Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

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

Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Revelation 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Revelation 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Saturday, July 31, 2004

counter and FORUM

As you can see, a counter has been installed. The number displayed reflects only the unique page viewers. You can click on the graphics icon by the counter to view further analysis.

The big news is that our member weblog "Ask about Jesus" now hosts a forum wherein anyone can post comments or questions and which can simply be accessed by clicking the icon at the top of the page. Our hope is that it would mainly serve to answer the questions of seeking non-Christians but also to serve Christians who want to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. With time, further customization of settings should allow greater flexbility and specificity of service. We are all still learning.
May the Lord build the house.

Tuesday, July 27, 2004

Third meeting and times and Guestbook

First things first,

I have just returned from fellowship with our bretheren: Aimee, William ( from a non-Christian background, and carries a powerfull testimony) Dany, Dipendra and myself. We spent 2 and a half hours together, praying and reading the Word. We tarried so, that we found ourselves locked inside the building.
Since Dany and I had been about the subject yesterday, I playfully but intently asked Him if the Lord would "provide a way out" of the building also. And sure enough He did.
The reading spanned half a dozen different books as brother William passionately ran over his favourite passages. As per recent habit, a "synopsis" will hopefully be posted in the Bible Studies.
Our joy would have been greater had some joined us. Unfortunately, the vissictitudes of life often prove vexing. We kept those brothers and sisters in our fervent prayers.

We now officially meet every Tuesday and Thursday at 6:30pm. We usually wait each other out in the gate-yard before heading for the sixth floor. You can always get information from Abu Elias,,, if you can...

Now for the guestbook, and in reply to questions;

No one hacked into the webpage to insert a link to bravenet: thats just how a free system operates. As far as those commercials in the guestbook, hopefully we can have them out and other enhanced features for around 4.50$ a month. Will try doing that from Canada, third week of August.

May the Lord bless you all O so much

Monday, July 26, 2004

Recommend a book

I'd like to recommend the daily devotionals "My Utmost for his Highest" by Oswald Chambers (1874 -1917). A friend of mine gave me a copy back in April and little did I know what a treasure it was. The devotions are a compilation of little sermonettes scented with the frehsness of a new meaning to some very familiar verses. I suddenly discovered that the book is a classic best seller. I have since bought three more copies and distributed to family and friends. The KJV version of the book sells for CDN$ 7.95.

what Jesus wasn't about

No sir,
Jesus was NOT about spirituality, freedom, morals, justice, ethics, compassion, respect, equality, honour, virtue, values, temperance, patience, peace, art, social welfare and what have you...
 
Christians beware. Many will try to mitigate and mollify what Jesus truly was into a bland man of personal-civilizational enlightenment. All these definitions fall ignominously short of who He was. Know the cunning of the evil one.
 
Jesus Christ WAS God the Allmighty in the flesh. Jesus was God on the cross. GOD does not die on a tree, wear sin, and pass through hell to set a moral example. GOD dies on a tree that whosoever believes in Him, is through Him saved from the natural corruption of the soul, which sets us as enemies of the Lord and deserving of His eternal damnation and hiding of face.
 
Jesus was not a man of those virtues, Jesus was (and is) the definition of those virtues. And the Christian (ChristOne) lives them out as divine fruit,,, not as virtues of worldly veneer, but as fruits nourrished by the True Vine.
 
So then, exercise wisdom when preaching Christ, use the good some of the world might see in Him, but beware of falling into the trap of arresting at that unsaving note; that he was a wise, good and caring man. Pray that the truth might explode like the light of day, the Son of God on the cross, and the Son of God resurrected, all for our salvation.
 
You do not forgive humiliation, beating, spitting, flogging, blasphemy and crucifixion while you are the personification of innocence, because you are a moral member of society. You forgive because you are God, looking down at His creation


Saturday, July 24, 2004

Welcome, sister

Welcome Redeemed.

Redeemed is Sarah Antonius, firstly my sister in the Lord, and secondly my sister in the flesh. We have not seen each other in 6 years, but Lord willing we shall be meeting on the 17th of August.
Her heart is Her Lord's possession, and I pray Jesus that He might strengthen her in all things and that His joy might be her victory.
Welcome to your family, Redeemed.

