Review: The Daniel Fast by Susan Gregory

Posted on by
Reply

As a fellow blogger, I appreciate Ms. Gregory’s approach to writing.  She is the author for The Daniel Fast blog which contains many tips and recipes for conducting a Daniel fast.  The first chapter of the book is devoted towards getting to know who she (the author) is.  She describes her motivation for writing the book, and her relationship with Jesus Christ.

Chapter two introduces the concept of fasting. It highlights pericopes of scripture which describe fasting and lists three types of fasting as follows:

  1. Absolute fast- no food or drink
  2. Normal fast- only water is consumed
  3. Partial fast- where only certain foods and drink are consumed

Fasting is for a purpose.  Not simply as a diet fad, but rather as a way to mold yourself and draw closer to God.  Fasting does nothing to change God.  It is all a discipline to help us get our flesh under control and focus more keenly on the Spirit of God and drawing closer to Jesus.

Chapter three goes into the life of Daniel and the choices he had to make while living in captivity.  He could have chose the easy route but instead decided to stay focused on serving the God he knew to be true!  The next chapter follows with how a Daniel fast will affect change in our spirit, body and soul.  The next is a detailed listing of 5 steps to success!  This concluded the first pat of the book.

The second part of the book includes a food list of recommended foods to purchase while doing the Daniel Fast.  It also contains 115 pages of recipes with the last portion of the book devoted to a meal planner and frequently asked questions.

The recipe and food list take up the majority of the book and what I found to be the most useful portion of the book.  The book is paperback and constructed of typical quality paper.  If you are planning on using the book extensively in the kitchen, I’d recommend either laminating the pages or making a photocopy of the recipe and using that (be sure to shred afterwards to avoid copyright lawsuits)!

Anyway, my review gives it a thumbs up for background info on the Daniel fast and for the recipes.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Tonga

Posted on by
Reply

Tonight we had a missionary to Tonga in our services.  Sis. Reece shared her burden for the Kingdom of Tonga and Vanuatu both of which are islands in the South Pacific.

Here is an interesting fact about Tonga:

According to the constitution of Tonga, The Sabbath Day shall be kept holy in Tonga and no person shall practise his trade or profession or conduct any commercial undertaking on the Sabbath Day except according to law; and any agreement made or witnessed on that day shall be null and void and of no legal effect. (Substituted by Act 3 of 1971.)

Here are some statistics collected by the U.S. Department of State on Tonga:

Geography
Area: 747 sq. km. (288 sq. mi.).
Cities: Capital–Nuku’alofa (pop. 34,000).
Terrain: 171 islands, mainly raised coral but some volcanic; 48 inhabited.
Climate: Tropical, modified by trade winds. Warm season (December to May), cool season (May to December).

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective–Tongan(s).
Population (2011 est.): 105,916.
Age structure (2011 est.): 37% below 15; 6% over 64.
Annual population growth rate (2011): 0.24%.
Ethnic groups: Tongan 98%, other Polynesian, European.
Religions: Christian.
Languages: Tongan, English.
Education: Literacy (2007)–99.2%.
Health: Infant mortality rate (2011)–13.65/1,000. Life expectancy at birth (2011 est.)–75.16 years (female 76.58 years; male 73.79 years).
Work force (2006): 35,670. Agriculture–65%.
Unemployment (2006): 1.1%.

Interesting sites include Ha’amonga.  Known as the Stonehenge of the South Pacific, the mysterious Ha’amonga was erected in 1200AD. It consists of two upright coral stones about 5m high, topped by a horizontal connecting stone 6m long. Each stone weighs some 40 tonnes. The monument is now part of a 23ha protected reserve.

The United Pentecostal Church has two missionaries to the island nation of Tonga, Sis. Reece and missionary couple Bro. and Sis. Blunt.  Please help by praying for the nation of Tonga, or become an AIM supporter.

Oneness in Malachi

Posted on by
Reply

I will be taking up the pen again (or keyboard) and start discussing articles on Oneness again in the Oneness in … series.  Today’s book of the bible is Malachi.

Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?MAL 2:10

The Prophet Malachi tells the Priests that we all have one (echad) father (אָב) and one (echad) God (אֵל).  Both verbs are used in the singular form giving context to the word echad.  Thus we have only one God according to Malachi.
The Prophet Malachi whose name means “my messenger” or “angel” lived approximately 400 years before the Birth of Christ during the time of the return of the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity. Malachi was the last of the Old Testament prophets, therefore the Post Apostolic Fathers refer to him as “the seal of the prophets.”
The Coffman Commentaries of the Old Testament has this to say of the selected pericope of scripture:
God had emphatically warned Israel against mixed marriages with pagans (Exo. 34:16; Deut. 7:3; and Josh. 22:12,13). Through intermarriages with the heathen they profaned that covenant. Ezra had done his best to eradicate the evil (Ezra 9:10); and, “Nehemiah, too, contended against those who had contracted such marriages,” having found many such violations of God’s law upon his return to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 13:23-28). The important consideration in this desire on God’s part that Israel should not marry foreign wives was that doing so injected an element of paganism into Israel, an injection which had actually been the source of the total apostasy of both the secular kingdoms of Israel before the exile.
The emphasis is mine.  Here we see that the context which contains the verse in question is dealing with the sin of Israel after having just returned from exile.  They have almost immediately profaned their covenant with God by marrying women who were not Jewish.  This is why Malachi states “Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us?”  He is saying they all have one God who is the father of the Jewish nation.  There is no plurality in the context.  The only God that the priests (and Malachi) know is the one true and living God, YHWH.  The concept of a trinity would not come about for another 600 or so years when Tertullian et.al. would impose their views of a pagan concept of God onto in his words “The simple” as seen in chapter three of Agains Praxeas quoted below.

The simple, indeed, (I will not call them unwise and unlearned,) who always constitute the majority of believers, are startled at the dispensation (of the Three in One), on the ground that their very rule of faith withdraws them from the world’s plurality of gods to the one only true God; not understanding that, although He is the one only God, He must yet be believed in with His own οἰκονομία . The numerical order and distribution of the Trinity they assume to be a division of the Unity; whereas the Unity which derives the Trinity out of its own self is so far from being destroyed, that it is actually supported by it. They are constantly throwing out against us that we are preachers of two gods and three gods, while they take to themselves pre-eminently the credit of being worshippers of the One God; just as if the Unity itself with irrational deductions did not produce heresy, and theTrinity rationally considered constitute the truth.

Tertullian himself admits that the majority of believers in his day were believers in a Unity or oneness view of God as opposed to Tertullian’s view of the trinity.  He even goes so far as to say that the majority of believers threw accusations against him of being a preacher of two or three gods by preaching his doctrine of trinity.

Malachi as well throws accusations against the unrepentant Israel by stating a fact of God’s inherent quality of being one, not divided into a multiplicity of gods or persons.

Review: Jesus Calling Devotional Bible

Posted on by
Reply

This is a review of Jesus Calling Devotional Bible, Enjoying Peace in His Presence in the New King James Version by Sarah Young.

Sarah Young is a missionary with her husband Steve to a Japanese congregation in Perth Australia.  She was born and raised in Nashville, TN.  She holds multiple degrees in counseling and psychology.  She is a church planter with Mission to the World, a Presbyterian evangelistic initiative.

First, let me say that I really enjoy the New King James Version of the bible.  It is a solid reworking of the KJV or Authorized Version of the bible and has one of the best available Greek New Testaments to back it up.  Of the plethora of available new translations on the market, I would still prefer the KJV, but I would get the NKJV if forced to use a modern translation for whatever purpose.  It reads well, is faithful to the majority type set, and is a literal translation rather than a Dynamic Equivalence translation which I’ve never really been a fan of.

