Purim

Today is the Jewish holiday of Purim.

Purim, as is pointed out on the Jews for Jesus website, is not one of the holidays that is commanded to be observed in the Torah.

But it is an important holiday for the Jews.

It celebrates the events portrayed in the Biblical book of Esther.

Specifically, as indicated on the Jews For Jesus Website, “The Jewish holiday of Purim commemorates Esther's and Mordecai's defeat of Haman's plot to annihilate the Jews of ancient Persia. Purim derives its name from the fact that Haman cast lots (purim) to determine the most propitious date for implementing his planned genocide. The holiday is celebrated on the 14th day of Adar in the Jewish calendar.”

To learn more about how the Jews celebrate this day and even what they eat (there are recipes included so that you, too, can make some of the delicious pastries and other things), HERE’S THE LINK.

And for more information, as detailed in Wikipedia, HERE’S THE LINK.

Gekos Feet

A couple of days ago we considered the amazing eyes of the Gecko!

And they are so amazing that it boggles the mind to think that the eyes of the Gecko could have developed by ‘chance’ as the evolutionists would say.

Well, if you thought their eyes were amazing. You will be further stunned by the feet of the Gecko.

Again, evolutionists tell us that the amazing features of the Gecko’s feet just ‘happened’ by chance.

Well, read these two articles and see what you think. You will notice that both of these are articles written from a ‘Secular (evolutionary) World View Glasses’ approach. But the principles they discuss are so astounding, do you really think they could have happened by chance? I don’t.

HERE’S THE LINK to one article and HERE’S THE LINK to another. Wow. Amazing.

The Shack

A friend gave me the book, The Shack, and said it was wonderful and that she was sure I would like it. Not !

As stated in the Book Review at this LINK: “The Shack calls for a denial of reality. It ignores and/or redefines sin and guilt, embraces a counterfeit "Christianity" that pulls in the crowds at the expense of Biblical distortions, and discounts warnings about Satan's deceptions.”

I have recommended several books on this site for you to read. BUT this is one book that I definitely and unequivocally recommend that you NOT read. Here’s why . (Click this LINK)

Geckos

Doubtless you have seen the many commercials with a Gecko pretending he is a ‘Geiko’ or whatever.

But did you know that Geckos have amazing capabilities (other than selling insurance)?

Name one, you say.

Well, how about their eyes.

According to a fascinating article I read recently “Gecko Eyes Make Great Night Vision Cameras”.

Their feet are pretty amazing, too, but that is another story for another time, like maybe in a future blog post, so stay tuned.

But, today, to find out about their amazing eyes, HERE’S THE LINK

'Real' Scientists don't believe in God?

You have often heard that ‘real’ scientists don’t believe in God. Well, how about this statement of Sir Isaac Newton, who discovered the current concepts of light, gravity, and time, among other things.

He wrote this in his book, Principia Mathematica: The true God is a living, intelligent, and powerful being. His duration reaches from eternity to eternity; His presence from infinity to infinity ... He governs all things and knows all things that are or can be done. He is not eternity and infinity, but eternal and infinite; He is not duration or space, but He endures and is present. He endures forever and is everywhere present; and, by existing always and everywhere, He constitutes duration and space. This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being ... He is omnipresent, not virtually only, but also substantially; for virtue cannot subsist without substance. In Him are all things contained and moved.”

Free Book !!!

A few days ago I was chatting with the author of the book, “Is your God too Small”.

As we discussed his book and the fact that it had been mentioned on this blog, he said he would like to make, what I consider to be, a very generous offer to you, the readers of this blog.

The offer is that, for a limited time, he will be happy to send you an autographed copy of his book for FREE (what a deal) IF you will email and request it.

So, should you be interested, send an email with your request and the address where you would like for it to be mailed to :

BibleStudiesNet (at) yahoo (dot) com

I will forward your request to him.

By the way, if that email address looks ‘odd’, it is written that way to cut down on spammers who harvest addresses from webpages. But, you surely know how to convert that address to the ‘real thing’.

This is a limited time offer so do not put it off.

So, if you would like a copy of this excellent book, be sure to send your request for it soon.

And, If you would like to know more about the book (and what it costs if you miss out on this ‘deal of the century’), HERE’S A LINK to the publisher’s website.

