A National Geographic article published a few years describing a real celestial event which took place at the time of the birth of Jesus reminded me of Risto Santala’s explanation in his book, “The Messiah in the New Testament in the Light of Rabbinical Writings”. He wrote about a conjunction of major planets that took place which could have led the wise men from the east, to Israel.
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You’ve probably heard of tennis champion Boris Becker, but you may not know this. He had everything, talent, money, fame and every other worldly pleasure one could want, yet he still struggled with depression and frequent thoughts of suicide. “I had won Wimbledon twice before,” he said, “once as the youngest player. I was rich. I had all the material possessions I needed … It’s the old song of movie stars and pop stars who commit suicide. They have everything, and yet they are so unhappy. I had no inner peace. I was a puppet on a string.”
Read on – your spirit will be uplifted.
Isn’t it remarkable that every stone was beautifully constructed at a place far away from the Temple sight — and then put together perfectly on location? And these weren’t small stones either — these were great BIG stones, made far away and then and placed in perfect precision. (1 Kings 5:17)
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Out here in the Negev, our trees suffer, especially in the hot summer months. We have a few trees around our neighborhood here which have definitely seen better days, I’m sure.
There’s more encouragement just ahead – read more.
This Saturday evening begins the celebration of Shavuot. Most Christians might recognize this as the celebration of Pentecost in Acts 2. However, the very first Shavuot actually took place fifty days after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea about 1500 years before Acts was even written. It was on this day that the law was given on tablets of stone.
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As we were leaving for Jerusalem yesterday, my wife made one of her frequent requests of me – “Honey! Could you take down the trash?” Well, I don’t know about you– but this is not one of my favorite tasks. Why does it always seem like we guys always get pinned with the dirty work?!
Click to uncover more spiritual insight.When the Torah was given on Shavuot in the days of Moses, the sin of the golden calf resulted in the death of 3,000 men. Some 1500 years later at the same season the Holy Spirit descended causing 3,000 men to be saved! The Lord has never changed; His mercy and His holiness are the same throughout all ages. But the contrast of these two historical events during the same Holy Day may be seen as a powerful illustration of this principle: “the letter [of the Law] kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:6)
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