Hello From The Beautiful Smokey Mountains.

I am sitting here looking at the most beautiful mountain scenery ever. How someone could believe that all this just happened I do not know. They have to be blinded by the enemy of our souls. The hills are both brown and green depending on the elevation of the area and all throughout this mounatin region are the most beautiful blooming dogwoods I have ever seen. I think the Lord must have added a special little touch of creation to these mountains and I always sense his special presence here.

Happy Easter Everyone.

Because He lives we can face whatever is coming.
Because He lives we have hope eternal.
Because He lives we know that we will see our loved ones again.
Because He lives our sins are forgiven, forgotten and buried in the depths of the sea.

Praise the Lord!

On a hill far away
Stood an old rugged cross
The emblem of suffering and shame.
And I love that old cross
Where the dearest and best
for a world of lost sinners was slain.

Thank you WePraiseHim.Com for this reminder of what our Lord endured.

What Is Crucifixion?

A medical doctor provides a physical description: The cross is placed on the ground and the exhausted man is quickly thrown backwards with his shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square wrought iron nail through the wrist deep into the wood. Quickly he moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flex and movement.

The cross is then lifted into place. The left foot is pressed backwards against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees flexed. The victim is now crucified. As he slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating fiery pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain- the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the median nerves. As he pushes himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, he places the full weight on the nail through his feet. Again he feels the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the bones of his feet. As the arms fatigue, cramps sweep through his muscles, knotting them deep relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push himself upward to breathe. Air can be drawn into the lungs but not exhaled. He fights to raise himself in order to get even one small breath. Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream, and the cramps partially subside. Spasmodically, he is able to push himself upward to exhale and bring in life-giving oxygen. Hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint wrenching cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from his lacerated back as he moves up and down against rough timber.

Then another agony begins: a deep, crushing pain deep in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart. It is now almost over-the loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level-the compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissues-the tortured lungs are making frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air. He can feel the chill of death creeping through his tissues...Finally, he can allow his body to die... All this the Bible records with the simple words, "and they crucified Him" (Mark 15:24). What wondrous love is this?

Many people don't know that pain and suffering our Lord, Jesus Christ went through for us...because of the brutality, crucifixion was given a sentence to only its worst offenders of the law. Thieves, murderers, and rapists would be the types of creeps who got crucified. Yet, here Jesus is being crucified between two hardened criminals...What did Jesus do? Did he murder anyone? Did he steal anything? The answer as we all know is NO!! Jesus did nothing to deserve this type of death, yet he went willing to die, in between 2 thieves, so that we might be saved. And there, in between the sinners, was our savior slain for our sins.

Passing this on to 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10 people won't get you good luck, no free pair of Gap Jeans, no cruise, no money, but it might open someone's eyes.

God Bless




Have you settled the question of where you will spend eternity?



John3:16:For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son. That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Zechariah 12
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.





Good Morning Everyone!

Well today I was going to post an article on taxes but I will save that for tomorrow. I will include in that article information on how a judge is banning books in America. Today, I must post one more article on the war, Israel and Bible Prophecy. This article today in the World Net Daily blew me away. Remember how we spoke of the danger in giving away Gods Covenant Lands and how the US has joined with the EU, Britain and Russia ( the Quartet) in deciding what will happen to Israel and the Palestinians? Well the Iraq war has brought out some comments from Ariel Sharon that shocked me. The pressure is on to give away lands that God gave to Israel. This is significant in light of scripture. I have always believed we need to keep our eyes on Israel and Jerusalem. This is where we will see the final end to this corrupt World System we live in.

How can civilized people insist that Israel make agreements with a group of people whose primary goal is her destruction. If history is any teacher, just consider how the world tried to appease Hitler and how the UN tried to appease Iraq for the last 12 years! Truly the historical and prophetical significance of these moves to give away Covenant Land is pointing toward the culmination of this age and return of our Lord. Just remmeber once again that the church must be out of here for that 7 year period called the Tribulation before he stands on the Mount of Olives. At this Easter Season as we celebrate his Death, Burial and Resurrection it is breathtaking to realize that we are closer to that Blessed Appearing than ever before. Won't it be a wonderful day when we meet Him face to face and see our Lord put evil down once and for all!




Have a blessed week.
Elaine

Sharon: Israel May Concede Settlements

World Net Daily

YEHUD, Israel, April 13 (UPI)

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said he is ready to "part with some places" if the Palestinians scaled down on their demands, including the right of return for refugees.

In an interview to the Haaretz newspaper published Sunday, Sharon said the U.S.-led coalition's victory in Iraq had "generated a shock through the Middle East" that could precipitate Israeli-Arab peace agreements. The coalition's achievement "brings with it a prospect of great changes," he said.

"There is an opportunity here to forge a different relationship between us and the Arab states, and between us and the Palestinians....

"Opportunities have currently been created that did not exist before. The Arab world in general, and the Palestinians in particular, have been shaken. There is therefore a chance to reach an agreement faster than people think," he said.

So far, Sharon has been very careful not to discuss concessions he would make for peace with the Palestinians. He had persistently refused to go beyond expressions of readiness to make "painful concessions" for peace.

"Isn't that phrase 'painful concessions' a hollow expression?" the Haaretz interviewer asked.

"Definitely not. It comes from the depth of my soul," Sharon responded. "We are talking about the cradle of the Jewish people. Our whole history is bound up with these places. Bethlehem, Shiloh, Beit El. And I know that we will have to part with some of these places.

"There will be a parting from places that are connected to the whole course of our history. As a Jew, this agonizes me. But I have decided to make every effort to reach a settlement. I feel that the rational necessity to reach a settlement is overcoming my feelings."

Israel has retained control over Rachel's Tomb in northern Bethlehem, virtually annexing it to Jerusalem. It built settlements in Beit El (Beth-El) and Shilo that figure prominently in ancient Jewish history.

Sharon said some reservations concern security matters. "How terror will be handled. There is no difference of opinion in this matter but there is a difference in the wording," he told Haaretz.

The second key issue, according to Sharon, concerns implementation of the roadmap.

"Our understanding with the United States is that there will be no transition from one stage to the next without the completion of the previous stage. The determining factor is not the timetable but the execution," he said.

The third reservation concerns the Palestinians' demand that their millions of refugees have a right of return to Israel proper. Israel opposes it. It says that if the refugees return to the Jewish state, it will no longer be Jewish.

"If there is ever to be an end to the conflict the Palestinians must recognize the Jewish people's right to a homeland and the existence of an independent Jewish state in the homeland of the Jewish people. ... This is not a simple thing. Even in the agreements we signed with Egypt and Jordan this was impossible. That is why they did bring about an end to the conflict. They are important agreements, very important, but they did not bring about an end to the conflict. The end of the conflict will come only with the arrival of the recognition of the Jewish people's right to its homeland," Sharon stressed.

He sought to postpone discussion of the settlement issue to "the final stage of negotiations ....We don't have to deal with it just now," he told Haaretz.

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom who held a joint news conference with visiting Slovak Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan in Yehud, near Tel Aviv, said he anticipated "a new atmosphere that we think will help us try to resume negotiations with the Palestinians."

He noted that CIA chief George Tenet and retired Gen. Anthony Zinni presented security plans "that are acceptable to us and the Palestinians. I very much hope that the (sides) will act to implement them."

He said Israel would not give the Palestinians much of what they hope to get "without them explicitly foregoing the right of return."

But he avoided backing Sharon's comments in the interview, noting the matter would come before the entire Cabinet where a decision "binding all the components in the Cabinet" will be taken.

Sharon's talk of readiness to cede at least some of these sites sent shock waves through hawkish political groups.

Minister without portfolio, Uzi Landau, also of the Likud, criticized the roadmap as "not a map for peace but for a confrontation."

Tourism Minister Benny Elon of the hardline National Union said Israel's stay in the West Bank towns of Jenin aned Nasblus is "not temporary. God willing we shall return to all of the Land of Israel. ... I am in the Cabinet to fight for my views and positions."

The settlers' top forum, the Yesha Council slammed Sharon for being ready "to expel Jews from their homes."

Dovish leaders were cautious.

