Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians are doomed to fail, in the first regional reaction to the talks.
Posters promoting Egypt's intelligence chief appear on the streets of Cairo, amid growing speculation over who will succeed President Hosni Mubarak.
Newsflash
We are together in spirit with all our brothers and sisters in the spiritual family around the world as we prepare to observe the third season of the Feasts of the LORD God - the Memorial of Blowing of Trumpets (September 9, 2010), the Day of Atonement (September 18, 2010), the Feast of Tabernacles (September 23-29, 2010), the Eighth Day (September 30, 2010), and rejoice with great joy at the privilege of appearing before Him in the faithful congregation of the earth. For anyone who wants to join us in keeping these Feasts, from wherever you are, do come! We welcome you with thanksgiving and delight in sharing with you the blessings of Almighty Eternal GOD...
The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.
"There are 5 things you need to know," he told the pencil, "Before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be."
"One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in Someone's hand."
"Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better pencil."
"Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make."
"Four: The most important part of you will always be what's inside."
"And Five: On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write."
The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.
Now, let us replace the pencil with ourselves. To paraphrase, “Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best person that God created you to be.”
One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in God's hand. This is similar to how God (our Potter) molds us (the clay) according to His will and purpose.
Proverbs 16:9 A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.
Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
Isaiah 64:8-9 But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand. 9 Do not be furious, O LORD, Nor remember iniquity forever; Indeed, please look—we all are Your people!
2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various problems in life, but you'll need it to become a stronger person. We can learn from the example of the Apostle Paul’s life, how his experiences and hardships forged him into a stronger and more faithful follower of Christ.
Whether questions from young children or adults, excerpts from the Sabbath Q&A Bible Study of July 31, 2010, directed to Scripture by our elders, all revealed the need for vigilant self-examination, especially in the face of hostility toward righteousness, growing bolder and brazen every day... CLICK ON ANY OF THE LINKS BELOW TO LISTEN TO OR DOWNLOAD MP3 excerpts of the live exchange...
7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; 8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward.
"It’s essential that conversion happens in our understanding of the Word of God. It is not up to even the best of teachers to convert people but our own response to the Word of God, only then will it transform those who are willing to learn and understand..."
Even if we know that men of God, servants, prophets, kings, apostles, and the Lord Jesus Christ most of all, bore troubles so severe as to cry out “Abba, Father, why have you forsaken me? ” we too, when thrown into moments of helplessness even to a much lesser degree but no less wrenching it seems, can feel “na parang nag-iisa lang...,” as Raul de-Asis Hipe shared during a Sabbath message on June 26, 2010.
Being stoned, starved, shipwrecked, exiled, imprisoned, thrown into a pit, torn apart, would make one think, here I am doing the mission of the LORD God, not any crime but I am met with all this... Yet also it is when we really listen to what these men and women of God spoke and wrote, those who went through severe troubles, that the most reassuring words come. They soar as magnificent praise to the Almighty... recognizing beyond words the work He is making of us, “more precious than gold that perishes...”
“I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together...
“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!...
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken.”
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:
“ For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. –letter of apostle Paul to the Romans, ch. 8:35-39
CLICK ON THE LINKS below to LISTEN TO THE PODCAST or DOWNLOAD THE MP3 FILE to understand the glorious intricate work the Almighty is making of our inward heart, allowing trials which alone can test the level of our trust, faith, maturity and how committed are we to that pearl of great price, the Kingdom of GOD...
Anything solid left to stand on? Anything left that is not hostile, pretentious, fake, defiant, sick, threatened, inflated, shaken, flooded, submerged, disguised, dismembered, incinerated, decimated or about to be? Fear tries to keep up appearances of hope, but where do we look for hope, when it is now pared down to a kind of vague wishing, not-sure-cross-your-fingers counting on “someone out there,” “somebody up there,” “something in here”? Hope, supposed to “spring eternal,” now just recycled illusions sustained by photo-op smiles and handshakes?
What if you had the chance find the original only true HOPE, that continues for the whole human family, uninterrupted, invisible, certain, as Juan Gabriel Cardonahonored during a Sabbath message on June 19, 2010, “the strong and confident expectation...” woven throughout Scripture:
“For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance...” —apostle’s letter to believers in Rome, ch. 8:24-25
Can we count on this hope? If we are used to stuff that crumbles as soon as it is labeled invincible, how can we begin to believe in the realities that the Eternal Living GOD reveals? What is it like to actually experience, by the longsuffering mercies and precise intricate artistry of the Potter, the state of “not seeing yet believing”? How can we tell the false hope from the real, especially when the fakes can seem so appealing?
“Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh? Can the reeds flourish without water? While it is yet green and not cut down, It withers before any other plant, The hope of the hypocrites shall perish, whose confidence shall be cut off...”-Job 8:11
CLICK ON THE LINK below to LISTEN TO THE PODCAST or DOWNLOAD THE MP3 FILE to find out how the only true hope literally changes everything we value, and forms in us made of dust, a treasure which nothing in heaven or earth can ever destroy...
“SO GRATEFUL” —Whether in pain or in rejoicing, the family of Raul and Vivian Hipe have always raised their voices in praise to Almighty GOD, in whose enduring purpose they strive to abide. On the Sabbath before their mother was scheduled to give birth, Ralph took the guitar and Arielle the keyboard as they rose to offer “I’m So Grateful” (composed by Walt Harrah) with their mother and father, and their baby sister in the womb. This was only one among many things we pleaded before the LORD God during the fellowship communal prayer that followed Sabbath assembly on May 29, 2010. For it had been a pregnancy declared from tests and soundings and physical limitations to be an impossibility from day one.
But by the enduring mercies of the Eternal Creator, as her father declared how true the apostle James’ testimony was that “patience must have its perfect work,” and her mother experiencing the meaning of DAILY miracles of even the tiniest details, more than the general assurance of a WEEK, the baby coasted through the calendar of motion and time with doctors holding their breath, continuously surprised by growth where thy expected none, and on June 1, 2010, Mattea Fae Lois Deboma Hipe was brought to birth and given the breath of life, her mother strengthened and alive through it all!
Yet let us not cease in prayer, brothers and sisters in the household of faith, for now on one hand we have a multitude of wonders and hurdles overcome, to raise our voices in thanksgiving to Almighty GOD, and on the other what to human eyes are incredible adversities threatening the health and life of baby Mattea Fae Lois...
“...We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done...
We are together in spirit with all our brothers and sisters in the spiritual family around the world as we prepare to observe the third season of the Feasts of the LORD God - the Memorial of Blowing of Trumpets (September 9, 2010), the Day of Atonement (September 18, 2010), the Feast of Tabernacles (September 23-29, 2010), the Eighth Day (September 30, 2010), and rejoice with great joy at the privilege of appearing before Him in the faithful congregation of the earth. For anyone who wants to join us in keeping these Feasts, from wherever you are, do come! We welcome you with thanksgiving and delight in sharing with you the blessings of Almighty Eternal GOD...
The very roots our Almighty Creator commanded us to honor so we could have the kind of long life worth having, are slipping from our grasp. The more we race for youth and longevity, the more the younger workforce is forced to toil 24/7, relegates our parents to functionaries, valued only for their economic utility, slaves [...]
In Scripture, covenant between humans involved assessment of each other, drafting an agreement with conditions that benefit both parties; obtaining critical support of forces necessary in order for a sovereign to establish rule of order; words of honor established with trustworthy persons especially when you can’t find them in your own family…
This episode explores the [...]
“Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy…
What is it about this day, specifically prepared by the CREATOR for the physical and spiritual well-being of His creation, MAN, that we the beneficiaries IGNORE?
This episode shows how the written command itself shows the purpose of the Sabbath resistant to any man-made restriction, whether those who refuse [...]
Far from being confined to Egyptian history, or any tyrannical regime since, SLAVERY now takes all forms of material promises, to which participants willingly offer themselves, later wanting to break free, yet unable and even not wanting to break free, grasping it, seeing no other hope… How has the value of life sunk so low [...]
Did the LORD God intend earthquakes to bring calamitous grief? Contrary to the horrible destruction to man-made habitations, in Scripture, seven occurrences of earthquakes precede momentous healing and restorative events. The giving of the law, realization of the Son of God, His resurrection, among others. Listen to this episode to recognize how, despite the perils [...]
The Pencil Story
Whether questions from young children or adults, excerpts from the Sabbath Q&A Bible Study of July 31, 2010, directed to Scripture by our elders, all revealed the need for vigilant self-examination, especially in the face of hostility toward righteousness, growing bolder and brazen every day... 
Even if we know that men of God, servants, prophets, kings, apostles, and the Lord Jesus Christ most of all, bore troubles so severe as to cry out “Abba, Father, why have you forsaken me? ” we too, when thrown into moments of helplessness even to a much lesser degree but no less wrenching it seems, can feel “na parang nag-iisa lang...,” as Raul de-Asis Hipe shared during a Sabbath message on June 26, 2010.
Anything solid left to stand on? Anything left that is not hostile, pretentious, fake, defiant, sick, threatened, inflated, shaken, flooded, submerged, disguised, dismembered, incinerated, decimated or about to be? Fear tries to keep up appearances of hope, but where do we look for hope, when it is now pared down to a kind of vague wishing, not-sure-cross-your-fingers counting on “someone out there,” “somebody up there,” “something in here”? Hope, supposed to “spring eternal,” now just recycled illusions sustained by photo-op smiles and handshakes?
