text:
----- Original Message -----
JEREMIAH 31:3--This
is a great statement about God's unending love: "The
LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have
loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore, with
loving-kindness have I drawn thee."
To my cyber-list
and a few other dear friends:
Recently a very
dear and spiritual friend of mine shared with me what I deem to be cautionary
remarks regarding my concern over the deteriorating condition relative to our
southern border. As I recall, the advice was that possibly Christians should
not be distracted from their primary mission of sharing Christ with the world by
the political and secular events of the world.
His counsel came
back to me early this morning as I watched the Lou Dobbs' television program
(CNN), which outlined how Russia and China were uniting against the West,
particularly the United States. Yet I could not escape the connection between
these "worldly" events and the clear statement of prophecy regarding the same as
seen in both Testaments.
My friends'
suggestion is not without scriptural merit. When Christ outlined the morality
and rules of the coming Kingdom in what is known as the "Beatitudes" in
chapters five through
seven, He stated in chapter
six verses
twenty-five, "Therefore
I say to you, do not worry about
your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about
your body, what you will put on. . . ." But then,
contextually, these comments were an extension of His remarks pertaining to the
serving of "two masters" (God and mammon [riches]) in verse
twenty-four. Which is to say, He
wasn't directing Christians to be irresponsible regarding the secular care of
themselves or to ignore their secular surroundings in this world. He was simply
and emphatically illustrating that such concerns can take the place of proper
service to God.
And, as previously
mentioned, the "Beatitudes" was a message to the Jewish multitudes that followed
Him from Galilee, from Decapolis, from Jerusalem, from Judea, and from beyond
the Jordan (Matthew 4:25-6:1); and,
it was a message relative to the morality and rules of the proffered kingdom
that He was directing specifically to the Jews at that time in His ministry.
So, having
seriously considered my friends advice over the past week and recognizing that
it indeed has merit, particularly should a Christian become overwhelmed with
secular and political events throughout the world, I have come to the conclusion
that a measured and biblical interest should always be part of a Christian's
By this I mean that
just as each Christian has the responsibility to be properly concerned with his
or her "personal home life" (i.e., its orderly, financially effective, and
spiritual conduct), so should each Christian be responsible for his or her
"national home life." I personally believe that there was no one more informed
of world events, secular or spiritual, than our Lord. And Christians should
stay abreast of what is happening around them, on a local, national, and global
This is not to say
that anything happening outside one's personal sphere of existence should
surprise, overwhelm, or distract a Christian. If a Christian is grounded in
Scripture, he or she will remain focused on serving Christ in this very evil
world. And this will be done regardless of any social or political extraneous
circumstances. But by paying attention to one's surroundings and evaluating
them in light of prophetic Scripture, the Christian can only be encouraged as
his or her faith deepens relative to the veracity of God's sure Word. So
instead of sinking into despair by keeping abreast of world events, the
Christian's hope is conversely made stronger as he or she clearly sees that the
truth of end-time events made so evident in Divine Revelation are indeed
coming to pass.
Charles of
The Intractable Middle East Problem
By Arlen L. Chitwood
(Almost all of the following
material, save for comments on current events, can be found in
material that I've written at one time or another over the past
thirty years, scattered throughout the books that I've had printed
during that time. In this respect, the short of the matter follows,
with little explanation and few references. The long of the matter,
with explanation and references, can be found in the books.
This material is being put together
and sent out because of a number of requests for comments brought
about by the current Middle East situation. The existing problem is
far from simple, though, from a biblical standpoint, not as complex
as one might be led to think. One might say, from a biblical
standpoint, a person can understand the problem; apart from a
biblical standpoint, it is not possible to understand the problem.)
Israel, of course, is the key. And concerning
problems existing between Israel and her mainly Moslem Arab
neighbors in the Middle East, during the spring of 1991, James
Baker, Secretary of State under the first President Bush, stated
that this is 'the most intractable problem that there is.'
James Baker was also one of the two men who
co-chaired the current Iraq Study Group, turning out a report ' the
Baker-Hamilton Report ' several days back on Iraq and the Middle
East in general that referred to the situation as 'grave and
deteriorating' and warned of 'dwindling chances to change course
before crisis turns to chaos.' And the somber faces and urgency in
the voices of both James Baker and Lee Hamilton told the story apart
from the report itself.
Was James Baker correct in his assessment of
the situation in the Middle East fifteen years ago? Insofar as man
solving the problem, he was as correct as one can become.
Was James Baker, Lee Hamilton, et al
correct several days ago concerning the assessment of the current
Middle East situation? That could be answered two ways: 1) from a
biblical standpoint, the situation is far worse than the report
indicates, but 2) also from a biblical standpoint, the situation is
much brighter than the report indicates.
And the preceding would require explanation,
providing, at the same time, information to address the whole of the
issue at hand.
So, let's look at it.
First, dealing particularly with the
intractable problem in the Middle East, this must be done from a
biblical base. There is no other way. Apart from a biblical base, a
person will only find himself as mired down in trying to deal with
the problem as the problem itself has become.
A biblical base is simple and easy to come by.
However, it would not be acceptable to the secular world at all. How
could it be acceptable when most of those in the Middle East are
Moslems, along with the fact that the Bible would not be acceptable
as a base to work from by any nation attempting to solve the
problem, whether the United States or elsewhere? Even Israel would
have major problems in this respect because of that which would have
to be stated and dealt with.
And the preceding would be true even among many
Christians in these nations. Allow an example to illustrate the
point, part of which bears directly on the Middle East situation.
And, in order to understand the existing problem, this would have to
be dealt with first and foremost anyway.
One Nation with a God
In the '50s, during the Eisenhower
administration, the words 'under God' were added to a line in the
United States pledge of allegiance to the flag, making the pledge of
allegiance read, 'one nation under God.' But is the United States
'one nation under God'? That is to ask, 'Is this true from a
biblical perspective?' ' the only book where one can possibly go to
answer the question.
Christians will fight the ACLU, et al in
the parking lots over this issue. But does either group really know
what Scripture has to say about the matter?
The biblical base for this and all the
remainder of the Middle East problems can be found in Moses, the
Psalms, and the Prophets. One doesn't even have to go into the New
Testament. Such would be of little to no value in the matter anyway,
for there is nothing in the New that cannot be found in some form in
the Old. The New is simply an opening up and unveiling of that which
had its beginning in the Old. So, for the most part, we'll simply
stay with the Old since all the information is there anyway.
For 'one nation under God' a person would begin
with Genesis chapter
nine and go from there. This chapter deals with Noah and
his three sons following the Flood, and everyone in the human race
today can trace their ancestry back to Noah through one of his three
Only one of these three sons ' Shem ' is said
to have a God (v. 26).
Neither Ham nor Japheth had a God, and if either was to receive
spiritual blessings they had to go to the one son with a God. Ham
and/or Japheth had to 'dwell in
the tents of Shem' (v.
27). This is the manner in which God has established the
matter in Genesis, and
it can never change.
The lineage from Shem, in the respect seen in
Genesis 9:26, goes
through Abraham nine generations later and then through Isaac,
Jacob, and Jacob's twelve sons, from whom sprang the twelve tribes
of Israel, the nation of Israel. In short, the descendants of Shem
through this lineage alone have a God. The
whole of this matter is something clearly revealed and seen in
Other descendants of Shem, such as the Arab
nations (from Abraham through Ishmael, or through one of the sons of
Keturah, or through Isaac's son, Esau), are as the descendants of
Ham and Japheth in this respect. They are to be reckoned among the
nations (Gentile nations). Israel, on the other hand, is not to be 'reckoned
among the nations' (Numbers
With that as a base to work from, one can then
understand verses such as Psalm
72:18 and Psalm 96:5.
The first verse refers to 'the
Lord God, the God of Israel,' and the second verse states
'For all the gods of the nations
are idols [lit., 'nothing'].' That is to say, the gods of
all the nations (whether they be idols, demons, or anything else)
are 'nothing' in comparison to the God of Israel, the one true and
living God.
Psalm 33:12
is often misunderstood in the preceding respect: 'Blessed
is the nation whose God is the Lord...' The statement,
contextually, is not a reference to Gentile nations. It can't be!
The statement has to do with Israel, the only nation with a God. The
only way any Gentile nation can have a God is to go to the nation
with a God, go to Israel. God made that quite clear at the outset of
His word, in Genesis
chapter nine. And
today, with Israel in her current state of unbelief, for the most
part scattered among the nations, for a Gentile nation to dwell in
the tents of Shem and possess a God is not possible.
For a New Testament reference relative to the
preceding, note Ephesians 2:12.
Christians have a God, but that is only because of and through a
Jewish Messiah Who came through Israel. The same thing cannot be
true of nations per se.
Thus, from a biblical standpoint, it is not
possible for any Gentile nation to look upon itself as 'one nation
under God.' And that one truth really forms the central base for
understanding the whole of the Middle East problem. At the center of
the problem
is Israel, the only nation on the face of the
earth with a God, a standing that Israel holds even in the nation's
present unbelief. And surrounding this nation with a God are Moslem
nations with a governmental system intermixed with a religious
system with a god who is described in
Psalm 96:5, the same place
the god of the United States or any other Gentile nation is
Israel's Position among the Nations
Beyond that, Israel is God's firstborn son (Exodus
4:22, 23), the one and only nation among all the nations
that God recognizes as possessing the rights of the firstborn ' a
firstborn right among nations, which, among other things, includes
the right to hold the scepter, to rule. Israel is the nation that
God recognizes as possessing these rights, and, with Israel
exercising these rights (which the nation one day will exercise,
though that is far from the case today), the Gentile nations are to
be ruled by and blessed through Israel (in accord with
Genesis 12:2, 3, realizing
another part of the rights of the firstborn).