"Nobody knows for sure what Sharon's real intentions are," the head of the dovish Meretz Party, Yossi Sarid said.

No settlement outpost would have been established without Sharon's encouragement, he added.

However, "Mr. Sharon is not ready to lend his hand to any effort to evacuate these settlements that were illegally established...These are the real, determining factors, by which one should judge statements, not by an interview," he argued.

Ophir Pines, the secretary-general of the opposition Labor Party, Israel's second-biggest party, said he did not believe Israel would return to the negotiating table as long as Sharon's hawkish coalition partners are at the Cabinet table.

If Sharon will be "really ready to resume the historic negotiations for peace on the basis of the American political plan and his right wing partners ...will quit the government, and he will come to us (and ask that we join him), only irresponsible people will slam the door in his face," Pines said.

Meanwhile, senior government officials led by the head of Sharon's Bureau, Dov Weissglass, arrived in Washington with a list of 14 or 15 "reservations" over the projected roadmap for peace that the United States has devised with the European Union, the United Nations and Russia. The United States plans to present the roadmap when Mahmoud Abbas (better known as Abu Mazen) is confirmed as the new Palestinian prime minister. Abu Mazen is now trying to form a Cabinet.

The roadmap outlines a series of steps each side should take so that Israel would have the peace and security it seeks and the Palestinians a state.

Weissglas is scheduled to present the "reservations" to U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, Monday.





ARE YOU READY FOR THE RAPTURE?


John3:16

Zechariah 12
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.





Good Morning Everyone!

Well today I was going to post an article on taxes but I will save that for tomorrow. I will include in that article information on how a judge is banning books in America. Today, I must post one more article on the war, Israel and Bible Prophecy. This article today in the World Net Daily blew me away. Remember how we spoke of the danger in giving away Gods Covenant Lands and how the US has joined with the EU, Britain and Russia ( the Quartet) in deciding what will happen to Israel and the Palestinians? Well the Iraq war has brought out some comments from Ariel Sharon that shocked me. The pressure is on to give away lands that God gave to Israel. This is significant in light of scripture. I have always believed we need to keep our eyes on Israel and Jerusalem. This is where we will see the final end to this corrupt World System we live in.

How can civilized people insist that Israel make agreements with a group of people whose primary goal is her destruction. If history is any teacher, just consider how the world tried to appease Hitler and how the UN tried to appease Iraq for the last 12 years! Truly the historical and prophetical significance of these moves to give away Covenant Land is pointing toward the culmination of this age and return of our Lord. Just remember once again that the church must be out of here for that 7 year period called the Tribulation before he stands on the Mount of Olives. At this Easter Season as we celebrate his Death, Burial and Resurrection it is breathtaking to realize that we are closer to that Blessed Appearing than ever before. Won't it be a wonderful day when we meet Him face to face and see our Lord put evil down once and for all!




Have a blessed week.
Elaine

Sharon: Israel May Concede Settlements

World Net Daily

YEHUD, Israel, April 13 (UPI)

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said he is ready to "part with some places" if the Palestinians scaled down on their demands, including the right of return for refugees.

In an interview to the Haaretz newspaper published Sunday, Sharon said the U.S.-led coalition's victory in Iraq had "generated a shock through the Middle East" that could precipitate Israeli-Arab peace agreements. The coalition's achievement "brings with it a prospect of great changes," he said.

"There is an opportunity here to forge a different relationship between us and the Arab states, and between us and the Palestinians....

"Opportunities have currently been created that did not exist before. The Arab world in general, and the Palestinians in particular, have been shaken. There is therefore a chance to reach an agreement faster than people think," he said.

So far, Sharon has been very careful not to discuss concessions he would make for peace with the Palestinians. He had persistently refused to go beyond expressions of readiness to make "painful concessions" for peace.

"Isn't that phrase 'painful concessions' a hollow expression?" the Haaretz interviewer asked.

"Definitely not. It comes from the depth of my soul," Sharon responded. "We are talking about the cradle of the Jewish people. Our whole history is bound up with these places. Bethlehem, Shiloh, Beit El. And I know that we will have to part with some of these places.

