Death is coming

The closer death creeps up upon me the less I am able to understand the reasons for life or living.

Yes I have experienced a close family member dying and unlike television it takes decades to handle such a thing. To think I am going to put my family through such a thing when I finally leave is more horrific to me than the thought of death itself.

My life was and is still a learning experience but when all said and done what am I to do with all this accumulated learning over my lifetime if I just die. There is no logic or reason to this.

Long ago I became aware that the God story that is sold to the majority is just a nice story to give mankind with a message of a basic layout of how nice life could be if everyone followed these ideas. Not many in life do and if one thinks about it the good and evil structures actually depend on each other. The good that can be experienced in life is only understood as good when there is it's opposite to compare it to. This is not rocket science only common sense in reality. I am not saying we need to experience bad but understanding in it is needed to appreciate the great things many of us can have in our lives. From birth to death there are many ways mankind helps his fellow man. How many ways can you help?


Friday, June 10, 2011

Kenneth Copeland and His Ministry performing Their Job Effectively in Proclaiming God's Words

By Kenneth Taylor


Kenneth Copeland was a man inspired by God to develop a ministry and to proclaim His love to each and every individual. With God's call, Kenneth willingly answered and did his job for the Glory of God. He is an American writer, public speaker, and televangelist. Within the years of preaching God's word to other people, a lot of testimonies were heard saying God's work in their lives is truly powerful.

For all those who hunger and thirst for God's word, Kenneth Copeland leads them into the teachings of the Bible and every preaching is a revelation that comes from God. Kenneth has also been provided encouragement from his family who had endless support for all his almost 40 years of work. His cherished wife Gloria Copeland as well as their children, John, Kellie and Terrie also committed their lives to the ministry. It is evident that they are truly a blessing to many people.

The Ministry concentrates on strengthening one's faith, giving encouragement, hope to many and teaching them about the good Christian living with Christ in their lives. The Believer's Voice of Victory, a magazine of the ministry has these testimonies and messages pertaining to the Bible. The Copeland couple also shared and testified about their encounter as God taken over their hearts and lives. They don't only train people on how to be spiritually healthy, but also they preach about how to experience a good and a productive life with God in it.

In one of Kenneth Copeland's website, he quotes, "To live a prosperous life, your soul must prosper in all the truth of the Word." God's power is in direct relationship with His word." God's demonstration of His divine and great power is shown in every event in the Bible. His words show who He is, as the sovereign God. Therefore, anyone who believes in His words and promises will experience all of those totally and completely. Once you have done these things, a prosperous and successful life then follows you.

But there is more to this. Copeland also instructs about the study and reading the Bible as an integral part of a life of a Christian and every people. Obviously, knowing and obtaining revelations from the Bible is really tough in the event you truly don't comprehend the majority of its content. It is advisable to pray and ask guidance from the Holy Spirit and also to open your heart and mind so that you may obtain and understand it. Kenneth Copeland reveals some scriptures and suggestions in learning the Bible. They also focus on the act of obedience in their teaching of God's word as it is one of the most significant fundamentals of faith apart from knowing and believing.

It is through "obedience" that one may experience the full blessing of God and to fulfill His good plan and guidance in our lives. The scripture in the Bible can be seen on Matthew 7:24-27. Speaking follows acting -- this merely indicates that acting the Word of God includes speaking about it or sharing it to other individuals. What you speak must come directly out of your heart - and these words that you speak determine what happens in your existence. For further Bible reference, read Mark 11:23.

God's Word is always true, steadfast and wonderful. It is like every scripture you hear strikes you in the heart, and there it slowly exhibits in you and create an impact on your existence. It could be a big change if each and every living individual within this globe could be able to hear God's Word and its amazing work in everyone's existence. Good thing that united Kenneth Copeland Church will do these things together in proclaiming God's Word to everyone.




About the Author:



Incense Road of Antiquity

By Itamar David


Historians and anthropologists believe the Incense Road of Antiquity flourished between the 3rd century BCE and began to decline after the 2nd century CE. In general, the incense trade route stretched from the Mediterranean to Egypt, Arabia and on to India. Before the Greco-Romans started bypassing Incense Road, it was the main channel for trading goods of high value such as Indian spices, ebony and silk. Even rare woods from East Africa were carried along this route, as well as feathers and gold.

According to historian Himanshu Ray, South Arabia and the Horn of Africa were the chief sources of incense during the heyday of the Incense Route of Antiquity. Both texts and ancient frescos show evidence of traders bringing incense to the Nile around 1500 BCE. As the trade route evolved, new substances for ritual incense use were discovered. For example Yemen was already a prominent city for trade, but the frankincense and myrrh trees growing there were highly valued. Traders from all over Arabia sought the trees but it was the rulers of Yemen that valued them the most. Perhaps because of the commerce the trees brought, or maybe for their religious rituals. Either way the frankincense and myrrh trees kept the Red Sea portion of the Incense Road busy.

One of the most important points along the land route of the Incense Road was Gerrha, now identified as Uqair in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea. As an aside, the high salt content of the Red Sea meant there were no traditional building materials available. So residents built their homes using large blocks of salt. If repairs were needed, salt water was the 'glue'. In any case, Gerrha was well placed as a trading point for commodities, particularly aromatic goods from India. The location opened the door to the Mediterranean and controlled everything that flowed into Babylon during the first century BCE.

Inevitably the world powers of the era fought over control of the Incense Road of Antiquity. Nations were invaded, conquered or destroyed. Trade suffered during the battles between opposing sides and slowly a middleman capable of bypassing the warring armies began to emerge. The Nabateans (a people from what is now Jordan and northern Arabia) and the Roman Empire fought like cats and dogs while the South Arabs slipped in between them and demanded exorbitant fees for safe transport of cargos to the other side. However it was not long before a direct sea route across the Erythraen Sea (Arabian Sea) began being used to avoid the greed of the middlemen.

The act of bypassing the land portion of the Incense Road meant the Grecian Empire was now trading directly with India; the same was true for Rome and Egypt. An important contributor to the decline in Arabian influence on the Incense Road was the fall of the Sabaen Kingdom in Southwestern Arabia, leaving a large hole in commerce. Of course, no nation hesitated in filling that void, thus imports of cinnamon and pepper between India and Egypt increased dramatically.

Like any industrial boom, the incense trade experienced a historical period of 'bust' in the 3rd century CE. Every major nation or kingdom was experiencing significant political or economic trials. According to historian Gary Keith, commercial declines brought the Incense Road of Antiquity to a standstill. Yemen had relied very heavily on funds from the sale of their frankincense and myrrh trees, so after the halt of the Incense Road they turned to exporting coffee. It wasn't until the 6th century CE that a four-pronged leadership group emerged to manage the trade route. Now aromatics seemed to reach as far as Spain where the Archbishop of Spain began to document their names and religious use.

In November of 2000 CE, UNESCO declared the Frankincense Trail in Oman as an official World Heritage Site. The citation outlined by the World Heritage Committee states that the trees, oasis and ports of the region are vivid illustrations of the trade that flourished in the ancient world. In 2005 four Nabatean towns were added to the World Heritage list as they exhibit sophisticated architecture, engineering and construction from an ancient time and during an important era of trade history. Knowing the incense we use in our religious houses and homes has such a long and dramatic history makes the aroma of each variety seem so much more significant. One can almost see the primitive caravans traversing the Arabian desserts loaded down with incense, spices and gold.




About the Author: