Monday, September 30, 2013
Monday Stuff
"As recently as four years ago, nuclear power companies were planning to spend billions of dollars to build a new reactor in Oswego County, alongside three existing nuclear plants. Then the bottom fell out. Natural gas-burning power plants that benefit from a glut of cheap gas produced by hydrofracking cut wholesale electricity prices in half. Now the outlook for nuclear power plants is so bleak that Wall Street analysts say one or more Upstate nuclear plants could go out of business if conditions don't change. Two Upstate nukes in particular — the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in Oswego County and the R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant in nearby Wayne County — are high on the watch list of plants that industry experts say are at risk of closing for economic reasons."
Remember how we first got introduced to a computer?
We did not know anything and were very cautious and worried that we would do the wrong thing. Then slowly we adapted to using computers, and along came the "Internet" and we once again had a learning curve. Most of us typically had someone that we thought knew a lot about all of this who guided us through the maze. Then we soon enough discovered that the net was a great place to find out anything that we wanted to know.
"Los Angeles Unified School District started issuing iPads to its
students this school year, as part of a $30 million deal with Apple. Now
Sam Sanders reports at NPR that less than a week after getting their
iPads, high school students have found a way to bypass software blocks on the devices
that limit what websites the students can use. The students are getting around software that lets school district officials know where the iPads are, what the students are doing with them at all times and lets the district block certain sites, such as social media favorites like Facebook.
'They were bound to fail,' says Renee Hobbs, who's been a skeptic of the iPad program from the start. 'There is a huge history in American education of being attracted to the new, shiny, hugely promising bauble and then watching the idea fizzle because teachers weren't properly trained to use it and it just ended up in the closet.'
The rollout of the iPads might have to be delayed as officials reassess access policies. Right now, the program is still in Phase 1, with fewer than 15,000 iPads distributed. 'I'm guessing this is just a sample of what will likely occur on other campuses once this hits Twitter, YouTube or other social media sites explaining to our students how to breach or compromise the security of these devices,' says Steven Zipperman. 'I want to prevent a "runaway train" scenario when we may have the ability to put a hold on the roll-out.' The incident has prompted questions about overall preparations for the $1-billion tablet initiative."
Gee what could possibly go wrong?
Personally, I think that money could better be spent on good old fashioned computer labs. A good student PC is a heck of a lot cheaper, and these kids need to learn to type on a real keyboard or else they're going to be at a huge disadvantage compared to their peers who do.
Crime sniffing rats are better then the Dogs?
"Ratting someone out' just became much more literal. Dutch police are using trained rats to help
"A group of scientists have confirmed a link between the sonar, used by Exxon Mobil to map the ocean floor for oil, and the death of melon-headed whales. From the article: 'A spokesman for ExxonMobil said the company disagrees with the findings. "ExxonMobil believes the panel's finding about the multi-beam echo sounder is unjustified due to the lack of certainty of information and observations recorded during the response efforts in 2008," spokesman Patrick McGinn told AFP in an email. He added that observers employed by the Madagascar government and the oil giant "were on board the vessel and did not observe any whales in the area."'"
The Next Billionares?
"AdTrap." It's a white box that hooks up between your modem and wireless router and blocks data from ad networks before it can even reach your computer. Speaking of profit motive: Russell and Butkus' are offering their box for the low low price of $139.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
So What Really Happened To Shekinah Fellowship?
What happened to Shekinah Fellowship?
It is hard for most people to believe in angels and demons.
If it can't be weighed measured and touched, it is not real. Our world has become extremly materialistic, we are skeptical of any experience that cannot be measured, weighed and verified by everyone else (consensis orthodoxy).
Therefore there is an ignorance about the spiritual world and the reality of demonic forces. We often assume that only the rational exists. We feel that things need to be understood inorder to be real. Our assumptions and preconceived notions about miracles need to be set aside. There is a kind of reationalism which kills miracles before they can begin. When miracles are dead, miraclous things cease to happen. We would receive more miracles, if we stopped insisting that miracles do not happen, and began EXPECTING them to happen.
Demons hate miracles. As we read through the Gospels we cannot help but be struck by the extraordinary numbers of refrences to Jesus confronting Satan and the realm of demons. A major theme in the New Testament is the clash between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Spirit beings, thousands of years old with a highly organized military hierarchy authority are constantly waging war against all of us. Even if we chose to ignore this fact it is still the truth.
The truth of God's Word.
Our rationalism tells us there is no presence of the activity of evil spirit beings. Most of us like to live a flat 2 dimensional reality. We want to believe there is no reality beyond the natural, material universe, thus ruling out the world of angels and demons.
When we read the Good news of Jesus Christ in the gospels we see Jesus interacting with these spirit beings, casting out evil spirits in full dimensional reality.
Mark 1:26-28
This was a teaching, then, and not just an action to free a suffering man. The teaching was that the kingdom of evil, which up to this point had held sway over the human race was being destroyed and that the Kingdom of God was at hand.
Nevertheless, despite the clarity of this passage, many theologians and preachers profess a profound skepticism as to whether we should take accounts of people being tormented by Satan and other evil spirits in a literal way.
There are target assignments against Christian ministries by demonic forces. They do everything in their power to promote division and factions in the ministry.
In waging war the demons bring down the leadership first and the troops will scatter. This is a basic principle in the art of war.
Matthew 26:31... smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.
Shekinah Fellowship was very effective at bringing miracles to the people.
Brant Baker the Shepherd was targeted by the demonic hordes and brought down through temptation of the flesh. And the sheep scattered. No more Shekinah Fellowship. The enemy goal against Shekinah Fellowship was accomplished.
The name Satan means the adversary, the enemy. He has many fallen angels in his army. This is a mysterious world of rebellious fallen angels and demons. Some feel demons are the offspring of that strange event that took place in Genesis chapter 6.
The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. "
Fallen angels and demons war against Christians constantly. Some warfare is based on deception.
Hence the demonic strategy:
"When able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him. If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected. These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand."
The enemy fosters unbelief everywhere they go. Recall one of the saddest text in the bible.
Matthew 13:58
The root word for unbelief in this verse is "apistia," meaning literally "distrust."
Mark in 6:6 of his gospel account tells us:
Jesus used this same word when His disciples asked why they could not cast out demons:
"And Jesus said unto them, because of your unbelief..."
Matthew 17:20
Paul the apostle used the same word in Hebrews 3:12.
"Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an EVIL heart of unbelief..."
Paul says the Children of Israel could not enter in to God's rest because of their unbelief (apistia).
Hebrews 3:19
So you can see, a lack of faith and having distrust can and will rob us of God moving in our lives with His miracles and is regarded as evil by Him. Remember Hebrews 3:12.
We are not seeing New Testament miracles in this our day and age because of our apistia.
We should turn off our cultural limits and biases and be open to the greatness and power of the Supreme in all power and authority.
The bible is telling the truth when we read about all the miracles that Jesus performed in the Gospels and in the book of Acts. You would not know that by looking closely at the church of today. We do not seem to allow Jesus to heal and perform miracles in our midst.
Jesus has not changed any since the writing of the bible. He is the same today, yesterday and forever. Then why is He not doing the same today as He did in the bible days? It has got to be us that are preventing Him!
Why do we not expect miracles? What is preventing us from believing?
Start to trust Jesus and believe Him for miracles in your life today. You can start by saying:
Dear Jesus I give You permission to work miracles in my life today. I believe in miracles and I expect them because everywhere you go and are, you work them. I do trust You.
Amen
The people of the New Testament lived in an age which expected miracles.
I believe in the miracle of the original sheep of Shekinah Fellowship coming back together and sharing their stories of the miracles they have seen. Helping others to believe in miracles. They scattered because the enemy had taken down their Shepherd Brant Baker. I believe the Lord has brought you to this place that you may assemble with others and tell the story of Shekinah Fellowship and the miracles to others that they may also believe in miracles.
The enemy strategy was to take down your Shepherd and to cause bitterness and hurt to keep you scattered. Brant Baker was ultimately not the problem. The enemy targeted him with his weakness in the flesh and took him out. You still remain...
Now I ask you:
What are you going to do about it?
Some of us have gotten into textual~ ism in our relationship and lost the zeal for God we once had when we first came to Him. Sometimes we think that we know all about the things of God and think there can be no new thing. But there can and will be!
God is good and kind.
Psalms 121:1-2, 123:1-2
He shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost, and with FIRE...
Matthew 3:11
When we gather together we fan to a flame that which is inside of us for Jesus.
When we fail to meet together that flame goes out until only a small pilot light remains. Maybe your spiritual fire has been extinguished from neglect of the things of God. It is a very dangerous place to be. Remember Jesus says:
Revelation 3:15-16
You want to be excited for God but feel cold inside. Be of good cheer. It only takes a spark to get a fire going. Jesus turns up the heat.
When water sits with no outflow it will always get stagnant. Give out what you have, share the love of God. Then you will be restored, it's just that simple.
David Sloane
Shepherd Recalls
A Shepherd
It was late summer when He and three other men first walked upon that road yonder. It was evening, and He stopped and stood there at the end of the pasture.
I was playing upon my flute, and my flock was grazing all around me. When He stopped I rose and walked over and stood before Him.
And He asked me, "Where is the grave of Elijah? Is it not somewhere near this place?"
And I answered Him, "It is there, sir, underneath that great heap of stones. Even unto this day every passerby brings a stone and places it upon the heap."
And He thanked me and walked away, and His friends walked behind Him.
And after three days Gamaliel who was also a shepherd, said to me that the man who had passed by was a prophet in Judea; but I did not believe him. Yet I thought of that man for many a moon.
When spring came Jesus passed once more by this pasture, and this time He was alone.
I was not playing on my flute that day for I had lost a sheep and I was bereaved, and my heart was downcast within me.
And I walked towards Him and stood still before Him, for I desired to be comforted.
And He looked at me and said, "You do not play upon your flute this day. Whence is the sorrow in your eyes?"
And I answered, "A sheep from among my sheep is lost. I have sought her everywhere but I find her not. And I know not what to do."
And He was silent for a moment. Then He smiled upon me and said, "Wait here awhile and I will find your sheep." And He walked away and disappeared among the hills.
After an hour He returned, and my sheep was close beside Him. And as He stood before me, the sheep looked up into His face even as I was looking. Then I embarrassed her in gladness.