The Gentile nations today rule under Satan and
his angels (in accord with that seen in the latter part of
Daniel 10). But Israel,
not to be reckoned among the nations, occupies a position separate
from this rule (also in accord with the referenced section in
Daniel 10).
Satan knows all these things, and he has been
doing and will continue doing everything within his power to prevent
the one nation with a God from ever exercising her God-ordained
position as God's firstborn son. He knows that when this occurs that
not only will he no longer hold the scepter but conditions relative
to Israel and the nations will be as described in
Zechariah 8:20-23.
Satan and his angels, ruling from a heavenly
sphere through the Gentile nations on earth, have been seeking for
decades in the Middle East, through the nations, to bring about that
stated in Psalm 83:4:
'Come, and let us cut them off
from being a nation; that the
name of Israel may be no more in
There Is More'
Then, as if the preceding wasn't already too
much for man to even begin to deal with, there is still more. There
is the matter of Israel being driven out among the nations, because
of unbelief, to effect repentance. And a remnant has returned back
to the land before the time. The slayer, Israel, typified
in Numbers chapter
thirty-five, has returned
to the land of her possession before it is time for the nation to
return, creating a major Middle East problem.
It is the age-old story of Jonah asleep on
board a ship headed away from God's calling and then finding himself
in the midst of a raging storm out on the sea, a storm so severe
that it struck fear in the hearts of those men on the ship, a storm
so severe that it was about to destroy the ship. That is the picture
that Scripture presents of the dire situation in the Middle East
Then, as if the preceding addition wasn't
enough, add something else. God pictures Israel as having been
wounded, being sick, because of past disobedience (Isaiah
1:4ff). And God
states concerning Israel's condition in this respect that the one
who brought about this condition (God, because of the nation's
disobedience) is the only One Who can cure the nation (Hosea
Thus, there is your Middle East picture as it
exists today. God's firstborn son, the one who's right it is to hold
the scepter, the only nation with a God, is sitting wounded in a
place where the nation is not even supposed to be, in the midst of
mainly Moslem nations, with the nations raging and the whole
situation about to tumble out of control. And Satan, through
existing conditions, is doing all within his power to destroy Israel
through using the surrounding Gentile nations.
This is why there is a situation rapidly
becoming uncontrollable, with the nations raging, in the Middle East
today. This is why the world heard the cry from Nasser four decades
ago that the primary goal of a war between Egypt and Israel was to
drive Israel into the sea, doing away with the nation. And, as well,
this is the reason why the present ruler of Iran (among others) is
openly and defiantly calling for the destruction of Israel.
None of the basics behind these things are
being taken into account in the nations' endeavors to effect Middle
East peace. They can't take these basics into account. The
intractable Middle East problem has both a biblical base and a false
religious base, and the nations seeking to effect peace cannot
operate in either realm. Both bases are spiritual and involve
supernatural powers ' one emanating from the God of Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, and the other emanating from the god of this age. Man's
best efforts in either supernatural realm would be as powerless as
trying to extinguish the flames of a burning skyscraper with an
empty eyedropper.
And even if the nations could operate in the
spiritual realm, the nations couldn't cure Israel of her current
condition. Only God can do this, something that He clearly states
that He will do following Israel being brought to the place of
The Middle East is a powder keg with a burning
short fuse. It is going to blow, and man can't stop it, for the
prophets have already spoken. How soon will that be? We're not told.
So there is no need to speculate. Such would be useless anyway.
Suffice it to say that is it later than most care to think, imagine,
or admit.
Then, There Is Something Else
The preceding outlines the bad news. The
preceding shows why a report such as the Baker-Hamilton report can't
even begin to touch the problem, as it exists. And this is not to
speak negatively of the report. Rather, it is simply to say, from a
biblical base, as previously outlined, that there is an existing
problem in the Middle East that man can't deal with.
But there is good news. The more the matter
deteriorates, the brighter things become in another respect. The
dawn always follows the darkest hour of the night.
The time is rapidly approaching when the Church
will be removed, and after that God will allow conditions to
deteriorate to a point, particularly in the Middle East, where
Israel will have no place to turn other than to the God of their
fathers. Scripture describes that time as a day 'that
shall burn as an oven' (Malachi
4:1), and Scripture also speaks of conditions
deteriorating during that time to a point where 'no flesh' would
survive apart from divine intervention (Matthew
It will be the story seen in the book of
Exodus all over again.
Israel, through Gentile persecution, will be brought to the place of
repentance, a Deliverer will be sent, Gentile power will be put
down, and Israel will be delivered.
That coming day will see the 'Sun
of Righteousness' arising 'with
healing in His wings.' Christ will return, Gentile world
power will be destroyed, Israel will be cured of her wound, her
sickness, and God's firstborn Son will then exercise the rights of
primogeniture, with the Gentile nations being blessed through
Israel. Then and only then, the intractable problem in the Middle
East will be resolved. Then and only then, there will be peace in
the Middle East.
Tribute to Steve Irwin
(Crocodile Hunter)
Yesterday (9-4-06) was a very difficult day for me, as I
contemplated the death of Steve Irwin, the 'crocodile hunter.' He
was only 44 years old, but he had a passion for the animals of God's
creation in his life. In fact, you might say that when he entered
your living room by way of his television specials he was 'larger
than life.' Having never met the gentleman, I felt that in some
special sense he was part of my family. How I loved to watch him
and experience his infectious enthusiasm for God's animal creation.
But the
moment I saw the news of his passing and over the sadness that I
immediately felt from it, three distinct thoughts came to mind.
First, I remembered a specific point I was endeavoring to convey
in Sunday's Bible study class, which I particularly directed toward
a young teenager in the assembly. The point being that no matter
our age, life is fleeting and can end at any time. In fact, from
the moment we are born we proceed toward our death. It is
unfortunate that little to any thought is given to this certainty
when we are young. But even with age most of us ignore this
reality. The following scriptural passages came to mind:
For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a
little time and then vanishes away. (James 4:14b)
All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the
grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away. (1 Peter
Second, I wondered if Steve Irwin had ever placed his faith in
Jesus Christ for his personal eternal salvation. If so, his passing
was indeed a blessing for him. If not, then the time for the most
important decision of his life had expired. And coupled with this
thought is how little attention man gives to eternal matters, often
until it is too late.
Third, life only becomes truly genuine when we have a passion
for what we believe and do. This was certainly the case for Steve
Irwin in his secular interests during his lifetime. But how I hope
that we all can have the same passion in living for our Lord who
with greater passion and tremendous personal cost gave of Himself to
become our sin and pay the penalty-price for our sin on the cross of
Steve Irwin, I will greatly miss you in life. My hope is that I
will see you again in eternal life.
Inquiry from Rick
Charles, thank you so much for your instructive
response. Sometimes we need clarification from others who can
answer more specific concerns. You said; "I also believe that as we
continue in our Christian life and faithfully confess our sins,
these sins won't come up at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Now
although we will be rewarded (or not) for the type of works we do
during our Christian life, our sins as Christians come to bear
because they have a way of keeping us from doing divine good works."
Can you elaborate on this just a little? You answered my next
question; will our sins be brought up at the Judgment Seat? As you
said, it makes since they would not if they are cleansed under the
blood by our High Priest. It gives me more clarity to read your
statement that our works are judged and that our sins have a way of
keeping us from doing divine good works. That tells me a lot!
Could you tell me more about this with
some Scripture references? I hope you don't mind, but you have
really hit on something that greatly helps.
Thanks for your time, Charles.
Thank you for
your message.
I believe as
Christians we will stand before our Lord at His judgment seat and
answer for all that we have done (labor/works) for Him while in
this physical life, whether good or bad, for which we will receive
"rewards" if they indeed be "divine good works" (i.e., works done
under the control of the Spirit) and not works accomplished while in
the "flesh,' (i.e., works known as "human good works"'Ephesians
5:18; Isaiah 64:6). And
at the Judgment Seat we will also witness all of our other (human
good) works being burned, i.e., consumed by our Lord's judgment (1
Corinthians 3:8-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Galatians 6:7; Ephesians
6:8; Revelation 22:12).
If we in fact do qualify for rewards, they will be administered as
our "inheritance" of joint-heirship (co-ruling/reigning) with Christ
during the Messianic Era (Romans
2:6; 8:17; 2 Corinthians 1:7; Colossians 3:24; 2 Timothy 2:12; 1
Peter 4:13).
But since "divine good works" (works done under the control or
influence of the Holy Spirit) can be quenched (cut off or limited)
by grieving the Holy Spirit with our sin (Ephesians
4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19),
there is therefore a direct correlation between our sin and our
works. Consequently, the more unconfessed sin (1
John 1:9) sin in our
lives the more we will be limited in "walking in Christ," i.e.,
being filled with'controlled by' the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), which walk comes by faith (Colossians 2:6; Hebrews 11:6)
and absorption of God's Word, which in fact produces "faith"
15:3; 17:17; Romans 10:17; Ephesians 5:26).
I hope a study of the above scriptural passages/verses will be
helpful to your understanding of this matter.
In His grace,
To Darrel, My Cousin, My Friend
Sunday, the 23rd day of April, 2006,
was a very sad and joyful day for me. At about 5:30 in the morning
my cousin Charles phoned to tell me that his brother, my cousin
Darrel Yoder, had died from a heart attack at about 3:30 that
morning. The news hit me hard. The pain of sadness overwhelmed me
knowing that I would no longer be able to have fellowship with
Darrel during this lifetime. But after a ton of tears my sorrow
turned to joy as I took solace in the assurance that Darrel was now
in the presence of His Savior, a place of bliss that he had been
looking forward to for most of his life, and in the assurance that I
would join him soon to continue our camaraderie as we extolled the
wonders and glory of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Of all my Yoder-relatives, Darrel was special
to me. He was both my cousin and my friend. It wasn't too many
years ago when just after my retirement from Federal Service, I
thought it might be interesting to visit him at his office in
McAllen. At the time I was still spiritually a good ways off from
my Lord and struggling to know what direction I should then take in
life. Well, one visit led to another over a period of several
weeks, and during each visit Darrel not only befriended me but
helped me to understand that whatever path I should choose to take,
it should be in God's will and in close proximity with Christ. We
not only joked and ribbed each other over myriad matters, but we
always discussed our Christian faith. In this sense, he was a
spiritual mentor.
