"The Significance of "111""

Disclaimer: The content of this article are not necessairily that of this posts author.

F.M. Riley (28 Jan 2009)
"The Significance of "111""


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Dear Brother John,

I am attaching an in-depth study on this subject of "111." It is completely different than the last study you posted for me on that subject. I think this study should be a great blessing and encouragement to you and to all the Five Doves. God bless you dear brother. I'll meet you soon in glory. Pray for me.

Pastor F. M. Riley
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Thanks, Pastor Riley!
John


“111”



By Pastor F. M. Riley



“It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.”

Proverbs 25:2



Introduction



For several weeks [or months] this multiple number has been discussed on the Five Doves website. Many people have reported seeing this number over and over again in about every conceivable way. A few people have attempted to tie it in with Scripture and prophetic fulfillment. Most have just reported seeing it when they awaken at night and look at the clock, seeing it on buildings, on license plates, in advertisements, etc., and have audibly wondered if it has some “spiritual” significance?

I don’t really know if the many reports of people seeing this number are by design or by chance, but I can tell our readers that I am personally convinced that the number does have spiritual and prophetical significance. That fact is what I want to set before our readers in this study. Join us for a fascinating study…..



In the Beginning…..



The number “1” in the Bible is the number that signifies “unity” all through the Scriptures. There are many passages in God’s Word where this truth stands out, but in order to be brief I will use only one example, John 17:20-23.

In these verses the Lord was praying for His own true believers. “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one; I in them, and Thou in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.”

Here is the perfect example of unity [“oneness”] in Christ and in the Father. I could give many more examples illustrating that the number “1” is the Bible number for unity throughout the Scriptures, but this example is sufficient to make the point.

Now since “1” is the Bible number for “unity,” then what is the meaning in God’s Word of the multiples of this number?



The number “11” in God’s Word is the number that signifies “judgment; judgment of God (or men); carrying out of judgment; to complete or finish judgment.” There are also many examples in God’s Word to illustrate this truth, but I am going to leave it to our readers to search this out for themselves. I want to quickly move on to the next multiple of number “1.”



The very first place this number can be calculated in God’s Word is found in Genesis 1:1. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The number “111” is not stated in this verse, but it certainly glares forth from the verse for anyone who seriously studies the Word. This verse is the first verse in the first chapter of the first book in the Bible. Isn’t that three “ones?” You know it is! But that isn’t all that is in this verse.

Whether some like it or not, any Hebrew teacher or scholar that will be honest with the Word can confirm for you that the word translated as “God” in Genesis 1:1 is a plural noun. It is the Hebrew word, “Elohim,” and it is plural in the Hebrew. Our readers can confirm this for themselves by looking in any good Hebrew Lexicon. The point I am making here is that the triune “Godhead” [Acts 17:29] is set forth right here in the opening verse of the Bible, working as One God in perfect unity as the heavens and the earth were being created. Folks, I am well aware that some of God’s people [true believers] don’t believe in the Trinity of the Godhead. That is okay with me. I won’t fall out with you. I’ll just keep on loving you as a brother or sister in Christ anyway. Your unbelief won’t change the truth of God’s Word one iota. The Heavenly Father [1] plus His Son [1] plus His Holy Spirit [1] working together in perfect unity in creation still calculates out to “111,” and it is found in the very first verse of God’s Word. Glory!



The Prophetical Significance



But now let’s move forward to the prophetical relevance of this number to the very times in which we are living today. I am now going to share some truths with our readers that the Lord has graciously revealed to me as I studied and meditated upon His Word.



The Restoration of Israel



It is a documented historical fact and therefore undeniable, that the restoration of Israel in modern times began when Theodor Herzl convened the first Jewish Congress in Basel, Switzerland on August 29th – 31st, 1897. This first Jewish Congress was called together for the specific purpose of “searching out a national homeland for the Jewish people.” It was at that specific time that Almighty God began to move men and nations in order to fulfill the many promises in His Word that explicitly state that Israel would again become a nation in their own land at the end of this age. Glory!



Number 20



Folks “20” is the Bible number signifying “redemption.” Just 20 years after that first Jewish Congress was convened, the city of Jerusalem, which had been in the hands of the Turkish people for several hundred years, was redeemed from their control on December 9, 1917. It was on that date that the Turkish army fled from the city of Jerusalem in great fear and absolute panic. That is another story. That particular date “just happened” to be the “24th day of the 9th month” on the Jewish calendar, and that year Hanakkuh fell on that date. Read Haggai 2:10-23, noticing that the date is mentioned three times in these verses, and notice what the Lord explicitly promised Israel and the Jewish people in verse 19. Glory!



Number 30



Now let’s go forward another thirty years. This will bring us to 1947. “30” is the Bible number normally signifying “blood; shedding of blood; spilling of blood” in God’s Word. See Matthew 26:14-16 and 27:3-10.

However, this number is also undeniably connected with Israel. In ancient Jewish society [and maybe even today?] no Jewish male was considered “a mature man” qualified to speak out in the Jewish synagogue and teach other men, unless that man was thirty years of age. This is why Luke 3:23 explicitly states, “And Jesus Himself began to be about thirty years of age, being…..” It was at the age of thirity that the Lord Jesus Christ began His public ministry, for He knew that He wouldn’t be regarded as “a mature man,” and would not be permitted to speak out in the Jewish synagogue, and that no Jewish man would listen to or take seriously anything He had to say, until He was thirty years of age.

I am emphasizing this to point out the fact that in the year following the deliverance of Jerusalem in December of 1917, the doors to Jewish immigration back to the Holy Land were thrown open for the first time in 1848 years; 1918 – 70 A.D. = 1848 years. But from the time Jerusalem was freed from the Turks in 1917 until the time the United Nations Security Council voted to partition the “Land of Palestine” into two separate states, one for the Jews and one for the Arabs, was thirty years. The Jewish people in the Holy Land had become “mature” enough to take their place as “a nation among the nations” after they had been in the Holy Land for thirty years. Glory!



Number 50



But let’s get the whole picture….. On what date did the United Nations Security Council vote to partition the “Land of Palestine” into two states. August 29, 1947! This was fifty years to the day after Theodor Herzl had convened the first Jewish Congress on August 29, 1897. Is this significant? What a question! Do cows give milk? Do birds fly? Do apples grow on apple trees? Glory!