And He put His hand upon my shoulder and said, "From this day you shall love this sheep more than any other in your flock, for she was lost and now she is found."
And again I embraced my sheep in gladness, and she came close to me, and I was silent.
But when I raised my head to thank Jesus, He was already walking afar off, and I had not the courage to follow Him...
Why does God test His children?
God had one Son without sin, but He never had sons without trials. It is not known what quality grapes yield until they come to the wine press. When we are squeezed what comes out indicates what's on the inside! When you came to "Marah" this week, what came out? Grumbling like Israel or crying out like Moses?Pr17:3 The refining pot is for silver & the furnace for gold but Jehovah tests hearts (Mt Henry)
Ps 66:10-note For You have tried us, O God; You have refined us as silver is refined.Spurgeon) (cf Isa 48:10 Spurgeon) (Job 23:10)
For additional insight on the "thorny" topic of tests, see Torrey's Topic "Afflictions Can Be Beneficial"
Other times of testing: Ge 22:1, Ex 16:4, 20:20, Dt 8:2,16, 13:3 // Jdg 2:22,3:1,4, Ps 81:7-note, Je 9:7,Jas1:3-note, 1Pe 1:6,7-note
When life gives you lemons make lemonade God's way -
Cry out to
Sundays Sort Through
In
order to receive the major theme of God’s Glory in the Old and New
Testament we must have spiritual eyes and an open heart. Once our eyes
are open to the manner in which Father has chosen to make His Glory
known, the Scriptures come alive and life takes on new dimensions
because Glory and Agape work synergistically.We know that God’s Glory consists of His hidden attributes: compassion; graciousness; slow to anger; mercy; truth; covenantal faithfulness; forgiveness. For whatever reason, this unfolding of His Person has not been understood as the content of His Glory. These hidden attributes can only be revealed to a hurting world by means of you and me. He has chosen to reveal Himself through His own people. We are His letters, known and read of all men. It is by the replication of His Agape that we are identified as sons of the Father.
Christ shared His Glory with us, but we need to make a careful distinction between the attributes of God that are intended to be communicated for the purpose of restoring the image of God in man as contrasted with the attributes of God that were never designed to be given to man such as uncreated, omnipotent, omniscient, and eternal. “It is difficult to express in some languages the concept of he also shared his glory with them. This may be expressed as ‘he gave them part of his majesty,’ ‘he gave them some of the wonderfulness which he had,’ or ‘he caused them to be glorious in some way similar to the way he is glorious.’”
God’s Glory in the Old and New Testament is formed in us in a progressive pattern as shown in this diagram. In Numbers 14:21 Israel has transgressed badly, defeat and embarrassment had come because they had “come short of God’s glory.” In that circumstance and climate of failure, God states His intention with an oath: “as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.”
He uses the phrase “as I live” 26
times in the Old Testament. Similarly, in Isaiah, Israel has failed
badly, transgressed the covenant and King Uzziah had died. In the midst
of failure comes Father’s similar declaration regarding His glory:
“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His
glory.” His eternal purpose is still in the process of being settled and
we progress towards the birth of Christ of Whom it is said in John
1:14, “We beheld His glory.” This glory resident in Christ is imparted
to us through the mysterious Seed.
John 14:21 ---> Isaiah 6:3 ---> John 1:14-16 --->Galatians 4:19 ---> Ephesians 3:21 ---> john 17:21
THOUGHTS & QUESTIONS• What does “He also shared His glory with them” mean to you?• In what ways can you see God’s glory as progressive through the Old Testament?
Experiencing this glory leads us to
knowing the Father the way He wants to be known. Jesus, as the Lord of
the glory, along with the Holy Spirit, takes on the task of teaching us
how to continually walk in God’s glory by leading us the way He went—up
the Agape Road.
This is what Jesus meant when He said that if we follow Him, He will take us to the Father. God’s glory, as it was shown to Moses on the mountain, is revealed by every action and word of Jesus. When we see Jesus in the Gospels, we see God’s compassion, grace, mercy, truth, faithfulness, and forgiveness walking and talking on the earth.
The power of "us."
"Vulnerability management software company Rapid7 has launched an ambitious community project to scan the public Internet, organize the results and share the data with the IT security industry. The brainchild of Metasploit creator HD Moore, the overall goal of Project Sonar is to crowdsource the discovery and reporting of security vulnerabilities of affected software and hardware vendors.
'If we try to parse the data sets ourselves, even with a team of 30 people, it would take multiple years just to figure out the vulnerabilities in the data set. It's ridiculous, really,' Moore said in an interview with SecurityWeek. To start, Rapid7 has released about 3 terabytes of raw data generated from scans across public Internet-facing systems.
The data sets relate to IPv4 TCP banners & UDP probe replies, IPv4 Reverse DNS PTR records and IPv4 SSL Certificates. Moore's team also listed a set of tools used to generate the data sets. They include ZMap, an Internet-scale scanner developed at he University of Michigan; UDPBlast, a stand-alone UDP scanning utility; and MASSCAN, an Errata Security tool that claims to scan the entire IPv4 internet in three seconds."
We are/want omnisicence!
