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Hello!
Our
spiritual lives are influenced by the rich past of our spiritual
foundation, the present events that are happening in the world now, and
our future hope in the life to come in heaven. Here’s is your weekly food
for thought on each of these areas…
Exploring Life in Heaven
Heaven is a
wonderful place to look forward to and God wants us to know about it!
It’s no secret! He tries to tell us about it in many ways and through
many people.
God tells us about heaven in the Bible.
The Bible gives us a lot
of images about heaven. We just have to put them together through
the help of the Holy Spirit!
Do you know that the word “Heaven” itself is mentioned 583 times in the King James
Version of the Bible! It is referred to 256 times in the New Testament
alone.
God
wants us to know about heaven! He even sent Someone to tell us about it!
One, Who lived there for a long, long time! The One is Jesus – God’s One
and only Son. Jesus knew about heaven because He came from there and He
told us all about it while He was on earth!
Two
apostles in the Bible told us about it, too. Both the Apostle Paul and
the Apostle John had actual glimpses of life in heaven. The Apostle Paul
wrote briefly about his experience in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4. Paul was sure
of the remarkable experience, but unsure whether it was one that included
his body or one that took place in separation from his body. The Lord
allowed Paul to see a glimpse of the wonderful life that awaited him.
Click here for full article.
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Exploring Signs of the Times
Here are some
interesting headlines from this week that indicate the times in which we
are living. Click on the headline to read the news article.
Most intense cyclones are becoming stronger as
seas warm: study
War preps: Israel building underground tunnels
U.S. transfer of Anbar province back to Iraqis is seen as 'milestone
'India's
top court orders report on anti-Christian violence
FDIC: 117 troubled banks, highest level
since 2003
For more news updates
articles, visit Signs of the Times
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Exploring our Hebrew Roots
We are just on
the outskirts of celebrating the Fall feasts of the Bible, so let’s get to
know about the Biblical Feasts of the Bible a bit. The Torah (the first
five books of the Bible) defines certain days defined by God as days He
has set apart and wants regarded as holy. These days include seven
Biblical Feasts. Here is a quick summary of what they are:
There
are three Feasts in the spring, one in the early summer, and three more in
the fall - for a total of seven.
The
Three spring Feasts are: Pesach, Passover. Followed immediately by Matza,
the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And, that is immediately followed by
Bikkurim, the Feast of Firstfruits. Bikkurim is when the first of the
Barley harvest is brought in.
The one
summer Feast was Shavuot; we know this one better as Pentecost (Pentecost
is a Greek word which means “the 50”). Also called The Feast of Weeks,
this feast is to begin precisely 7 weeks plus one day ( 7 weeks equals 49
days, add one more day and we get 50 days), after Bikkurim, Firstfruits.
Shavuot is when the first of the WHEAT harvest is brought in (as opposed
to Firstfruits, when it is BARLEY that is harvested).
The
three Fall feasts are Rosh Hashanah, Jewish New Year. 10 days later is Yom
Kippur, the Day of Atonement. And, then 5 days after that is Sukkot……the
Feast of Tabernacles, or The Feast of Booths.
These 7
Biblical Feasts lay out the plan of God for Mankind; they completely model
the mission, the sequence, and the significance of Yeshua’s redemptive
work.
Over
the next few weeks we will go into more detail about these feasts and how
they apply to our lives as believers today.
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