Folks, number “50” is the Bible number signifying “the Holy Spirit; the giving of the Spirit; the work of the Spirit.” Every serious Bible student knows that the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the Jewish church fifty days after the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. See Acts 2.

But “50” is also undeniably connected with “the Jubilee” in God’s Word. See Leviticus 25, 27, and Numbers 36:4. Now what is the Jubilee and what is so significant about it? Study these chapters carefully and they will reveal that the Jubilee was a very special 50th year that was to occur after “seven sabbaths of years,” Leviticus 25:8 [49 years]. When this 50th year arrived “liberty” was proclaimed throughout the land. All slaves were set free, all debts were cancelled, and “every man” returned “unto his possession,” Leviticus 25:13.

It is then obvious that the hand of God was working on behalf of the Jewish people, when on August 29, 1947, exactly fifty years to the day after the first Jewish Congress had been convened to “search out a national homeland for the Jewish people,” the United Nations Security Council voted to partition the Holy Land into two states, and the Jewish people “returned to their possession.” Glory! Glory to God! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! What an awesome God and a wonderful Savior! Lift up your voices in praise to His Great and Holy Name.



Number 70



But now let’s go forward another twenty years to 1967. We have already pointed out the significance of the number “20,” so I won’t go back over it. It is sufficient to say that in the Six Day war of 1967 the whole city of Jerusalem was redeemed from the hands of Israel’s enemies, and once more came into the possession of the Jewish people.

What I do want to emphasize is that the return of the whole city of Jerusalem occurred in the seventieth year after the first Jewish Congress. From August 29, 1897 to August 29, 1967 is seventy years. 1897 + 70 = 1967.

This again is very prophetically significant, for “70” is the Bible number signifying “the restoration of Israel.” There are many examples of this truth all through the Old Testament Scriptures. There was no way that Israel could be completely restored as a nation in the Biblical and prophetical sense until they had regained possession of their most holy city; JERUSALEM. And in the Six Day War of 1967 the Lord God of Heaven redeemed Jerusalem from the hands of Israel’s enemies and restored their beloved city back to the Jewish people. Glory! Glory! Glory!



Before leaving 1967 and the Six Day War, I would also emphasize that the very day Jerusalem was restored to Israel marked the beginning of “the generation” that will not die off or “pass away” until “the kingdom of God” is established on this earth. See the Parable of the Fig Tree given by the Lord Himself in Matthew 24:32-35, Mark 13:28-31, and Luke 21:29-33. A detailed exposition of this parable is contained in my study entitled “Why? Here’s Why…..” I will be glad to send a copy of the study to anyone requesting it.



Numbers 6, 13, 42, and 76



Now let’s go forward six more years to 1973. “6” is the Bible number that signifies “man; man’s sin nature; Satan’s influence over man.” Mankind was created on the sixth day of the week as recorded in Genesis 1:26-27, 2:7, and 2:18-25. It is therefore more than coincidence that just six years after Jerusalem had been restored to Israel, Israel’s enemies launched a surprise attack on Israel on Israel’s most revered holy day, Yom Kippur, [the Great Day of Atonement]. But let’s not omit other important details about this year; 1973.

The year, 1973, was one of the most fantastic years in modern history. Yet that year is sadly neglected or overlooked by most Bible students. What happened in 1973 to make it such a special year? Let’s see…..

In late 1972 or early 1973 a gigantic comet appeared in the heavens passing through our solar system to which the astronomers gave the name, Comet Kohoutek. I don’t remember the exact date that it first appeared or was announced to the public. What I do remember was that it was expected to be one of the brightest comets to appear in the night sky for hundreds of years, and that it would be seen for several months in the night sky. Its expected brightness failed to materialize, but what it lacked in brightness it made up in endurance. Night after night throughout most of 1973 Comet Kohoutek could be seen high in the heavens above the earth as it passed through our solar system.

Keep in mind that the Lord Himself explicitly said, “…..and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven,” Luke 21:11. And in Luke 21:25 the Lord said, “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations…..” There is no doubt in my mind that the appearing of Comet Kohoutek was one of those latter day “signs” that the Lord placed in the heavens. Why do I say that? Because in 1973…..

1. Comet Kohoutek appeared in the heavens and stayed visible for months.

2. The Greater Jerusalem Synagogue was completed in Jerusalem as a central place of worship for the Jewish people.

3. The oil producing nations of the Middle East came together to form OPEC, and immediately raised the price of oil on the world market. This caused the first “gas shortage” in America and other industrialized nations, with long lines of cars waiting at stations to buy gas.

4. The Club of Rome is supposedly made up of the so-called most intellectual men on earth. In their meeting that year, on a world map they literally carved the world up into ten kingdoms [their own exact term]. See Revelation 17:12. From that day to this they have been quietly working behind the world scenes to bring their plan for the whole world to reality.

5. All ten leaders of the NATO nations resigned from office in disgrace, were removed in disgrace, died in office, or were assassinated during the course of the year. All ten! Does anyone remember President Nixon?

6. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in favor of legalized abortion in the infamous Roe versus Wade court case. This was the beginning of the premeditated murder of literally millions of unborn babies in this country. Sadly, other nations of the world were “infected” by the wickedness of this country, and abortion spread from this country into every nation of the world. Since that time over a billion innocent unborn babies have been callously murdered throughout the world.

7. The first section of the Karakoram Highway through the Himalayan mountains was opened, allowing motor vehicles to transport people and goods from China to India through the Himalayan mountains summer or winter for the first time in human history.

8. The first dam across the Euphrates River was officially opened. This dam was built to generate electrical power, but it could also be used to reduce the flow of water in the Euphrates. In the years since 1973, four more dams have been built on the Euphrates making the fulfillment of Revelation 16:12 easily possible.

9. The Yom Kippur war broke out in Israel and the Middle East on Israel’s most revered holy day. Israel was still engaged in a furious war when 1973 came to an end.

10. The world’s leading economists, who study such matters, now say that the United States of America reached the peak of its economic prosperity on January 11, 1973, and that the economy of this country has been in a slow but steady decline from that date until the present time.

