Valuable Items

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These Old Items Hiding in Your Attic Are Worth a Ton of Money 

Psalm 11:5

"The LORD tries the righteous: but those that love violence, his soul hates." Psalm 11:5

Quote from Phillips Brooks

“Jesus Christ [is] the condescension of divinity and the exaltation of humanity.” Phillips Brooks

Turn to Jesus

Turn to Jesus by Franklin Graham

There’s an important event happening tonight. My sister Anne Graham Lotz is calling for women across America to join together in prayer:

8-9 PM ET

7-8 PM CT

6-7 PM MT

5-6 PM PT

4-5 PM AKT

2-3 PM HAT

Our nation is in trouble and we need to turn to Jesus Christ. I believe in the power of prayer, and I hope that thousands of you will be part of this timely prayer event.

Be sure to share this link inviting others who will pray to join with Anne Graham Lotz in concerted prayer for our nation:.

www.TurntoJesusPrayer.com

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning" (Joel 2:12).

Name above All Names

Name Above Every Name by Dr. D. James Kennedy

“And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

— Matthew 1:21

Many people are given exalted names but never live up to them. Charles Spurgeon tells about wandering in a cemetery and seeing a headstone inscribed with these words: “Sacred to the memory of Methuselah Coney. Age, six months.” (Recall that the Biblical Methuselah lived more than nine hundred years.)

The most important name the world has ever heard is the name of Jesus, and Jesus lived up to everything that name foretold. To make sure Mary and Joseph named Jesus properly, God sent angelic messengers to proclaim what His name should be and why. “Jesus” means “Jehovah saves,” and Jesus saved all of us from sin. The Bible has many other names for Jesus, but “Jesus” was His personal name, the name we call Him as our friend, the name that celebrates Him as our Savior.

Of course, we’ve Anglicized Jesus’ name. In His Hebrew home, people would have called Jesus “Joshua.” That name, common in that time and in ours, celebrates the memory of Joshua, one of the great heroes of Israel. Joshua led God’s people into the Promised Land of Canaan and fought to drive out all the Israelites’ enemies. During his lifetime, Joshua kept God’s people in line so that they walked with the Lord.

Joshua lived up to his name. He saved God’s people from earthly enemies and led them to the Promised Land. Jesus lived up to His name by doing something even greater—saving His people from eternal foes and delivering them into an eternal promised land.

As you go about your business today, honor the name of Jesus. Each time His name comes to mind, dwell on the fact that He has lived up to the promise of His name by saving you from sin and death for eternity.

Eastwood's Greatest Films

MSN.COM

Clint Eastwood movies: 20 greatest films ranked from worst to best

Today in History

Today in History
1930
Clint Eastwood Is Born

Best known to his many fans for one of his most memorable screen incarnations–San Francisco Police Inspector “Dirty” Harry Callahan–the actor and Oscar-winning filmmaker Clint Eastwood was born on May 31, 1930, in San Francisco, California.

With his father, Eastwood wandered the West Coast as a boy during the Depression. Then, after four years in the Army Special Services, Eastwood went to Hollywood, where he got his start in a string of B-movies.

For eight years, Eastwood played Rowdy Yates in the popular TV Western series Rawhide, before emerging as a leading man in a string of low-budget “spaghetti” Westerns directed by Sergio Leone: Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). All three were successful, but Eastwood made his real breakthrough with 1971’s smash hit Dirty Harry, directed by Don Siegel.

Though he was not the first choice to play the film’s title role–Frank Sinatra, Steve McQueen and Paul Newman all reportedly declined the part–Eastwood made it his own, turning the blunt, cynical Dirty Harry into an iconic figure in American film.

Also in 1971, Eastwood moved behind the camera, making his directorial debut with the thriller Play Misty for Me, the first offering from his production company, Malpaso. Over the next two decades, he turned in solid performances in films such as The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), Every Which Way But Loose (1978), Escape From Alcatraz (1979) and Honkytonk Man (1982), but seemed to be losing his star power for lack of a truly great film. By the end of the 1980s, after four Dirty Harry sequels, released from 1973 to 1988, Eastwood was poised to escape the character’s shadow and emerge as one of Hollywood’s most successful actor-turned-directors.

In 1992, he hit the jackpot when he starred in, directed and produced the darkly unconventional Western Unforgiven. The film won four Oscars, including Best Supporting Actor (Gene Hackman), Best Film Editing, Best Director and Best Picture, both for Eastwood. He also found box-office success as a late-in-life action and romantic hero, in In the Line of Fire (1993) and The Bridges of Madison County (1995), respectively.

