"AKKO, Israel (Reuters) - Somewhere in the Carmel hills of northern Israel, diamond exploration company Shefa Yamim hopes to uncover the exact spot where faith meets science...

...Inspired by the words of a revered rabbi who prophesized that precious stones were divinely buried in the area, the firm has been mining for about a decade along the steep hills and lush valleys that surround the city of Haifa...

...Now, Shefa Yamim, the first and only diamond explorer in Israel, says it has found strong signs that significant diamond deposits are indeed hidden in the Holy Land, surprising many who had dismissed the mission as a pipe dream...

...Potential new mines are big news in an industry that gets most of its diamonds from 20 or so mines, and where no large discovery has been made in 15 years..."

Listen as S M Lockridge explains who the king is!  This five minute audio will have you shouting for joy and laughing all at the same time! Please take the time to listen and enjoy a very uplifting message.  The full sermon is on the video page.

How Great are the Benefits Conferred on Man Through the Advent of Christ.

Contemplate a little, if agreeable to you, the divine beneficence. The first man, when in Paradise, sported free, because he was the child of God; but when he succumbed to pleasure (for the serpent allegorically signifies pleasure crawling on its belly, earthly wickedness nourished for fuel to the flames), was as a child seduced by lusts, and grew old in disobedience; and by disobeying his Father, dishonoured God. Such was the influence of pleasure. Man, that had been free by reason of simplicity, was found fettered to sins. The Lord then wished to release him from his bonds, and clothing Himself with flesh—O divine mystery!—vanquished the serpent, and enslaved the tyrant death; and, most marvellous of all, man that had been deceived by pleasure, and bound fast by corruption, had his hands unloosed, and was set free.

O mystic wonder! The Lord was laid low, and man rose up; and he that fell from Paradise receives as the reward of obedience something greater [than Paradise]—namely, heaven itself. Wherefore, since the Word Himself has come to us from heaven, we need not, I reckon, go any more in search of human learning to Athens and the rest of Greece, and to Ionia. For if we have as our teacher Him that filled the universe with His holy energies in creation, salvation, beneficence, legislation, prophecy, teaching, we have the Teacher from whom all instruction comes; and the whole world, with Athens and Greece, has already become the domain of the Word. [1009]  For you, who believed the poetical fable which designated Minos the Cretan as the bosom friend of Zeus, will not refuse to believe that we who have become the disciples of God have received the only true wisdom; and that which the chiefs of philosophy only guessed at, the disciples of Christ have both apprehended and proclaimed. And the one whole Christ is not divided: "There is neither barbarian, nor Jew, nor Greek, neither male nor female, but a new man," [1010]  transformed by God's Holy Spirit.

Further, the other counsels and precepts are unimportant, and respect particular things,—as, for example, if one may marry, take part in public affairs, beget children; but the only command that is universal, and over the whole course of existence, at all times and in all circumstances, tends to the highest end, viz., life, is piety, [1011]  —all that is necessary, in order that we may live for ever, being that we live in accordance with it. Philosophy, however, as the ancients say, is "a long-lived exhortation, wooing the eternal love of wisdom;" while the commandment of the Lord is far-shining, "enlightening the eyes." Receive Christ, receive sight, receive thy light,"In order that you may know well both God and man." [1012] "Sweet is the Word that gives us light, precious above gold and gems; it is to be desired above honey and the honey-comb." [1013] 

For how can it be other than desirable, since it has filled with light the mind which had been buried in darkness, and given keenness to the "light-bringing eyes" of the soul? For just as, had the sun not been in existence, night would have brooded over the universe notwithstanding the other luminaries of heaven; so, had we nor known the Word, and been illuminated by Him; we should have been nowise different from fowls that are being fed, fattened in darkness, and nourished for death. Let us then admit the light, that we may admit God; let us admit the light, and become disciples to the Lord. This, too, He has been promised to the Father: "I will declare Thy name to my brethren; in the midst of the Church will I praise Thee." [1014] Praise and declare to me Thy Father God; Thy utterances save; Thy hymn teaches [1015]  that hitherto I have wandered in error, seeking God. But since Thou leadest me to the light, O Lord, and I find God through Thee, and receive the Father from Thee, I become "Thy fellow-heir," [1016] since Thou "wert not ashamed of me as Thy brother." [1017] 

Let us put away, then, let us put away oblivion of the truth, viz., ignorance; and removing the darkness which obstructs, as dimness of sight, let us contemplate the only true God, first raising our voice in this hymn of praise: [1018]  Hail, O light! For in us, buried in darkness, shut up in the shadow of death, light has shone forth from heaven, purer than the sun, sweeter than life here below. That light is eternal life; and whatever partakes of it lives. But night fears the light, and hiding itself in terror, gives place to the day of the Lord. Sleepless light is now over all, and the west has given credence to the east. For this was the end of the new creation. For "the Sun of Righteousness," who drives His chariot over all, pervades equally all humanity, like "His Father, who makes His sun to rise on all men," and distils on them the dew of the truth.

