Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Pray4America (part 12) - George Washington's Knee-Mails

Wikipedia/George Washington praying at Valley Forge
Presidents' Days... 

It used to be called Washington's Birthday, as we used to always celebrate it on George Washington's birthday - February 22nd.  And our first president was born in the year 1732 - over 280 years ago.
[reference:  George Washington Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com]

But in 1971, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act moved the federal holiday to the 3rd Monday of January between Washington's and Lincoln's Birthday - February 12th.  Calling it Presidents' Day included our 16th president as well as ever other president.  But let's fess up to the real reason.  Those three day weekends, they can be sweet if you do get them off.
[reference: Presidents’ Day - Holidays - HISTORY.com]

Back to George Washington ...

Most images of our first president depict an elder statesman, yet Washington was a young man during the start of the Revolutionary War.
[For a timeline:  Revolutionary War Timeline]

And George Washington was only 43 when the Continental Congress commissioned him as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army in 1775.
[reference: George Washington's Commission as Commander in Chief

The highs and lows of 1776 ...

The book - 1776 - by David McCullough chronicles Washington's mistakes - his defeats and blunders in 1776.  And because of that, during the nadir of the revolution,  "The Glorious Cause of America" seemed doomed.  Most conceded the war was over and the Americans had lost.

But Washington would not give up and would not quit.  He knew that liberty was at stake.  And at the end of the year, Washington went on the attack and won a great victory at Trenton on Christmas of 1776.  The psychological effect of this victory was enormous and marked a turning point in the war.
[reference:  Summary of the Book 1776 by David McCullough]

The power of knee-Mail  ...

And the clip below gives a glimpse into the power of prayer of George Washington - his many knee-Mails - which shaped the destiny of America.





These stories hearten me as they gives hope.   Though times may seem dark for our country, the power of prayer can change the course of a downward spiral and pull it up to soar into the heavens.

Therefore confess your sins to each other 
and pray for each other so that you may be healed. 
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
James 5:16 (NIV)

So were the prayers of a righteous man, George Washington.  And we are blessed by his prayers as we are into the third century after the Revolution.  It is fitting that Washington's Birthday be remembered for great gift that he as well as many of the founders gave to us - those yet to be born

This anniversary of the original President's Day, may we follow the lead of our first president, as seen in the example of his knee-Mails here -  George Washington in Prayer at Valley Forge

May our kneel mails continue as we ...

Keep praying for America!

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Sunday, February 9, 2014

Apokalupsis (part 1) - The Apocalypse Now?

Wikipedia/Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

* Apokalupsis 

It is one of the transliterations of the Greek word from which we get apocalypse.  And the mention of that word - apocalypse - conjures images of the end times ... the end of the world ... or some cataclysmic event.  It's the stuff of prophesy, dystopian novels and movies, such as:

*  The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
     - [reference:  Who are the four horsemen of the apocalypse?]
*  The Left Behind series
     - [reference: Left Behind]
*  The movie, Apocalypse Now
      - [reference: Apocalypse Now (1979) - IMDb]

But apokalupsis, the apocalypse, means an unveiling, uncovering, revealing, revelation.  
[reference:  Strong's Greek: 602. ἀποκάλυψις (apokalupsis) -- an uncovering]

Let's focus on this -

* Revelation

The Apostle, St. John, wrote about the end times in the last book of the New Testament - Revelation - the Apocalypse.  And this book gets its title for the first sentence:

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Revelation 1:1 (KJV) 

So the Book of Revelation is not just a foretelling of the coming plagues of Biblical proportion.  It is the revelation of Jesus Christ - the Apokalupsis.  But what about these thing which must shortly come to pass -

* The End Times?

St. John gives an indication of the end times, which he calls the "last time" as well as the coming of the Antichrist, associated with the Apocalypse, when he writes:

Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
I John 2:18 (KJV)

The end times - "the last time" - began in the 1st century.  Indeed, it's been 20 centuries since John penned those words and the end of world has not come yet.  But Jesus never set a date of His second coming, which would usher the end of the age, as He said:

Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Matthew 25:13 (KJV)

Indeed, there are many who have set dates, and they have been proven - every time - to be wrong.