As a director, Eastwood worked steadily over the next decade, making such films as Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997), Absolute Power (1997) and, most notably, the crime drama Mystic River (2003), for which he was again nominated for the Best Director Oscar. The following year, he hit a grand slam with Million Dollar Baby, in which he also starred as the curmudgeonly coach of a determined young female boxer (Hilary Swank, in her second Oscar-winning performance). In addition to Swank’s Academy Award for Best Actress, the film won Oscars for Best Supporting Actor (Morgan Freeman) and Eastwood’s second set of statuettes for Best Director and Best Picture.

In 2006, Eastwood became only the 31st filmmaker in 70 years to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of America (DGA). That year, he directed a pair of World War II-themed movies, Flags of Our Fathers (2006) and Letters from Iwo Jima (2006). The latter film, which featured an almost exclusively Japanese cast, earned an Oscar nomination for Best Picture and a fourth Best Director nomination for Eastwood.

Off-screen, Eastwood has pursued an interest in politics, serving as mayor of Carmel, California, from 1986 to 1988. He was married to Maggie Johnson in 1953, and the couple had two children, Kyle and Alison (who co-starred in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil), before separating in 1978 and divorcing in 1984. Eastwood also had long-term relationships with the actresses Sondra Locke and Frances Fisher (with whom he had a daughter, Francesca). He married his second wife, Dina Ruiz Eastwood, in 1996. Their daughter, Morgan, was born that same year.

His more recent films include J. Edgar (2011), American Sniper (2014), Sully (2016), The Mule (2018) and Richard Jewell (2019).

Where Do You Place Your Confidence?

Where Do You Place Your Confidence?
From: Today God Is First by Os Hillman
May 31, 2020

"Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel," (1 Chronicles 21:1-2).

God always requires total trust in Him alone for our victories in life. Throughout scripture we are cautioned not to place our trust in the strength of horses, other men or our own abilities. David's decision to take a census was a failure to keep his trust totally upon the Lord.

David's purpose in counting his population was to assess his military strength, much like the second census taken under Moses (Numbers. 1:2,3). David found 800,000 men eligible for military service in Israel and 500,000 men in Judah (2 Samuel. 24:9), more than double the previous head count.

David's commander evidently recognized the grave error that his king was about to make. "But Joab replied, 'May the LORD multiply his troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord's subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?'" (1 Chronicles 21:3).

This census displeased the Lord. David was falling into the temptation of trusting in the size of his army rather than in the Lord. God punished David and reduced his forces by bringing a plague that killed 70,000 men (1 Chronicles 24:14,15).

How do we do this in our lives today?

We trust our bank accounts, our skills, and the security of our workplace. When we begin placing our faith in these things instead of in the Provider of these things we get into trouble with God.

What a lesson this is for each of us.

Today, place your total trust in the Lord for all of your needs.

Thoughts on Romans 13:8-10

Thoughts on Romans 13:8-10 by John W. Ritenbaugh

"Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. (9) For the commandments, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, ou shall not covet,
and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (10) Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."

Paul presents us with an interesting paradox. On one hand, he says that we should owe no man anything that he can rightfully claim from us. But on the other hand, we must owe everyone more than we can hope to pay, that is, perfect love.

He extends and intensifies the concept of obligation. We must be more scrupulous within the limits of the common idea of indebtedness, and also infinitely widen the range within which it operates.

Did not our failure to meet our obligations to God and man accrue for us an unpayable debt? Now that the debt has been paid, we are obliged not only to strive to avoid further indebtedness, but also to expand and perfect the giving of love which Christ paid to satisfy our debt.

This paradox is apparent because love is not an added duty but the inclusive framework within which all duties should be done. Love is the motivating power that frees and enables us to serve and sacrifice with largeness of heart and generosity of spirit.

If we view love as just the keeping of God's laws, we are stuck on a low-level, letter-of-the-law approach to righteousness. Do not misunderstand, keeping God's law is a necessary aspect of love, but love is far more complex.

Commandment keeping is compulsory and can be done in an attitude that concludes, "I must love the person, but I don't have to like him."

Drawing upon Christ's teaching, Paul gives an entirely new significance to the idea of our obligation to like our fellow man and to love him as Jesus loves him.

A Call to Pray for Our Cities

A Call to Pray for Our Cities by Dave Butts

I'm asking you to pray because our cities are on edge. Violence is threatened. Everyone is concerned.

The horrific murder of George Floyd was the match that lit the fire but the fire is about much more than this death.

Justice must win, but the threatened violence isn't about justice. Something evil has been turned loose and its time for us to

Please fall on your knees before God and implore your believing friends to pray for Christ to reign over our cities, to reign in the hearts of people who think burning and looting are viable responses to the evil murder of a brother.

