On October 29th, Joe and Jill Biden will pay a visit to the Pope. Biden’s visit is publicly focused on discussing issues like human rights, climate change and the poor. This year, the list of topics includes ending the COVID-19 pandemic, something the Pope previously asked Mary to do.
But the main ‘brew-ha-ha’ circling this particular Vatican visit is regarding Biden’s desire to eat a cracker.
Circumcision, like Baptism, has become a tradition, custom or requirement that differentiates greatly between the religions of the world. ‘Jews’ are well known adherents to a physical circumcision as a way to continue the Covenant of Circumcision between Abraham and God. Muslims consider circumcision an act of ‘purification’ and Christians are split on whether a physical circumcision is required. Catholics are against it and Orthodox Christians are for it. Many protestant Christians, like Catholics, see a water Baptism as the replacement or extension of Circumcision, but this approach varies between denominations.
Consider, as well, the discrepancies between government guidance on the issue. In the US, the government has framed circumcision as a health issue. World War II recruits were routinely circumcised. It is still a commonplace procedure for infants prior to leaving the hospital. Many parents support the practice in adherence to government health guidance. In 1965 over 85% of the US population circumcised male infants. That number has been dropping ever since. Meanwhile, several European countries have tried to outright ban the practice. With such a dizzying array of understanding and motivation for circumcision, has anyone actually cut to the heart of what God calls for?
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Sprinkled or dunked? Required for infants, kids, teens or adults only? Performed before salvation, after salvation or is it the actual act of salvation? Baptism. One of the key ‘sacraments’ of most ‘Christian’ denominations, is fraught with disagreements. Who, what, when, how and even if followers are to be baptized is one of the major defining tenets that differentiates between the denominations. Who is in-line with God? Let’s sort this all out.
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Jesus was a healer, he healed the sick, but not in the way most of the world has come to understand. Most believe Jesus was a ‘miracle’ worker; making the blind to physically see, the deaf to physically hear and the lame to physically walk again. Jesus did not heal anyone – physically that is. What other “healing” could this be?
…Q&A: “Jesus ‘Healed the Sick’, can he Cure Covid?”Read More »
There are over 4,000 religions in the world today and they all worship “god” or “gods”, but which religion is right? They don’t all worship their “god” in the same way, with the same beliefs or even the same scriptures. Yet, they all believe their “god” is God. Does anyone actually understand and know God?
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Go and Find your Bible. Open to the Table of Contents and take a look. First thing you will see is a list of sixty-six books. How did all of these books come to be known as The Bible? What is the Bible about? Who are the main characters in the Bible? Is it just a history book or is it absolutely relevant to the present day? Let’s answer these questions by focusing on the three main characters that appear and reappear throughout the Bible. The three main characters are especially relevant to the present day.
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The year 2020 has been one for the record books. Pre-Covid, the divide between the “haves and have-nots” reached it’s greatest disparity in fifty years. A few months into a world-wide pandemic and that gap has already increased. Billionaire’s wealth has ballooned over 20% in just three months. Meanwhile, the impact of record unemployment and isolation is just beginning to manifest. There has been an increase in ‘deaths of despair’ such as suicides and overdoses. An increase in evictions and poverty are predicted to reach unprecedented levels.
Consider that among the “G-7” nations, the US has the greatest economic inequality, yet it is one of the richest countries in the world. What is going on?! How did the few in power come to control all the wealth? Incredibly, we were warned that this division would happen! The pandemic has become a means to accelerate this economic inequality and iniquity exponentially. Let’s look to God’s Word to learn more.
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God calls for three feast times during a year. May 31st, 2020 is the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost. Last month we looked at Passover and the associated Feast of Unleavened bread. We learned about the shadows that are contained within these Holy Days and the time of their occurrence. The detailed instructions of those occasions are actually prophecies of events that happened at the time of Y’hoshua (Jesus) as well as right now! Could the same be true for the ‘Feast of Weeks?’ Absolutely!
As a refresher, one aspect of Passover is the connection to the time of the Sabbath in God’s time. The menorah represents that seven-fold light of time, Y’hoshua is shadowed in the center shaft or vine in both his role as the Passover lamb and the time in history when he was alive.
…Two major holidays are celebrated this April, Passover and Easter. One has to do with Y’hoshua (Jesus), while the other does not. But it’s not the one you think.
Passover is the time when Jews remember the “passing over” of the plague in Egypt on the night prior to their exodus out of Egypt. Easter and the associated “Maunday Thursday” and “Good Friday” are a Christian celebration of the death of Y’hoshua. Which one actually has something to do with Y’hoshua? Which one did he acknowledge?
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The World has suddenly come to a screeching halt. The population is taking a ‘forced sabbath’, or rest, due to Coronavirus containment efforts. As of March 24th, 2020, a third of the World’s population, or three Billion people, are under virus related ‘shelter-in-place’ limits. Citizens around the world have been forced to take a step back from the ‘go-go-go’ mentality. The new directive is to hunker-down at home. Welcome to the forced sabbath.
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