Meanwhile, we have the Apokalupsis of Jesus Christ as is revealed in the Bible, a book which has been suppressed throughout the ages, like during the Dark Ages.  One such story is told in my historical fictional series,

The Forbidden Book and the Upside Down Kingdom

The first book of the series, Anastasis - The Forbidden Book Concealed is about the suppression of the Bible for supposedly good and not so good reasons.  [reference:  S. K. Smith - Anastasis]

Now, the second book of the series is out and available as an eBook -

Apokalupsis - The Forbidden Book Revealed

This second book can stand alone.  This novel makes sense without reading the first book of the series, though it chronologically follows the first book that gives the details of the back story.

Apokalupsis continues the story of the power of the revelation of the Forbidden Book, the Bible.  And its revelation stirs up division among people, as Jesus said that He would:

Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:
Luke 12:51 (KJV)

Below is a short description of this second book:

In the year anno Domini 1377, Queen Anastasia has purposed in her heart to spark a revival in her kingdom of Opulentia, beginning with herself.  Under the counsel of Bishop Sinjin, the Queen commissions the Bible to be read to her people in their own language.  Meanwhile, her favorite courtier Lord Adryan Crippen implements Her Majesty’s reforms in her mines, translating the Gospel into deeds.
    
Yet these reforms meet opposition on many fronts.  Prelates move to crush this movement to hold onto their power over the people.  Merchants, clerics, and other powerful men balk as these reforms hit their purse.  And the peasants resist any change that upsets their perception of the natural order.

Apokalupsis - Greek for Apocalypse – means revelation, especially the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ.  And this revelation turns their kingdom upside down.

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The Apokalupsis – the revelation of Jesus Christ – shakes up the old order in the Dark Ages.

One definition of the Dark Ages is the period from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Renaissance.  It can also mean an oppressive or unenlightened period or stage.  But the good news is that in any dark age, Kings and Gentiles come to the Light of the World as the people walking in darkness see the His great Light.  And the darker it is, the more He shines as -

It's the Darkest Ages that reveal the brightest Light.

On that note, this theme of Apokalupsis is sung (in notes) in these movements, 10. Bass Recitative and 11. Bass Air,  from Handel's Messiah:




The lyrics come from these words:

For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
Isaiah 60:2-3 (KJV)

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
Isaiah 9:2 (KJV)

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Where the eBook may be purchased:

Info at:  S. K. Smith - Apokalupsis

Amazon.com: Apokalupsis: The Forbidden Book Revealed - eBook

Barnes & Noble:  Apokalupsis - Nook Book

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Related series on Anastasis -

 Anastasis (part 1) - The Forbidden Book Concealed (2011)

Anastasis (part 2) - standing up (2011)

Anastasis (part 3) - Famine (2012)

Anastasis (part 4) - Back to which Bethel? (2012)

Anastasis (part 5) - Bible in the Oxyrhynchus garbage dump (2012)

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Photo from:  Wikipedia/Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Sunday, February 2, 2014

LOL (part 1) - Olympic dreaming on such a winter's day

Everystockphoto.com/Chariots of fire reenactment!

As the 2014 Winter Olympics will begin (February 6 -23, 2014), so I will begin another thread:

LOL - Laughing Out Loud.  (Some humor here.)

One of most famous Olympic films about the Summer Olympics (in 1924)  - Chariots of Fire (1981) - as reenacted in the picture above.

And here is the opening scene from this Oscar winning movie:





Yeah!  Going for the gold at the Olympics!  These are the things that dreams are made of!

Two years ago, London was venue for the 2012 Summer Olympics.  And as a tribute to the athletes - their dreams of going for the gold - the opening ceremonies began with the music from Chariots of Fire - injected with the humor of Rowan Atkinson.




Never give up on your dreams!  And go for it!


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Photo from:  Everystockphoto.com/Chariots of fire reenactment!