Today is Pentecost Sunday! May the Spirit's power be poured out today across our land!. May the looters and robbers be checked in their godless revenge. May police and all authorities react with wisdom against the onslaught of lawlessness. May believers be brought to their knees in prevailing prayer against the mayhem. May the loved ones of George Floyd be comforted in their sorrow.

May Jesus reign in all our hearts and turn this evil around from its course of destruction to positive steps of deliverance from both heartless criminals masquerading as police officers, and from looters masquerading as protestors.

Spread the word. It's time to pray for our nation!

Thoughts on Today's Verse

"Jesus answered them, It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Luke 5:31-32

Thoughts on Today's Verse by Phil Ware

Jesus' religious adversaries frequently criticized him for deliberately associating with people who were suspect in their eyes. Jesus, however, had a reason for this behavior. He wasn't associating with sinners to be popular, weird, bizarre, or hip.

The Lord associated with all kinds of people because he loved all kinds of people! He came to redeem the enslaved, find the lost, mend the broken, and reclaim the sinner. Can we, as Jesus' bodily presence today, strive for anything less than this and still call ourselves Jesus' Church?

My Prayer...

Forgive me, Father, when I opt for security in my acquaintances and I avoid potentially messy entanglements in my relationships. Please open my eyes to see the lost, the lonely, the forgotten, and the needy all around me. Please use me to lead them to your grace and to help them find their family with your people. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

Proverbs 13:2

“Unfaithful people have an appetite for violence.” Proverbs 13:2

Quote from Keisha Lance Bottoms

“This is not a protest; this is chaos.”  Keisha Lance Bottoms, Mayor of Atlanta, GA

II Timothy 3:1-5

"Understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people." II Timothy 3:1-5

Ever-Changing

Ever-Changing by Bret Lamsma
"I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some." 1 Corinthians 9:22

This explanation by Paul has often confused me. It seems like he was not being authentic (or maybe even manipulative?) by changing the way he acted in order to influence people for the gospel. But the longer I live in community with other people, and the more life circumstances I go through, the more I understand what he is talking about.

It helps if I look at this message in light of being a member of a community and everything it can be. What I need from the
community around me today is different from what I needed 10 or 20 years ago.

When I was in high school dealing with the death of my dad, I needed my community to listen to me rage against God and love me anyway.

When my children were younger, my wife and I needed people to watch them for us and to listen to us when we wondered how to parent them.

Today our needs are different still.

The same could be said of everyone you know.

A Christian community, serving with the grace of Jesus Christ, can be all things to all people. For those who are hurting, it can come and cry alongside.

For people who are rejoicing, it can celebrate.

It can offer so much because it is so deep. It is ever changing to reflect who God is in the ever-changing world around us.

Whatever you are in need of today, the community of God’s people is there to be Christ for you.

Lord, thank you for the ever-changing and deep love we can find in the community of your people. Amen.

Today in History

Today in History
1431
Joan of Arc Burned at the Stake for Heresy

At Rouen in English-controlled Normandy, Joan of Arc, the peasant girl who became the warrior of France, was burned at the stake for heresy.

Joan was born in 1412, the daughter of a tenant farmer at Domremy, on the borders of the duchies of Bar and Lorraine. In 1415, the Hundred Years War between England and France entered a crucial phase when the young King Henry V of England invaded France and won a series of decisive victories against the forces of King Charles VI.

By the time of Henry’s death in August 1422, the English and their French-Burgundian allies controlled Aquitaine and most of northern France, including Paris. Charles VI, long incapacitated, died one month later, and his son, Charles, regent from 1418, prepared to take the throne. However, Reims, the traditional city of French coronation, was held by the Anglo-Burgundians, and the Dauphin (heir apparent to the French throne) remained uncrowned. Meanwhile, King Henry VI of England, the infant son of Henry V and Catherine of Valois, the daughter of Charles VI, was proclaimed king of France by the English.

Joan’s village of Domremy lay on the frontier between the France of the Dauphin and that of the Anglo-Burgundians. In the midst of this unstable environment, Joan began hearing “voices” of three Christian saints—St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret. When she was about 16, these voices exhorted her to aid the Dauphin in capturing Reims and therefore the French throne.

In May 1428, she traveled to Vaucouleurs, a stronghold of the Dauphin, and told the captain of the garrison of her visions. Disbelieving the young peasant girl, he sent her home. In January 1429, she returned, and the captain, impressed by her piety and determination, agreed to allow her passage to the Dauphin at Chinon.

Dressed in men’s clothes and accompanied by six soldiers, she reached the Dauphin’s castle at Chinon in February 1429 and was granted an audience. Charles hid himself among his courtiers, but Joan immediately picked him out and informed him of her divine mission. For several weeks, Charles had Joan questioned by theologians at Poitiers, who concluded that, given his desperate straits, the Dauphin would be well-advised to make use of this strange and charismatic girl.

