World News Through the Third Lens

Obama and Netanyahu meet twice at the White House: by Les Young: It has been reported various ways by various media that President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met at the White House on Tuesday, March 23, 2010. On the heels of the U.S. scolding Israel for announcing the proposed start of 1600 new housing units in East Jerusalem during U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's visit, Netanyahu came to the United States. On Monday, March 22, 2010 Netanyahu addressed the AIPAC's annual convention, attended by a record 7,800 people. While Netanyahu had apologized more than once for the untimeliness of the housing announcement, explaining that it had been in the works for years, he drew a line in the sand at the AIPAC's meeting, when he declared, "The Jewish people were building Jerusalem 3000 years ago, and the Jewish people are building Jerusalem today. Jerusalem is not a settlement. It is our capital. But there is one thing I will never compromise - and that one thing is Israel's security.

The next night, the Obama administration again put it's arrogant and antagonistic attitude towards Israel on display, this time by the President himself. An hour plus into the meeting, the president excused himself to have dinner, while Netanyahu and his party were ushered into the Roosevelt room to wait. Obama's parting remarks were something like, "If anything changes, let me know." A while later, Obama returned from dinner and the meeting resumed for another 35 minutes. What a snub! Can you imagine having important guests at your house, and you leave the conversation in the living room while you go to the dining room alone to eat!!!? This is on top of the fact that no photographers were invited to the meeting, yet Obama has no problem doing smiling, cuddly photo-ops with Marxist dictator, Hugo Chavez.

Oh, while I'm on a roll here - while the U.S. hierarchy, from Obama to Hillary to Mitchell were tying themselves in knots over the Jerusalem housing announcement, what were the Palestinians doing? They were dedicating a square in Ramallah to the woman terrorist, Dalal Mughrabi, who, in 1978, led a terrorist team that hijacked a bus and killed 37 Israelis (13 children) and one American and wounded 80 others. Our American leaders said nothing - totally ignoring this incident. They just keep demanding that Israel divide her land until she is reduced to a large ghetto, believing that once that is done, the Palestinians and the Muslims will love them and everyone else. And there was more, much more, but we must move on to part II.

A Third Lens (Biblical) Perspective: God said that he would bless those who bless Israel and would curse those who curse her. (Genesis 12:3) Speaking of the days in which we are now living and fast approaching, Zechariah prophecies: "I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it shall be injured." (Zechariah 12:2-3) I am afraid that our president, with all of his anti-Semitic upbringing, has no idea who he is dealing with. He is not just insulting Mr. Netanyahu, or the nation of Israel, he is insulting Almighty God, and God has said that the penalty would be judgment. "In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land." (Joel 3:1-2) At times Obama acts as though he were the sovereign lord of Israel, but he is terribly wrong. Yeshua is the Sovereign of Israel and Jerusalem (Zion) is His City. And the U.S.'s current fuss with Israel has happened at the same time that the largest advance towards socialism in the history of our country has been pushed onto the American people in the form of health care reform.

Brothers and sisters, "...let us not be asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us put on faith and love as a breast-plate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5: 6-9)

World News Through the Third Lens

Obama bans federal funds from paying for private-insurance abortions by: Les Young, March 25, 2010

The captioned headline appeared in the local paper today, over the byline by David Espo of the Associated Press. At the same time a blog was posted by the editor of "Worth Reading" which reads: President Signs Meaningless Abortion Executive Order. Both reports stated that, unlike Tuesday's signing of the massive socialistic law which was done publicly, before cameras and a partisan crowd, this signing was done in private, with no cameras and in the presence of a small group of "anti-abortion" Democrats, including Rep. Bart Stupak. When comparing the two reports, it appears that the phrase, "bans federal funds from paying for private-insurance abortions" is key. The executive order covers only certain elective abortions. What it fails to cover are abortions that would be performed at community health centers - many of which will be Planned Parenthood Clinics - created by the legislation.

Barack Obama, the most pro-abortion president in history, signed the order as his payoff for votes from pro-life Democrats. The sad thing is that the executive order is basically worthless. As mentioned above, it does not even address certain abortions. It is no wonder that the head of Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the nation, was at the bill signing, smiling approval. Secondly, executive orders cannot stand up in court to the extent that they override law. Just think for a moment; if they could, there would be no need for the legislative branch of government. If President Obama didn't like the abortion provisions present in the bill, he should have vetoed it. Thirdly, executive orders can be undone at the drop of a hat, by Obama himself, or any succeeding president.

