THE SAFEST SHELTER

 

THE SAFEST SHELTER Behold, a King will reign in righteousness; He will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will give attention. Isaiah 32:1-3 We all know who this Man is. Who else could He be but the Lord from Heaven, the Man of sorrows, the Son of Man? What a hiding place He has been for His people! He takes on the full force of the storm and shelters those who hide in Him. We have escaped God’s wrath through Him, and we will also escape the anger of people, the troubles of this life, and the fear of death. Why do we stand in the wind when we can easily and securely take refuge behind our Lord? Let us run to Him today and be at peace. Often, the ordinary winds of trouble increase in strength and become raging storms, sweeping everything away. Things that seemed firm and secure are shaken, and many of our worldly confidences fall. But our Lord Jesus, the glorious Man, is a shelter that will never be blown down. In Him, we see the storm passing by, but we ourselves rest in perfect peace. Today, let’s hide ourselves in our shelter and rest in the safety He provides. Blessed Jesus! Blessed Jesus! How we love You! And rightly so, for You are our shelter in the time of storm. By Charles H. Spurgeon

THE BIBLE's VISUAL ARC

 

THE BIBLE's VISUAL ARC  A few years back Lutheran pastor Christoph Römhild wondered if an infographic could capture cross-references like these for the purpose of visualizing the tapestry of Scripture. He contacted Chris Harrison, and together they created this Tapestry of Scripture: This striking graphic by Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild visualizes 63,779 cross-references in the Bible. The black and white vertical bars along the bottom represent every chapter of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation, with Psalm 119 visible as the longer spike near the center. The colorful arches spanning above connect chapters that reference one another, with the color of each arc indicating the distance between the two referenced passages. The result is this Visual Arc, which represents all the cross-references in the Bible: an extraordinary 63,779 links connecting its 66 books into one seamless story. Written over an incredible 1,500 years by around 40 different authors from completely different geographic locations... and yet the Bible's intricate themes and prophecies align with stunning accuracy. For example, the Old Testament contains over 300 prophecies about the Messiah, all fulfilled centuries later in the New Testament through the life of Jesus Christ. Scholars agree-there is nothing else like it. No other book in history comes close to its harmony, consistency, or global impact. Which is why the BIBLE is the best-selling book of all time.

COFFEE THOUGHTS

 

COFFEE THOUGHTS Gerald D Hochstetler Jr. Coffee Time!! True story. This is NOT AI “feel good” content. She grew up in the deep south. She was tied to trees, abused by her own father, raped, lived in a drug infested environment. One day she snapped. She killed her earthly father, and another family member. Now she was down to her final 30 minutes before she went to the death chamber. Somewhere in the long process of getting there her heavenly Father became precious to her. She was ready, she was prepared, except for one thing. She asked her guard who knew her very well if she could PLEASE get her some red lipstick. She wanted to be beautiful to meet her heavenly Father. The guard snuck her in some lipstick and helped beautify her, and then it was time. When the door was opened to the chamber they gave her a moment. She breathed deeply, she looked at her prison guard, the one she had come to know so well. “Am I beautiful?” She asked. “Yes, you are beautiful” the guard replied. All the staff in charge of the execution looked at each other confused. They didn’t get it. And then she slowly shuffled in, a loud clang, and the doors shut. The law did what the law does. I had to think of the time Jesus looked at those around Him who considered themselves well versed in scripture, considered themselves as good and decent people and spoke these words. “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.” I’m not sure how it works up there in the heavenlies, but I can imagine when God hands out crowns and rewards there will be some big surprises. I believe individuals such as this will be highly exalted. Not because they deserved it, but because they knew they didn’t deserve it. And for this reason, the heavenly Father is exceedingly precious to these people. Gerald D Hochstetler Jr. #coffeethoughts on Facebook Used with Permission

9/11 25th ANNIVERSARY MEMORIAL

 

AL BRACA'S PRAYER MEETING Al Braca was a 54-year-old bond broker and vice president at Cantor Fitzgerald who led his trapped colleagues in prayer on the 104th floor of the North Tower during the September 11 terrorist attacks. He worked at Cantor Fitzgerald inside the World Trade Center for 16 years. Al Braca was openly Christian in a high-stress, ego-driven environment, earning him the gentle nickname "The Rev". As the North Tower burned on September 11, phones failed, and the floor was too hot to stand on. Escape was impossible, so Al climbed onto a desk to be seen by roughly 50 coworkers. He gathered them into a circle and led them in prayer and faith during their final moments. Al told them, "I'm going to see Jesus today! Who's coming with me?" Every single person from Cantor Fitzgerald in the North Tower that morning lost their life. But in the following weeks, the Bracas family members received multiple phone calls from spouses of Al’s coworkers who confirmed that "The Rev" spent his last moments comforting others and leading them in prayer.   All these years I have not published photos of the destruction on 9/11, out of respect. But now, 25 years later, it seems that younger generations do not understand the horror of that day, or why the 9/11 memorials are sacred ground. Innocent civilian lives were lost because of misguided terrorist hatred.  We must never forget what happened here, not for the sake of revenge; but to honor the victims and learn what happens when people devote themselves to hate. America needs to learn this lesson.