A Look Ahead
Dear friends, the days ahead look bleak indeed in the face of the global terrorist threat and numerous prophecies circulating from reputable sources on-line. The prophecies that have been crossing my desk speak of chains of earthquakes, cities being devastated, volcanoes erupting and general chaos. It isn't a pretty picture by any means, and it seems to be for the very near future. (I was shocked to have been given such an end-times dream myself just this past week. More about that later in this newsletter.)
If left to our own (mortal) devices, many of us are liable to face depression, fear and overwhelming feelings of stress on every front imaginable. Sad news, when what we'd REALLY like to be doing is preparing for another peaceful Christmas of exchanging presents and watching the little ones play beneath a gaily-decorated tree with new presents we've chosen with care.
My forecast for the future? Widespread despair by Christmas!
BUT...
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY!
Christ conquered sin, terror and evil two millenia ago - and those who have put their faith in Him MAY REST ON HIS PROMISES even today, no matter how black circumstances may look from 'our' perspective. The only eyes that count are His, because He has known the end since the beginning! It is only as we succumb to the lies of the devil (and I know how skilfully he can paint a terribly black picture using circumstances in our own lives) that we sink into the abyss of despair. Don't believe him! Instead, put your full faith, hope and trust - and every THOUGHT - onto Jesus, and leave them there. As the Lord impressed upon my heart some months ago,
Never, never, NEVER
look at Life
at 'SEE' level!
HE doesn't need to tip His hand by dropping hints of what He is up to in our lives; He can simply change our situation *completely* for the better in an instant IF we will trust Him and leave matters in His hands. And even if He DOESN'T change our circumstances or appear to come to our rescue as quickly as we feel He absolutely must - KEEP TRUSTING HIM! As the Bible tells us,
* Psalm 91:7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
* Isaiah 54:17 no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me," declares the LORD.
* Proverbs 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
* Psalm 18:3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
* Psalm 18:6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
* Psalm 55:16 As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me.
* Psalm 118:5 I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place.
* Psalm 145:18 The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
* Romans 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
* Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Precious friends, we have learned over the years to trust Him, you and I; and HE NEVER CHANGES, okay? He is still our omnipotent, omnipresent Saviour and loving Father, and we're still His responsibility. He bought us with His blood and is NOT about to drop us just because the world is in a state of chaos. Thank You, Jesus!!!
Psalm 91:4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
In the last days there will be a scarcity of the word of the Lord. It is for just such times as these that we have been prepared, that we may give comfort to those around us. You KNOW He isn't going to leave us high and dry trying to comfort others without having a really, REALLY strong sense of His presence within US... so the worse things get, the closer He will be, wrapping His arms around us and whispering in our ear. Hallelujah!!!
Hang in there, dear ones. God is good; and no amount of lying on the devil's part will ever change that!
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Keep on raining --- I won't drown;
My feet are planted on higher ground.
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End Times Vision - given to ME?
This one really freaked me out, but last night I was given what can only be an end-times dream. I saw, among other things, a huge city billowing filthy black smoke as it was destroyed, and Niagara Falls slowing to a trickle. I
saw puppy dogs' heads (friends beheaded??), a snake that was killed by driving a spike through its eye lengthwise of the snake - although I'd actually *watched* the head being crushed under the heel of someone's boot - (the dead snake was then put on the top of a railing between me and the Falls, across from which was the burning city... and the puppy heads were being washed over the Falls along with assorted other debris).
I also saw my wonderful Robbie Burns (one of my all-time favourite dogs, my first purebred) on the other side of the low railing between me and this devastation. He was happy and healthy, praise the Lord, but that didn't keep it from being a terrifically disturbing dream. :-/
I also saw an individual who represented God preparing for judgment day in the midst of all this.
There was no terror, no sense of nightmare, no fear, no blood, no flames - not even a spirit of violence, believe it or not - at least on my side... although there was an unspeakable horror about the events themselves...
He followed it up with the strong conviction that I was to pray for each of the people in my study group, so that is what I did from about 5 until 5:30 a.m. or thereabouts. The message was that they *would* be terror-stricken and needed the protection of my prayers before the events took place ***IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE***.
The sense of the imminence of the fulfilment of this vision was the most disturbing and lasting impression it left me. That's why I'm relaying such a disjointed and fragmentary report. Will you please ask the Lord for
clarification for yourselves, so that nothing is lost through my DUHness these days?
Love you muchly, dear hearts...
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Keep on raining --- I won't drown;
My feet are planted on higher ground.
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CAPstone WebRing:
Precious friends, every single vote that was cast was for the reinstatement of the CAPstone webring! That's the good news, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. :-) Unfortunately the leading I'm getting from the Lord is that He has others who are much better organizers and maintainers of His rings... so it looks as if CAPstone will be staying dead. :-( Amen, Lord. Thy will be done!
