Pen of Iron

May the Lord God help me as I pen this post to try and bring out to you in a very clear fashion the reality of the idolatry that I saw in the land of the Pharoahs during my recent trip to Egypt.

I don't know where to begin in order to describe what I saw. I will retrace my steps and try to describe what I saw and what went on in my mind as I compared all the ruins with the biblical prophecies and God's word in relation to Egypt and the gods of the Egyptians. I am sure I will skip a few things here and there but please bear with me. My trip began in Cairo where we had a business meeting, but on the Saturday that preceded, my colleagues who had been to Egypt for the first time decided they wanted to see the pyramids of Giza. I will try to upload a picture in another post. I have been to the pyramids three times now but everytime I see them I discover something new about them. If you have any idea at all of the geometrical or astronomical design of the pyramid of Giza you will be aware that it was built in the centre of the earth, to align with a certain configuration of the stars, and that the circumference of the pyramid compares to the nth degree to the circumference of the earth itself. The inside of the pyramid is design to reflect an upward path called in the Egyptian book of the dead "the passion of the Christ" (believe it or not). The passion of the christ leads to an uppper chamber called the queen's chamber (made of pink stone) that also leads upward to the King's chamber which is in the uppermost part of the pyramid. At some point in this path, there is a path that leads to a what a called a bottomless pit. Many tourists have falled and died inside this payramid, that is why the authorities have now closed the inside labyrinth of the pyramid, and you are only allowed to go few meters down. Inside the pyramid of Giza, and surprisingly enough, no statues were found, no graven images, just an open sepulchure. Beside the pyramid, the archeologists have recently found dug underground a boat like shaped like the ark of Noah. This was new to me, it has now been raised to surface level and turned into a glass museum. Why am I writing all this description is to bring to you the subject of the giants and the fallen creatures which we read about in Genesis chapter 6. Let me say one thing before I proceed. I offer no apology for my comments herebelow. All you have to do is reserach your Bible, and you will be faced by the most convincing of biblical truths, although I will leave the subject of the pyramids to your imagination.

After the meeting was over, a few colleagues and I flew from Cairo to Aswan (a one-hour domestic flight) where we began our fascinating tours to the temples of the gods dating back to the Greco/Roman era. There we found huge stone temples fashioned in what seemed to me very similar to the tabernacle of God in the wilderness. In every temple we visited was designed with an outer court for the public, an inner court accessible only to priests and royalty, and then of course the inner sanctuary where the statue of their God resided. Isis and Osoris and Horus, as a triad figured prominently wherever we went. I was constantly reminded of the Trinity. Every temple had on the left hand side a birthing house (called Mamisi). The birthing house represented the mother giving birth to the divine child (does that remind you of anything?) A most interesting detail I found was that in the holiest of holies of their temples, their god was always placed in a boat. Now why a boat, I don't know. I could think of the Noah's ark. I could think of the flood. Did they fear the flood was coming, and wanted their god to sail away. Who knows? Remember they also worshipped the nile river as a sources of life.

Then of course the entrance to the temples, especially at Edfu (and Karnak in Luxor), were decorated by huge statues of either eagles, elephants or even baboons. At the top of the entrance to each temple, was the picture of the sun disk with eagles wings on each side and of course the two snakes one on each side of the sun disk. These were to protect the kings/gods whose images or statues were inside. The pillars that were roundabout in the outer court were huge and decorated with either the Lotus or the Papyrus plants symbols of lower and upper Egypt. The statues of the several Ramses were grotesque, huge and very high. I kept thinking to myself as I stared these must be the giants of old (supposing that these were life size statues). Images from the books of Genesis Exodus, Joshua, Judges etc. came back to life as I visited the temples in Edfu (the most complete temple ever found), Comombo, Philae and Elephantine Island. The two obelisks (of course, how could I forget those) at the entrance of each temple stood huge shaped like an arrow pointing upwards in defiance to God. I was reminded of Nimrod. In one temple one obelisk was missing and our tour guide told us it stands today in the centre of the outer courtyard at the Vatican. I don't understand either why there is an obelisk in Washington too. I leave it all to your imagination. Then of course there was the scarabee and the cartouche. The tourist guide explained to us why the scarabee charm is a symbol of good luck to the Egyptians, and why the cartouche. The cartouche is shaped like the egg of the scarab, which itself is a kind of cockroach that comes out of the manure (dung, excuse the expression) in the morning and returns to it at night. So the ancient Egyptians thought these come up with the sun rise and go to bed at sun set, then these are a symbol of life, and they worshipped it. Do you still want to buy a scarabee as a good luck charm? They also sell what is know as the key of life. I hope you all know who the way, the truth and the life is. Just think that human kind has always wanted to have eternal life but they seek for it in all the wrong places, forgetting the true creater and author of life himself. They have rejected the creator and worshipped the creature.

From Aswan we sailed in a cruise ship along the Nile river(several hours) we came to Luxor where we visited the Karnak temple (the biggest temple ever found about 62 acres if I am not mistaken). It is at Karnak that I saw the huge statues of Ramses and the giant men, and the elephants and baboons. In one area at Karnak we came to a huge man made lake which contained the "holy" i.e. stagnant water which the priests used for their purification. (Does that remind you of anything in the Old Testament?) We also visited the Luxor temple there, but the highlight of the trip was the Valley of the Kings. I hope every one of you can make that trip some day because you will be in the middle of a desert land, with huge limestone mountains, and at the mouth of each mountain are several entry ports. You step inside and you find yourself in a huge but beautifully decorated wide alley made of white limestone leading downwards, and all walls, side walls and ceiling you see colorful paintings of all the mythical gods that you can think of. People offering sacrifices to the mytical gods, and kings offering sacrifies to the gods, and then of course the famous judgment scene as each dead person stands before Horus and his heart is weighed in the balances, and should have led a good life then he moves on to purification, but if he has led a bad life, then his is either mutilated, or his heart is plucked out. You feel a combination of feelings. Disgusted yet fascinated to be in the very famous deserts that were once trodden by Moses and Joseph.

At some point, I wanted to leave the land because I had seen enough paganism and idolatly, and I came to grips with God's words about the gods of the Egyptians and his hatred for them. I remember seeing blue painting in the ceilings of the temples representing the stars (you could still see the colors even though faded with time) and how they worshipped the host thereof. A woman wrapped around the ceiling represented the goddess of whatever. There were gods for anything and everything painted on the walls. We even saw mummified crocodiles. The ancient Egyptians worshipped anything they feared and tried to please them in order to avoid their evil. Anything ugly or evil. Three headed snakes were to be feared the most, crocodiles, rats, mice, baboons, eagles, reptiles, eagles. (Think of the ten plagues). Every mythical god had either the sun disk or the moon shape on his head. All this time I kept telling myself, this is what God meant in Jeremiah 43 and in other reference too where he said he will break the images of Bethshemesh (house of the sun) that is in the land of Egypt and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire. Remember I did see some blackened ceilings too because apparently when the early christians were persecuted in Egypt, they ran and hid in these huge temples (some are still standing, one is rather complete) and since they cooked their meals inside them, it is thought that they had caused the black ceilings of some of the temples we saw.

You would not believe the deceit and idolatry that pervaded the land of Egypt in those days. Its greatness and its riches are still manifest, although the present day Egyptians are not the same people. The stories that are told along side every wall of every temple talk about the need for pleasing the gods in order to obtain eternal life. Unfortunately they missed the point big time. And as the Bible says in Romans 1: 25. As a matter of fact Romans chapter 1 verses 19 onwards came brilliantly alive as I toured in the lands of the pharoahs, and when Jeremiah 46:25 says, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings even Pharaoh and of them that trust in him, I felt sorry for every tourist who unwittingly thought it a privileg to visit the goldsmiths and buy either the "key of life" as a pendant, or even more popular the cartouches with their names engraved inside the egg of a beetle.

I should not forget to mention that we also visited the high dam built by Gamal Abdel Nasser in the late sixties, early seventies. We saw the nubian areas where nubian villages are now flooded because of the high dam project. Some nubians (who speak nubian as well as Arabic) village people who have been relocated tell you the stories of their flooded villages. They recount how once a fertile soil is not bereft of the silt which covered when the Nile flooded. The older folks told us that even the taste of the fruits have changed. The soil is not as rich as it used to be. That was one negative aspect of building the high dam.

