This Blog -
Moved To:
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1910: Neon lighting first displayed

Neon lighting, discovered and developed by French physicist George
Claude, was displayed to the public for the first time at the Paris
Motor Show. Claude went on to patent neon lights and a process for
producing them. He also created neon advertising signs, which were
displayed on the Eiffel tower in the 1920s and 1930s.

The History of Neon Signs
... Neon lighting quickly became a popular fixture in outdoor advertising.
... stop and stare at the first neon signs dubbed "liquid fire."
http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa980107.htm

Gigantic Signs: Neon History
About Neon Neon lighting was first introduced in Paris in 1910,
following decades of experiments to create a practical alternative
to incandescent lighting.
http://www.giganticsigns.com/signs/neonhist.html

Neon Sign Pictures on Albuquerque's Route 66:
http://gocalifornia.about.com/bl_abqnphoto_rt66.htm
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"How to Build a Storm-Proof Marriage"
Malachi 2:15

Listen to the audio broadcast!
http://www.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/ramhurl?p=pnm&f=/rhm/sounds/awwy/awwy5002.rm

From now on, it will be hard to think of New Orleans without thinking of the awful tragedies that followed the devastating wind and waves of Hurricane Katrina. There was, of course, plenty of finger-pointing as to who was to blame for those tragedies. And subsequent revelations showed that there seemed to be plenty of blame to go around at all levels. But one fact is clear: the single greatest cause of death in New Orleans' darkest days came not so much from the storm but from the levees that could not hold back the waters of the storm. The walls around New Orleans just weren't strong enough to withstand a high-magnitude storm.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Build a Storm-Proof Marriage."

It takes strong walls to protect a city that can be overwhelmed by major storms; or a marriage, for that matter. And there may have never been a time when more severe storms have threatened our marriages. We're busier than ever, often to the point of neglecting the person who matters most. We're bombarded with temptations that threaten the purity of our marriage relationship. The temptations and needs and pressures in our children's lives can drain the energy our marriage requires. The toll the storms can take are documented in the staggering number of marriages that have collapsed or are quickly deteriorating.

We have to build some very strong walls around our marriage to keep it from being inundated due to levee failure. Our word for today from the Word of God, Malachi 2:15, says this about God's view of our marriages: "Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit they are His. And why one? Because He was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth." Or the husband of your youth, for that matter.

How can we do that? For starters, we can build five walls that to keep your marriage strong. Each marriage "levee" can be summed up in the form of five ironclad commitments that can protect your lifetime love. Wall #1 - No Other Passion. You make a choice that you will direct all your desire to one person and one person alone - your marriage partner. No wandering eye, no fantasies about other people. In the words of Proverbs 5:18 and 19, "Rejoice with the wife of your youth ... let her breasts satisfy you at all times." Notice: "Let her" be enough. Before God, you choose to focus all your passions, all your needs on one person. Focused passion breeds fulfilling love. "No other passion." It's a strong wall around your marriage.

Wall #2 - No More Important Voice. You pledge that no other voice on earth will be more important to you than that of your lifetime love. For a man, God says, "Husbands, ought to love their wives as their own bodies" (Ephesians 5:28). When you really listen and really respond to the person you're married to, you really, really love them.

Wall #3 commits to No Accumulating Anger - "Do not let the sun go down on your anger" (Ephesians 4:26), as the Bible says. Nothing is worth being angry about tomorrow. Harbored anger turns into growing resentment that becomes cancer in a marriage.

Wall #4 - No Reckless Words. Proverbs 12:18 says, "Reckless words pierce like a sword," and Scripture commands husbands to "love your wives and do not be harsh with them" (Colossians 3:19). Reckless words that you spew in the heat of conflict or frustration, leave lasting scars and they punch major holes in the walls around a marriage.

Wall #5 to protect your marriage says, "No Back Door." "I will not even consider ending our marriage as one of my options." The moment you leave that door open, you make it likely you will ultimately use that door to destroy your marriage. Jesus said, "What God has joined together, let man not separate" (Mark 10:9). And in Malachi 2:16, God bluntly says, "I hate divorce."

No other passion, no more important voice, no accumulating anger, no reckless words, no back door: five commitments - five walls to protect your marriage from the storms that could destroy it. Build those walls high, build them strong. That kind of love is more powerful than any storm.