"The New York Times is reporting on yet another NSA revelation: for the last three years, the National Security Agency has been exploiting its huge collections of data to create sophisticated graphs of some Americans' social connections that can identify their associates, their locations at certain times, their traveling companions and other personal information.
'The agency can augment the communications data with material from public, commercial and other sources, including bank codes, insurance information, Facebook profiles, passenger manifests, voter registration rolls and GPS location information, as well as property records and unspecified tax data, according to the documents. They do not indicate any restrictions on the use of such "enrichment" data, and several former senior Obama administration officials said the agency drew on it for both Americans and foreigners.'
In a memorandum, NSA analysts were 'told that they could trace the contacts of Americans as long as they cited a foreign intelligence justification.' 'That could include anything from ties to terrorism, weapons proliferation or international drug smuggling to spying on conversations of foreign politicians, business figures or activists. Analysts were warned to follow existing "minimization rules," which prohibit the NSA from sharing with other agencies names and other details of Americans whose communications are collected, unless they are necessary to understand foreign intelligence reports or there is evidence of a crime.
The agency is required to obtain a warrant from the intelligence court to target a "U.S. person" — a citizen or legal resident — for actual eavesdropping.'"
"A sensor previously used for military operations can now be tuned to secretly locate and record any single conversation on a busy street. [A] Dutch acoustics firm, Microflown Technologies, has developed a matchstick-sized sensor that can pinpoint and record a target's conversations from a distance. Known as an acoustic vector sensor, Microflown's sensor measures the movement of air, disturbed by sound waves, to almost instantly locate where a sound originated. It can then identify the noise and, if required, transmit it live to waiting ears. Security technologist Bruce Schneier says this new capability is unwelcome – particularly given the recent claims about the NSA's success at tapping into our private lives. 'It's not just this one technology that's the problem,' Schneier says. 'It's the mic plus the drones, plus the signal processing, plus voice recognition.'"
You could be a person tracked. Just posting this could be cause for tracking...
"With the U.S. trying to understand the domestic role of their foreign intelligence and counterintelligence services in 2013, what can a declassified look back into the 1960s and 1970s add to the ongoing legal debate? Welcome to the world of Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel and the work done by the National Security Archive at George Washington University. Read how prominent anti-war critics and U.S. senators were tracked, and who was on the late-1960s NSA watch list, from Rev. Martin Luther King to civil rights leader Whitney Young, boxer Muhammad Ali, Tom Wicker, the Washington bureau chief and Washington Post columnist Art Buchwald, and Sen. Howard Baker (R-Tenn.). The NSA was aware of the legality of its work and removed all logos or classification markings, using the term 'For Background Use Only.' Even back then, NSA director at the time, Lew Allen noted: "appeared to be a possible violation of constitutional guarantees" (from page 86 of this PDF). What did the NSA think about signals intelligence sites in your country? See if your country makes the 'indefinite' list on page 392."
The hottest, stealthiest social network won’t be found in any Silicon Valley incubator. It’s up and running. And you may already be a member.
"Pay-as-you-drive programs are all the rage in the auto insurance industry. The (voluntary) programs, like Progressive Insurance's Snapshot use onboard monitoring devices to track information like the speed of the automobile, sudden stops, distance traveled and so on.
Safe and infrequent drivers might see their rates drop while customers who log thousands of miles behind the wheel and/or drive recklessly would see their insurance rates rise. GPS data isn't generally collected, and insurance companies promise customers that they're not tracking their movement.
No matter. A study (PDF) by researchers at the University of Denver claims that the destination of a journey can be derived by combining knowledge of the trip's origin with the metrics collected by the 'pay-as-you-drive' device. The data points collected by these remote sensing devices are what the researchers call 'quasi-identifiers' – attributes that are 'non-identifying by themselves, but can be used to unique identify individuals when used in combination with other data.'
In one example, researchers used a strategy they called 'stop-point matching,' to compare the pattern of vehicle stop points from a known origin with various route options. They found that in areas with irregular street layouts (i.e. 'not Manhattan'), the pattern will be more or less unique for any location. The study raises important data privacy questions for the (many) 'pay-as-you-drive' programs now being piloted, or offered to drivers – not to mention other programs that seek to match remote sensors and realtime monitoring with products and services."
The world is advancing at an ever increasing rate when it comes to ability to understand other languages...
"Tomas Mikolov and others at Google have developed a simple means of translating between languages using a large corpus of sample texts. Rather than being defined by humans, words are characterized based on their relation to other words. For example, in any language, a word like 'cat' will have a particular relationship to words like 'small,' 'furry,' 'pet,' etc. The set of relationships of words in a language can be described as a vector space, and words from one language can be translated into words in another language by identifying the mapping between their two vector spaces. The technique works even for very dissimilar languages, and is presently being used to refine and identify mistakes in existing translation dictionaries."
Quite a few years ago I heard of a joint forces exercise out in the ocean adjacent to Camp Pendelton in Oceanside California.
There were Navy ships with no humans on board. There were Airforce jets with no humans on board. This was a mock war with no human present other than through cams and remote sensing apparatus. Everything was being controlled remotely from the base.
Now civilians are doing it...