It was because of his gentle hand of direction
that I realized that I truly needed to get back into a local church
and the study of God's Word. He also turned my attention toward
many of the prophetic elements contained in the Bible, all of which
were very influential in my return to Christ. After time, through
attention to the Word and with Christian associations, my spiritual
life began to stabilize and strengthen. In time, God led me to once
again minister for Him. Darrel was such a large part of this
process. When I felt led to initiate my Bible commentary website,
Darrel was a constant supporter. He continued that support when I
was asked to lead a home Bible-study class on Sunday afternoons.
From the very start of these ministries until about 10:00 in the
morning of Saturday, April 22, 2006, I kept him fully informed of my
spiritual activities.
How thankful I am today to have had about an
hour of fellowship with Darrel and his son Jeff on Saturday, the day
before his path to glory. The joy we experienced being together and
ribbing each other over both secular and doctrinal matters is fresh
in my mind as I sit and type this memorial to him my friend, even
though selfishly I cry knowing these times are gone for now. He
always took satisfaction in showing me his latest acquisition from
ebay. That day, it was a 2003 Ford Explorer Sport Track, a type of
truck I had once influenced him to buy and which became one of his
favorites. Darrel was fortunate to have ample means in which he
could amass material possessions. But now with his passing, I once
again firmly realize how unimportant material wealth is in
comparison to eternal wealth.
Later, as he said goodbye to me outside by the
curb, he told me how young and healthy he felt. He said that he
always felt younger and more active than those in his age bracket,
the mid-sixties. He said that he could still run and do the things
associated with a person of much younger years. And he could.
Darrel also informed me that on the coming
Tuesday he would be traveling to the Island (Padre), I believe with
his son Jeff, to do some work on their investment condos. Second
only to his devotion to Jesus Christ, Darrel was completely devoted
to his family his wife Lucy, his two sons Ron and Jeff, his mother
Frieda, his brother Charles, and so many more. He had a very large
heart and a generous one. But most of all, he loved and served his
Lord. Nothing better could be his epitaph.
Darrel, I will miss you here; but I look
forward to being with you again at the feet of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ. We will be together again.
Charles of
Good (Friday
or Wednesday)?
(April 11,
2006, Chuck Missler's eNews issue)
The observances of Good
Friday and Easter Sunday have perpetuated the traditional chronology
that the crucifixion took place on a Friday, and that the Lord's
body was buried on that day at about 6:00 p.m., and that he rose
from the dead early on the following Sunday morning. There are
some, however, that feel this tradition is at variance with the
Scriptural record. One of the problems is reckoning 'three days'
between Friday evening and Sunday morning. Our Lord's definitive
statement is one of the problems:
'For as Jonah was
three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son
of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.'
(Matthew 12:40)
The mention of nights, as well as the number of days, makes it hard
to render this as simply an idiomatic rhetorical device rather than
a statement of fact.
The Sabbaths
Nowhere in the Gospels does it assert that Christ was crucified on a
Friday. In Mark 15:42, it refers to '...the day before
the sabbath.' This may be the root of the misunderstanding.
The Jews had other sabbaths in addition to the weekly shabbat
(Saturday). In addition to the weekly sabbaths, there were seven
"high sabbaths" each year, and the first day of the Feast of
Unleavened Bread, the 15th of Nisan, was one of them. Further,
Matthew 28:1 should read, 'At the end of the sabbaths,' (which
is plural in the Greek), implying there was a plurality of sabbaths
that week.
If Passover, the 14th of Nisan, fell earlier in the week, the 15th
could have been any day prior to Saturday, the weekly Sabbath. 'When
the sabbaths were past' would, of course, be Sunday (actually,
Saturday after sundown), in accordance to the Feast of First Fruits.
(Some hold to a Thursday
crucifixion on a similar basis.)
The 17th of Nisan
Jesus had declared that He would be in the grave three days, and yet
was to be resurrected 'on the morrow after the sabbath,' on
the day of the Feast of First Fruits. It is interesting that the
authorities, anxious to get the body off the cross before sundown,
unknowingly were fulfilling God's predetermined plan, 'according
to the Scriptures.'
Noah's flood ended on the 17th day of the 7th month. This month
becomes the 1st month at the institution of the Passover. Our new
beginning in Christ was on the anniversary of the Earth's 'new
beginning' under Noah!
Israel's new beginning, the crossing of the Red Sea, is believed to
have been on the 17th of Nisan. Also, in their flight after
Passover, Israel retrieved the body of Joseph from his tomb. After
Passover, Jesus was retrieved from another Joseph's tomb on this
The Jericho Journey
Another problem with a Friday crucifixion is John 12:1: 'Then
Jesus six days before the Passover came to Bethany...' (from
Jericho). If the Friday view can be accepted, then six days earlier
was the weekly shabbat, and on this day such a journey was legally
out of the question for a devout Jew.
As for the Friday or Wednesday issue, there are many good scholars
on each side of this controversy. I personally have become rather
cynical toward any tradition that is not supported by Scripture.
Good Friday is the 'traditional' view. The Wednesday crucifixion is
known as the 'reconstructed view.' This article is intended to
stimulate study and constructive conversation during this precious
season. However the important thing is that the tomb was empty.
The authorities made sure that this was indisputable. Indeed, He
is risen!
Gospel of Judas & Gnosticism
April 11, 2006 (Chuck Missler's eNews
'For the time will come when they will not
endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to
themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away
their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.' (2
Timothy 4:3)
The May issue of National Geographic magazine hasn't even hit the
news stands, but it has already triggered widespread debate. The
feature article in next month's issue describes a 1,700 year old
manuscript that claims to tell the story of Christ's last days from
the point-of-view of history's most notorious traitor. This
so-called 'Gospel of Judas' conflicts greatly with the Biblical
account and is only one of several noncanonical gospels, often
called the 'Gnostic Gospels.' Scholars widely agree that none of
these texts contain historically reliable information about the life
of Jesus and that all were likely written in the second century or
later. However they do help us learn more about false teachings
that early church leaders like the Apostle Paul preached against in
book of Colossians and elsewhere.
Gnosticism is a system of false teachings that existed during the
early centuries of Christianity. Its name came from the Greek word
for knowledge, gnosis. The Gnostics believed that knowledge was the
way to salvation. For this reason, Gnosticism was condemned as
false and heretical by several writers of the New Testament. The
Gnostics consisted of diverse groups, from high-minded ascetics to
licentious charlatans.
Our knowledge of Gnosticism comes from several sources. First,
there are the Gnostic texts, which are known as the New Testament
Apocrypha. These texts are not recognized as Scripture because they
contain teachings which differ from those in the Bible. Then, there
are the refutations of the Gnostics by the early church fathers.
Some of the more important ones are Irenaeus, 'Against Heresies;'
Hippolytus, 'Refutations of All Heresies;' Epiphanius, 'Panarion;'
and Tertullian, 'Against Marcion.'
A third source on Gnosticism is the New Testament itself. Many
Gnostic teachings were condemned by the writers of the New
Testament. Paul emphasized a wisdom and knowledge that comes from
God and does not concern itself with idle speculations, fables, and
moral laxity (Colossians 2:8-23; 1 Timothy 1:4; 2 Timothy
2:16-19; Titus 1:10-16). John, both in his gospel and in the
epistles, countered heretical teaching which, in a broad sense, can
be considered Gnostic.
Gnostic Gospels
A large number of spurious documents emerged during the centuries
following the ministries of the Apostles and were universally
rejected by the early church. Copies of a group of these were found
at Nag Hammadi in Egypt dating from the 3rd and 4th centuries.
These include 'The Gospel of Thomas,' 'The Gospel of Philip,' 'The
Gospel of Mary,' 'The Gospel of Truth,' and about four dozen others.
They are not 'gospels' at all, but rather speculative opinions,
totally devoid of any verifiable facts. Furthermore, they were
written under false pseudonyms in an attempt to gain legitimacy.
The early church rejected any documents under pseudonyms as being
inconsistent with the concept of God-breathed inspiration. Lastly,
they were all written centuries after the Gospel period'in contrast
to the contemporaneous eyewitness accounts in the New Testament.
False Teaching
Ethical behavior among the Gnostics varied considerably. Some
sought to separate themselves from all evil matter in order to avoid
contamination. Paul may be opposing such a view in 1 Timothy
4:1-5. For other Gnostics, ethical life took the form of
libertinism. For them, knowledge meant freedom to participate in
all sorts of indulgences. Many reasoned that since they had
received divine knowledge and were truly informed as to their divine
nature, it didn't matter how they lived. Such an attitude is a
misunderstanding of the Gospel. Paul, on a number of occasions,
reminded his readers that they were saved from sin to holiness.
They were not to have an attitude of indifference toward the law.
They had died to sin in their baptism into Christ (Romans 6:1-11)
and so were to walk 'in newness of life.' John reminded the
Christians that once they had been saved they were not to continue
living in sin (1 John 3:4-10).
These Gnostic teachings also had a disruptive effect on fellowship
in the church. Those who were 'enlightened' thought of themselves
as being superior to those who did not have such knowledge.