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Discuss today's "A Word With You," post your comments, or encourage others in our discussion forum!
http://forums.gospelcom.net/view/rhm/awwy



To find out how you can begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, please visit YOURS FOR LIFE: HOW TO HAVE LIFE'S MOST IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP at:
http://www.yoursforlife.net
Or, call 1-888-NEED HIM.

"A Word With You" by Ron Hutchcraft is a daily radio challenge, with slice-of-life illustrations and insights - providing practical help on the issues that matter most. If your local Christian radio station does not air "A Word With You," please let them know how much you value this program. Over six years of transcripts are available online, at http://rhm.gospelcom.net/awwy.php
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Editor’s Note: While I disagree with Perry Stone’s assessment that Bird Flu is part of the judgment of God, he brings out some interesting facts about the effects of a possible pandemic of Bird Flu. I believe what we are seeing are “birth pangs” of the coming Messiah, and Scripture bears this out. Jesus himself said (John 10:10) that Satan came to steal, kill, and destroy and that Jesus came to give us life to the fullest - so let us give credit where credit is due. Jesus also said in Matthew 24 that we would see famine and pestilence in diverse places, and these were the beginnings of sorrows. He didn’t credit God with these events, and neither should we. (John Terry)

THE BIRD FLU AND THE JUDGMENT OF GOD
By: Perry Stone
http://www.voiceofevangelism.org/prophecy_update.cfm

Over the past few months, it has been impossible to watch TV or read a newspaper without encountering dire reports about an outbreak of bird flu and the possibility of a pandemic. (Epidemic: something that affects a large number of individuals within a population, community or region at the same time. Pandemic: a worldwide outbreak.)

In 1918, an influenza pandemic killed millions of people around the world. To illustrate how deadly that flu was, World War I killed 16 million troops and civilians from 1914 to 1918; but in 1918 alone, more than 40 million died all over the world from the flu. That same year over 600,000 in the U.S. —the same death toll as the entire Civil War—died from the flu.

The type of flu we are hearing about now is slightly different from the 1918 variety. Both are avian flu’s (carried by birds), and both are caused by a Type A virus—the only virus that can cause a pandemic. Scientists have identified the 1918 virus by the label H5N2, and the current flu virus is identified as H5N1.

Virus A(H5N1)
H5N1 has been a source of concern since it was first detected in 1997. All avian viruses, or bird flu, have a tendency to mutate into a form that is highly transmissible among humans, and this is what could set off a pandemic. The world’s scientists worry that the bird flu virus will join the human flu virus, change its genetic code and emerge as a new and deadly flu that can spread through the air from human to human.

Right now, H5N1, a type of avian influenza virus, has confined itself mostly to birds. It can be transmitted from bird to human but only by direct contact with the droppings and excretions of infected birds. However, bird flu has started showing up in humans in more and more places worldwide.

On average, a pandemic occurs at 40- to 50-year intervals. The 1918 outbreak of the flu was followed by the 1957-1958 outbreak of the Asian Flu. The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences reports, “Another influenza pandemic is possibly inevitable, and even overdue.”

A Worldwide Plague
Bird flu outbreaks have occurred in many countries, although the United States has not had a single case yet. Since February 1, 2006, infections have been reported in Iraq, Nigeria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Iran, Austria, Germany, Egypt, India, France, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovak Republic, Switzerland, Niger, Hungary, Serbia and Montenegro, Pakistan, Albania, Poland, Georgia, Cameroon, Myanmar (Burma), Sweden, Denmark, Israel, Afghanistan, and Jordan.

First discovered in 1997, H5N1 can be deadly when it gets into people. It has killed more than half of its known human victims. Equally alarming is that many who died were healthy, not the frail or sickly types of patients usually thought to be at risk of death from influenza.

The disease usually starts with a fever, fatigue, headache and aches and pains, like a typical case of the flu. But within a few days it can turn into pneumonia, and the patients' lungs are damaged and fill with fluid.