"'Scout,' a 4-meter-long autonomous boat built by a group of young DIYers, is attempting to cross the Atlantic Ocean. It is traveling from Rhode Island, where it launched on 24 August, to Spain, where all being well it will arrive in a few months' time. Scout has now gone about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) of its planned 3,700-mile (5,900 kilometer) journey. Should it complete this voyage successfully, its passage will arguably belong in the history books."
This reeks of nefarious activity. How do you rid your nation of drug abusers? Experts are saying that this drug has migrated from Russia. You draw your own conclusions.
"Having spent the last decade wreaking havoc in Russia, a flesh-eating drug called Krokodil has arrived in Arizona, reports Eliza Gray at Time Magazine. The Banner Poison Control Center has reported the first two users of the drug which makes user's skin scaly and green before it rots away [Warning: Graphic Images]. Made of codeine, a painkiller often used in cough syrup, and a mix of other materials including gasoline, paint thinner, and alcohol, Krokodil become popular in Russia because it costs 20 times less than heroin and can be made easily at home. Also known as Desomorphine, Krokodil has sedative and analgesic effects, and is around 8-10 times more potent than morphine. When the drug is injected, it rots the skin by rupturing blood vessels, causing the tissue to die. As a result, the skin hardens and rots, sometimes even falling off to expose the bone. 'These people are the ultimate in self-destructive drug addiction,' says Dr. Ellen Marmur. 'Once you are an addict at this level, any rational thinking doesn't apply.' The average life span of a Krokodil user is two to three years, according to a 2011 TIME investigation of the drug's prevalence in Russia."
Silicon Valley is getting all excited again, in its Silicon Valleyish way, about the future of how we pay for things. The specific cause of excitement, this week, is the news that Richard Branson has made an investment in Clinkle, a mysterious startup that promises to revolutionise payments in some unspecified way, possibly by letting people send money from smartphone to smartphone using sound. (The company just put out a really strange advertisement that fails to clear things up.)
But predictions about the coming End of Cash have been around for years, growing louder since the arrival of contactless payment, of Square, and of Bitcoin. The other day, research from Tufts University gave the cause a new boost: cash, it revealed, costs US consumers, businesses and governments more than $200bn annually in everything from ATM fees and theft to lost tax revenue. Oh, and it helps spread disease. Could it be time, wondered Tim Fernholz at Quartz, to give up on cash entirely? The cashless society is coming!
Friday, September 27, 2013
Finally Friday Fingerfinds Tapped Here
"In a declaration that could make Google very nervous, a U.S. federal judge on Thursday rebuffed Google's defense of its targeted ad system that scans the content of Gmail. Judge Lucy Koh — who also heard the Apple-Samsung case — found Google's terms and conditions and privacy policy isn't clear to users. Koh subsequently allowed a class-action suit to proceed against the company (official ruling). The plaintiffs in the suit allege Google violates federal and state wiretap laws by scannning the messages sent by non-Gmail and Gmail users."
"What do you do with old public phone boxes hardly anyone uses? Convert them into a national network of WiFi hotspots is the answer in New Zealand. While others have converted their old phone booths into libraries, toilets, showers and even smoking booths, in New Zealand 700 hotspots will be live by 7 October with a target of 2000 by the middle of 2014. 1Gb of data will be free to customers of the incumbent operator, others have to pay for monthly access."
"The New York times reports that the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Vice Chairman, Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), are moving a bill forward that would 'change but preserve' the controversial NSA phone log program.
Senator Feinstein believes the program is legal, but wants to improve public confidence. The bill would reduce the time the logs could be kept, require public reports on how often it is used, and require FISA court review of the numbers searched.
The bill would require Senate confirmation of the NSA director. It would also give the NSA a one week grace period in applying for permission from a court to continue surveillance of someone that travels from overseas to the United States. The situation created by someone traveling from overseas to the United States has been the source of the largest number of incidents in the US in which NSA's surveillance rules were not properly complied with. The rival bill offered by Senators Wyden (D-OR) and Udall (D-CO) which imposes tougher restrictions is considered less likely to pass."
Just a reminder that there's a THOUSAND-YEAR-OLD RUINED CITY in Missouri--the size of contemporary London.
Chemtrail spraying geo~egineering of nano~particles is not factored in...
So...you like doing drugs? Well what if you did not know the drug you were given will destroy your flesh right off the bone? Would you continue to take that chance? Someone has created a drug that is highly addictive that will destroy the user.
Krokodil, a highly addictive designer drug that aggressively eats through flesh, has reportedly arrived in the United States. Apocalypse Zombie Rising Soon?
"Wherever the drug is injected, the skin turns green and scaly, showing symptoms of gangrene. In severe cases, the skin rots away completely revealing the bone beneath. Other permanent effects of the drug include speech impediments and erratic movement. Rotting flesh, jerky movements, and speech troubles have prompted media outlets to tag krokodil the "zombie drug." According toTime, the average user of krokodil only lives two or three years, and "the few who manage to quit usually come away disfigured." Quitting is its own nasty business. Heroin withdrawal symptoms last about a week; symptoms for krokodil withdrawal can last over a month."
Hot Guitar Solo History In Six Minutes? The first thing that comes to mind is, "This guy is good, sign him up for our band!"
The hottest today?
IOS 7 Is Reportedly Making People Sick. No really!
