Christian Musical Documentary "The One Who Holds Sovereignty Over Everything":

Testimony of the Power of God

 

www.holyspiritspeaks.org/videos/one-who-holds-sovereignty...

  

Throughout the vast universe, all celestial bodies move precisely within their own orbits. Under the heavens, mountains, rivers, and lakes all have their boundaries, and all creatures live and reproduce throughout the four seasons in accordance with the laws of life…. This is all so exquisitely designed—is there a Mighty One ruling and arranging all this? Since coming into this world crying we have begun playing different roles in life. We move from birth to old age to illness to death, we go between joy and sorrow…. Where does mankind really come from, and where will we really go? Who is ruling our fates? From ancient times to modern days, great nations have risen up, dynasties have come and gone, and countries and peoples have flourished and perished in the tides of history…. Just like the laws of nature, the laws of humanity's development contain infinite mysteries. Would you like to know the answers to them? The Christian musical documentary The One Who Holds Sovereignty Over Everything will guide you to get to the root of this, to unveil all of these mysteries!

 

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Fatehpur Sikri bears exceptional testimony to the Mughal civilization at the end of the 16th century. It offers a unique example of architectural ensembles of very high quality constructed between 1571 and 1585. Its form and layout strongly influenced the evolution of Indian town planning, notably at Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi).

The 'City of Victory' had only an ephemeral existence as the capital of the Mughal empire. The Emperor Akbar (1556-1605) decided to construct it in 1571, on the same site where the birth of his son, the future Jahangir, was predicted by the wise Shaikh Salim Chisti (1480-1572). The work, supervised by the great Mughal himself, was completed in 1573. In 1585, however, Akbar abandoned Fatehpur Sikri to fight against the Afghan tribes and choose a new capital, Lahore. Fatehpur Sikri was to be the seat of the great Mughal court only once more for three months in 1619, when Jahangir sought refuge there from the plague that devastated Agra. The site was then finally abandoned, until its archaeological exploration in 1892.

This capital without a future, some 40 km from Agra was, however, considerably more than the fancy of a sovereign during the 14 years of its existence. The city, which the English traveller Ralph Fitch considered in 1585 as 'considerably larger than London and more populous', comprised a series of palaces, public buildings and mosques, as well as living areas for the court, the army, servants of the king and for an entire population whose history has not been recorded.

Only one tiny part of the city (where the large buildings are concentrated) has been until now, studied, visited and relatively well preserved. Fatehpur Sikri, constructed on a rocky plateau, south-east of an artificial lake, created for the occasion and today partially dried up, is bounded on three sides by a 6 km wall, fortified by towers and pierced by seven gates (the best preserved is the Gate of Agra, the second from the north). This spacious enclosure defines the limits of the new foundation rather than assuring its defence.

The majority of the important monuments are found to the north of the road from Gaza to Agra; constructed of red sandstone, they form a homogeneous group, even if the eclecticism of their style is evident and is based on borrowings from Hindu, Persian and Indo-Muslim traditions. Among the numerous palaces, gazebos, pavilions, etc., may be cited in particular:

Diwan-i-Am, the Hall of Public Audience, is encircled by a series of porticos which are broken up by the insertion of the imperial box where Akbar, surrounded by his ministers and officers meted out justice. This box communicates directly with Daulat Khana (Imperial Palace), flanked to the north by Diwan-i-Kas (Hall of Private Audience), called the 'Jewel House', a monument known for its central plan, which comprises an extraordinary capital surmounted by a circular balcony: the 'throne'.

Other monuments of exceptional quality are the Ranch Mahal, whose elevation of four recessed storeys recalls certain Buddhist temples, the pavilion of Anup Talao, or the Turkish Sultana, the palace of Jodh Bai, the palace of Birbal, the caravanserai and the problematic 'stables'.

Owing to the piety of Akbar, many religious and votive monuments were constructed at Fatehpur Sikri. The great mosque (Jama Masjid), one of the most spacious in India (165 m by 133 m) could accommodate some 10,000 faithful; it was completed in 1571-72 and according to the dedicatory inscription deserves no less respect than Mecca. It incorporates, in the centre of the court, the tomb of Shaikh Salim, an extraordinary Christian masterpiece of sculpted decoration, further embellished under the reign of Jahangir.

To the south of the court, the Buland Darwaza, completed in 1575, commemorating the victories (the taking of Gujarat in 1572) to which the city, their monumental symbol, owes its existence and its name.

Testimony of Transience (Steve the "Queer"), Tim Lowly © 1985, egg tempera on panel, 14" x 14", collection of Calvin University, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

 

This is an early and disturbingly blunt painting. Unfortunately it still seems topical.

My elation at the election of Barak Obama is tempered by the familiar shadow of homophobia in our recent elections.

The Testimony House, established by the association of Bnei Akiva veterans at the early 1990s, aims to amplify and deepen educational activity related to Holocaust remembrance.

Through its museum, archive, educational center and diverse activities, The Testimony House offers a unique, enlightening and even uplifting way to learn about the Holocaust and the post-Holocaust revival.

The museum is located in a pastoral village Nir Galim, near Ashdod, Israel.

The village Nir Galim was founded by Holocaust survivors.

The Testimony House collects, documents and preserves important material about the Holocaust.

Incendi forestal del 2003 a la Vall d'horta, Parc Natural Sant Llorenç.

Forest fire 2003 in the Horta Valley, Natural Park of Sant Llorenç

 

The Testimony House, established by the association of Bnei Akiva veterans at the early 1990s, aims to amplify and deepen educational activity related to Holocaust remembrance.

Through its museum, archive, educational center and diverse activities, The Testimony House offers a unique, enlightening and even uplifting way to learn about the Holocaust and the post-Holocaust revival.

The museum is located in a pastoral village Nir Galim, near Ashdod, Israel.

The village Nir Galim was founded by Holocaust survivors.

The Testimony House collects, documents and preserves important material about the Holocaust.

After the second world war, the hope was that it will never be reproduced...

L'olivo della strega - The witch's olive tree - Magliano in Toscana - Maremma toscana

 

www.fototoscana.it/mostra-flash.asp?nomeflash=c029

 

Ulivo monumentale di circa tremilacinquecento anni.

Monumental olive tree of about three thousand five hundred years.

 

Panorama from 2 photos freehand Sony DSC-RX10 M4 - f/2.8; 1/80sec.; ISO 100; 9 mm.

 

All rights reserved - copyright © Giancarlo Gabbrielli

Remains of ruined Hindu Temple which is a silent testimony of “Bargi” attack in Bengal province of India 265 years ago.

 

India is the country of rich culture, heritage & history. The country is widely spread across east to west and north to south. “Maharashtra” is a western state which is around 1,600 Kilometers (994 Miles) away from Bengal which is in Eastern part of India. During ten years from 1741 to 1751, the warriors from the state of “Maharashtra”, invaded the eastern part of India (Bengal province) and plundered mercilessly. Those warriors were named as “Bargi”.

 

Generally, history lives over centuries in the mind of people. In Bengal, a century old popular rhyme is told by mothers to make sleep her little baby is-

 

“chhele ghumalo, pada judalo bargi elo deshe

bulbulite dhan kheyechhe, khajna debo kise?”

 

This means-

 

“When the children fall asleep, silence sets in, the Bargis come to our lands

Bulbulis (birds) have eaten the grains, how shall I pay the tax?”

 

For ten years, the “Bargis” raided and plundered Bengal every year, they destroyed villages, temples and even many royal palaces. During that invasion, the king of Bengal was “Alivardi Khan” who took the monarchy after defeating and killing the previous king “Sarfraz Khan”. Sarfraj Khan’s brother-in-law “Rustam Jung” sought help from the king of Maharashtra to regain the kingdom in 1741. By this invitation, the King of Maharashtra discovered how easy it was to plunder the rich countryside in Bengal. For next ten years, they plundered in almost all over Bengal. The “Bargi” invasions came to an end in May 1751 when the Kings of Bengal & Maharashtra both reached in an agreement.

  

(The above shot is dedicated to special one for whom I search history)

 

The Testimony House, established by the association of Bnei Akiva veterans at the early 1990s, aims to amplify and deepen educational activity related to Holocaust remembrance.

Through its museum, archive, educational center and diverse activities, The Testimony House offers a unique, enlightening and even uplifting way to learn about the Holocaust and the post-Holocaust revival.

The museum is located in a pastoral village Nir Galim, near Ashdod, Israel.

The village Nir Galim was founded by Holocaust survivors.

The Testimony House collects, documents and preserves important material about the Holocaust.

Three-storey retablo, a distinctive nativity scene from Peru, seen in the Museum Würth during an exhibition of cribs from all over the world, Gaisbach, Franconia (Baden-Wuerttemberg)

 

Some backrground information:

 

Retablos are a sophisticated Peruvian folk art in the form of portable boxes which depict religious, historical, or everyday events that are important to the Indigenous people of the highlands. The Spanish word retablo comes from the Latin retro-tabulum ("behind the table or altar"). This is a reference to the fact that the first retablos were placed on or behind the altars of Catholic churches in Spain and Latin America. They were three-dimensional statues or images inside a decorated frame.

 

Retablos probably originated with the Christian knights of the Crusades and the Spanish reconquista (the 700-year struggle against the Moors on the Iberian Peninsula). The Christian warriors, who frequently found themselves far away from their home churches, carried small portable box-altars for worship and protection against their enemies. These earliest retablos usually featured religious themes, especially those involving Saint James, the patron saint-warrior in the fight against the Moors.

 

Retablos came to the New World as small portable altars depicting nativity scenes and other religious topics used by the early priests to evangelize the Indigenous. In a syncretic process, the early retablos brought by the Spanish merged with Indigenous beliefs in the Andean region to acquire certain magical or symbolic properties which had been the attributes of local spirits before the conquest. These early South and Central American retablos were wooden boxes with figures inside carved from stone, ivory or wood.

 

Later, retablos evolved to include daily scenes in the lives of the Andean people, such as harvests, processions, feasts, and tableaux depicting shops and homes. The use of wood for the outside box remained, but other materials, such as gypsum, clay, or a potato-gypsum-clay paste mix, were increasingly used for the figures because of their ease of handling and durability.

 

As you can see, the retablo in this picture shows the Nativity in its top floor. In the middle floor some kind of celebration is shown, with lots of female and male musicians playing traditional Peruvian instruments. And in the bottom floor, a hat shop is depicted. The hats there bear a close resemblance to the typical North American ten-gallon hats. The three-storey box is carved from wood, while all figures inside are made from clay. I guess that the whole ensemble has a height of 80 centimetres, which means that it’s definitely no pocket size retablo, but one that was perhaps used as some kind of home altar.

 

In the 1940s more and more artists were using retablos as a vehicle for affirming and recording the distinct identity of the Indigenous people of the Andean region. They are also a defense of Indigenous culture and values in the face of the modernization and the penetration of their culture by the one of the white Hispanic elites of Lima.

 

If you drive through the countryside of the rural district of Hohenlohe with its pastures and little villages in the northeast of the federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, you wouldn’t expect an art museum of international reputation being located in this area. However the museums Würth 1 and Würth 2 are and that has a particular reason: Both museums are attached to the headquarters of Würth Group, a multinational company and the biggest producer of screws in the world.

 

In 1954, the German billionaire Richard Würth took over a two-man business from his father at the age of 19 and made it a successful worldwide concern with almost 86,000 employees today. In the 70s, Würth began to collect art. Since then, he has collected roughly 18,500 works of art. His passion for collecting art even resulted in art becoming an important element of the Würth company culture. The most important works of art are made publicly available in altogether five museums of the Würth Group. All of them are freely accessible.

 

A Merry Christmas 2024 to all of you! Have a great festive season together with your families and friends!

This is the story of how I came to know and accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. It is a story of God’s faithfulness to an unworthy and unfaithful young man. It is a story of the Holy Spirit patiently and lovingly changing my mind and heart and arranging circumstances to lead me to Christ so I can be saved.

 

Introduction

 

My name is Fadi and I was born in late 1982 in Baghdad, Iraq, but I grew up in Kirkuk, a city about 240km north of Baghdad. My grandfather was Syriac Orthodox but my father was raised as a Roman Catholic because my grandmother, the one who cared about religion, was a Roman Catholic so she raised him and us--my sister and I--as Roman Catholics. My mother’s family is also Roman Catholic.

 

In Iraq a person’s religion is part of their identification documents. Because of this a lot of people would be known by a certain faith even though they do not believe in it or practice it. A lot of Christians in Iraq are what I call devoted to their denominations, but as far as born-again is concerned I do not recall knowing anyone who was born-again. I also do not recall anyone ever teaching salvation is by faith in Jesus’ death on the Cross through God’s grace. Simply put, there was no Gospel: there was no good news because there was no message of salvation. And because there was no message of salvation people did not get saved and there were no born-again Christians. I also do not recall any teachings about the Holy Spirit; the only time I heard of the Holy Spirit is when we said “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”. I actually thought the Holy Spirit was an invisible force; I did not understand that the Holy Spirit is a person of the triune God!

