THE ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION (ESV) - The ESV Study Bible is a relatively new resource from Crossway Publishers that seeks to give people a deep and systematic understanding of the gospel and the Bible. Because Crossway is a not-for-profit publishing ministry, all receipts from the ESV Study Bible are used to further the support of this goal and vision.

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The English Standard Version

10 Reasons to Read the ESV Study Bible

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Why the ESV Study Bible?

The ESV Study Bible is a relatively new resource from Crossway Publishers that seeks to give people a deep and systematic understanding of the gospel and the Bible, itself.

It is the winner of the 2009 Book of the Year honors from the ECPA Christian Book Awards, marking the first and only time a study Bible has ever won that award.

10 Reasons to Read the ESV Study Bible

1. The faithfulness of the English Standard Version translation

The ESV strikes a good balance between word-for-word translation with readability in mind. From the ESV website:

[The ESV translation has its] emphasis is on “word-for-word” correspondence, at the same time taking into account differences of grammar, syntax, and idiom between current literary English and the original languages.

2. The ESV Study Bible notes

This Bible contains a plethora of study notes that will answer your questions, clarify the meaning of the text, give you helpful background information, and provide many life application tips to transform your life and renew your mind.

Because the study notes are written by some of the world’s best biblical scholars, reading this study Bible is like being taught by these teachers yourself! Wayne Grudem and J.I. Packer served as the main editors, while additional material provided by reputable evangelical scholars and pastors like John Piper, David Powlison, Darrell Bock, Leland Ryken, R. Kent Hughes, Daniel Wallace, and many more!

3. Detailed introductions to each book

In addition to the historical background for the book, the introductions for each book of the Bible contain key themes of the book, the book’s place in the history of salvation, and an outline of the book, giving readers a great place to start in understanding the book’s place in the overall message of the Bible.

4. Over 200 full-color maps

The Bible’s maps illustrate the lands of the Bible geographically while giving the most up-to-date archaeological information and finds pertaining to the Bible.

5. Over 200 helpful charts

These charts offer key insights and analysis in clear, concise outline form, located along with the notes throughout the Bible.

6. Many different editions

Take your pick! The ESV Study Bible is available in hardcover, softcover, several leather designs, and a smaller, personal edition.

7. Free access to the online ESV Study Bible

In addition to what you have in the print version, the online version provides the ability to create and save online notes, use interactive links between notes, maps, articles, charts, and cross-references, and listen to audio recordings of the ESV Study Bible.

8. Durable binding and colorful appearance

The ESV Study Bible boasts a durable binding and full and vibrant color used for the maps and illustrations. This brings the Bible to life in vibrant color while ensuring your investment will last for years to come with a durable binding.

9. A whole library of articles and resources

The Bible’s resources give readers a grasp on doctrine, ethics, reading and interpreting the Bible, archaeology and the Bible, information about the Bible’s original languages, and also articles about other religions and cults in relation to Christianity.

Below is a sampling of some of the articles/resources included with the ESV Study Bible:

- God’s Plan of Salvation

- What It Means to Know God

- An assortment of articles on Biblical Ethics: including the beginning of life and abortion, bioethics, marriage and sexual morality, civil government, racial discrimination, and stewardship

- Articles on how the Old and New Testament canons were formed

- History of Salvation in the Old Testament: Preparing the Way for Christ

And several hundred pages more

10. The Bible’s goal

The goal and vision of the ESV Study Bible is, first and foremost, to honor the Lord and his Word:

(1) in terms of the excellence, beauty, and accuracy of its content and design, and

(2) in terms of helping people to come to a deeper understanding of the Bible, of the gospel, and of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Because Crossway is a not-for-profit publishing ministry, all receipts from the ESV Study Bible are used to further the support of this goal and vision. (from the ESV website)

Kevin Halloran is a Christian, blogger, and coffee aficionado. He serves with Leadership Resources International, training pastors to preach God’s Word with God’s heart. Follow Kevin on Twitter or visit his blog.

http://unlockingthebible.org/why-the-esv-study-bible/

Ancient Words 

BREATHE UPON ME, BREATH OF GOD - Benny Hinn - Breathe upon me breath of God Breathe upon me Spirit of the Lord As I lift my hands in surrender To Your Name most highI'm yielding to Your Spirit I'm walking in Your love Jesus, I adore You Jesus, I adore You Jesus, I adore Your Holy Name Breathe upon me breath of God Breathe upon me Spirit of the Lord As I lift my hands in surrender To Your Name most highI'm yielding to Your Spirit I'm walking in Your love Jesus, I adore You Jesus, I adore You Jesus, I adore Your Holy Name

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Breathe Upon 

Me, Breath of God  

Benny Hinn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvd5F1RJjlUBennyHinnMiguelHolt

