Friday, July 4, 2025

Flashback Friday: America The Beautiful

 

 

 

 

 While many music artists have recorded, "America The Beautiful" no one
sings this patriotic anthem better than the legendary Ray Charles. 

 In 1976, when our nation celebrated her bicentennial birthday, this soulful version
by Mr. Charles peaked at Number 98 on the US R&B chart.  For many years,
his version has been played at the annual ball drop in NYC on New Year's Eve.

 

America The Beautiful
(1972)
Ray Charles
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Happy 249th Birthday America!

 

 

 

 "...and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all inhabitants."
(Leviticus 25:10)

 

The Liberty Bell
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Image courtesy/Wikipedia

 

 

Our country, unrivaled in beauty

And splendor that cannot be told,

How lovely thy hills and thy woodlands,

Arrayed in a sunlight of gold.

The eagle, proud king of the mountain,

Is soaring, majestic, and free;

Thy rivers and lakes in their grandeur,

Roll on to the arms of the sea. 

 

Our country, the birthplace of freedom,

The land where our forefathers trod,

And sang in the isles of the forest

Their hymn of thanksgiving to God; 

Their bark they had moored in the harbor,

No more on the ocean to roam;

And there in the wilds of New England,

They found a country and home. 


Our country, the past, and its glory,

Still honor the names of thy dead;

The statesmen that crowned thee with laurel,

The heroes and veterans that bled.

Mount Vernon, where Washington slumbers,

The soul of thy freedom for years,

A willow droops tenderly ever,

Go hallow his grave with thy tears. 

 

Our country, with ardent devotion,

In God may thy children abide;

In Him be the strength of our nation,

His laws and its counsel our guide.

Our banner, that time-honored banner,

That floats o'er the ocean's bright foam,

God keep them unsullied forever,

Our standard, our union, our home. 

 

 

"But The Spirit is THE LORD JEHOVAH, and wherever The Spirit of
THE LORD JEHOVAH is, there is freedom." 
(2 Corinthians 3:17)
The Aramaic Bible In Plain English

 
 "Our Country"
(1868)
Frances Jane "Fanny" Crosby 
(1820-1915)
Prolific American hymn writer
and evangelist
 
 
Have a very beautiful and blessed 4th of July today!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thursday, July 3, 2025

Real Life With Jack Hibbs: Living Free

 

 

 

 

"If The Son therefore will set you free, you will truly be the children of liberty."
(John 8:36)
The Aramaic Bible In Plain English 



 Freedom is not man's idea.  It's God's design.

 

Living Free
Real Life With Jack Hibbs
(July 3, 2025)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thursday's Thoughts: Not By Might...Nor By Power

 

 

 

 

"Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, saith the Lord of hosts."
(Zechariah 4:6)

 

 

Spirit of Might
Ilse Kleyn
Image courtesy/Art of Kleyn

 

 

At this hour a mountain of difficulty, distress, or necessity may be in our way,
and the natural reason sees no path over it, or through it, or round it. 

Let faith come in, and straightway the mountain disappears and becomes a plain.

But faith must first hear the Word of the Lord:

 "Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit," saith the Lord of hosts.

This grand truth is a prime necessity for meeting the insurmountable trials of life.

I see that I can do nothing, and that all reliance on man is vanity. "Not by might."
I see that no visible means can be relied on, but the force is the invisible Spirit.
God alone must work, and men and means must be nothing accounted of.
If it be so, that the Almighty God takes up the concerns of His people,
then the great mountains are nothing.

He can remove worlds as boys toss balls about, or drive them with their foot.
The power He can lend to me if the Lord bids me move an Alp I can do it
through His name. It may be a great mountain, but even before my feebleness
it shall become a plain, for the Lord hath said it.

What can I be afraid of with God on my side?

-Charles Spurgeon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Wednesday's Word: Ha-Elohim Hamvorakh L 'Olam Va'ed/ God Blessed Forever

 




 "To them (Israel) belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh,
 is the Christ, Who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen."
(Romans 9:5)

 

 

Image courtesy/Pixels
 

 

"Being about to discuss the rejection of the Jews and the calling of the Gentiles, and to show
that the whole agrees with the sovereign electing love of God, the Apostle Paul expresses his
affection for his Jewish people.  He solemnly appeals to Christ; and his conscience, enlightened
and directed by the Holy Spirit, bore witness to his sincerity. 