I was given the electronic version to read, using my Kindle App on my iphone, but according to the publisher (Thomas Nelson) the following features are available in the print version:

  • 260 scenarios with devotions by Sarah Young
  • Hundreds of inspiring scriptures highlighted throughout the text
  • New King James Version® (NKJV) in paragraph format
  • Index to devotions
  • Two-color text
  • Presentation page
  • Ribbon marker
 The devotions are fairly unique.  The way they are set up is as prayers or conversations people are having with God, telling Jesus of their pain or needs.  Then Mrs. Young answers them with scriptures as if speaking for God from His Word.  It is fairly unique, and a pretty nice style to read and relate to in the devotions.  As with any study or devotional bible, or really with any NKJV, there are paragraph headings which summarize a portion of the Scripture you are about to read, marked in bold font on the electronic version I am reading.  This gives you an easy way to figure out what is going on in the selected pericope you are studying.  Here is a selection of the devotion format:

Lord, I need You in a big way today. I’m exhausted from stress and the sleeplessness of worry. Completely worn out. I have no energy for facing another day, especially if today will be anything like the ones before it. My coworkers are coming down hard on me for not keeping up the pace. My family seems constantly disappointed—like I’m not living up to their expectations. Even my friends are keeping their distance right now. No matter where I turn, I just don’t seem to be able to be enough, do enough, give enough to make everybody happy. To be honest, I can’t really blame anybody if they are unhappy with me. I’m disappointed in myself! I feel so weak and out of control that I can’t help but think You must be disappointed with me too.  I need Your touch, Lord. Your perspective. Your encouragement and comfort. Please strengthen me for what lies ahead.

—Tracy

His Faithfulness ACCEPT EACH DAY EXACTLY AS IT COMES TO YOU. By that, I mean not only the circumstances of your day but also the condition of your body. Your assignment is to trust Me absolutely, resting in My sovereignty and faithfulness. On some days, your circumstances and your physical condition feel out of balance: The demands on you seem far greater than your strength. Days like that present a choice between two alternatives—giving up or relying on Me. Even if you wrongly choose the first alternative, I will not reject you. You can turn to Me at any point, and I will help you crawl out of the mire of discouragement. I will infuse My strength into you moment by moment, giving you all that you need for this day. Trust Me, by relying on My empowering Presence. See also Psalm 42:5; 2 Corinthians 13:4; Jeremiah 31:25 (From Jesus Calling by Sarah Young) FOR MORE ON THIS TOPIC, SEE PAGE 1023.

Thomas Nelson, Inc.. Jesus Calling Devotional Bible (Kindle Locations 1803-1827). Thomas Nelson, Inc.

As you can see from the selected devotional from Genesis chapter two, it offers encouragement and hope, which is typical of most devotionals I’ve come across.  All in all, it is not a bad devotional for encouragement through God’s Word.

I have received this Kindle Edition of Jesus Calling Devotional Bible for free in return for my review of said devotional from Thomas Nelson via www.booksneeze.com.  I was not required to write either a positive or negative review, and this review reflects my opinion of the book.

Flaming Sword of Eden

Posted on by
Reply

The flaming sword at the east of the garden of Eden has intrigued men for centuries.  What was it?  Where is it now?  Here is the scripture quotation describing it:

[Gen 3:24 KJV] “So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”

There is very little information regarding this sword on the internet.  The Hebrew reads חֶרֶב לַהַט or lahat chereb for flaming sword as translated into English by the KJV.  The translation of lahat according to Brown-Driver-Briggs is flame, devour, or magic as in hidden.  The flaming sword is not visible to our eyes.

Where did the sword go?  It is still in the hands of one of Gabriel’s angels.  Gabriel is the leading angel in the rank known as Cherubim according to Rabbi, Torah scholar, and Jewish philosopher Moshe ben Maimon, (also known as Maimonides) who wrote the order of hierarchy in his book “Mishneh Torah”.  According to this source, Cherubim were known for helping people deal with the effects of sin in this world.  God’s Cherubim or angels guard the path to the tree of life according to the account in Genesis.

Jesus will open the path to the tree of life in the last days, allowing us to pass into the New Jerusalem as long as we remain faithful and true to the Truth found only in following Christ.

[Rev 22:14 KJV] “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”

Some Jewish rabbis correlate the natural birth experience with the ejection from the Garden of Eden.  The knowledge of eternal life being guarded by Angelic beings, or Spiritual enlightenment.

What I see is that we have been denied knowledge of the eternality of the soul unless we believe completely in Jesus Christ.  As we bind our spirit with His Spirit, we are made alive again in the Spirit world by having God “quicken” our Spirit, or rather breathe life into these dry bones again and raise us spiritually from the dead.  This is what we find in Revelation.