The Real Washington's Birthday

February 15 was observed as 'President's Day' but is intended to be a celebration of Washington's Birthday.

However, today, Feb. 22, is really his birthday. So, we will celebrate it again. Why twice? Well, George Washington was a truly outstanding and important personage in American history. So, let's get this day right.

As you know, George Washington was the First President of the United States. He served two terms as President, the first being from 1789-1793 and the second from 1793 to 1797.

Interestingly, according to the National Archives of the U.S. Gov., “George Washington was born in Virginia on February 11, 1731, according to the then-used Julian calendar. In 1752, however, Britain and all its colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar, which placed Washington's birth on February 22, 1732.”

To read more about Washington’s Birthday and how it came to be observed on Feb. 15, as chronicled by the National Archives, HERE’S THE LINK.

And to read another interesting short article about President's Day / Washington's Birthday, HERE'S THE LINK

The Jesus Film project

The Jesus film produced by Campus Crusade for Christ is now in 1,055 translations and is shown around the world.

As a result many are accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

If you would like to know more about the film, there is a 2 minute info-video at this link.

Even more info is HERE.

To view the entire Jesus Film, HERE'S THE LINK.

Linking Eclipses to the timing of the 2nd coming of the Messiah

For those of you interested in 'end times' events, you will want to view the online video of Pastor Mark Blitz’s talk: Linking Eclipses to the Timing of the Second Coming of Messiah.

It is about an hour long but well worth the time.

Printable notes and charts to accompany this video are also available.

HERE'S THE LINK.

... and that’s how the fight started

Today, instead of being ‘serious’, how about a little joke to brighten things up a bit.

Someone emailed this to me and it is another of those emails that is too funny to just read and delete -- HERE’S THE LINK

Beware of the book : “Conversations with God”

Yesterday we reviewed a book that is a ‘must read’ book: “Already Gone”

But there are some books that should NOT be read. Today I want to mention one of those “do not read” books.

I recently received an email from a friend. In it was a warning to not read this book: Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch. I hadn’t read it and wasn’t planning to read it. But, after getting her ‘alert’, I checked to see what this book teaches which elicited the warning.

And, Wow ! This is one that we definitely need to AVOID !!! BEWARE !!! and NOT READ !!!!

Why? Well, for many reasons. And, this ‘book review’ from Summit Ministries explains why we should NOT read or recommend this book (or its teen version: Conversations with God for Teens). HERE’S THE LINK

Book review: “Already Gone” by Ken Ham & Britt Beemer

Yesterday we posted a disturbing article that said that 2/3 of teenagers do not believe in God.

Tying in with that article is a new book, Already Gone, that provides a lot of information about how and why those teens do not or no longer believe in God.

I have read that book, Already Gone by Ken Ham and Britt Beemer, not once but Twice, which is unusual for me as I usually only read something once.

As you can suspect from my reading it twice, it is definitely a very important book and one that I highly recommend that you also read especially If you are a Pastor, Youth Director, Music Director, Sunday School Teacher, Bible Study Leader, Deacon, Elder, Administrator, Department Director, Parent, or ‘just’ a concerned lay person, such as I.

Why should you read it?

Well, to read my "book review" telling why I highly recommend this book and why I think it is so important that you read it also CLICK HERE

2/3 of teenagers don’t believe in God

An article on the Telegraph.co.uk website posted Thursday June 22, 2009.... says
two thirds of teenagers don’t believe in God !!!

Yes, you read that correctly . TWO THIRDS !

And there are several more similarly dismaying statistics in that article.

Read it and weep and then pray! HERE’S THE LINK

Washington’s Birthday (President’s Day)

As you know, George Washington was the First President of the United States.

He served two terms as President, the first being from 1789-1793 and the second from 1793 to 1797.

Interestingly, according to the National Archives of the U.S. Gov., “George Washington was born in Virginia on February 11, 1731, according to the then-used Julian calendar. In 1752, however, Britain and all its colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar, which placed Washington's birth on February 22, 1732.”

Even though Feb. 22, (or Feb. 11) 1732 is the real date of George Washington’s Birthday, it is now celebrated as “President’s Day” on the third Monday of February each year.

To read more about Washington’s Birthday and how it came to be, as chronicled by the National Archives, HERE’S THE LINK.

And if you would like to read Wikipedia’s ‘take’ on this day, HERE’S THE LINK

Valentine’s Day

Today is Valentine’s day !