11. In my recent study, “Israel’s Long Night,” I pointed out that in prophetic type, Israel and the Jewish people entered their long night in 1973. I will be glad to send a copy of this study to anyone who would like to read it.



I have listed above eleven documented events of prophetic significance which all occurred in 1973. Were all of these events just “coincidence?” I think not! I have already pointed out the Biblical significance of number “11,” so I will not go over it again at this point in our study.

It should be obvious to our readers that 1973 was 76 years after the convening of the first Jewish Congress in 1897. 1897 + 76 = 1973. 7 + 6 = 13. “13” is the Bible number which signifies “sin or rebellion.” There are so many examples of this in God’s Word that any reader should have no difficulty finding them.

I do not know the doctrinal significance of number “76” in God’s Word. I only know that it adds up to 13, the number signifying sin and rebellion. However, if you multiply the numbers 7 x 6 the answer will be 42.

“42” is the Bible number which repeatedly signifies “the coming of Christ.” Over and over again in God’s Word it is connected with both the first and second comings of the Lord Jesus Christ. The fact that these eleven major events all occurred in 1973, 76 years after the first Jewish Congress was convened, and six years after Jerusalem had been restored to Israel, convinces me that the events that occurred that year were all “signs” from the Lord pointing to His coming before the “generation” then living would all die off or pass away. Is there any further verification of this? Let’s see…..



Numbers 15, 28, 56 and 78



Let’s now go forward two more years to 1975. It was on August 29, 1975 that another prophetically significant “sign” appeared in the heavens. On that date in 1975 a brilliant “star” appeared in the heavens which outshone every other star in the night sky. The astronomers called it “Deneb.” I don’t know the meaning of this word. Perhaps some of our readers can research this, and find out why this star was called “Deneb.” But the news media at that time compared the brightness of this star to the star that appeared in the heavens over Bethlehem at the birth of Christ. Wow! Talk about significant!

This means that this brilliant star appeared in the heavens 78 years to the day after the convening of the first Jewish Congress on August 29, 1897. 1897 + 78 = 1975. Again, I do not know the doctrinal significance of number “78” in the Scriptures. However, it is obvious that 7 + 8 = 15. “15” is the Bible number signifying “rest; sabbath rest; kingdom rest; Jubilee rest.” Then one purpose for this “sign” in the heavens that appeared not quite two years after the Yom Kippur war of 1973 began may have been to remind Israel and the Jewish people that the Lord will ultimately give them “ rest” when they truly repent and come to the Lord in faith with their whole heart.” See Jeremiah 29:13 and Hebrews 4:9.

The appearance of this brilliant star in the heavens on August 29, 1975 also means that it appeared exactly 28 years to the day after the United Nations Security Council voted to partition the “Land of Palestine” into two separate states, which led directly to the reestablishment of Israel as a nation. 1947 + 28 = 1975. “28” is the Bible number that signifies “eternal life; everlasting life.” This is most certainly what God has promised to every person, nation, and people, who will truly repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. See John 3:16 and Psalm 33:12.

It is also obvious that 7 x 8 = 56. “56” is the Bible number that signifies “to awake; awaken; awakening.” Since even the world’s news media compared the appearance of this star to the “star of Bethlehem,” then it appears that this star was a “sign” calling Israel and a lost world to awaken to “spiritual truth” and call upon the Lord before this present “day of grace” comes to an end? See Zephaniah 2:2-3.



“111”



I could point out many other prophetically significant events which have occurred since 1975. But reviewing each of these events is not my purpose in this study. I now want to go forward from 1975 to the very year in which we are living today; 2009. Now figure this out carefully…..how much time has elapsed since that brilliant star appeared in the heavens on August 29, 1975? How much time has elapsed since the first Jewish Congress was convened on August 29, 1897? Do I have your attention yet?



From August 29, 1897 to August 29, 2008 is 111 years. 1897 + 111 = 2008. So at the present time it has been 111 years, four and one half months, [rounded off] since the first Jewish Congress was convened in 1897. In other words, today we are still living in the 111th year since Almighty God began His end-time work of redeeming Israel from the hand of their enemies and restoring them to their right spiritual relationship with their God. The 112th year will not be reached until August 29, 2009.



Folks, many true believers today believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming to resurrect and rapture His people to glory this year; 2009. Some of us are convinced of this because we have seriously studied the prophetic Scriptures from many different Scriptural viewpoints, and have all arrived at the same conclusion. Further, some of us are convinced that the resurrection and rapture of God’s people will occur this SPRING in direct fulfillment of the Song of Solomon 2:8-13. If this should come to pass as some true believers are expecting, then it is obvious that the resurrection and rapture will have occurred while we who are living today are still living in the 111th year of this cycle of years which began on August 29, 1897. Glory!



So what is the Scriptural and prophetic significance of the Bible number “111”? What relation does it have to this 111th year since the first Jewish Congress was convened on August 29, 1897? In this study there are four things in particular I want to share with our readers about the number, “111” and the year, “111.”



1. “111” is a multiple number made up of three ones. “3” is the Bible number repeatedly associated with the Triune Godhead and with “the resurrection” throughout the Scriptures. This truth is absolutely fascinating in view of the fact that a word in the Old Testament Scriptures which has the numerical value of “111” is the word, “ascending.” This word literally means “to go up.” Glory!

Ascending… Ayin = 70 Vav = 6 Lamed = 30 Hay = 5 = 111. Glory! Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! Glory to God! Come Lord Jesus!



2. The 111th year since the convening of the first Jewish Congress, was reached

on August 29, 2008. This is 33 years after the brilliant star appeared in the heavens on August 29, 1975. 1975 + 33 = 2008. “33” is the Bible number signifying “promise; of God; or men,” all through the Scriptures. This indicates to me that this 111th year will be a year when one or more of the promises of God are fulfilled.

What then is the greatest “promise” that the Lord Himself made to His own New Testament believers before He went back to the Father? Read it in John 14:1-3. That same promise is repeated over and over again in different wording by the inspired writers of the New Testament. See 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, 15:51-52, Galatians 1:3-4, Philippians 3:20-21, Colossians 3:1-4, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 2 Timothy 4:8, Titus 2:11-15, Hebrews 10:35-37, 1 Peter 5:4, 1 John 3:1-3, Revelation 3:10, and many other similar Scriptures too numerous to list. Folks, it is both highly possible and probable that this promise of our Lord made to His own true New Testament believers is going to be fulfilled during this 111th year.