Jerry Mathers
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Love
I feel that I left a bit undone in my last message, so I'd like to 'touch it up' some..... I left an important question unanswered-
"So how do we deal with all of this, both individually, and as the Body of Christ, in a practical, day to day manner?"
Referring to the problem of 'indwelling sin'. The problem is that we still see sin as something that we 'go out and do'. That's why it's so easy to 'see sin' in others. You see, some sins are more difficult to 'keep under wraps', as it were, than others, and we tend to take advantage of other believers who's sins seem more visible than our own.
We also tend to define sin to our own advantage- you know, "Well, I may gossip a bit, but at least I don't go out and drink, like sister so and so does". Or, "you mean Bill is a Christian? Are you kidding? He's such a jerk!" (Shades of the self-righteous Pharasee in Luke 18). We also like to 'grade' sins, with our own not being quite as bad as others', but while we grade SINS, we cannot grade SIN, can we? And why not? Because we've got everything turned around.
As Billy Graham once said it, "We're not sinners because we sin, we sin because we're sinners." The Church has got to understand that sin is not simply something that we do. Rather, sin is a condition that we're all born into- "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)..."For God has concluded them all in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon all" (Romans 11:32).
Now, we claim to know this truth, but if we would really let it sink deep into our soul, we'd be much less inclined to pounce on others for THEIR sins, wouldn't we? Only when we can see that we are all in the same boat in terms of the sin issue, can we truly be instruments of healing in the Lord's hands.
Let's simply agree with God and realize that we are all sinners, that He nonetheless loves all of us very deeply, and has a glorious plan for each of our lives, if we would but believe Him. Our spiritual insecurities will vanish when we look at ourselves as God sees us, we will be willing to go where He leads us, and we'll encourage other Christians to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, and to be all that THEY were called to be as well.
As Billy Graham once said it, "We're not sinners because we sin, we sin because we're sinners." The Church has got to understand that sin is not simply something that we do. Rather, sin is a condition that we're all born into- "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)..."For God has concluded them all in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon all" (Romans 11:32).
Now, we claim to know this truth, but if we would really let it sink deep into our soul, we'd be much less inclined to pounce on others for THEIR sins, wouldn't we? Only when we can see that we are all in the same boat in terms of the sin issue, can we truly be instruments of healing in the Lord's hands.
Let's simply agree with God and realize that we are all sinners, that He nonetheless loves all of us very deeply, and has a glorious plan for each of our lives, if we would but believe Him. Our spiritual insecurities will vanish when we look at ourselves as God sees us, we will be willing to go where He leads us, and we'll encourage other Christians to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, and to be all that THEY were called to be as well.
No jealousy here- We'll want all that God has for our own life, not someone else's! Churchianity will become a thing of the past- replaced by genuine agape love that only comes from our Holy God, and true Christianity will be evident to all who observe us, because we'll be REAL. The world of lost sinners will see a people who truly love their Lord, and will actually seek US out for answers to life that they know only a child of God has....
My prayer is that we will all desire to be HIS completely, and that we, as a body, would love one another. We can then go out and love the lost into the Kingdom. That, beloved, is what God has called all of us to.... 1 John 4:7 "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God".
Jim Ewing
My prayer is that we will all desire to be HIS completely, and that we, as a body, would love one another. We can then go out and love the lost into the Kingdom. That, beloved, is what God has called all of us to.... 1 John 4:7 "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God".
Jim Ewing
Jesus Christ is the answer
Judgment...
All that was involved in the judgment of Satan is not stated in Scripture. We do know that he was relieved of his high position; that he lost his nobility, privileges, and glory; that his character became unspeakably despicable, so that he was spoken of by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself as "a liar and the father of it" ( John 8:44). However, he retained access to heaven as an accuser of believers ( Job 1:6; Luke 22:31,32).
It seems evident that in the fall of Satan, many other angels were involved as well. These are described as "the angels which kept not their first estate" ( Jude 6).
All that was involved in the judgment of Satan is not stated in Scripture. We do know that he was relieved of his high position; that he lost his nobility, privileges, and glory; that his character became unspeakably despicable, so that he was spoken of by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself as "a liar and the father of it" ( John 8:44). However, he retained access to heaven as an accuser of believers ( Job 1:6; Luke 22:31,32).
It seems evident that in the fall of Satan, many other angels were involved as well. These are described as "the angels which kept not their first estate" ( Jude 6).
Many Bible teachers believe it is these
who are referred to as "the third part of the stars of heaven" (Rev.12:4). This would mean that when Satan was driven from his high
position, a third of the angelic host followed him in his rebellion
against God and His authority.
Some Bible teachers think that these fallen angels are what are known as demons, who are still under the control of Satan, who do his will and war against the power and authority of God. Others seem to be mentioned as " the angels that sinned...delivered...into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment" ( II Pet. 2:4 ).
Three expressions are used to describe the evil spirit beings who are some of Satan's main agents in his warfare against humanity. First, demon ( Greek, diamonion ). This is the primary expression. The second expression used in the New Testament to describe an evil spirit is unclean spirit. The third expression is evil spirit.
There are many demons but only one "devil". The original King James Version regularly translates daimonion as "devil". Diamonion is a derivative of daimon. The refrence to the original Greek indicates that there are two distinct entities: diamon, which is primary, and daimonion which is derivative.