One place I would have loved to visit would have been the temple of Abou Simbel. This temple was going to be flooded when the high dam was built but UNESCO intervened, and they chopped up the temple into 15000 pieces and they raised it. Here's a fascinating detail however. Apparently the temple was built to align with the stars in such a way that on the birthday of the king (21 October) when the sun rose, at midday the sun rays would shine right on the face of the god or king. Apparently after UNESCO raised the temple, using all the atronomical calculations as though it was built at the time, they missed by 24 hours. Therefore when the shines on the face the king it misses it by one day and now it shines on his face on two days, 22 October and 22 November of each day, thus missing the date by one day. Does that remind you of a missing day in the Old Testament? Think of Joshua and you might have a clue.

May be on another visit if the Lord permits I would like to also visit Tal El Amarna as well as Abu Simbel temple.

There, I hope I have been able to present you a bit with what it felt like to be in the lands of the pharoahs. In three days we were transported thousands of years back into history. Fascinating and saddening at the same. To me it only made me glorify the Only True and Living God all the more for his grace and mercy which saved a sinner like me from the deceitfulness of worshipping idols which come hidden in the form of charms. Who knows?

Posted by Consecrated at 9:21 AM | 0 comments    

This is in answer to Consecrated's excellent comment in "Back to Montreal".

Yes, how very true. In fact, just today I presented the youth group a sketch of Jesus' descent into hell to declare his triumph and take hell's keys, as well as to Abraham's bosom to "lead captivity captive" Ephesians 4. Some great great truths appeared, which Lord willing I will be writing in an upcoming Bible study.

God bless you all

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 4:04 PM | 1 comments    

By the grace of God I am safely back in Montreal. Hats down to the captain who lighted the Boeing 777 like a feather on the Pierre Trudeau tarmac. When the aircraft touched down it was the smoothest landing I have been in. As we were approaching the airport I had been praying asking the Lord to take control of the aircraft. I did not hear it when the Captain engaged the landing gear and as we touched down on the runway you would have thought we were still airborne. Praise be to God who heard my prayers and he is a Captain like none other. Soon I will post my experiences in the land of Egypt which did not pass by without tasting a bit of the curse of the Pharoahs. Praise be to God for keeping his children and bringing me back home to my family, both at home and at church.

Posted by Consecrated at 3:38 AM | 2 comments    

Greetings to all the brothers and sisters in Christ. As I read this passage this morning, I stopped at length when I read the character details given about a certain man whom the Bible said was MIGHTY in the scriptures. I don't think I have read as many descriptions about any one man as far as the knowledge of the scriptures are concerned as this passage contains. I have highlighted in bold all the adjectives and adverbs employed by the Holy Spirit, and I ask myself were someone to describe me as a Christian would I fit some (let alone all) of what you see below? Do I know the scriptures more perfectly? Am I so mighty in the scriptures that I can convince others publicly and show them from the scriptures that Jesus is Christ the Lord? Take a personal quiz and see how many of the following traits apply to you too.

Acts 18:24 And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. 26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. 27 And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace: 28 For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.

I guess this is the same Apollos that Paul spoke about in the first chapter of his first letter to the Corinthinans.

Posted by Consecrated at 4:56 AM | 2 comments    

Finally, yes finally, our forum is AD-FREE! amen to that. No more nasty ads. So world, whatever queries you might have, just enter the FORUM from one of the flashing buttons or from the side-bar and post in good faith please.

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 11:40 AM | 0 comments    

The following verses refer to the disciples praying after they were threatened by the chief priests. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice and prayed thus.

Acts 4:29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,

What struck me in the above verse is that when the disciples were being threatened by the influentials of their days, they did not ask the Lord for protection. On the contracty they asked the Lord to grant them to speak with all boldness. What an amazing prayer. Who would have thought to pray like that.

Posted by Consecrated at 6:13 PM | 0 comments    

I have heard this question a couple of times in the past two days. Reporters reporting from a certain neighborhood known for its sinful entertainment business have queried, on TV. This morning I found something on the web which will explain why.

Apparently in 1803 Napoleon needed money to fight his wars and he offered a huge swath of French-owned territory in North America for just $15 million. The deal was known as the Louisiana Purchase, and helped by the Britts, this acquisition (State of Lousiana) gave the Americans a large gateway at the mouth of the route of the Mississippi River which enabled the rise of the U.S. into the greatest, most economically successful single nation on earth.

But what happened there, why is the complete lock down and paralysis of this famous gateway, also known as sin city, upon us. I leave the rest to your imagination hoping that God almighty would illuminate the mind of the reader to understand and to heed.

Posted by Consecrated at 10:39 AM | 0 comments    

When you delete this post or comment thereon, I will know you have arrived safely.

Here's a nugget from Spurgeon's devotions for you.
"The Lord trieth the righteous."—Psalm 11:5.
ALL events are under the control of Providence; consequently all the trials of our outward life are traceable at once to the great First Cause. ....

Our Lord in His infinite wisdom and superabundant love, sets so high a value upon His people's faith that He will not screen them from those trials by which faith is strengthened.

You would never have possessed the precious faith which now supports you if the trial of your faith had not been like unto fire. You are a tree that never would have rooted so well if the wind had not rocked you to and fro, and made you take firm hold upon the precious truths of the covenant grace.

Worldly ease is a great foe to faith; it loosens the joints of holy valour, and snaps the sinews of sacred courage. The balloon never rises until the cords are cut; affliction doth this sharp service for believing souls. While the wheat sleeps comfortably in the husk it is useless to man, it must be threshed out of its resting place before its value can be known. Thus it is well that Jehovah trieth the righteous, for it causeth them to grow rich towards God.

Posted by Consecrated at 3:31 PM | 2 comments    

I have been reading some "christian" blogs. What a mess have "christians" made of hearkening to the Word of God. It is simply numbing to read what's being put out there...I was a lost sinning sheep and my Father took me back and I'm upset that there are so many false-shepherds out there...

Listen up world!

There is only ONE Jesus Christ. And He happens to be the God of the Bible. You see God created you (mankind) in His image and likeness in the Garden of Eden. (Genesis 1:26)
I don't dispute for a second that man created a god (read "gods") in his own image. Why? Well because your little old carnal self can't stand the fire of the God of the Bible (Deuteronomy 4:24; Hebrews 12:29). So you (world) create your own personal Jesus Christ, according to your fallen image and likeness. One that will ease your conscience instead of convict it, one that will assimilate to the lusts of your carnal minds.

Isaiah 30:10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:
11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.

2Timothy 4:3 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

You see there is THE Jesus Christ of the Bible, and A Jesus Christ for every self-caressing perverted imagination.



Get one thing straight, the one true honest God is the God of the Bible, the WORD OF GOD

Psalm 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy TRUTH: for THOU HAST MAGINIFIED THY WORD ABOVE ALL THY NAME.

And He doesn't need every "new" era/culture/epoch/world, editing His Word whom He has identified with His very person.

Also:

2Peter 1:20 Knowing this FIRST, that NO prophecy of the scripture is of ANY private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Spirit wrote the Bible fully aware of the passage of time and socio-cultural changes. People speak of a "modern" and "post-modern" era. Ha! What a monumental sham! The Bible is always contemporaneous and contemporary if for nothing else, simply because fallen human nature doesn't change and is the same from Adam right down to you here reading this and living to prove it. So don't buy that stuff about new values and societal evolution. That's human society wallowing in its own vomit. (Proverbs 26:11)

Besides God has all of time before His eyes continually.


Acts15:18 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.

Furthermore His Word is SET in heaven eternally

Psalm 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

That God is love (1 John 4:8) and that God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16);
is just as true today as is His condemnation of all sorts of evil which you soul-gambling "christians" are today calling good and acceptable.

Satan has all the right words too. He is the copy-cat of God "par excellence". Don't you worldly ministers read your bibles anymore? Or are you interpreting God's eternal Word according to the bents of your seared consciences? (1 Timothy 4:2) Have you forgotten about the parable of the tares? (Matthew 13:24-30) Or are you the tares that look identical to the wheat, so that the eye can't tell them apart, but hollow of heart, and doomed to burn?

Satan is leaving the church stammering, fearful, politically correct, compromising, and makes it feel good about it too. What a tour de force! It ain't for nothing the Bible says that he seals up the sum, full in wisdom (Ezekiel 28:12)

You know the world doesn't respect nice cuddly dishonest people. And it doesn't need you either if there's no condemnation. Ruminate that!

So, for all of you "christians" in positions of leadership who don't believe that the Bible today is the historically, theologically, scientifically, inerrant very inscripturation of God's Word, unadulterated in its judgments by any authoral/cultural influence...

YOU DON'T SPEAK FOR ME

I'll let the living God do that in due time.

And ditto for those of you who say you do and then like Jehu use the Bible to justify your own personal zeal in a matter, whether for hatred, murder, evil communication, wanton wrath, love of money, et c...