Divisions arose between the spiritual and the fleshly. This
attitude of superiority is severely condemned in the New Testament.
Christians are 'one body' (1 Corinthians 12) who should love
one another (1 Corinthians 13; 1 John). Spiritual gifts are
for the Christian community rather than individual use; they should
promote humility rather than pride (1 Corinthians 12-14;
Ephesians 4:11-16).
'Beware lest any man spoil you through
philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the
rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.' (Colossians
Digging into the Word
(From Chuck
Misslers' eNews Publication)
March 7, 2006
All of us talk about seeking spiritual
growth. But are we really serious? How serious are you? Let's assume that you
already have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ. What then? Well, you
began to study the Word of God and began to aspire to real growth "in the grace
and knowledge" of our Savior. How's it been going?
Allow me to let you in on
a "secret." One of the most rewarding involvements - and one that is virtually
guaranteed to help you on your path of true spiritual growth - is a home Bible
study. The intimacy, the family atmosphere, and the personal accountability all
combine to create an environment of spiritual growth unequaled in more formal
There are three key
components to our Christian walk: study of the scriptures, prayer, and the
fellowship of believers. While the facilities and formalities of Sunday services
have become the norm for many, it was not always so. In the early church, the
fellowships were, of course, in the homes of the believers. The church in the
house of Philemon grew into the church of Colossae (Philemon 2). The church in
the house of Nymphas became the church of Laodicea (Colossians 4:15). The
churches in the house of Aquila and Priscilla, who seem to have made it their
primary commitment, became the churches of both Ephesus and Rome (1 Corinthians
16:19; Romans 16:5).
If you are having a
difficult time finding a group we encourage you to pray about starting one of
your own. For those of you who might like to undertake leading a home Bible
study, we have a free online guide with some suggestions called
The Joy of Teaching God's Word
(see link below). Our series, Learn
the Bible in 24 Hours,
is being used by many groups to gain a strategic perspective on the "whole
counsel of God." It is now available in various formats (see special offer
above). Another study we recommend for new groups is Prophecy 101.
This series has been designed to give you a strategic overview of prophecy;
past, present, and future.
A great place to
start is with verse-by-verse study of a book of the Bible. Pick a book of Bible
that interests you and acquire several commentaries on that particular book.
After reading the introductory background, it is not hard to "stay ahead" of
your group, taking about a chapter each week. From time to time, a particular
background item, or special issue, will emerge which can give rise to a little
extra research, so a home library which might include a concordance, a Bible
dictionary or encyclopedia, etc., can be helpful. (Outfitting a basic home
library is not that expensive and can be one of the most rewarding things you
can do.) By the time you have completed a particular book in such a program, you
will know that book better than you ever dreamed possible. And the commitment of
supporting your group each week may be just the self-imposed "pressure" you need
to really dig into the Word.
were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with
all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things
were so
(Acts 17:11)."
The Joy of Teaching God's Word - Koinonia House
Bible Study Resources - Koinonia House
Learn the Bible In 24 Hours - Koinonia House
Prophecy 101 - Koinonia House
Our ministry goal is to create,
develop, and distribute materials to stimulate, encourage, and
facilitate serious study of the Bible as the inerrant Word of
God. Each week the eNews staff examines current events from a
Biblical point-of-view. We sincerely hope our efforts have
helped you gain a better understanding of the times in which we
live. We also hope we have been able to demonstrate how the
Bible is as relevant and accurate today as it was two thousand
years ago when Jesus Christ walked on the shores of
Our staff
regularly monitors ten specific global, social, political, and
economic trends that we feel are significant to the Body of
Christ. We follow these
throughout the year on our website and in our various
publications. Today we would like to review each of these trends
and take a look back over some of this year's major milestones.
Weapons Proliferation
acquisition of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons by both
terrorists and rogue nations is perhaps one of the greatest
threats to our national security.
intelligence officials have focused their attention on
in their attempts to stifle weapons proliferation. They have
also kept a close watch on
key suppliers of technology, components, and weaponry.
the last twelve months
nuclear program has become the focus of international attention.
The EU has attempted to reopen dialogue in recent weeks, but
there is little hope of reaching an agreement.
has vigorously pursued weapons of mass destruction - nuclear,
chemical, and biological - and their delivery systems as well as
advanced conventional weapons. To this end,
has sought foreign materials, training, equipment, and know-how
from nations such as
tests conducted earlier this year by
may be part of the development of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP)
has practiced detonating its Shahab-3 missiles while in mid-air,
which has lead some intelligence officials to suspect that
is practicing the execution of an EMP attack. An electromagnetic
pulse, triggered by a high-altitude detonation of a nuclear
weapon, poses a considerable threat to our national security and
is one of a small number of weapons that could be used to bring
the whole of
to its knees. An EMP attack would strike what has become our
Achilles heel ' our relatively unprotected, yet vital,
technological infrastructure.
Struggle for
Arafat's death has plunged the Palestinian leadership into a
massive power struggle, with various groups and factions
battling for control. Despite Mahmoud Abbas' clear victory in
January's elections, organizations like Hamas still pose a
serious threat to his leadership. Abbas has refused to confront
armed groups for fear of civil war. Instead, he has attempted to
woo militia members with the promise of jobs and political
participation. His strategy, however, has not been effective.
The Palestinian Authority is spiraling into chaos. Palestinian
Security forces in the
West Bank
are weak, ill-equipped, and divided. Their ability to maintain
law and order suffers from shortages of equipment and
ammunition, widespread corruption, financial mismanagement, and
various other stumbling blocks to the its effectiveness.
Meanwhile, terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad
and the al-Aqsa Martyrs' are better trained and better equipped.
Israeli withdrawal from
represents a major milestone in the Israeli-Palestinian peace
process. In August
evacuated all 21
settlements along with four of 120 settlements in the
West Bank
- a total of about 9000 settlers were forced to abandon their
homes. Some believe that the
withdrawal was necessary for
security - although
will continue to control the borders, coastline and airspace of
it will no longer need to commit substantial military personnel
and resources to the protection of settlers within
Yet in many respects, the Israeli evacuation of
represents a victory for terrorism. In the minds of the
Palestinian people, the Israeli withdrawal is proof that
terrorism works.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's controversial plan to pull out of
has caused division within the nation of
- even prompting talk of civil war.
made headlines recently when he resigned his position in the
Likud - the right-wing political party he founded in 1973.
Sharon and his supporters left the Likud to establish a new
political party that will be committed to reaching a peace
agreement with the Palestinians consistent with the
US-backed Road
Map Peace Plan.
has named the new party
a Hebrew word which means "forward" in English.
The blood shed on
11, 2001
became the catalyst in the war on terrorism. That tragic event
briefly united Americans in a common cause, however that unity
has splintered. National tragedy may have amalgamated the
masses, but growing differences in values and philosophy have
driven a wedge down the middle of American society. Americans
are fighting a battle both in foreign lands and here at home. In
the war against terrorism our enemy is easily defined, however
the domestic battle lines are more muddled. It would seem that,
as a nation, we have begun to abandon the faith and values of
our founding fathers.
Controversial topics like same-sex marriage, abortion, embryonic
stem cell research, and intelligent design have continued to
divide the populace. Unlike the war on terror, however, this
confrontation has primarily taken place in courtrooms rather
than on battlefields. In many cases, such as the court battle
over removing the words "under God" from the pledge, victory
seems to hinge on the interpretation of our constitution and the
definition of the Establishment Clause, from which the concept
of separation of church and state is derived.
one of the events history will remember most about 2005, is the
dramatic changes that have taken place in the Supreme Court. In
July, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor stirred up
by announcing her resignation from the Supreme Court. Her
resignation was followed a few months later by the death of
Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Rehnquist has since been
replaced by John Roberts. Samuel Alito has been nominated to
take the place of the Sandra Day O'Connor.
of the
Over the
last few years we have watched closely as the European Union has
emerged as a growing world power.
are set to join the EU in January of 2007 and both
have begun negotiations for membership.
consideration of
as a possible member of the EU has put the spotlight on
growing Islamic population. Islam is quickly becoming a
significant part of the cultural and political landscape of
There are between 9 and 15 million Muslims living throughout
today, and Islam has become the largest religious minority.
Considering current population trends and the need for immigrant
labor, it is likely that the number of Muslims in
will continue to grow exponentially.
Muslim population in
has expanded so rapidly that it now appears
is experiencing growing pains. However the problem is not
overcrowding, it is increased cultural tensions. The situation
came to a head in November, when widespread rioting broke out in
- in which over 7,000 vehicles were torched and various public
buildings and businesses were destroyed.
failure to integrate its North African and Muslim minorities is
seen as the key reason behind the rioting.
seen as the future embodiment of global government, the UN has
been the subject of increased scrutiny. While the investigation
into the Oil-for-Food scandal is at its height, the UN has been
bombarded by accusations of corruption and mismanagement. The
Oil-for-Food Scandal is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
As evidence is uncovered, the more apparent it becomes that UN
lacks accountability.
It should
come as no surprise that amidst the scandal the UN has announced
plans for a massive overhaul. The huge reforms will be unlike
any changes made since the organization was founded in 1945.
Historically, government never downsizes voluntarily; it always
increases its power and minimizes accountability to its
citizens. Government reinvention is frequently an effort to
avoid the consequences of failed policies in the past, or to
justify a government's continued expansion by posing solutions
to the problems it has created. Over the last decade, the United
Nations has unabashedly pushed for what it calls "global
governance." The UN is positioning itself for global power, no
doubt it will use the scandal and the ensuing "reforms" to
advance closer to that goal.
Rise of Islam
The Muslim faith is becoming an
increasingly volatile catalyst in today's international scene.
With the continuing threat of terrorist attacks in the
United States,
it has become of paramount importance to understand the origin,
nature, and agenda of Islam.