 

Feeling Detached

 

My ethnical background is Chaldean. Chaldeans are an ethnical group of a minority Christian community in Iraq. However, I never felt like I was a Chaldean. The main reason has to do with the fact I do not speak Aramaic—the mother tongue of Chaldeans. I never learnt Aramaic because my family does not speak it either; we speak Arabic (the official language of Iraq). That is why I always felt an outcast in Sunday school, and my Muslim friends often asked me, “How can you be Christian if you do not speak Aramaic?” So since my childhood I never felt like I belonged to any group: I did not feel like I was a Chaldeans, a Roman Catholic, or an Iraqi. I simply could not associate myself with any group whether ethnic, religious, or political. I simply saw myself as a human and that was good enough for me.

 

This detachment from certain groups was negative socially as I could not relate to any group of people and I always saw myself as an outsider; therefore, I did not feel compelled to join any cause or group activity.

 

Feelings of Inferiority

 

I was a very shy and sensitive child and I never felt comfortable in social settings. Here is something that happened that set the course for my life. I have never told this story to anyone but I believe it is important to understand who I was before coming to Christ:

 

On my fifth or sixth birthday party my cousin bought me a set of army vehicles and GI Joes as a gift and I loved it. I was playing with the toys and the house was full of people and everybody was having fun socializing and eating. When my mom saw me playing with the toys she told my aunt (her older sister), “Why did you burden yourself? You shouldn’t have gone through the trouble and spent the money and buy a gift.” I was confused: I did not know if I had done something wrong by accepting and enjoying the gift and if I should return it or what—after all I was only five years old! And I was not a street-smart child—I was very naive and innocent. Of course my mom was saying a typical thing in the Middle East: she was not trying to minimize my importance to her or the importance of my birthday. (And I am sure countless mothers have said something similar in front of their children.) But I was a very sensitive child and to my 5 years old brain I interpreted her words as saying: I am not important; I had done something bad; I am not worthy; I am causing people trouble and costing them money--I am a burden.

 

You would think such a small insignificant incident would not have a long lasting effect, but ever since that day I always felt like I was a burden, always felt guilty, unworthy and stupid. So I shied away from people even more, and became nervous in social settings. And of course, the less social I became the less self-confident I became and started having really low self-esteem and self-image. However, out of all the negative feelings I have about myself the worst is the feeling of being stupid. I am not sure why I feel stupid sometimes but the feeling comes suddenly and so powerfully it is literally paralysing.

 

To make things worse as I became a teenager I started gaining weight and I developed trichotillomania which caused my already low self-confidence to plummet even more, and I became even more withdrawn from people and detached from my surroundings. It is such a vicious cycle: the more anti-social I became the lower my self-confidence became, and the lower my self-confidence became the more anti-social I became; the less social I became the worse my trichotillomania habit got, and the worse my trichotillomania habit got the less social I became! I felt like I was standing in a hole and digging myself deeper in.

 

Obedient but Stubborn

 

I was a good and obedient kid so I rarely gave my parents hard time and I was never the rebellious type. I remember overhearing my mom telling our neighbour that she would have more children if she could guarantee they will be like me. I always listened and respected authority so that made me a good student on top of the fact I always studied really hard. I was very peaceful and a peacemaker. I avoided conflict and I was fair: for me or against me. I always tried to look at things objectively which made my friends trust me. I enjoyed telling jokes but I also was a deep thinker. I was quite liked and respected by my peers. Somehow everybody seemed to know me.

 

I was very stubborn: I would not listen to anyone if I believed they were wrong. I had to be convinced and it was not always easy. My family used to joke that if doctors looked inside my head they would not find a brain but a rock--I was that stubborn! But I was never stubborn for the trivial things in life--I was only stubborn if I disagreed on things that mattered. I was never the follower type even though I never liked being a leader. I was not impressed by popular opinions and never tried to chase after the latest trends. For some reason what the world had to offer did not impress me—I wanted more from life than materialistic things and passing pleasures. I was not tempted to try things that I believed were wrong: to me wrong was wrong whether I am permitted to do it or not.

 

I was a good storyteller and communicated my thoughts well but I almost never shared my inner feelings with anyone—I kept everything on the inside and dealt with it by myself. I loved to help and could empathize with others. I was always attracted to the meek and outcast than the proud and popular. I love to comfort others and encourage them. I was cautious and had a heightened sense of danger. There are a couple of instances when God by His grace warned me beforehand to avoid—if I had went along with others to these two places I would have been hurt really bad. The young liked my company and the adults trusted me. I was the kind of a boy where the neighbourhood girls could give me a friendly smile without having to worry about me interpreting it the wrong way.

 

Even though I was smart, worked hard, punctual, and a perfectionist I still lacked confidence: I did not believe I was worthy or capable of succeeding.

 

God Is Real

 

In the 1980s Diego Maradona, the captain of the Argentina soccer team, was the biggest soccer star, especially after the 1986 FIFA World Cup where he single-handedly lead Argentina to win the title defeating West Germany in the final. So he was my hero because soccer is the most popular sport in Iraq. In the 1990 FIFA World Cup final it was Argentina versus Germany again and Argentina lost 1-0 because of a last minute penalty kick. Maradona, my hero, cried and so I was going to cry too (don’t forget I was only 7 years old at the time!) but I did not want my family to see me crying so I ran upstairs. (Because Iraq’s summer is hot and often times there was no electricity, a lot of people sleep on the rooftops. It is easy to set up beds on the roof since the houses have flat roofs with brick walls.) It was night time and I threw myself on my bed crying—it was very quiet because people were still watching the FIFA World Cup event. I bitterly asked God why He let Maradona lose--as a child I didn’t know any better! Then I got tired of crying so I just laid on my back on the bed and looked up: the sky was dark and full of stars. I could hear distance noises from the TVs but it was quiet where I was. I kept looking at the sky and kind of forgot about Maradona’s loss because it was such a peaceful sight. Then it suddenly became a fearful sight: I was lying on a bed that is sitting on a roof with nothing tangible attaching me to earth which itself was floating in a vast and dark universe! That is when I understood that there is a God: a God had designed and created the heavens and the earth. Until then I was told that God existed but on that night I understood that He existed.

 

Who was He? I did not know but I knew He existed and He was great.

 

Doubts, Disappointments, and Rebellion

 

My dad was a devoted Catholic and he was an altar boy as a child but after two wars and the economic sanctions under a ruthless dictator he started to doubt his faith. So after the Gulf War, when I finally got to spend some time with him and know him, he imparted his doubts onto me. I was still young, in my early teens, so I was easily impressible and so I embraced his doubts as mine. On top of my new doubts I was becoming very disappointed with the Roman Catholic denomination for many reasons.

 

When I was 12 years old I enrolled in Sunday school in the summer break to be prepared for my first communion. They seated me in the front and paired me with this beautiful girl who was my age. There was a boy named Emmanuel who was trouble (he was always up to no good) and they had seated him in the back. As usual I kept my distance from troublesome kids and minded my own business. I did not talk much anyway especially to the girls because I was very shy. We rehearsed everything and everything was going according to plan. On the day of the first communion a nun came and kind of escorted me by the shoulders all the way to the back of the column and gave Emmanuel my spot at the front. I did not know why and, as usual, I did not protest. Not long after I found out the reason: Emmanuel’s uncle was a deacon, so when his parents saw their son standing in the back of the line they asked his uncle to move Emmanuel to the front to stand next to the beautiful girl.

 

I was not disappointed with Emmanuel, after all he was just a boy like me, or his parents, after all they are just ordinary people, but I was very disappointed with the nun and his uncle the deacon for showing favouritism. There were other incidents that disappointed me. One time in Christmas mass I was sick with the flu and I had asthma so I got up to go outside to catch my breath and go to the washroom. As I opened the side door a priest was walking in so he asked me where I was going, so I explained to him that I was sick and needed some fresh air and he said, “You liar! You probably want to skip mass to hang out with the bad kids!” I was taken back by his comment, first because he accused me of lying which is something I did not do and hated, second he had no reason to assume I was a liar, and third I did my best to avoid bad crowds. I was very disappointed by how unclean the priest’s heart was.

 

Even though I became more and more disappointed with the Catholic denomination, I actually stayed a very devoted Catholic: I would still pray to the saints and follow the Catholic decrees. Instead, I started crumpling against God, doubted the Bible and especially disliked the Lord Jesus Christ to the point of disliking my name because Fadi means “Saviour” in Arabic! I had two dear friends, Ayad and Furat, who used to always try to restore my faith: they reasoned with me and quoted scripture but nothing helped. I was too stubborn to listen, too blind to see, and too self-righteous to believe—I had made up my mind that God was wrong and I was right, He was the bad guy and I was the good guy. I believed in Him, I just did not like Him!

 

Not by Works

 

Around the time of my first communion, my grandmother read the story of Joseph son of Jacob to my sister and me. I was very impressed by Joseph and set him as my role-model (until today) and I became more interested in spirituality, the Bible, and the Christian faith. In summer time I started going to church every morning and confessing my sins until the priest told me to stop confessing my sins every day! I started reading Catholic prayer books and did the Sacred Heart of Jesus month and the Immaculate Heart of Mary month readings and prayers. I reciting those shorts Catholic prayers such as “Holy Mary, pray for us” all the time. I felt peace when I did those religious tasks and felt closer to God.

 

One Sunday school they were giving New Testaments away so I took one (even though we had half a dozen Bibles at home) just because it had an orange cover and I love the colour orange! Having nothing to do in Iraq’s hot summer afternoons and excited about my orange-cover Bible I started reading the New Testament. A couple of weeks later I asked my grandmother, “What do I have to do to go to heaven?” And she gave me the classic Middle Eastern answer, “When you die God will weigh your good words versus your bad works. If your good works are more than your bad works then you go to heaven. And if your bad works are more than your good works then you go to hell.” That sounded fair to me so I made up my mind that next morning I would be the best righteous Fadi I could be!

 

The next morning I woke up early because lazy was “bad works”. I helped my sister with cleaning and resisted to rush to the streets to play with my friends, because helping and self-control were “good works”! I prayed my morning prayer and read some Catholic prayer book. I was obedient to my sister and did not give her hard time (probably the hardest thing to resist doing!) I also pushed all evil thoughts away from my mind and asked for forgiveness right away from any evil thought. Everything was going according to plan but by noon I was getting exhausted; a sinful human living a righteous life is as exhausting as if I had tried to live as a pig—it was contrary to my nature so it was a spiritual fight every second of it! But I still “prevailed” until the afternoon when the doorbell rang.

 

I looked from the kitchen window and saw it was a beggar boy; it was common for beggars in Iraq to go house to house asking for money or food especially in the years of the economic sanctions. Of course on that day I had to outgive myself so I took double the amount of money I usually gave and went outside. It was very sunny and bright and it was hot. I tiptoed so I would not burn my feet because the ground was very hot. I gave the boy the money and quickly looked through the door to see if my friends were outside or not. They were not so I headed back inside.

 

As I entered the hallway I realized I could not see anything because my eyes had not adjusted yet to the darkness so I thought to myself “Be careful, you don’t want to hit your little toe against the stairwell!” So I slowed my steps down and still could see very little and that is when a verse from the Bible I had read few days ago flashed through my mind. It was Luke 17:7-10:

 

“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

 

And just like that it occurred me: all my “good” works are not credited to me as righteousness! So I knew then that salvation is not attained by works because good works is my duty! However, I still did not know how to go to heaven!

 

After that day I stopped trying to live a righteous life by obeying man-made strict religious laws. I was angry that I was given wrong information about how to go to heaven—there is no scale of good versus bad works! And how could my grandmother a devoted Catholic for over 70 years not know that? So I started paying more attention at mass and realized there is no message of how to go to heaven. Most of the time the priest made little sense and talked about things that were irrelevant to my daily life. To make it worse most of the mass rituals were carried out either in Latin or Aramaic and I did not understand either! Also, it seemed that the priest answer to all life problems was: “God wants to test your patience!” Why did this happen to me? “God wants to test your patience!” Why did God say this in the Bible? “You shouldn’t question God. God wants to test your patience!” What does this mean? “God wants to test your patience!”

 

So I vowed after that day to never trust anyone with any spiritual teaching: I was going to test the faiths to see which one, if any, has any validity. If I found a faith that had any authority to its teachings then I would accept it as the truth and follow it. I did not mind people lying to me or misleading me in trivial matters, but going to hell was serious business—I wanted to know where I went after I died!

 

The Reality of Death

 

(Warning: This section is graphic so reader discretion is advised!)

 

If you live in Iraq you cannot ignore death. Growing up in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq war I occasionally saw taxis driving by with Iraq flag-covered coffins on top. That did not scare me as it was a common sight. However, three incidents occurred that made me understand that death is real, it is a serious problem, and it is inevitable.

 

The first incident happened while watching TV at dinner time: the news showed two Iraqi soldiers captured by the Iranians. The first soldier was shot on the spot which kind of fazed me because I was about 7 or 8 years old and had never seen a person killed before, but the second soldier had his hands tied to two Jeeps. One of his arms was severed when the two vehicles moved apart, and he was shot afterwards. I was in shock because I had not known before that humans can be so evil and can inflict such violence and pain on another human. I thought people died peacefully in their sleep!