All poisonous legislation is given such innocuous labels. The so-called "health care reform bill" is now a law, titled the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act." Affordable! Caterpillar Corporation is estimating an almost immediate increase of $100 million in the company's health care costs. A law which ultimately socializes 1/6th of the U.S. economy is going to produce a fallout of horrific proportions. There are different degrees of socialism, but we are now past the moderate fringes of this ideological enemy of freedom and liberty. There is currently underway a strong movement in more than 30 states to take the law to court. The state of Virginia has already passed legislation refusing to comply with it.

Through The Third Lens of Scripture: In the history of Israel, following the death of King Solomon, Rehoboam ascended to the throne. A group of men, led by a man named Jeroboam went to Rehoboam and pleaded: "Your father put a heavy yoke upon us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put upon us, and we will serve you." (2 Chronicles 10:4) Rehoboam put them off for three days while seeking counsel. The elder statesmen who had served under Solomon said: "If you would be kind to these people and please them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants." (2 Chronicles 10:7). Rejecting this advice, Rehoboam went to his own cronies who advised: "Tell them, 'My little finger is thicker than my father's waist. My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions." (2 Chronicles 10:10-11). Reheboam listened to the advice of his younger peers and three days later, delivered his decision to the rest of Israel. Here's what happened: "When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king: 'What share do we have in David [for Rehoboam was grandson of David], what part in Jesse's son? To your tents, O Israel! Look after your own house, O David!'......So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day." (2 Chronicles 10:16, 19). This could be descriptive of the political and social fallout from this law, especially if it is followed up with more socialistic laws, such as cap and trade, amnesty for illegal aliens, etc.

Concerning the abortion provisions in the law, coupled with the fact that by split decision judicial fiat we have abortion on demand as the de facto law of the land already, and we have made a real mess for ourselves. Scripture is far from silent on this issue. Life begins at conception, is precious to God and not without purpose. Consider these words of the Lord, speaking to Jeremiah: "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5). Or this, where David is speaking to the Lord: "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place...." (Psalms 139:13-15). Therefor, when children are sacrificed (innocent blood shed) to some false god, such as fear, convenience, necessity, etc. this is God's attitude. "There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to Him.....hands that shed innocent blood," (Proverbs 6:16-17). "Surely these things happened to Judah according to the Lord's command, in order to remove them from His presence because of the sins of Manasseh and all he had done, including the shedding of innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to forgive." (2 Kings 24:3-4).

I hate to say it, but once the smoke is settled, many of us are going to have to deal with a battle of conscience. Virtually every person I know who takes the Gospel of the Kingdom to the streets, and offers the life alternatives to those for whom Jesus shed His precious blood, while standing against the shedding of innocent blood, are law-abiding, tax-paying citizens, who accomplish more good with one dollar than the government can with $100. But what will we do when it is for certain that our tax dollars are paying for the genocide of the pre-born? Hopefully there will be some jurisdictions who have enacted righteous legislation.

Let us not forget that there several different ways in which one can suffer suffer. You can suffer for being a law-breaker. To this, the Lord says: "If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler" (1 Peter 4:15). You can suffer for being a Christian, and again the Lord speaks: "However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that Name" (1 Peter 4:16). And you can suffer, Christian or not, just because you live in a nation that has rejected God and is undergoing judgment. This was the lot of Jeremiah, to whom the Lord said: "...Before your eyes and in your days I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom in this place" (Jeremiah 16:9 - also the next 4 verses) Then there is the ultimate suffering of those who do not repent, but who continue to offend the Holy God, rather than cry out to Him for mercy. These may enjoy "the good life" for a season. Asaph struggled with this, but eventually God revealed truth to him; a truth which comforts all those who love the truth. "...I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.....They are free from the burdens common to man......always carefree, they increase in wealth....When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!" (Psalms 73:3,5,12,16-19)

World News Through the Third Lens

Millions being spent as lobbying on health care kicks into high gear. (The Associated Press, 3/17/10), commentary by Les Young: With time and tempers short, everyone's playing hardball in the drive to pass - or stop - President Barak Obama's massive health care legislation by the weekend. Business groups are spending $1 million a day to depict the bill as a job killer in television ads in the home districts of 26 wavering House Democrats. A new ad barrage from supporters of the legislation went up Tuesday in 11 districts. And unions are threatening to come through for Obama - or pay the price in the fall elections. "We here in Congress are giving a new meaning to March madness," Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, an opponent of the legislation, said Tuesday. The debate is so fierce that an estimated $200 million has been spent for political advertising on health care since the beginning of last year.