3. In Genesis 1, it is recorded that the last thing God did on the sixth day was the creation of Adam and Eve “…..in His own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created He them,” Genesis 1:27. Adam is then explicitly called “the son of God” in Luke 3:38 because he was created “in the image” and “in the likeness of God,” Genesis 1:26-27; 5:1-2.

It is understood by all serious Bible students that the six days of Genesis 1 are a type of the 6,000 years that mankind upon the earth was to labor and do all his work, 2 Peter 3:8. Compare Exodus 20:9-10, 23:12, 31:15, 34:21, 35:2, Leviticus 23:3, Deuteronomy 5:13-14, and Luke 13:14. This being a Scripturally established truth, it is then obvious that mankind today is living right at the end of 6,000 years of human history, or the sixth day in God’s Great Week.

The Scripture also explicitly states to God’s people, “And as we [true believers] have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly,” 1 Corinthians 15:49. This truth is set forth again in Philippians 3:20-21, “For our conversation [citizenship] is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.” And again in 1 John 3:2 the Scripture says, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.”

We are also told in the inspired Word that all true New Testament believers are “new creations” in Christ Jesus. See 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 6:15, Ephesians 2:8-10, 4:23-24, and Colossians 3:10.

Folks, in view of these Scriptures it is obvious that the last thing the Lord is going to do on this sixth day of human history is to resurrect “the dead in Christ,” and “change” the living in Christ into the very “image” of Christ, as He gives to every true believer a “glorified body” “fashioned like unto His glorious body,” Philippians 3:21. Indeed, “as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly,” 1 Corinthians 15:49. And it most certainly appears that our “change” will occur before this present 111th year is concluded on August 29, 2009. Glory to God! Hallelujah!



4. But on what possible “date” is this change going to come? For months now

some claiming to be God’s people [true believers] have been dogmatically setting one date after another with no real Scriptural proof of any of them. Date after date has come and gone, and some of these dogmatic “date setters” have then tried to justify their false date by “reinterpreting” Scripture. Sic!

Folks, I have no personal objection to speculating about the return of Christ, when we keep the speculation within Scriptural parameters. But silly guesses based on nothing more than opinions, theories, ideas, fantasies, feelings, dreams, visions, and perverted “interpretations” of Scripture are not proof of anything. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 is still in the Bible, and God’s people [true believers] are still obligated to obey it. Anyone attempting to set a date ought to have some genuine Scriptural basis for doing so, and then ought to present it as a possibility rather than being smug, arrogant, and dogmatic. 1 Peter 5:5-6 is still in the Bible too, and all true believers need to read it again, take it to heart, and never forget it.



A Biblical and historical truth is that the 69 weeks of years prophesied in Daniel 9:25-26 came to an end at sundown on the day the Lord Jesus Christ rode the donkey into Jerusalem and was proclaimed “King” by His disciples. See Luke 19:28-44. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself explicitly confirmed this date twice in verses 39-44. Notice the emphasis the Lord Himself placed on that particular day in verse 42 and verse 44. Our readers might also want to compare Zechariah 9:9. The question is then, what day was this?

The day Christ rode the donkey into Jerusalem was the 10th day of Abib [Nisan] on the Jewish calendar which God gave to Israel in Exodus 12. That exact day at sundown the 69 weeks prophesied in Daniel 9 came to an end. This truth can be verified by our readers for themselves by carefully calculating the date, using the exact formula given to Daniel in Daniel 9:25. The Lord Jesus Christ rode the donkey into Jerusalem on the 10th day of Abib. That date is Biblically established. Period!



NO! I do not believe for one minute that the 70th week of Daniel has already started. Such a claim is unadulterated “bunk.” The claim has no Scriptural proof whatsoever. Further, I do not believe that there is a difference between the 70th week of Daniel and the seven year Tribulation period. That is another “popular” false claim being circulated today that has no Scriptural proof whatsoever. Folks, wake up! If we claim to be God’s people [true believers], then we ought to be going by what God’s Word actually and literally says and teaches rather than by silly opinions, theories, guesses, fantasies, ideas, feelings, and “interpretations.” Sic! God have mercy!



Therefore, as a serious student of God’s Word who knows how precise Almighty God is in everything He does [as evidenced repeatedly throughout His Word], it appears entirely reasonable and logical to me that the Lord would begin the 70th week of Daniel [the seven year Tribulation] right where He left off the 69th week of Daniel before the intervening “dispensation of grace.” And what day would that be?

I’m so glad you asked! Since the 69 weeks of Daniel ended on the 10th day of Abib, then why wouldn’t the 70th week of Daniel begin on the 11th day of Abib? Hey! I’m asking! Give me a good Scriptural reason why the Lord should not begin again with Israel right where He left off with them 2,000 years ago? I’m waiting…..



Now what month on the Jewish calendar is the month of Abib? Abib is the first month of the year on the calendar that the Lord expressly gave to Israel to observe in Exodus 12:1-2. Sadly, the majority of the Jews never observed it, but kept right on using the same old “civil” calendar that was in use before the exodus from Egypt. Unbelieving Israel, being “stiffnecked and rebellious,” is still using that same old “civil” calendar to begin their year to this present day, even though the Lord Himself explicitly told them that they were to begin their year with the month of Abib in the SPRING of the year. God have mercy! Pray for the salvation of Israel.



Folks, if the Lord should [???] begin His special relationship with Israel on the day after He ended it some 2,000 years ago, to continue continuity, then what day would that actually be? Abib is the first month of the Jewish year, and Abib 11 is the 11th day of that month. So if we were to write this out in numerals, that particular day this SPRING would be…..



“111”



Glory to God! Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! Thank you Lord Jesus!



Is the Lord coming to resurrect and rapture His people to glory, and begin the seven year Tribulation, on this date? I do not know! But in view of the four areas of Scriptural significance that I have now presented about “111,” and since we are living in the 111th year since Theodor Herzl convened the first Jewish Congress, which was obviously a “work of God,” then I believe this particular date of “111” [Abib 11…April 5th…Palm Sunday…Coincidence??] is worthy of being carefully “watched” and considered as a possible date for the resurrection and rapture of God’s people to occur. Glory to God! Hallelujah!