 

The second incident happened in 1991 during the Kurdish uprising right after the Gulf War; I was 8 years old. After Iraq’s loss in the Gulf War the Kurds in the north and the Shias in the south were convinced that the Iraqi army was weakened to the point where they can overthrow Saddam Hussein. So the Kurds advanced south toward Baghdad and in the process took control of the city I lived in, Kirkuk. However, a couple of weeks after retreating the army advanced into the city to regain control. One day in the battle between the Iraqi army and the Kurd rebels (known as Peshmerga) I went up to the roof of our house without my mom’s knowledge to see an army helicopter firing its weapons. I did not know at the time that weapons were horrible—I thought weapons were “cool”. There were no deaths in our neighbourhood so I did not give thought to the consequences of war. Not long after the firefight started the army took Kirkuk back and for few days everybody was scared and the streets were quite empty. It was an unusually quiet time for a city that just went through the turmoil of mass looting and a civil war.

 

Few days after the army recaptured Kirkuk, our neighbour--who lived across the street from our house--wanted to go see his daughter’s family who lived in Arafa (a mostly Christian neighbourhood on the outskirt of Kirkuk) to check on them because there were no phone lines and he was worried about them. His name was Matta (which means Matthew in Arabic) and he was an older man in his 60s or 70s, but because the government car he drove was stolen during the looting he asked if he can fill our car with gas to go see his daughter. My mom agreed (my dad was not home because he had to join the army) and her and I went with him. The streets were quiet but as soon as we reached the main road I saw two bodies covered in blankets. I was taken back by the view of two dead bodies lying on the side walk of the city’s main road. I had been through that street many times, and I never thought I would one day see dead bodies lying on the side walk!

 

After Matta checked on his family we drove back and a checkpoint was set up at a roundabout so we stopped. As Matta talked to the soldier I looked to my left outside the car window to see a dead young Kurd in the centre of the roundabout. He was may be in his late 20s or early 30s. He had a dark curly hair and dark skin and had facial hair. I do not know how long he was dead for but he was not dead for long even though the blood running from his body was kind of thick and dry. I mostly remember the flies flying in and around his face—and I think this image imprinted this incident in my memory. Because I thought, “How helpless is a dead person? He can’t even shoo away a fly from his face? Is this how I will end up?” The answer was “yes”—that is the fate of all human beings. Death is our biggest problem.

 

I was 8 years old then so I was not ready to see that but I understood then what death was, and I had never understood what death means before then. I knew when people died they were buried but I did not understand that death is ugly and tragic. For some reason, I kept trying to figure out who the dead young Kurd looked like then I realized he did not look like anyone I had known—he was a unique human being and his death was a loss not only to his loved ones but to humanity as a whole. I also understood that death is an ugly problem every human has to face. I realized when people die they do not just disappear as in action movies—in one scene they are killed and in the next scene they are gone. Death is real, ugly, tragic, and inevitable. I believe that incident trigger me to think about life’s meaning, searching for God, and know my place in the universe. But most importantly I really wanted to know what happens to me after death! I wanted to know if there was something more after life, or a corpse is all I was going to end up as!

 

The third incident I definitely was not ready for. I was may be 9 or 10 years old when they showed on the news images of the Amiriyah shelter bombing which happened during the Gulf War. The shelter was located in the Amiriyah neighbourhood and it was bombed by two “smart bombs”: the first bomb cut through the 3m of reinforce concrete while the second one went through the hole made by the first bomb. Over 400 civilians, mostly women and children, died. The images shown on TV were graphic: amputated and charred bodies of mothers and children fused together; human skin stuck on walls; burned corpses of screaming victims.

 

Again I was in shocked of the graphic violence of the incident and I was scared. At night I could not sleep because images of the dead kept flashing in my mind—images of their faces and corpses haunted me. And it was winter time so my mom would turn the electric heater from the evening until morning to warm up the bed room during the night, but I was too scared to uncover myself because of the images of the dead. I could not have a good night sleep because it was too hot to sleep and I was too scared to come out from underneath the blanket! As usual, I never shared my struggles and feelings with anyone. This went on for a couple of months until summer.

 

After that summer I was never again scared of the dark or death, but death became a reality of life that I could not ignore. Death has its way of maturing a person: you never live life the same after taking death into consideration. So many things and dreams become unimportant and so many things and dreams become important if you only keep in mind that you will die. So knowing who God is, who I am to Him, why He created me, and where I am heading after death became very important topics to me.

 

A Precious Gift

 

Around the age of 14 I started to become lonely because as teenagers all my close friends (aged 13 to 17) were interested in doing teenager things but I was never interested in joining them. Suddenly they stopped playing sports and decided to go downtown to chase after girls, which I wanted no part in. They spent time, energy, and money to look their best and buy the latest fashion to impress girls, which did not appeal to me. The summer break and fall of when I was 14 was very depressing; I was alone and the fall weather was gloomy and cloudy with no sun. I spent a lot of time thinking about life and asking: it can’t be that a great God exists but He is not interested in me! It makes no sense for Him to create me and create all those amazing and beneficial things for me then forgets me! There must be more to life than chasing girls and getting the latest in fashion! I know I am going to die but what am I supposed to do with my life in the meantime? And how do I go to heaven?

 

We only had one complete Bible in our house which belonged to my grandmother and it was a really old book; the other Bibles we had were only the New Testament. My sister wanted to read the Old Testament so she asked our neighbour and my friend, Furat, to get her one. (For some reason the Old Testament was not easily acquired at that time, may be because Iraq is a predominantly Muslim country and the Old Testament is all about God’s chosen people—the nation of Israel.) Furat was active in the church and had many friends so he was able to get a hold of a new copy of the complete Bible. He refused to get paid back for the price of the book (even though 400 dinars at the time was a lot of money)—he said it was a gift. For some reason my sister did not read the Old Testament so I took ownership of it. I started reading it starting with Genesis and I was amazed by it: here was an account of earth and human history from Adam, the first man, to 2,000 years ago! I remember sharing with two of my younger Muslim friends about how amazing the Bible was and they listened, but few weeks later we left Iraq to Jordan.

 

I cried a lot on the way to Jordan: I missed my home, my friends, my neighbours, and my country. Until that moment in my life Iraq is all I had known. We did not have the Internet so all things I did and knew were Iraqi things done the Iraqi way! We settled in Amman the capitol of Jordan and started our immigration papers to come to Canada where the rest of my mother’s family is. Few months later my aunt’s family joined us in Amman (they were the last family we had in Iraq) to do their immigration papers to go to Sweden where my cousin lives; it was my aunt (my mom’s oldest sister), her husband (who is also my dad’s uncle), and my two cousins. Being the insecure and shy kid I was meant I made no friends in Jordan, and being bitter toward the church meant I did not even go to church with my family. I would watch them take the stairs down to the main road (Amman is built on mountains so there are long stairs wherever you go) but I could never bring myself to go with them. Also, my insecurities and low confidence prevented me from meeting new people and made me feel very uncomfortable in social settings.

 

I simply stayed home and read the Old Testament for hours every day; I would read over a dozen of chapters every day. I was amazed by the God of the Old Testament and I wanted to become a Jewish Rabbi because I had found the true God! My uncle told me, “Israel has borders with Jordan. It’s not that far if you are serious about becoming a Rabbi!” I liked the God of the Old Testament but I still did not like Jesus Christ; I guess it was Satan’s last efforts to prevent me from getting saved.

 

Also, because I spent a lot of time by myself I started to realize that my mind and thoughts were always changing (which is a common thing for any human especially a teenager), but I was not reaching a point of knowing. I tried to explain life and live by following rules I had learnt from experiences but my experiences always changed and I always changed so my rules changed and I was again at the start point: Why did this happen? How should I respond to this situation? Is this action right or wrong? I did not know the answers to these questions and more. I was frustrated because my life events had no clear purpose or pattern I could understand and follow. Every time I looked back at myself from a month ago I realized I had yet again changed in no certain direction—I just randomly changed. This pattern of continuous random change scared me: how will I know to make the right decisions in the future if my thoughts keep changing? How will I choose the correct career and wife if I do not know who I am and what I am looking for! It is like trying to measure a length using a ruler that is always changing! Experiences, feelings, opinions and beliefs were not good enough for me: I wanted to know, I wanted truth!

 

Wrong Attitude

 

While I was getting all this information about God and how He works from reading the Old Testament, I still had the wrong attitude toward God. One day my sister came back from church and told me how it was wrong to pray to the saint and that was a shocking thing to say to a “devoted” Roman Catholic! I was upset with her words and told her, “How can you say we should not pray to the Virgin Mary?!” As far as I was concerned, what she was saying was sacrilegious! It is sad how I liked Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the other “saints”, but I did not like the Lord Jesus Christ Himself!

 

One evening in Amman, our neighbour--an Iraqi Catholic named Emad--came to visit us. He was in his 30s and was sitting at the table looking outside the window while I was sitting on a mattress on the floor (we did not have much in Jordan). I was making my case against God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Bible—mostly doubts I had heard my dad say (I was not that original!) I kept going on and on but he rarely looked at me and he did not seem fazed by my arguments against God. When I finally finished talking he looked at me and said in a scoffing manner, “So you are telling me that you know better than the Son of God?” WOW! That was all I needed to hear!

 

First, I shut my mouth because I realized I was “arguing” with a man twice my age which is a shameful thing to do in the Middle East. Second, and most importantly my spirit was quieted because I realized there is a huge problem with my belief system: how could I say that I believe God is great and all-knowing and all-powerful yet claim to know more than Him? How could I trust His knowledge if I knew more than Him? What’s the point of following God if I am smarter than Him? Why would He gives us truth in some things while mislead us in other things? Jesus Chris is the Son of God—I am not fighting against a man but God Himself!

 

So two things happened that evening: first, I started liking Jesus Christ because I finally understood He deserved the respect I gave the God of the Old Testament because He is the Son of God; second, I stopped questioning God’s Word to prove I am right and God is wrong, and started asking God to explain to me His Word. There is a big difference between the two: questioning comes with the wrong attitude of fighting against God, while asking comes with the right attitude of desiring to know God. On that day I humbled myself and gave God the respect He deserves—I laid down my arrogance and self-centeredness.

 

So far God had arranged my circumstances and changed me to know He is real, give me enough discernment to know we are not saved by works, gave me time to think about life and death and what happens after death, have knowledge of His Word (especially the Old Testament which I was not familiar with before), quieted my spirit and humbled me, but I still did not know what is the next step. The big questions were always: How do I go to heaven? What does all this mean to me?

 

Three Books, One Message

 

My aunt’s family had a Syrian neighbour who was Christian (born-again or not, I do not know) and his immigration papers came to Sweden so he took his family and stuff and immigrated to Sweden but left some things behind. One of the things he left behind were six books (two copies of three books) written by Josh McDowell titled: Evidence That Demands A Verdict, More Than A Carpenter, and Jesus: A Biblical Defense of His Deity. My uncle took one of each copy and gave me the other, so I started reading those books. It all made sense because I had just finished reading the Old Testament and knew the prophecies about Jesus—I finally understood who the Gospel writers were quoting! But I still needed something more to be convinced, more than good arguments and a testimony—I wanted tangible evidence. So what really made an impact on me are these three points:

 

1) Prophecies. Prophecies are very important because a lot of people can write “holy” books but what prove their authority are prophecies because no one knows the future but God. And this was not one prophecy or two, but hundreds that all came true in one person--the person of Jesus Christ! And they were not some random prophecies that did not have anything to do with each other. No, they were all parts of one plane: God’s plan to save mankind from sin and hell through the death of His Son Jesus Christ. The strange part is that they were written by different men in different places from different times, so how could all these prophecies agree on the message and make so much sense unless they were inspired by God!

 

Prophecies also give witness to Jesus Christ. So many religions were started by one person with no witnesses to His authority; Jewish law required at least two witness for a trial otherwise it would be one person’s word versus another person’s word. By what authority does a person start a religion? Self-righteousness? One’s own words? Who is to back him up? That is why some religions started by the sword: if people were not convinced by evidence they were persuaded by fear. But that is not how it is with Jesus Christ (apart from His miracles and the Father witnessing to Him) those prophecies witness to Him as the promised coming Saviour. And He did not need to harm anyone for people to follow Him.

 

2) The character, life, and death of Jesus Christ and His followers. Nothing made sense: why would His disciples die for Him? He did not give them money, fame, or earthly power, or allowed them to have carnal desires, or anything of that nature. On the contrary, they lived difficult lives full of hunger, chased, persecuted, put on trials and executed but still refused to deny Him as their Lord! And Why would He or they die for a lie? Were they crazy or delusional? They did not sound like it! Unless, they saw something supernatural in the person of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit is real. Nothing else could explain to me their lives. Jesus Christ definitely was not crazy for how can a crazy man teach such noble things? And He definitely was not lying for how can a liar—a sinner--perform miracles?