Some Bible teachers think that these fallen angels are what are known as demons, who are still under the control of Satan, who do his will and war against the power and authority of God. Others seem to be mentioned as " the angels that sinned...delivered...into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment" ( II Pet. 2:4 ).
Three expressions are used to describe the evil spirit beings who are some of Satan's main agents in his warfare against humanity. First, demon ( Greek, diamonion ). This is the primary expression. The second expression used in the New Testament to describe an evil spirit is unclean spirit. The third expression is evil spirit.
There are many demons but only one "devil". The original King James Version regularly translates daimonion as "devil". Diamonion is a derivative of daimon. The refrence to the original Greek indicates that there are two distinct entities: diamon, which is primary, and daimonion which is derivative.
The english word devil is actually
derived from the Greek word diabolos, which has no direct relationship
with diamonion. Diabolos means "slanderer". In all but three occurrences
in the New Testament, it is a title of Satan himself. In this sense it
is used only in singular form. There are many demons but only one devil.
Satan is given this title because his primary activity is to slander- that is, to defame a person's character. First and foremost, Satan defames the character of God Himself. He did this in the Garden of Eden, when he suggested to Adam and Eve that God was not treating them fairly by withholding from them the knowledge of good and evil. Second, Satan defames the character of all those who in any way represent God. This is his primary weapon against the servants of God.
Demons influence people.
Jesus expeled demons from people:
At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demonized. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons, and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him. ( Mark 1:32-34 )
Believers expeled demons from people:
And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed [demonized]; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. ( Acts 8:6-7 )
This is New Testament evangelism: The Gospel is preached and the multitudes hear; they see the miracles and casting out of demons and they believe; they are baptized and the Church is established. A central element is the expelling of demons, which is often accompanied by noisy and disorderly manifestations. Other features of evangelism vary, but this element is central to evangelism as practiced in the New Testament, first by Jesus, then by His disciples.
What are demons? Demons are disembodied spirit beings that have an intense craving to occupy physical bodies. Apparently their first choice is a human body.
Some Bible teachers believe:
1. They are some of the fallen angels associated with Satan in his rebellion against God.
2. They are disembodied spirits of a pre-adamic race that perished under some judgment of God not recorded in detail in Scripture.
Scripture does not provide us with sufficient evidence to say which is correct.
It is believed that the earth was the scene of Lucifers first activity, being, as it were, his headquarters. So, say some scholars, as a result of God's judgment upon the sin of Lucifer, the earth was cursed, too. Those who hold this belief say that this is intimated in the opening statements of the Bible where, after it is told that, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth," it is declared that the earth was "without form, and void" ( Gen. 1:1,2 )
It is unthinkable that God would create anything that was imperfect, formless, a desolate waste. His very nature is system and order. He is not the author of confusion. The difficulty is solved in the "substitution of "became" for "was" ( as allowed by the Hebrew), in Genesis 1:2. The thought is thereby conveyed that while the earth originally was created with all the beauty, precision, and perfection characteristic of God, something happened to it. Later, it was changed, possibly due to the fall of Satan.
Let us suppose for a moment that daimonions are spirits that once occupied the bodies of members of some pre-Adamic race who led ungodly and sinful lives. In their present condition, however, they have no way to give expression to the various lusts and passions and emotions they developed in their former bodies. It is conceivable that they could find some kind of vicarious release by acting out their lusts or passions or emotions through human bodies.This would explain one dominant characteristic of demons: their intense craving to inhabit and work through human flesh.
Jesus tells us:
"Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and does not find it. Then it says, "I will return to my house from which I came", and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept and put in order." ( Matthew 12:43-44 )
We need to remember that the Bible records only the history of the race descended from Adam. In this connection it uses the phrase sons ( or descendants ) of Adam. It was to redeem the members of this race that Jesus came as "the last Adam" (Corinthinans 15:45). If other races existed before Adam, the Bible makes no explicit reference to them.
It may be that neither of the two theories about demons is correct- that they are neither fallen angels nor disembodied spirits from an earlier race of beings. However demons do exist and they do exert influence over people. Demons manifest themselves through humanity under many diffrent names.
Although the problem of sin is universal, the problem with demons is not. Many members of the human race have come under the power of demons, but not all. There is a close connection between sin and demons. If mankind had never sinned, we would never have been vulnerable to demons.
And the remedy? Expel them.
Satan is given this title because his primary activity is to slander- that is, to defame a person's character. First and foremost, Satan defames the character of God Himself. He did this in the Garden of Eden, when he suggested to Adam and Eve that God was not treating them fairly by withholding from them the knowledge of good and evil. Second, Satan defames the character of all those who in any way represent God. This is his primary weapon against the servants of God.
Demons influence people.
Jesus expeled demons from people:
At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demonized. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons, and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him. ( Mark 1:32-34 )
Believers expeled demons from people:
And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed [demonized]; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. ( Acts 8:6-7 )
This is New Testament evangelism: The Gospel is preached and the multitudes hear; they see the miracles and casting out of demons and they believe; they are baptized and the Church is established. A central element is the expelling of demons, which is often accompanied by noisy and disorderly manifestations. Other features of evangelism vary, but this element is central to evangelism as practiced in the New Testament, first by Jesus, then by His disciples.
