Wednesday 30 January 2013

Ernstig strijdend voor het geloof

De mens kan gedragen worden door het geloof dat hij heeft in bepaalde dingen. Wij moeten ons er bewust van worden dat het belangrijk is om het juiste geloof te hebben. Hierover kunnen wij samen over nadenken en debatteren.

Earnestly Contending for the Faith zal dan ook het thema zijn van de Christadelphian Isolation League (CIL), de organisatie die instaat voor het geestelijke welzijn van de broeders en zusters en hun kinderen over de hele wereld.


English: These are two of three large 1970s st...
 These are two of three large 1970s student accommodation blocks on the Aston University premises. These are to be demolished. Image taken by Erebus555 - Erebus555 18:14, 23 June 2007 (UTC) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
De CIL zal een bijeenkomst houden  in de Aston University, Birmingham, UK van 5 tot 07 april 2013, als God het wil.

Als wij de toestand vandaag bekijken kunnen wij overal het crisis horen en horen wij praten over meerdere oorlogen, zelfs Oorlog in kerkenland. Vele geruchten doen de ronde en onder de meerdere Woorden in de Wereld zijn er deze van mensen die durven vragen stellen en durven zoeken naar zin in het leven en naar het waarom dit alles meot gebeuren. Het zijn mensen die durven kijken naar het verleden en wilen leren uit oude boeken. Zij durven kijken naar Bijbelse figuren zoals Esther, Josua, koning David, profeet Ezechiël en de profeet Jeshua of Jesus, welke ons als de beloofde Messias een enorme toekomst mocht brengen.

Als dienaar van God heeft Jezus ons het goede voorbeeld gegeven. Hij is de beste leermeester welke wij best zouden volgen. Zijn woorden kunnen deze dingen die nog onduidelijk waren vanuit de Oude geschriften, verhelderen.

vindt waar u terecht kan in: Earnestly Contending for the Faith

+


Enhanced by Zemanta

Jeanne Devos honoured

Jeanne Devos was born in Kortenaken in 1935, is a trained speech therapist and joined the missionaries of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in the 1960s. That led to teaching at a school for deaf children in Chennai, India. Later, together with other nuns, she set up the National Domestic Workers Movement, which protects the rights of domestic servants.
Belgian Roman-Catholic Sister and Missionary J...
Belgian Roman-Catholic Sister and Missionary Jeanne Devos, head of the National Domestic Workers Movement (India). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)


Last week in the Flemish Parliament she with judge Koen Lenaerts, Christine Van Den Wyngaert of he International Criminal Court in The Hague, and professor of modern European history at Pennsylvania State University  Sophie De Schaepdrijver were honoured for their services in positively representing Flanders to the rest of the world. The five received the Golden Medal of Honour from Jan Peumans, speaker of the parliament.

Jeanne Devos is a woman who brings the words of Christ into life.

Read more...
+++

Enhanced by Zemanta

Campaigners Fraternal The Lord is our Banner

Brothers and sisters are warmly invited to this year's Campaigners Fraternal on Saturday 9th February.
 
The theme for the day is The Lord is our Banner. We have excellent speakers for both the afternoon session 2 - 4 pm and the evening session 6 - 7.30 pm. Numbering over 400 there is an uplifting atmosphere focused on Jesus' commission for us to spread the good news of the gospel. Hear the highlights from last year's campaigning and keep up to date with the major effort for 2013 which engages many of our younger members through partnership with UKYP. With stalls and stands to browse in the break it is always an enjoyable day.

As in recent years It is being held at Warwick School, CV34 6PP. Unfortunately refreshments can't be provided so remember to bring your own. There is a creche 
Warwick School's Bridge House Theatre
Warwick School's Bridge House Theatre (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
room for those with younger children. The programme is available on line http://alturl.com/73zvh and http://alturl.com/pot98. And a poster showing planned campaigns is at http://alturl.com/skvau There is a facebook event here http://www.facebook.com/events/237630669705334/ Please pray for God's blessing on our preparations for the Fraternal and the coming campaigns. With love, Jon Downes
 
+
Find also related:
  1. To belong to = toebehoren
  2. Meeting - Vergadering
  3. Congregate, to gather, to meet
  4. Gathering or meeting of believers 
  5. What and why Ecclesia
  6.  Intentions of an Ecclesia
  7. Those who call the Christadelphians a cult
  8. Church sent into the world
 
+++ 
Enhanced by Zemanta

Friday 25 January 2013

Tu B’Shvat, the holiday of the trees

If the did not celebrate it Wednesday evening and Thursday, Jews around the world will celebrate the holiday of u B’Shevat, Tu Bishvat, or Tu B’Shvat (15th of the Hebrew month of Shevat) tonight.And people wondered why we should celebrate the holiday of the tree.almond blossom

The almond trees in Israel begin to shake blossoms out along their branches.
Across the globe this month Jewish communities are celebrating the holiday of Tu B’Shvat.  Many choose to commemorate the “New Year of The Trees” by planting pine trees in Israel.  Tu B’Shvat is a day that deals directly with the social inequality of our food system.  It’s a holiday that can inspire us to think about the free Gifts Jehovah God provides for humanity and it gives us the chance to think about His blessings and how we should use those blessings. This year you perhaps could also think about building community food security.