 

3) How bizarre is Christianity comparing to all other world religions! Seriously, have you thought about how difficult it is for a dozen of men who lived in different times and places to conspire to write about the same God with the same salvation plan? And what an unlikely story for one person to come up with, yet they all had to agree on the following:

 

a. God is three Persons in One. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

b. The Son of God became a human. That is God in His entire glory and greatness manifest Himself as a human child.

c. The Son of God is born of a virgin! (Do you see now how bizarre it is for a man to come up with this story?)

d. He is born in a manger. He leads a simple and poor life, often times persecuted. (Remember, we are not talking about some monk here, we are talking about God Himself taking a form of a meek human being!)

e. He was a miracle worker to the likes of nobody! He opened the eyes of the blind, raised the dead, and walked on water.

f. Salvation is not by human works but by faith in the Son of God, that is: believing God’s Son died for your sins. (When was the last time you heard of a religion that teaches salvation is not by human good works?) All world religions teach: we must reach up to God—humanly it makes sense! While Christianity teaches that God reached down to us!

g. Not only the Son of God dies but He rose from the dead!

h. His followers will be indwelt by the Holy Spirit who will live the life of Christ through them!

 

And the list goes on and on—such an unlikely story to be written and die for! I do not know about you but if I made my own religion it would not sound something like this! It would be a simple “do good, go to heaven; do bad, go to hell”. Love those who love you (who teaches to love their enemies and expects large followers?) There is one god made up of one person (so much easier to be accepted than three persons make one God!) And enjoy life on earth as much as you can (power, fame, comfort, all kind of pleasures) because I know the there is no god and no heaven or hell—I made them up!

 

Christianity’s unusual doctrine and events are not made for the sake of making it a “strange” religion. Each one of these doctrines and events had a purpose and was designed this way. There is a reason for the virgin birth. There is a reason for the death on the cross. There is a reason why the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead. There is a reason the Son of God had to die and not somebody else. There is a reason why we cannot gain righteousness by works. And the list goes on and on: everything has a purpose to fulfill God’s divine plan to save mankind.

 

A lot of religions have very noble and admirable teachings but they still lack authority. You see the problem is that truth is truth: it is not about how much I like it, whether I accept it or not, or I agree with it or not. Jesus Chris is the truth and I could not avoid this fact.

 

Saved at Last

 

One day I was laying on a straw carpet close to a window in the afternoon and the sun rays were shinning on me and I was reading the last chapter of the last of the three books. At the end of the book, the author Josh McDowell wrote his own testimony of coming to Christ and his struggle to forgive his old drunkard father prior to coming to Christ. He asked if the reader wanted to give their lives to Jesus Christ and there was a short prayer (also known as the sinner’s prayer) and I desperately needed this 3- 4 years spiritual crisis to be over with because I had made up my mind that Jesus Christ is Lord and Saviour and I need to surrender my life to Him. So I prayed asking God to forgive my sins because I was a sinner and I accepted the death of His Son, Jesus Christ, on the Cross as payment for my sins, and I invited the Holy Spirit into my heart to change me into the likeness of Jesus Christ. For the first two days I was the happiest I had ever been--I felt like I was floating on air; as if the weight of the world was taken off my shoulders!

 

I did not know what happened to me but I knew few things right away: I was happy and worry free; I had peace and joy; and I started to see things differently. Suddenly I started to know good from evil and it stayed that way--the next day, next week, or next month--the good did not become evil and evil become good. I grew in my knowledge of the truth but the truth never changed.

 

A couple of months later we immigrated to Canada. In Canada, I still did not know what had just happened to me, and if there were other people out there who had gone through the same experience of salvation. Because I still did not go to church and did not socialize with others, I had no idea what was going on and so I kept praying the sinner’s prayer every day to remind myself that I was saved by faith through God’s grace and not by works. Not long after coming to Canada (may be a year or so) I was watching TV on a Sunday evening when I came across the InTouch program by Dr. Charles Stanley. That is when I understood what happened and I gradually grew in my Christian faith and still growing. One Sunday while I was listening to Charles Stanley on TV my uncle asked me, “Do you really believe in this nonsense?” I simply answered, “Yes, I do.” My uncle’s words and attitude reminded me of myself, not long ago, before coming to Christ: I also was an enemy of Christ, but God in His grace not only sent His Son to die for my sins but also sent the Holy Spirit to draw me to Him so I believe and be saved.

 

Giving up my Roman Catholic identity was a much harder battle. I still prayed to the Virgin Mary for three years, mainly out of habit, after coming to Christ. Until one day when I realized it was idolatry and had no spiritual value.

 

The work God had done in my life in the last 15 years and His love and faithfulness are more than I can include here. The testimony you read here is just the beginning because I could write about His love forever.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Final Words

 

Here I would to discuss issues that are related to my testimony but I did not include them in the testimony because I did not want to disturb the flow of the story.

 

The Birthday Incident

 

I had forgotten about the birthday incident, but about two years ago I prayed, “Lord, why do I hate my birthday? Why don’t I celebrate it like everybody else? Why don’t I like receiving gifts? Why do I always feel guilty and as if I am a burden on others?” A couple of weeks after I prayed that prayer I remembered the birthday incident—it all makes sense now. God has been faithful in every single way. He has been faithful in trying to heal my heart and emotional scars.

 

Salvation Is God’s Work

 

Salvation is the work of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.” (John 6:44) I did not come to Christ through my own intelligence or effort—my testimony is a testimony of God’s faithfulness. When I did not understand He exists and He is great, He showed me His amazing creation. When I did not know where my life was headed, He showed me the reality of death. When I was busy, He provided me with a quiet time and the opportunity to read. When I did not understand who the Lord Jesus Christ is, He gave me the Old Testament to read and understand that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah. When I had doubts, He gave me books that answered my questions. When I had the wrong heart attitude, He humbled me. When I was too shy to go to church, He reached me through books. When I fought against Him, He was patient because He saw my ignorance and confusion and lovingly led me to become His child. (Romans 2:4)

 

I would love to tell you that I was this genius kid who had this great spiritual discernment and understood God’s mind! But it was not like this at all! God saw my confusion, took me to a place and a time and patiently waited for me to open my eyes and see, then He did the same thing over and over again until I reached a point where I was ready to accept His Son, Jesus Christ, as my Lord and Saviour! How much more shall I say about God’s goodness and faithfulness?

 

Everything happened to me was God’s divine work to bring me to Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ. It was not my self-effort—I simply responded to His moves and when I did not He waited and used other methods to reach me. None of the things I mentioned in my testimony can be considered “miraculous”, actually a doubting person can simply look at these events as mere coincidences. However, so many things happen around us are God’s divine work and design but we cease to see them as such—we brushed them off as coincidence. Even painful events God can use for our good. There were many instances before I came to Christ where God worked in my life—not because I was His child but because He wanted to lead me to Himself to become His child.

 

The sinner’s prayer does not save anyone—the “sinner’s prayer” can simply express the desires of those who are ready to be born-again. Simply asking someone to read the “sinner’s prayer” will do no good if the Holy Spirit has not led that person to the point in their lives where they are ready to repent of their sins and turn to Christ as their only hope of salvation. Also, saying the “sinner’s prayer” is not a proof that someone is saved; the Bible says that the fruit of the Spirit--that is, us abiding in Christ so the Holy Spirit can live Christ’ life through us--is the proof that we are saved.

 

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.” (Ephesians 1:13)

 

None of that “I prayed the sinner’s prayer” or “I felt Goosebumps” is evidence of our salvation. If you have to keep rededicating your life to Christ then maybe you do not want to be part of Christ—may be you are not saved, may be you are not a child of God. I am not saying the sinner’s prayer does not work: what I am saying is that it only works for those who the Holy Spirit has prepared to be born-again.

 

The Bible says, “Very truly I [Jesus Christ] tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” (John 3:3) And in verse 6 it says, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”

 

Why did our Lord use the birth experience to explain the born-again experience? Because being born-again is the work of the Spirit—it is not your work and it is not someone else’s work. Others can help the Spirit (just like a doctor and nurses help a pregnant woman), but it is the Spirit who has to do the work (just like it is the mother who has to give birth). And just like there is a nine month period of time for a child to be ready to be born, so there is also a preparation period for our sinful hearts to turn to and accept Christ. A person does not come out of a strip club for a smoke, then you ask him if he wants to go to heaven (who doesn’t?) then ask him to read the sinner’s prayer if he wants to go to heaven, then he goes back to the strip club and does so for the rest of his life and then you declare him to be born-again! It does not work this way!

 

Remember, it is not your work to save someone else. Often times you are only one link in the process of leading someone to Christ. Do not be discouraged or dishearten if you do not see the fruit of your labour right away; after all, sinners are not rejecting you—they are rejecting Jesus Christ.

 

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” (John 15:18)

 

I thank the Lord that by His grace and mercy He kept giving me chances to come to Him after rebelling against Him for years. Just like He never gave up on me, we should never give up on another person who is so blinded by Satan that he or she cannot see the truth of God’s Word.

 

The hymn “At Calvary” perfectly explains my salvation experience.

 

Peace Through Works

 

Believe it or not, I actually had peace before I came to Christ! It was not permanent and it was not fulfilling. It was peace acquired through doing good works and following decrees; it was peace tied to my performance, feelings, and circumstances. I had peace if I read the Catholic prayer books or read the Immaculate Heart of Mary devotional book. It was a momentary peace tied to my works. The Lord Jesus Christ does not say we will not have peace in this world but that the peace He gives us is different than the world’s peace.

 

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

 

Of course this worldly and work-based peace is very damaging because it deceives us into thinking that we can acquire more peace if we do more good works. So we end up becoming more religious and busier trying to please God all the while we are heading straight to hell. The peace I have now is not based on me or my circumstances—the peace I have now is based on God’s Word. I live by faith knowing that I am saved only because Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, paid for my sins on the cross. Nothing can take this away from me. Worldly peace is a counterfeit trying to mimic true peace which is the fruit of the Holy Spirit through abiding in Christ, but it will never be able to withstand trials and the test of time.

 

Satan will give you his version of peace--actually he will give you anything--to keep you away from Christ. The worldly peace I had was misleading: it misled me into believing I could have peace apart from Christ, and it misled me into thinking I could approach God my way.

 

Approaching God

 

The problem we have is not that we do not know God, but that God does not know us! If I went to the White House asking to see the president of the United States telling the guards that I knew him, will the guards let me in? Of course not! For me to get in the guards have to first verify if the president knows me! We have not separated ourselves from God; no, He separated Himself from us! He is the one who banished Adam and Even from the Garden of Eden—they did not leave voluntary! He is the one who has problem with sin because He is the Holy and Righteous one; we are sinners—sin is what we do, we love it!

 

If I am a man who wants to ask a lady’s hand in marriage then I have to meet her requirements and the requirements of her parents. Why is that? Because I am the one who wants to marry her and so I have to measure up to her expectations of being a godly husband and father and a leader and protector of the family. Therefore, I cannot approach her my way—I cannot offer what I want to offer. No, I have to approach her the way she expects and offers her what she wants! It is the same thing when we approach God: we have to approach Him the way He says is acceptable to Him and that is through His Son Jesus Christ.

 

In all religions God forgives by forgetting; that is, God’s mercy is not balanced by His justice. His justice book is not balanced—it does not add up to zero! Our sins are somehow forgiven but are not paid for! In Christianity God forgives by placing the punishment for sin on His Son Jesus Christ. His justice and requirement punishment for sin, namely death, is balanced by the death of His Son. God’s holiness, justice, mercy, and love are all satisfied. His justice book is balanced because Jesus paid it all!

 

In all religions God is holy and hates sin but He is not so holy and hates sin to the degree where He can’t just forget about it! If you do a bit of this and that and ask for forgiveness then He is merciful and will just forgive you! But in Christianity God is so holy and hates sin so much that there is no way He is just forgetting about it—justice must be served and the punishment for sin is death! He is infinitely holy and we are infinitely sinful, therefore, we are infinitely separated from Him. But He is also infinitely merciful and loving and to save us He sent His only begotten Son, the sinless Jesus Christ, to die for our sins. This way His justice is satisfied because sin’s death punishment is satisfied through the Cross, and the infinite gap between sinful man and holy God is spanned. It is not only spanned but God came to live inside man through the person of the Holy Spirit!

 

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

 

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

 

“…the Spirit of truth...lives with you and will be in you.” (John 14:17)

 

Not Blind Faith

 

I do not like the phrase “blind faith”. I actually had not heard of this phrase until I came to Canada! I do not like the phrase because I do not agree with it. To agree with it is to say that God is unwise, unreasonable, and scared!

 

God knows that there are many beliefs and religions out there, so if He did not give us enough evidence of who He is and His plan then we would not be able to discern which prophet is sent from Him and which is not! Which faith is true and which is not! They all cannot be true because they have conflicting teachings! All gods cannot be the One true God! It would be unwise of Him not to give us evidence of His truth when He knows we could easily follow the wrong faiths. And it would be unreasonable of Him to not to give us reasonable proofs of His identity and will and still expect us to know Him and obey Him! Unless He is scared that we find out He is not real! May be He is keeping us at bay because He does not want us to discover the reality that He does not exist! Growing up in the Roman Catholic denomination I had a feeling that God was very insecure, so you can imagine my shock when I read Malachi 3:10 in the Old Testament, “Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty!

