2016, March ~ Throwback Spring Break in Myrtle Beach
Spring Break in Myrtle Beach
Morning Prayer: Thu, 05 Jan – 1 John 3:11-21; Psalm 100:1-5; John 1:43-51 ~ love is a sacrifice
Thursday of the Second Week of Christmas
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
Opening Sentence
O come, let us adore him!
A holy day has dawned upon us. Come, you nations, and adore the Lord. Today a great light has come upon the earth.
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Reading: 1 John 3:11-21 (NLT)
This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.
If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.
We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?
Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.
Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence.
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Reading: Psalm 100:1-5 (NLT)
Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
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Reading: John 1:43-51 (NLT)
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.
Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
“Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.
As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”
“How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”
Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”
Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.”
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Prayer:
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, sent by God to be for us the One who is Wise, Just and Holy – our Redeemer.
+ Lord of the universe, the shepherds found you in a manger: save us from a selfish, self-serving lifestyle.
+ You so loved us in all our weakness that you came to be our Savior; help us to respect the dignity of every man and woman.
+ You took our nature but you did not sin; help us to use your gifts in the service of others.
+ You made the Church your bride without defect or blemish: grant that all your people may persevere to the end.
God, our Father, since through the human birth of your only Son you began in us the work of redemption, keep us firm in faith, and with Christ as the Shepherd of our souls bring us the glory you have promised. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
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“Good Shepherd of My Soul” – Keith & Kristyn Getty
Good Shepherd of my soul come dwell within me. Take all I am and mold your likeness in me. Before the cross of Christ, this is my sacrifice: a life laid down and ready to follow.
The troubled find their peace in true surrender. The prisoners their release from chains of anger. In springs of living grace, I find a resting place to rise refreshed, determined to follow.
I’ll walk this narrow road with Christ before me, where thorns and thistles grow and cords ensnare me. Though doubted and denied, He never leaves my side. But lifts my head and calls me to follow.
And when my days are gone, my strength is failing, He’ll carry me along through death’s unveiling. Earth’s struggles overcome, heav’n’s journey just begun, to search Christ’s depths and ever to follow.
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Blessing
We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
Reblog: Daniel Silva’s Pro-Israel Fiction | David Solway | PJ Media
Peanut Gallery: If you haven’t discovered Israel’s James Bond, “Gabriel Allon,” then you’re in for a real treat. Silva’s latest book, “The Black Widow,” is #16 in the series. The Black Widow will get you hooked; then go back and read them in order. Enjoy!
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Click here for original artcle: via Daniel Silva’s Pro-Israel Fiction
Daniel Silva is among the finest and most compelling writers in the suspense/intrigue/espionage/thriller genre in modern fiction, which has its share of brilliant or engaging practitioners—Ian Fleming (of course), John LeCarré, David Baldacci, Jo Nesbo, James Rollins, Kathy Reichs, Steve Berry, Donna Leon, Tom Clancy, Jonathan Kellerman, Mons Kallentoft, Louise Penny, P.D. James, Michael Gruber, John Burdett, Trevor Ferguson (aka John Farrow) and, yes, Dan Brown, to name a few of the most prominent. Silva is a charter member of this elect fraternity, one of the genre’s best-selling authors, whose area of expertise is the Middle East, the Palestinian terror machine, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the Russian involvement in the region, the ambitions of Islamic jihad around the globe, and, of course, the efforts of Israel’s intelligence agency, the Mossad, to counter these manifold threats.
Indeed, Silva’s knowledge of the Middle East imbroglio is second to none and his plots are invariably timely, impinging on the cultural, political, and military realities of the present day. His most recent offering, The Black Widow, may well be his most topical and profoundly analytical work. All the salient elements of the international arena, real and imagined, are there: ISIS and the caliphate; drone warfare; the dissolving border between Iraq and Syria; the disintegration of Lebanon; the collusion of Turkey; a succession of catastrophic attacks in Paris, Amsterdam, and Washington, the latter on the scale of 9/11; a feckless and narcissistic American president plainly inadequate to the burden of high office; the dysfunctional character of American and European national security; and the comparative effectiveness of the Mossad. The book and the world intersect at every point.
It is interesting to note that Silva’s novels are tailor-made for the Hollywood film industry, yet not one has appeared in the theaters. It is not difficult to see why. As in real life, his terrorists are Muslims, members of a socially protected species. When it comes to the entertainment industry, a toxic amalgam of abject pusillanimity and leftist sympathies, along with dark infusions of Arab cash, has had its predictable effect on filmic integrity and patriotic sentiment. One recalls that the movie version of Tom Clancy’s The Sum of All Fears transforms the novel’s villains, a sect of actual Palestinian terrorists known as the PFLP, into a collection of Austrian fascists—safe, acceptable bad guys. Given their inseparable interweavings with geopolitical reality, Silva’s plots are thankfully immune to such deceptive meddling. Timorous and morally compromised, Hollywood will not violate the shibboleths of the day or offend its twin masters: progressivist culture and Islamic money. As usual, the iron grip of political correctness is, well, iron.