If it's any consolation to you, CAPstone WebRing isn't the only cutback He has had me make lately. I've also had to discontinue my electronic self-publishing service for born-again Christians. OHzoneEBooks.com and ChristianEBooks2Go.com are no more, although I praise Him for the opportunity He gave me of meeting a number of excellent new friends through the service during its existence.
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Keep on raining --- I won't drown;
My feet are planted on higher ground.
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GUEST EDITORIAL
ICEJ NEWS SERVICE FROM JERUSALEM
SUNDAY, 2 DECEMBER 2001
ICEJ NEWS SPECIAL BULLETIN
PALESTINIAN TERROR BRINGS ISRAELIS TO BRINK
Israel is gripped by one of the deadliest waves of Palestinian terrorism ever, as a pair of suicide bombers killed 10 young men and wounded 180 in central Jerusalem late Saturday night and a blast on a bus in Haifa on
Sunday morning has killed up to 15 more people and injured 60 others.
Hospitals in both cities are treating dozens of victims with serious-to-critical wounds and the death toll could easily climb. A separate shooting attack in Gaza this morning killed another Israeli civilian, bringing to 33 the number of Israeli dead so far in the past five days ago.
Last night's bombing attack in the Israeli capital occurred around 11:30 PM at Zion Square, a favorite gathering point for teens on Saturday night and located at the intersection of the popular Ben-Yehuda pedestrian mall and Jaffa Street, a main traffic artery. Two suicide bombers blew themselves up seconds apart in a coordinated attack that was then followed moments later by a car bomb explosion one block away on Rehov Kook street. All of the confirmed Israeli dead from the attack were young Jewish boys, aged 14 to 20. Witnesses reported seeing bloodied bodies and severed limbs littering the site of the dual suicide blasts.
A similar scene is being reported in the northern Israeli port city of Haifa, as a suspected suicide bomber detonated himself on a packed bus just before noon and turned it into a reeling fireball. Latest reports put the death toll at 15, with a number of the 60 injured still fighting for their lives.
Special US "security" envoy Gen. Anthony Zinni quickly responded to last night's attack by calling on PLO chief Yasser Arafat to take firm action not only against those who committed it, but also against the overall terror infrastructure in Palestinian areas. Zinni then went to visit the site of the Zion Square bombing this morning, just as news broke of the bus explosion in Haifa. Some among the restive crowd in Jerusalem greeted Zinni with shouts of "go home" and called on Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to resign.
Sharon was scheduled to meet with US President George W. Bush at the White House on Monday, but the appointment has been moved up to noon Sunday [Washington time] to allow the Israeli leader to return home early. Bush has led an international chorus of condemnations against the terror bombings, and Palestinian Authority officials are feeding news agencies a familiar diet of equivocal statements filled with excuses for their inactions and accusations against Israel.
Following a particularly grisly week of violence, including a shooting rampage in Afula on Tuesday and a suicide bus bombing near Hadera on Thursday, the mood in Israel appears to have reached a breaking point, as many now realize Arafat is making a laughingstock of their government's patient attempts to reach a ceasefire with him.
UN special Mideast envoy Terje Larsen, a veteran mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, told CNN today that the next 12 hours are critical and that Arafat has been told he must now choose either a "civil war" with Palestinian militants or an "all-out war" with Israel.
The Israeli security cabinet has already met in Sharon's absence and blamed Arafat for the carnage. Government officials are stressing the top priority right now is to do everything possible to prevent further attacks, without relying on the Palestinian security services.
In other acts of Palestinian terrorism over the past few hours, an Israeli motorist was shot dead and five others were wounded in a shooting attack between the communities of Nisanit and Elei Sinai in the northern Gaza Strip early this morning. And this afternoon, Palestinian gunmen shot at an Israeli car at the entrance to Kadim in northern Samaria, seriously wounding a motorist.
SOURCES: THE JERUSALEM POST, HA'ARETZ, IMRA, REUTERS, ASSOCIATED PRESS, CNN, BBC, SKY NEWS, ISRAEL TV CHANNEL ONE, ISRAEL TV CHANNEL TWO.
This bulletin was compiled and written by David Parsons.
ICEJ NEWS SERVICE
Editor: David Parsons
ICEJ NEWS SERVICE provides news and comment on Middle East affairs, compiled by journalists at the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, publishers of the monthly Middle East Digest. Please feel free to publish/broadcast, with attribution.
To subscribe (free), send a message with your exact email address to:
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PLEASE VISIT OUR SITE: http://www.icej.org/
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Keep on raining --- I won't drown;
My feet are planted on higher ground.
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Great Links!
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Keep on raining --- I won't drown;
My feet are planted on higher ground.