 

The reason I am bringing this up is that our faith should not be a blind faith—it must be built on a foundation. Sometimes in life when we go through trials and pain we have to preserve through faith—you may call it “blind” faith—but how do you know the Bible is God’s Word? I will go back to the three points that convinced me of the authority of the Bible and that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

 

Suppose I told you, “Our friend Chris will come in a rental car” and he shows up in a rental car, what would the first thing you would ask? It would be, “How did you know?” Why? Because you know that the chances of me guessing accurately on that day Chris will show up in a rental car are very slim. Now suppose I also said, “Christ will show up in a yellow shirt” and he does, now you know that I did not simply guess but I knew these things! It is the same with prophecies: they are God’s way of wanting us to know who is sent by Him and who is not because we know that no one knows the future but Him—it is not blind faith if you know!

 

For the sake of the argument, let us assume that Jesus Christ had planned to fulfill some prophecies to impersonate the coming Messiah, namely: to die on the cross. How did he manage to plan the prophecies concerning His birth? Let us assume His disciples lied in the gospels about Him fulfilling His birth prophecies. Why would they die for a lie? Not only they would have died for a lie, but they gained nothing a human would want in return: long comfortable life, wealth, power and fame. They received none of that! Jesus Christ promised them two things: eternal life and persecution! Eternal life they could not see but persecution was very much real! To make their story even more bizarre they were not only following but also worshipping who in public opinion was a convicted and executed criminal! When was the last time the idea of worshiping an executed criminal appealed to you? Exactly! They saw and experienced someone very real--the Son of God and the Holy Spirit—to give up everything including their lives for this God!

 

Personal testimony is good but I wanted to base my faith on more than stories. I am sorry to word it this way, I am not trying to dismiss testimonies—they are the work of God—otherwise I would not have written my testimony. But I understood that people are emotional creatures and anything could change us, I knew that first hand because my thoughts were always changing. If someone told you his testimony of how boxing changed his life, how he was a street kid but now he has a purpose and stays away from bad influence, does this make boxing a religion or his trainer a prophet? Of course not! Testimonies are good to strengthen our faith, but not to base our faith on them because for every Christian testimony I can bring you a testimony of someone of a different religion. God wants us to know!

 

Why Christ?

 

I often asked myself: Why did I doubt the Bible? And why did I hate the Lord Jesus Christ? If I was disappointed with the Roman Catholic denomination, then why did I not hate being a Roman Catholic? If I was disappointed with the priest who called me a liar, then why did I not hate him? If I was disappointed with the nun who moved me to the last row at my first communion, then why did I not hate her? If the teachings and decrees of the Roman Catholic denomination did not make sense to me, then why did I not hate those teachings? Why did I not hate Moses, or King David, or Elijah, or the apostle Paul? If I had doubts, why did I not doubt God’s existence? Why did I not doubt the teachings of the Roman Catholic denomination? Why did I instead hate the person of Jesus Christ and doubt God’s Word?

 

The answer is simple: Satan blinded me and focused my doubts on God’s Word and turned my disappointments as hatred toward the Lord Jesus Christ because Satan knew that God’s Word can lead me to Jesus Christ who can save me. Satan did not care if I was a devoted Roman Catholic or not. Satan did not care if I believed in God, a god, or gods. The Bible says, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.” (James 2:19)

 

These things do not save me! What saves us from our sins is faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and His death on the Cross as payment for our sins. How do we come to this knowledge? Through God’s Word! And that is why Satan is willing to give us everything else but knowledge of God’s Word and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

 

Death

 

When I came to Canada at the age of 15 I was surprised that Canadians live as if they are not going to die: they live only for this world and for now.

 

The objective is not to focus on death--death is only a gateway--but to focus on our lives after death. Not long ago my 11 years old nephew told me about all those things he wants to accomplish when he grows up—things the world is concerned with—and how he would retire as a rich old man. So I asked him, “And then?” He thought about it for a second then answered, “I guess I die.” I asked him again, “And then?” And he looked baffled because he had thought of everything except death and he definitely did not think about eternity. He made the classical error of seeing death as an end when in reality it is the beginning. Satan distracts us with so many present worldly things just so we do not plan for eternal heavenly glory!

 

If we remember every morning that one day we will die then we will be more focused spiritually and make decisions with eternity in mind. Praying, giving, serving, forgiving, and loving will become our priority.

 

The Difference

 

So how am I different now than before coming to Christ? Well, I am saved now and have the Holy Spirit and God is working in me, through me, and in my life. But also God addressed my problems.

 

Do I still have trichotillomania? Yes, I do. It is not as bad as before and I have learned not to focus on it. Satan wants us to focus on our problems—whether big or small—but the Lord has taught me to focus on Him so I do not miss His plan for my life. Do I still have low self-confidence? Yes, I do. However, I have learned to be confident in the Lord. Before I could not make decisions because I had no self-confidence and no other source of confidence, but now I have the Lord as my source of confidence. The good part is that I am always drawing closer to Him because I know I will not be able to function and make important decisions without Him; this way I also know those decisions will be blessed because their source was Him. Do I still feel anxious in a crowd? Yes, but now I can have courage in Him. Just like He replaced my low self-confidence with His sufficient confidence, He also replaced my anxiety with His sufficient courage.

 

Am I still shy and feel awkward in social settings? Yes. But I learned that God can use us different ways: maybe I do not have what it takes to stand in front of a crowd and talk, but I can write! Not everyone comes to faith by hearing—some, like me, come to faith by reading! God does not see my shyness as a problem, after all He created me and He knows I am an introvert. Personality traits are not a sin: being funny versus serious is not a sin, being an introvert versus extrovert is not a sin, being talkative versus quiet is not a sin, excelling in math versus the arts is not a sin! He created every one of us to be unique, to fulfill a certain purpose in His plan to preach the gospel to the lost. Sin is a problem, shyness is not—not once did the Holy Spirit convict me of my shyness as being a sin! He did not solve my shyness problem because to Him it is not a problem.

 

Do I still feel guilty over past sins and do I still feel stupid? Yes, sometimes I do. Satan would bring something silly that happened in my childhood to mind to make me feel guilty or stupid, and the Holy Spirit would always remind me that I am forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ and I have a new identity in Him. Those feelings and thoughts do not hinder me: I can confront them now with God’s truth and quickly move on. As many times as Satan attacks me I keep reminding myself that the war has been won 2,000 years ago at Calvary and Satan is just trying to win a pity battle here and there. There is nothing Satan can do to send me to Hell, but he sure will try to make me ineffective for God’s Kingdom.

 

Am I still searching for the truth? No, I found Him who is the truth. Does a runner keep running after reaching the finish line? Of course not! Before coming to Christ my thoughts were always changing: my thoughts were going in random circles toward no clear end. But now my thoughts are growing and being build up to know more of His truth. While I am still learning and growing, the knowledge the Holy Spirit taught me is not obsolete, on the contrary He is building my current knowledge on the previous lesson He taught me. My thoughts and knowledge are growing toward more of His truth; these are not some baseless thoughts with my ever-changing experiences as their reference. No, these are God’s truths written in His Word and carried out in my life.

 

The hymn “It Is Well with My Soul” best describes my Christian walk.

 

Lastly but Not Least

 

I am still friends with Ayad and Furat. In fact, they both now live in Toronto as I do! It is strange how 20 years ago they preached to me but now I preach to them the Good News of salvation by faith alone!

 

One day in Amman a tailor lady told my mom, “Why isn’t your son enrolled in school here? You don’t know how long you will stay in Jordan. Don’t waste his youth—let him continue his education here!” I often reflect back on those words: how many of us, with good intentions, give similar advice? Imagine if I had gone to school for that one year we spent in Jordan: imagine how busy I would have been, imagine how little time I would have had to read God’s Word, reflect on it, and read those evangelical books. Often times we try to help others but in reality we are interfering with God’s work. Give God the space and time to do His work—trust Him. He has never ever let me down. I was delayed a year in high school, so what? I gained eternal life instead! Do not rush God’s work; not everyone has to graduate from high school at the age of 18, go to university and graduate at the age of 22, find an office job and get married at the age of 26!

 

I will leave you with Proverbs 3:5-6:

 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

 

(Toronto, ON; winter 2015.)

 

"Miracle of the Sun" is a personal revelation and vision that I'm releasing publicly with testimony of a spiritual phenomenon that I, (Loci B. Lenar) witnessed at approximately 6:00 PM eastern standard time on September 8, 1991 in northern New Jersey while traveling through the town of Dover into Wharton - next to my hometown of Mine Hill. (However, God does work in mysterious ways. This experience may have been for my eyes only. I am uncertain if anyone else had witnessed this solar phenomena.) Prior to the divine encounter, my faith as a Christian and practicing Catholic could be best described as lukewarm. Furthermore, this spiritual experience became life changing and transformed me into a faithful believer of Jesus Christ and the Bible. The following is conveyed in John 4:48, Jesus said, “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe.”

 

With those words in mind, the sun appeared in a vivid hue of Orange-Red, while visually increasing in size to the extent that it's difficult to explain with logical terms. While the sun was expanding in magnitude, it slowly descended and encompassed the earth with its sheer vastness and colors. The visual phenomenon lasted only for about three minutes. Interestingly, my eyes were not affected by the solar event. Furthermore, through discernment, the Spirit of the Lord was present and overwhelmed me with an almost indescribable blissful peace of heaven; however, the spiritual after effect lasted for nearly three hours. During the spiritual visitation, the Lord also imparted me with a vision of our world gifted and Blessed in Peace. In addition, the Lord conveyed a message for me to present to the World Apostolate of Fatima. I put the communication into writing and shortly after delivered its contents via certified mail to Father Andrew and other members of the clergy, including Sister Mary Celeste of the Holy House Convent, located at the National Blue Army Shrine of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Washington, New Jersey. Prior to the miracle, I visited the shrine on several occasions and conversed with Sister Mary Celeste, an editor of the Catholic youth magazine, Hearts Aflame. My article Reaching for Eternity with God's Love is published in the Summer 1992 issue of the magazine. Her thoughtful support during my spiritual conversion with an open-minded approach to faith must be commended.

 

Providence is a catalyst for the miraculous events that followed: The contents of the message are unfolding. My message to the Blue Army Shrine included a prophetic vision and request by the Lord for the Catholic Church to return the Icon of Kazan to the Russian Orthodox Church as a result of the break up of the Soviet Union. The Lord's request was made in September of 1991, just before the Soviet Union was officially dissolved at the end of December of the same year. On August 28, 2004 the Icon was finally returned to Russia by the Vatican and handed over to Orthodox Patriarch Alexei II. The Icon is also known as Our Lady of Kazan and considered the “Protectress of Russia.” For additional information about the Icon of Kazan, please visit the following link: www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=31648

 

In 1991, the Lord also imparted a message of a great sign to unfold for humanity in order to validate the existence of God. Jesus communicated an official day of October 13 for the Miracle of the Sun to be witnessed by humanity.

 

In a spiriual locution of 2007 and 2008, the Lord conveyed the following: 'Now is the time to move forward, release the truth and prophesy your story with scripture.' For information regarding my story, please visit the following link: www.lenarpoetry.com .

 

Update: God's miraculous sign came to fulfillment as promised by Jesus on October 13, 2008, at the World Apostolate of Fatima, USA. Visitors were blessed to witness the Miracle of the Sun at the National Blue Army Shrine, located on the grounds of the World Apostolate of Fatima in Washington, New Jersey, during the celebration of the 91st anniversary of the 1917 apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima. Moreover, one may refer to the spiritual events as a Miracle of the Son (Jesus). To read story, please visit the following link: www.christian-miracles.com/njvisitorswitnessmiracle.htm

 

The Bible also conveys the following in Acts, Chapter 2:17-18, "God says, 'It will come to pass in the last days that I will pour out a portion of my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. Indeed, upon my servants and my handmaids, I will pour out a portion of my spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy.' " The Lord is not conveying the end of our world, but rather the end of old ways, and the beginning of change with a new era. Through discernment, the Lord is preparing our Mellennium for a great era of peace and prosperity with an outpouring of the Holy Spirit for salvation and healing. The following is noted in Jeremiah 8, Verse 23: "This rather is what I commanded them: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you, so that you may prosper."

 

God the Father indeed works in mysterious ways through His divine son, Jesus for the conversion and salvation of humanity. Whatever the rationale, the event was awe-inspiring and changed me spiritually as I've noted in the poem.

 

Through the blessings and grace of God, the heavenly event also lead me to physical and spiritual healing. I was healed of a heart arrhythmia known as Atrial Fibrillation. The medical condition is treated with Lanoxin, a cardiac medicine. However, I've not used the medication for over ten years. Additionally, I was healed from years of suffering painful headaches after countless visits to physicians with treatments that went to no avail. With the intercession of the Blessed Mother and prayer, I was healed by the power of God through the Anointing of the Sick. The healing sacrament is administered through the church. In James 5, Verse 14-15 the following is noted: "Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven."