A biblical (third lens) perspective: I can add to this the fact that I get 10-15 e-mails per day from pro-life organizations (that's not a negative) and also several nudges on facebook per day to get involved. At this point I have prayed, paid, and "parlaised" in trying to stop this bill from passing. And it's not because I don't think health care needs reforming. It does! But it does not need: 1) government takeover, 2) an abandonment of sound business practices, 3) big-brother mandates, 4) bureaucratic fat, and 5) funding for abominable practices among other things. What I am about to say will probably make sense only to those who take God at His Word. His Word tells us that a time is coming when no man will be able to buy or sell (including medical insurance and medical services) without taking "the mark of the beast." To do so will be to abandon God and His plan of salvation. "He [the false prophet of the Antichrist] also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the number of his name.....If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of His wrath." (Revelation 13:16-17; 14:9-10).

This sounds so distressing - either take the mark so that you can buy and sell (equivalent to live) but risk eternal separation from God; or refuse it and die, so that ultimately you can live forever. Yet this has always been a choice some people (we call them martyrs, which is Greek for "witnesses"). These are people about whom God declares, "...the world was not worthy of them.." (Hebrews 11:38) God has special rewards for them. But God has always made provisions for His own, even when nothing was available from a natural perspective. When it comes to healing and health care, God has a wonderful plan and the premiums have already been paid by His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He declares that if we will honor His Word, He will put none of the world's diseases on us (Exodus 15:26). He is the One who forgives all our sins and heals all our diseases. (Psalms 103:1-5). He placed all of our sins, sicknesses and diseases upon Christ, and by His stripes we have been healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5; Matthew 8:16-17; 1 Peter 2:24). He has made it possible for believers to minister healing to one another. (Mark 16:18; James 5:14-15). When the darkest hours fall, the church will experience the power and glory of God like she hasn't since the first century - and it won't be for the sake of a side-show, an new book, or the exaltation of man. It will be the daily business of the Bride getting ready for the Bridegroom. (Rev. 19:9)

World News Through the Third Lens

ISRAEL WARNS BAD OPTIONS ARE NEARING

Les Young commentary (Fox News as reported by JNN): The two "bad options" for Iran, letting the country develop nuclear weapons, or using force to destroy its nuclear capabilities, are closer than they were a year ago, Israel's U.N. Ambassador said Tuesday. Gabriela Shalev warned: "...our intelligence tells us....Iran is racing towards this type of nuclear capability." former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, warned earlier this week that Israel has just two choices: a strike aimed at Iran's nuclear facilities, or a nuclear Iran. "Israel has limited time to prepare its next steps," he said. "If Israel is going to use force, it needs to do it sooner rather than later." High ranking Israeli and U.S. government and military leaders this week are discussing whether a military strike could stop Iran's nuclear program.

A BIBLICAL (THIRD LENS) PERSPECTIVE: Many are the Old Testament Scriptures upon which Israel relied as God's promises for victory in the face of their enemies. "O Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me. Many are saying of me, 'God will not deliver him.' But you are a shield around me, O Lord, you bestow glory on me and lift up my head" (Psalms 3:1-3) God's many promises concerning the land (much bigger than the current State of Israel, even including the so-called occupied territories) were made to Abraham and passed on to his son Isaac and passed on to his son Jacob. Jacob later had his name changed, like so many others, after an up close and personal encounter with God - changed to "Israel." We read also in the Psalms: "You are my King and my God who decrees victories for Jacob." (Psalms 44:4) Those who fear the Lord do not want to be messing with Israel. Those who disregard the Lord, attack Israel at their own peril. God promised Abraham (and through him, the nation that would be birthed), "I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse..." (Genesis 12:3) Our supportive relationship with Israel, which has been stretched thinner and thinner since 1990, may be the one thing that is keeping God from bringing terrible judgment against the United States because of all the other abominations in the land. Judgment seems, for the moment, to be coming slowly, in an agonizing and excruciating manner paralleling the implementation of socialism in this country. "Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him." (Psalms 32:6)

World News Through the Third Lens

HOW HARVARD, YALE AND COLUMBIA ARE LEADING US TO ARMAGEDDON (by Bill Koenig, watch.org, 3/5/10) with commentary by Les Young:
"Graduates from Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton and other Ivy League schools have accelerated our nation and the world toward the final-day battle of Armageddon. These schools with a Christian history are now bastions of secular humanism They have produced leaders who are directly responsible for the debacles that we are facing....and are threatening the very survival of America and the world, as we know it. These very bright and gifted people have left us with accelerating problems on many fronts. They include:

• Forty years of flawed Middle East policy - leading to the world's final battles.
• The LGBT agenda which is legalizing immorality and leading to judgment.
• The financial derivatives collapse - a worldwide financial contagion.
• The financial collapse on Wall Street leading to a one-world financial order and a one-world currency.
• Secular humanism which has led to a godless, immoral world.
• Ecumenical meetings between Protestant churches and Muslims, the R.C. church and Muslims, etc. leading to a one-world religious order.
• Islam (including its atrocities being legitimized to insure the world's oil flow.
• Islam's Sharia finance system being endorsed.
• The global warming hoax as another attempt at a one-world order.
• Violation of the U.S. Constitution which is leading to one-world accountability and the federal government's takeover of America.
• The ACLU's excesses targeting church and state issues.

How did the eight "Ivy League" schools go from being training grounds for Christian missionaries and ministers, and respected citadels of higher education to what they are now - propaganda factories for every leftist, perverted, radical, tyrannical, failed ideology known to mankind? Unbeknown to them, all of these schools are rapidly producing leaders in our country that are leading us to the final days and Jesus Christ's return to Jerusalem. America may not be predominant in last-day Scriptures, but no nation is a more significant catalyst to the final days than the United States of America under the leadership of academic elites whose god is secular humanism."

Bill Koenig goes on to list all eight of the schools, giving a brief background as to their original purposes. Then he lists some of the leaders produced from these institutions over the past 70-80 years, and how they have been instrumental in leading this country to the brink. For further information, go to http://www.watch.org/

A BIBLICAL (THIRD LENS) PERSPECTIVE: It is interesting to note that education and learning are mentioned in Scripture with respect to the last-days. A couple of them are repeated here as examples. Paul, speaking of the perilous times in the last days, describes a generation who, along with embracing all sorts of abominable behavior, are......"Ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (2 Timothy 3:7) Maybe this explains, to some extent, why many of the decisions handed down by governments and courts don't make any sense. The apocalyptic book of Daniel closes with these words: "But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge." (Daniel 12:4)

Sometimes we as Christians act as though we were caught on the horns of a dilemma. As we try to engage our culture and act as salt and light, we often find our selves caught up trying to preserve some institution or tradition, by restoring its former glory. Perhaps we try too hard to go along so that we can get a long, sprinkling a grain of salt here and shining a pen-light there. Let's face it - Jesus never tried to reform dead old traditions; He spoke to people's hearts. What He offered was a radical heart transplant, not the same old heart in a wrapped up in some refreshed religious system. It is that message we are called to preach and model. It's called the Gospel of the Kingdom. I'll get back to that in a moment.

Peter, speaking of the Second Coming of Christ, which includes the afore-mentioned Armageddon as part of the Day of the Lord, challenges the followers of Christ with these words: "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed it's coming....." (2 Peter 3:11-12a) "...Speed its coming..." Peter said. A lot is being written about what godless people are doing to speed the day of judgment, and sometimes the message in those writings (Expressed or implied) is that we Christians should do something to stop it. Social activism has become a whole new branch of "Christian Ministry." What is it really that we Christians should be doing, that will speed the coming of that day? Jesus tells us clearly in His discourse concerning the Last Days. "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." (Matthew 24:14) May this blog, and your sharing of it be a step in that direction, so help us God.

World News Through the Third Lens

US BACKS OFF SPEEDY IRAN SANCTIONS PROMISED ISRAEL (DEBKAfile, 3/2/10) Commentary by Les Young: Washington eased the threat of harsh sanctions hanging over Iran's head because of its nuclear program at the very moment it was beginning to take effect and Tehran was showing signs of stress. Tuesday, March 2, US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton told reporters on her plane to Buenos Aires: "We are moving expiditiously and thoroughly in the Security Council, I can't give you an exact date, but I would assume sometime in the next several months." This abrupt reversal of US tactics on Iran's nuclear activities took place when Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, was hardly out the door from Washington after receiving assurances from administration officials that a new round of tough sanctions would be in place by the end of March, with or without the Security Council.

The news release goes on to say that Clinton had assured the same thing to a Senate panel last week and that she and US Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, were so sure of that timetable that a return visit to Washington by DM Barak had already been scheduled for a date that would be after the sanctions were in place.

