Heard any good news lately? Prophecy comprises about one-third of the Bible, and believe it or not, most of it is good news! The prophecies of the first coming of Messiah were certainly good news. And the massive amount of Bible teaching about the Millennial age and beyond, is unquestionably positive! But admittedly, much of "end-time prophecy" is depressing. We should remember that Jesus called this phase of the future "labor pains." Just as the birth of a baby is preceeded by difficult and painful labor, the birth of the Millenium, and after that, the glorious New Heaven and Earth, is preceeded by the Tribulation.
We need to balance our study of prophecy with a reminder that God is still on His throne. He is the loving, all-powerful creator and the designer of our incredible salvation.
The Gospel is the "Good News." The Bible is His love letter to us. The incredible Creation is His handicraft. The Family is His idea. Israel is still His chosen people. And the Church is the greatest expression of His power and purpose during this age.
Additionally, the Bible tells us repeatedly not to be afraid! So let's check out the good news today!
Nov. 9, 2009 - From 1961 to 1989 a massive wall of concrete and steel separated East and West Germany and became the symbol of Communist oppression. In 1987 President Ronald Reagan stood at the Brandenberg Gate and called on Soviet Premier Gorbachev to "tear down this wall."
On Nov. 9, 1989, the communist government of East Germany announced that all residents would be permitted to travel to West Berlin and West Germany. Crowds of Eastern and Western Germans climbed onto the wall, where they met in peaceful celebration.
This great event led to the fall of other communist regimes across Eastern Europe.
Oct. 14, 2009 - Navy Chaplain Carey Cash has been assigned to a 3-year term at Camp David Presidential Retreat.
[He is] a US Navy chaplain who baptised more than 50 men during the Iraq invasion in 2003, is a fervent believer in spreading Christianity within the armed forces and believed a "wall of angels" protected his men as they fought their way from Kuwait to Baghdad.
According to the Washington Post, Mr Obama has praised him for delivering "as powerful a sermon as I've heard in a while", adding: "I really think he's excellent."
Source: Telegraph - UK
Lieutenant Carey Cash Stories of God's supernatural protection in Baghdad in 2003 - Sermon Illustrator
July, 2009 - A new Gallup poll of 1,011 adults reveals that 39 percent of American adults say their "views on political issues" have grown more conservative in recent years, compared to 18 percent who say their views have grown more liberal and 42 percent who say their views have not changed.
The survey complements Gallup data released in June showing that conservatives outnumber liberals by a nearly 2-to-1 margin — 40 percent to 21 percent — when Americans are asked to label their political views. Thirty-five percent call themselves moderates.
On the subject of abortion, 51 percent describe themselves as pro-life - up from the 44 percent who answered the same way in 2004.
July 7. 2009 - Thanks to collaboration between four institutions, the world's oldest surviving Christian bible, Codex Sinaiticus, is now available in high resolution digital images on the Internet. Each of the four institutions holds portions of the physical manuscript.
The virtual reunification of Codex Sinaiticus is the culmination of a four-year collaboration between the British Library, Leipzig University Library, the Monastery of St Catherine (Mount Sinai, Egypt), and the National Library of Russia (St Petersburg)...
June 17, 2009- Movie critic Drew Zahn finds "UP" surprisingly good, not only for children, but for adults. It promotes marriage and inspires respect for older people.
June 12, 2009 - This month the U.S. consumer confidence level rose to 69.0. This is a nine-month high, but still slightly below the level of September 2008 (70.3), when the failure of Lehman Brothers sent the world economy into a tailspin.
June 8, 2009 - Using the human ear as a model, scientists at MIT have developed a new electronic device that is capable of receiving any signal in the radio and television frequency range.
"The human ear is a very good spectrum analyzer," said Rahul Sarpekhkar, a professor at MIT who co-authored the paper in the June issue of the IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits. "We copied some of the tricks the ear does, and mapped those onto electronics."
May 25, 2009 - Britain's surprising singing sensation, Susan Boyle, was voted into the next round of a the TV talent show that propelled her to global fame.
Boyle's performance last month on the "American Idol"-style show "Britain's Got Talent" has been viewed almost 60 million times on You Tube.
May, 2009
The 58th Annual National Day of Prayer will take place Thursday, May 7, 2009. Millions will unite in prayer as thousands of events will take place from coast to coast. The theme for this year is "Prayer... America's Hope" and is based on the verse from Psalm 33:22 which states: "May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you."
Beth Moore will join Shirley Dobson to lead the nation in prayer as the 2009 Honorary Chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force.
Apr. 21, 2009 - Read this heartwarming story about how a cult, The Worldwide Church of God gave up its false beliefs after the death of its founder, Herbert W. Armstrong. In the '90's, the church's new president, Joseph W. Tkach, started reforming their theology the help of various Christian leaders, including Hank Hanegraaff, president of the Christian Research Institute (CRI). Since then they joined the National Association of Evangelicals, and have proven themselves to the orthodox Christian community.
And now, April 20, 2009, the change has been made complete with the official announcement that the Worldwide Church of God has changed its name to Grace Communion International.
Apr. 21, 2009 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is willing to begin negotiations with the Palestinians without demanding they first recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
However, the sources added that Netanyahu would condition future developments for a peace settlement on this demand.
Apr. 16, 2009 - Susan Boyle, a 47-year-old church volunteer from Scotland, told the judges on "Britain's Got Talent" that her dream was to be a professional singer. The judges and the audience seemed unimpressed by her appearance, but when she started to sing, everyone was amazed.
April 6 - John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, authors of “God Is Back: How the Global Revival of Faith Is Changing the World,” show that American Christianity is still a vital force.
While Europe was drifting from faith into secularism, and giant countries like Russia and China became “atheistic” under Communism, it was assumed that the U.S. would loose its faith as well. It is true that religious establishments are being weakened, but new ministries are using modern methods to spread the Good News. And faith is growing around the world!
China is full of house churches, much like the ones in the early Christian era, that attract the rising middle classes. A 2006 poll in once-atheist Russia discovered that 84% of Russians believed in God while only 16% considered themselves atheists.
Mar. 19, 2009 - For a mere $194,000 you may be able to by a Transition "roadable aircraft" from the Terrafugia company. The car has been flown sucessfully from an airstrip in Plattsburgh, NY
With front-wheel drive and fold up wings, the aircraft is capable of being driven on public roads at highway speeds and will fit in a standard garage.