Friday, July 23, 2004

Report on second meeting

Indulge the war-room-like titles. We are engaged in a war afterall and prayer is our weapon. This second assembling was more spontaneously decided upon, so much so that I forgot to notify NEST about it. We entered the building thanks to the lovable Abu Elias but never the room. Aimee, Dany, Dipendra and myself huddled on the stairs of the 6th floor for a beautiful hour and a half. We can worship Him from anywhere, for all realms are His, and He lives not in man-made temples or exclusive mountains. Hear ye women of Samaria!
We shared the Word until the dwindling of sunlight, at which point we were joined by Muhammad, our brother in the Lord, and we all closed in prayer, also praying the Lord for the salvation of Muhammad's parents and  that of one cultural relativist of mine acquiantance by the name of Omar.
The musk of the message will be displayed in Bible Studies

Wednesday, July 21, 2004

Report on first meeting

We had fellowship yesterday for the first time since we used to assemble at the Husnis'. Numerically, it was a far cry from what we once had, yet the Lord promised His presence with 2 0r 3, not starting at 20 or 30. There were 6 children of God present, starting by seniority (approximate): Aimee, Dany, Dipendra, Georges, Tandice and Sherinne. As we were waiting in the gate-yard for the count to be completed,  we had the opportunity to say farewell to Gunnar and Petra.
Entering the building, what are now believed to have been flares riped the sky with their violent sonority. At first we all thought a car explosion had occured and there was a brief panic. Praise God all were safe.
Inside, we were reminded by sister Aimee of Psalm 127, that unless God builds the house, the workers labor in vain. The importance of destroying pride was also stressed. We lifted up prayers, standing up and holding hands, for the Lord to build this ministry, use it for His glory and insure continuation. We are all in desperate need of fellowship; we spend enough time with the world.

 

ATTENTION next meeting will be held this Thursday, August 22nd, same time, that is, 6:30 PM, same place.  Lord bless us






Tuesday, July 20, 2004

Thank you

Thank you Rev.2:17, that's too kind. It's great to be a part of something that would glorify our Lord, may His name be blessed forever.
 
I'd like to share this excerpt from a book I have:

Incomparable Carpenter
Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40 and Jesus for only 3 1/2 years. Yet the influence of Christ's ministry infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined years of teaching from these greatest of philosophers.
Jesus painted no pictures, yet some of the finest artists such as Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci received their inspiration from Him.
Jesus wrote no poetry, but Dante, Milton and scores of the world's greatest poets were inspired by Him.
Jesus composed no music; still Haydn, Handel, Beethoven, Bach and Mendelssohn reached their highest perfection of melody in the music they composed in His praise.
Every sphere of human greatness has been enriched by this humble Carpenter of Nazareth.
 
AMEN!!!

Monday, July 19, 2004

A heartfelt welcome

A heartfelt welcome to Romans 12:18, also known as Dany Dedeyan, and the most recent addition to our team, Dolly.
 
Dany is a man on a mission; well, missionS: spiritual, academic, cultural...you name it. He is a most precious brother in Christ, and his heart yearns to be in it's Lord's will in all things. His presence has been a blessing in my life and that of others.
 
Dolly is one of those rare youths of Lebanon who desir and pray to live according to the Living Word. Joyful and exuberant, the talents she unquestionably has imparted upon her, we pray the Lord might use for the glory of His name. The presence of such a sister lightens the heart.
 
May we all, along the way discover each other, discover this family Jesus saw fit to knit together and grow in blessed fellowship.
 
Thank you Lord Jesus
 

Me Posted by Hello

Greetings to All

Hello brothers and sisters,
 
I just joined the site and I hope it will be a blessing to many. It is exciting to have Christian news coming right out of Lebanon, a country amidst the Middle East conflict and a region of political turmoil. It's also a great opportunity to tell the world that in this small country are people whose hearts yearn for Jesus and would serve Him 'till the end. We need your prayers to help spread a revival starting in Lebanon and spreading all throughout the Middle East. With Jesus, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE. God bless all!!
 

simple copy of petition

To whom it may concern at the Near Eastern School of Theology,
 
“ Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together” (Hebrews 10:2)
 
In order not to forsake the fellowship of   “them who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10), we have prayed the Lord to grant us a meeting place, which we would be able to attend on a weekly basis.
We in this case, constitute a multi-national, multi-racial, multi-cultural fellowship of believers in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, present together in this community by the Providence of God.
 
We hope our fellowship will involve the following:
 
·       Bible Study
 
“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law”
(Psalm 119:18)
 
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for                       doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
(2 Timothy 3:16-17),
 

prayer to exegete operational lessons from the Word to live as good and faithful servants of the Lord, in a holy manner, separated from the adulterations of the world.
 
“For it is the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16)
 
We believe the Bible to be the sole, absolute and sufficient Word of God (and not simply contains the Word of God), inerrant, undiluted by any temporal influence whether authorial or cultural, God-given and divinely inspired; the Gospel according to which God will judge the world. 
(The verses are multitudinous)
 
 
 
 
 
·       Worship Music
 
“With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King” (Psalm 98:6)
 
“Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord”
(Ephesians 5:19)
 
“I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.”
(Psalm 104:33)
 
That is, only music to the glory of God, consisting of traditional and modern hymns accompanied by portable instruments.
 