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NOTICE: Permission is granted to any true believer or Bible believing Christian ministry to reproduce this study to share with others, or to quote from it in context as written.

This ministry is supported solely by the freewill offerings of those who feel led of the Lord to help us send forth God’s wonderful Word. All comments, questions, or correspondence should be addressed to: Pastor F. M. Riley, 3900 Clark Lane C-10, Columbia, Missouri 65202.

Our email address is: fmrglbd5@yahoo.com



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Beauty of Heaven and Earth

For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies;
For the love which from our birth,
Over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.






For the wonder of each hour,
Of the day and of the night;
Hill and vale and tree and flow'r,
Sun and moon, and stars of light;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of ear and eye,
For the heart and mind's delight;
For the mystic harmony,
Linking sense to sound and sight;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child;
Friends on Earth and friends above,
For all gentle thoughts and mild;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For Thy church that evermore,
Lifteth holy hands above;
Off'ring up on ev'ry shore,
Her pure sacrifice of love;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the martyrs' crown of light,
For Thy prophets' eagle eye,
For Thy bold confessors' might,
For the lips of infancy.
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For Thy virgins' robes of snow,
For Thy maiden mother mild,
For Thyself, with hearts aglow,
Jesu, Victim undefiled.
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For Thyself, best Gift Divine,
To the world so freely given,
For that great, great love of Thine,
Peace on earth and joy in heaven.
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.


Amen.

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Have Thine Own Way Lord

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way,
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me, after Thy will
While I am Yielded, yielded and still.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way,
Search me and try me, Master today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now.
As in Thy presence, Humbly I bow.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Wounded and weary, Help me I pray!
Power all power, Surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior devine!

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Hold o’er my being, Absolute sway!
Fill me with Thy Spirit, Til’ all shall see
Christ only, always, Living in me!


It is Christ living in us that is the real Dream Lifter. For with HIS power we can do far more than we ever could in our own power. Think about it. It might just change how you live.

Have a great day!

Urgent Prayer Request for Rifqa Bary

American Refugee
The eyes of the international Church have been focused on Rifqa Bary since July, when the brave 17-year-old fled her Columbus, Ohio home after converting from Islam to Christianity. This week, after an emotional trial, a Florida judge ruled that Bary must return home despite the threats made on her life by radical Muslim groups. John Stemberger, who many of you may know from his work with the Florida Family Policy Council, is serving as Rifqa's attorney. According to John, the concern is not so much that her family will harm her, but that the local mosque will. In her affidavit, Rifqa says the Noor Islamic Cultural Center, where the family is active, ordered her parents to "deal with the situation." (The same document describes her father's rage at Rifqa's conversion: "I will kill you!" he yells.)

In a memo to the Court, John describes the frightening link between the Center and Islamic extremists, terrorist leaders, the Muslim Brotherhood, and even an FBI terror investigation. "If I had stayed in Ohio," Rifqa said in an emotional interview, "I wouldn't be alive. In 150 generations in the family, no one has known Jesus. I am the first--imagine the honor in killing me."

Right now, there is little we can do but pray--and ask others to pray with us. If you can, circulate the story to your family, friends, and church. Ask God to surround Rifqa with ministers of comfort, peace, and protection. "I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust.' ... He will cover you with his feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge..." (Psalm 91:2 and 4)

Humble Thyself Before the Lord Thy God!

INDIVIDUAL DISCOURAGEMENT AND PERSONAL ENLARGEMENT



"Moses went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens." Exodus 2:11

Moses saw the oppression of his people and felt certain that he was the one to deliver them, and in the righteous indignation of his own spirit he started to right their wrongs. After the first strike for God and for the right, God allowed Moses to be driven into blank discouragement, He sent him into the desert to feed sheep for forty years. At the end of that time, God appeared and told Moses to go and bring forth His people, and Moses said - "Who am I, that I should go?" In the beginning Moses realized that he was the man to deliver the people, but he had to be trained and disciplined by God first. He was right in the individual aspect, but he was not the man for the work until he had learned communion with God.

We may have the vision of God and a very clear understanding of what God wants, and we start to do the thing, then comes something equivalent to the forty years in the wilderness, as if God had ignored the whole thing, and when we are thoroughly discouraged God comes back and revives the call, and we get the quaver in and say - "Oh, who am I?" We have to learn the first great stride of God - "I AM THAT I AM hath sent thee." We have to learn that our individual effort for God is an impertinence; our individuality is to be rendered incandescent by a personal relationship to God (see Matthew 3:17). We fix on the individual aspect of things; we have the vision - "This is what God wants me to do;" but we have not got into God's stride. If you are going through a time of discouragement, there is a big personal enlargement ahead.

~ Oswald Chambers - My Utmost For His Highest

"Humble yourself therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exault you in (His) due time." I Peter 5:6

Godlessness in the Last Days!

II Timothy 3:1-7

But mark this:

There will be terrible times in the last days. People wll be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure, rather than lovers of God, having a FORM of godliness, BUT denying it's power. HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM.

They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning, but never able to acknowledge the truth.

Psalm 4:1

A fool says in his heart, "There is no God."

Psalm 18:2

A fool finds no pleasure in understanding, but delights in airing his opinion.

Proverbs 14:9

Fools mock and make amends for sin.

I Corinthians 1:18

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, the intelligence of the intelligent I will destroy.

Galatians 6:7-9

Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Beloved, the "ancient" scriptures are as revelant today as they were when they were written. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise. As the scripture above says: ONLY A FOOL says in his heart there is no God."

The Heavens Declare The Glory Of God!!!

Wow! What a spectacular sunset this evening! At first I didn't think it was going to be very pretty as the clouds were a bit gray looking, but as the sun set more and more the color just splashed all over the heavens.

Isn't our God a wonderful artist?

As one friend told me her son, when he was a little guy, said in his most dramatic way..."And that....is....the color of.....GOD!" Boy did he get it right.

"And the glory, the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.

And all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it." (Isaiah 40:5)

In Honor Of Daddy's Birthday

Today would have been my Dad's 104th birthday. He was my hero and mentor and I so apprectiate all he was and did for me. I am my Daddy's little girl still in my heart. I loved him so much. He was such a wise man, full of integrity and honesty.

