: 18-2: 23 – Pastores en el campo, Ángeles cantando, un bebé en pañales, un pesebre, ovejas y bueyes. La Mujer, el Dragón y el Niño 12 Una gran señal apareció en el cielo: una mujer vestida del sol, con[a] la luna debajo de sus pies, y una corona de doce estrellas sobre su cabeza. 2 Estaba encinta, y gritaba por los dolores del parto y el sufrimiento de dar a luz. 3 Entonces apareció otra señal en el cielo: Un gran dragón rojo que tenía siete cabezas y diez cuernos, y sobre sus cabezas había siete diademas (coronas). 4 Su cola arrastró la tercera parte de las estrellas del cielo y las …

Rural church in Iceland

Financially support opentheWord through Makersupport

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If you are interested in making a donation to support the ministry of opentheword.org, we have set up a page at Makersupport.com/opentheword. Donations can be as small as $1US. Makersupport.com is a website dedicated to helping various creators such as writers, video producers, musicians and artists to raise money to support their craft. You can make a onetime donation or even set up a monthly donation.  Any help, no matter how big or small, will be appreciated. On average about 90% of the money donated through Makersupport goes to the creator with the remaining 10% going to administration/credit card fees. Jesus had people who supported His group disciples financially. Luke lists three by name, Mary Magdalene, Joanna (the wife of a manager who worked for King Herod) and Susanna. 8 Soon afterwards, He began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven …

Credit: Visions Photographiques/Flickr/Creative Commons

It’s time to re-calibrate! You don’t have to save the world

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It’s easy to lose ourselves in the spinning and twirling events of our daily lives. Often, we burn out when we give all our time and energy for a worthy cause or in meeting the needs of those around us. I am learning that I am not indispensable and that the world can do very well without me for a while. The harsh reality is that we often become “indispensable” in our own eyes. We get lost in the illusion that the world can’t make it without us. We must step away and take a good look at who we have become. My ego loves the attention and the “need to be needed.” I call it my “save the world mentality.” My husband can attest to the many times I have asked him to remind me that “I don’t have to save the world.” Because that mentality has ruined my health, run me into the ground, hurt my most valued relationships (husband and kids) as I ran off to save the world, leaving them and …

South Korean ski resort Credit: Uwe Schwarzbach/Flickr/Creative Commons

The disgusting, but not surprising, behavior of the media at the Winter Olympics

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It seems that some in the mainline media have gone absolutely delusional. It involves the fawning headlines pouring out around the world over the appearance of Kim Yo Jong, sister of the North Korea’s sadistic communist despot Kim Jong Un, at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. As a member of the North Korea’s powerful inner cabinet, Kim Yo Jong is a major player in this sadistic regime serving as “vice director of propaganda and agitation.” Many suspect she is more than just complicit in what is taking place behind closed doors in North Korea. North Korea is renown for its many death camps spread around the country where tens of thousands of Koreans are brutalized, raped, tortured and murdered for things as simple as not bowing properly before statues of Kim Jong Un, who people are forced to worship as a god. Even today there are eight Americans in jail in North Korea. And just a few months back, the media reported on the terrible plight of American university student Otto Warmbier who …

Former US President Barak Obama being interviewed on The View on July 28, 2010. From Left to Right: Whoopi Goldberg, Barbara Walters, Joy Behar, Sherri Shepherd, and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Credit: Official White House photo by Pete Souza/Wikipedia

US Vice President Mike Pence Declared ‘Mentally Ill’ Because He is a Christian?

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Mike Pence, a born-again Christian, is also the Vice President of the United States. Recently the former governor of Indiana was labelled mentally ill on a TV program called The View simply because Pence believes Jesus speaks to him. It all started when The View played a brief clip from another TV program called “Celebrity Big Brother” where Omarosa Newman made a comment about Pence. Prior to her role on reality TV, Newman worked at the White House under President Trump. Newman said: “As bad as you think Trump is, you would be worried about Pence…. everyone that is wishing for impeachment might want to reconsider their life. I am a Christian, I love Jesus but he [Pence] thinks Jesus tells him to say things.” This began a brief discussion on The View about the US Vice President. Host Sunny Hostin zeroed in on the fact that Jesus was speaking to Pence adding that despite being elected governor of Indiana, Pence was hated in that state. Hostin based that opinion on the fact she attended …

