Seek the living among the living
“The big topic no one’s talking about: 👉Who are the most vulnerable to the social and economic devastation of coronavirus quarantine? It’s probably not the group you suspect.”
Mr. Prager created Prager U, a nonprofit that produces thought-provoking videos on political topics such as “The Intolerance of Tolerance” and “Can You Define Socialism?” Each week, Mr. Prager hosts a fireside chat where he answers viewers’ questions and shares his perspective on current news topics.
“So, How are You Doing?”
The scene is too numerous to count. My daughter Stephanie and I enjoying a girls’ day out shopping, we pull up to the register with our cart, and she asks the cashier “So, how are you doing?” Then she would wait. Was it the tender way she asked the question? Maybe they could see kindness in her eyes. Whatever the reason, time and again I would watch tears fill their eyes as a story of pain would escape from the heart.
Then I would observe as weeping turned to joy. And for a moment, they were free.
I have experienced the power of this simple question many times.
Last year my husband was hospitalized with double pneumonia brought on by mold exposure. Stephanie knew I had been pushing through taking care of Steve as well as my dad while fighting a severe upper respiratory infection myself. To say I was bone tired is an understatement.
One day I get a phone call from Steph. She informed me she was on her way to help. No arguing. She arrived just in time.
The hospital was getting ready to release Steve. Steph and I went to the pharmacy to pick up some medicine when she dropped the question. Up to this point I had held it together. Then she looked at me with one eyebrow slightly raised, her deep blue eyes penetrating straight to my soul and asked, “How are you doing really?” I lost it. I could not stop the flood of tears that I had been choking back.
In these times of uncertainty, when the world we have known is turned upside down, can I be so bold as to ask, “How are you doing?”
If you are like me, on any given day you find yourself on a roller coaster ride of emotions. The day starts with your feet firmly planted in faith. Then the twists and turns brought on by the latest round of information and new restrictions leave you feeling like your faith is free-falling into fear.
When this happens, it is the perfect time to pause and ask yourself, “How am I doing?” Better yet, let’s take a cue from David in Psalms 139. Let’s ask God to reveal how we are doing.
“God, I invite Your searching gaze into my heart.
Psalm 139:23-24, TPT
Examine me through and through;
find out everything that may be hidden within me.
Put me to the test and sift through all my anxious cares.
See if there is any path of pain I’m walking on,
and lead me back to your glorious, everlasting ways—
the path that brings me back to You.“
Dear friends, it is time for us to rise and be found faithful to the Faithful One. The only way for us to do that is to lean into the word and ways of our Father. To allow His gaze to search us, to sift through all our fears and anxieties. Why?
Soul searching is always about freedom from the chains that hold us back. With freedom comes the ability to walk through our temporary trial with eternal hope. A hope that understands these momentary trials are working in us an everlasting glory that will outlast the current crisis.
Isn’t that what God wants for us, that we would live in the light of His eternal hope?
In her book Be Still, Cleere Cherry says, “Living in our hope is the most powerful sermon we could ever give. It is the decision to believe God, to trust Him with our future, and to walk forward, fully confident that He is at work. A steel-like hope… that is what He wants for us.”
So, I ask again, “how are you doing?” Perhaps it is time to pause, push away from the news of the day and sit with the giver of the Good News. Invite Him to gaze into your eyes and search your heart. Let Him set you free from whatever it is that holds you back from walking in His eternal hope.
A hope that cannot be taken away. A hope that will not be shaken. A hope planted in the heart of the One who holds our tomorrows.
Until next week, let’s keep finding hope in the journey.
Evelyn
P.S. If you know someone who is struggling right now, please share Hope for the Journey with them. If you are struggling, let me know how I can pray for you. This is a long journey, and we were never meant to travel alone. So, let’s be intentional and creative with staying connected so that we may encourage one another.
“Discover creative ways to encourage others and to motivate them toward acts of compassion, doing beautiful works as expressions of love.”
Hebrews 10:24, TPT
Hi There! My name is Evelyn. I am a lover of all things family, faith and Fall. So grateful that you found your way here. The chaos of life can leave us feeling a bit worn around the edges. Sometimes a little ray of hope is all we need to provide courage for the next step in our journey. So come on in, take a deep breath. My prayer is that in this space, you will be able to grab hold of hope. For more of my blogs, visit my website Hope for the Journey.
“I’ve always been committed to the idea that we need to change how people think in order for them to change how they live.”
Ben Shapiro, Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Wire
When something goes wrong, what do you do? Hear Mr. Shapiro’s take on handling life: choosing a career, handling missteps, and charting a course for the future.
Note: one thing that is very interesting about this interview is that both the interviewer and the interviewee overcame childhood bullying.
“And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the Sun and the Moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.”
Deuteronomy 4:19, ESV
Welcome to Fourth Day Gazette 82 (FDG-82), the 24th Anniversary edition. Watching the “outer creation” with a telescope is my brief definition of astronomy. Many people think astrology and astronomy are the same thing. The scripture above clearly separates worshiping from watching. Practicing the horoscope is a modern violation of that scripture and is a branch of idolatry. FDG-12 Dec. 1998 provided a thorough challenge to astrology verses astronomy. (Note: to access past issues of the Fourth Day Gazette (FDG), email erp72creek@yahoo.com).
Venus the Evening Star shines bright in the west sky until summer 2020. That is an unusual pattern for a planet which normally crosses the night sky in a period of six months. The diagram shows how the second planet from the Sun moves around the west sky. It indicates size and brightness but is exaggerated in scale. If we were closer to Venus to match the view we would be toast, literally. Start your watch at dusk looking southwest (about 15-30 minutes after sunset) on a clear evening sky. You cannot mistake Venus since it is the brightest object other than the Moon and Sun. Notice that it slowly winds around and is farthest left of the sunset in January and February. Venus crosses the ecliptic plane (dotted line) into the northern hemisphere. It slowly moves toward the Sun by June. Seasons are changing as the sunrise begins earlier and the sunset begins later.
You are watching the planet that is almost as large as Earth but was created 25 million miles closer to the Sun than we are. Yes it is very, very hot there. We can see phases of Venus that similar to those of our Moon, as the diagram illustrates. Venus grows much brighter from March to May as it approaches the sunset. Venus reaches maximum brightness passing between Earth and the Sun as a crescent shape, seen through even a small (2 inch or 50 mm diameter) telescope! WARNING: Do not follow Venus to the Sun because that is dangerous to your eyesight!
Watching any planet allows you to discover our Creator’s handiwork. We use the planets and stars to mark seasons as they cross our night sky; plus, between sunset and sunrise we can define night time. They do cross the day sky but we cannot see them normally. That big bright light (Sun) outshines the darkness and illuminates our daytime. During a Total Solar Eclipse it can become dark enough to see stars and planets for up to ten minutes. The other big object defines our months. We call it the Moon.
“Yours is the day, Yours also the night;
Psalm 74:16-17, ESV
You have established the heavenly lights and the Sun.
You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth;
You have made summer and winter.”
Constellation Orion shines until April as it crosses our night sky. The hourglass-sevenstars are a winter constellation. Three belt stars mark the equatorial plane of Earth. Two top stars mark the north end and two more the lower south end.
Thanks to Dan A. Biddle, Ph. D., and Genesis Apologetics for their documentary video on Noah’s Flood:
Overhead we have busy night skies.
On March 9, April 7, May 7, and June 5 we can enjoy Big Bright Full Moons. They occur at or near Perigee when the Moon is closest to Earth.
There will be six (count them!) eclipses in 2020. Four of them (the ones in January 10, June 5, June 21, and December 14) are not visible in the continental USA. Two late night lunar eclipses are July 4 and November 29 which are penumbral or involve the dim shadow only. So we cannot enjoy any of the eclipses this year. Readers on the rest of God’s Globe can see the top four eclipses. Timing and our location determines how many of us see them!
However, 2021 and 22 will begin another set (those terrible tetrads) of four total lunar eclipses.
Planets Jupiter and Saturn will shine best from June to December as they move closer together for a grand conjunction on December 20-22, 2020.
Planet Mars will cross our sky again. It will be biggest and brightest in September 2020 and the best we shall see until September 2035!
