Beacon2Light

14 km NE of the Dead Sea:  from Tall el-Hammam Excavation Project website http://www.tallelhammam.com/ A "joint scientific endeavor" is being conducted by the College of Archaeology, Trinity Southwest University and the Department of Antiquities of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on the Tall el-Hammam Excavation Project This image is in the public domain because it is a screenshot from NASA ’s globe software World Wind using a public domain layer, such as Blue Marble, MODIS, Landsat, SRTM, USGS or GLOBE. Dr. Steven Collins set out to find the lost city of Sodom.  He worked through and traced clues from the Bible, archaeology and geography as to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.  Potential locations were whittled down in the process. Eventually, he settled on a site that is quite large, ancient (encompassing the Early, Intermediate and Middle Bronze Ages and Iron Age 2, among others) and located in the kindgom of Jordan as the only possibility remainin...

Changes That Heal by Dr. Henry Cloud 272 pages for 99 cents on Kindle 124 out of 137 four or five stars out of five Foxe's Book of Martyrs by John Foxe FREE on Kindle Excellent book on the martyrdom of Christians for their faith 702 pages Creating Transcripts For Your Unique Child  FREE on the Kindle Homeschool High School Transcript Solutions for Every Situation!! Turn Your Child’s Unique Circumstances to Advantage! Although they stress a lot of parents out, transcripts are just a one-page overview of your child’s academic record. Any student who plans to go to college needs a transcript, and even students who don’t have college plans will benefit from having a record of their high school courses. A homeschool transcript can demonstrate your student’s strengths, depth, and individuality. It can combine all the wonderful educational experiences of high school into one centralized location on paper. Companion Gardening for Beginners FREE on the Kindle You c...

Praiseworthy Update:   The Humble Hero (boy and his friends were recognized on Wednesday, July 31st) and the outpouring of support provided abundantly and now the donations are to stop and the overflow will go to other charities!   The week began with news that two of three boys swimming in the rain-swollen Neshaminy Creek were missing and later found dead.  The third boy was able to swim/climb to safety.  I knew something was really wrong when I came back from lunch on Tuesday with a congregant/friend in Bensalem and saw two marine units, one from Philadelphia.  Body of Second Missing Bensalem Teen Found  It ended with a devastating fire at an apartment complex that killed no one, thankfully, but left many people with total losses. Racquet Club Apartments Fire   It was an awful week but one in which to thank God: for first responders, for a 12 year old hero and for the generosity of stra...

Hell is for Real by Brian Jones Now $2.51 (as of 07/27/13) I read on someone's response on a blog that this book was available for free.  Adoniram Judson gets a lot of attention but few people knew he had three different wives in his lifetime.  This is their story. Lives of the Three Mrs. Judsons   by Arabella W. Stuart still free as of 07/27/13) -- 214 pages Words That Sting by John Stange still free -- easy read at 100 pages (as of 7/27/13) Dragons of Starlight series still 99 cents each as of 07/27/13 by Bryan Davis (Zondervan/Harper Collins) approximately $40.00 in books for approximately $4.00 Starlighter for 99 cents Warrior   for 99 cents Diviner for 99 cents Liberator for 99 cents  Get Our Daily Bread devotional online for free -- visit daily Our Daily Bread in mobile form (Android, i-devices, Kindle Fire, etc.)  

The past few weeks have been very busy.  I have spent quite a bit of time doing for others, it seems.  Today, I found myself with my main tasks done and suddenly with time on my hands that I had not experienced for a while!  What do I do?  There are so many good and even godly things to do.  How do I decide which to do and which to let go for later?  What would God have me to do?  Yes, I think that is the best source of sorting through many good things to the best thing available.  If He had the time that I have now, how would He spend it?  If you are like me, you have that LIST of things that need doing.  It is big and ever present.  When you have a spouse, family, job and/or ministry, it is all you can do not to let things slip out of sight.  Too often, for me anyway, it seems like life is a string of decisions of what not to get done, at least not yet.  Sigh.  Someday, time will no longer be an issue....

Dieric Bouts  http://www.heiligenlexikon.de/Fotos/Abraham-Melchisedek.jpg According to Gen. 13, when the area became too small for both Abraham and Lot’s flocks and herds, Abraham gave Lot the first choice of what direction to go. Lot “pitched his tent toward Sodom” and moved into the city before long. There he became an elder, apparently, later appearing at the gate of the city as recorded in Genesis 19. After 12 years of being under the authority of the king of Elam, Sodom, along with some co-conspirators, decided to rebel. This led to a battle of 4 kingdoms versus 5 that included Sodom. The side Sodom was on lost and the King of Elam and his allies took some spoils of war and captives which included Lot. You can find this account in Genesis 14. When Abraham heard it, he mustered his servants and some Amorite allies of his for an assault on the king of Elam and his forces. This attack was successful, in that Abraham recovered the spoils of war and the captives (inclu...