Charles furnished her with a small army, and on April 27, 1429, she set out for Orleans, besieged by the English since October 1428. On April 29, as a French sortie distracted the English troops on the west side of Orleans, Joan entered unopposed by its eastern gate. She brought greatly needed supplies and reinforcements and inspired the French to a passionate resistance. She personally led the charge in several battles and on May 7 was struck by an arrow. After quickly dressing her wound, she returned to the fight, and the French won the day. On May 8, the English retreated from Orleans.

During the next five weeks, Joan and the French commanders led the French into a string of stunning victories over the English. On July 16, the royal army reached Reims, which opened its gates to Joan and the Dauphin. The next day, Charles VII was crowned king of France, with Joan standing nearby holding up her standard: an image of Christ in judgment. After the ceremony, she knelt before Charles, joyously calling him king for the first time.

On September 8, the king and Joan attacked Paris. During the battle, Joan carried her standard up to the earthworks and called on the Parisians to surrender the city to the king of France. She was wounded but continued to rally the king’s troops until Charles ordered an end to the unsuccessful siege. That year, she led several more small campaigns, capturing the town of Saint-Pierre-le-Moitier. In December, Charles ennobled Joan, her parents, and her brothers.

In May 1430, the Burgundians laid siege to Compiegne, and Joan stole into the town under the cover of darkness to aid in its defense. On May 23, while leading a sortie against the Burgundians, she was captured.

The Burgundians sold her to the English, and in March 1431 she went on trial before ecclesiastical authorities in Rouen on charges of heresy. Her most serious crime, according to the tribunal, was her rejection of church authority in favor of direct inspiration from God. After refusing to submit to the church, her sentence was read on May 24: She was to be turned over to secular authorities and executed. Reacting with horror to the pronouncement, Joan agreed to recant and was condemned instead to perpetual imprisonment.

Ordered to put on women’s clothes, she obeyed, but a few days later the judges went to her cell and found her dressed again in male attire. Questioned, she told them that St. Catherine and St. Margaret had reproached her for giving in to the church against their will.

She was found to be a relapsed heretic and on May 29 ordered handed over to secular officials. On May 30, Joan, 19 years old, was burned at the stake at the Place du Vieux-Marche in Rouen. Before the pyre was lit, she instructed a priest to hold high a crucifix for her to see and to shout out prayers loud enough to be heard above the roar of the flames.

As a source of military inspiration, Joan of Arc helped turn the Hundred Years' War firmly in France’s favor. By 1453, Charles VII had reconquered all of France except for Calais, which the English relinquished in 1558. In 1920, Joan of Arc, one of the great heroes of French history, was recognized as a Christian saint by the Roman Catholic Church. Her feast day is May 30.

Block Logic

Block Logic
From: Today God Is First by Os Hillman
May 30, 2020

"For this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land" (Jeremiah. 32:15).

In the scriptures we discover a difference in the way the Hebrew mind viewed things compared to the way many Westerners relate to God. Hebrews used something called Block Logic. That is, concepts were expressed in self-contained units or blocks of thought. These blocks did not necessarily fit together in any obvious rational or harmonious pattern.

Greek logic, which has influenced the Western world, was different. The Greeks often used tightly contained step logic which reason a premise to a conclusion, each step linked tightly to the next in coherent, rational, logical fashion.

This is why some Bible stories don't make sense to the western mind. It is particularly difficult for Westerners - those whose thought-patterns have been influenced more by the Greeks and Romans than by the Hebrews - to piece together the block logic of Scripture.

Consider Jeremiah and God's instruction to purchase land in a seemingly inopportune time. If I asked you to purchase some land when you knew that the country you were living in was about to be invaded and you were sure to be placed under arrest, how wise do you believe such an investment would be?

Do you believe God would lead you to make such an investment? That is exactly what God told Jeremiah to do. However, God had a good reason for having Jeremiah make such a purchase. It was to be a testimony and a promise that God was going to restore the Jews to their land.

Hebrews made decisions based on obedience.

Greeks (and Westerners) often made decisions on logic and reason.

If the early church made decisions based on a pro and con method of decision-making, there would be no miracles in the Bible. i.e., such as getting the coin from the fish's mouth, walking around the walls of Jericho to take the city, Peter walking on water, etc.

We are not to question God's instructions. We are simply to obey.

Thoughts on Genesis 3:7-11

Thoughts on Genesis 3:7-11 by John W. Ritenbaugh

"Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. (8) And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. (9) Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, Where are you? (10) So he said, I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself. (11) And He said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?"

This account of Adam's and Eve's reaction to their sin demonstrates that sin destroys innocence.

