OUIJA BOARDS: PORTALS LEADING TO PERDITION: (Part II of the article, SAY NO, NO to OUIJA)

By James Fire

Death: it is the thing that we mortals seem to fear the most; Hamlet pondered it, and thought about whether “to be or not to be, that is the question” - a Shakespearean query about suicide, yet the young prince of Denmark was also apprehensive of what he would find in that “undiscovered country”.
We grieve and rage against the pain and seemingly unfair death of our loved ones. How many of us had wished we could have had one last moment of time with them to say goodbye (especially if our last words with them were less than kind!).

This film plays on the angst and sorrowful frustration of these teenagers who were stunned and mystified by the apparent suicide of their dear friend, Debbie; particularly her best friend, Laine who desired just such an encounter with their dearly departed.
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CROSSING The T’s STUDY in 2 THESSALONIANS aka PROPHETIC and PERSONAL Perspectives – PART 1 of 4

STUDY #1 – 2 THESSALONIANS 1:1-12: 

The Perspective of COMFORT IN PERSECUTION

INTRODUCTION: This epistle might be referred to as 3rd Thessalonians, but not really. There may have been a forgery supposedly from Paul but actually from an imposter, and that might have been why the Thessalonian church was confused on certain matters. This was alluded to in 2 THESSALONIANS 2:2 (“not by letter as by us”).

This letter was written by Paul shortly after the first letter to the Thessalonian saints; both around A.D. 51.

Theme: The Day of the LORD (This phrase is also seen in JOEL 1:15; 2 PET 3:10 and REV 19:19 and elsewhere). This phrase refers to that period of time when God actively and openly begins to deal with the people of the Earth in judgment, beginning with the Jew and then the Gentile as portrayed in REVELATION Chapters 6–19.

It begins with (1) the translation of the church or rapture (“bride of Christ”) from Earth to Heaven and culminates at (2) the Great White Throne Judgment with the 70th week of Daniel (“time of Jacob's trouble” JER 30:7) in which the world will see the 7 year reign of anti-Christ or “the man of sin” (2 THESS 2:3) occurring between those two points.

The saints at Thessalonica were anxious because they thought that the Day of the LORD was upon them, but Paul corrects this misunderstanding in explaining that two crucial events must first happen before this occurs; we will see what those things are in 2 THESSALONIANS 2.

Outline:

Introduction: 1:1-4

SECTION I – Comfort in persecution: 1:5-12

SECTION II – The Day of the LORD vs. the man of sin: 2:1-12

SECTION III – Exhortations and instructions: 2:13-3:15

Conclusion:3:16-18.

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The Evangelical Divide

by Anne Kisly

Rick Warren is the founder and senior pastor of Saddleback Church, an evangelical megachurch located in Lake Forest, California, currently the eighth-largest church in the United States. His book, The Purpose Driven Church, spawned a series of conferences on Christian ministry and evangelism. He is perhaps best known for the subsequent devotional, The Purpose Driven Life, which has sold over 30 million copies.

The following article is from late 2010, but is still a good resource for Christians who want the landscape of the Evangelical Divide happening in our churches. There are also some great links you can follow for background. (via Milwaukee evangelical | Examiner.com:)
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PART 2 - A Review of Understanding Christian Zionism – Israel's Place in the Purposes of God

Written by Paul R. Wilkerson

Commentary provided by James Fire

We now will continue in our review of UNDERSTANDING CHRISTIAN ZIONISM!

Something that must be understood is that Christian Zionism does not stand upon the sentiment and affinities of Christians towards the Jewish people and the land of Israel; rather it stands upon the extraordinarily clear teaching and prophecies of Scripture (and Scripture alone!).

There are many that accuse 'Christian Zionists' – I prefer the term 'Bible-believing Christians' myself – of endorsing and promoting war (against Muslims, etc.) by Israel and a hatred towards those who hate Israel. Speaking for myself, and those that share my views, we hate no one (with the exception of Satan and his kingdom of darkness), but we do hate the deeds, practices and religion of Muslim people insomuch as these are the means by which an unjustified hatred and persecution of Israel persists.

I have never once observed Israel's actions to “drive the Muslims into the sea” or declare: “No negotiations with Muslims, no peace with Muslims, no Muslims!” whereas I have seen both of these things being repeatedly and feverishly declared without apology by Muslims who feign some misbegotten 'right' to the land that had always belonged to Israel since long before the time of the Anitquities.

I think its rather obvious to any one who thinks this through, that its most difficult for one to establish peace with any people who have sworn the annihilation of that one, regardless of any well intentioned overtures and extensions of harmonious peace. We who understand God's Word and plan for Israel, stand with the Jewish nation because of God's love for them, His faithful promises made to them, and His valiant protection and blessing upon them.

And so, without further ado, let us continue . . .

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The GOSPEL of MATTHEW: Ch. 9 Concluded – The MESSIAH and HIS KINGDOM MESSAGE

We will now conclude Ch. 9 of this study, picking up in vs. 18; the Messiah is continuing in His ministry of healing when He comes across yet another person in need. This time it turns out to be one of the religious authorities, the ones that opposed Him nearly at every turn. Yet, our LORD, humble and meek will go and serve this man's dire need, and heal his daughter of the illness that threatens her life...

MATTHEW 9:18-21

18 While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. 19 And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples. 20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: 21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. 22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.

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The GOSPEL of MATTHEW: Ch. 9: Part ONE – The MESSIAH and HIS KINGDOM MESSAGE

By James Fire

Scripture speaks abundantly of the Divinely empowered healing abilities of the Messiah of Israel. Such passages from Isaiah and elsewhere (as we have seen in Ch. 8 in our study) reveal that the Messiah would make the lame man leap for joy, the blind to see, the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak (ISAIAH 35:5-6).
These miraculous signs would be evidence to prove who the Messiah-King would be. As mentioned before, it's very much like the story of The LORD of the RINGS where Aragorn the lowly Ranger from the North was identified as the King of Gondor because he was able to heal, which would be an attribute of a true King of that realm: 

     

“Aragorn's humility and self-sacrifice gained him the hearts of the inhabitants of Gondor's capital city. His healing abilities were noted also by the people of Gondor; as Loreth said, 'The hands of the King are the hands of a healer, and so shall the rightful king be known'. The people hailed Aragorn as King that same evening.” (Taken from wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aragorn).  
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