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth John 17:17

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 10:42 AM |    

Here's an interesting train of thought that emphasizes the awesome power of God's salvation.

An ant is in some degree greater than any other insect. Proverbs 6:6, 30:25

A lion is in some degree greater than any other beast. Proverbs 30:30

An angel is some degree greater than any other man. Psalm 8:5

God is infinitely greater than His creation and all His creatures, including angels and men.
The gulf that exists between a man and God is always underestimated by us.


Now think about the following a little.

How hard would it be to make an ant out of an insect?
How hard would it be to make a beast out of an insect?
How hard would it be to make a lion out of an insect?
How hard would it be to make a man out of an insect?
How hard would it be to make an angel out of an insect?


You know what would the ultimate "test" of God's power be?***

God's towering greatness over man is proportional to the difficulty of making man partaker of the divine nature. You see the more inconceivably removed God's greatness is from man, the more inconceivably difficult it is for man to partake of God. In fact, compared to God, man is as good as an inanimate object. Romans 9:21


And since, according to the Bible, the greatest (though not only) difference between God's glory and man's, is holiness, (Romans 3:23) then you can start pondering what a feat it was for Jesus Christ the Son of God to bring us God's salvation by making us sons of God (John 1:12) and partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4)

*** Incidently and in answer to Hawking's child-like taunt of a question in "a brief history of time"

"Can God make a rock that He Himself cannot move?"

I answer

1) "yes". In fact, I know the name of the rock. It's "JESUS" (Romans 9:33, 1 Corinthians 10:4, see also Hebrews 12:26-27)

2) that Rock is also God Himself (John 8:58; Colossians 1:15, 2:9; Hebrews 1:3)

3) God, in fact, cannot do some things (2 Timothy 2:13, Titus 1:2)

4) but how does (3) change the fact that He is over all and so does whatsoever He wants in the hosts of heaven and earth and none can question Him (Daniel 4:35) and that He will judge the whole earth (1 Chronicles 16:33) according to the Gospel of Jesus His Son (Romans 2:16) ?

Try looking smart telling the Judge that He can't do something while He sentences you to hellfire and there's none to save neither in heaven nor on earth nor below the earth, because you have rejected the Chief Corner-Stone (1 Peter 2:6) , the Rock against whom the gates of Hell shall not (and did not) prevail (Matthew 16:18) ; Jesus Christ.

There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD Proverbs 21:30

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 11:49 AM | 0 comments    

A note to all:

Posts that are more of a Bible study will from now on be exclusively posted on
Bible Studies , a weblog profitable for non-believers, believers on milk and believers on meat.

Now someone has pointed out to me that the title of that blog isn't particularly appealing, which I believe might be the case, but check it out world, you might find comfort to your hearts and rest for your souls



Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.
Jeremiah 15:16




(c) FreeFoto.com

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 12:24 PM | 0 comments    

In the wake of the recent events in London and the legislative debates over the role of religion in inciting hate crimes, I fear that the gospel message will before long fall victim to worldly legislation banning the distribution of free religious literature, driving the world into spiritual oppression and darkness. Brothers and sisters in Christ, I beseech you, let us redeem the times. May the light of the gospel message shine forth in our lives and actions until that glorious morning when our Lord shall reappear and catch his bride away when we shall be with the Lord always.

Posted by Consecrated at 9:22 AM | 2 comments    

Matthew 17:27 - Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.

Rev. 2:17 and I were amazed last night at the interpretation my pastor gave concerning the gold in the fish's mouth. He gave us a sermon from Mark 4 about mending the net. As fisherman in God's sea, he encouraged us to mend our nets before we go fishing for men, otherwise all the fish that we catch will escape through that one hole. He spoke about the hole of wrong doctrine, the hole of carelessness and other holes that I don't remember right now. What struck us was also the fact that if you go fishing for men, the fish will bring their own gold in their mouth to the church. Think about it.

Posted by Consecrated at 9:35 AM | 3 comments    

I thank God, the Father of our God Jesus Christ, for having arrived safely to Canada.
Everyone in the family is walking with the Lord and doing fine. The independent Baptist church here is very blessed and growing.
To all the church in Lebanon, I pray for the Lord to keep you from the world, and found you in the True Vine who is Jesus, and bless you unto an increased faith this summer. I miss you all already.
A note on Jessica (see picture-post below). The day after the post I was informed that Jessica's parents showed up reclaiming her. They cannot keep Jessica, but have taken her from the orphanage that Ziad and Katie run to put her in an Orthodox school. It was a hard blow for many of the church, yet we trust it is God's will and pray that she will grow up to trust in the name of Jesus and be saved.
===============================================
My mother woke me up this morning to the televised news of London's evil nightmare.
We got on our knees and prayed the Lord to have compassion on those hit, and return the people of the land back to the God of the Bible who had blessed them mightly and to whom they turned their back over the years.
There is a lebano-english family with which I am very close that I was fearing for, given that they live all over London. I tried the lines for 2 hours before getting through. The daughter, an old time friend was stuck at work, in the middle of the ring of bombs. Thankfully, the little clan is safe, although the mother had been crying trying to get through to her smaller daughter at school. The former told me that there is today no more safe place on the planet, contextually hinting at the recent explosions in Lebanon.

The Lord sometimes used foreign nations to punish His children, yet in His infinite justice He inevitably paid retribution to the attackers. That is the God of history.
As far as we bible-believers are concerned, our weapons are love and grace for the salvation of all.

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 10:47 AM | 0 comments    

The Lord has been gracious to me. My son arrived safely today, Canada day, amid alerts of severe weather conditions. I prayed and asked the Lord that he delay the clouds. Thankfully the Lord diverted the stormy weather and the airplane landed safely although it was one hour late.

Posted by Consecrated at 7:36 PM | 0 comments    

Jessica, with my sunglasses.


World, say hello to Jessica. Jessica is the newest addition to our church. Her parents cannot afford to keep her, so Ziad and Katie have, for the near future, borne the joyous responsibility of raising her in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and providing her with familial love and care, as God intended.
We don't know her family name, but as Ziad loves to repeat
"there is no such thing as an illegitimate child, only an illegitimate parent"
Jessica warms our hearts. She is a lively and resilient kid. She has been with us for a few months now. Thank you Jesus.


Psalm 27:10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.

Matthew 19:14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 4:11 PM | 1 comments    

If you're a believer go out now now now and get

"Pagans in the Pews
(how the New Spirituality is invading your home, church and community)"
by Peter Jones.
It is a sober assessment of an ancient but newly visible and insiduously noxious spiritual war between the God of the Bible and pagan monism; and it will give you tremors. The religious stage is being set for the beast and the man of sin.
I am going to buy 10 copies and give them out.

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 5:06 PM | 5 comments    

Last night I went to a bridal shower to which a lady from another church had invited me seeing I was a friend of the bride-to-be. Time: 6pm at some restaurant in an unfamiliar town, so I drove in to work, something which I don't normally do. Incidentally a lady at the office asked me if we were going somewhere filthy after dinner. We are christians, I briskly replied. We don't do things like the faithless people do. I may have touched a nerve there, but my answer was too quick and spontanous. Anyway back to my story. At around 6:45 pm soon after all the ladies had arrived including the bride, I hear my name being called to go to the front desk. As I moved toward the public telephone booth I wondered who was calling me. Centrainly not my daughter who had just called me on my cell. As it turned out another lady, the only other person from my home church, a very pregnant lady had run into car problems. It was rainy. Her car had broken down. She had no cell phone on her. She could not reach her husband. She was crying on the phone but she had managed to walk in the rain and catch a bus to the closest coffee shop where she thought of calling the restaurant and paging me. I calmed her down and told her I was on my way to get her. Soon after she was calmly seated at the table with the car left behind. The tire had taken a bad blow and the car was stranded near a truck parking lot.

Mercifully the lady whose shower it was had an extended service warranty with the CAA, and once they heard the story they were willing to help out. Leaving all the guests behind, some twenty ladies, the three of us (bride-to-be, my pregnant friend and I) drove back to the car to meet up with the CAA serviceman, the car tire was soon replaced, and again we were all happily seated to the dinner table. It was close to 9.00pm by now. So we were the last three to eat. The waiters were happy to bring our food back again. They had kept our orders on hold until we returned.

Now here's what I have to say, under normal circumstances, and had it been a non-christian lady whose shower it was, the guest of honour would have felt that her bridal shower was ruined. Instead all evening long the sweet christian lady was praising the Lord that the CAA had accepted to service the car of her very pregnant friend. When I picked my friend up she had been sobbing wondering why all this had happened to her, but by the time we drove back home, all the way keeping her in my rear mirror view, she was tearfully rejoicing and praising God for his goodness through it all.