Were two people ever more innocent at the beginning of their lives than Adam and Eve? Immediately after sinning, though, they felt shame because of their nakedness, and they doubly showed their guilt by hiding from God. Do the truly innocent have any need to hide? Do the innocent need to feel shame?

Sin leaves a tarnish on a person's mind so that he does not look at life in quite the same way anymore. David expresses how this tarnish affected him in Psalm 40:12, "My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up." Paul later explains, "To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled" (Titus 1:15).

A well-known series of scriptures, beginning in Matthew 18:1, touches on innocence and its destruction. It starts with a question from the disciples: "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"

Jesus replies that unless we become as little children, we will not be in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Is not the beauty of their innocence and the harmless vulnerability of little children a major reason why we find them so adorable? They produce no harm, shame, or guilt. But what happens as they become adults? They become sophisticated, worldly, cosmopolitan, cynical, suspicious, sarcastic, prejudiced, self-centered, uninvolved, and many other negative things.

They also seem to lose their zest for life.

Sin does that.

Thoughts on Today's Verse

"The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead — whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree." Acts 5:30

Thoughts on Today's Verse by Phil Ware .
Peter is making clear that his faith in Jesus didn't just begin with Jesus. It began with the Patriarchs, the great Jewish fathers. The God who blessed them also raised Jesus from the dead, even though Jesus had been executed in the most heinous and degrading way possible for a faithful Jew — he was nailed to a cross, something that was both illegal and a sign of being cursed under Jewish Law. He raised Jesus from the dead and exalted him and made him our Savior and our Lord. Praise God!

My Prayer...

Thank you, dear Father, for showing your power over evil, sin, hate, jealousy, and death. In the name of Jesus, my Lord and Savior, I offer my praise and thanksgiving. Amen.

Proverbs 22:6

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

Quote from Charles Wesley

“Almighty God of truth and love, to me Thy pow’r impart; the burden from my soul remove--the hardness of my heart.”     Charles Wesley

Today in History

Today in History
1953
Hillary and Norgay Reach Everest Summit

At 11:30 a.m. on May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa of Nepal, became the first explorers to reach the summit of Mount Everest, which at 29,035 feet above sea level is the highest point on earth.

The two, part of a British expedition, made their final assault on the summit after spending a fitful night at 27,900 feet. News of their achievement broke around the world on June 2, the day of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, and Britons hailed it as a good omen for their country’s future.

Mount Everest sits on the crest of the Great Himalayas in Asia, lying on the border between Nepal and Tibet. Called Chomo-Lungma, or “Mother Goddess of the Land,” by the Tibetans, the English named the mountain after Sir George Everest, a 19th-century British surveyor of South Asia.

The summit of Everest reaches two-thirds of the way through the air of the earth’s atmosphere–at about the cruising altitude of jet airliners–and oxygen levels there are very low, temperatures are extremely cold, and weather is unpredictable and dangerous.

The first recorded attempt to climb Everest was made in 1921 by a British expedition that trekked 400 difficult miles across the Tibetan plateau to the foot of the great mountain. A raging storm forced them to abort their ascent, but the mountaineers, among them George Leigh Mallory, had seen what appeared to be a feasible route up the peak. It was Mallory who quipped when later asked by a journalist why he wanted to climb Everest, “Because it’s there.”

A second British expedition, featuring Mallory, returned in 1922, and climbers George Finch and Geoffrey Bruce reached an impressive height of more than 27,000 feet.

In another attempt made by Mallory that year, seven Sherpa porters were killed in an avalanche. (The Sherpas, native to the Khumbu region, have long played an essential support role in Himalayan climbs and treks because of their strength and ability to endure the high altitudes.)

In 1924, a third Everest expedition was launched by the British, and climber Edward Norton reached an elevation of 28,128 feet, 900 vertical feet short of the summit, without using artificial oxygen. Four days later, Mallory and Andrew Irvine launched a summit assault and were never seen alive again. In 1999, Mallory’s largely preserved body was found high on Everest–he had suffered numerous broken bones in a fall. Whether or not he or Irvine reached the summit remains a mystery.

Several more unsuccessful summit attempts were made via Tibet’s Northeast Ridge route, and after World War II Tibet was closed to foreigners. In 1949, Nepal opened its door to the outside world, and in 1950 and 1951 British expeditions made exploratory climbs up the Southeast Ridge route. In 1952, a Swiss expedition navigated the treacherous Khumbu Icefall in the first real summit attempt. Two climbers, Raymond Lambert and Tenzing Norgay, reached 28,210 feet, just below the South Summit, but had to turn back for want of supplies.