 

I believe it's the appropriate time to release my story, and God's Will is to provide hope to humankind, especially during difficult times. I give praise and glory to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as well as thanks for all the gifts and spiritual wonders. I give thanks to the Blessed Mother (Our Lady of Fatima) for her help and intercession before the throne of God.

 

My witnessing the Miracle of the Sun was conveyed during the 1990s to my spiritual advisor - Father Richard Tartaglia of Saint Mary's Church, Denville, NJ (USA) - for his prudent and faith related assessment. (Please read the poem for further insight by clicking above the image and choosing All Sizes to view in a larger format).

 

I was also inspired by Our Lord to write a Millennium Prayer for world peace as a result of witnessing several spiritual wonders. In Psalm 37, Verse 4-6, the following is noted: "Find your delight in the Lord who will give you your heart's desire. Commit your way to the Lord; trust that God will act and make your integrity shine like the dawn, your vindication like noonday." We must pray for everything to fall into place and remain patient, in order for Jesus to set the stage and timing for signs and miracles to unfold in our world!

 

For updates on signs, wonders and miracles, please visit my blog at the following link: lenarpoetry.blogspot.com/

 

Please visit the following link and pray daily for an era of peace: www.christian-miracles.com/prayerforworldpeace.htm

 

For other spiritual wonders, including a miraculous photo of a Cross of Light, please visit my websites on the following links:

www.christian-miracles.com/

  

I'm available to speak publicly on matters related to my spiritual journey of faith. Please feel free to send requests by Flickr Mail.

 

Copyright Loci B. Lenar

Christian Movie Trailer | "The Gospel Messenger" | Bear the Cross and Preach Gospel of the Kingdom

 

www.holyspiritspeaks.org/videos/gospel-messenger-trailer/

 

Chen Yixin had believed in the Lord for more than twenty years and had been engaged in work and preaching with great enthusiasm. She was once arrested by the Chinese Communist Party and imprisoned for four years, and she stood firm witness for the Lord. However, when faced with the fact that her church grew more and more empty, she sank into pain and confusion. Later, she was fortunate enough to hear Almighty God's gospel of the last days, and was finally able to be reunited with the Lord. Full of happiness, she passed on the good tidings of the Lord's return to her brothers and sisters in religion, but was unexpectedly slandered, insulted, beaten, abused, and driven away…. From the words of Almighty God, Chen Yixin saw God's eager desire to save mankind and understood that spreading the gospel of the kingdom was God's entrustment and the mission and unshirkable obligation of everyone as a creature…. Over several years' time, Chen Yixin has traveled to many provinces and cities to preach the gospel and bear witness to God, and time after time she has been rejected by the religious world and hunted and persecuted by the satanic regime of the CCP, suffering a great deal. There were times when she was weak, but these bitter experiences have made her clearly see the truth that the religious world is controlled by antichrists and false shepherds and its essence of believing in God yet resisting God. She has also recognized God's love and salvation for mankind. Under the guidance of Almighty God's words and encouragement of His love, Chen Yixin, burdened with God's commission, forges ahead with no fear of the unknown …

 

Recommended:

 

Christian Movie | God Is the Way, the Truth, and the Life | "The Mystery of Godliness: The Sequel" youtu.be/4XFNR5Ovh-w

 

Love God Without Regrets | Praise Song | "Follow God Along the Rough Path" (Christian Music Video) youtu.be/vb_fkiD3nLQ

 

Eastern Lightning, The Church of Almighty God was created because of the appearance and work of Almighty God, the second coming of the Lord Jesus, Christ of the last days. It is made up of all those who accept Almighty God's work in the last days and are conquered and saved by His words. It was entirely founded by Almighty God personally and is led by Him as the Shepherd. It was definitely not created by a person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. God's sheep hear God's voice. As long as you read the words of Almighty God, you will see God has appeared.

 

Special statement: This video production was produced as a not-for-profit piece by The Church of Almighty God. The actors that appear in this production are performing on a not-for-profit basis, and have not been paid in any way. This video may not be distributed for profit to any third party, and we hope that everyone will share it and distribute it openly. When you distribute it, please note the source. Without the consent of The Church of Almighty God, no organization, social group, or individual may tamper with or misrepresent the contents of this video

Explore

 

I would like to thank Randy Simmons ( deshan photo gallery )for writing me a testimony.Thank you my friend for the kind words.

 

You will able to view his wonderful stream here:

www.flickr.com/photos/deshanphotogallery/

 

And thank you very much to all for always being there.Have a wonderful week to all.

**************************************************

Gladiolus: This amazing flower got its meaning from the Latin word that means sword, gladiolus represented Roman gladiators. Gladiolus symbolizes strength of character.

 

Kingdom: Plantae

Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Liliopsida

Order: Asparagales

Family: Iridaceae

Subfamily: Ixioideae

Tribe: Ixieae

Genus: Gladiolus

 

Gladiolus (from Latin, the diminutive of gladius, a sword) is a genus of flowering plants in the iris family (Iridaceae). Sometimes called the sword lily, the most widely-used English common name for these plants is simply gladiolus (plural gladioli, gladioluses or sometimes gladiolas).

 

These attractive, perennial herbs are semihardy in temperate climates. They grow from rounded, symmetrical corms, that are enveloped in several layers of brownish, fibrous tunics.

 

Their stems are generally unbranched, producing 1 to 9 narrow, sword-shaped, longitudinal grooved leaves, enclosed in a sheath. The lowest leaf is shortened to a cataphyll. The leaf blades can be plane or cruciform in cross section.

The Testimony House, established by the association of Bnei Akiva veterans at the early 1990s, aims to amplify and deepen educational activity related to Holocaust remembrance.

Through its museum, archive, educational center and diverse activities, The Testimony House offers a unique, enlightening and even uplifting way to learn about the Holocaust and the post-Holocaust revival.

The museum is located in a pastoral village Nir Galim, near Ashdod, Israel.

The village Nir Galim was founded by Holocaust survivors.

The Testimony House collects, documents and preserves important material about the Holocaust.

"Actually, Daniel and I packed our 7 Spirits; e.g., 1st Spirit – gold Mercy seat, 2nd Spirit – gold Ark of the Testimony, 3rd Spirit – gold Table for the Shewbread, 4th Spirit – gold Candlestick, 5th Spirit – gold Ephod-Girdle, 6th Spirit – gold Breastplate, and our 7th Spirit – gold Altar of Incense (4 horns), together with Moses' skeleton and Torah scroll (2 horns), inside our brass Altar of Burnt Offering (4 horns), and cemented with Pozzolanic concrete that same 10 horns Mishkan inside eastern Scroll Trench, capping them with Heelstone. Are they still there; below Ezekiel's lion head, calf head, man face, and flying eagle; below Daniel's lion head, eagle's wings, bear head, and leopard head? 'Yes, that 10 horns Mishkan still is, even Ezekiel's iron wheels', confirmed Kate Davies, general manager of Stonehenge. Go figure? Shofar." G-D

 

#Mishkan4FeetBelowHeelstone

#HeelstoneArk

Centers falling down

Wounded by the same hands

That used to feed us land

Breathing out

The fire

Testimonies

Real life has been real busy, and here's a tad of what I've been doing.

 

For our last mission training meeting we had to artistically present our testimonies (in non-Christianese, our stories). So this is what I made. There's a boatload of symbolism throughout the piece that I will share with you all in a bit.

 

The Setting Sun: Represents my longing to go home to God and the anticipation for the day I die. Kinda morbid, but it’s true.

Golgotha: The 3 Crosses represent not only Jesus and two criminals, but the three men whose deaths altered my life: My grandpa, my best friend's dad who was also the children's pastor, and Nnenn. All three are big long stories, but for brevity’s sake I won’t dive into them.

The Rolling Hills: Regardless of where you stand, at the highest point or in the valley you can still see the Sun, so no matter where you go or what you do you can see His light and feel His warmth.

The Trees: (upon reflection, I definitely should have drawn more stumps and withered trees), they represent growth and spiritual maturity. Some are big and bear much fruit, others not so much. Some have withered, some have been cut down, so only a few remain. They represent my fellow young men of God (and after completion, I realized that there are 6 trees, and there are 6 of us left... funny how that worked out)

The Man At The Tombstone: That’s me, at the grave of who I was before God gave me new life. The old me has been laid to rest, and as a result my tree has grown. The grave marker says “RIP 1994-“ because I ain’t dead in the flesh just yet.

The Coat Of Many Colors: Relating back to the Setting Sun, I’ve always had a connection to the story of Joseph and his not being wanted by his brothers and finding himself as an alien in Egypt. The only reason he was anything was because he trusted in God, and God did some crazy stuff through him as a result. And I’m repping the tartan cause I’m Scottish.

 

There's more to it, and feel free to ask me questions about it if you'd like, just figured you all didn't want to read an immensely humongous essay on my entire life story (tl;dr, and all).

I have rejoiced in the

way of Your testimonies,

As much as in all riches...

Your testimonies are

also my delight and

my counselors.

 

Psalm 119:14, 24

The Testimony House, established by the association of Bnei Akiva veterans at the early 1990s, aims to amplify and deepen educational activity related to Holocaust remembrance.

Through its museum, archive, educational center and diverse activities, The Testimony House offers a unique, enlightening and even uplifting way to learn about the Holocaust and the post-Holocaust revival.

The museum is located in a pastoral village Nir Galim, near Ashdod, Israel.

The village Nir Galim was founded by Holocaust survivors.

The Testimony House collects, documents and preserves important material about the Holocaust.

Italien / Lombardei - Salò

 

Three-Church-tour at Salò

 

Lake Garda has a lot to offer in cultural terms. Near Salò in south Lake Garda, you can combine visits to various places of pilgrimage on a wonderful hike while enjoying the beautiful surroundings.

 

The three-church tour runs over a nine-kilometre contemplative hiking trail. It leads through the typical landscape of southern Lake Garda to the three churches of pilgrimage of Sanctuary Madonna del Rio, Santuario della Madonna di Buon Consiglio and Santuario San Bartolomeo.

 

The hike starts just before the town of Renzano. Here, you can park the car and reach your first destination: the village of Renzano. In the village of Renzano, path number 16 begins, which leads to the first place of pilgrimage Madonna del Rio. The wild, yellow-painted church dates from the 18th century. At that time, the Virgin Mary appeared in a nearby grotto and left her footprints in white stone. These impressions are still testimony to the miraculous event. To the left of the church, a forest path takes you to a lovely waterfall.

 

The second stage leads through the woods, past the villages of Milordino and Milord, to Bagnolo with the picturesque, cypress-surrounded Sanctuary of the Madonna di Buon Consiglio at 516 metres.

 

You reach the third and last destination via path 17b. First, it goes to the Passo della Stacca at 458 metres. Then you follow the number 17 towards Bassa Via del Garda to Gardesina and the stone Santuario San Bartolomeo at 480 metres.

 

Just below the church, path number 17 leads through olive groves to the Gardesana Occidentale, where it goes back to the starting point. Overall, this, not to be underestimated, circular walk with reflection factor, can be hiked in 4.5 hours.

 

(garda-see.com)

 

Salò (Italian: [saˈlɔ]; Latin: Salodium) is a town and comune in the Province of Brescia in the region of Lombardy (northern Italy) on the banks of Lake Garda, on which it has the longest promenade. The city was the seat of government of the Italian Social Republic from 1943 to 1945, with the ISR often being referred to as the "Salò Republic" (Repubblica di Salò in Italian).

 

History

 

Roman period

 

Although legend has it that Salò has Etruscan origins, recorded history starts with the founding by ancient Romans of the colony of Pagus Salodium. There are numerous ruins of the Roman settlement, as shown by the Lugone necropolis (in via Sant’Jago) and the findings (vase-flasks and funeral steles) in the Civic Archaeological Museum located at the Loggia della Magnifica Patria.

 

Middle Ages

 

During the high Middle Ages, the city shared the same history as that of Lombardy.

 

The origins of the municipality of Salò are barely known: its autonomy from Brescia can be dated towards the end of the 13th century or the beginning of the next one, and the most ancient statues conserved by the city authorities are dated 1397.

 

Prior to 1334, the town was part of a sort of federation of town councils of the territory along the western lakeshore of Lake Garda (from Limone down to Desenzano) and the Valsabbia areas, called Riperia Lacus Gardae Brixiensis with the chef-lieu of Maderno.

 

The federation did not want to form an alliance with Brescia nor with Verona deciding instead to request the help of Venice. Due to the distance of Venice, this strategy did not guarantee the independence of the area and, after a short protectorate under the rule of Venice (from 1336 to 1349), Salò became a stronghold of the Milanese Visconti family. In 1377 Beatrice della Scala, the wife of Bernabò Visconti, wanted Salò to be the capital of the area, reducing the influence of Maderno: the city was provided with solid walls and the castle was built.

 

The Magnifica Patria

 

On 13 May 1426, after a long period of war, the towns of western bank of the lake spontaneously joined the Venetian Republic, where they remained for the following three centuries: in the main square a column with the Lion of St Mark, symbol of Venice, can be found still today.