A BIBLICAL (THIRD LENS) PERSPECTIVE: "Again you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' But I tell you, 'Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; or by earth, for it is God's footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' be 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.'" (Matthew 5:33-37) Jesus speaking here, tackles what had become a tradition of the Jewish people. They felt that if a person swore an oath, and swore by something divine, then it was really binding. If one swore an oath by something common, it was somewhat binding. Jesus said in essence, "Never mind all that dead traditional stuff. I'm telling you that everytime you say a simple "Yes" it should mean "Yes!" Similarly, a simple "No," should mean "No!" And how about this from the Old Testament? "It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin..." (Ecclesiastes 5:5-6a)

LIEBERMAN: HEALTH CARE WILL PASS (Norwich Bulletin, 3/2/10) Commentary by Les Young: U.S> Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, I-Conn., believes a version of health care reform will get through Congress this year..... Speaking with the Norwich Bulletin's editorial board on Monday, Lieberman said he believes a health care bill based on one that passed the Senate will be worked through the House of Representatives with enough compromises to pass. He also believes it will pass again in the Senate by the politically risky move of reconciliation, by which the Democratic majority can pass it with 51 votes while warding off a Republican filibuster. He went on to say that it wouldn't be easy and that nobody has seen the bill language.

Most observers of this donkey and elephant show concerning government health care reform are convinced that the bill that may be "forced" through by a process called "reconciliation" (Can you see Huxley's "double-speak" at work here?) will contain provisions for abortion on demand being funded by tax-payer dollars. Concerning a government takeover of health care in general, I could cite several Scriptures as warning shots. Today I'll use two. "He (God) said, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His eyes, if you pay attention to His commands and keep all His decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you." (Exodus 15:26) "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." (Psalm 20:7) Regarding the taking of innocent life in the womb for any reason, consider that among the things that God hates, yea even detests, are "hands that shed innocent blood." (Proverbs 6:17).

And here's a scary thought for you. Since 1988, Washington Correspondent Bill Koenig of watch.org and some of his colleagues have been keeping track of something that has gone way beyond coincidence. It seems that over the last 22 years every time the U.S. government has acted so as to: 1) advance the pro-death agenda (abortion, euthanasia, etc.), or 2) advance the GLBT agenda, or 3) advance the exchange of land for peace agenda in Israel, or otherwise squeeze Israel or reduce support for Israel, some sort of calamity visits the U.S. Sometimes its of the natural variety (flood, fire, hurricane, etc.) and other times it's financial (stock market fall, ENRON, S&L, Madoff, etc.). They've kept the records and it always happens: sometimes within minutes, other times within a week or two. Based on the above two news items, we are probably in for one hit and perhaps a "double whammy." There is no time like the present to begin trusting the Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

World News Through the Third Lens

1,000 VISITORS TO JOSEPH'S TOMB IN SCHECHEM (as reported by INN, 2/28/10) Commentary by Les Young: The ancient Jewish Biblical sites in Judea and Samaria continue to make headline news: Following the mass entry into Jericho and an ancient synagogue there last week, and after PM Benjamin Netanyahu included the Machpelah Cave and Rachel's Tomb on the new National Heritage Site List, it's now the turn of Joseph's Tomb in Schechem. A crowd of over 1,000 people from across Israel made their way to Joseph's Tomb on Wednesday night, in honor of the Fast of Esther. MK Danny Danon expressed dismay at the Arab vandalism he saw there, especially the site's smashed dome. "It's shocking to see the barbarism of those who are supposed to be our partners in peace," Danon said.

A BIBLICAL (THIRD LENS) PERSPECTIVE: "And Joseph's bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Schechem in the tract of land that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor, the Father of Schechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph's descendants." (Joshua 24:32) It is this writer's opinion that incidents such as this stir up so many outcries of hatred and even violence for two reasons: 1) The discovery of such sites, or the reclamation of them is just further proof that the Bible is true. Many do not want to reckon with this notion, because to do so is to have to reckon with the God of the Bible and the fact that we are all accountable to Him. Often, those who do not wish to seriously consider biblical claim respond to them with anger; 2) They are reminders of God's special dealing with Abraham and his descendants, including promises concerning the land. Again, to accept such claims as valid will ultimately draw one into an encounter with many other biblical claims. I'll mention just two from Paul's letter to the Romans. "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Romans 3:23). "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) These are truth claims that should be seriously considered by every one of us.