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUX_Hdh-Z4oBennyHinnBringBacktheCross

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lukc23bfhWEBennyHinnHigherPraise85

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-awIOGU6EgSteven MoctezumaEncounterTV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06YczoR-0lcguitarTalkSion 

                         

lyrics

Verse :

Breathe upon me breath of God

Breathe upon me Spirit of the Lord

As I lift my hands in surrender

To Your Name most high
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Chorus :

I'm yielding to Your Spirit

I'm walking in Your love

Jesus, I adore You

Jesus, I adore You

Jesus, I adore Your Holy Name

Breathe 

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The Spirit Who Is Not a Ghost

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When do we receive the Holy Spirit?

JESUS, VENUS AND THE MORNING STAR - Venus relates to Jesus, our HOPE and His immanent second coming. When Venus rises, it means the sun will follow very soon (in a morning, usually within an hour or two, sometimes just a matter of minutes). Christ's coming — and in a broad sense this could apply to both His first and His second coming — means/will mean God's light is about to shine forever on the universe, making all wrongs right, wiping away all tears, and fulfilling Revelation 21-22, with the creation of the new heavens and New Earth, etc. On a long dark night, the appearance of the morning star means daybreak is imminent. In the long dark night of suffering on earth, Jesus being seen as the morning star means the eternal morning is about to dawn. Hence, Christ as the morning star is a picture of great promise and hope.

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Jesus, Venus and the Morning Star

BY RANDY ALCORN 

Do Christian astronomers generally believe that Venus is the morning star?

Yes. In ancient literature, the planet Venus is often referred to as the morning star, and still is today.

As far as I know, this is universally recognized. While Jupiter and Mars and other planets can appear in the morning or evening sky, Venus does so consistently and is far brighter than the others.

In fact, it's so bright that on some moonless nights Venus has been known to cast shadows. Only the sun and moon are brighter than Venus.

The fact that Venus is technically a planet (inside our solar system, reflecting our sun’s light), not a star (which generates its own light), is no problem, as “star” to the ancient peoples simply meant a point of light in the sky.

In that sense all planets are stars, but not all stars are planets. (Planet is from planao, to wander, and the planets were known as the wanderers, because they kept changing their relative positions in the night sky.)

Do you know how often Venus appears in the morning sky?

If I understand it correctly, Venus appears as a “morning star” for a sequence of 9 months out of every 19 months.

She's an evening star also for about 9 months of the 19, while not being visible for the other month. 9 morning, 9 evening, 1 invisible.

The reason Venus always precedes or follows the sun in the sky, as viewed from earth, is that she is an interior (sometimes called inferior) planet, that is, she is closer to the sun than the earth is.

Mercury is the other interior planet, closest of all to the sun, but is smaller and is so close to the sun that it isn’t easily seen. 

The diagram at this site, about half way down the page, and the accompanying explanation is helpful/

Here's three paragraphs of other scientific info I got online:

From our perspective, her cycle is a sequence of morning and evening phases lasting 584 days (the synodic period). Two major phases are separated by intervals where she is obscured by conjunction with the Sun.

   The 1 year and 7 month cycle is measured from the inferior conjunction, when Venus passes between Sun and Earth, which she does while in retrograde motion from our geocentric point of view.

   At the inferior conjunction Venus is concealed for approximately 8 days. Then for the next 263 days she can be seen in the early morning hours when she rises before the Sun.

   As a morning star, she reaches maximum brilliancy shortly after she resumes direct motion, then she slowly decreases in light to a small crescent before she disappears again at the superior conjunction.

   The superior conjunction occurs when Venus passes behind the Sun and is out of sight for around 50 days.

   She then reappears in the evening sky for 263 days, visible at first as a small crescent and increasing in brilliance until shortly before turning retrograde (approximately 40 days before the inferior conjunction).

Do you have opinions as to why Jesus is referred to as the “Morning Star”?

I think it relates to HOPE and His immanent second coming.

When Venus rises, it means the sun will follow very soon (in a morning, usually within an hour or two, sometimes just a matter of minutes).

Christ's coming — and in a broad sense this could apply to both His first and His second coming — means/will mean God's light is about to shine forever on the universe, making all wrongs right, wiping away all tears, and fulfilling Revelation 21-22, with the creation of the new heavens and New Earth, etc.

On a long dark night, the appearance of the morning star means daybreak is imminent.

In the long dark night of suffering on earth, Jesus being seen as the morning star means the eternal morning is about to dawn.

Hence, Christ as the morning star is a picture of great promise and hope.

In one of my books I call Jesus the Morning Star and several readers have gotten very upset, wondering why I would give Jesus a name that belongs to Satan.

They are of course referring to Isaiah 14:12: “How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!”

The point is that Morning Star was a name for Lucifer before his fall, and there is no inconsistency with two very different beings called by the same name.

Lucifer was a creature of beauty and power.

Christ is God, the Creator, beautiful and powerful beyond measure, the one Lucifer rebelled against.

But the name Morning Star is not tainted — it is Satan who is tainted.

Obviously this is the case, or Morning Star wouldn't be used of Christ as it is in Revelation 22:16: "I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

Not would it be used in a positive way as it is in 1 Peter 1:19 and Revelation 2:28.

Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) is the author of over fifty books and the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries. 

https://www.epm.org/resources/2010/Mar/29/jesus-venus-and-morning-star/

THE CRUSADES - The Crusades began under religious considerations but, they were often guided by typical human politics. The campaigns began in France when Pope Urban II, at the Council of Clermont in 1095, called upon Christians to retake the Holy Land, particularly Jerusalem, from the Islamic people who then occupied it. The term crusade was also used for a number of other expeditions at various times, proclaimed by popes, against supposed "heretics and heathens." Most were simply a struggle to obtain, or keep, political power.

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The Crusades

By Wayne Blank

 

The Crusades were a series of military adventures carried out by Europeans through the 11th to 14th centuries.

The campaigns began in France when Pope Urban II, at the Council of Clermont in 1095, called upon Christians to retake the Holy Land, particularly Jerusalem, from the Islamic people who then occupied it.

While the Crusades began under religious considerations, they were often guided by typical human politics.

The First Crusade (1095-1099), also known as "The People's Crusade" began with a mass of German and French peasants. After a disastrous beginning, they conquered Jerusalem in 1099. It was followed by the so-called Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem which lasted for a short time.

The Second Crusade (1147-1149) was began by Emperor Conrad III and Louis VII of France after the Christians lost Edessa. It was unsuccessful.

The Third Crusade (1189-1192) was launched after Saladin captured Jerusalem 2 years earlier. It was led by Emperor Frederick I, Philip II of France, and Richard I (the "Lion-Hearted"). It failed to recover Jerusalem, but Richard I negotiated a truce in which Christians were permitted to visit the Holy Sepulcher.

The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204) began in France but was diverted from its original purpose for the benefit of Venice. The Crusaders captured Constantinople instead.

The Children's Crusade (1212) was the most tragic and outrageous. It began when thousands of French children set out for Jerusalem, but most were sold into slavery along the way. Another group, that of German children, also set out, but most of them died of hunger and disease.

The Fifth Crusade (1217-1221) was urged by Pope Innocent III. It was directed primarily at Egypt, but was not successful.

The Sixth Crusade (1228-1229) was led by Emperor Frederick II. He secured a surrender to the holy places, but the peace did not last.

The Seventh Crusade (1244) began after the Christian defeat by the Egyptian Marelukes at Gaza. It was not successful.

The Eighth Crusade (1270) was cut short by the death of King Louis IX of France.

The Ninth Crusade (1271-1272) was led by Prince Edward (later King Edward I) of England. It was abandoned.

   The term crusade was also used for a number of other expeditions at various times, proclaimed by popes, against supposed "heretics and heathens." Most were simply a struggle to obtain, or keep, political power.

Fact Finder: What did Jesus Christ say about conditions in Jerusalem just prior to His Return?
Matthew 24:1-35

About Wayne Blank

I was born and raised as a Roman Catholic, but I have had nothing what-so-ever to do with that organization since the early 1970s, the time that I began basing my Christian beliefs solely upon the Word of God, the Holy Bible. I have never been a member of any other church organization.

My church membership today is that of the Biblical Church of God. According to the Holy Scriptures, "church" actually means the people, the "called out ones," who truly live by the Word of God (see Can You See The Church?). I now strongly disagree with the Church of Rome and any other Christian-professing church organization, Catholic or Protestant, that contradicts the pure Word of God as written in the Holy Scriptures.

I write the studies for those who choose to visit the website and read what is made available. If you are willing to accept what the Bible plainly says, there is a very good chance that you will find Daily Bible Study useful and enjoyable.

http://www.keyway.ca/htm2002/crusades.htm

 

ESCAPE TO SAFETY - How to Avoid What is Coming Upon the World - The Bible describes a nuclear holocaust that will occur as a result of the battles of the last days, which ultimately will lead to the final battle of Armageddon. An even worse period is coming where God’s wrath will descend upon those who have destroyed the Earth as well as upon every person that has followed the Antichrist and received his Mark. Despite these dark days of doom and gloom that will consume everything we have ever known, there still is an even greater hope for an escape to safety. The path to safety isn’t a map to some secret hideout or special strategy to prepare you to survive the last days. Real safety comes only from God in an amazing and unexpected way.