He hath changed sunset into sunrise, and through the cross brought death to life; and having wrenched man from destruction, He hath raised him to the skies, transplanting mortality into immortality, and translating earth to heaven—He, the husbandman of God, "Pointing out the favourable signs and rousing the nations to good works, putting them in mind of the true sustenance;" [1019] having bestowed on us the truly great, divine, and inalienable inheritance of the Father, deifying man by heavenly teaching, putting His laws into our minds, and writing them on our hearts. What laws does He inscribe? "That all shall know God, from small to great;" and, "I will be merciful to them," says God, "and will not remember their sins." [1020]  Let us receive the laws of life, let us comply with God's expostulations; let us become acquainted with Him, that He may be gracious. And though God needs nothing let us render to Him the grateful recompense of a thankful heart and of piety, as a kind of house-rent for our dwelling here below.

"Gold for brass, A hundred oxen's worth for that of nine;" [1021] that is, for your little faith He gives you the earth of so great extent to till, water to drink and also to sail on, air to breathe, fire to do your work, a world to dwell in; and He has permitted you to conduct a colony from here to heaven: with these important works of His hand, and benefits in such numbers, He has rewarded your little faith. Then, those who have put faith in necromancers, receive from them amulets and charms, to ward off evil forsooth; and will you not allow the heavenly Word, the Saviour, to be bound on to you as an amulet, and, by trusting in God's own charm, be delivered from passions which are the diseases of the mind, and rescued from sin?—for sin is eternal death. Surely utterly dull and blind, and, like moles, doing nothing but eat, you spend your lives in darkness, surrounded with corruption. But it is truth which cries, "The light shall shine forth from the darkness."

Let the light then shine in the hidden part of man, that is, the heart; and let the beams of knowledge arise to reveal and irradiate the hidden inner man, the disciple of the Light, the familiar friend and fellow-heir of Christ; especially now that we have come to know the most precious and venerable name of the good Father, who to a pious and good child gives gentle counsels, and commands what is salutary for His child. He who obeys Him has the advantage in all things, follows God, obeys the Father, knows Him through wandering, loves God, loves his neighbour, fulfils the commandment, seeks the prize, claims the promise. But it has been God's fixed and constant purpose to save the flock of men: for this end the good God sent the good Shepherd. And the Word, having unfolded the truth, showed to men the height of salvation, that either repenting they might be saved, or refusing to obey, they might be judged.

This is the proclamation of righteousness: to those that obey, glad tidings; to those that disobey, judgment. The loud trumpet, when sounded, collects the soldiers, and proclaims war. And shall not Christ, breathing a strain of peace to the ends of the earth, gather together His own soldiers, the soldiers of peace? Well, by His blood, and by the word, He has gathered the bloodless host of peace, and assigned to them the kingdom of heaven. The trumpet of Christ is His Gospel. He hath blown it, and we have heard. "Let us array ourselves in the armour of peace, putting on the breastplate of righteousness, and taking the shield of faith, and binding our brows with the helmet of salvation; and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God," [1022]  let us sharpen.

So the apostle in the spirit of peace commands. These are our invulnerable weapons: armed with these, let us face the evil one; "the fiery darts of the evil one" let us quench with the sword-points dipped in water, that, have been baptized by the Word, returning grateful thanks for the benefits we have received, and honouring God through the Divine Word. "For while thou art yet speaking," it is said, "He will say, Behold, I am beside thee." [1023]  O this holy and blessed power, by which God has fellowship with men! Better far, then, is it to become at once the imitator and the servant of the best of all beings; for only by holy service will any one be able to imitate God, and to serve and worship Him only by imitating Him. The heavenly and truly divine love comes to men thus, when in the soul itself the spark of true goodness, kindled in the soul by the Divine Word, is able to burst forth into flame; and, what is of the highest importance, salvation runs parallel with sincere willingness—choice and life being, so to speak, yoked together.

Wherefore this exhortation of the truth alone, like the most faithful of our friends, abides with us till our last breath, and is to the whole and perfect spirit of the soul the kind attendant on our ascent to heaven. What, then, is the exhortation I give you? I urge you to be saved. This Christ desires. In one word, He freely bestows life on you. And who is He? Briefly learn. The Word of truth, the Word of incorruption, that regenerates man by bringing him back to the truth—the goad that urges to salvation—He who expels destruction and pursues death—He who builds up the temple of God in men, that He may cause God to take up His abode in men. Cleanse the temple; and pleasures and amusements abandon to the winds and the fire, as a fading flower; but wisely cultivate the fruits of self-command, and present thyself to God as an offering of first-fruits, that there may be not the work alone, but also the grace of God; and both are requisite, that the friend of Christ may be rendered worthy of the kingdom, and be counted worthy of the kingdom.