1. The Sermon or the Service is Too Long 2. All They Are Interested in is Money 3. Pastoral Staff are Paid too Much You can probably think of some more but after almost 20 years in ministry, I have heard these complaints the most often. It comes from a minority within the church (thank God) and also from those who are outside of the church.  These complaints are largely excuses.  I will seek to explain that conclusion. Many of these same people go to a concert and pay a ticket price to enter.  If someone wanted to see Jason Aldean in Hershey, PA this August, check out how much they would pay.  Rascall Flatts' tickets in Cincinnati this September would cost someone between $38.00 and $91.80.  Wish to see the NY Giants face off against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in October ?  Then prepare to plunk down almost $60 in general admission. When is the last time you went to church and they wouldn't let you in unless you paid betw...

A cautionary tale on cohabiting.  I don't endorse the morality inherent in this post since I believe that all couples should either break-up or get married, not cohabit.  However, the findings of this study merit a good look: Men and Women Often Expect Different Things When They Move In Together A new study suggests that men are more likely than women to be not "completely committed" to their partners. W. Bradford Wilcox Jul 8 2013 Another very sad story about the number of very smart women doing very stupid things while under the influence because trying to succeed and having a relationship are seen as anti-thetical.  Please pray for the nation's young people on college campuses.   Sex on Campus: She Can Play That Game, Too "She had to be drunk in order to enjoy it" "Now, she said, she and her best friend had changed their romantic goals, from finding boyfriends to finding 'hookup buddies,' which she described as 'a gu...

Chris Fabry's Not in the Heart Free on the Kindle for a limited time 62 of 67 reviewers give it a 4 or 5 stars' rating 2013 Christy Award winner! Truman Wiley used to report news stories from around the world, but now the most troubling headlines are his own. He’s out of work, out of touch with his family, out of his home. But nothing dogs him more than his son’s failing heart. With mounting hospital bills and Truman’s penchant for gambling his savings, the situation seems hopeless . . . until his estranged wife throws him a lifeline—the chance to write the story of a death row inmate, a man convicted of murder who wants to donate his heart to Truman’s son. As the execution clock ticks down, Truman uncovers disturbing evidence that points to a different killer. For his son to live, must an innocent man die? Truman’s investigation draws him down a path that will change his life, his family, and the destinies of two men forever. The Renovation: A Project Restoration...

Much attention is focused on events in Syria and Egypt and for good reason. However, the elephant in the room is Iran. While there are serious concerns about Islamists, the breakdown of society and the future of both Egypt and Syria, those concerns pale in comparison with the possibility that very soon Iran could possess a nuclear weapon. To bring the world's attention, especially the United States and President Obama's attention, back to Iran, President Netanyahu showed up on CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday. You can find out what he said in its entirety either by transcript (here) or by video (here) . For those lacking in time, here is a summary: 1) They're building ICBMs to reach America "the American mainland within a few years. They don't need these missiles to reach us, they already have missiles that can reach us," warns Netanyahu 2) They're pursuing enriched uranium to build a nuclear bomb  3) They're doing that after t...

Unique Egyptian sphinx unearthed in north Israel AFP - Part of an ancient Egyptian king's unique sphinx was unveiled at a dig in northern Israel on Tuesday, with researchers struggling to understand just how the unexpected find ended up there. Ohio kidnap victims break silence to say 'thank you' Michelle especially gets my attention.  Her God-talk seems very sincere.  Yet you wonder what the years of abuse and neglect have done to her while in captivity.  May God be with all of these young ladies, granting them healing, the ability to forgive and move on and give them God-honoring lives full of His blessings and provisions.   Egypt: Christian Beheaded as Islamist Violence Escalates Hostage "beheaded" as Egyptian Islamists take advantage of unrest to target the country's Coptic Christian minority is either proof that Islamists aren’t good at math or that ideology plus opportunity equals a deadly mix to justify violence against Christians When...

Konrad Kellen, Rand Corporation photo, found at:   http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23037957 We have all been told we need to listen more. Perhaps we seek solace in contrasting ourselves to the one we know who talks way too much and listens way too little. However, the Bible doesn’t let us off the hook so easily, instructing us to be “quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger,” James 1:19 (NASB).  So, I introduce you to a tale of two men. One is Konrad Kellen and the other is Leon Goure. One would be listened to while the other would be ignored. That choice may have proved unwise as you will see in a few minutes. In 1913, Konrad Katzenellenbogen (his full last name) was born into privilege to one of the Jewish families that lived near Berlin’s Tiergarten, German for “animal garden.” Konrad’s father was an industrialist while his stepmother was the subject of a painting by Renoir, a friend of the family. Leon Goure was an immigrant from the Soviet Union. ...