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News Bytes
NEW MAILING LIST FOR CHRISTIANS
TAMMY'S CUP OF JOY : Don't miss out on this great new venture of my new cyber-friend Tammy. As she says, "Words cannot describe how Happy I am that I can spread the Love of Our Father...". Her joyful forwards have got to be a welcome change from the overall depressing tone of this issue of E-Clips - although it is not meant so much to depress you as to encourage you to put your faith in Him and LEAVE IT THERE, come what may, "for He alone is faithful."
Here's a sample CUP OF LOVE:
Imagine the following
It's a Wednesday night and you are at a church prayer meeting when somebody runs in from the parking lot and says, "Turn on a radio, turn on a radio."
While the church listens to a little transistor radio with a microphone stuck up to it, the announcement is made: "Two women are lying in a Long Island hospital dying from the mystery flu."
Within hours it seems, this thing just sweeps across the country. People are working around the clock trying to find an antidote.
Nothing is working. California, Oregon, Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts. It's as though it's just sweeping in from the borders. And then, suddenly the news comes out. The code has been broken. A cure can be found. A vaccine can be made. It's going to take the blood of somebody who hasn't been infected, and so, sure enough, all through the Midwest, through all those channels of emergency broadcasting, everyone is asked to do one simple thing:
"Go to your downtown hospital and have your blood type taken. That's all we ask of you. When you hear the sirens go off in your neighborhood, please make your way quickly, quietly, and safely to the hospitals."
Sure enough, when you and your family get down there late on that Friday night, there is a long line, and they've got nurses and doctors coming out and pricking fingers and taking blood and putting labels on it.
Your wife and your kids are out there, and they take your blood type and they say, "Wait here in the parking lot. If we call your name, you can be dismissed and go home."
You stand around, scared, with your neighbors, wondering what in the world is going on and if this is the end of the world. Suddenly a young man comes running out of the hospital screaming. He's yelling a name and waving a clipboard.
What? He yells it again! And your son tugs on your jacket and says, "Daddy, that's me." Before you know it, they have grabbed your boy. Wait a minute. Hold on!
And they say, "It's okay, his blood is clean. His blood is pure. We want to make sure he doesn't have the disease. We think he has got the right type."
Five tense minutes later, out come the doctors and nurses, crying and hugging one another - some are even laughing. It's the first time you have seen anybody laugh in a week, and an old doctor walks up to you and says, "Thank you, sir. Your son's blood type is perfect. It's clean, it is pure, and we can make the vaccine." As the word begins to spread all across that parking lot full of folks, people are screaming and praying and laughing and crying.
But then the gray-haired doctor pulls you and your wife aside and says, "May we see you for a moment? We didn't realize that the donor would be a minor and we need... we need you to sign a consent form."
You begin to sign and then you see that the number of pints of blood to be taken is empty. "H-how many pints?"
And that is when the old doctor's smile fades and he says, "We had no idea it would be little child. We weren't prepared. We need it all!"
"But-but...You don't understand. We are talking about the world here."
"Please sign. We-we need it all!"
"But can't you give him a transfusion?"
"If we had clean blood we would. Can you sign? Would you sign?" In numb silence, you do.
Then they say, "Would you like to have a moment with him before we begin?"
Can you walk back? Can you walk back to that room where he sits on a table saying, "Daddy? Mommy?
What's going on?" Can you take his hands and say, "Son, your mommy and I love you, and we would never ever let anything happen to you that didn't just have to be. Do you understand that?"
And when that old doctor comes back in and says, "I'm sorry, we've got to get started. People all over the world are dying", can you leave? Can you walk out while he is saying, "Dad? Mom? Dad? Why, why have you forsaken me?"
And then next week, when they have the ceremony to honor your son, and some folks sleep through it, and some folks don't even come because they went to the lake, and some folks come with a pretentious smile and just pretend to care, would you want to jump up and say, "MY SON DIED FOR YOU! DON'T YOU CARE?"
Is that what GOD wants to say?
"MY SON DIED FOR YOU. DON'T YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I CARE?"
~Author Unknown By Me~
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
"Father, seeing it from your eyes breaks our hearts.
Maybe now we can begin to comprehend the great Love you have for us."
TO SUBSCRIBE TO TAMMY'S CUP OF JOY, send a message with the word 'subscribe' in the subject line to katzwlplay@in-motion.net
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Keep on raining --- I won't drown;
My feet are planted on higher ground.
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That's about it for now, folks. God bless you and keep you, one and all!
Have a happy, dear ones, and remember...
BE NOT AFRAID - ONLY BELIEVE!
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Keep on raining --- I won't drown;
My feet are planted on higher ground.
Keep on reigning; You're my Lord!
Sharpen my mind by Your Spirit's sword.
Compliments of NicksHumor.net
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(((HUGS))) and blessings to you all,
(Mrs.) Doris E. Howie <><
Editor, OHzone E-CLIPS