In a few cases, children infected with A(H5N1) died of encephalitis, apparently because the virus attacked the brain. A number of people have also had severe diarrhea—not usually a flu symptom—meaning that this virus may attack the intestines as well. Studies . . . suggest that in mammals the virus attacks other organs, too, including the heart, liver and adrenal glands.

The early stages of the illness in people are the same as those of ordinary flu: fever, headache, fatigue, aches and pains. But within a few days, people with bird flu often start getting worse instead of better. Difficulty with breathing takes many to the hospital before they know they have it. People with flu-like symptoms that turn severe or involve breathing trouble are in urgent need of medical care.

Two Possibilities
Fortunately, the virus has not reached the Americas , but it seems only a matter of time before it turns up here. Dr. Roger Glass, a director at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), likened the prophesied pandemic to waiting for an earthquake along the San Andreas fault :it’s only a matter of time. “You know it’s going to occur but you can’t tell if it’s going to occur this year or next year or the year after,” he said, “but it’s clearly going to happen, and the only way you can prepare is to build your houses with structure.” He meant that we should be prepared.

Can we rule out the possibility that bird flu is being used as an agent of destruction? Unfortunately, no. With the technology revolution of the past ten years, and with bio-scientists manipulating genes in everything from micro-organisms to humans, it seems likely that virologists could have developed all kinds of unrevealed scenarios. What better way to eliminate an enemy, or an entire human population, than via the global migratory-bird thruways? There is no way to know for sure.

Can we rule out the possibility that it is the judgment of God?
Again, unfortunately, no. Archeological discoveries in Israel , Palestine , Jordan , Lebanon and Syria continue to confirm the Biblical record of the history of Israel , as well as many of the practices of ancient Mideast civilizations. Unwittingly, secular scientists are confirming the Biblical record of idolatry and fertility cults that institutionalized male and female prostitution, child sacrifice and many other practices.

In uncovering the countless artifacts and relics that mark the march of history, they are also uncovering timeless records of many of the diseases and epidemics that plagued those civilizations of long ago. They constantly confirm the Biblical revelation of the dark side of human nature. Since the social sciences are continuing to confirm the Bible, let’s go to the original source and see what the Bible has to say about epidemics and diseases in connection with His judgment.

God’s Judgment on Sin
Some conveniently forget that God is a God of judgment as well as a God of mercy. God’s love has been the main theme in preaching for many years now, and it should be. But the Bible balances His love and mercy is with accounts of His judgment. Sin is always punished. Sin carries of seeds of destruction within itself, but when men sin openly and blatantly, God’s wrath is often poured out. God’s Word gives many examples.

23,000 people died in one day from God’s judgment on premarital sex. The New Testament warns us: “Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell” (1 Corinthians 10:8).
70,000 people died from a “pestilence” because of God’s judgment on Israel for disobedience. “Now Satan stood up against Israel , and moved David to number Israel . And God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel . So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel , and seventy thousand men of Israel fell” ( 1 Chronicles 21:1, 4, 14).
14,950 people died when Korah agitated the people to question falsely, the leadership of Moses and Aaron: “Now those who died in the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those [250] who died in the Korah incident” (Numbers 16:49 ).


24,000 people died when the children of Israel began to openly commit adultery. “The people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab . And indeed, one of the children of Israel came and presented to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel , who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand” (Numbers 25:1, 6, 9).
At least two whole cities were destroyed by God’s judgment because of the people’s open, public homosexual activities. “Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah , from the Lord out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground” (Genesis 19:24, 25).
185,000 threatening enemy soldiers were slain after they taunted, ridiculed and abused God’s people. “Then the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead” (Isaiah 37:36).
Can the Hand of God Ever Be Stayed?
God not only sent judgment, however; He provided a cure and He also provided a prevention. For example, when Moses was about to die, God accurately predicted what Israel would do after he was gone. More importantly, He predicted the judgment their disobedience would bring on them:

And the Lord said to Moses: “Behold, you will rest with your fathers; and this people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land . . . and they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them. Then My anger shall be aroused against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured. And many evils and troubles shall befall them” (Deuteronomy 31:16, 17).

I believe that God is giving the same message to America that He gave to Israel long ago: If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book . . . then the Lord will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues— great and prolonged plagues—and serious and prolonged sicknesses. Moreover He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt , of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law, will the Lord bring upon you until you are destroyed. You shall be left few in number . . . because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God (Deuteronomy 28:58-62).