Americans believe that Islam is a religion of peace and that
Christians and Muslims worship the same God. In public schools
we teach our children a doctrine of tolerance, and in some
schools students are even required to memorize passages of the
Koran. While in comparison Islamic children are taught that
is the Infidel. We are the enemy. When the towers came crashing
down on
11, 2001
and thousands of innocent people were killed, Muslims all over
the world danced in the streets and praised the hijackers. A
survey taken in
shortly after the September 11 attacks reported that 95 percent
of educated Saudi men between the ages of 25 and 41 backed bin
Laden's cause. Islamic terrorists are referred to in the West as
radicals and extremists, while in the mid-east they are heralded
by fundamentalists as martyrs and heroes, and the families of
suicide bombers are rewarded monetary pensions. The disparity
between the two perspectives is staggering.
To say
that Islam is a peaceful religion requires turning a blind eye
to the growing humanitarian crisis in Darfur, the bloodshed in
Chechnya, the London terrorist bombings, and the ethnic
conflicts in China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Pakistan and
India ' not to mention the ongoing violence throughout the
Middle East.
Magog Invasion
experts believe that a large-scale confrontation between
and its neighbors could be on the near horizon. Which has made
growing relationship with nations such as
more concerning. Over the past year or so, partly as a
consequence of the war in
has been carefully cultivating ties with
After losing the Mid-East foothold provided by Saddam Hussein's
the Russians have been building a new axis of power based on
those three key countries.
is now
second-largest trading partner, with a volume of $10 billion in
trade per year.
has also strengthened ties with
by supplying it with nuclear-related technologies. Earlier this
made plans to increase diplomatic and military cooperation.
wrote-off approximately 10 billion dollars of
Soviet-era debt and has supplied
with Russian made SA-18 surface-to-air missiles, in spite of
objections. Russian military experts have also been sent to the
Gaza Strip to train Palestinian security forces. In addition to
is prepared to provide the Palestinians with armored vehicles,
ammunition, and helicopters.
developments could be a sign that the famed battle prophesied in
Ezekiel 38 and 39 is on our near horizon. It is during this
battle, that God will directly intercede to protect
from Magog and its allies.
Rise of the
Far East
has quickly become a global power. In recent years,
has bought, borrowed, or stolen technology, which has catapulted
its military capabilities into the modern high-tech arena. In
the last year
has announced plans to launch 100 surveillance satellites, and
has unveiled its new class of ballistic missile submarines.
These submarines will be
first truly intercontinental strategic nuclear delivery system.
The Chinese military is preparing for a war with the
United States,
a war which its commanders believe is inevitable.
In March
the Chinese government passed an anti-secession law authorizing
the use of military force should
formally declare its independence. The law also increased
Chinese military spending.
wants to avoid entering into an armed conflict over
but that does not mean it is unprepared or unwilling to go to
Foreign Minister made clear
intensions when he stated publicly "We will never allow
separatist forces to secede from the great motherland...we will
never allow it."
Over the
last few years
has strengthened its ties with the
It is already one of the biggest suppliers of weapons and
military technology to Arab nations and has become a major
consumer of Middle Eastern oil.
Biotech and Global Pestilence
to the National Institute of Health infectious diseases remain
the leading cause of death worldwide, and the third leading
cause of death in the
Diseases thought to be obsolete have once again become a global
threat, and in recent years new pathogens have emerged, some of
which carry antibiotic-resistant genes or mutations enabling
them to move across different species.
Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization
have been preparing for a possible outbreak of the Avian virus
(also known as the Bird Flu), which officials believe could
become a global epidemic if a new virulent strain of the virus
emerges that can jump readily from human to human. If there is
an outbreak health workers estimate that it would spread rapidly
and could kill anywhere from 2 million to 50 million people.
February of this year embryologist Ian Wilmut, the scientist
that brought us Dolly the sheep, was given permission by the
British government to clone human embryos for medical research.
The announcement has renewed debate over the scientific and
ethical implications of cloning and embryonic stem cell
It may
seem difficult to imagine the world united under one ruler and
one religion, especially with the bloody ethnic battles taking
place in the world today. However, the violence caused by
religious and cultural conflicts could in fact be the catalyst
that brings about drastic change. The desire for world peace,
the deterioration of moral values in the Western world, the
restriction of religious freedom in
and the continued persecution of Christians in other parts of
the world could all pave the way for the emergence of a global
The Roman
Catholic Church is one of the wealthiest, most powerful
institutions on the Planet Earth today. It has almost one
billion followers, approximately 20 percent of the world's
population. This year history witnessed the death of Pope John
Paul II and selection of his successor, Pope Benedict XVI. The
Roman Catholic Church - the
- is poised to become the vehicle for the final ecumenical union
of all religions. Many commentators believe that the religion of
the Antichrist will not be atheism, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism,
or New Age. It will be a pagan form of Christianity.
Looking Ahead
Christians, it is important for us to be able to recognize the
"signs of the times" (Matthew 16:3), or as we like to call them,
the "times of the signs". We are living in a very exciting age,
about which the Bible has a lot to say if you really take the
time to study it diligently. God made no mistake by placing us
in this time and place, and as such we are admonished to be
brave and to contend for the faith. We are soldiers in a mighty
spiritual army. Each has a unique mission incapable of being
filled by another. It is time to pray for direction and purpose,
and then boldly do what He commands us to do. If we truly
believe that we are in the "times of the signs", and that the
coming of our Messiah is near, then we need to be about our
Master's business. Our goal is to hear the words, "Well done, my
good and faithful servant."
Support of Israel and the Jewish People
Editor's Comment
December 03, 2005
Christians must always understand that God's Word came to
everyone (Jews and Gentiles alike) through the Jewish people, with only one
exception being Luke. Christianity was founded by Jews. The incarnate
Christ was a Jew. The Apostles were Jews. And the day will come when God
will seal 144,000 Jews during the tribulation period so vividly illustrated
in the book of Revelation.
I could go on, but suffice it to say that all Christians
are beholden to the Jewish people.
So it is refreshing to see that there is a Jewish website
that strongly supports Christians as "the last remaining obstacle to the
moral deconstruction of America." If you wish to view it, click on:
In Christ,
Charles of
Editor's Comment
June 27, 2005
Should there ever be any misunderstanding regarding the
position of
www.bibleone.net in regard to the nation of Israel and the Jewish people
located anywhere on earth, I would like all to know that I, and therefore the
website, have been, is, and forever will be in full support of God's chosen
people (Jews, Israelites) and their God-given homeland (Israel), which today is
only a small portion of the land granted to them by God in perpetuity, and their
rightful capitol city of Jerusalem.
When God chose Israel as His people, He not only placed
them at the crossroads of history, but also at the center of the empires of
their times. Time and again, this little country has endured siege and
upheaval, destruction and exile, only to rise from the ashes and start anew.
Israel's position in God's plan throughout the ages and the Millennial Kingdom soon
to come is firmly ensconced in God's Word. Israel is a country so small that
there is no room to write its name on most world maps. Yet it is a country that
will continue to exist no matter the deadly, bloodthirsty endeavors by the Muslim
world to totally destroy it.
Every Christian would do well to please their Savior to
learn more of and support strongly God's chosen people!
In support of all Jews, Israelis, their country, and
Jerusalem; this editor and his website,
www.bibleone.net, follow, support, and recommend the following two
Editor: Darrell
Zola Levitt
Ministries, Inc.
Box 12268
Dallas, TX
From the Editor
Date: June 11, 2004
Overwhelming Impressions of the Life of Ronald W. Reagan
During this week of national mourning over the death of the 40th
President of the United States of America, Ronald Wilson Reagan, I have been
overwhelmed with several impressions as I have heard numerous testimonies
pertaining to his life and service to our country and to mankind everywhere.
Here are a few of them:
1. First and foremost, he was a man of great faith in God and his
Lord, Jesus Christ. Every aspect of his life was centered on this faith.
As a young man in Dixon, Illinois, he placed his faith in Christ Jesus and
became a child of God. From that time on I understand he never missed
church, and he taught Sunday School for several years. It was only during
his term in office as President that he selected not to create a 'scene' by
attending church and worshiped alone. After leaving the White House he
continued again to attend church regularly. He loved the outdoors and called
his ranch in California his 'cathedral' with 'walls of oaks.' He was a man
of constant prayer, often just looking upwards and saying, 'Glory to God.'
2. Second, he was a devoted family man. He counted himself the
most fortunate man alive to have married his wife Nancy, who was his most
loyal advocate throughout his life and who tenaciously stood by and
supported him in all his adventures. He was equally as loyal to her and
praised her upon every available occasion. They were two who were deeply and
genuinely 'in love.' There may never be a more perfect example of two who
found something of 'heaven on earth.'
3. Third, he was a man of sincere humility. He never thought of
himself as one of great importance or status. He never missed an opportunity
to stop, go out of his way and speak to the 'common' and 'working class'
around him. He always felt it more important to connect with those of 'small
stature,' rather than the 'rich and famous.' He was truly a servant of all
the people.
4. Fourth, he was indeed a servant to all of us. He realized early
in life that God's purpose for every human being was (1) to receive Jesus
Christ, and (2) to be a servant for Christ to all mankind by sharing both
His message and His nature. Ronald Reagan always placed others before
himself. He understood that in all things God had established meaning, and
it was his duty to help reveal this meaning in life for all mankind.
President Reagan counted it a joyous thing to do this every day while he was
in office.
5. Fifth, he was a man of firm conviction. His convictions, both
theological and political, were never compromised by his words or his
actions. Even though many of these were unpopular with many, he courageously
stood by them. But more than that, he lived them. And by doing so he changed
the face of this world for good'for you and me.