Savyon from the land of Israel
Savyon from the land of Israel (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
When we look around us we can see very beautiful things in nature, though many do not notice them any more.God has created the plants and given the task to the people to name them and to take care of them. God promised that all the plants would be for the good of people and would offer food for men and animal. And normally all of the seed bearing trees would bring forth fruits free for all people. Though people made it that humans had to pay for it.

"And Elohim said, “See, I have given you every plant that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed, to you it is for food." (Beréshith - Genesis - Book of the Beginning 1:29 The Scriptures 1998+)

Also in Europe and North America the inhabitants can look forward to the new time coming soon. In Belgium from tomorrow Saturday the temperatures will rise, but we can notice already the sap in thee shrubs begining once again to flow through it.  The trees are ready to bring out green knobs and to let the Voice of the Most High sound through their branches. If you look carefully around you you will see heralding
the New Year for trees. The melting snow shall provide moisture for the trees and the sap will bring forth fruit in the spring. It is the day to pray for a beautiful esrog. The custom for Jews is to eat fruits in order to be able to say the blessings on the fruits on this day. הדר עץ פרי, a fruit of splendor, is gematria העץ פרי ברא, [Blessed are you Hashem] who created the fruit of the tree (they both equal 659). Have in mind to ask Elohim Hashem Jehovah for a gorgeous esrog when saying this blessing.

In the Mishnah, where Tu B’Shvat is found, the purpose of the holiday is to make a single day in which our produce is taxed and given to the community. It’s based from a single line of Torah: “At the end of three years you shall bring forth all the tithe of your produce in that year, and shall lay it up inside your gates; And the Levite, because he has no part nor inheritance with you, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are inside your gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied.“ (Debarim - Deuteronomy 14:28).

The Torah also says that "man is a tree in the field."We should come forth from good seed and bring forth good fruits.When we bring none, not enough or no good fruits we would be of no use.

God has plated the seed in Abraham to make Him a people. And God His Wishes shall always come true. So out of Aḇraham shall come forth the fruit of a blessed people because יהוה {Jehovah}appeared to him  and said, “I am the Elohim of your father Aḇraham. Do not fear, for I am with you, and shall bless you and increase your seed for My servant Aḇraham’s sake.”.(Beréshith - Genesis - Book of the Beginning 26: 23-24)
The Creator told His chosen people how He was to be called and that His Name and Works should be known all over the world. Those Works we can still see every day, because Jehovah God did not end Creating.


In the Land of Israel, several people are already happily celebrating Tu B’Shvat, the holiday of the trees. School children sing songs praising the Land of Israel and thanking Hashem for its fruits. Bus loads of students and families go on field trips throughout the country, and saplings are planted with great joy and spirit. And a festive meal of thanksgiving, highlighted by a cornucopia of fruits of the Land, will grace our tables on Shabbat.

  writes about this special day and looks at Eretz Yisrael. According to him without Israel the Torah is a shrunken, truncated, mini-version of the complete Torah of Eretz Yisrael. Two-thirds of the Mishna deals with laws that can only be performed in Israel. Without Eretz Yisrael, God Himself is reduced to a second-string diety, seemingly not strong enough to keep His Chosen People in the Land He gave them, for there is no greater desecration of the Name of God than when the Jewish People are scattered in exile amongst the goyim (Ezekiel, 36:20). Without Eretz Yisrael, there is no prophecy, no Beit HaMikdash, and the Divine Presence doesn’t appear in the world.

Kaliv Hasidim celebrating Tu B'Shvat in Jerusalem.
Kaliv Hasidim celebrating Tu B'Shvat in Jerusalem.
Photo Credit: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90
The hunger in our cities resonates because everywhere we can see more poverty. We do not have to go far away form our own dinner-table to see the food crisis which is also a spiritual crisis. On this Tu B’Shvat, let’s reinvigorate the holiday’s original purpose, by doing our part to make hunger relief healthier, more respectful and more in line with our shared values.
Those who are fortunate to have an abundance of produce year-round could perhaps take time to think of those in need and provide for them.
Tu B’Shvat is an opportunity to more closely examine hunger and how to respond most effectively to ensure that hungry people have access to nutritious, healthy foods.

Read:

What’s the Point of Celebrating Tu B’Shvat in Exile?