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Escape to Safety

How to Avoid What is Coming Upon the World

 

 

The world is rushing toward a day of judgment like nothing we have ever before experienced. 

Jesus called it a time of “great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21). 

The Apostle Peter predicted that all the things man has created will be destroyed with a consuming fire, wherein even the very elements themselves will burn (2 Peter 3:7-10). 

The Bible vividly and repeatedly describes a nuclear holocaust that will occur as a result of the battles of the last days, which ultimately will lead to the final battle of Armageddon. 

It also describes an even worse period where God’s wrath will descend upon those who have destroyed the Earth as well as upon every person that has followed the Antichrist and received his Mark.

Despite these dark days of doom and gloom that will consume everything we have ever known, there still is an even greater hope for an escape to safety. 

The Bible doesn’t just predict the coming horrible events with no purpose — it tells us what is to come to get us to realize that we need an escape route which can save us from these judgments. 

The path to safety isn’t a map to some secret hideout or special strategy to prepare you to survive the last days. 

Real safety comes only from God in an amazing and unexpected way.

The Lord provides a simple route to getting through the horrible events of the end and avoiding the judgment to come. 

In fact, it is so simple that some people want to make it more difficult. 

The path to forgiveness and safety is illustrated by a brief account in the Gospel of Luke about an event that happened when Jesus was crucified. 

Hanging with him that day were two other men sentenced to death.  In another place we are told that they were thieves. 

This is what Luke records in chapter 23:

“³² Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed.

   ³³ When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.

   ³⁴ Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’ And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

   ³⁵ The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, ‘He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.’

   ³⁶ The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar

   ³⁷ and said, ‘If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.’

   ³⁸ There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

   ³⁹ One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: ‘Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’

   ⁴⁰ But the other criminal rebuked him. ‘Don’t you fear God,’ he said, ‘since you are under the same sentence?

   ⁴¹ We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’

   ⁴² Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’

   ⁴³ Jesus answered him, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.’”  Luke 23:32-43 (NIV)

As Jesus was dying for our sins, two other men were suffering death for their crimes. 

One of them mocked Jesus, while the other one acknowledged his sins and asked the Lord to simply remember him when he came into his kingdom. 

Jesus not only answered him, but promised that he would be with Him in paradise that very same day!  This passage illustrates how simple it is to obtain forgiveness from God.

This is why the Bible calls it “Good News”, which is translated in our Bibles as “The Gospel”. 

The truth is that Christ saved us from judgment by sacrificing himself and that all we need to do is acknowledge our sins and ask Him for forgiveness. 

The thief on the cross obtained safety from judgment during the very last moments of his life. We too can avoid God’s judgment by following this very same act of faith. 

The amazing thing is that it requires no payment or work on our part — Jesus paid for it all upon the cross. 

That’s why the Lord didn’t require anything more of the thief; Christ was paying for it, not us.

If you can see the truth of God’s Word through the fulfillment of prophecy, then also realize that the Christ of the Bible is true, too. 

You can obtain safety from the coming judgment just by asking the Lord to remember you when he comes into His kingdom. 

If you ask Him in truth and faith, He will answer you in the same manner as he did with the man on the cross.

God the Father chose to send Jesus to the cross to show His love and the seriousness of our sin.

Jesus accepted to take our punishment, to save all who would believe.

Why not receive God's gift of salvation and become His child?

Open your heart and say this prayer:

“Father God, I confess I am a sinner and my sins have separated me from You.

I am truly sorry. I now want to turn away from my past sinful life and live a new life pleasing to You.

Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again.

I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer.

I want to receive all that Jesus Christ has provided for me as my Savior. Your Word says, ‘Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved’ (Romans 10:13).

I believe and confess that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no man comes unto the Father, but by Him.

Lord Jesus, I pray and ask You, to come into my heart and be Lord of my life. I thank You that you have given me eternal life, and according to Your Word, I am born again and I am now a child of God.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit Who is in me now to help me do Your will for the rest of my life. I surrender my life to You. I promise to study Your Word – the Bible.

Use me for Your glory.

In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”

If you have just put your trust in Jesus Christ, you have been born into God’s family.

As a spiritual baby, you need to grow by feeding on God’s Word – the Bible (1 Peter 2:2).

You must have a good modern translation Bible and begin prayerfully reading it. Start in the New Testament, such as the Gospel of John or Paul’s letters to the Ephesians.

As you read, ask two questions: “What are You, Lord?” “What do You want me to do?”

Also, you need to join a Christian fellowship where the Bible is taught and where God is truly worshiped.

God bless you as you begin your new life with Him!

https://endtimestruth.com/escape-to-safety/