 
·       Prayer
 
Prayer requests according to the will of God
 
·       General Fellowship and Evangelism
 
Interaction conducive to spiritual growth, comfort, support and encouragement of believers.
 
Targeted at Christians but also open to personal invitation to non-believers, for it is also the will of God that all men should be saved through faith in His Son.
 
We hope to receive your blessing, for that is verily what a meeting place for the temples of the Holy Spirit, is.
Tentative details as far as expected number of persons and other such practicalities will hopefully be discussed personally.
 
                                                   May the Lord shine His countenance upon you. 
 

first meeting at NEST, Tuesday @ 6:30

Lord will, we shall be meeting for the first time at NEST, tomorrow, that is, Tuesday, around 6:30 pm. Let's all wait for each other in the gateyard that we might enter smoothly and have the guard get used to us. Hopefully we can spend our time together building a foundation in a prayer because without it nothing can proceed. Grace be with your spirits.

Sunday, July 18, 2004

we are GO for fellowship

Praise the Lord, we just received permission to use the room. (see Big News) A lot is left to our discretion also. May the Lord bless us to abide honourably by His Word before the world, and to grow in His grace and knowledge.
The meeting went smoothly. Now is time to spread the word and find a timeframe that would allow as many believers to assemble.  We thank Jesus for your prayers. Please don't stop, for work just started.


Saturday, July 17, 2004

Presenting Daniel and Andre


Daniel and Andre as Mickey Mouse Posted by Hello

that was on friday at camp. Andre attended the church service with me; after the dishes. He does a great job, dressed for it too. Daniel's smile is signature. Precious picture ain't it? I wonder why Disney hasn't sued me yet

Friday, July 16, 2004

small blogger problem

For some reason, when a post is fairly new, it appears not immediately on main screen, though it can be viewed from the Archives. Blogger is aware of such difficulties though im not sure of this particular one, but they are apparently hard at fixing many problems. Until then, always check the Archives, ironically, for something new.
 
 

Thursday, July 15, 2004

Big News

Over around 3-4 months and until the end of may, we had been part of a blessed fellowship of international believers in Beirut. The Holy Spirit was at work, and some were saved. Hopefully through these posts you will get to better know your brothers and sisters in Christ as they come alive in these pages and through prayers. Came June and many travelled, including the Husnis' under whose God-provided roof we often assembled for worshiping Jesus and studying His Word. The roof, disappeared along with them, and since then, those of us remaining have been hard praying for the fellowship to continue and for the Lord to provide us with a meeting place. At one point, Mr. Antoine Haddad, an elder at whose house we students had been having Bible studies, presented the possibility that the Near Eastern School of Theology might be able to provide a location for such a function within its building, wherein we could independently carry on with our fellowship.
Yesterday, having finally overcome the vicisstitudes of life, a meeting was arranged between myself and Pastor Suheil who resides on the Church's floor of NEST's building, with Mr. Haddad also showing up. The very manner in which the meeting was made possible was Divine arrangement: NEST's gate being closed, the Lord had me return to find it open. I was knocking on Pastor Suheil's door precisely as he was on the phone with Mr. Haddad. Our written petition was presented, which was co-authored by my brother in Christ, Dany Dedeyan, who has already commented on this site and to whose Blog I should soon have a link. After battling to arrive at Beirut, Dany later joined me and Mr. Haddad at a nearby restaurant, where we discussed the events of the night.
In principle, (and after a brief outline of the practicalities and policies; which was to be expected), we were granted permission for use of a room; remains the School's approval, whose director we shall be meeting, Lord will, on Sunday. We were told in not so many words that it should be little more than a formality, but we still ask for your prayers.
The room is more than we expected, wide, its architecture and set up allow for the expedient formation of groups, whether single or small ones. Moreover a keyboard is therein installed which we were told we could use. A true double-blessing! Praise the Lord in any event, for all things work according to His sovereign will and for the good of those who love Him
...update on Sunday

Wednesday, July 14, 2004

Soul winners shall shine

A blessing in disguise is every opportunity to witness.
Daniel 12:3 - And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.




amalgam

Its been 2 days now of driving back and forth to the camp in Nab3 el Safa. We alternate between traveling in my suv and Daniel's car. Our hectic schedule turns out to be a blessing in disguise from the Lord, for there are always those who would ascend and descend with us. the trip is long ("if you're the one driving",says Daniel) but enjoyable. Beautiful scenery.
Before all else, the location inspires one to prayer.

The 3 pillars of spiritual growth: Word, Prayer, Fellowship

I have adjusted the settings to Beirut time, which I was surprised to find in the list.

This friday: Philosophy quiz (logic in mathematical language, goes great with my computer science course.)

