Running "posthaste" for the Master.

"End of the world FEARS as THREE Apocalyptic signs come true in MONTHS"

This was the headline a day or two ago! It was fuelled by three events taking place within just a few months, allegedly echoing scriptures about the end of the world. These are: the birth of a red heifer in Israel; the claim that the Dead Sea is now populated by fish and other forms of life (with a reference to Ezekiel 47:8-9 - but no mention that the picture given there depends on water that has flowed from the Temple!); and a snake slithering out from the Western Wall on Oct 31st.

Of course, there is only one relevant Scripture in this context. Referring to the end of the age, Jesus said: "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only." (Matt.24:36).

However, although we may not know the day and the hour, there are many genuine signs (not just three doubtful ones!) that we are, indeed, in the end times. How do disciples of Jesus react to this? Sadly, it would appear that many who claim to be Christians remain unmoved and complacent in their attitude. This means that, with the exponentially explosion in the population on the one hand, and the lethargy of professed believers on the other, we are losing out on the great task of going and making disciples of all nations, baptising them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that Jesus has commanded us. (see. Matt 28:19-20).

In the light of this, someone has made the point that, "We must go posthaste and full throttle if we are to reach this dying generation with God's message of hope and salvation."

"full throttle" most of us will understand. But what about "posthaste"? Well, the word goes back all the way to the time of Henry VIII, king of England. At that time, postmasters were given relays of horses to carry messages for the king to important cities of the realm. Because some couriers were irresponsible, and wasted time in taverns and inns on the way, a drastic law was put into effect demanding that every dispatch rider should "ride for his life"! 

The king's edict meant that anyone caught delaying his messages would be publicly hanged! Often, upon particularly important messages, the figure of a man suspended from a gallows, was drawn. Beneath this was the ominous warning: "Haste, post, haste! Haste for thy life!" A number of men were put to death because of their inefficiency, but the practice was eventually discontinued. However, the old expression remains as a reminder that the utmost speed and urgency is required when the king's business is involved.

Writing to the believers in Corinth, the apostle Paul states that we,who claim His name, are ambassadors for the Lord Jesus (II Cor.5:20). Are we, as His ambassadors running "posthaste" to deliver His message of love and grace to others? "The harvest is plentiful," said Jesus, "but the labourers are few; pray, therefore, the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest." (Matt.9:37-38). There is, let us not forget, a compelling GO in the GOspel!

Palestinian Newspaper Admits: Israel Helps Palestinians

The following is a copy of a report that arrived in my Inbox.  So often, on an increasing number of occasions, Israel is seen only as the aggressor in the Middle East - take, for example, the recent decision by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.  However, as Nazi propaganda minister, Dr Joseph Goebbels stated: “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”  This article tells the truth - however unpalatable it may be to various world governments, and to George Galloway, M.P. (or to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland!).

"Despite the Israeli-Arab conflict, a Palestinian newspaper has recognized how Israel’s Hadassah Medical Centre has helped the Palestinian people.
 
According to Palestinian Media Watch, the Palestinian daily Al Hayat Al Jadida reported, “PA [Palestinian Authority] Minister of Health, Hani Abdeen visited the Israeli Hadassah Hospital. This is the first visit by a Palestinian minister to one of the most important Israeli hospitals, according to the hospital’s announcement. Minister Abdeen who was accompanied by a delegation that included senior officials of the ministry and of the PA, met with the Director of Ein Karem Hadassah Hospital, Yuval Weiss. He [the minister] visited Palestinian patients being treated in the hospital, and he distributed gifts.”

Al Hayat Al Jadida continued, “Hospital director Weiss said: 'We relate to patients without regard to nationality and religion. We treat Muslims, Christians, Jews, and other nationalities without bias, and 30% of the patients who are children are Palestinians.' He went on to say: ‘We’ve begun cooperating with the Palestinians. We now train teams of physicians from the hospital in Beit Jala in the southern West Bank, to treat cancer among children. We have about 60 Palestinian medical interns and specialist physicians who will be returning to the Palestinian Authority areas to carry out their work.”

Hadassah Hospital has done much to help the Palestinian people and Arabs in general. A Muslim-Israeli Arab is presently in charge of emergency medicine at Hadassah Hospital. The liver unit at Hadassah Hospital is also headed by an Israeli Arab, who managed to uncover the gene linked to liver disease. Hadassah Hospital has been a place where Arab doctors have been able to thrive professionally and work towards saving lives, both of Israelis and of Palestinians.

Aside from offering many Arabs jobs, Israel’s medical establishment has always worked to save Palestinian lives with the same vigour that they save Israeli lives. In fact, a 2012 report from the World Health Organisation found that Israel approved 91.5 percent of all Palestinian applications to receive medical care within the State of Israel. Save a Child’s Heart, an Israeli organization, has also saved the lives of 3,000 children, of whom half were hailing from the Palestinian Authority. Additionally, an Israeli hospital has reportedly been taking care of a disabled Gazan baby after he was abandoned both by his parents and the Palestinian Authority, who stopped funding his medical treatment.

The fact that the official PA daily Al Hayat Al Jadida has recognized these facts is very refreshing, especially given the routine incitement that occurs against Israel and the Jewish people in this publication, as well as other Palestinian newspapers. For example, in the past, the Al Hayat Al Jadida publication has denied the fact that the Western Wall belongs to the Jewish people; accused Israel of murdering and poisoning Palestinian prisoners; and, according to Palestinian Media Watch, declared that Israel withholds “elementary human rights from Palestinian children.” Indeed, this one article was a rare example where the Al Hayat Al Jadida publication showed Israel in a positive light, as a country that helps rather than hurts Palestinians."  (By Rachel Avraham, staff writer for United With Israel)