 

Over the years, Venice gave large autonomy to this province of its Stato da Tera, that remained a de facto independent area and was given both the titles of Magnifica Patria (Magnificent Homeland) and Figlia primogenita della Serenissima (firstborn daughter of the Serenissima).

 

The general council of the Patria and its other institutions remained all centred in Salò (which gained importance and influence), although a governor was sent by the capital, who was given the titles of Provveditore (Superintendent) and Capitano della Riviera (Captain of the Riviera) and the power to act as penal judge for the whole Riviera (whilst civil justice was entrusted to a Brescian podestà who also resided in Salò). Besides farming and trade, the linen industry developed in this period.

 

Napoleonic era and Risorgimento

 

In 796 Napoleons troops fought with Austrian troops in Northern Italy during the First Italian campaign. The end of the Venetian republic (Treaty of Campo Formio) ended Salò's position as the capital of the western riviera: on 1 January 1797, the provisional Brescian government instituted the Canton of Benaco with the capital of Benaco, "aforesaid Salò": the town joined the Cisalpine Republic and then the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy (1805–1814).

 

After the Napoleonic Era, Salò became part of the Austrian Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia from 1815 to 1859.

 

In 1848 Salò joined the Milan revolution against the Habsburg rule and during the Second Italian War of Independence, there were many volunteers that fought with Garibaldi serving in the Piedmontese Army. On 18 June 1859, Garibaldi entered Salò and was welcomed by a happy crowd. Salò received the honorary title of Città (City) with a royal decree on 15 December 1860.

 

In 1866 the town was the headquarters of the Italian navy during the war with Austria. After the battle of Custoza the Austrians temporarily retook control of the town, but despite their victory and a naval defeat of the Italians at Lissa, the Austrians surrendered to the Prussians a month later and were forced to cede Venetia after the Treaty of Vienna.

 

Italian Social Republic

 

From 1943 to 1945 Salò was the de facto capital (seat of government) of Benito Mussolini's Nazi-backed puppet state, the Italian Social Republic, also known as the Republic of Salò: Villa Castagna was the seat of the police headquarters, Villa Amedei was the head office of the Ministry of Popular Culture, Villa Simonini (nowadays Hotel Laurin) was the seat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Stefani Agency, which distributed official press releases, was located in Via Brunati.

 

Seismicity

 

The area around the lake is a seismic zone. In 1877 a meteorological observatory was established under the supervision Prof. Pio Bettoni, to whom it was later dedicated. In 1889, a geophysical observatory (seismic station) was added, which became an important scientific research centre after the 1901 earthquake (5.5 Mw, intensity VII–VIII, no fatalities, buildings damaged). Another earthquake occurred in 2004 (5.1 Mw, intensity VII–VIII, nine injuries, many buildings damaged).

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Drei-Kirchen-Rundgang bei Salò

 

Der Gardasee hat in kultureller Hinsicht vieles zu bieten. Am südlichen Gardasee bei Salò können Sie die Besichtigung verschiedener Wallfahrtsorte bei einer herrlichen Wanderung kombinieren und gleichzeitig die wunderschöne Gegend genießen.

 

Der Drei-Kirchen-Rundgang in Salò verläuft über einen neun Kilometer langen beschaulichen Wanderweg. Dieser führt durch die typische Landschaft am südlichen Gardasee zu den drei Wallfahrtskirchen Santuario Madonna del Rio, Santuario della Madonna di Buon Consiglio und Santuario San Bartolomeo.

 

Die Wanderung beginnt kurz vor dem Ort Renzano. Hier kann das Auto geparkt und gleich das erste Ziel angesteuert werden: das Dorf Renzano. Dort beginnt der Weg Nr. 16, der bis zum ersten Wallfahrtsort Madonna del Rio führt. Die wild umwachsene, gelb getünchte Kirche stammt aus dem 18. Jahrhundert. Damals soll in einer nahegelegenen Grotte die Gottesmutter Maria erschienen sein und ihre Fußabdrücke in weißem Stein hinterlassen haben. Diese Abdrücke sollen noch heute Zeugnis über das wundersame Ereignis ablegen. Links von der Kirche bringt ein Waldweg zum Wasserfall des Ortes.

 

Die zweite Etappe führt durch den Wald, vorbei an den Ortschaften Milordino und Milord, nach Bagnolo mit dem malerischen, von Zypressen umgebenen Santuario della Madonna di Buon Consiglio auf 516 Metern.

 

Das dritte und letzte Ziel kann über den Weg 17b erreicht werden. Zunächst geht es zum Passo della Stacca auf 458 Metern. Danach geht es der Nr. 17 folgend weiter Richtung Bassa Via del Garda bis nach Gardesina und dem steinernen Santuario San Bartolomeo auf 480 Metern.

 

Direkt unter der Kirche führt der Weg Nr. 17 durch Olivenhaine bis auf die Gardesana Occidentale von der es wieder zurück zum Ausgangspunkt geht. Insgesamt kann diese, nicht zu unterschätzende, Rundwanderung mit Besinnungsfaktor in 4,5 Stunden erwandert werden.

 

(garda-see.com)

 

Salò [saˈlɔ] ist eine italienische Gemeinde und Kleinstadt (comune) mit 10.619 Einwohnern (Stand 31. Dezember 2019) in der Provinz Brescia, Region Lombardei.

 

Geographie

 

Die Gemeinde am Westufer des Gardasees liegt etwa 24 km nordöstlich von Brescia an der gleichnamigen Bucht. Der Ort wird im Norden vom Monte San Bartolomeo (569 m) und im Westen von Monte Covolo (552 m) eingegrenzt. Zwischen beiden Erhebungen, die zu den letzten des hier auslaufenden südlichen Alpenrandes gehören, führt nordwestlich von Salò das Val Sabbia mit dem Fluss Chiese. Südlich von Salò liegt die von der Endmoräne des Etschgletschers hinterlassene Moränenlandschaft der Valtenesi.

 

Nachbargemeinden sind Gardone Riviera, Gavardo, Puegnago sul Garda, Roè Volciano, San Felice del Benaco, Vobarno sowie Torri del Benaco in der Provinz Verona. Salò ist nicht nur als Badeort bekannt, sondern auch eine viel besuchte Einkaufsstadt.

 

Geschichte

 

In der Römerzeit als Pagus Salodium gegründet, residierten im Mittelalter in Salò die Visconti. 1337 wurde Salò zur Hauptstadt der Magnifica Patria, einem Zusammenschluss der westlichen Gemeinden des Gardasees und einem Teil des Sabbiatals. Ab 1440 kontrollierte die Republik Venedig die Stadt.

 

1887 erhielt Salò Bahnanschluss an der Straßenbahnstrecke Brescia–Salò–Gargnano, die bis 1921 etappenweise bis nach Gargnano verlängert wurde. 1954 wurde der Betrieb auf dem zuletzt verbliebenen Streckenteil Brescia–Sàlo eingestellt.

 

Von 1943 bis 1945 war Salò de facto die Hauptstadt von Benito Mussolinis faschistischer Sozialrepublik (RSI) unter der militärischen Protektion des Großdeutschen Reiches. Aufgrund dessen benannte Pier Paolo Pasolini seinen Film Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma (Salò oder die 120 Tage von Sodom) nach der Stadt.

 

Ein bekannter Jugendstilbau ist die Villa Laurin, in der das Außenministerium untergebracht war und die heute ein Hotel ist.

 

(Wikipedia)

en.easternlightning.org/testimonies/his-heart-is-no-longe...

 

Eastern Lightning | The Hostility in His Heart Is No Longer Growing

  

Liu Yi had a lot of friends in school because a sense of brotherhood and getting along well with his classmates were really important to him. In his life, when he saw nice people being bullied, he would go to bat for them. In general, he could get along with just about anyone, and he would rather take a bit of a loss than take advantage of someone else. Liu Yi felt that he was someone who possessed good humanity. But only when reality came upon him, when something really encroached upon his own interests, he discovered the vile satanic disposition buried deep within his heart …

 

On one day in May, as Liu Yi was in the office completely engrossed in editing an article, Chen Hao stepped in front of him and said: “Liu Yi, you’ve been a part of the team for a good bit of time, but there hasn’t been any improvement in your article editing. We’ve talked about these things quite a few times but they’re still an issue. Did you really study editing at university? Your resume couldn’t be falsified, could it?” Hearing this, Liu Yi’s face was burning with embarrassment. He felt like it was a huge blow to his dignity; a bias against Chen Hao developed within him. While Liu Yi was still stewing over this, he happened to pass by Chen Hao’s room, and accidentally overheard him saying to the leader: “Liu Yi’s capabilities aren’t up to par. He’s not suited to being trained to take a position of responsibility.” Liu Yi was absolutely shocked, feeling like he had just been slapped in the face. He suddenly felt like he had been dragged through the mud and his anger welled up and overflowed: “You’re so out of line! In any case, I’m a university graduate and I’ve been a leader and a co-worker in the local church. Since I was transferred to this church to fulfill my duty I can certainly be trained. Based on what you’re saying, I’m completely worthless, is that right? Won’t the other brothers and sisters look down on me? Can’t the church promote and train me?” Liu Yi went back to his own room in a huff and just stared blankly at his computer screen. He wasn’t remotely in the mood to work on the articles on his plate; Chen Hao’s words kept echoing in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more animosity he felt toward Cheng Hao. He got up, walked out to the balcony, and gazed at the gloomy sky. He felt just like the sky looked—depressed and dull.

…

Following this, when Liu Yi encountered situations where brothers’ and sisters’ words touched upon his own face and status, he was better able to let go of it and not lash out or take revenge on them out of hot-bloodedness. Instead, he would first accept it and reflect on his own issues. If the other person was right, he would accept it without any conditions. Sometimes the other person was also revealing a corrupt disposition, so he learned to put himself in their shoes, consider what was behind their words, and have empathy for their actual stature and difficulties. He didn’t hold grudges against others, but instead fellowshiped on God’s words through love, helping them understand their own corruption. After this kind of practice, his relationships with the brothers and sisters got better and better; they were sincere in their interactions and could cooperate harmoniously. The hostility and biases no longer ruled his heart. Liu Yi truly experienced that it was the revelations and the judgment of God’s words that allowed him to gain a bit of understanding of his malicious nature and have a bit of reverence for God. It also allowed him to treat his brothers and sisters with some genuine love. It was clear to him that being able to reap this harvest and having a bit of change was entirely achieved through the judgment and chastisement of God’s words. He offered up thanks and praise to God from the depths of his heart!

  

Recommende More:

How to Be Free From Sin - Here Is the Most Effective Way - Testimonies and Movies

Gospel Reading and Reflection - Rich Bible Study Resources- Resolving Your Confusion

 

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

 

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Homeless person. Market Street. San Francisco. I came upon this scene on Wednesday, not long after I had been assaulted by a young black man , near Powell Street. I stood and observed this scene for several minutes trying to decide if I should make a photo or just move on. I almost never photograph similar moments. But after thinking about it, and realizing that I have paid my dues to San Francisco street photography and especially the homeless, Someone has to take the responsibility to record and highlight this horrendous problem, with the expectation that more can and will be done to mitigate it. Sorry if it offends anyone. It is real life on the Streets of San Francisco.

Topic

The Hofburg

1278-1918

The Office of the President and the long shadow of the double eagle

Even after the end of the monarchy remained Austrian imperial past present: At the Vienna Hofburg, the Republic has an impressive testimony of Habsburg power, a heritage which one is facing with quite mixed feelings. Where once the residence of the supreme majesty was, today officiates the Austrian Federal President.

From a letter of State Chancellor Karl Renner to State Secretary Julius Raab of 2 November 1945 concerning the election of the headquarters of the future Austrian Head of State:

Personally, therefore seem to be the most suitable premises at the Hofburg, which through the placement of the head of state undoubtedly would experience a pertinent utilization.

Quoted by: Langer, Marcus: The Office of the President in the Leopoldine Wing of the Vienna Hofburg, In: Kurdiovsky, Richard (ed.): The Federal President in the Hofburg, Vienna 2008, 120-133 here 123.

The Hofburg was certainly the most important residence of the Habsburgs in their role as Austrian prince regnants, Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire and most recently as Emperors of Austria. A Continuity as the seat of the head of state of the Republic of Austria therefore appears legitimate.

But the young Republic of Austria was initially dissent: Given the immense emblems and symbols of the just subdued Habsburg power one was shying away from pursuing the position of the Imperial Palace as the ideational center of the in it's self-conception yet few consolidated state. Therefore, the Austrian Federal Presidents of the First Republic chose their headquarters in a wing of the Federal Chancellery on Ballhausplatz .

The after the Second World War resurrected Austria had a slightly more relaxed attitude to the monarchical history of the country: the imperial legacy was used as a positive antidote to the Nazi involvement of the immediate past.

As the old Office of the President had become unusable by a bomb in the Chancellery, the provisional State Chancellor Karl Renner looked for a suitable place for the residence of the to be determined first President and the Office of the President. Several historic buildings were available, finally was chosen the former Ceremonial Apartment in the Leopoldine Wing of the Hofburg as the for the head of state adequate office space.