In America, many folks celebrate this day with Cards, Flowers (Roses, Bouquets, etc.), Chocolates, Jewelry, and even proposals of Marriage.

But, believe it or not, this is not just an American Holiday. In Finland, for example, it is known as “Friend’s Day” and in Guatemala it is known as “Day of Love and Friendship.”

The origin of Valentine’s Day is somewhat shrouded in mystery but there are several ‘theories’. To read about the possible origins of Valentine’s Day and other interesting information, HERE’S A LINK and HERE’S ANOTHER LINK.

Mayo Clinic music fun

This is a hoot. Be sure to watch this.

It is an older couple playing the piano in the Mayo Clinic atrium. It is on You Tube but is posted on the Mayo Clinic web page.

It is only 1 minute 15 seconds long and is GREAT !!!

Enjoy! HERE’S THE LINK

Lincoln’s Birthday

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, was born on Feb 12, 1809.

Interestingly, Charles Darwin was also born on Feb. 12, 1809. Hmmm. Two men with very different outcomes in the influence of their lives. But, we will not go into ‘that’ now.

Today let’s focus on Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln’s image is on the US One Cent piece (aka, the penny) so you likely see him daily. And, if you have been to Washington, D.C., you have surely visited the Lincoln Memorial and viewed the larger than life size statue (shown as the blog picture for today). He is also one of the Presidents depicted on Mt. Rushmore.

To find out more about who he was and what he did, HERE’S A LINK.

And to read a very brief history of this day and the man it honors at Wikipedia,
HERE’S THE LINK

No more comments

Hi all. This is a news flash to remind you that comments have been discontinued.

Why? Well, of course you know. The posts didn't get many comments but recently on checking them, I discovered that there were quite a few that were totally beyond the pale.

So, alas, since some have abused, all will be denied the opportunity to make comments.

I feared this would happen so when this blog was started, comments were not allowed. Then some folks (‘good commenters’) said they wished they would be allowed, so they were. Until the abusers surfaced.... sigh.

So, now it is back to square one -- i.e. NO comments. Sorry.

90 Minutes in Heaven

This is an excellent book written by Dan Piper. I read the book awhile back but had forgotten about it until recently when I got an email from a friend who had ‘read’ it. Well, actually she listened to it as an audio book since she is now having vision problems. You know how it is when you get ‘old’.

Anyway, her book review is so succinct, that I decided to just cut and paste it so you could get her take on it.

So, here is what my friend said about this book:

“I recently "read" a book you might enjoy. I get them on tape, so miss all the pictures. Anyway, the name of it was 90 Minutes in Heaven by a Texas Baptist minister who's name, I believe, is Dan Piper. When he wrote this he was minister at a Pasadena, TX, church that had 10,000 members.

“He'd gone to a Baptist conference and on the way home was crossing a bridge when an 18 wheeler ran over his car. The medical people said he was dead, covered him with a tarp, and sent away the ambulances.

“90 minutes later another minister came by and went to see what had happened. He got as close as he could to him and prayed for him a lot, then he discovered that he was alive and told the rescue people, who said that he wasn't, but it turned out that he was and he wrote all the things he'd seen when he was out for this 90 minutes. It also talks about all his rehab .... He and one of his children had also graduated from LSU. It was an interesting book.”

Well, there you have it, the ‘book review’ by my friend. She is a graduate of LSU, which is why she picked up on his education and that of one of his children.

And, Yes, she is so right. This is an interesting book and she and I highly recommend it to you. The experiences which he recounts during his 90 minutes in heaven are very interesting, believable, and encouraging.

Dogs or Children

Aren’t you glad that you come to this blog daily? You never know what you will find.

You ARE coming daily, aren’t you?

Anyway, the second ‘entry’ for today is a hoot and was sent to me by a friend. It is another hysterically funny email. And, again, it is just toooooo good to not share with you.

The question posed in the email is --

Which would you rather have, a Dog? or Children?

And for the answer HERE’S THE LINK

Cremation ... Christian or Pagan

As you have probably noticed, more and more folks are being cremated these days. They give various reasons for why they are doing this.

Some say it is because it is less expensive than the traditional Christian burial, as indeed it is. Others are doing it because it is the ‘in’ thing to do.