Daddy was a Master Maintainence Mechanic. He always made sure everyones car was running smoothly. He just had and "ear" for it and could tell just by listening to an engine if it needed fine tuning or not. He had the patience of Job and always had a sense of humor.

I owe who I am today to him and my Gram Crowe.

Thank you Lord Jesus for giving me my wonderful Daddy. He will always be special to me in my heart of hearts.

I just wish everyone could have had a Dad like I had, but I know many did (and do) not. But just know that God, our Heavenly Father is there for you even if your earthly Dad isn't.

Happy Birthday Daddy! I love you so much.

Your loving daughter, "Mungan".

Fremont Ave. N

I got the last one of the Fremont Ave. N street signs from the City of Seattle today. Fremont signs were popular so I was really happy that I was able to get one. Perserverance paid off as I had been trying since September 3rd to get one. I grew up on Fremont Ave. and have lots of memories there. I remember walking heel-to-toe, heel-to-toe all the way from home to the corner of 110th and then Dad came up the street from taking my sister and a neighbor girl to school. He turned around and opened the truck door and put his head down on the steering wheel and said "WHY can't you get to school on time? " I wasn't sure what he was going to do with me so I just stood there beside his truck waiting. This was the first time I had seen my Dad weep over me. (I hated school.) Anyway he told me to get in the truck and he would take me to school. He let me off in front of the school but I had to cross a very busy street as the school patrol had already gone in. I made it across ok. Went to my class and started to take my coat off to hang it up in the coat closet when my teacher Miss Teague made me go stand out in the hall for being late. I was in 2nd grade at the time. A girl walked past me in the hallway and said to me "Why don't you go on in?" and I said to her "Because I don't WANT to." ( I wasn't about to tell her that I couldn't as my pride was in the way.) Ah, such is the trials and tribulations of being a kid.

Playland was just up the street from us and we could hear the screams from the Roller Coaster a mile up the street. We could see the lights of the Roller Coaster too. When it was the Fourth of July we could watch the fireworks from there as well as the ones from Green Lake so we had quite a time watching in both directions. Now all these are just a memory.

I went from first grade through high school and until I was married in 1960 living there on Fremont Ave.

Ah, sweet memories are made of things like this. Some people would probably think I was crazy for wanting a street sign at my age, but nostalgia makes one a little bit crazy and it is a fun sort of "crazy"! Hope you enjoy some fun memories of your own and be a little bit "crazy" too!
Happy hunting!

Blazing Skies ~ Blazing Beauty

How beautiful is a firey sunset in the evening! God just paints such beautiful murals in the sky and leaves us in awe of His handiwork!

And then there are those who say "There is no God!" How can they deny Him? Oh, I know they come up with all their "educated" scientific ideas, but then they miss out on the HEART of the beauty ...the composition of the clouds that plays with the colors and gives us a breathtaking palette of beauty untouched by human hands. Think about it~ ponder it and then tell me there is no God! I'll never be convinced. He is the Master Painter of all!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

From this:




To this:

In just a day this beautiful "Livin' Easy" rosebud went from a bud to flower. It blossomed out to a gorgeous rose. This is like our lives at each new stage and how it blossoms out with beauty. First we are born as a tiny baby and our toddler years are full of new discoveries and then as we enter our teen years we blossom out some more in new directions and ways. We enter our young adult life with much expection and anticipation: college, marriage, travel, career, and family. Then as the family grows and leave we enter into another stage of our life and then the grandchildren come and each one is different as well. Think of the beauty of FAMILY like these beautiful Vigerosa roses to the right. They bloom where they are planted and bring beauty to the world around them.

Are you bringing beauty to your "world" or are you more like a weed patch that just causes no end of trouble in the Garden of Life?

"Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop is useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned." Heb. 6:7-8

Which reflects you and your life today?

The Proposal - author unknown

When a company falls on difficult times, one of the things that seems to happen is they reduce their staff and workers. The remaining workers must find ways to continue to do a good job or risk that their job would be elimated as well.

Wall Street, and the media normally congratulate the CEO for making this type of "tough decision", and his board of directiors gives him a big bonus.

Our government should not be immune from similar risks.

Therefore:

Reduce the House of Representatives from the current 435 members to 218 members.

Reduce Senate members from 100 to 50 (one per state). Then, reduce their staff by 25%.

Accomplish this over the next 8 years (two steps/two elections) and of course this would require some redistricting.

Some Yearly Monetary Gains Include:

$44,108,400 for elimations of base pay for congress (267 members x $165,200 pay/member/yr.)

$97,175,000 for elimination of their staff, (estimate $1.3 Million in staff per each member of the House, and $3 Million in staff per each member of the Senate every year.)

$240,294 for the reduction in remaining staff by 25%.

$7,500,000,000 reduction in pork barrel ear-marks each year. (those members whose jobs are gone. Current estimates for total government pork earmarks are of $15 Billion/yr).

The remaining representatives would need to work smarter and improve efficiencies. It might even be in their best interests to work together for the good of our country!

We may also expect that smaller committees might lead to a more efficient resolution of issues as well. It might even be easier to keep track of what your representative is doing.

Congress has more tools available to do their jobs than it had back in 1911 when the current number of repsentatives was established. (telephone, computers, cell phones to name a few).

Note:

Congress did not hesitate to head home when it was a holiday, when the nation needed a real fix to the economic problems. Also, we had 3 senators that were not doing their jobs for the 18 + months (on the campaign trail) and still they all have accepted full pay. These facts alone support a reduction in senators & congress.

Summery of opportunity:
$44,108,400 reduction of congress members.
$282,100,000 for elimination of the reduced house member staff.
$180,000,000 for elimination of reduced senate member staff.
$59,675,000 for 25% reduction of staff for remaining house members.
$37,500,000 for 25% reduction of staff for remaining senate members.
$7,500,000,000 reduction in pork added to bills by the reduction of congress members.
$8,073,383,400 per year, estimaed total savings (that's 8-BILLION just to start!)

Big business does these types of cuts all the time

If Congresspersons were required to serve 20, 25 or 30 years (like everyone else) in order to collect retirement benefits, tax payers could save a bundle.

Now they get full retirement after seriving only ONE term.