As for me, the day gave me a chance to give a tract to the parking lot guy in the morning, to the CAA man in the evening, and to the Italian man who had waited on us at the dinner table. Who knows, it might have been God's will to reach these men after all. I too came home at night rejoicing and praising God for having mercifully seen us through this ordeal while giving me three different opportunities to reach three different men with the word of God yesterday, all because of a memorable bridal shower. It was not messed up after all.

Posted by Consecrated at 8:48 AM | 2 comments    

Zechariah chapter 3 verse 7: Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.

Verse 8: Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH...

I see two classes in God's courts. These that stand by are judging and keeping God's courts (notice the plural here). And thy fellows that sit....... men to be wondered at. It seems to me that there are two contrasting types. Some that stand, and some that sit. Who fits where? I don't know. I may have my views but I will not venture there.

The text is taken from one of favorite passages in the Bible. Zechariah Chapter 3. There you will see a picture of Satan standing before the Lord accusing every one us while we stand in our filthiness before God. Then the Lord in his mercy and grace comes to our rescue. He pleads our case, he has plucked us out of fire, removes our filthiness, puts on our head the helmet of salvation and clothes us with robes of righteousness. Once that is done, he commands to walk in his ways and if we do that he promises to seat us in his courts and rule with him in his coming kingdom. Maranatha.

Posted by Consecrated at 8:14 AM | 0 comments    

I think this is going to become a series. Last night Redeemed and I decided to have dinner at a family diner in our neighbourhood. Normally we don't eat out on Friday nights, but it was hot, AWANA season was over, and we were not in a rush to go home. So we got there only to find out that the place was packed and there was a long line-up as we waited in line for a table to free up. The hostess suggested that there was room in the smokers section, but no one wanted to sit there. That was when the people in line started chatting about smoking in public places and the need to ban it from restaurants. True, effective 1 January 2006 the law will take effect in Quebec, but some restaurant administration have taken the lead and have started applying the law as of now. (Obviously it was not the case here). However here's the good thing that came out of this. When Redeemed and I were finally escorted to a booth which seats four people, we invited the couple behind us and with whom we were chatting to sit with with us. They were only very happy to do so. It turned out to be a wonderful evening. We spent around three hours at the dinner table. It was a great conversation. The Lord opened the door for us. I gave my testimony how I got saved. The man, a retired policeman, said that he believes he had been saved. He used to go to a Pentecostal church but it has been a while since he has been in church. As it turned out, he is now working as security at a seniors residence and by coincidence we found out my favourite pastor and his wife have moved there not long ago. A very Godly couple. The man was excited and promised to tell the pastor that he met us. By the time the evening was over, they each had a tract in their hand. We exchanged phone numbers and they promised that we would hear from them again. Isn't that wonderful. I thought it was a blessing how the Lord led us there last night. I am sure my former Pastor will seize this opportunity and I see God at work giving this man another opportunity to see the love of Christ.

I am reminded of the hymn "Bringing in the sheaves". We sang it on Wednesday night in church, and it opens like this "Sowing in the morning, Sowing in Evening,...... ). Isn't that cute, sowing on the train in the morning, and sowing in a restaurant in the evening. Today we go tract passing at noon, so the hymn comes full circle, sowing in the morning, sowing in the evening, sowing in noon tide and the dewy eve. Waiting for the harvest and the time of reaping, we shall come rejoicing bringing in the sheaves.

Posted by Consecrated at 6:05 AM | 5 comments    

Did you know that taking a bus, riding a train, or taking the subway can be a blessing. Here's proof. Tuesday morning I was on the train going to work when a young fellow got on the train and sat in the seat facing me. Soon he reached out to grab a morning paper that must have been left behind by a previous passenger. I immediately pulled out a tract "The Romans Road to Heaven" from my purse and gave it to the young man saying "here's something to read if you like". The fellow looked at the tract and said "Oh I have it". When I queried how come "someone gave me a copy at the Metro Cote Vertu" he replied. "And did anyone speak to you about it? Did you get saved", I asked. Oh, he said, they just give it to you at the Metro as you are passing by. That was a great open door for a discussion that followed all the way till we almost reached downtown. I explained the gospel to him, and pulled out my personal worker's New Testament from my purse and showed him from the Bible by making him read verse after verse hat he was a sinner in need of repentance, and in need of being born again. the fellow looked very sincere, and we had a good chat, at the end of which I asked him if he wanted to receive Jesus as his Saviour, because it is not enough that you know or believe. You must receive Jesus as Saviour for the gift to take effect. You must ask him to save your soul, I insisted. Then I pointed to the prayer at the bottom of the tract and showed him an example of what he could pray. The fellow read it aloud once. Then he looked at me and said. "I am ready". I wasn't expecting this. At that moment, on that morning train, William bowed his head and read the prayer with all the sincerity that you would hope for. When he finished he looked up at me. I said did you pray it with all your heart. I said, Congratulations brother, and I encouraged him further to feed the new life which was born in his heart and encouraged him to come to church. Please play that William's faith grows. The bottom line for sharing this story is that after I came home that day I thought to myself, you know, technology is not exactly a blessing. I mean people who drive to work or to school may have the luxury of life but they are missing on opportunities to sow the precious seed by mingling with the public. That is what makes me think that taking public transport could be a blessing if you use it for furthering the gospel of Christ, Bless his holy name.

Posted by Consecrated at 9:09 PM | 3 comments    

Hey guys,
Please please take a look at
Mike's Album-----Unashamed Pursuit.

You will love what you'll see there. Mike is a Christian and he had left a comment on one of my prayer requests for the ministry in China. That's where I got his addy from, and Iwas very pleasantly surprised. You will too, I am sure. Take a look.

Posted by Consecrated at 11:57 AM | 0 comments    

I read your very interesting post in Bible Studies about Rebellion. It was after I had posted my comment that a very interesting word in your entry came really alive. You spoke about a confederacy. In my comment I referred to Nimrod and his Babel, the first rebellious city and how he rallied the living world around himself and claimed authority over. He claimed that he is their protector providing them with safety. How interesting that you should refer to a "Confederacy" which has its parallel in Babel. You were inspired by the spirit of God, I am sure.

On another note I want to add this word of caution to every Christian believer who is stuggling with the question of authority. Need I remind you of David and Saul. David had done Saul no harm. The Kingdom was now promised to David while Saul was officially the king. David some to go through some training in the meantime and God had to prepare him for the job lying ahead. Now Saul, aroused by jealousy, had repeatedly tried to kill David, the heir to the throne. What do you think David did. Did he try to fight back. No. There is not one record in the book of Samuel that teaches so. At one point we even read of a unique opportunity presented to David to avenge himself of Saul's wrong doing. Saul is fast asleep in a cave I believe, and he was within reach of David and his men. David could have killed him in his sleep. But David was a man "according to God's heart" the Bible says. He respected GOD'S AUTHORITY vested in Saul (a bad man by now). Although his men encuoraged him, David would not slay God's anointed (evil) king. The point is this. If you raise your hand against the man of God, whether he be in the right or in the wrong, you are actually raising your hand against God's authority. Don't meddle in God's business. Step aside. "Be still and know that I am God" says the Psalmist 46:10. He can look after his own affairs. He does not need anyone. He is Almighty God. I am a worm, David said.

Posted by Consecrated at 10:20 AM | 0 comments    

How can we encourage young people to serve the Lord?
I promised Freed Forever that I will post something on the subject, but my schedule is quite hectic today and I should like to take more in answering the question. In the meantime may I recommend that young people who have a desire to serve the Lord read the book of Daniel. Daniel represents a perfect example for young people to take a stand against the trends of their time. Remember Daniel was of royal blood, and he was about 17years of age when he was taken into captivity. Yet Daniel purposed in his heart not to be defiled with the delicacies of the King. This means that in his mind Daniel had made a decision and he was determined not to do something which corrupts. See Daniel knew the Holy Scriptures. While all his friends revelled in the good food and wine that was presented to them by King Nebuchednezzar, Daniel refused. He would not socialize (eat or drink) with them. He and a select few of his friends stood alone. He was termed Beloved of God several times in the book of Daniel. Here we see that the process begins with a determination to do what is right even if it means that we might have to stand alone. It does get lonely to obedient Christians but the rewards from God are great. In the book of Daniel we read that the wise shall shine as stars in the firmament. Read the Book of Daniel, I say. More to follow.