The leaves of the Tree of Life give healing again, and according to Rev 22:14 quoted above, that same tree is accessible at the end of this age by following “his commandments” which mean the commandments Jesus (aka God) gives us in His Word.

The tree is still there, the angels are still there, and the spiritual sword still guards that path whom we know as the Word.  The Word is the sword of the Spirit that divides asunder.

[Heb 4:12 KJV] “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

 

e-Sword on a Mac update

Posted on by
Reply

Just thought I’d throw together this quick post letting everyone know that I’ve updated (upgraded) my Mac OSX to Lion (10.7) and e-Sword still runs, so I’m assuming my instructions for installing e-Sword on a Mac are valid for Lion as well as Snow Leopard.  The only reason I upgraded to Snow Leopard was to try our Biblereader from Olivetree on Lion.  I was not disappointed.  Olivetree has tossed together a very fine App. Kudos guys and gals at Olivetree!

Review: Olivetree Biblereader for Mac

Posted on by
Reply

Olivetree Biblereader for Mac version 5.0.2 is available on Apple’s App Store.  The system requirements are as follows:

Mac OS X 10.7 or later, 64-bit processor

First, let me say that I absolutely love the iPhone version of the Biblereader+ and have been using Biblereader+ starting with PalmOS, migrating over to Windows Mobile 2003, and the eventually moving to the iPhone.  The reader has always been solid on mobile platforms, and some would argue that they are the leader in mobile Bible viewers.  So needless to say I was very excited to learn that they had finally gone over to making a Bible reader for a Desktop / Laptop operating system.  I was also slightly disappointed to learn it was only available for Lion!  Fortunately for Apple, I just had to try it out for myself, so I’ve upgraded to Lion last night for the sole purpose of getting Olivetree’s Biblereader for Mac.  It is easy to install, just go to the Mac Store and download / install Biblereader.  My initial reactions are very positive.  Accordance Bible could learn a thing or two about interface design from Olivetree.

The left hand side of the screen is taken up by a quick access list which displays recently viewed Bibles, or all Bibles depending on the configuration you’ve set up.  The bibles can be downloaded to your App with the built in downloader.  If you’ve been a user of the free mobile Biblereader then the interface of the Mac edition will come naturally to you as the design seems to have been imported from the iPhone version of their App.  For instance, on the left is a screenshot of the famous verse chooser that they’ve been using for quite some time on the iPhone (and I assume the droid as well).  In three clicks you’re taken to the exact verse you want to read in whatever Bible you happen to have open at the time.  This is the easiest bible browser I’ve come accross on the mobile platform and is infanately more useable than flipping through a long list in sequential order.   By clicking on a verse number it allows you to enter a comment on that verse which you may then sync with Olivetree’s cloud service to allow syncing between your laptop and mobile phone device.

By highlighting a portion of text, you will see a plus sign pop up.  Click on that plus sign to open up the menu shown on the right which allows you to enter a note on that portion of selected text, highlight that text in a color or bookmark that text.  The whole look and feel of it seems polished.  By clicking the little arrow icon as shown on the left, you will expand the currently selected window into it’s own window.  Also, to add bookmarks is a simple as clicking the ribbon in the top left hand corner of the bible or book you are in.  See the picture on the right for a screenshot of what the ribbon looks like.  Olivetree should be commended on the work they have accomplished with BibleReader Mac.  Now the one place they don’t excel is in speed of searching.  Now with Accordance (My choice for gold standard in search speed) searching is near instantaneous.  So quick it is impossible to time with a stop watch, however with Biblereader there is a definite lag.  You can literally count one thousand one… one thousand two before the hits appear.  Now as to how they are displayed, it is easy to tell that they are porting this over from iOS devices.  The search results pane are very similar to what you’d expect to see on a mobile phone App.  The other interesting thing about it is all the books you’ve purchased for the mobile reader can be downloaded for free on the Mac version.  Olivetree also has some competitive pricing on their texts.  A lot more competitive than Accordance which seems to want to break the bank even when buying public domain texts!  All-in-all I’d give this App solid marks in just about every category.