What are demons? Demons are disembodied spirit beings that have an intense craving to occupy physical bodies. Apparently their first choice is a human body.
Some Bible teachers believe:
1. They are some of the fallen angels associated with Satan in his rebellion against God.
2. They are disembodied spirits of a pre-adamic race that perished under some judgment of God not recorded in detail in Scripture.
Scripture does not provide us with sufficient evidence to say which is correct.
It is believed that the earth was the scene of Lucifers first activity, being, as it were, his headquarters. So, say some scholars, as a result of God's judgment upon the sin of Lucifer, the earth was cursed, too. Those who hold this belief say that this is intimated in the opening statements of the Bible where, after it is told that, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth," it is declared that the earth was "without form, and void" ( Gen. 1:1,2 )
It is unthinkable that God would create anything that was imperfect, formless, a desolate waste. His very nature is system and order. He is not the author of confusion. The difficulty is solved in the "substitution of "became" for "was" ( as allowed by the Hebrew), in Genesis 1:2. The thought is thereby conveyed that while the earth originally was created with all the beauty, precision, and perfection characteristic of God, something happened to it. Later, it was changed, possibly due to the fall of Satan.
Let us suppose for a moment that daimonions are spirits that once occupied the bodies of members of some pre-Adamic race who led ungodly and sinful lives. In their present condition, however, they have no way to give expression to the various lusts and passions and emotions they developed in their former bodies. It is conceivable that they could find some kind of vicarious release by acting out their lusts or passions or emotions through human bodies.This would explain one dominant characteristic of demons: their intense craving to inhabit and work through human flesh.
Jesus tells us:
"Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and does not find it. Then it says, "I will return to my house from which I came", and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept and put in order." ( Matthew 12:43-44 )
We need to remember that the Bible records only the history of the race descended from Adam. In this connection it uses the phrase sons ( or descendants ) of Adam. It was to redeem the members of this race that Jesus came as "the last Adam" (Corinthinans 15:45). If other races existed before Adam, the Bible makes no explicit reference to them.
It may be that neither of the two theories about demons is correct- that they are neither fallen angels nor disembodied spirits from an earlier race of beings. However demons do exist and they do exert influence over people. Demons manifest themselves through humanity under many diffrent names.
Although the problem of sin is universal, the problem with demons is not. Many members of the human race have come under the power of demons, but not all. There is a close connection between sin and demons. If mankind had never sinned, we would never have been vulnerable to demons.
And the remedy? Expel them.
Jesus Christ is the answer.
All Sufficiency In Him
We as believers have got to understand the importance of yielding our
minds to the will of God, both in terms of allowing Him to use us as He
wills, and of simple obedience to the Lord on a day-to-day basis. Now,
I'm not referring to any sort of legalism here- I've both seen, and been
a victim of that for so many years that I get sick to my stomach at the
mere thought of it.....What I DO want to deal with here is our daily walk with Christ- in the power of the Holy Spirit. If we have problems in this area, it will be difficult to yield our members to Him in order to be used of Him in any significant way.
Read the 119th psalm. David is so desirous of fully following the law of God- verses 35 through 37 read, "MAKE me to go in the path of Thy commandments; for there~in do I delight. INCLINE my heart unto Thy testimonies, and NOT to covetousness. TURN AWAY mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken Thou me in Thy way."
David both craves the Presence and the law of God, and knows just how prone he is, left to his own devices, to wander from the God he so dearly loves.Re-read those words, "MAKE, INCLINE, TURN AWAY"...
He is asking- beseeching the Lord to cause him to look to Him, for he knows what a rascal he is in the flesh, despite God referring to him as "a man after Mine own heart".
This is something we must all learn, if we wish to be used of God- our utter helplessness, and the Lord's all-sufficiency.
Years ago, Phil Keaggy wrote and sang a song-( I don't remember the title, but) it contained the words, "I never had a selfless thought since I was born." When I first heard those lyrics, I thought to myself, "Finally- here's a believer that I can relate to, someone who knows the kind of struggles I go through!" .....
.
Realizing the importance of looking to Him, and not ourselves, on a daily basis, is so important because we tend, as David knew, to go our own way. When we follow OUR will, we quickly get into trouble. Because we're naturally attracted to the things of the world (the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life), and its pull is far too powerful for any person to resist.
Realizing the importance of looking to Him, and not ourselves, on a daily basis, is so important because we tend, as David knew, to go our own way. When we follow OUR will, we quickly get into trouble. Because we're naturally attracted to the things of the world (the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life), and its pull is far too powerful for any person to resist.
God knows that our ONLY hope is trusting and depending upon Him,
and that's what obedience to Him is.
Once we begin to understand and
walk in that truth, God can freely use us by His Spirit as He wills, and
isn't that what we all desire in our heart of hearts? May He bring us
all to that place!
God bless you.
pastor Jim Ewing
God bless you.
pastor Jim Ewing
Chosing to forgive or not?
Even the world recognizes that it is important to forgive:
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
It is your choice, which side of these issues you will you be on. God does not make puppets, He makes people. People with a free moral agency who are expected to make choices. Life is choices and consequences of those choices.
Have You Been Offended By Others?
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