Posted by Consecrated at 12:07 PM | 0 comments    

I love listening to Ravi Zachrias. Ravi is a one of a kind christian philosopher and you can check his web site entitled Rafi Zachrias International Ministries at www.RZIM.org. where you can order his sermons too. He comes on the christian radio am760 in Montreal every Saturday at 11hrs. am. For a good three weeks now he has been covering a series of sermons called "Why can't I feel my faith". I cannot repeat what he said, but he did go through the importance of the word of God and of the church and of good hymanls. But what struck me most is how he stressed OBEDEIENCE. He gave the perfect example of Jesus whose feelings made him dread the separation from the Father, and wished there would have been some other way than the cross but he went through it all through OBDEIENCE. The obedience which led to his self denial and death on the cross which he endured for our salvation. He also related how Paul buffeted his body in order to be found in Christ. Oswald Chambers always said that we should not pray about our moods but rather battle them.
In the end, I was struck by the way Rafi Zacharias ended those sermons. Listen to how he ended. He said when you ask yourself Why can't I feel my faith, ask yourself, Have I been to Calvary?

Posted by Consecrated at 11:34 AM | 0 comments    

I have been away for a while due to overflowing blessings. Blessings of the heavens and blessings of the depths. Trials, work at BookSellers, studying... I'm learning to glorify Jesus before men in all that I say and do. Still, much more chiseling does He need to perform upon this stiff neck of mine.

I am glad to see a constant stream of visitors. The weblog needs much work but it is encouraging to continue. Many believers are out there in the world that need consolation and encouragement. Many unbelievers are out there in the world to be brought to faith, salvation and the love of God.

I thank God for Consecrated and Redeemed who have kept the feeding line open here. May the Lord bless you mightily, unto rest and victory.

Pen of Iron might not have Egypt's onions and fish and bread, but it has Manna; the unadorned Word of God, wherein is power unto the salvation of souls from the divine wrath.

I am in the process of reading/studying "The Evidence That Demands A Verdict, Part 1&2" by Josh McDowell. What a gem so far. If you want objective evidence for Jesus Christ and the Bible, or would even be curious on what such a book could possibly expound, please go and get it. The God of the Bible has worked in the laboratory of human history and has with a pen of iron etched upon the academic altars of this world the blindness of humanity.

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 4:35 PM | 1 comments    

Have you seen someone whom the Lord has blessed? The following verse gives you an insight as to why. Ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water. (Exodus 23:25)

Posted by Consecrated at 11:33 AM | 0 comments    

Just wondering. Has anybody logged on to the Dial-the-Truth ministries web site (www.av1611.org)? See my entry below. If you have, tell me what did you think of it.

Posted by Consecrated at 8:10 AM | 0 comments    

The text below is a direct quote for C.H. Spurgeon's daily devotional.

And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten. Joel 2:25) Yes, those wasted years over which we sigh shall be restored to us. God can give us such plentiful grace that we shall crowd into the remainder of our days as much of service as will be some recompense for those years of unregeneracy over which we mourn in humble penitence. The locusts of backsliding, worldliness, lukewarmness, are now viewed by us as a terrible plague. Oh, that they had never come near us! The Lord in mercy has now taken them away, and we are full of zeal to serve Him. Blessed be His name, we can raise such harvests of spiritual graces as shall make our former barrenness to disappear. Through rich grace we can turn to account our bitter experience and use it to warn others. We can become the more rooted in humility, childlike dependence, and penitent spirituality by reason of our former shortcomings. If we are the more watchful, zealous, and tender, we shall gain by our lamentable losses. The wasted years, by a miracle of love, can be restored. Does it seem too great a boon? Let us believe for it and live for it, and we may yet realize it, even as Peter became all the more useful a man after his presumption was cured by his discovered weakness. Lord, aid us by Thy grace.

Posted by Consecrated at 4:49 PM | 0 comments    

Think about this for a moment. These three men are mentioned collectively in the Book of Ezekiel. One would wonder what is the common factor that links these three men together. Our pastor mentioned something yesterday and I immediately thought "Umm how true." These three men overcame three things.
Noah overcame the World
Daniel overcame the Flesh
Job overcame the Devil

Ezekiel 14:14 - Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 14:20 - Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.

What I haven't figured out yet is the order in which they are mentioned. I could think of something but can't be sure. Here's an attempt that is open to interpretation. As a new born Christian we overcome the world, then we struggle with the flesh, then finally the Lord will put an end to the devil?

.

Posted by Consecrated at 12:00 PM | 1 comments    

Hey everybody. Check this web site out http://www.av1611.org.
You will love it. Trust me. These guys tackle modern day issues(not so modern after all) in the light of biblical truth. They discuss everything from rock music (the devil's advocate) to tattoos, to bar codes. Check the 666 Watch caption on their web page. I would highly recommend it to all those who love the appearing of our Saviour, none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, God the son of man.

Posted by Consecrated at 9:47 AM | 0 comments    

Praise God, last night, Friday 6 May 2005, Brian (31 years old) was officially ordained as a minister of God. Tears flowed down my face as I watched him kneel down infront of the whole church, and five pastors put their hands on his head, giving him the right hand of fellowship. It was a very moving evening service. We sang a couple of hymns, then the pastors sounded Brian out on a number of issues. He was handsomely dressed in a suit, and his face looked angelic as he tackled every question that was thrown at him, supporting his answers by verses from the Word of God which he has memorized. After that, a young pastor Peter who had also graduated from our church five years ago gave a short message from Joshua chapter 1. What struck me most was the reason behind God's selection of Joshua. In last segment of Joshua 1:1 we read "the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying...

Peter pointed out that God chooses men for his service who have demonstrated faithfulness and willingness to serve under men of God. He described Joshua's faithfulness to Moses, and gave another example of Elisha poured water on the hands of Elijah, he added.

For the past five years, Brian has been faithfully serving under Pastor Larry while diligently studying the word of God. Personally, this is the second ordination I have been to. I am praying that if the Lord tarries I would get to see the ordination of someone who is very special in my life.

Posted by Consecrated at 7:53 AM | 0 comments    

Here is the passage I was referring to [on the subject of trusting the Lord for guidance and direction]. It is in Isaiah 30. You may want to read the whole chapter.
v.18 And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him. 19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee. 20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: 21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
__ __ __ __ __ __

Now that I am not in a rush like I was when I posted the above, I want to add a comment or two hoping that you have read Isaiah chapter 30 in the meantime. The Lord wants to be good to his children, and he "therefore will the Lord wait" for us to return to him in reliance. Looking at the early verses of the chapter and viewing this passage in context we see that the people had relied on the hand of the Egyptian, or Pharoah, which is a type of the world or a type of friends and acquaintances or influential people to whom we might run for help, or think that our livelihood depends on them.
And although we had tasted the "bread of adversity" referring to difficult times through which we lived, God's promises never fail. He will direct our life. He says your eyes shall see your teachers, and you will respect your spiritual teachers {not be removed in a corner any more). Your ears (how many times did Jesus cry out those who have ears let them hear what the Spirit says)will hear a voice from behind you as the Holy Spirit strives with you. Read the Word of God, and Listen to the voice of Holy Spirit. Two words will sum up what I said. Return and Rest. Look at verse 15 of the same chapter which I shall quote. The second half on a plaque hanging in my living room. It goes like this" "For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength"
These are good promises from the Lord who is waiting to be gracious unto all his children. Who is like unto thee O God.

Posted by Consecrated at 9:32 AM | 0 comments    

This post I copied from our "Prayer" department, written by Consecrated, because I think it deserves more exposure
"
Here is a quote from a message which I received

"He told me their Chinese pastor (Pastor Jimmy) had just been arrested (or they call it abducted) by the Public Security Bureau for preaching the Gospel, some of the ladies who saw what happened said the PSB shoved him into their car but as they were doing so they saw marks on his neck and arms. One of the ladies from the church then called Lui to tell him not to come to church that afternoon because the PSB had made their visit and they were on to what’s “going on”
Lui was going there to teach English to the younger children as he usually does in the afternoons

Please pray for Pastor Jimmy! As Lui says, they have no idea where he is and if or when they will see him again. Pray that God will give him wisdom and strength and the same to Pastor Jimmy’s wife and their two young children. Lui said they were doing OK, but that there is too great a risk for them and himself if he tried to get in contact with them

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 12:17 PM | 1 comments    

In one of the recent posts by Rev. 2:17 he pointed to a verse in the Book of Daniel (4:17) which refers the "Watchers". That aroused my curiosity, and I promised to research the subject further.