Island jutting out of Australia's Great Barrier Reef Credit: matlacha/Flickr/Creative Commons

Babylon is Imploding

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In Australia there is a disagreement among scientists about global warming and the death of the Great Barrier Reef. Now the ‘disagreement’ has produced threats of firing and career termination for university professors, and lawsuits in court. I worked in a large university, in Canada, and I know one thing is true; if you want to understand any controversy in the system, just follow the money. You might believe there is a secular world system that stifles all dissenting opinions, including Christians who believe in Jesus; and you might be correct. But, in my experience, the system is supported with taxpayer money, and it is filled with scared people who are counting the days to retirement. The evil world system is imploding with money problems. In Australia, agriculture and industry and tourism could lose billions, and university professors could lose, or gain millions in grant funding because of the Barrier Reef. That’s the new way to pay for higher education, with funding applications. I understand the fight, even though I have never been to Australia. …

Credit: Yu Wei Lin/Flickr/Creative Commons

‘Abba’ may be about family

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Family is family. In the end its importance supersedes everything including a job. Some can spend hours at work, but on their death-bed regret that they did not spend more time with their family. The Bible is clear. Salvation comes through faith that Christ died for our sins. But God wants more than just belief, He wants believers to truly identify as a child of God. 6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (Galatians 4:16 NASV) The word Abba, was a term of endearment, probably more closely translated in English as “Daddy.” Though this is the relationship that God desires to have with us, how many Christians truly look upon God as their “Daddy?” This was a relationship that Jesus had with His Heavenly Father. As we see in Christ’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, it was His “Abba” relationship, that helped Jesus endure the crucifixion. 36 And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from …

Molchanka River turned blood red: Credit YouTube capture

Siberian River turns blood red, just one of many in recent years

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It hasn’t reached Biblical proportions yet, but when the Russia’s Molchanka River recently turned blood-red over night citizens, media and even scientists were perplexed and a bit shocked. Many saw a Biblical connection with the plagues of Egypt when God caused the Nile to turn to blood as one of the judgements of God (Exodus 7: 14-24). But there are also three other Biblical references to waters turning blood-red found in the Book of Revelation and similar to what happened in Exodus are considered judgements of God. In his first mention, John says when an angel sounded a trumpet, he saw a large burning mountain crashing into the ocean and a third of the sea turned red: 8 The second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood, (Revelation 8:8 NASV) Most suspect a large burning mountain as a reference to a massive asteroid hitting the ocean. John also mentioned in the following verse that a third of the ships …

Flamenco dance, Seville, Spain Credit: Laurence Vagner/Flickr/Creative Commons

The Dance of Life

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These past few weeks my eyes have been opened to my need for love, respect and acceptance from others. I tend to accuse others of being uncaring when they dismiss my plans and ideas. I demand from others what I am lacking in myself and make others responsible for the way I feel. When I quit blaming others for the way I am feeling (angry, hurt, rejected), only then can I see what the real problem is — my lack of self-esteem mostly. I needed to ask ‘why’ am I blaming someone else for my lack of self-worth and insecurities. Why do I so badly need to be right? Resentment and anger are dis-empowering. They debilitate and cripple us, yet we unknowingly lean on them like crutches to get the emotional support and love that we so badly need. When we seek love without giving it to ourselves first, (embracing our value and worth in God and believing that) we will never be satisfied with what we get from people.  We will find ourselves continually …

Credit: Charlie Owen/Flickr/Creative Commons

Free Speech Under Attack: Ken Ham Stopped from Speaking

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UPDATE: Since we wrote this article, the University of Central Oklahoma has reversed its decision and will now allow Ken Ham to speak on campus in March. There is a disturbing trend happening on universities across North America and it is starting to creep into society. It is an attack by those on the radical left to stop free speech, the cornerstone of a free society. Spurred on many times by radical professors, the left have protested, often violently, to stop conservatives from speaking on campuses. Predictably, they accuse conservatives of hate speech, which simply isn’t true. The real issue is that the left will no longer allow anyone who disagrees with positions they hold to speak and they will protest violently to stop it. Ben Shapiro, the former editor of Breitbart and current editor of the Daily Wire, was scheduled to speak at the University of Berkley in California in September last year. He had been invited by campus Republicans. Because Shapiro is a well-known conservative, hundreds of radical left protestors, many wearing black …