Geology quiz (earth energy)

A post on philosophy and philosophers is in the works. Lots to discharge.
Also more on camp, and pictures too...

I would now like to extend the warmest welcome to our brother Seth Wilson.
I know only to introduce him this way: a man of the Word, filled with the Holy Spirit. As such, he is on the black list of the roaring lion. Lets keep him in ardent prayer.

Monday, July 12, 2004

camp, house church

1st Baptist Bible Church's 6 day summer camp starts today. Am going up with Daniel my cousin to see how things will start. Hopefully we will see Andre Najem who has been at the camp for a week. I care for him like a brother.
The church, that is, an assortment of believers living in and around greater Beirut has been meeting in brother Benjamin's (an elder from Liberia) house, much like the olden days. There's the fire of the Holy Spirit working. Will try to be back on soon. Please see Prayer
have to run off to my computer science class, may the Lord be with you.

P.S. Consecrated, i saw your post, will comment soon

Friday, July 09, 2004

unAnonymous commenting

for those of you who would comment without being bloggers or registered users, and wish not to remain anonymous, a simple idea is to sign your name at the end of your comment.

on another note,I hope we soon will be able to have sections in the sidebar, such as prayer requests and poetry, or list of books, et cetera
any programming experts out there?

impending doom?

I would like to thank George Bellos, my friend who is now in the netherlands, for reviewing my last post. His help was three-fold, he advised me to divide sentences for clearer rendering of thoughts (theres a challenge) and he was also able to comment without being a registered blogger, so the new settings work; that means anyone can comment. so feel free everyone.

Thirdly, having graduated in Geology and now furthering his research, he pointed out that Lebanon is actually traversed by, not one, but 2 faultlines. One from Yammouneh,North, at 30 degree angle and the other from Room,,, the extension of which cuts through... you guessed it, the capital Beirut. Let's look at the etymology of Beirut:

(Beyrout, Beyrouth and Berytos and Berytus are simply variations as the name went through translators in different languages.)

Beirut [be’ rut]; The name Berytus [be-‘rit-es] probably comes from the name of a Phoenician fish goddess, Beruti, who in turn was related to the god of Byblos, possibly a derivative of Baal.

Judges 8:33 And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baal-berith their god.

Jeremiah 2:23 How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways

I just had a conversation with my geology teacher (George you might know her) who informed me that a scientist came to AUB last year to alert his fellows that the Dead Sea fault system, long reckoned inactive, is actually alive and well... it is from this center that Lebanon's fissures stem

Deuteronomy 29 23-29 And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:
Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?
Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt:
For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them:
And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book:
And the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.
The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.


Isaiah 1:9 Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.

Jeremiah 49:18 As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it.

yes, our cities are more neighbours than we suspect, neighbours in the underground, literally and spiritually

Thursday, July 08, 2004

mini-earthquake, tremors

yesteray at 5:30 post meridiem, Beirut time, a small earthquake seemed to warn the country of impending doom. desks ratteled and some could feel tremors in the walls.
heres some vital information on Lebanon's "tectonic" condition ladies and gentlemen: our country is traversed vertically by a major faultline. now there are new theories on how earthquakes occur,,,but none of them have us safe,,, in fact the latest one, product of 2002, claims that earthquakes take place solely in the crust of the earth, and not through subduction of the mantle,,, which makes them that much more difficult to predict. some 5-6 years ago, pressure was relieved by stronger quake, but pressure continues to build up, daily. it seems timely that i should be taking a geology course while such an event takes place, consider also my first computer science course while i open this webpage. the Lord does things well doesn't He?
Let us keep in prayer,,, we expect the travails of creation,,, the world lives on arrogantly until the pangs of labor are come. some will discard such things as dumb geological events, others worship nature without Her creator. We ask our Father for undeserved mercy, towards us and the world.
God bless you all

Post-Scriptum: should have links soon

Wednesday, July 07, 2004

meeting with NEST official

Dany, i hope all went well with Remi's awaying. il faut bientot allez a NEST. fait moi savoir quand tu seras libre au plus tot car il faut aussi coordiner le tout avec M. Haddad et il se peut que d'autres se joignent a nous,,, a savoir, Sherinne. i will contact you soon. que Dieu te benisse

Tuesday, July 06, 2004

to the church in Lebanon

dear church of God,

please pray that, if the Lord's will, this webpage may be used to coordinate our activites and meetings. let's use technology for the side of Light for once. soon enough a team should be created that would allow its members to also post here, not just comment (on a post).
one needs to be invited to join the team. if any of you are interested, please let me know through my email link... I believe its in my profile somewhere. more to come. Grace be with you

Post Scriptum: not sure on the possibility of commenting without having an account... will know shortly and post

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