"There will be a parting from places that are connected to the whole course of our history. As a Jew, this agonizes me. But I have decided to make every effort to reach a settlement. I feel that the rational necessity to reach a settlement is overcoming my feelings."

Israel has retained control over Rachel's Tomb in northern Bethlehem, virtually annexing it to Jerusalem. It built settlements in Beit El (Beth-El) and Shilo that figure prominently in ancient Jewish history.

Sharon said some reservations concern security matters. "How terror will be handled. There is no difference of opinion in this matter but there is a difference in the wording," he told Haaretz.

The second key issue, according to Sharon, concerns implementation of the roadmap.

"Our understanding with the United States is that there will be no transition from one stage to the next without the completion of the previous stage. The determining factor is not the timetable but the execution," he said.

The third reservation concerns the Palestinians' demand that their millions of refugees have a right of return to Israel proper. Israel opposes it. It says that if the refugees return to the Jewish state, it will no longer be Jewish.

"If there is ever to be an end to the conflict the Palestinians must recognize the Jewish people's right to a homeland and the existence of an independent Jewish state in the homeland of the Jewish people. ... This is not a simple thing. Even in the agreements we signed with Egypt and Jordan this was impossible. That is why they did bring about an end to the conflict. They are important agreements, very important, but they did not bring about an end to the conflict. The end of the conflict will come only with the arrival of the recognition of the Jewish people's right to its homeland," Sharon stressed.

He sought to postpone discussion of the settlement issue to "the final stage of negotiations ....We don't have to deal with it just now," he told Haaretz.

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom who held a joint news conference with visiting Slovak Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan in Yehud, near Tel Aviv, said he anticipated "a new atmosphere that we think will help us try to resume negotiations with the Palestinians."

He noted that CIA chief George Tenet and retired Gen. Anthony Zinni presented security plans "that are acceptable to us and the Palestinians. I very much hope that the (sides) will act to implement them."

He said Israel would not give the Palestinians much of what they hope to get "without them explicitly foregoing the right of return."

But he avoided backing Sharon's comments in the interview, noting the matter would come before the entire Cabinet where a decision "binding all the components in the Cabinet" will be taken.

Sharon's talk of readiness to cede at least some of these sites sent shock waves through hawkish political groups.

Minister without portfolio, Uzi Landau, also of the Likud, criticized the roadmap as "not a map for peace but for a confrontation."

Tourism Minister Benny Elon of the hardline National Union said Israel's stay in the West Bank towns of Jenin aned Nasblus is "not temporary. God willing we shall return to all of the Land of Israel. ... I am in the Cabinet to fight for my views and positions."

The settlers' top forum, the Yesha Council slammed Sharon for being ready "to expel Jews from their homes."

Dovish leaders were cautious.

"Nobody knows for sure what Sharon's real intentions are," the head of the dovish Meretz Party, Yossi Sarid said.

No settlement outpost would have been established without Sharon's encouragement, he added.

However, "Mr. Sharon is not ready to lend his hand to any effort to evacuate these settlements that were illegally established...These are the real, determining factors, by which one should judge statements, not by an interview," he argued.

Ophir Pines, the secretary-general of the opposition Labor Party, Israel's second-biggest party, said he did not believe Israel would return to the negotiating table as long as Sharon's hawkish coalition partners are at the Cabinet table.

If Sharon will be "really ready to resume the historic negotiations for peace on the basis of the American political plan and his right wing partners ...will quit the government, and he will come to us (and ask that we join him), only irresponsible people will slam the door in his face," Pines said.

Meanwhile, senior government officials led by the head of Sharon's Bureau, Dov Weissglass, arrived in Washington with a list of 14 or 15 "reservations" over the projected roadmap for peace that the United States has devised with the European Union, the United Nations and Russia. The United States plans to present the roadmap when Mahmoud Abbas (better known as Abu Mazen) is confirmed as the new Palestinian prime minister. Abu Mazen is now trying to form a Cabinet.

The roadmap outlines a series of steps each side should take so that Israel would have the peace and security it seeks and the Palestinians a state.

Weissglas is scheduled to present the "reservations" to U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, Monday.





ARE YOU READY FOR THE RAPTURE?


John3:16