Celebrate Tu B’Shevat, the New Year of the Trees

 
Fruits and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables (Photo credit: nutrilover)


Enhanced by Zemanta

Thursday 24 January 2013

Christian Association of Nigeria in dispute

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), which formed because of the marginalization of Christians in the North; has dared Catholic block to pull out of the organization, accusing them of arrogance.
Previously Catholics were in the leadership of CAN. At that time they seemed to be supported.

Catholic Bishop’s Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, on Wednesday in Abeokuta, Ogun State Capital threatened to pull out of the National Christian body over the alleged romance of the CAN leadership with the federal government.
Abeokuta, Nigeria, from the top of Olumo Rock
Abeokuta, Nigeria, from the top of Olumo Rock (Photo credit: Wikipedia)


Mr. Oibe, the President of “Tarayar Ekklisiyar Kristi A Nijeriya”, a conglomeration of 13 church groups in CAN, says Catholics should not mislead the public even if they want to pull out.

Cardinal John Onaiyekan lost PFN Presidency to Ayo Oritsejafor who is  being pro-government according the Catholics.
The Director Communication, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Rev Fr Ralph Madu, while speaking to a reporter of one of the national dailies maintained that the CBCN did not pull out of CAN, and that, the body was only trying to sought out some issues with National Christian body.
He mentioned that the body only withdrew temporarily from CAN, which will only last for few weeks, adding that, there was no squabble between the two religious bodies.


Read more about it in:

CAN dares Catholic Church, describes them as appendage of PDP

Catholic Church pulls out of CAN

 

Enhanced by Zemanta

Tuesday 22 January 2013

Oorlog in kerkenland

Volgens Willem Jan Otten is er een soort oorlog gaande. Hij mag wel gelijk hebben dat het moeilijkere tijden zijn voor hen die een geloof hebben waarmee zij willen naar buiten treden. Het wordt niet altijd zo goed ontvangen als men over geloofszaken wil praten.

Volgens de voorspellingen uit de oudheid zou er een tijd komen waarin godsdiensten tegen godsdiensten te keer zouden gaan. Het lijkt wel of wij nu in zulk een tijd zijn gekomen.

Maar is dat dan een reden om over het geloof te zwijgen of om over het "wij" gevoelen in het geloof te praten?
Volgens Otten is het nu een wel erg ongelegen moment om van een religieus ‘wij’ te spreken, van ‘ons’ geloof. Er wordt juist dezer dagen door gelovigen teveel over ‘jullie’ geloof, en vooral ‘jullie’ ongeloof gesproken. Daarbij wordt de naam van God zo gewelddadig ingeroepen, dat je begint te vrezen, dat iedere geloofsbelijdenis uitgelegd zal worden als een duit in het hatende zakje.
In Nederland lijken de kerkgemeenschappen op straat te zijn gekomen om te vechten voor een plaatsje in de gemeenschap.
De   ‘happy clappy-kerken’ geraken ook bij de Noorderburen in de running. In Nederland hebben deze gemeentes de reputatie opdringerig te zijn, ze staan op straat met spandoeken om zieltjes te winnen en vertellen iedereen die het niet wil horen over hoe het geloof hun redding gaat zijn.

Ook al is het veel makkelijker om woorden uit te spreken dan ook daadwerkelijk alles in daden omzetten, heeft de Christen toch zijn opdracht van Jezus gekregen om te volharden in het verkondigen van het Evangelie.

> Lees: De onwaarschijnlijke christus, lezing Willem Jan Otten

Monday 21 January 2013

What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits


12  What shall I return to יהוה {Jehovah}? All His bounties are upon me.
13  I lift up the cup of deliverance, And call upon the Name of יהוה
{Jehovah}.
14  I pay my vows to יהוה
{Jehovah}Now in the presence of all His people.

Psa 50:5  “Gather My kind ones together to Me, Those who have made a covenant with Me by slaughtering.”


My Morning Resolve

My Earliest Thought I Desire Shall Be:
“What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me?
I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord [for grace to help].
I will pay my vows unto the Most High.”—Psalm 116:12-14
Remembering the Divine call, “Gather My saints together unto Me; those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice” (Psalm 50:5), I resolve that by the Lord’s assisting grace I will today, as a saint of God, fulfil my vows, continuing the work of sacrificing the flesh and its interests, that I may attain to the Heavenly inheritance in joint-heirship with my redeemer.

I will strive to be simple and sincere toward all.
I will seek not to please and honour self, but the Lord.
I will be careful to honour the Lord with my lips, that my words may be unctuous and blessed to all.
I will seek to be faithful to the Lord, the Truth, the brethren and all with whom I have to do, not only in great matters, but also in the little things of life.

Trusting myself to Divine care and the Providential overruling of all my interests for my highest welfare, I will seek not only to be pure in heart, but to repel all anxiety, all discontent, all discouragement.
I will neither murmur nor repine at what the Lord’s providence may permit, because
“Faith can firmly trust Him,
Come what may.”




Enhanced by Zemanta