If you are happy with how Congress spends our taxes you can ignore this message. Otherwise I assume you know what to do.

What To Do With Those Big Ripe Juicy Tomatoes...

Here are some great recipes for those nice big juicy homegrown tomatoes you don't know what to do with.
Compliments of the Seattle Times

Baslamic Roasted Tomato Sauce

(Use the best vine ripened tomatoes you can find)

2 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, cored
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup baslamic vinegar
1/2 cup sliced shallots
6 large garlic cloves, sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Corsely ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Toss to mix well. Transfer to a roasting pan. Roast 1 hour, until tomatoes are blackened.
3. Transfer to a food processor. Process until well blended. Makes about 5 cups.

Per (2/3 cup) serving: 260 calories, 24g fat, 0mg chol., 1g prot., 9g carbs., 1g fiber, 300mg sodium.


Liz's Simple No-Bake Tomato Sauce

Toss vine-ripe tomatoes with garlic, basil and olive oil, let them sit, and they get juicier and juicier. Toss with pasta, spoon over chicken or beef, or simply eat with a spoon.

6 large tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Coarsely ground black pepper

1. Chop tomatoes and place in a bowl.
Add garlic, olive oil, basil, salt and pepper. Toss gently. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature 2 to 4 hours. Serves 6.

Recipe by Liz Shenk,
Relish Recipe Tester

Per serving: 100 calories, 7g fat, 0mg chol., 2g prot., 8g carbs., 2g fiber, 90mg sodium.


Roasted Tomatoes

Roasting concentrates tomatoes' natural sugars and flavors and gives them a buttery rich texture. Toss in pasta, top pizza or bruschetta, or serve alongside chicken or beef.

Preheat oven to 400F. Slice and core tomatoes. Place on parchment lined baking sheet. Ddrizzle with olive oil; sprinkle with kosher salt, pepper and sliced garlic. Bake 30 to 60 minutes, until juises have evaporated. Store in a plastic zip-top bag in refrigerator or freezer. You can also slow roast tomatoes in a 250F oven 3 to 4 hours.

Temptation! Apple Pie Recipe

Ever been tempted?

Looking at a neighbors apple tree with the fruit hanging over the fence...it all looks so tempting!

Can't help wondering what that neighbor plans to do with his abundant crop of apples. Think of all those apple pies, tarts and goodies....

Well in the meantime here is a nice Apple Pie recipe...just in case you get a bunch of those delicious apples from somewhere...

Carmel Apple Pie

(If apples are sliced thicker than suggested they won't be done in the baking time allotted, reminds Carolyn Imig, award winning pie baker at Wayne's Family Restaurant in Ocanto, Wisconsin. She adds that this pie is "great warm or cold. with whipped cream, ice cream or on it's own." Prep time: 40 minutes. Bake 1 hour, 25 minutes. Cool 2 hours.

(Pastry for single crust pie, such as Helen's recipe is below.)

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 1/4 pounds apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch slices (about 6 cups)

1/2 to 3/4 dulce de leche ice cream topping or caramel ice cream topping, slightly warmed

1/2 cup coarsely walnuts or pecans, toasted

Whipped cream or ice cream (optional)

1. Prepare and roll out pastry. Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry. Trim overhanging edge to even 1 inch all the way around. Tuck the crust under and flute the edge. Do not prick pastry. Line pastry with a double thickness of foil; add pie weights, if you like. Bake in a 400* oven for 15 minutes to partly bake pastry shell. Remove foil and pie weights. Reduce oven temperature to 375*.

2. For crumb topping: In a medium bowl stir together flour and 2/3 cup sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in cold butter until mixture resembles course crumbs. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar and cinnamon. Add apple slices. Gently toss until coated. Transfer apple mixture to partially baked pastry shell. Press fruit gently with your hands to provide a relatively flat, mounded surface on which to add the crumb topping. Sprinkle crumb over the apple mixture. To prevent overbrowning, loosely cover pie with foil.

4. Place pie plate on middle shelf in oven; place foil-lined baking sheet on lower rack beneath the pie. Bake in 375* oven 30 minutes. Remove foil. Bake 40 to 50 minutes more or until fruit is tender, filling is bubbly and crumb topping is golden brown. Cool on wire rack at least 2 hours before serving.

5. To serve, drizzle warm ice cream topping and sprinkle with nuts. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if you like. Makes 8 servings.

Note: To replace the dulce de leche ice cream topping, in a small saucepan, heat and stir 3/4 cup vanilla caramels and 1 tablespoon of half-and-half or light cream over low heat until melted and smooth.

Nutritional facts per serving: 710 calories, 27 g fat, 60 mg chol, 412 mg sodium, 114 g carbo, 3 g fiber, 8 g pro.

Pastry for single crust pie:

Helen's Single-crust Pie Pastry

(Helen Fletcher, owner of the St. Louis specialty bakery Truffes, shares her no-fail pie crust. The generous amount makes it easy to roll out.

Start to finish: 15 minutes.

1 3/4 cups cake flour or all-purpose flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces

3 tablespoons shortening

5 tablespoons cold water

2 tablespoons lightly beaten egg or 1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar

1. In a medium, combine flours and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter and shortening until pieces are pea-size.

2. In a small bowl, mix 4 tablespoons of the water, the egg, and lemon juice. Using large fork, toss flour and egg mixtures together. If any parts are dry, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of water, gently toss to moisten (should be a mass of very large crumbs).

3. Turn crumb mixture out onto lightly floured surface. Using your fingers, gently form a ball. With a bit of flour, knead 4 or 5 times to form a ball. Flatten into a disc about 1 inch thick. If necessary, wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours or until easy to handle.

4. On a slightly floured surface, roll pastry from center to edges into a circle 12 inches in diameter. To transfer pastery, wrap it around rolling pin. Unroll pastry into a 9-inch pie plate without stretching it. Gently fit into dish.

5. Trim the overhang edge to an even 1 inch all the way around. Tuck the crust under and flute the edge. Bake as directed in indiviule recipes. Makes 1 pie crust.

Recipes from September issue of Midwest Magazine.

Avalanche City! Need to Come Clean....

OH NO!!! AVALANCHE!!!
What a mess! What now???

Of course you have NEVER experienced such a problem in your life have you? Just kidding! Of course you have.