He would submit to be treated as accursed, to be disgraced, crucified; and even for a time be
in the deepest horror and distress if he could rescue his nation, Israel, from the destruction 
about to come upon them for their obstinate unbelief. 

To be insensible to the eternal condition of our fellow creatures is contrary both to the love
required by the law, and the mercy of the gospel. They (the Jews) had long been professed
worshipers of Jehovah.  The law, and the national covenant which was grounded thereon,
belonged to them.  The temple worship was typical of salvation by the Messiah, and the
means of communion with God.  All the promises concerning Christ and His salvation
were given to them.  He is not only over all, as Mediator, but He is God blessed forever.
 -Matthew Henry's Commentary

 

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem and the Salvation of Israel.  Maranatha!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, July 1, 2025

Pastor Ray Comfort's "180" Revisited/What Happened To Steve?

 

 

 "It's okay to kill a child in the womb...when?"- Pastor Ray Comfort

 

 

Image courtesy/Live Science

 

 

"Stay far away from a false matter and do not murder the innocent or the just
for I will not acquit the guilty."
(Exodus 23:7) 

According to an update I received today from Marie Tasy, Executive Director
 of New Jersey Right to Life,  the NJ Legislature has approved a blighted 
budget of $58.78 billion for Fiscal Year 2026.

Governor Phil Murphy signed it into law late last night.  

Among other measures that will benefit the abortion industry and his favorite
 political constituency, the budget includes $50 million in tax money to fund 
Planned Parenthood's abortion business under the guide of "family planning."

The bill will also include using tax dollars to establish an "Abortion Travel Advisory".
This comes at a time when the Garden State is facing a myriad of travel issues, 
including, but not limited to, huge delays at Newark Airport due to a shortage of 
air traffic controllers and outdated equipment; an ongoing strike by NJ Transit
which is causing headaches for commuters trying to find alternate routes to
work, and, due to poor maintenance on state highways, the increasing
  risk of dangerous sinkholes.

  I have to ask myself, what is the difference between abortion-obsessed politicians
 and the Nazis, who use to snatch little Jewish babies from their mothers' arms
and throw them in the air for target practice? 

 What's the difference between Hamas terrorists who threw little babies into ovens
 and forced their parents to watch as they burned alive, and a saline abortion,
 which burns a baby alive in his or her mother's womb?

In God's eyes, there is no difference.  

" You shall not murder"
(Exodus 20:13)

 In this riveting documentary,  you will see eight people change their minds
about abortion after being asked one simple question.

 

"180" Movie
Living Waters
(September 21,2011)

 

 

 

"Do not be deceived; God is not to be mocked. 
Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return." 
(Galatians 6:7 )


 Whatever happened to the foul-mouthed, racist-atheist with the
14-inch blue Mohawk by the name of Steve?

 

He Mocks The Preacher...Then This Happens
Living Waters
(June 30, 2025)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Tuesday Bible Study With Les Feldick: Redeem, Redeemed, Redemption

 

 

 

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.
For it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."
(Galatians 3:13) 

 


Les and Iris Feldick
Image courtesy/YouTube
 

 

 

 Les continues his walk through the Bible, helping us to connect the dots of Scripture.

 

 

Redeem, Redeemed, Redemption/ Part One
(2006)
Les Feldick Ministries-Official Site

 

 

 

 

 

 

Redeem, Redeemed, Redemption/ Part Two
(2006)
Les Feldick Ministries-Official Site

 

 

 

 

 

 

Redeem, Redeemed, Redemption/ Part Three
(2006)
Les Feldick Ministries-Official Site

 

 

 

 

 

 

Redeem, Redeemed, Redemption/ Part Four
(2006)
Les Feldick Ministries-Official Site


 


 


 


 

O God, The Strength Of Those Who War

 

 

 

 "Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight."
(Psalm 144:1)

 

 
David and Goliath
(1866)
Gustave Dore
The Holy Bible with Illustrations by Gustave Dore
(1832-83)
French artist
Image courtesy/The Victorian Web


 
 

 O God, the strength of those who war,

The hope of those who wait,

Be with our sons gone forth to fight,

And those who keep the gate. 