This morning during a visit to the Official Antarctica Page, I clicked on "Myths and Legends" not knowing what to expect. To my surprise, here's an excerpt of what I found. The reference is to the Book of Enoch which is famous for talking about the fall of the angels. Now before I quote, I want to reassure everybody that the Book of Enoch is NOT an inspired book and I am NOT endorsing anything the following text says. Just for fun however, and for the sake of those who are curious like me, here it is.

"According to the Bible, angels once walked upon the surface of the earth. Speculation also exists that they are the missing 'master' race. In 1773, a British explorer, James Bruce, discovered a scroll in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) that was a full copy of the Book of Enoch, which appeared to be a Book of the Bible, written in the 2nd century BC. This text had existed in fragmentary form, written in Aramaic, in Europe for centuries, but had been rejected by the Catholic Church as heresy. The text itself deals with a group of angels on Earth called "The Watchers", who dwelt in a high place".

Take it or leave it. I just thought it was an interesting reference.

Posted by Consecrated at 11:01 AM | 0 comments    

Hey, I just heard something this morning and it hit me like lightning. The law was not given to save us. For those who claim that by obeying the ten commandments they will be saved, I like to refer them to Romans 8:3
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.

Now I understand better the verse which talks about the law being a schoolmaster teaching us right from wrong. The teacher was not given in order to save us. It was given to lead us to the true Saviour. Thanks be to the Lord for Galatians 3:24 - Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

Posted by Consecrated at 9:46 AM | 0 comments    

We have had an average of 2 bombs per week, the bishop of Rome is dead and so his cult is engulfing the media outlets, my work is giving me a headache since the workers let the new guy do all the work, I have a succession of mid-terms: comparative politics, logic, computer science, statistics; 1 down, 3 to go; my father continuously fights me over my fellowship with a true (i.e. biblical) church (+ some of my brethern are not too happy with my seemingly extremist stance of boycotting Easter because of its pagan roots), his friends are displeased, I sleep in my home bed once a week, my 12 year-old blazer broke down in the middle of road, then fell off the toe-truck ramps, was stopped by a road-block; I yelled at a horn-anxious driver, which wasn't a good testimony, I haven't seen my mother and sister since September after having seen and spoken to them for the first time in over 6 years last summer, I'm struggling to save up the money for a ticket and other needed items, especially since I lost a bag containing my mom-given slim testimony KJV bible (I'm sorry mom), a small book on Information Technology, a notepad, and an MP3-128mb-digital voice recorder and a bunch of other things too which I'm too tired to mention...

Praise Jesus the Christened the One God Allmighty of the Bible.

Keep'em coming, just keep'em coming that my flesh be seared with the scars of the glory of Jesus my God my Lord my Redeemer my King and the joy of my salvation
by whose grace I triumph

Keep'em coming that the grace of God may in my weakness be perfected

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 3:18 PM | 1 comments    

Have been trying your cell phone for three hours now. Can't get through. The service tells me that no one is answering the call. I need a sign of life.

Posted by Consecrated at 3:33 PM | 1 comments    

I am writing from a net-cafe near my apartment. One of the guys here received a message a few moments ago that a bomb was found not far from here. At first we were not too concerned given the lebanese tradition of "salting" any potentially significant news. Then came a couple of men with the same story, claiming that the road around the bomb area was blocked, and security was in place. An officer of the latter apparently informed one of the men that it was a 350 kgs car-bomb. I can't judge the veracity of the details, but it is unsettling news nonetheless. For those of you who know the layout of Ashrafieh, you can simply imagine what that would do.
Please keep Lebanon in the fervour of your prayers. We want peace, and the flow of the Word of God. If death should find us, may it be for the sake of His glory.

Will post more if the news is confirmed or denied.

========================================================
Update:
I just drove down the main lane and in fact saw the yellow tape forbidding entry to a perpendicular street. As I was u-turning, a "darak" (closest thing to the western police)jeep was coming up the street. So I u-turned once more and sped to catch up with them about a kilometer back up, past Sassine square, half-way to Sodeco square. I waved to bid them open their window and proceeded to enquire of the situation.
Their reply was that they were clearing some cars for "asphalt" renovation.

The guys back here at the net-cafe enjoyed the humour.
That is more of a confirmation than a flat-out "yes".

I have Psalm 91. May the Lord spare us all a war.
There is a judge of nations, and yet a day of reckoning.

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 3:17 PM | 4 comments    

Our God is going to rain Hail, with a big H and Horror (notice the big H) on this earth. For those of you who do not understand what I am talking about, I am referring to the cover story of the Canadian Edition/March 21, 2005 of Time Magazine.

I was horrified to read the article in mention. I can't even quote the title of the article for I find it blasphemous. I must admit I had to force myself to read through some of it, stopping many times mid stream. I cannot fathom or comprehend how removed from the truth are people who call themselves Christians. Then this verse popped in my head, and I want to share it.

2 Thessalonians 2:3 - Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

My question to everybody is the following? Are we seeing the FALLING AWAY with our own eyes. Is the christian world now falling away?

God forbid that any true believer and disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ should be deceived by the liberalism that is invading the world triggered by feminism and orchestrated by none other than the enemy of our souls.

Posted by Consecrated at 1:35 PM | 0 comments    

There was a time when I was the most passionately zealous lebanese nationalist of all, bar none. There is a violence of emotion, a certain turbulence of spirit that is concomittant with such alienating zeal.
Today, 2 things have changed. The country for which mine heart beats, and the quality of my love. Jesus Christ has given me a peace that the countries and causes of the world cannot offer.
I am in love with the King of a country called heaven. His peace is shed over my soul and I am liberated from the enthrallment of worldly ideals, wherein dwells no true nobility, no innocence, no true love, no redeeming fellowship.
I write even as I watch live coverage of the biggest protest in Lebanon's ancient and eventful history. (Lebanon is ruled by its neighbour Syria and most of the population has had enough of the hegemony, especially after the assassination of the leading figure of Lebanese political-economy). The streets I see are swollen with popular anger I know the scene well. The pulse is apounding and the blood is aboiling, and the clamours of hundreds of thousands, written into the triumphant music of liberational politics, roar and rip the air.
I am today fond of Lebanon the way one would be fond of the country of his sojourn, having dwelt therein for a number of years. Surely mine affections are wired as I wish the land freedom for all, that peace may reign.
But it is only a question of lesser evil.
This world system is hopelessly corrupt, and is condemned. Humanists can implode their lungs in denial; until He whose name is Righteousness reigneth in visible glory, the world will have no peace. Kindly revise the history of the Middle East for example. I have empirical data written with the blood of countless human beings felled in the battlefield for the kindgoms and ideologies of this fallen world; data ablaze with the fires of innumerable wars.
I am a realist, but with more of a hope and future in Christ than the most unabated optimist.

Beware, believers, that the "prince of this world" (JOHN 14:30), the one unto whom ALL earthly kingdoms are delivered, which he gives to WHOMSOEVER he wills (LUKE 4:6) USURP not your allegiance to Christ and the energetic zeal of your youth. Beware beware beware.Our heavenly allegiance is our ONLY one, not our first one. This is especially important to grasp given the nature of the coming world order under the anti-christ, which type once was under Roman rule.The Romans did not mind that those they ruled had their own national gods. They wisely, (satan is full of wisdom, EZEKIEL 28:12)allowed the peoples to worship their divinities, under one condition: that first allegiance and worship was owed unto Caesar. But that, as many believers understood, compromised the absolute sovereignty of Jesus over their lives. They suffered death. It is here useful to be reminded that we are nevertheless to be obedient to the authorities, WHOMEVER they may be in everything except that which would compromise our Biblical walk with Jesus our God, and to lift them up in prayer for they are set up to punish the evildoers and reward those that do well, never having a bad word or even thought against their person(ECCLESIASTES 10:20, ROMANS 13:1-7, TITUS 3:1, 1TIMOTHY 2:1-3, 1PETER 2:13-18, 2PETER 2:10, JUDE 8-9) for in this manner, we, as David concerning Saul, express reverence to the SOVEREIGNTY of God who remains absolut King in the affairs of men, despite satan's authority, setting up and bringing down governments as He well pleases(DANIEL 4:17)