6. Sixth, he was a man of tenacious energy when it came to
achieving goals. It took him three times before he was able to gain the
Presidency of the United States. Prior to this he struggled in face of many
failures and down-turns both personally and professionally. But he never
gave up. He always, with great optimism and inner-strength of character,
pushed on until he reached the very highest office and opportunity this
world can offer.
7. And seventh and last, he was always a man of action. But it was
always a focused action against evil and for good. He was never
timid'considerate and kind at every turn, but never timid. He exercised his
love for all of us by serving the one and serving the all. Every day and
every moment was a stage on which he could perform for the glory of God and
the good of mankind.
In these and more, Ronald Reagan was and remains a 'shining example upon a
hill' for all of us. Let us never forget him!
Charles of www.bibleone.net
A Middle East Evaluation Based on Recent Events
(March 23, 2004)
By Darrell Young
of www.focusonjerusalem.com
Israel's pinpoint assassination of Sheik Yassin was
appropriate; however, its timing was far too late, just as the assassination of
Arafat would be way too late to do much good (although at this point they should
go ahead and continue to attack terrorist anywhere they can find them). Israel
should have killed Arafat in 1982, if not sooner. Israel held Yassin in prison
several years ago, but consented to release him due to political pressure from
the United Nations (UN) resulting from a botched assassination attempt in
Jordan. Israel is in the process of withdrawing from portions of Gaza and the
West Bank due to international pressure from the European Union-United
States-United Nations (EU-US-UN) association in order to jumpstart the 'Peace
Roadmap.' In that staged withdrawal, Israel has decided to diminish the
influence of Hamas in Gaza as much as possible. Israel hopes that by
cutting off the "religious head" that the snake of Hamas might crawl away, but
that is not going to happen (the demonic hatred of Israel is the fuel that fans
the flames of terror, and there are many, many more Yassins out there).
Hamas is fed military supplies from Egypt, Iran, and North
Korea. Egypt allows terror units to infiltrate via tunnels from the Sinai into
Gaza (And Egypt is supposed to be a peace-partner?). Abdul Aziz Rantissi is the
military head of Hamas, and Israel miss-fired on an assassination attempt on him
a few weeks back. I expect that they will try again on him very soon, since he
will now take over Hamas. The Hamas military wing, Izzedine al Qassam, plans
and carries out these insidious attacks on Israelis under Rantissi's direction.
The Palestinians are simply caught up in a frenzy environment of hate, and this
hatred will not vanish with surgical strikes for it is fueled by the workings of
Satan through a demonic religion.
One can't fail but notice that all the news media outlets
reported that Israel's actions would only escalate the violence. That is a
presumptuous necessity on their part, because they are controlled by a
conglomerate/global hierarchy. They want a cycle of escalation and they always
cast the blame on Israel instead of on the terrorists. They all desire Israel to
make more concessions and more pressure to be placed on America.
Surgical strikes are now only a 'band-aid' defensive
measure by Israel on their malignant cancer of terrorism. Israel should have
long ago gone on a total offensive against terrorism, but the UN would not then
and will not now stand for this. And any American President who fails to coerce
Israel into peace concessions, who supports Israel in their attacks on terrorism
(like the US is attempting), or who moves the American embassy to Jerusalem will
find that He has placed the U.S. in the gun sights not only of Al Qaeda but the
whole world. Even moderate Palestinians feel like Israel is encouraging the
inevitability of war because of its political decisions during the Oslo process
that made life intolerable for the average Palestinian. The return of Arafat
(agreed to by Rabin) fostered the promotion of Yassin, and others like him. The
average Palestinian lost freedom due to this! Israel should have NEVER
entered into any association with the EU-UN Middle East Peace brokers, which
allowed for the reinsertion of Yasser Arafat back into Gaza.
Arafat and his thugs were isolated in Tunisia, and they
should have never been permitted to return to Israeli-territory. But, due to
UN-Vatican pressure, Arafat was allowed to return to Gaza in return for his
repudiation of terror in 1990 (Israel
swallowed that "pill of poison" because she is desperate for peace, and remains
blind to the truth of the Prince of Peace). We now stand at the
threshold of WWIII because of that error. This Arafat-complicity has served the
conspiracy of the Antichrist (AC) perfectly. The AC's manipulation and control
of world events has prevented Israel from exercising sovereignty over Jerusalem,
and has placed Israel squarely in the eye of a gathering demonic
Hamas, under Yassin and Rantissi, has become allied with
Hezbullah in South Lebanon. Israel, under the pressure of constant terror
negotiations, is being slowly entrenched into a logistical pincer/vice. Hamas
and Hezbulloh, along with Arafat's PLO, are doggedly inching forward for the
kill as America becomes increasingly isolated. They have coordinated strategic
plans with Al Qaeda, PFLP, and many other State-sponsored (Syria, Iran)
terrorist organizations to gain concession after concession from Israel; and to
gradually reduce American influence and resolve in the support of Israel. This
strategy is a scheme of the global AC-order of world events. He through them is
using Islam to weaken the US; and thereafter, to render Israel helpless in its
I believe that America is in for a BIG (nuclear) HIT sooner
or later. I believe the EU, UN, and the 'globalist ideologues,' many of whom
are well-positioned in the US government, are working through political intrigue
to decrease American dominance in the world (they hate Bush and his Middle East
"pre-emptive doctrine" that supports Israel's right to exist). This year's
election will be extremely important to America's fate. It is clear that the
Carter-Kerry-Chirac-WesClark-Anan-liberal/socialists celebrities clique are
coordinating a plan to extinguish the independence of our Christian republic,
and to transition the U.S. into a 'One World Socialist-Democratic Order' in
which a UN/European Super Man (AC) will dominate.
I see where Satan is marshaling his demonic forces on
several fronts against America so that he can later set his final sights on
Israel. They follow:
The recent terrorist bombing event in Spain has highlighted
the terrorism/security urgency within the world. European leaders have flatly
stated that the only way to defeat terrorism is to resolve the
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Bin laden himself laid out the scenario for all
of us 3 years ago: 'There will be no peace for the world until there is
peace in Palestine,' and the peace that he and
the 'elite world leadership' have in mind is a world where there is no
Christianity and no Israel. Only then can they have their peace! Israel and
America (under Bush) could wage a successful war on terrorism, through surgical
strikes, and selective campaigns in certain States, but unfortunately, the world
just won't take all that risk for the sake of little ole "expendable" ISRAEL.
The position of this web site, because it is the position of its editor, is
that the primary reason America has been a prospering nation to the extent that
it is today the only true world super power is because of its continuing support
for God's chosen people, the people and Nation of Israel. It is true that the
founding of America was grounded on a far superior moral basis than what exists
in this country today, and this may also be somewhat attributable to its rise to
prominence. But the principal reason for it blessings lies in its support of
This is confirmed in God's unilateral covenant with Abram (later to be
designated Abraham) when he resided in Haran, as is recorded in Genesis
12:1-3, wherein God specifically said to Abram, 'Get out
of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I
will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your
name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I
will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be
Down through the ages the Israeli Nation has continued while numerous other
nations have declined and have become extinct. As God promised they have since
been reestablished in their land and have been reconnected to Jerusalem. This
progression of the Israeli State will continue and as long as the United States
supports them, America will continue to prosper.
It is for this reason the following excerpt from Chuck Missler's K-House
eNews for the week of June 17, 2003 is quoted:
The Middle East conflict arguably receives more headline space than any other
conflict in the world and has successfully divided human opinion into two basic
camps. One camp considers the plight of the Palestinian people, forced from
their historic homeland by Jewish invaders. The other sees the world's only
Jewish state battling terrorists within, surrounded by ambivalent Arab states
without, and fighting for its very existence. As we consistently have stood with
the latter, we offer the following brief list of arguments on Israel's behalf.
1. God gave the land of Israel to the descendants of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob as an "everlasting" possession (Gen 17:8,19; Gen
48:3,4). The LORD put no condition on his promise to Abraham, and
while there have been times of exile and times of domination by other
powers, there has always been a Jewish presence in the land.
(Actually, while current politics bickers over the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip and the pre-1967 borders, the original borders stretched
all the way to the west bank of the Euphrates [Gen 15:18].)
2. There has never been a country of Palestine ruled by
Palestinians. The Romans originally called the area Judea, but
around AD 135 renamed it "Palaestina" - presumably after Israel's
enemies the Philistines. After the Romans, the area was controlled in
turn by the Byzantine Empire, Arabia, the Seljuk Turks, Mameluke
forces from Egypt, the Ottoman Empire, and the British.
3. The "Historic Palestinian Homeland" isn't exactly historic.
For hundreds of years, Palestine was a miserable backwash part of the
Ottoman Empire. Poor administration practices by the Ottoman Empire
and a war with the invader Napoleon in 1798 severely reduced the
population of Palestine. Both Arabs and Jews emigrated to happier
locations and only a dismal, scattered population was left. In his
book Innocent's Abroad (1869), Mark Twain repeatedly notes how
empty and desolate he found the Holy Land during his travels through.
Even Jerusalem held a population of only 14,000 people, and Twain
noted there was great variety in those 14,000, including, "Muslims,
Jews, Greeks, Latins, Armenians, Syrians, Copts, Abyssinians, Greek
Catholics, and a handful of Protestants." It wasn't until the last
part of the 19th century that the Arab population started growing
4. The Jews had need of their own state. Jews also started an
exodus into the Holy Land in the late 1800s, fleeing persecution in
Europe. After WWI, Britain gained control of the territory of
Palestine and, under the League of Nations' British Mandate, sought to
create a national homeland for the Jewish people. However, because of
Arab pressure, Britain turned around and limited the number of Jews
who could legally immigrate and settle, leaving millions of Jews to be
slaughtered in Europe during WWII. (Meanwhile, thousands of Arabs who
were attracted by the high living standards in Jewish cities were
freely allowed to enter the land.)