You early risers can see three planets an hour before sunrise. Look southeast for Mars, Saturn and Jupiter lined up. They are closest together in March and April.
March and April brings seasonal change and festivals. The annual vernal equinox or Spring begins early on Thursday March 19. Notice that sunrise and sunset occur directly east and west. Afterwards, days will become longer and nights will become shorter.
The Full Pink Moon on Tuesday April 7, is not only the biggest and brightest, but will also begin a historical festival at sunset which began according to Exodus Chapter 12 about 3470 years ago! Modern Israelites and Christians celebrate Passover, which is a festival of deliverance and sacrifice.
While naturalistic cultures await an extraterrestrial to visit Earth, the scriptures record a visitor known as Emmanuel (one reason for modern Christmas). All four biblical Gospels record His arrival and departure and a 33 year period of historical monumental proportions!
Then the unbelievable occurred when Emmanuel fulfilled the Exodus Passover on a Friday of Crucifixion. Our Messiah, Christ Jesus (the Anointed One) gave up His spirit (died) and then rose again (was resurrected) three days later. Modern sanctimonious terminology is “Good Friday” and “Easter.” Forty days later, He left Earth and returned to Heaven-above, in front of witnesses according to Acts Chapter 1.
So this writer asks, which is more unbelievable: Our Creator produced all reality, or millions and billions of years of evolution from atoms and humans, for what? A clue: when America was discovered, most explorers acknowledged our Creator and Nature as His handiwork.
Ernie & Ruth Poani
At your service with telescopes and sky. Sign up for our mailing list, request a back issue, or send a copy to a friend. Contact (217) 361-6374 or email erp72creek@yahoo.com.
In case you missed it, here’s footage from the simulcast TOGETHER: Night of Hope from For King and Country!
“I choose joy.”
For King and Country
“We love the Lord Jesus Christ, and His church is alive and well.”
Francis Chan
In the latest Cross Examined podcast, medical doctor Dr. Dan Eichenberger joins Dr. Frank Turek to describe his research and firsthand experience with COVID-19.
Here’s some of the questions and issues Frank and Dr. Dan discuss:
For all of the Cross Examined podcasts, visit crossexamined.org!
This praise song is sung in different languages across the entire continent of Africa. Praise You, Lord!
Akekho Ofana Nojesu (There’s no one like Jesus)
Akekho ofana naye (There’s no one like Him)
Akekho Ofana Nojesu (There’s no one like Jesus)
Akekho ofana naye (There’s no one like Him)
Ahuna ya tswanang le Jesu (There’s nobody like Jesus)
Ahuna ya tswanang naye (Theres nobody like Him)
Ahuna ya tswanang le Jesu (Theres nobody like Jesus)
Ahuna ya tswanang naye (There’s nobody like Him)
Kamatla matla, Hohle hohle (I looked around, everywhere)
Kadikulaha, Hohle hohle (I turned around, everywhere)
Kamu fumana yeso waka (I eventually found my Jesus)
Ahuna ya tswanang naye (There’s nobody like him)
You’re invited to Warrior-Fest!
What: Worship, teaching, and revival!
Where: Online at perrystone.org/warrior-fest
When: Tonight (Friday, March 20th)—LIVE now!
Tomorrow (Saturday, March 21st)—at 6 PM
We are so excited and can’t wait for our Warrior-Fest family to join us via livestream! Joining us live from the Omega Center International stage will be Eddie James, Catherine Mullins, First Hearts, Remnant, and Perry Stone! This year, as we prayed about what Warrior-Fest would look like, it was clear that we were taking EVERY limit OFF of God! There are NO LIMITS! God will deliver you in your bedroom just like He would in our altars! WE are filled with such expectations. Revival is coming through the LENS OF A CAMERA! We are so excited to yield to the Holy Spirit in a new way, and we cannot wait to read EVERY testimony! We are asking for everyone watching to email us and tell us what you are expecting God to do for you! Email us at info@ociministries.org. Warrior-Fest will also be held next weekend, Friday, March 27th at 7PM and Saturday, March 28th at 6PM. You can start streaming 30 minutes before each service starts!
Watch live tonight at perrystone.org/warrior-fest