We remain sojourners, strangers, pilgrims in this world (1PETER 2:11).If we believe that we are not of it, let us live likewise. In JEREMIAH 38:17-18, God ordered and blessed those that went out into the hand of the foreign power, cursing those who trusted yet in their land and their own. So if we are sojourners, we are not any closer to those rulers of our earhtly country than to those that rule our neighbour.Still, as previously admitted, bonds of affection are inevitably formed, and good may they well be, in the sense that they teach us what must be felt towards our heavenly abode, that they churn our bowels for the salvation of our countrymen and their peace. The desire for freedom and justice is only natural also.We are concerned over which kind of state rules over us, only in as far as we want free course for the Word of God, and peace.(2THESSALONIANS 3:1-3)=================================================
By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. HEBREWS 11:8-10, 13-16
This is NOT mere poetry. So LIVE it.
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Lastly, beware of the leaven of Herod (Matthew 8:15) which is politics.Divide the Word of Truth, and understand that the power of Christ is not that of the state. Only at His second return as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, will Jesus rule BOTH as Son of God and Son of Man. Believe it or not, there are protestant equivalents to the catholic insitution's equating the Kingdom of God (defined by the Bible as righteousness, peace and joy with the Holy Spirit, ROMANS 14:17) with the Kingdom of Heaven (created world) and thereby justifying ruling POLITICALLY upon the earth. The overlap you see between the two kingdoms in some verses is because Jesus rules over BOTH, as son of God and son of Man, the latter rule being made manifest when the Rock shall smite the statue of gentile world power.
=================================================
Jesus answered, My kingdom is NOT of this world: IF my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. JOHN 18:36 Note the "now"in the last part. It is not spoken in vain.Any person, organization, institution that abides not by these words, witnesses against its own divine origin. What is not of God is of the devil.

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 8:12 AM | 4 comments    

I was struck by this phrase which the Lord interjected right in the middle of a parable he was telling his disciples. See Luke chpater 12 verse 38. It goes like this:

Luke 12:36 - And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they...

If you stop to think about the phrase "when he will return from the wedding" for a moment, and considering that every parable our Lord spoke will come true in its minutest detail,I believe you'll find another proof that the wedding of our Lord to his spotless bride, the church, will take place after the rapture and before his return in power and in glory to reign on this earth. Otherwise, why would he refer to the "when he will return from the wedding"?

Amazing, isn't it?

Posted by Consecrated at 10:57 AM | 1 comments    

Throughout the centuries theologians have racked their brains trying to explain how "evil" natural calamities can be permited by an absolutely sovereign God who is good and who is Love, without that making God evil.

ASSERTION: the "problem of evil" is no problem at all because it doesn't exist.
It is a chimera (illusion) born out of the self-righteousness of man.

Let us test the validity of the assertion with the fire of the WORD

1) Romans 3:23
All have sinned.

2) Romans 6:23
The wages of sin is death.

Since natural calamities execute the just reward of sin by causing death
and
Justice is not evil

We may conclude that

God is Just in allowing, indeed causing, such deadly calamities and therefore cannot be evil

It is not in vain that the Word says in Deutoronomy 32:4
He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, Just and Right is He.

...and to think Aquinas could've been spared the trouble had he read the Bible.

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 4:29 PM | 0 comments    

get ready for a concentration of "news"

The weblog "ask about Jesus" has been terminated. However, the Forum which it housed has been integrated into this headpage Pen of Iron, as you can see by the buttons between every post. Click on the flashing "Enter my Forum" button. Once there ANYONE can either start his own post\theme, or click on any such post and reply.
We still have the problem of unwanted adds, which we disposed of in the Guestbook. But this should be taken care of in the coming fortnight.

This saturday was to be my first day of training with the boss for work. Yet as I was leaving the house, I received a call from a frantic Dipendra, a brother in the Lord Jesus (having been saved from a pagan religion), whose apartment was burning down before his eyes. I rushed to the scene. The firefighters were present, surveying the damage having overcome the fire. Dipendra, Aimee (also a sister in the Lord), and Hem all lost their belongings. Aimee had stored her stuff there having lived out her stay at another apartment the very same day! Dipendra worried most about his papers, being a foreignor in the country.
Dipendra, Hem and myself proceeded to the office of the Darak (a rough police equivalent only more military-like) after their papers, Hem's originals and Dipendra's copies had been confiscated. We spent an anxious three hours. They were treated more like criminals than victims. I signed on as official interpreter; trepidly. A report was made, the papers were returned. They were told to return on this monday the 14th for a copy of the report, which, following submittal, would permit them to replace their lost papers.
We proceeded to meet Aimee and attend the youth meeting. Dipendra's tears were turned to gratefulness unto the Lord who once before had blessed him following a total loss of property and shelter. Aimee's faith also was unshaken. She was laughing and praising God, but losing not the ponderous sense that God had somehow sent a message through this fire. An admonishment. Hem saw the power of faith.
Later on that night the youth commuted to the port of Beirut to board the Doulos missionary ship and came out with Bibles, devotional books and tracts. Many people of many faiths had the opportunity to witness the message of the Gospel.
Our two friends however, did not recover their papers today. Why?
Because a bomb blast literally flattened down-town Beirut, about an hour past noon:
The assassination of business Tycoon and former Lebanese Prime Minister Raffic el Harriri. The nation is in shock, though a little few had seen it coming. I was with a little group of friends on the steps of the American University of Beirut's Maingate Plaza. I felt the sound-wave against my eardrums as the air was ripped. There was a mixture of reactions, from panic to absolute impassability. But most knew very well that this wasn’t just another sonic boom. When one female friend asked what had just happened, Wael answered with the stoicism of a war-tried people “somebody just died”
Nor was it of similar magnitude to the bomb that had targeted Marwan Hmede just a couple of months ago, also near AUB. This time some windows were broken. A significant sign of the power of the blast, given that, what we first believed an intra-mural explosion, had taken place some hundreds of meters outside the campus near the St-George and Pheonicia hotels. Billowing black smoke thickly ascended. Students at first even rushed to the site, when it was still thought to be on campus. In Lebanon, people rush to, rather than away from explosions. We’re idiosyncratic this way. Despite millions of dollars spent on security payments, body-guards, anti-bomb radars and convoys, the targeted man met his fate. A large crater had bitten out the soil. The scene is that of a flattened forest. The mobile phone network was sporadically shut off or jammed. Families panicked to obtain information on loved ones. T.V. stations relayed images of death and destruction. Riots erupted in the streets. Some shops were vandalized, others forced to shutdown. Roads were closed. (shows you how much the Lord God thinks of the world's February the 14th love fest)

We pray for security and the free-flow of the Word of God. He rules in the kingdom of men. Have mercy Lord, spare us another war. The heart of kings is in your hands. You raise and raze.

Proverbs 11:4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.


When asked by a friend from abroad how I was doing, I told her to read Psalm 91 to find out.

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 5:14 PM | 0 comments    

February's first week in Lebanon has been one cold cold front from Europe. what good could come out of Europe? hehe.
I will be starting work tomorrow at a large bookstore. I am required to "wear multiple hats", as my boss framed it, meaning work in publishing, editing, sales and database. The Lord was unstoppable in handing me the job. One difficult evening I had cried out to Jesus to have me financially independent. The next day i received a phone call from a contact who had already recommended me for the job a few days prior.

Isa 65:24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

I pray the Lord will bless me to be responsible, wise and above all, to bear a good testimony to His name.

A new semester is also starting. My last one was the best since I had been rid of many a burden and could better concentrate on acknowledging Jesus through mine academia also, something I had always failed to do, much less thought of.

The church's ranks are swollen with visitors. Especially I think of an unfortunate, delightful group of youth, numbering about a dozen native Mongolians who were thrown in the country without pass-port, food, shelter or money, having been promised work opportunities. Human smuggling. nothing new here. In any case, they happened to be cramped in a single room in a near-by building to the church's meeting place. One of our sisters in Christ, from Madagascar, met them wanderting in front of the church floor, and invited them in for the Wednesday Bible Study. They also came on Sunday. The church gathered money, food, and one member from Nepal took care of providing blankets also. They were visited in their apartment and were told of the love of the Son of God dying in their stead on the cross. So their unfortunate trip turned out to be the opportunity to listen to the Word of God and be saved from judgement.
Is the Lord awesome or what?

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 12:12 PM | 0 comments    

Christmas choir and cantanta rehearsal presented by Beirut's 1st Baptist Bible Church to the glory of Jesus the Son of God, on the 26th of December .

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 5:38 PM | 7 comments    

The radio speaker this morning related how David would not hurt King Saul when the opportunity for vengeance arose although Saul had tried to kill David on several occasions. David was always conscious of the fact that Saul was anointed by God. Although he himself had been told that he would succeed him as king, he refused to avenge himself because he respected God's authority that was invested in Saul. The Bible declares David to be a man after God's own heart.

The speaker summed up the message by saying that God does not select men based on their intellect or their abilities. David was just a shepherd. God looks at the heart of men and on that basis he picks.