7. Too few Palestinians truly desire peace. Since its creation,
Arab groups have desired the elimination of the State of Israel. Most
Arab nations have yet to officially recognize the right of Israel to
exist, and many Muslim groups, like Hamas and Hezbollah, will not
allow peace unless it comes in the form of Israel's destruction. In
the schools, Palestinian children are consistently taught to hate
Israel and not to seek and pursue peace. The Palestinian leadership
has long condoned terrorism against Israeli civilians. Peace proposals
have been answered with greater numbers of terrorist attacks. When
former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered the most far-reaching
concessions ever, Yasser Arafat rejected them and the 2000 intifada
started shortly thereafter. Until the Palestinians' desire for true
peace is stronger than the efforts of the terrorists, no "Road Map"
will work.
8. Israel is a great nation and an ally. In less than fifty
years, the Jews have formed one of the world's most advanced
democratic nations. They share western ideals of freedom and
independence. Israel is a multicultural land filled with immigrants,
and Israelis affirm the equal rights of every Israeli citizen,
regardless of race, religion or gender. In spite of the constant
terrorist destruction, economic difficulties caused by wars and
embargoes, and the effort to absorb hundreds of thousands of
immigrants over the years, Israeli society has flourished.
Being in support of Israel, however, is not equivalent to being against the
Arab people living in the land. The Palestinians should stir our compassion.
They have been lied to by their own leaders, who have put self-aggrandizement
and political agendas above the welfare of the people. They have lost freedom
because of the terrorists among them. They have lost their jobs and homes and
family members during their desperate war against the Jews. Most importantly,
they do not know the freedom and peace that comes from a saving relationship
with Jesus Christ.
The only time there will be true peace in Israel is when the Prince of Peace
comes to rule it. Until then, may we continue to pray for the people of Israel,
both Jews and Gentiles, that God would reveal Himself to them in a powerful way
through the knowledge of His Son.
Other salient information on Israel, world affairs and Bible doctrine may be
obtained from Churck Missler's web site,


text:
We want to ensure that making a return is as easy and hassle-free as possible! If for any reason you decide that your purchase just isn't for you, simply return the item within 30 days of receipt and we'll cover the return shipping when you choose our FREE Pre-Paid Return Shipping Label. Learn more about our return policy.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Apfelstrudel by jussyo // via Instagram http://instagram.com/p/gTe1Qnm10Y/
Tags: foodstagram foodporn germany travel
An automatic feed of Instagram posts that are tagged either #travel or #traveling. Powered by the magic of IFTTT.
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The UNC Institute invites you to a reading, talk, and book signing with author Jay Erskine Leutze of "Stand Up That Mountain". Location: Tate-Turner-Kuralt Building at 325 Pittsboro Street, UNC Campus, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599. (parking available beginning at 5:00 PM underneath the FedEx Global Education Center) STAND UP THAT MOUNTAIN: The Battle to Save One Small Community in the Wilderness Along the Appalachian Trail by Jay Leutze (Scribner), is a classic underdog tale and the true story — akin to A Civil Action—of an outdoorsman living alone in Western North Carolina who teams up with his neighbors to save a treasured mountain and section of the Appalachian trail from being destroyed. This event is free and open to the public. EVENT CONTACT: Katie Hall, UNC Institute for the Environment: firstname.lastname@example.com
207 South Road (Daniels Building, UNC Campus)
UNC Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Region or Town
UNC Chapel Hill
West End
This part of Franklin Street—just before Chapel Hill turns into Carrboro—has a high concentration of fabulous Dining...
Read More
Spend the day sampling the below ideas if you have kids or enjoy taking in local attractions.
Read More
Park downtown Chapel Hill at the Wallace Deck public parking lot.
Explore the UNC Campus
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is...
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A visit to Chapel Hill means world-class performances, indie music and top-notch opportunities to view visual art. [Image Source, UNC
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Hillsborough is a small town with a big history.
Read More


text:
THUNDER BAY -- Closing roads to open streets seems contradictory.
But as the city's first Open Streets initiative showed, it is quite successful.
For five hours on Sunday the entirety of Algoma Street was closed to motor vehicles and instead the usually busy north end artery was filled with human traffic.
While an exact figure was hard to calculate along the nearly six kilometre route, there were more than 1,000 people out at some point between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Coordinator Ashley Priem was pleased not only with the turnout along the way but the wide demographic of people and the means in which they were getting around.
"We just wanted to encourage as many people in the community to come out, exercise, be physically active and take advantage of access to nice smooth pavement to do whatever they'd like," Priem said.
"We have lots of people out on the route of different ages and abilities."
The Open Streets path extended from the beginning of Algoma at John Street all the way to Boulevard Lake, including West Lyon Boulevard.
Along Algoma there were a wide range of activities available for people to try, such as T'ai Chi, CrossFit, bike polo, ultimate frisbee and an assortment of demonstrations.
While there are obvious environmental and exercise benefits, there are also reasons to believe the project has economic merit.
Priem said she believes walking and cycling are two modes of traffic more conducive to window shopping and pop in visits than driving.
That was apparent in the Algoma-Bay business district, where people and visited the various local establishments.
Several of the establishments took their business out onto the streets and had people lined up out the door.
Speaking on behalf of the Bay and Algoma Business Association, Uriel Lubuk said it was an idea way to show off the revitalized neighbourhood.
"A lot of people are potentially down here for the first time and don't know about the unique shops and restaurants," Lubuk said.
"I've seen a whole bunch of new faces down here that I've never seen."
Lubuk said the city's first glimpse at the Open Streets concept should calm any anxiety businesses will have in the future.
"I think they'll see the benefits in the long run," he said. "I'm aware Open Streets works well in many other city centres."
"From what I see so far I'm fairly happy. We knew as a pilot project we would have to be evaluating what was happening and that's going to be the next step," Priem said.
Priem said organizers will seek input from the public as well as businesses and community partners for feedback and ideas to improve if the initiative returns.
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text:
From OFSET Community Wiki
See the French page about Freeduc-USB
Freeduc-USB 2.0 at RMLL 2010
The second version of Freeduc-USB will be publicly delivered during the meeting RMLL 2010 in Bordeaux, from the 6th to the 11th July 2010. Do visit OFSET's booth in the association village.
A first version of Freeduc-USB has been tested during year 2010 in lycée Jean Bart, Dunkirk, France.
Features of Freeduc-USB 2.0
- a wooden case to express vital impetus and sustainability (even if we all know that most of the carbon footprint of a usb stick is not due to its case)
- OFSET's logo and a short laser-burnt phrase on the case
- 4 GB approx. of memory in order to achieve a low cost
- contents based on MicroKnoppix for very fast boot, a lightweight desktop interface, and a collection of educational software comprising at least all of OFSET's developers'products
- a short presentation of our association
- a short document about free software, its advantage for education
- a utility to clone the stick itself, to enable it to spread quickly
The software contents
Choice of the distribution
Freeduc-CD was based on Knoppix, I (Georgesk 17:57, 2 June 2010 (UTC)) suggest to make Freeduc-USB based on MicroKnoppix (Knoppix V6.0). The reasons are:
- Knoppix relies on Debian/Ubuntu, the diversity of packages maintained for those distributions is the larger available
- OFSET's website already features a non-official Debian repository, which allows us to maintain easily custom packages
- http://debian.ofset.org already features the package freeduc-usb, which makes easier many operations to prepare bootable USB keys
- MicroKnoppix boots in 30 seconds on most recent machines
- I (Georgesk 17:57, 2 June 2010 (UTC)) am used to hack with Knoppix
The set of educational packages and their customisation (enventually)
- LXDE, wich is a most lightweight, still featureful, desktop graphic environment
- Collatinus
- Other latin software
- Algotutor
- Etoys and DrGeo II with Pharo environment, iStoa (not ready)
- ghemical, pyacidobasic, pymecavideo, pysatellites
- wims (local server with a selection of modules)
- links to gnuedu, logilogi
- all of the selection found in Freeduc-CD 1.5 ??
- Scratch
Discussion about the creation of this release of Freeduc-USB
This section should be migrated in an archive when the USB stick will be released. It is intended to coordinate OFSET members'work to create Freeduc-USB 2.0
Ordering and buying the first small series of USB sticks
- informations given by Ceasar SUN
- choice of the logical size: 4GB ??
- choice of the case: slim, wooden case ?? a width of 19 mm allows to plug many USB sticks in a hub (20 mm between slots) to clone the contents quickly
- choice of the logo and other printable images/words, to be engraved with a laser. One single color is available.
Logo and words to laser-engrave
Remember that the laser can only make one modification of color in the material.
|SVG format, should be managed with Inkscape
|PNG format (exported by inkscape)
Should both faces of the stick be engraved?
If so, make a proposition for the logo. Hereafter are a few variations with the word "Freeduc-USB" written with different fonts, than concerted to a vectorial path.
A proposition for both faces
The same, exported as a PNG file by Inkscape (at 60 ppi):
How to distribute Freeduc-USB 2.0
during events: which price ? how do we promote it ? (flyers, poster)
from our website:
- already installed on a USB stick with our logo (which price, how promoted, how posted?)
- as an image and an installer (do we require membership?)
- as a bittorrent feed (how do we ensure security?)


text:
Join 500,000+ Artists
Its' free and it takes less than 10 seconds!
Second letter of butterfly dream
80x80cm (oil on wood )
Similar Threads
- a wood elf
- Old Wood
- wood elf
- Art: Wood Elf
- Fine fine online comics!
Last edited by overkilldex; September 22nd, 2012 at 06:55 AM. Reason: update
That's really refreshing!
