Beacon2Light

Angels in the Sky: How a Band of Volunteer Airmen Saved the New State of Israel   is a great book I would recommend. If you love history, love Israel and marvel at the miracle of the Jewish nation’s rebirth and successful fight for survival, this book is for you. It is an especially appropriate read as we near the 70th anniversary of Israel’s independence. It was only a few years after the Holocaust when the Jews declared their independence on May 14, 1948. The modern state of Israel was born. However, five neighbors were determined to defeat the new country and the balances were weighed heavily against her. One of the reasons for this was that each of those nations had well-equipped militaries while Israel did not and international law forbade the importation of arms and able bodied men into the area of conflict. However, Jews and Gentiles, many of whom fought in World War II, volunteered to be the fledgling air force of the new Jewish state. Amazing efforts were brought...

Plague after plague and the heart of Pharoah continued to be hard. Finally, one last plague on Egypt. Would this do the trick?  Was it just about allowing the Israelites to leave or was there something more that Pharoah could have and should have done?   And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.   Exodus 12:30 (KJV) Makes you wonder how different things would have turned out, and even be today, perhaps, if Pharoah responded with godly sorrow that leads to repentance rather than the world's sorrow that leads to death.  After all, look at the far different reaction to the preaching of Jonah in Nineveh by that heathen king. The whole city followed his lead in a very different sorrow, one that would spare them divine judgment.    So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the g...

E-book Deals Check out what is said about this book by a Rutgers prof: "Rauser's dialogue brings the best tools of philosophical thinking within the reach of thoughtful believers and skeptics alike. His representative in the conversation knows when to stick to his guns, and when to admit to uncertainty and fallibility. His atheist counterpart is no straw man--he knows his Dawkins, Dennett and Hitchens. Rauser has the philosophical chops to cut through a lot of rhetorical nonsense, but he also has the intellectual honesty to face up to the genuine difficulties confronting his faith. This enjoyable book is a model of candid, winsome, thought-provoking apologetics." (Dean Zimmerman, professor of philosophy, Rutgers University) The book:   The Swedish Atheist, the Scuba Diver and Other Apologetic Rabbit Trails [Kindle Edition]  229 pages Now $4.99  -- get these limited time freebies quickly!  Christ-Centered Preaching and Teaching Still Free free book in...

God Built by Steve Farrar Free on the Kindle -- on the life of Joseph, 240 pages Freedom from the Lies You Tell Yourself Free on Kindle - short book, 53 pages, Bethany House Publishers pic from  http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/16/20993584-elderly-couple-died-holding-hands-after-car-crash-police-say?lite I'm not sure if you heard the story about Floyd and Margaret .  Married for 68 years, they lived on a farm in the state of Washington and cared for several animals.    They were well-liked members of  Elk Community Church.  The story is told that when Floyd began to have trouble pushing the lawnmower, Margaret pushed it with him (see picture). In time, Margaret developed Alzheimer's and Floyd was known to take great care of her.  Floyd was often heard declaring how pretty his Margaret was.  A friend recalled Floyd encouraging him to kiss and hug his wife daily just as Floyd was accustomed to doing. Floyd and Margaret, who s...

Imagine for a moment, in Nigeria, an Islamic imam and his son are killed by Christians and their mosque set on fire. How do you think Western media would respond?  You no longer have to imagine, change the imam to a pastor and the mosque to a church and you have a real story that is being ignored by the press.   The silence of our friends – the extinction of Christianity in the Middle East 23 September 2013 9:31 by  Ed West The article states, "The last month and a half has seen perhaps the worst anti-Christian violence in Egypt in seven centuries, with dozens of churches torched. Yet the western media has mainly focussed on army assaults on the Muslim Brotherhood, and no major political figure has said anything about the sectarian attacks." How we survived terror at Nairobi's Westgate mall What it was like at the Westgate mall, from two of those who survived by  Aidan Hartley 28 September 2013 The gunmen approached them and — standing feet away from ...

Note: I don't claim to be an expert on early American colonial and settler life and the conflict with Native Americans.  If my history is at all off, alert me to it and understand that I am seeking to make a comparison with the current conflict, not to demean, diminish or alter history to my own ends.   In the early period of American history, colonialists and settlers had two different types of Native Americans to deal with. There were the ones who sought to peacefully co-exist with the pale-faces and yet have a land for themselves that had been theirs for centuries. In addition, there were those who were rightly called savages. Warring tribes without regard for age or gender would assault the pale-faced intruders with stealth and severity. One of the most feared techniques was the scalping of their victims. As word spread, fear did too and all Native Americans got lumped in with their savage counterparts. Slanderous generalizations caused much death, destruction and ...

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.  They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”  Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.   Revelation 6:9-11 (NIV) The cry of the martyrs given above I understand fully.  When wholesale slaughter happens against a Christian population under an evil ruler/group, one can get how the cries would ring out, "How long, O Lord?"   What is harder to understand, though, is the response.  The Lord states that it would continue to happen until everyone who is to die a martyr's death does.   It is apparently within the will of God that His people suf...

SAT-7 studio Overcoming Persecution  with the Egyptian Church  Read how SAT-7 is telling the story of how  Christians in Egypt despite suffering, hardship and loss are ministering even to their persecutors.  - also, for those of you who know of people who lump the Muslim response into one negative basket, note how many Muslims defended their Christian neighbors from attack. About SAT-7:  Since the first program aired in 1996, SAT-7 broadcasts have brought quality Christian television programming directly into millions of homes throughout the Middle East and North Africa. SAT-7 airs 5 channels in Arabic, Farsi, and Turkish languages to a known audience of over 15 million viewers! In a region characterized by high illiteracy rates, media censorship, and limited incomes, anyone with a satellite dish can turn on SAT-7 and hear the Word of God in his or her language. Give to SAT-7 Peril worsening for Egyptian Christians Sept. 9, 2013 fro...

  Evin Prison in Iran It is a question that is often times a riddle to Westerners.  How do persecuted believers do it?   What is it within them that enables them to withstand the extremes of persecution? In Nigeria, a pastor's son was hacked to death by machete-wielding Boko Haram terrorists.  His response to the tragedy was that he still loved his son's attackers.   Iranian American pastor Saeed Abedini has been held in Iran's notorious Evin prison for over a year.  Reportedly, he came out of solitary confinement, meant to break a prisoner, actually elated and encouraged from the experience.  What happened in that confinement?  More on that in a minute.  image from International Christian Concern's website   Stories abound of Christian ministers and laypeople being imprisoned, beating, etc., and seeing the situation as a God-given opportunity to minister to prison guards and fellow prisoners.  What make...

Mission Network News:  Report: 42 churches attacked in Egypt Posted: 23 August, 2013 A taxi driver had a cross in his rear-view mirror. He was subsequently killed and his taxi destroyed. Christians on the ground have expressed the following: 1) Christians are being blamed for what is happening in Egypt 2) they must keep a low profile or risk their lives or property 3) while the West feels this is coming from vigilantes, they believe the Muslim Brotherhood is behind it Also, Human Rights Watch concludes the following (this opinion will carry a lot of weight as it will be considered more objective than reports coming from the Muslim Brotherhood, the military or the Christian minority in Egypt):   1) At least 42 churches and dozens of Christian owned and operated schools, homes and businesses have been attacked 2) this represents an intimidation campaign from the Muslim Brotherhood 3) the authorities in Egypt have been "largely absent or failed to intervene" when...