Give to our hosts in battle's hour 

Firm hearts and courage high,

Thy comfort give to those who fall,

Thy peace to those who die. 

 

Breathe on our land the spirit calm

Which faith in right bestows,

And in the hours of dark suspense

A faith which stronger grows. 

 

In Thee alone we place our hope

Thou Keeper of the just,

And Thou, through fight and fire and fears

Wilt justify our trust. 

 

Thy ways are wonderful, O God,

Who makest wars to cease:

O let this be the final war

That ushers in Thy peace. 


 

 "O God, The Strength Of Those Who War"
(1918)
William Boyd Carpenter
(1840-1918)
English Anglican clergyman and hymn writer
Chaplain to Queen Victoria of Great Britain.

 

 

Since October 7, 2023  880 Israeli soldiers have fallen in the war with their enemies.

Please pray for the Peace of Jerusalem and the Salvation of Israel.  Maranatha!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday, June 30, 2025

Yemenite Jewry: A Story of Survival, Faith… And Dance Moves

 

 

 

 

 "Ye have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you 
 on eagles' wings, and brought you to Myself."
(Exodus 19:4)

 


A Jewish Yemenite mother with her children
in Aden Camp during Operation Magic Carpet,
a.k.a. Operation on Wings of Eagles, when
Israel took in approximately 49,000 Yemenite
Jews as part of the Jewish Exodus from 
the Muslim World
June 1949-September 1950
Image courtesy/Wikipedia

 

 A fascinating look at the one of the most ancient and unique cultures in
 the Middle East, the Jews of Yemen, a resilient community of people who
endured years of poverty, exile, and discrimination living in the Arab World.
Today most Yemenite Jews live in Israel.

 

Yemenite Jewry: A Story Of Survival, Faith,
And Dance Moves
travelingisrael.com
(June 30, 2025)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Monday Meditation: The Days Are Gliding Swiftly By

 

 


 "You set all the boundaries of the earth; You made summer and winter."
(Psalm 74:17)

 


Towards The Sun
(2024)
Elena Kraft
German artist
Image courtesy/Singulart

 

 

The days are gliding swiftly by,

The days so bright and golden,

In leaf and flower the summer writes

Her poem sweet and olden.

 

The golden days, the long bright days,

The gladdest of the year!

The green grass springs, the wild bird sings,

The summertime is here. 

 

The earth is warm with life and joy,

The air is full of splendor

And unto all the south wind brings

Her message sweet and tender. 

 

O Giver of these summer hours,

All nature gives Thee praises,

From mountain peak to where the flower

It lowly bloom upraises. 

 

And at Thy feet, we, too, would sing,

With all Thy creatures living,

A song of mirth, a song of joy,

A song of glad thanksgiving. 

 

The golden days, the long bright days,

The gladdest of the year!

The green grass springs, the wild bird sings,

The summertime is here. 

 

"The Days Are Gliding Swiftly By"
(1869)
E. H. LeLand
American hymn writer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday, June 29, 2025

YHWH vs ELOHIM: The Hidden Meaning Of God’s Name In Hebrew Will Shock You

 

 

 

 

 There is a name in the Bible more powerful than any other.

Not a title...   Not a label...

But the very name of God-YHWH-revealed to Moses...

 etched into Scripture...and fulfilled in Jesus. 

 

YHWH vs. ELOHIM
The Hidden Meaning Of God's Name
In Hebrew Will Shock You
Power of Wisdom
(June 29, 2025)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Sunday Night In Uncle Walt's Vault: Egyptian Melodies

 

 

  

 

Along came a spider...who gets more than he bargained for inside
  the spooky, subterranean passages beneath the Great Sphinx,
 in this wacky Walt Disney cartoon from 1931.  