America’s Toxic Culture
We live in a culture that has become open and blatant in its sinfulness. People today practice sinning without any shame whatsoever. They do wrong daily and indulge in devilish behavior regularly. The primordial stew of our toxic culture is enough to make God sick to His stomach!

On the other hand, America has many righteous people who honestly and earnestly endeavor to serve God. I believe their prayers and their good deeds have held back the greater judgment God has promised to nations that disobey Him. America is the target of terrorists because we are still a Christian nation and the devil hates us.

The very thing that causes some to hate America is what causes men and women from every nation to acknowledge the God of the Christians—just as Rahab believed in the God of Israel long ago:

We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt . . . . And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath (Joshua 2:10, 11).

The Bible declares: “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 13:34 ). God’s people must continue to lead the way in righteousness. Hear the word of the Lord:

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).


PO Box 640

Russellville AR 72811



www.revelationfiles.com
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Remembering David Bloom

It was early morning, Iraqi time. Crouched in a modified tank, NBC News
correspondent David Bloom picked up his phone and played back his
messages. One was from Jim Lane, a New York financier and Wilberforce
Forum advisory board member. The two were sharing a daily,
long-distance devotional time using Oswald Chambers's classic, MY
UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST. Lane read the message for April 5, based on
Matthew 25: "Because of what the Son of Man went through, every human
being can now get through into the very presence of God."

Moments later, Bloom climbed out of the tank, took a few steps, and
collapsed. Soon after, he was ushered into the presence of God.

David's death from a pulmonary embolism devastated his family, friends,
colleagues, and millions of TV viewers. At age thirty-nine, David was a
rising star at NBC. Viewers looked forward to watching Bloom file his
reports while bouncing across the desert on his "Bloom-mobile," his
face streaked with dirt, his hair snapping in the wind. He loved his
job, and everyone knew it.

But what most viewers did not know was that David was a committed
Christian. David had grown up in a Methodist home. And while he had a
strong understanding of the Gospel growing up, it wasn't until two
years ago, according to Lane, that Bloom "effectively came to a saving
knowledge of Jesus and started a real faith journey."

Bloom joined the New Canaan Society, a weekly men's fellowship group
founded by Lane and my former colleague Eric Metaxas. I met Bloom
several times as a guest of that fellowship, and we became friends. I
was struck by the sincerity of his Christian faith. He was hungry for
knowledge of God and how his faith ought to play out in his life.

On the day he died, Lane says, "David was in a very good place, at
peace with himself, his faith, and his family." That peace was
reflected in the last message he would ever send to his wife, Melanie
-- one that reveals that, in the middle of a desert battlefield, his
own mortality was very much on his mind. Bloom wrote: "When the moment
comes in my life when you are talking about my last day, I am
determined that you and others will say, 'He was devoted to his wife
and children; he was admired; he gave every ounce of his being for
those whom he cared most about -- not himself, but God and his family.'"

Yesterday Lane spoke at a memorial service at St. Patrick's Cathedral
in New York. Speaking before America's most powerful media figures,
Lane told a simple story about a man who loved and served Jesus Christ.
It was a side of their colleague that many of them had never really
known -- a side scarcely mentioned in the voluminous media coverage of
his death.

At the end of his April 5 devotional reading, Oswald Chambers writes:
"The cross of Christ was a . . . sign that our Lord had triumphed . . .
to save the human race." I thank God for that triumph in the short life
of this ebullient, gifted man, and I pray that his posthumous witness
will inspire others to seek out the God he served.

C. S. Lewis once said that Christians never have to say good-bye. So,
to my dear brother David, I say simply, au revoir. (Chuck Colson)


As you read the Scriptures with your family, I hope
you'll have a new appreciation for who the "Word made
flesh" really is: He's the Creator who existed before time.
He's the Logos Who made heaven and earth, and Who
steers the stars in their courses. He is the Truth that is
ultimate reality. He is the 'Babe of Bethlehem' & the
'Word' of John 1. If you know of others who would
enjoy receiving BreakPoint in their E-mail box each
day, tell them they can sign up 1-800-457-6125.
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