There were still some difficulties to overcome: First you had to get the right of disposition, because parts of it were used by the Red Army. Further one had to eliminate changes from the Nazi era, where they had the rooms adapted for a planned "Palace Museum" - it was important to restore "the state as before 1938". Finally, Renner moved as elected President in late 1946 into the new Office of the President.

This certainly historically most significant spatial sequence of the Imperial Palace is usually not accessible to the public. Its ceremonial centerpiece is then as now the once as "Rich Room" described former bedroom of Maria Theresa, which now is used by the Republican "Ersatzkaiser (surrogate emperor)" for entertainments and swearing-ins.

 

Martin Mutschlechner

 

www.habsburger.net/de/kapitel/die-praesidentschaftskanzle...

The Testimony House, established by the association of Bnei Akiva veterans at the early 1990s, aims to amplify and deepen educational activity related to Holocaust remembrance.

Through its museum, archive, educational center and diverse activities, The Testimony House offers a unique, enlightening and even uplifting way to learn about the Holocaust and the post-Holocaust revival.

The museum is located in a pastoral village Nir Galim, near Ashdod, Israel.

The village Nir Galim was founded by Holocaust survivors.

The Testimony House collects, documents and preserves important material about the Holocaust.

Shaking it softly

 

Attack sticking around

Revelation 6:9-11 (ANIV)

9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" 11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow-servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.

  

DRAWING NOTES:

 

TIME OF DAY:

Not specified in the account.

 

LIGHTING NOTES:

I imagine heaven to be filled with light, from God Himself.

 

CHARACTERS PRESENT:

Angels. Souls ascending through the “Sea of glass” (see note below).

 

RESEARCH/ADDITIONAL NOTES:

01) (This page) Revelation 06 - The Scroll seals - Scene 05 - Fifth seal: Souls under altar (with scroll).

 

02) (Next page) Revelation 06 - The Scroll seals - Scene 05 - Fifth seal: Souls under altar (without scroll).

 

The only difference between the two versions is the inclusion or absence of the 7 seal scroll in the bottom left corner of the scene. I wondered if it might detract from the overall impact of the scene for some viewers, hence its absence in the 2nd version.

 

This was quite a challenging scene to draw, as I wondered how to draw souls underneath the altar in heaven. I decided to have the souls ascending through the “Sea of glass” which is before the throne in heaven. In the background you can see the large gold altar, with four horns at the four corners. Smoke is rising from the altar.

 

The souls beneath the altar which are further away (at the bottom of the scene) are quite indistinct and vague in shape, whereas those that have arrived at the base of the altar are much more defined and have clearer details.

 

Angels are bringing white robes (verse 11) and helping the souls into them.

 

The sea of glass.

Revelation 4:6a (ANIV)

6 Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.

 

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers has this to say about Revelation 6:9-11...

(9-11) The fifth seal differs from the four earlier seals. It is not introduced by the voice of the living beings, and the cry “Come.” The voice which is now heard is not the cry of the groaning world, but of the oppressed and troubled Church. In the fourth seal the climax of world-sorrow seemed to be reached in the accumulation of war, famine, pestilence, and noisome beasts. It declared to the evangelist that there were evils which would continue and even increase in the world. “Ye shall hear of wars; nation shall rise against nation.” Social troubles, war, poverty, and privation would still exist; religious troubles, evil men and seducers would wax worse and worse. Worldly policy, selfishness, and the untamed passions of mankind would still trouble humanity. Then if such troubles and disorders remain, what has the Church been doing? Where is the promise of that early vision of victory? The answer is given in the fifth seal. The Church has been following her Lord. As the vision of Bethlehem and the angel-song of “peace on earth” passed, and made way for the agony of Gethsemane, the cross of Calvary, and the cry “My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” so the glowing dream of a quick conquest over all evil passes away, and the picture of an agonising, persecuted Church takes its place, and the voice of its anguish is heard, “How long, O Lord!” The Church has her Bethlehem, her Nazareth, her Gethsemane, her Calvary, her Easter morn; for Christ said, “Where I am there shall also My servant be” (John 12:26). The seals, then, are not merely visions of war, famine, &c., they are the tokens that the victory of Christ’s Church must, like her Lord’s, be a victory through apparent failure and certain death. The four seals proclaim her apparent failure; she has not brought peace and social and political harmony to the world. The fifth seal shows her suffering, the witness of the servants of Christ has been rejected; in the world they have tribulation (John 16:33).

 

(9) “ I saw under the altar . . .—Read, when He opened, and, instead of “were slain,” &c., had been slain because of the Word of God, and (because of) the testimony which they held. The seal indicates that the mission of the Christian Church can only be carried out in suffering. An altar is seen, and at its foot tokens of the martyrs who had laid down their lives upon it. The word “souls” is to be taken as the equivalent of “lives”; the vision tells that their lives had been sacrificed. The blood of the victims was in the temple service poured out at the foot of the altar. St. Paul makes use of the same imagery—“I am now ready to be poured out” (“offered” in English version). In union with Christ Christians are called upon to suffer with Him, even to carry on to its great end the work of Christ in the world, and so fill up that which is lacking of the sufferings of Christ (Colossians 1:24). The word “souls” has been made a resting-place for an argument respecting the intermediate state. There is no ground for this: it is quite beside the object of the seal, which simply exhibits the sufferings of Christ’s people as the necessary accompaniment of the progress of the gospel. These sufferings are because of the Word of God and the testimony which they held. It was because of the Word of God and the testimony that the sacred seer himself suffered (Revelation 1:9). The words here remind us that the same issue which St. John fought, the suffering ones of after ages would be fighting. Their witness and his was the God-man; to this testimony they clung. They were not ashamed of Christ, or of His words, and they suffered for their courage and fidelity.”

 

Why not visit my website & see all the cartoons there? www.biblecartoons.co.uk

омочка • om-2 / zuiko-50/1.4 / agfa scala 200 / d-76 11 min

 

2011-09-12-18-021-800

Testimonio.

 

Olympus Digital PEN E-P1

Panasonic Lumix G 20mm f/1.7 ASPH

"Pinhole" Art Fillter mode

f/1.7

ISO 200

20mm

1/60

Metering: Matrix

White Balance: Auto

Flash: ON (FL-36R)

No Photoshop

No HDR

On vacations, I am always fascinated by places where the water meets the land. I am from a desert and while the Great Salt Lake is a pretty big inland body of water, it has a sort of stillness that makes it feel lifeless compared to the rivers, oceans and water bodies I see elsewhere on my travels. Especially anywhere near the ocean where the dark gray overcast clouds seem to roll in and cover the sky in a drab blanket, something I am very familiar with from the Pacific Northwest and to no surprise I experienced in the northern corner of Wales. I think of a scene penned by Frank Herbert in Dune: Messiah where a Fremen warrior describes the alien feeling of visiting a watery planet during Muad'dib's interstellar jihad, and how it changed his perspective of his desert home world when he returned.

 

On The Cob overlooking Porthmadog in Wales though I can borrow a literary reference from another author I adore (and the title of a book I have yet to read). Porthmadog was a town where nautical influences from ships making their way up the Afon Glaslyn converged with the narrow gauge railways on land. Although steam ships were not uncommon by the time Porthmadog was making a name for itself as a slate exporter, many of the ships that came in here were powered by sail; old fashioned yet reliable clippers and schooners that could travel the world without worrying about expensive fuel costs. "Ballast Island" just outside the harbor, was formed by the ballast dropped by ships before taking on their slate loads; representative of the global ports of call the slate ships reached.

 

The water is an active element against the railway too... the trident signal in my photograph would collapse a few months later due to rot in its timbers caused by exposure to the elements.

Margarita

Testimony

The Basilica of Esztergom holds many secrets and is a fascinating testimony of Hungarian history. The construction of the imposing building took 54 years and was shaped by three famous architects.

 

Originally, on the site of the basilica in the 18th century stood a theater known for its animal fights. But in 1838 a huge flood devastated the city, which became known as the Great Flood of Budapest. The square where the basilica stands today rose from the plain of Budapest and provided refuge for hundreds of people during the disaster. The survivors saw their fate as a miracle of God and decided to build a church at the place of their survival. However, it took several years before construction actually began.

 

The construction of the basilica finally began in 1851 under the supervision of József Hild. Later, the renowned architect Miklós Ybl took over and replaced the earlier classical style with neo-Renaissance concepts. Ybl was one of the most famous Hungarian architects of his time and also designed the State Opera House and the building of the Burggarten Bazaar. Work on the basilica was finally completed in 1905 by József Kauser.

 

During World War II, the basilica served as a refuge for many refugees and also protected the valuable collection of the Hungarian National Archives from bombing in the basement of the massive building. However, the church, like much of the city, was badly damaged and required extensive renovation. In 1983, the city government finally decided to completely renovate the basilica, and the work continued until August 2003.

 

The Esztergom Basilica is not only an impressive architectural masterpiece, but also the largest and highest-ranking church in the country. As the cathedral of the Primate of the country, it has a special significance for Hungary. Already in the first decade of our statehood, Stephen I, the Holy King, endowed the first church at this place. The Castle Hill of Esztergom has always played an important role in Hungarian history since the founding of the state and maintained its significance despite the turbulence and challenges of the times. With its picturesque location above the Danube bend and the natural beauty marked by the surrounding mountains, the place was both easily accessible and isolated, easily defensible and at the same time attractive and relaxing.

 

So it is not surprising that the castle hill of Esztergom became first the seat of the Hungarian kings and later the most important center of the Hungarian Catholic Church. The Basilica of Esztergom stands as an impressive symbol of Hungary's faith, history and beauty, attracting visitors from all over the world.

 

www.strassederkaiserundkoenige.com/en/location/esztergome...

Comey Testimony is still in the works

At the Israel Museum, TLV

Governor and Lt. Governor Offer Testimony at Minimum Wage Hearing. by Jay Baker at Annapolis,MD.

en.easternlightning.org/testimonies/rely-on-God-and-stand...

 

My Husband Tries to Stop Me From Believing in God, but I Rely on God and Stand Testimony (Part 2)

 

Sister Feng then said, “We are able to recognize that the statement, ‘When someone starts believing in Almighty God, they then go out to preach the gospel, and they abandon their family,’ is a lie spread by the CCP about The Church of Almighty God, and it is God who leads us and guides us to this understanding! Thanks be to God! At the same time, it is very important that we seek the truth so that we can see through these lies and understand thoroughly the motives and purposes behind the CCP fabricating these lies about The Church of Almighty God. For if we don’t understand the truth and cannot discern lies, we will be easily deceived, and may even lose our chance to attain God’s true salvation! So, if we want to understand this issue thoroughly, we must first understand that to spread the gospel and to bear testimony for God in our faith is a heavenly law and an earthly principle, and by doing these things we are accomplishing God’s commissions, and they are the most righteous things mankind can do.

 

“As we all know, in the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus enjoined His disciples, saying: ‘Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature’ (Mark 16:15). ‘So likewise, whoever he be of you that forsakes not all that he has, he cannot be My disciple’ (Luke 14:33). Christ of the last days, Almighty God also said, ‘As members of the human race and devout Christians, it is the responsibility and obligation of us all to offer up our mind and body for the fulfillment of God’s commission, for our entire being came from God, and it exists thanks to the sovereignty of God. If our minds and bodies are not for God’s commission and not for the righteous cause of mankind, then our souls will be unworthy of those who were martyred for God’s commission, much more unworthy of God, who has provided us with everything’ (‘God Presides Over the Fate of All Mankind’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh). From God’s words, we can see that God created the heavens and earth and all things, and that He created mankind. Even more so, He provides us with everything we need to live, and to believe in God and worship God is a heavenly law and an earthly principle. By spreading and testifying to God’s gospel, we lead more people before God to accept God’s salvation. This is our God-given commission, our bounden duty, the greatest act of goodness and righteousness, and it is most in line with God’s will. Take the disciples and apostles of the Lord Jesus, for example. In order to carry out God’s will, they spread the Lord Jesus’ gospel, they were willing to give up their families, marriages and physical pleasures, endure the slander and mockery of worldly people, and some even became martyrs for this end. But nobody vilified them or condemned them. On the contrary, they were praised and taken as examples to be emulated, and people said that what they did was the most righteous undertaking mankind could perform. Now, the Lord Jesus whom we have longed for for so long has finally returned as the incarnated Almighty God. In order to save us once and for all from the bonds of sin, Almighty God expresses His words and performs the work of judgment beginning in God’s house. He does all this to change and purify our corrupt dispositions, and ultimately to lead mankind into His kingdom. From God’s words, brothers and sisters can understand God’s urgent intention to save man, and we become willing to abandon physical pleasures, to face the danger of being caught and persecuted by the CCP, and to do our utmost to spread and testify to God’s kingdom gospel, so that even more people can accept God’s salvation of the last days and finally attain God’s true salvation and be left over. This is a righteous undertaking, and it is God’s will that is being carried out! The CCP, however, knows the difference between good and evil and yet they still do evil, and they stubbornly insist that Christians who spread the gospel and bear witness to God leave their homes and abandon their families. This is clearly a false account and a distortion of the facts, and it is the CCP spreading deceptive heresies and fallacies!”

 

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

 

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