Any story behind it? Or is that left up to the viewer
-I often post from my phone; so please excuse the typosSketchbook
Thank you and I never told the story behind, find your own story with your senses and your feelings, when you looking at the painting.
The paper and the bird seem a little stiff. I like the surrealism though.
how long did this take? the blending is so prime
Check out my youtube! https://www.youtube.com/user/GrawvyRobber?feature=mhee
You need a lot of time and patience to do this. In a basic its old flamish tehnique (several layers tehnique) and its not simply as it look. Also my photo sligtly change the color tonality. I post the eye detail and photo of stages from another painting.
Best regards and keep working on
Last edited by overkilldex; July 15th, 2012 at 06:24 PM. Reason: correct text error
Beautiful blending
Have you ever worked with egg-tempera?
I stopped fighting my inner demons; we're on the same side now...
Both, the technical side and the theme are wonderful. Fantastic.
oil on wood 70x55cm
so cool.)
So amazing.... the last layer just is so bright and colorful... how is this done
Check out my youtube! https://www.youtube.com/user/GrawvyRobber?feature=mhee
Painting process
Oil on wood 30x40 cm little study for a larger painting
lovely work. Very inspiring.
That could quite possibly be the least interesting thing I have ever heard.
Developed Actively by vBSocial.com
The Art Department
SpringOfSea's Sketchbook


text:
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Liza May Minnelli (born March 12, 1946 in Los Angeles, California) is an Academy Award-winning American actress and singer. She is the daughter of legendary entertainer Judy Garland and her second husband, acclaimed film director Vincente Minnelli (who was of Italian and French descent). Minnelli's first film appearance was at the age of three in the final scene of the 1949 musical In the Good Old Summertime, starring her mother and Van Johnson. Minnelli started performing at age 16, in 1963, in an Off-Broadway revival of the musical Best Foot Forward, for which she received good notices.
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text:
Expect Cooler Nights with No Precipitation Forecast through the Remainder of the Week
Monsoonal weather patterns have moved into the Grand Canyon area decreasing fire danger. As a result, on Tuesday, July 8 at 8 a.m. fire managers lifted fire restrictions within Grand Canyon National Park. More »
Two Bats Collected in the Park Have Tested Positive for Rabies
One on the North Kaibab Trail and the other at Tusayan Ruin/Museum. Rabies can be prevented if appropriate medical care is given following an exposure. Any persons having physical contact with bats in Grand Canyon National Park, please follow this link. More »
Thanking America's Armed Forces - Active Duty US Military Offered Free Entrance to National Parks
Contact: Shannan Marcak, 928-638-7958
Grand Canyon, Ariz. - On Saturday, May 19, 2012 - Armed Forces Day - the National Park Service will begin issuing an annual pass offering free entrance to all 397 national parks for active duty military members and their dependents.
"Grand Canyon National Park is proud to recognize the brave men and women who sacrifice so much to protect our country," said park Superintendent Dave Uberuaga. "It is our hope that a visit to the Grand Canyon will offer an opportunity for active duty military personnel to rejuvenate and spend quality time having fun with their families."
Active duty members of the U.S. Military and their dependents can pick up the new pass at Grand Canyon National Park entrance stations beginning May 19.Those wishing to obtain a pass must show a current, valid military identification card. More information is available at www.nps.gov/findapark/passes.htm.
This military version of the America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass also permits free entrance to sites managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the U.S. Forest Service. The pass is also available at these locations.
"Through the years, military members, especially those far from home in times of conflict, have found inspiration in America's patriotic icons and majestic landscapes, places like the Statue of Liberty and the Grand Canyon that are cared for by the National Park Service and symbolize the nation that their sacrifices protect," said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. "This new pass is a way to thank military members and their families for their service and their sacrifices."
National parks and the military have strong ties going back to the establishment of Yellowstone as the world's first national park in 1872. The U.S. Cavalry watched over America's national parks, serving as the first park rangers until the National Park Service was created 44 years later. During World War II, many parks were set aside for the training and care of military personnel. Today, dozens of national parks commemorate military battles and achievements.
For information on visiting Grand Canyon National Park, please go to the park's web site at www.nps.gov/grca.
Did You Know?
At the bottom, where Unkar Creek joins the Colorado River sits Unkar Delta where prehistoric Pueblo people occupied numerous sites here for about 350 years (A.D. 850 to A.D. 1200)


text:
3 meals plus snacks for $4 a day
Slash grocery bills with a little planning and careful shopping. And no, you're not doomed to eat ramen at every meal.
Related topics: savings, budgeting, spending, food, Donna Freedman
Worried about your grocery bill? You should be. Food prices hovered near record levels in May, the U.N. reported, rising faster than they have in three decades.
That's the bad news. The good news: Food is the area of your budget with the most wiggle room. You probably can't negotiate your rent or your car payment, but you can slash grocery costs with just a little planning and careful shopping.
You're not doomed to live on ramen, either. To prove it, my editor proposed a 14-day grocery experiment with a budget of $53.86 per week: the average Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly called food stamps) benefit of $33.34 per person per week plus $20.52 for the 9.8% of net income that the average American spends on food; in this case, the income is 130% of the federal poverty line, the level that qualifies a person for SNAP. (Want tips on eating well when money's tight? Read Liz Weston's column.)
Almost $54 a week sounded like a lot to me. And it was: In two weeks I spent just $48.39 from the imaginary food-stamp budget, plus about $7.91 of my own money (i.e., food I already had).
That works out to $56.30 total, or $28.15 per week -- about 52% of what I was allowed to spend. Since I didn't use up all the ingredients I bought, the money technically went even further.
Your mileage may vary, of course. But here's how it shook down for me.
Rule No. 1: Make menus based on sales
Sounds elementary, I know. But many people just grab whatever looks good.
Donna Freedman
Be sure to scan every page of the store ads, because the best prices aren't necessarily up front. One supermarket circular had a coupon for 10 pounds of potatoes for $1.50 on Page 5; as soon as I saw it, I knew I'd be eating spuds.
If you're superorganized, you can read your food ad in advance through sites like A Full Cup, and then buy coupons.
Here's what I bought and took from my cupboards and freezer:
- Produce: several pounds of "reduced for quick sale" apples, 2 pounds of carrots, two oranges, one onion, nine bananas, 10 pounds of potatoes, five 12-ounce bags of plain frozen vegetables. (I provided dried plums and apricots.)
- Canned goods: tomato sauce, salsa, two cans of tomato soup, two cans of diced tomatoes, one can of tomato paste, two 5-ounce cans of chunk light tuna. (I provided canned fruit, mayonnaise, ketchup and mustard.)
- Protein: Package of 10 chicken thighs, 2 pounds ground beef, one dozen eggs, one 8-ounce package of cream cheese. (I provided 2 cups dried pinto beans, peanut butter, 1 ounce jack cheese, ham and a "reduced for quick sale" steak.)
- Miscellaneous: Multigrain bread, oil, sugar, pretzel sticks, 4 ounces Greek yogurt (for starter to make my own), one Butterfinger bar, 2 cups bulk cornmeal, 1½ gallons milk and cookies. (I provided: Wheat Thins, bagels, tricolor pasta, flour tortillas, tea bags, oatmeal, Sweet'N Low, various store-brand spices, M&Ms, dried coconut, vanilla, butter, rhubarb and pickles.)
Note the absence of fresh greens (expensive and sporadic during this experiment) and fancy-schmancy ingredients. I eat the kind of food my mama fed me -- plain home cooking on a tight budget. Like her, I make food stretch; for example, that package of 10 chicken thighs became two chicken dinners, a stir-fry, a batch of chili, two chicken salad sandwiches and, finally, a pot of soup.
Rule No. 2: Shop strategically
One-stop shopping is easiest but, cherry-picking the deals at multiple stores could save you a bundle. I visited five nearby stores. Not everyone has that many choices, or that much time. Do what works for you and what makes sense -- don't drive 10 miles out of your way to save a dollar.
Think outside the supermarket, too. The Sweet'N Low for my iced tea cost nothing thanks to ink-cartridge trades at Staples. I hit sales and used coupons to get bagels at Target and cream cheese, eggs, pretzels, sugar and clearance taquitos at Walgreens. (Yes, Walgreens sells frozen foods. Taquitos aren't the healthiest thing in the world but, a 38-cent serving now and then won't kill me.)
I've even bought pasta, canned goods and other items at estate sales, where everything -- including the contents of the kitchen cupboards -- must go.
Copyright © 2014 Microsoft. All rights reserved.
Fundamental company data and historical chart data provided by Morningstar Inc. Real-time index quotes and delayed quotes supplied by Morningstar Inc. Quotes delayed by up to 15 minutes, except where indicated otherwise. Fund summary, fund performance and dividend data provided by Morningstar Inc. Analyst recommendations provided by Zacks Investment Research. StockScouter data provided by Verus Analytics. IPO data provided by Hoover's Inc. Index membership data provided by Morningstar Inc.
CareerCast has released its list of jobs that really aren't as glamorous as they seem.


text:
Sale Price $
You Save $
- Apparel Sizing
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Go the extra mile in the knit Puma Spring Overtime Short! It features a wide elastic waistband, external drawcord, contrast piping, colorblocking at sides with heat transfer print, and a heat transfer Puma logo at left hem.
- Fit: We find the short fits true to size.
- Rise: Low Rise
- Short Length: 11" (size SM)
- Inseam Length: 3"
- Overall Fit: Semi-Fitted
- Content: Body: 100% Polyester. Waistband: 95% Polyester, 5% Elastane.
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Dry Cell materials draw sweat away from your skin and help keep you dry and comfortable during exercise.
|Other items in Puma Discount Apparel
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