The same wariness is true of our literary critics who are often careful to hedge their bets. Robert Fulford, for example, a belvedere eminence for the National Post, penned a laudatory review of The Black Widow, but could not help pressing the right virtue-signaling buttons. Silva’s fascinating hero, Israeli operative and future head of the Mossad Gabriel Allon, may be “the James Bond of Israel.” Nevertheless, though sympathetic with Allon’s fight “for his country’s future existence,” Fulford considers it necessary to comment in passing that we “see everything from the standpoint of the Israelis,” as if we didn’t see everything from the standpoint of the British in the Bond novels, or from the perspective of the Americans in Berry’s works, or of the Thai in Burdett’s Sonchai Jitpleecheep series, and so on. He plainly would not have felt obliged to qualify his approval had there been any other national polity in play.
Morning Prayer: Wed, 04 Jan – 1 John 3:7-10; Psalm 98:1, 7-9; John 1:35-42 ~ who’s your daddy?
Wednesday of the Second Week of Christmas
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
Opening Sentence
O come, let us adore him!
His right hand has won a mighty victory; his holy arm has shown his saving power!
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Reading: 1 John 3:7-10 (NLT)
Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.
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Reading: Psalm 98:1, 7-9 (NLT)
Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has done wonderful deeds. His right hand has won a mighty victory; his holy arm has shown his saving power!
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Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! Let the earth and all living things join in. Let the rivers clap their hands in glee! Let the hills sing out their songs of joy before the Lord, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with fairness.
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Reading: John 1:35-42 (NLT)
The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples. As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus.
Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them.
They replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
“Come and see,” he said. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place where he was staying, and they remained with him the rest of the day.
Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus. Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”.
Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, “Your name is Simon, son of John—but you will be called Cephas” (which means “Peter”).
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Prayer:
The Word of God was manifested in the flesh, seen by angels and preached among the nations. Let us praise him: Only Son of God, we adore you.
+ Redeemer of all men, you made us children of God; may we never know a day apart from you.
+ You manifested to us the faithfulness of God: may you always be the light of our lives.
+ You let us see the Father’s love for us: may we show others your loving care.
+ You came to live among us: make us worthy to be your friends.
Almighty God, the light of a new star in heaven heralded your saving love. Let the light of your salvation dawn in our hearts and keep them always open to your life-giving grace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
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” Lamb of God” – Vertical Church Band
You came from heaven’s throne | Acquainted with our sorrow | To trade the debt we owed | Your suffering for our freedom
The Lamb of God in my place | Your blood poured out, my sin erased | It was my death You died | I am raised to life | Hallelujah, the Lamb of God
My name upon Your heart | My shame upon Your shoulders | The power of sin undone | the cross for my salvation
My God, there is no greater love | There is no greater love | The Savior lifted up | There is no greater love
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Blessing
Put on the righteousness of Christ; demonstrate that you are a child of God.
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
Reblog ~ Obama’s Middle East Policy: Turning Points Where It Went Wrong | National Review | by Victor Davis Hanson
Peanut Gallery: Victor Davis Hanson identifies America’s Middle East Policy failures over the last eight years. Sadly, it didn’t have to be this way…
via Obama’s Middle East Policy: Turning Points Where It Went Wrong | National Review
President Obama had lots of choices in Middle East. Unfortunately he made all the wrong ones, guided by pop ideology rather than unwelcome facts on the ground. The result is chaos at best and millions dead or displaced at worst. It didn’t have to be this way. Here are 15 turning points since 2009. There is one common theme: bombastic self-serving declarations coupled with weak or nonexistent concrete follow-ups — all in a weird landscape of punishing friends and empowering enemies.Had Obama only:
- Cut out all the trash-talking of Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu, which ranged from off-the-record slights (“coward,” “chickens**t”) to public snubs to hot-mic ridicule, to constant ankle-biting of Israeli policy in pursuit of “daylight” between democratic Israel and the U.S.
- Quit the 2012 politicking and just left the 10,000 or so U.S. peacekeepers in a calm Iraq after 2011 to ensure what Vice President Joe Biden had strangely called the administration’s “greatest achievement,” and Obama had acclaimed as “a sovereign, stable, and self-reliant Iraq.”
- Taken ISIS seriously early on and not written it off as a “jayvee” terrorist group.
- Not bombed the reforming monster Qaddafi and his brood out of power without any plan of replacement.
- Beefed up embassy and consulate security in Libya and sent in reinforcement troops at the first sign of trouble.
- Never supported the efforts of the Muslim Brotherhood and the firebrand ex-CSU Northridge professor Mohamed Morsi to stage a one-vote, one-time Islamist takeover in Egypt.
- Avoided the empty and melodramatic braggadocio that “Assad must go!”
- Kept the sanctions on a lying, terrorist-subsidizing — and teetering — Iran, and dropped illusions of an “Iran deal.”
- Shown support for the Green Revolution and Iranian reformers in 2009.
- Passed on the idiotic “special relationship” with the Ottomanist Recep Erdogan of Turkey.
- Never have issued fake “redlines” in Syria or rhetorical serial “deadlines” for cessation of Iranian nuclear proliferation.
- Never have invited Russia into the Middle East after a hiatus of over 40 years.
- Skipped all the Middle East purple-passage myth-making, from the fatuous Cairo speech to the various apology tours about purported U.S. sins.
- Treated “radical Islamic terrorism” as a real existential threat and forgone the ridiculous euphemisms such as “man-caused disasters” and “workplace violence,” along with the embarrassing assertions of our top intelligence leaders that the Muslim Brotherhood was largely secular, that jihad was a non-violent personal growth journey and one of the new chief aims of NASA was Muslim outreach.
- Dropped the “lead from behind” cuteness, and loud talk of a pivot away from the Middle East.