I was just putting something on top of the pile on the coffee table when all of a sudden everything started to slide...pictures and notebooks and...
I had no choice but to clean up the mess. All those projects that I had been working on needed to be sorted out and put to some sort of order again. Not to mention pieces of junk that somehow found it's way between all that mountain of projects.

Sometimes we find ourselves having an "avalanche" spiritually, mentally or emotionally and we just need to take some time to clean up the mess that has accumulated in our lives.

We get so busy that we just keep piling things up until "WHAMO!" it just GOES and then we find ourselves forced to face reality. If this is where you find yourself in your "world" maybe Maxine's words of encouragement is for you too. I know it sure was a great reminder for me!

Maxine sure knows what she's talking about.

Got Coffee Jitters? Try Ours~~~

Maybe your coffee has you craving more because you have the jitters! Or you can't get your day started without getting your cup of joe first! Well whether it is some well known brand or just any ol' coffee will do sort of thing...that is coffee 1.0.

Now there is coffee 2.0 instead and not only do you get more energy, feel better longer and not get the jitters or highs and lows anymore you also would be more healthy in the process. Would that sound good to you?

Try our Gano Excell coffee. Check it out at https://www.myganocafe.com/selfstarters and contact us for a sample. You will be glad you did. I know we were pleasantly surprised ourselves. (There is tea, hot chocolate, mocha, and oatmeal too.)

Have a great day!

Catching Wild Pigs!

A chemistry professor in a large college had some exchange students in the class. One day while the class was in the lab the Professor noticed one young man (an exchange student) who kept rubbing his back, and stretching as if his back hurt.

The Professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country's government and install a new communist government.

In the midst of his story he looked at the professor and asked him a strange question. He asked, "Do you know how to catch wild pigs?"

The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The young man said this was no joke. 'You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come everyday to eat the free corn. When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side. The pigs, who are used to eating the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat, you slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd.

Suddenly the pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they forget how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept captivity.

The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening to America. The government keeps pushing us toward socialism and keeps spreading the free corn in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for earned unearned income, tobacco subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, etc.. While we continually lose our freedoms....just a little at a time.

One should always remember: There is no such a thing as a free lunch! Also, a politician will never provide a service for you cheaper than you can do it for yourself.

Also, if you see that all of this wonderful government 'help' is a problem confronting the future of democracy in America, you might want to pass this along to your friends. If you think the free ride is essential to your way of life you will probably want to ignore this, but God help you when the gate slams shut!

Keep your eyes on the newly elected politicians who are about the slam the gate shut on America!

"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have." ~ Thomas Jefferson

Author Unknown

Bouquet of Roses!

Here is a lovely bouquet of roses, all on one branch! How can one bush produce so many blossoms all in one place at once is beyond me, but it makes me smile as I ponder their togetherness!

Our lives are like this too, if we think about it. Together we can make a beautiful "bouquet".

Here is our family, minus a couple of special people who were unable to be with us for this occasion. Together we make up a fun loving, tangly, goofy, and sometimes thorny bunch! But we all belong together and are but one branch. With the in-laws there are other branches that bloom in other ways and they complement our branch with their colorful personalities. Just as there are thorns that come with the roses, there is the beauty that blossoms out from each one of us in our own unique ways. God created us all to be part of His branch.

Jesus said: I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. - John 15:5

Thank you Lord for the beauty of these roses and for reminding me of the beauty of the family that surrounds me. Without them I am nothing. We support and depend on one another in the good times and the bad. But our ultimate source is in You! In Jesus precious name, Amen!

Family Get Together On Whidbey Island!

Yesterday, our whole family enjoyed a day at Sandy Hook on Whidbey Island. The weather was perfect, nice and sunny and warm. We even had extra guests, Brian's three friends, Joseph, Andrew and Jonathan and Kevin's friend Jake and Linda's friend, John. Almost sounds like we had the apostles with us doesn't it?

We celebrated everybody's birthday and anniversary with, cupcakes almost too pretty to eat!

Here is Kevin with niece, Sarah. They are in matching color pink! And get a load of those really cute pink boots she has on.

We enjoyed the scenery and the picnic area. The kids enjoyed the play area out beyond the picnic tables. We hope to do an annual family get together in the summer instead of getting everyone together over the winter holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Here at Sandy Hook we could Bar-B-Q, swim, beachcomb, go boating, kids have a nice play area, and there is a basketball court nearby as well as other activities. The cabana is a nice place to serve the meals from or just to get in out of the hot sunshine. It is also a nice place to view the sunsets from as well.

Last evening there was a gorgeous sunset though we left before the really crimson and spectacular part.
This was the best I could do before we left as far as the sunset is concerned. It got much redder than this. God just paints such beauty into the sky for us to enjoy. Wow! What a beautiful end to a beautiful day with our fun family. Thank you Lord Jesus for all your blessings you have bestowed on us this day.

MY HAPPY PLACE !!!

Roberts Creek, B.C., Canada

Roberts Creek has always been my "Happy Place". My grandparents had a small cottage there near the beach and this is "our" beach! We would spend our two weeks vacation there with Gram and Grampop every summer from when I was about 9 years old until a couple of years after I graduated from high school. They sold the place and moved to Haney, B.C. when Gram's sister was widowed and became ill. But the memories of this place and of my two cousins, Pene and Poppe and aunt and uncle and all the many friends we made up there are forever imbedded in my mind.

Typical of the rocks found on the beach!

The beach is very rocky, but we made a lot of use of the sandbar when the tide was out.


Here I am sitting on one of the big rocks out front of Gram and Grampop's place looking north. You can tell by the look on my face that this IS indeed my special "Happy Place" on earth.

Just a little to the left of me in this picture is Gull Island seen in the picture to the left. It is, I was told, where the Sea Gulls have their young. The only way to get up to Roberts Creek is by boat. But that is all I will say about it. Already too many people have discovered it and it is not the private beach it once was when we used to go there.

And here is a sample of some of the rocks on this beach. Great for beachcombers. But I never found any agates on this beach.

I used to stand on the big rocks and sing to the waves and just praise the Lord for this beautiful place. Many inspired writings were borne out of this place...what I call Heaven on Earth!

Thank you Jesus for giving me this place to remember! Amen!