Shocked by the near-success of the Swiss expedition, a large British expedition was organized for 1953 under the command of Colonel John Hunt. In addition to the best British climbers and such highly experienced Sherpas as Tenzing Norgay, the expedition enlisted talent from the British Commonwealth, such as New Zealanders George Lowe and Edmund Hillary, the latter of whom worked as a beekeeper when not climbing mountains. Members of the expedition were equipped with specially insulated boots and clothing, portable radio equipment, and open- and closed-circuit oxygen systems.

Setting up a series of camps, the expedition pushed its way up the mountain in April and May 1953. A new passage was forged through the Khumbu Icefall, and the climbers made their way up the Western Cwm, across the Lhotse Face, and to the South Col, at about 26,000 feet. On May 26, Charles Evans and Tom Bourdillon launched the first assault on the summit and came within 300 feet of the top of Everest before having to turn back because one of their oxygen sets was malfunctioning.

On May 28, Tenzing and Hillary set out, setting up high camp at 27,900 feet. After a freezing, sleepless night, the pair plodded on, reaching the South Summit by 9 a.m. and a steep rocky step, some 40 feet high, about an hour later. Wedging himself in a crack in the face, Hillary inched himself up what was thereafter known as the Hillary Step. Hillary threw down a rope, and Norgay followed. At about 11:30 a.m., the climbers arrived at the top of the world.

News of the success was rushed by runner from the expedition’s base camp to the radio post at Namche Bazar, and then sent by coded message to London, where Queen Elizabeth II learned of the achievement on June 1, the eve of her coronation. The next day, the news broke around the world. Later that year, Hillary and Hunt were knighted by the queen. Norgay, because he was not a citizen of a Commonwealth nation, received the lesser British Empire Medal.

Since Hillary and Norgay’s historic climb, numerous expeditions have made their way up to Everest’s summit. In 1960, a Chinese expedition was the first to conquer the mountain from the Tibetan side, and in 1963 James Whittaker became the first American to top Everest. In 1975, Tabei Junko of Japan became the first woman to reach the summit. Three years later, Reinhold Messner of Italy and Peter Habeler of Austria achieved what had been previously thought impossible: climbing to the Everest summit without oxygen.

More than 300 climbers have died attempting to summit the mountain. Everest’s deadliest day occurred on April 25, 2015, when 19 people were killed in an avalanche at base camp following a 7.8 earthquake, which killed more than 9,000 people and injured more than 23,000 in Nepal.

A major tragedy occurred in 1996 when eight climbers died after being caught in a blizzard high on the slopes in an incident made famous by Jon Krakauer’s book Into Thin Air. Krakauer's book did nothing to stem the tide of people willing to shell out tens of thousands of dollars for a chance to summit Earth’s highest mountain. Traffic jams have been reported near the top, and a fistfight broke out in 2013 between three European climbers and more than 100 Sherpas, over what the guides deemed to be rude and dangerous behavior during an attempted ascent. Meanwhile, the deaths keep coming, including over 10 in 2019.

Why Does God Allow Evil?

Why Does God Allow Evil?
From: Today God Is First by Os Hillman
May 29, 2020

"If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, who could stand" (Psalm 130:3).

One of the most common questions every person wrestles with in life is this: "God, if You are loving, just, and all-powerful, why do You allow good people to suffer?"

Many choose not to believe in God because they cannot adequately explain this question. Evangelist Billy Graham addressed this question in his book Answers to Life's Problems:

We do not know all the reasons why God permits evil. We need to remember, however, that he is not the cause of evil in this world and we should therefore not blame Him for it.

Remember that God did not create evil, as some believe. God created the world perfect. Man chose to defy God and go his own way, and it is man's fault that evil entered the world.

Even so, God has provided the ultimate triumph of good over evil in Jesus Christ, who on the cross, defeated Satan and those who follow him.

Christ is coming back and when He does, all evil will be ended forever and righteousness and justice will prevail.

Have you ever thought about what would happen if God suddenly eliminated all the evil in this world? Not one person would be left, because we are all guilty of sin.

Whenever we suffer, we should remember that the Son of God went before us, drinking the cup of suffering and death to the dregs. Because Christ is fully man and fully God, we know that God understands our fears, sorrows and suffering. He identifies with us. Most important of all, the Father has given us the gift of His Son so that we don't have to die and suffer forever in eternity.

Because Jesus suffered and died for us, our suffering can be made like His -purposeful and meaningful. Evil, suffering and death came into the world when the first man and woman listened to Satan and committed the first sin. Evil was never part of the Garden of Eden. The moment Adam and Eve crossed the boundary of God's command, evil became the terrible reality of this world.

There are some questions that will remain unresolved until we are able to meet face to face with our Creator in Heaven.