Footnotes:
[1009] [The Catholic instinct is here; and an all-embracing benevolence is its characteristic, not worldly empire.]
[1010] Galatians 3:28, vi. 15.
[1011] [He seems to be thinking of 1 Timothy 6:6, and 1 Timothy 4:8.]
[1012] Iliad, v. 128.
[1013] Psalm 19:10.
[1014] Psalm 22:22.
[1015] [Ephesians 5:14, is probably from a hymn of the Church, which is here referred to as His, as it is adopted into Scripture.]
[1016] Romans 8:17.
[1017] Hebrews 2:11.
[1018] [A quotation from another hymn, in all probability.]
[1019] Aratus.
[1020] Hebrews 8:10-12; Jeremiah 31:33, 34.
[1021] Il., vi. 236. [The exchange of Glaucus.]
[1022] Ephesians 6:14-17.
[1023] Isaiah 58:9.

Evangelist Franklin Graham said President Barack Obama has “shaken his fist at God” by voicing support for gay marriage.  ... Obama said ... he now believes same-sex couples should have the right to wed.  “... it is important for me to ... affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married,” Obama said. Graham, son of the Rev. Billy Graham, said the president was defying God’s will by changing his opinion on the issue.  ...  It grieves me that our president would now affirm same-sex marriage, though I believe it grieves God even more,” Graham said in a statement. “This is a sad day for America. May God help us,” he said.

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
The men were amazed, and said, "What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"

King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.)
But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!

Barnes' Notes on the Bible
The men marveled - Wondered, or were amazed.

What manner of man - What kind of a personage. How unlike other men! What a vast display of power! and how far exalted above mortals must he be!

Jesus spake to the winds; rebuked their raging, and the sea was suddenly calm. The storm subsided; the ship glided smoothly; danger fled; and in amazement they stood in the presence of him who controlled the tempests that God had raised; and they felt that "he" must be God himself, for none but God could calm the heaving billows and scatter the tempest. No scene could have been more grand than this display of the power of Jesus. The darkness; the dashing waves; the howling winds; the heaving and tossing ship; the fears and cries of the seamen, all by a single word hushed into calm repose, present an image of power and divinity irresistibly grand and awful. So the tempest rolls and thickens over the head of the awakened sinner. So he trembles over immediate and awful destruction. So, while the storm of wrath howls, and hell threatens to ingulf him, he comes trembling to the Saviour. He hears; he rebukes the storm, and the sinner is safe. An indescribable peace takes possession of the soul, and he glides on a tranquil sea to the haven of eternal rest.
See Isaiah 57:20-21; Romans 5:1; Philippians 4:7.

Hello everyone! 

I would like to draw your attention to the Marquee sign.  They stand in front of many churches.  I have been reading them for years, and I must say, some pastors can be quite creative!  Some are just funny, and some have made a strong impact on me.  Once in a while, I am even graced with the answer to a prayer by reading a church marquee sign.  I don't remember when I started reading them, but I sure am glad I do.  They are all over your and my town.  The next time you drive by a church, synagogue, or religious center, try to remember to read the marquee sign.  You just might be surprised!  You may also receive a small dose of wisdom, or God forbid, in this day and age, find a smile on your face!  Marquee signs can be meaningful, and those with eyes to see shall see it. 

On a final note to this short article, study, study, study, in order to show thyself approved before God.  This will help you to be ready with an answer for anyone who has questions about your faith.  Have a great day!

Out of more than 500 hits on the word prayer, below are several scriptural references on why we should do it.  Enjoy, and as always, study, study, study!

Matthew 6:9-15
9 After this manner therefore pray ye. Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Matthew 6:6
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thine inner chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee.

Matthew 9:38
38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth laborers into his harvest.

Matthew24:20-22
20 And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on a sabbath: 21 for then shall be great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

Matthew 26:41
41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Mark 11:24
24 Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Mark 13:33
33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

Luke 18:1 
1 And he spake a parable unto them to the end that they ought always to pray, and not to faint;

Luke 22:40
40 And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.

John 14:16
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may be with you for ever,

John 16:26
26 In that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you;

John 17:9
9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me; for they are thine:

John 17:15 15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them from the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil one.

John 17:20
20 Neither for these only do I pray, but for them also that believe on me through their word;

Acts 8:22
22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray the Lord, if perhaps the thought of thy heart shall be forgiven thee.

Acts 8:24
24 And Simon answered and said, Pray ye for me to the Lord, that none of the things which ye have spoken come upon me.

Romans 8:26
26 And in like manner the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered;

1 Corinthians 14:13
13 Wherefore let him that speaketh in a tongue pray that he may interpret.

2 Corinthians 13:7
7 Now we pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we may appear approved, but that ye may do that which is honorable, though we be as reprobate.

2 Corinthians 13:9
9 For we rejoice, when we are weak, and ye are strong: this we also pray for, even your perfecting.

Philippians 1:9
9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment;

Colossians 1:9
9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray and make request for you, that ye may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

1 Thessalonians 5:17
17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus to you-ward.

2 Thessalonians 1:11
11 To which end we also pray always for you, that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfil every desire of goodness and every work of faith, with power;

2 Thessalonians 3:1
1 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run and be glorified, even as also it is with you;