Posted by Consecrated at 5:05 PM | 0 comments    

I love Spurgeon's devotionals. This day's devotion seemed so timely with the comment from Rev.2:17 so I decided to post it not as a comment but as entry for the edification of all Christians. The verse is from Corinthians 1, chapter 3, verse 23.

YE are Christ's." You are His by donation, for the Father gave you to the Son; His by His bloody purchase, for He counted down the price for your redemption; His by dedication, for you have consecrated yourself to Him; His by relation, for you are named by his name, and made one of His brethren and joint-heirs. Labour practically to show the world that you are the servant, the friend, the bride of Jesus. When tempted to sin, reply, "I cannot do this great wickedness, for I am Christ's." Immortal principles forbid the friend of Christ to sin. When wealth is before you to be won by sin, say that you are Christ's, and touch it not. Are you exposed to difficulties and dangers? Stand fast in the evil day, remembering that you are Christ's. Are you placed where others are sitting down idly, doing nothing? Rise to the work with all your powers; and when the sweat stands upon your brow, and you are tempted to loiter, cry, "No, I cannot stop, for I am Christ's. If I were not purchased by blood, I might be like Issachar, crouching between two burdens; but I am Christ's, and cannot loiter." When the siren song of pleasure would tempt you from the path of right, reply, "Thy music cannot charm me; I am Christ's." When the cause of God invites thee, give thy goods and thyself away, for thou art Christ's. Never belie thy profession. Be thou ever one of those whose manners are Christian, whose speech is like the Nazarene, whose conduct and conversation are so redolent of heaven, that all who see you may know that you are the Saviour's, recognizing in you His features of love and His countenance of holiness. "I am a Roman!" was of old a reason for integrity; far more, then, let it be your argument for holiness, "I am Christ's!"

Posted by Consecrated at 1:09 PM | 0 comments    

and I'm all the more blessed to have Consecrated and Redeemed as kin by God's divine allocation. May Jesus the Prince of peace bless your hearts and your lips as they in unison serve Him, and comfort those around you.

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 3:33 PM | 0 comments    

January 10th was Consecrated Unto God's Birthday, and while most of us think of ourselves on this day, Consecrated seeks to serve the Lord Her God on Any Given Day, birthday or not. I wish to give thanks unto my Lord Jesus Christ for placing in our midst a Godly woman who's life reflects a spirit of love, kindness, service, humility and even more, but most of all who is a true prayer warrior. May the Lord answer all you prayer requests according to His will and in His time.

P.S. I truly meant that last line, cuz I know I'm in your prayers ;)
P.P.S. Consecrated is MY mother! :)

~Favour is deceitful and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Proverbs 31:30~

Posted by Redeemed at 8:46 PM | 0 comments    

I know that Rev. 2:17 loves the book of Jeremiah. Look how C.H. Spurgeon expounds on Jeremiah 31 verse 33.

... Not all the music blown from sweet instruments, or drawn from living strings, can yield such melody as this sweet promise, "I will be their God." Here is a deep sea of bliss, a shoreless ocean of delight; come, bathe thy spirit in it; swim an age, and thou shalt find no shore; dive throughout eternity, and thou shalt find no bottom. "I will be their God." If this do not make thine eyes sparkle, and thy heart beat high with bliss, then assuredly thy soul is not in a healthy state. But thou wantest more than present delights—thou cravest something concerning which thou mayest exercise hope; and what more canst thou hope for than the fulfillment of this great promise, "I will be their God"? This is the masterpiece of all the promises; its enjoyment makes a heaven below, and will make a heaven above. Dwell in the light of thy Lord, and let thy soul be always ravished with His love. Get out the marrow and fatness which this portion yields thee. Live up to thy privileges, and rejoice with unspeakable joy.

Posted by Consecrated at 9:46 AM | 0 comments    

I have been away for a while. I have been away learning to acknowledge my Lord Jesus in all that I do, namely, in the area of studying. By His strength I have been able to increasingly defeat the indolence in my flesh and serve him "academically". Hopefully this means that I will redirect mine attention to this site and have it and its departments serving better than ever. May the God of peace have mercy upon us all.

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 12:59 PM | 1 comments    

I was struck this morning by a thought as I listened eagerly on to a radio broadcast, and I jotted down few notes which I want to share. Philippians chapter 2, verses 6 and 7 take us back in time long before Christ was born in Bethlehem, to a slot of time in eternity past when our Lord was still with God (Remember John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God). Our passage in Philippians takes us to the times when God was devising our salvation. It goes like this: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made to the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

The thought that struck me as Chuck Swindel spoke this morning was the following. Our Lord willingly emptied himself of his independent use of his nature as God and took upon himself the form of the human nature. He became man. That is why during his ministry on earth he was always a servant of the Father, always dependent on him, always praying to him, and doing nothing of his own will, but always communicating with the Father and asking him for his will. Isn't this amazing.

Just a few verses before that we are asked to emulate our Lord in humility in Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ. Then the passage talks about the Lord emptying himself for our sake. See. We were all born to live, but Jesus was born to die. And to him alone belongs the title of LORD.

The thought culminates with these two beautiful verses 10 and 11: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The Peace of the Lord be with you all.

Posted by Consecrated at 10:03 AM | 0 comments    

It has been quiet around here for some time, so I decided to break the ice with this thought that I recently heard, and if Rev. 2:17 so chooses, it can be moved later on to the Bible Studies Section.

Let me begin by saying that we are in a spiritual warfare. II Corin. 10:3 says that though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. This brings me to the subject of the strongholds of the enemy. What is a stronghold of the enemy anyway? I'll explain. A stronghold is a mind set filled with hopelessness that causes you to accept as unchangeable something that you know is contrary to the will of God. I'll elaborate. Through the power of deception,the enemy holds strongholds in our hearts causing us to believe that oh well nothing will change anyway. I am weak. I cannot do it. Nothing can change me, etc. Again a stronghold of the enemy is a mind set filled with hopeless that causes me to accept as unchangeable something that I know is contrary to the will of God. That is a lie from the pit of hell, and our life is full of such strongholds.

The enemy knows that if he can control your thoughts, then he can control your emotions and consequently control your actions. So, whoever fills your mind will control your thoughts, and your emotions and consequently your actions. Fill your mind the word of the God. Grab the truth about the Word of God. Take hold of his promises that he defeated the world. Never let go of the truth, and lear to REST in him. When God created man in the sixth day, immediately after that followed the seventh day, a day of rest. So before you begin anything, learn to rest in the Lord.

I am a paraplegic but Christ in me will help me to the top. Read Joshua 1:1-9 Be strong and of good courage... Only be thou strong and of good courage for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance.... This book of the law shall not depart out of they mouth, but thou shall meditate therein day and night.... observe to do according to all that is written, then shall thou have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the Lord they God is with thee withersoever thou goest.

How do you defeat your enemy? See Joshua 5:13,14 and 15. You will never defeat your Jericho until you have taken off your shoes. Joshua 1:3 says every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses (this verse by way reminds me a lot of the late Pastor Sadaka Senior).

Eph. 6:10-18 Finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, ... for we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the ruler of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Posted by Consecrated at 5:02 PM | 0 comments    

We have been informed that many christian students from the Beirut area regularly check the site and wholly support the ministry. That was a much needed boost, thank you Jesus. May they also contribute to the service of the saints and those who would be sanctified by the blood of the Lamb.

I have just arrived home from a christian concert, presented by a lebanese band named "Strongholds". This time around was certainly an improvement over last year's concert by the same very talented band. It is refreshing and releaving to see youth singing praises to the glory of the Lamb alone, inspired by the Bible. I have bought their newly released, first CD. All concert entries are free. Now that this group is more visible than ever, I worry for them much. I pray the Lord will keep them from the insiduous plans of satan;
that they might always give all the praise to Jesus,
that they might never sell out to the commercial market and start taking out the name of JESUS from their songs,
that they might never stop preaching the exclusivity of Jesus for salvation,
that pride might never consume them;
in sum and most importantly, to remember that God wants obedience before sacrifice.

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 5:25 PM | 1 comments    

So much has been going on lately here in Lebanon that most of us have been swamped with work. I write here as fleeting moments are found. I pray the Lord that He would bless this e-house for the glory of His name and the multiplication of His Word. May He give us a vision, for " where there is no vision, the people perish"
I have been studying hard, hopefully that will allow me to reconcentrate on this here project; but priority belongs to the lukewarm christian youth in the Beirut area. Please pray the Lord that we might all meet and establish a bible-based fellowship. The harvest is plentiful and the workers are few.
May the God of peace keep you

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 5:33 AM | 1 comments