A Prophetic Word

A Prophetic Word by Nancy McDaniel,
Prayer Director, Global Prayer Office, AGLOW International
(Word received on Wednesday morning, May 27th.)

I received some Night Watch insights from friends in Alabama this morning. One thing shared was that they had prayed into "Launch America" with the space launch that is scheduled for today.

She said, "This is what our Father is doing." Wow! Something exploded in me! Yes! For such a time as this our Father planned a prophetic act to demonstrate what He is doing in our nation right now! I shared this with another believer, and he pointed out that this space launch must take place at a certain time when certain conditions are right.

In essence, this is what I'm hearing . . . Through the timing of this space launch, God is assuring us that He already has planned a RIGHT TIME launch for America. As we have prayed up to this point, our prayers have partnered with Heaven to bring earth into alignment of Heaven for a RIGHT TIME launching.

Now, with much of this alignment already released in the Spirit, it is the RIGHT TIME for us to fire up the engines, get in position and proclaim LAUNCH AMERICA!

- Lord, LAUNCH AMERICA! Open the portals of Heaven and send Your glory upon our land!

- Lord, LAUNCH AMERICA! Open the economy in our nation. Open businesses, services, jobs.

- Lord, LAUNCH AMERICA! Open our Houses of Worship and corporate worship gatherings.

- Lord, LAUNCH AMERICA! Break the back of hopelessness, fear, lying and mocking spirits. Release life, hope, courage and an overcoming spirit.

- Lord, LAUNCH AMERICA! Open our schools with a godly realignment of our education system. Open opportunities for learning and achievement for our children and youth of our nation.

- Lord, LAUNCH AMERICA! Lord, You said that America is a light to the world, a city on a hill which cannot be hidden.

We declare that Holy Spirit is sending fresh fire to America to make our light brighter and make it unquenchable. We declare that every hidden scheme to bring America down is crushed. Lord, raise us to a new height on Your Holy Hill. Launch America with fresh passion to bless You, to bless our nation, to bless Israel and to bless the nations.

Thoughts on Today's Verse

"Peter and the other apostles replied: We must obey God rather than men!" — Acts 5:29

Thoughts on Today's Verse by Phil Ware

Against a stern warning from the ruling council in Jerusalem, called the Sanhedrin, Peter and the other apostles proclaimed Jesus as Lord. They knew that Jesus had triumphed over the attempts of his enemies to destroy him and his ministry.

The apostles blatantly disobeyed the orders of the very same people who had Jesus crucified. By any standard, that is faithful courage. How are you doing in the "standing up for Jesus" battle?

My Prayer...

Lord God Almighty, please empower me by your Spirit to be courageous. I do not want to ever back down from my convictions nor ever renounce my faith in Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.

Isaiah 54:17

"No weapon that is formed against you will succeed; And every tongue that rises against you in judgment you will condemn. This [peace, righteousness, security and triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And this is their vindication from Me, says the Lord." Isaiah 54:17

Your Humor for Today

Your Humor for Today
To save money, I suggested to one of my grown sons that we all live together in one house. I could tell he didn’t think it would be cost-effective when he asked, “Who’s going to pay the therapist?” —Virginia Davies

Quote from Alan Dershowitz

“Bigotry against any group should be disqualifying for high office.”     Alan Dershowitz

Sorrow and Sympathy

Sorrow And Sympathy by Dr. D. James Kennedy

“… the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”    2 Corinthians 1:3-4

The problem of suffering, or as C. S. Lewis called it, “the problem of pain” has troubled believers for centuries. In fact, an entire book of the Bible—Job—addresses the issue of enduring pain and sorrow. Why does God allow us to go through heartbreaking times of tribulation? Have you ever asked that question? Have you ever cried in despair to God, desperately asking, “Why?” Maybe you’re experiencing suffering even now. And if you’re like the rest of us, you want nothing more than to purge yourself of all pain, trouble, hurt, and sorrow.

Despite our desperate cries, God often doesn’t remove troubles and sorrows from our lives. Why? Because God uses suffering to prepare us for helping others. Through our troubles and sorrows, God molds us into sympathetic and compassionate people. The Bible speaks of comforting those in trouble through the comfort that we ourselves have received from God. Only those who have endured the shadow, who have known suffering and trouble, can adequately comfort others.

In the Old Testament, when a man was ordained to the priesthood, he had water sprinkled on his head, his hands, and his feet. We who are the priests of God, in the universal priesthood of all believers in the new covenant, experience a baptism of tears that prepares us for the office of sympathy.

Where did Paul get the wisdom to write his comforting epistles? Where did David get the inspiration to write those solacing psalms that play such an important role in every believer’s life? Where did John get the foresight to write that tremendously hopeful conclusion to the book of Revelation? Each one of them gained the ability to comfort others by experiencing his own tears.