But, is doing the ‘in’ thing or the ‘less expensive’ thing the right thing?

The question that all Christians should be asking themselves is: “Is Cremation a Christian or a Pagan practice?” In other words, what does God think about Cremation?

Recently I ran across a very good article ‘out there in internet land’ which looks into what the Bible has to say on the subject and will help us answer this question. HERE’S THE LINK

Super Bowl Ad

Well, that long awaited event of the year for Football Fans has arrived. It is Super Bowl Time!

All around the world, people will be watching. Many will have big screen TVs that will be better than being there in person. There will be chips and dips and all kinds of tasty finger foods.

The teams that made it to Super Bowl 44 in Miami are the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints. Yes, high adventure and excitement is anticipated for all involved.

And along with the game there are The Ads !

Everyone loves to watch the ads. They are so creative and interesting that they are almost as much of a draw for the event as the game itself.

But, there is something you need to know about one of the Ads that will be featured this year at the Super Bowl.

This year, there will be a very unusual ad. It will feature Tim Tebow and his mother!

A friend emailed me an article that was in the Washington Times telling about this most unusual ad. I did a cut an paste of the article from the email. You will surely want to read it so, HERE’S THE LINK.

Dinosaur footprints in Swiss alps

Recently a very short but most interesting article about a very unusual find was posted on the internet.

What was it? Well.....

It seems that Dinosaur footprints have been found on a Swiss mountain!

Hmmmm. How can this be??

Dinosaurs in the ALPS ! The Alps with all that snow and ice !

To read about this find and to consider what this means, CLICK HERE

10 questions to ask about Design

I thought you would be interested in this article from a recent Worldview Weekend email from Worldview times.

Written by William A. Dembski & Sean McDowell it has many excellent points. The complete title is “10 Questions to ask your Biology Teacher about Intelligent Design”

But, even if you are no longer in school so can’t ask your Biology teacher, this is still an article that is worth reading.

Why? Because you will surely find these questions useful in discussions with friends, perfect strangers, around the water cooler at work, or where ever the occasion might arise to discuss Intelligent Design by The Creator God vs. the theory of Evolution that says all these things just happened by chance.

But, even if you don’t have friends or if you are retired and don’t go to work any more, you will still want to ponder these thoughts yourself.

So without further ado, HERE’S THE LINK

Is your God too Small

If you read the article yesterday about the Frozen Frogs, you will notice that the entry for today is by the same author.

This time he has written an excellent book titled:

Is your God too Small.

It is definitely a 'must read'.

You can learn more about it and order it by clicking on this link.

Frozen Frogs

Don’t know about you but we have been having a lot of snow, ice, sleet, and cold these past few days. Driving has been horrible in many places.

But did you know that there are some Frogs (yes, frogs) who could care less about this wintery weather! Why? Because they are already literally frozen!

Yes, there are some frogs that actually freeze. The heart stops beating and they stay that way throughout the winter. Then, when spring arrives, they thaw out and return to the normal active life of a frog ! Amazing!

Do you think this happens by chance? I don't.

To read about this amazing frog, HERE’S THE LINK.

Groundhog Day

Today, February 2 is Groundhog day.

It is that long awaited day when we supposedly find out if the brrrrrrr cold of winter will continue or if we can anticipate the warmer days of Spring.

Bottom line: If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, winter will continue for 6 more weeks.

But, if he does not see his shadow, then winter will soon end and he leaves his burrow for the anticipated soon coming spring weather.

Alas this is another pagan celebration apparently brought to the Americas by early settlers from Europe in the 1700s.

To find out much more about Punxsutawney Phil, affectionally known as “Phil” for obvious reasons (spelling no doubt), and the results for each year since 1887, HERE’S THE LINK

Worldview Weekend Rallies Reminder

Here’s another reminder about the WorldView Weekend Rallies.

Yes, I know you are likely snowed under (some of you literally) in the busyness of starting a new year. So, you might think you do not have time to think about anything else.

But you DO need to think about this!!!! And, if possible, make plans now to attend.

You will recall that in the fall of 2009, I recommended these events to you, having attended one and being most impressed.

And now, the 2010 Schedule has been released (for the months of Jan through May).

So, I thought I would post these dates for you. If you are anywhere near one of these outstanding events, BE SURE to attend!

To read the list of the dates and locations for the first half of 2010, HERE’S THE LINK