 

Egyptian Melodies
(1931)
Walt Disney Productions
Uploaded by newlookchick
September 22, 2008
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Casting Crowns: Praise You In This Storm

 

 

 

 

 

"And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age." 
(Matthew 28:20)

 


Praise You In This Storm
(2005)
Casting Crowns
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Dr. Charles Stanley: If The Foundations Are Destroyed

 

 

 

"If the foundations are destroyed what can the righteous do?"
(Psalm 11:3)

 

In this classic teaching,  Dr.Charles Stanley uses the story of Saul persecuting
David to illustrate how to find a sure path when it feels like your life is falling apart.

A very relevant and inspirational teaching in these uncertain and perilous times! 




If The Foundations Are Destroyed
Dr. Charles Stanley
In Touch Ministries
(June 29, 2025)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Saturday, June 28, 2025

The Anchor Podcast: Exposing Gaza/What The World Wasn’t Supposed To See

 

 

 

 

An Israeli housewife and mother, Jacqui Peleg never set out to be a voice for truth.

She would soon learn that what she discovered could not be ignored!

 

 

The Anchor Podcast: Exposing Gaza
What The World Wasn't Suppose To See
Behold Israel With Amir Tsarfati
(June 25, 2025)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Saturday Poetry Corner: The Excellency Of The Bible

 




  "The heavens declare the glory of God..."
(Psalm 19:1)

 

Image courtesy/The Art of Children's Picture Books

 

 

Great God, with wonder and with praise

On all Thy works I look:

But still Thy wisdom, power, and grace

Shine brighter in Thy Book. 


The stars that in their course roll

How much instruction given;

But Thy good Word informs my soul.

How I may climb to heaven. 

 

The fields provide me food, and show.

The goodness of the Lord;

But fruits of life and glory grow

In Thy most holy Word. 

 

Here are my choicest treasures hid;

Here my best comfort lies;

Here my desires are satisfied;

And hence my joys arise. 

 

Lord, make me understand Thy law:

Show what my faults have been;

And from Thy Gospel let me draw

Pardon for all my sin. 

 

Here would I learn how Christ has died

To save my soul

Not all the books on earth beside

Such heavenly wonders tell. 

 

Then let me love my Bible more;

And take a fresh delight

By day to read these wonders o'er,

And meditate by night. 



 "The Excellency Of The Bible"
Divine And Moral Hymns For Children
Isaac Watts
(1674-1748)
English Congregation minister and hymn writer
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Friday, June 27, 2025

Flashback Friday Encore: Seattle/Remembering Bobby Sherman ( 1943-2025)

 

 

 

 

 I remember having a serious crush on handsome heartthrob Jeremy Bolt, a.k.a. talented
singer/songwriter and teen idol Bobby Sherman, who played the bashful lumberjack living 
in 1860's Seattle in the short-lived ABC television series, "Here Come The Brides"(1968-70).

It is reported that he received more fan mail, not just on the show, but more than
any other performer on the network!  

Although I never wrote him a fan letter, Bobby will always have a special place 
in my heart and in my memories of early childhood in the America that used to be. 

Bobby died at his home in Los Angeles this week after battling kidney cancer.  
He was 81 years old.  May he rest in eternal peace.  



Seattle
Theme Song from "Here Come The Brides"

(1969)
Bobby Sherman
 

Flashback Friday: The End Of The World

 

 

 

"Why does the sun go on shining?
Why does the sea rush to shore?
Don't they know it's the end of the world?
'Cause you don't love me any more..."

 

 In recent years, "The End of the World" has become one of the songs
played in the video game "Fallout 4" which depicts life in America in
the wake of an atomic holocaust.  In reality, this song, recorded by
 pop-country artist Skeeter Davis in June, 1962, deals with the
  more familiar sense of misery and hopelessness found within 
a broken heart in the aftermath of a romantic breakup.

Released by RCA Records in December 1962, "The End of the World" peaked in
 March 1963 at Number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Number 2 on Billboard's
Hot Country Singles chart, Number 1 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart, and
Number 4. on Billboard's Hot R & B Singles chart.