If you know someone experiencing hard times right now, comfort that person. Pray for him or her. Show sympathy and compassion. And if you are enduring a difficult time, don’t view it as a hopeless, needless tragedy. Perhaps God is using your trial to prepare you for an important work. Ask God today to transform your sorrows into sympathy and empathy.

Hebrews, Chapter 11 -- The Faith Chapter

Hebrews, Chapter 11 -- The Faith Chapter

1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2For by it the elders obtained a good report.
3Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
4By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
5By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
6But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
7By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
8By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
9By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
10For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
11Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
12Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
13These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
14For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
15And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
16But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
17By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
18Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
19Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
21By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.
22By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.
23By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment.
24By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;
25Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
26Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
27By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
28Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
29By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.
30By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.
31By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
32And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
33Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
34Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
35Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
36And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
37They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
38(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
39And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
40God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

Today in History

Today in History
1961
Appeal for Amnesty Campaign Launches

On May 28, 1961, the British newspaper The London Observer published British lawyer Peter Benenson’s article “The Forgotten Prisoners” on its front page, launching the Appeal for Amnesty 1961—a campaign calling for the release of all people imprisoned in various parts of the world because of the peaceful expression of their beliefs. The movement later became Amnesty International.

Benenson was inspired to write the appeal after reading an article about two Portuguese students who were jailed after raising their glasses in a toast to freedom in a public restaurant. At the time, Portugal was a dictatorship ruled by Antonio de Oliveira Salazar.

Outraged, Benenson penned the Observer article making the case for the students’ release and urging readers to write letters of protest to the Portuguese government. The article also drew attention to the variety of human rights violations taking place around the world, and coined the term “prisoners of conscience” to describe “any person who is physically restrained (by imprisonment or otherwise) from expressing ... any opinion which he honestly holds and does not advocate or condone personal violence.”

“The Forgotten Prisoners” was soon reprinted in newspapers across the globe, and Berenson’s amnesty campaign received hundreds of offers of support.

In July, delegates from Belgium, the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Germany, Ireland and Switzerland met to begin “a permanent international movement in defense of freedom of opinion and religion.” The following year, this movement would officially become the human rights organization Amnesty International.

Amnesty International took its mandate from the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which holds that all people have fundamental rights that transcend national, cultural, religious and ideological boundaries. By the 10th anniversary of the Appeal for Amnesty 1961, the organization it spawned numbered over 1,000 voluntary groups in 28 countries, with those figures rising steadily. In 1977, the organization received the Nobel Peace Prize.

Amnesty International owes much of its success in promoting human rights to its impartiality and its focus on individuals rather than political systems. Today, Amnesty International continues to work toward its goals of ensuring prompt and fair trials for all prisoners, ending torture and capital punishment and securing the release of “prisoners of conscience” around the globe.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
From: Today God Is First by Os Hillman
May 28, 2020

"Then Joseph said to his brothers, 'I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.'" - Genesis 50:24

I was boarding the airplane in Frankfurt, Germany, when a mentor of mine asked me this question, "Would you consider why God referred to Himself as the 'God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob'? Why didn't He simply say, 'the God of Jacob'?" What a strange question, I thought to myself.

For the next hour I racked my brain trying to discover the meaning to this question. I had never read it in a commentary, and the Scriptures do not really say why this is so. It became a good exercise with the Holy Spirit that led to some interesting observations - one from my mentor, one from my own insight.

First, could it be that the Lord has given us a "type of trinity" in Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Abraham was considered a father figure to the nation of Israel. Isaac was the son who had to be sacrificed on the altar. Jacob was the man who had to learn to walk according to the Holy Spirit instead of his flesh. Each of these patriarchs had a particular relationship with God to fulfill.

My friend asked about an hour into the flight, "So, what did you discover?"

I told him of my observation.

"Hmm...that is interesting. I believe that what we also see in the patriarchs are examples of three distinct types of personalities. If the Lord had cited only one of the patriarchs, we would tend to seek to model that leader. However, the Lord has given us three distinct personalities in whom He performed His work.

Abraham was the pioneer who ventured out into unknown territory and was considered righteous for his faith.

Isaac was faithful to follow in his inheritance with few ups and downs in his life. He had the fewest calamities among the three. He was called simply to be faithful to what had been already given.

Jacob had extreme conflict in his life. He suffered more pit experiences than either of his predecessors. He had much conflict in relationships that became the source of his inheritance.

Each of us can identify with one of these men in how God has related to them."

God works in each person's life uniquely, and He has provided examples of lives for us to identify with from the Scriptures.

Who do you identify with most in your Christian pilgrimage?

Discover this for yourself. You will find encouragement as you seek to learn from someone who has gone before you.