It is the first, and to date, only time that a song cracked the Top 10 and Top 5 on all
 four Billboard charts. Billboard also ranked the record as the Number 2 song of 1963.

 

 

The End of the World
(1962)
Skeeter Davis
Legacy RecordingsVEVO
 (June 14, 2021)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Wise Are Mature

 



 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, 
not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith in God."
(Hebrews 6:1)

  

Still Life With Bible
(1885)
Vincent van Gogh
 (1853-1890)
Dutch Post-Impressionist Painter
Image courtesy/Strangers & Pilgrims on Earth

 

 

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews was frustrated.

 He had many wonderful truths he wanted to impart, but his audience
 did not want to expend much energy on spiritual growth.

 They had been Christians for some time, but they knew little more
 than when they first believed. Those who feed on and digest the 
meat of God's Word  attain maturity in their Christian lives.

 They gain the wisdom in speech and action 
that is the mark of the mature. 

If we are not mature, the reason is obvious: we have not been workmen 
but idlers in Bible study.We have not made constant use of the Scriptures
 to distinguish good from evil.

We are still dependent on others for our knowledge, as children are, in danger of
being misguided by those who sound knowledgeable but may be as ignorant as we.

This is why there are so few wise people.

Those who get all their knowledge of God's Word from an hour or two on Sunday
will never have a personal grasp of its content. Paul said that of we want to be wise,
if we want to "correctly handle the word of truth" we must be workmen
(2 Timothy 2:15).
 

We must do the job ourselves instead of expecting a pastor or teacher to do it all for us.
We must read the Bible. We must digest it, meditate on it, memorize it, understand it. 

God does not want us to remain spiritually immature. He wants us to:

"...become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here
and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their
  deceitful scheming.  Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up."
(Ephesians 4:13-15)

 

"The Wise Are Mature"
 A Devotional by Barbara Bush*
 NIV Women's Devotional New Testament
With Psalms And Proverbs
(1990)
Zondervan 


*This Barbara Bush is not the former First Lady or her granddaughter. 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday, June 26, 2025

Pastor Jack Hibbs: My Reaction/ Tucker Carlson, Ted Cruz, The Bible, And Israel

 

 

 

 "And I will make thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy
name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee,
 and curse them that curseth thee: in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."
(Genesis 12:3)

 

 

My Reaction: Tucker Carlson, Ted Cruz, 
The Bible, And Israel
Real Life With Jack Hibbs
(June 26, 2025)

 

 

When the "nation born in a day" the modern state of Israel, rose to take
her place among the nations of the world in 1948, it was the greatest single
 fulfillment of biblical prophecy since the first coming of Messiah Yeshua.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Avi Lipkin Explains The Coming Persecution Of Jews In America

 

 

"And I will bring back the captivity of My people, Israel, and they shall build
the ruined cities and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards and drink the
wine thereof; they shall also plant gardens and eat the fruit of them. And I will
plant them upon their own land, and they shall no more be uprooted from the
land which I have given them, says the LORD your God." 
(Amos 9:14-15)

 

 

Image courtesy/Los Angeles Times

 

 

 Israeli-American author/speaker and founder of the Bible Bloc Party in the Knesset,
Avi Lipkin sits down with the Bearded Bible brothers, Joshua and Caleb, to discuss
the rise of antisemitism and the coming persecution of Jews in America.


Avi Lipkin Explains The Coming Persecution
Of Jews In America
The Bearded Bible Brothers/Our Jewish Roots
(June 25, 2025)

 

   I never thought I would see this happening in the United States of America!  
However, in this time of mindless chaos and satanically-drive hatred that 
we are witnessing in our nation today,  I believe God will use this time in
 history to bring the last quarter of His scattered people back home to Israel, 
where they will be safe in the land He gave to them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jesus Is The Answer

 

 

 

 

"If you have some questions in the corners of your mind,

And traces of discouragement and peace you cannot find

Reflections of the old past, they seem to face you everyday

There's one thing I know for sure that Jesus is the way..." 



Jesus Is The Way
(1993)
Andre Crouch