Tag: Pray

I visited the grave of Oskar Schindler

I visited the grave of Oskar Schindler

carlocarrasco

Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from my personal experiences and observations during the Israel pilgrimage tour I joined and what happened during my free time. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.

Welcome back, readers and fellow followers of the Lord! This is the 8th chapter of my ongoing series of articles about the holy nation of Israel with recollections about the experiences and discoveries I had during the pilgrimage tour I joined with my local church (hosted by strategic partner Behold Israel). To see my previous Israel tour articles, click here, here, here, here, here,  here and here.

Before moving on, may I request to you readers to pray to the Lord in support for the nation of Israel as it has been at war with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas (which committed the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks) in the Gaza Strip, as well as with Hezbollah in the north. Prayers are also needed for the hostages (taken by Hamas) and for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) which has been working so hard and long. Israel’s economy and people also need prayers of support. I will always stand with Israel and my faith in the Lord remains uncompromising!

In this latest edition of my Israel 2023 series, I share with you my observations about what happened during our group’s one and only rest day. Instead of just resting at our nice hotel in Jerusalem, I decided to take advantage of the day to visit the Temple Mount for the first time ever, return to the Western Wall/Jewish Quarter/Upper Room, and visiting King David’s Tomb to name some.

Having revisited the Upper Room  as well as King David’s Tomb (located just below), I took the rare opportunity of visiting the grave of the late Oskar Schindler which is located inside a Catholic cemetery just a few hundred meters away by foot. Look at the Google Map screenshot below…

This should give you an idea as to how close the Upper Room and King David’s Tomb sites in Israel are to the cemetery that has Schindler’s grave.

Who is Oskar Schindler?

For the newcomers reading this, Oskar Schindler was a German industrialist and a member of the Nazi Party who is best known for saving more than one thousand Jews during the Holocaust by having them employed in his business of enamelware and ammunition (across different locations in Europe). His costly efforts of saving the Jews from certain death during World War II became his most defining legacy to world initially chronicled in the novel Schindler’s Ark (later retitled as Schindler’s List) written by Thomas Keneally, and most famously dramatized in cinematic form in Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List (1993) with Liam Neeson portraying him. I myself saw Schindler’s List in the cinema here in the Philippines on April 2, 1994, and it was the most engaging movie theater experience I ever had.

The real-life Oskar Schindler (1908-1974). (photo source – Yad Vashem)
The cinematic Oskar Schindler portrayed by Liam Neeson in the Steven Spielberg-directed film Schindler’s List. (photo source – IMDB.com)

Schindler was born in 1908 in Zwittau, Austria-Hungary (now referred to as the Czech Republic). After the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he became a citizen of the Czechoslovak Republic. He married Emilie Pelzl in 1928 and went on to work in different occupations ranging from farm machinery to selling government property. He also served in his republic’s army and eventually made his way into the German Armed Forces specifically through its military foreign intelligence office. In 1939, Schindler joined the Nazi Party and eventually arrived in Poland (after the German invasion) and established himself as a businessman. It was in Poland where he established the enamelware business and hired Jewish people as his workers.

A lot happened to Schindler and his wife after the end of World War II. He faced danger of being arrested as a war criminal. Schindler and his wife endured lots of difficulties moving back to Germany. In the years that followed, Schindler had a series of failed business ventures and declared bankruptcy in the early 1960s. Thanks to his Jewish friends from the war, he survived on donations sent by the Schindlerjuden (the people he saved during the Holocaust).

Schindler visited Israel for the first time ever in 1961 and was welcomed warmly. A tree was planted in his honor at the Avenue of the Righteous at Yad Vashem in 1962 (note: his wife Emilie got recognized as among the Righteous Among the Nations in 1993).

Before dying in 1974, he lived partly in Israel and partly in Germany. Schindler was buried in Jerusalem in Mount Zion and his grave has been visited many times by Jews and other people from around the world.  

How I made it to Schindler’s grave

Having prayed to the Lord for a meaningful and blessed day-off, I got ready for the places to visit in ancient Jerusalem and that includes a precise study of maps and where the significant sites are located.

As mentioned above, coming from the Temple Mount, the Western Wall and the Jewish Quarter, I exited through Zion Gate of the old city of Jerusalem heading towards the Upper Room (the traditional site of the Last Supper that involved our Lord Savior Jesus) for a return visit (note: my first time there was with our tour group with a guide) and for my first-ever visit at the King David’s Tomb site (on the ground floor level so nearby).

That being said, it was easy to find the nearby cemetery (note: there was one other cemetery nearby) for Schindler’s grave coming from King David’s Tomb by foot. After walking down a short road leading to a major road outside and crossing it, I found the entrance of the cemetery which even had a small sign that says “To Oskar Schindler’s grave.”

The cemetery gate with a sign confirming that Schindler’s grave is inside.

My time at Schindler’s grave

So I entered the cemetery all alone, walked further and climbed down some steps until I reached the very area of Schindler’s grave which was actually located by a cemented walkway. Posted below is the shot I took before approaching the grave.

A wide shot of the lower area of the cemetery where Schindler’s grave is located (in the distance).

Finally, I made my first-ever approach to the grave of the one German businessman who saved the lives of many Jews and I captured it all by video as you can see below along with the pictures I took right there. Schindler’s grave was full of stones placed in thanks to him, remembrance of him and in honor for him. I noticed one particular stone even has a “Thank you!”

The grave of Oskar Schindler with lots of stones placed on it by visitors and by those who remember him for saving over a thousand Jewish people during the Holocaust.
A diagonal shot of the grave with a good amount of sunlight captured during the moment.
This is me taking a picture of myself near Oskar Schindler’s grave.

Visible on the grave was the German inscription which in English means “The unforgettable lifesaver of 1200 persecuted Jews.”

Being right there at the grave brought me strong memories about the final sequence of the movie Schindler’s List which was presented in color. That scene turned out very powerful to watch as a line of people – including the Jewish survivors who encountered Schindler during the war plus the actors who played many of them – took turns placing stones at this very grave. The late Leopold “Poldek” Pfefferberg himself was present in the scene at the grave which is very significant because he personally encountered Schindler and was crucial with both the publishing of Schindler’s Ark and the filming of Schindler’s List. Pfefferberg was an advisor to Spielberg.

Holocaust survivor Poldek Pfefferberg with Oskar Schindler in the 1960s. (photo source – United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)
This is my 4K Blu-ray copy of Schindler’s List. This is the best and most definitive way to watch it at the comfort of home. So much better than streaming.

The placing of stones or pebbles on a grave has an important part in the Jewish ways. The Jewish Virtual Library describes it as follows (some parts in boldface):

As opposed to the common practice of burying loved ones with flowers and placing flowers by the tombstone, Jewish tradition instead puts an emphasis on placing stones on graves.

Jewish authorities likely objected to the flower ritual because of its proximity to pagan customs.

The origin of the stone custom is uncertain, though it may relate to ancient times when a pile of stones was used as a marker. The most common explanation is that placing stones is a symbolic act that indicates someone has come to visit and the deceased has not been forgotten.

A superstitious rationale for stones is that they keep the soul down, based on a belief that souls continue to dwell for a while in the graves in which they are placed.

A more common theme, however, is that stones last for eternity – as opposed to the short life span of flowers. Like the memory our loved ones, stones will never die.

As Oskar Schindler was German, the placing of stones at his grave is notably exceptional and if you wish to feel the impact of the colored scene near the end of Schindler’s List, you will have to endure the film first from the beginning. After all, the Spielberg-directed movie gradually shows how the German businessman got connected with the Jewish people as his laborers, and the turning point of him deciding to save them from death by sacrificing so much (read: lots of money spent and use of influence with German officials) and taking huge risks along the way was powerful to watch.

Even though I’m not Jewish and not a survivor of World War II, I still placed a stone on Oskar Schindler’s grave to thank him for saving many Jews long ago. As a person faith, my love for Israel and the Jewish people remains uncompromising in relation to my unwavering faith in the Lord and His Word.

Significant lessons about loving, blessing and helping the Jewish people

Having been to the Holocaust museum at Yad Vashem prior to the rest day, I learned there that Oskar Schindler was one of many others who took risks to save Jews during the Holocaust. The Schindler Jews of more than one thousand survivors have since multiplied into thousands more people through the decades.

The Holocaust and the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks should remind each of us faithful ones that we cannot simply ignore the tragedies and do nothing. People of the Jewish State need our help and praying for them is a solid way to start. Ask the Lord for signs on how to help Israelites in additional ways. Do not rush and wait for Him to send you a command or a clear message on what to do next. Right now, Israel is fighting the enemy inside Gaza while defending itself from the other enemy on the north.

Around the world, there are millions of young protesters and activists who were brainwashed into supporting the terrorists while attacking Israel so blindly. Indeed, the world is chaotic and all the people who attack Israel while empowering the terrorists are doing the dirty works for Satan. It is also not surprising to encounter a pro-Palestine believer or an anti-Semitic person who openly rejects the Word of God or even mock Lord Jesus. The people – the brainwashed activists and terrorists specifically – who wish to destroy Israel in this modern age are becoming more like the Nazi Germans who were led by Adolf Hitler (who dreamed of wiping out all Jewish people). These unfortunate events should compel you to stand up for Israel and the Jewish people as you live on with unwavering faith in the Lord and His Word.

You might be wondering what are the biblical lessons to learn with regards to loving, blessing and helping the Jewish people. We can start by acknowledging the sovereignty, authority and the holiness of the Lord God and remember always that Lord Jesus is the Anointed Mediator. Read the following holy scriptures below…

“Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations. I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign Lord, then the nations will know that I am the Lord. For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.

“And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God. I will cleanse you of your filthy behavior. I will give you good crops of grain, and I will send no more famines on the land. I will give you great harvests from your fruit trees and fields, and never again will the surrounding nations be able to scoff at your land for its famines. Then you will remember your past sins and despise yourselves for all the detestable things you did. But remember, says the Sovereign Lord, I am not doing this because you deserve it. O my people of Israel, you should be utterly ashamed of all you have done!

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I cleanse you from your sins, I will repopulate your cities, and the ruins will be rebuilt.

Ezekiel 36:22-33 (NLT)

Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine and all the hills shall melt [that is, everything heretofore barren and unfruitful shall overflow with spiritual blessing].

And I will bring back the exiles of My people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards and drink the wine from them; they shall also make gardens and eat the fruit of them.

And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be torn up out of their land which I gave them, says the Lord your God.

Amos 9:13-15 (AMPC)

For God is not unrighteous to forget or overlook your labor and the love which you have shown for His name’s sake in ministering to the needs of the saints (His own consecrated people), as you still do.

Hebrews 6:10 (AMPC)

For there [is only] one God, and [only] one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,

1 Timothy 2:5 (AMPC)

They answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved—you and all your family.”

Acts 16:31 (TPT)

My beloved friends, if you see a believer who is overtaken with a fault, the one who is in the Spirit should seek to restore him in the Spirit of gentleness. But keep watch over your own heart so that you won’t be tempted to exalt yourself over him. Love empowers us to fulfill the law of the Anointed One as we carry each other’s troubles.

Galatians 6:1-2 (TPT)

For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 (NKJV)

The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Matthew 13:41-43 (NKJV)

“I am a true sprouting vine, and the farmer who tends the vine is my Father. He cares for the branches connected to me by lifting and propping up the fruitless branches and pruning every fruitful branch to yield a greater harvest. The words I have spoken over you have already cleansed you. So you must remain in life-union with me, for I remain in life-union with you. For as a branch severed from the vine will not bear fruit, so your life will be fruitless unless you live your life intimately joined to mine.

“I am the sprouting vine and you’re my branches. As you live in union with me as your source, fruitfulness will stream from within you—but when you live separated from me you are powerless. 6If a person is separated from me, he is discarded; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire to be burned. But if you live in life-union with me and if my words live powerfully within you—then you can ask whatever you desire and it will be done. When your lives bear abundant fruit, you demonstrate that you are my mature disciples who glorify my Father!

John 15:1-8 (TPT)

Also, never forget that Israel is the land that God the Heavenly Father designated for the Jewish people and He always has great plans for them. Read the scriptures below…

Now the Lord had said to Abram:

“Get out of your country,

From your family

And from your father’s house,

To a land that I will show you.

I will make you a great nation;

I will bless you

And make your name great;

And you shall be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you,

And I will curse him who curses you;

And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis 12:1-3 (NKJV)

Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.”

Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”

Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.

And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.” Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

Genesis 17:15-22 (NKJV)

Again God said to him, Your name is Jacob [supplanter]; you shall not be called Jacob any longer, but Israel shall be your name. So He called him Israel [contender with God].

And God said to him, I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall come from you and kings shall be born of your stock;

The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and to your descendants after you I will give the land.

Genesis 35:10-12 (AMPC)

Now therefore, if you will obey My voice in truth and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own peculiar possession and treasure from among and above all peoples; for all the earth is Mine.

And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation [consecrated, set apart to the worship of God]. These are the words you shall speak to the Israelites.

Exodus 19:5-6 (AMPC)

Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’”

Exodus 6:6-8 (ESV)

“Yet hear now, O Jacob My servant,
And Israel whom I have chosen.

Thus says the Lord who made you
And formed you from the womb, who will help you:
‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant;
And you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

For I will pour water on him who is thirsty,
And floods on the dry ground;
I will pour My Spirit on your descendants,
And My blessing on your offspring;

They will spring up among the grass
Like willows by the watercourses.’

One will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;
Another will call himself by the name of Jacob;
Another will write with his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
And name himself by the name of Israel.

Isaiah 44:1-5 (NKJV)

Conclusion

During my final moments at the cemetery, I carefully touched Schindler’s grave and went on marching all the way to Mahane Yehuda Market in the city.

I am very thankful to the Lord for the significant visits and favors He blessed me with during the rest day in Jerusalem. The visit to Schindler’s grave was a worthy conclusion to the time I spent visiting the sites inside and outside of the walls of the old city of Jerusalem during the cold morning. After Schindler’s grave, I marched all the way to Mahane Yehuda market (with a coffee break at Tmol Shilshom on the way).

I cannot say that Schindler’s grave is a holy site to visit, but it still carries great historical significance in relation to the saving of Jews during the Holocaust. To those of you who get to visit the grave, do not be surprised to see the many stones placed on it. Finally, be mindful that when you visit the Upper Room or King David’s Tomb site just outside of Zion Gate, the cemetery that has Schindler’s grave is only a few hundred meters away by walking. Ask your tour guide about the location and what time the cemetery opens in the morning.

While Oskar Schindler remains a controversial person of history as his legacy continues to be debated between varied people with specific beliefs and reasons (note: there are people who admired him as well as others who condemned him), his efforts (aided by his wife Emilie and his Jewish assistant Itzhak Stern) on protecting the Jewish workers from certain death during World War II should always be remembered.

It should be noted that Schindler’s List has been criticized for having fictionalized scenes, deliberate omissions of historical facts and its portrayal of Oskar as a hero whose personality developed over time. In reality, wife Emilie Schindler was much more involved with her husband on rescuing the Jews which is a significant fact that Spielberg’s movie ignored.

Emilie and Oskar Schindler in Argentina after the end of World War II. Emilie was much more involved with her husband on sparing over a thousand Jewish people from certain death during the Holocaust. (photo credit: Yad Vashem)

The German businessman’s legacy is clearly connected with the 1993 film which itself made tremendous impact by making people aware of the Holocaust and the six million Jews who got killed. The said impact, in my view, is much bigger than the many Academy Awards the movie won! Spielberg’s movie marked the beginning of my learning about the Holocaust and back in 1994, I was not even aware of the biblical significance of Israel and the Jewish people. In my old life of rituals, traditions and idolatrous religion, no person of religion ever taught me to love and bless Israel, nor did anyone religious tell me about God’s covenant with the Jewish people. Reading the Bible back then was only occasional.

In the year I got born again, I gradually learned about the significance of Israel, the Jewish people and the biblical ties between Jews and Christians as I immersed myself with God’s Word. Studying the Holy Bible and living by His Word helped me understand God’s covenant with Abraham whose rightful heirs have always been Isaac (his son) and Jacob (his grandson who later got renamed Israel). Just months after getting born again, I prayed to the Lord a lot for His plan for me related with Israel as I wanted to deepen my faith in Him by visiting the Holy Land and witness the Bible come to life. The 2023 Israel pilgrimage tour I joined with my local church was the Lord’s anointed answer and blessing to me. It is also the greatest and most significant foreign trip I ever had.

Israel is a great and holy place to visit! Visit Israel with the Holy Bible! Pray to the Lord wholeheartedly and reveal to Him your heart’s desire to visit Israel to deepen your faith in Him. Always be the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus! Follow the light of Lord Jesus, keep on praying for the peace of Jerusalem and live on with unwavering faith in Him!

Watch out for more Israel 2023 travel articles here. There is more to come!

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Celebrate Christmas by praising and honoring Lord Jesus

Celebrate Christmas by praising and honoring Lord Jesus

carlocarrasco

Merry Christmas to all of you reading this! Wherever you are or whatever you are doing right now, I encourage you to look beyond the worldly view of the season and celebrate Christmas by praising and honoring Lord Jesus. It is Lord Jesus who is our Savior and He is truly the hope of all nations!

Over the past few years, I wrote that Christmas is truly all about Lord Jesus and we should be rejoicing with Him every Christmas. Every time the season happens during the final month of the year, a ton of distractions happen around us such as the endless stream of disorienting news, toxic social media updates, shopping promos, social engagements, rushing to appointments and more. When you are not careful, these distractions could pull you away from Lord Jesus and you would end up having a hollow Christmas. Obviously, we the faithful children of God don’t want to be separated from Him.

That being said, we all should view Christmas through Lord Jesus as God the Heavenly Father sent Him to us to save us from darkness and to fulill the plan He made for us all. It is only right for us to honor Lord Jesus eternally. Learn from the scriptures below…

For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.

John 3:16 (AMPC)

For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father [of Eternity], Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6 (AMPC)

Therefore, the honor that belongs to the Father he will now share with his Son. So if you refuse to honor the Son, you are refusing to honor the Father who sent him.

John 5:23 (TPT)

But give reverent honor in your hearts to the Anointed One and treat him as the holy Master of your lives. And if anyone asks about the hope living within you, always be ready to explain your faith with gentleness and respect. Maintain a clean conscience, so that those who slander you for living a pure life in Christ will have to lie about you and will be ashamed because of their slander. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if it is in God’s plan, than for doing evil.

1 Peter 3:15-17 (TPT)

Christmas is about who we are celebrating – Lord Jesus Himself – and His birth remains very significant. A lot of people who have not submitted to Him celebrate Christmas by focusing more on the seasonal elements (examples: the partying, enjoying gifts received, and others) without even acknowledging His birth and holiness. The birth of Lord Jesus should be honored with all our hearts and with unwavering faith in the Word of God. Learn from the scripture below…

And Joseph also went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the town of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,

To be enrolled with Mary, his espoused (married) wife, who was about to become a mother.

And while they were there, the time came for her delivery,

And she gave birth to her Son, her Firstborn; and she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room or place for them in the inn.

Luke 2:4-7 (AMPC)

As mentioned earlier, Jesus is the hope of all nations. God sent Him here on Earth (Israel where the Holy Land is) thousands of years ago to walk among the people, preach the good news, preach the heavenly truth and fulfill the plans that the Heavenly Father made for humanity. Learn from the scriptures below…

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

John 8:12 (NKJV)

Then Jesus went over to their synagogue, where he noticed a man with a deformed hand. The Pharisees asked Jesus, “Does the law permit a person to work by healing on the Sabbath?” (They were hoping he would say yes, so they could bring charges against him.)

And he answered, “If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you work to pull it out? Of course you would. And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath.”

Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.”

So the man held out his hand, and it was restored, just like the other one! Then the Pharisees called a meeting to plot how to kill Jesus.

But Jesus knew what they were planning. So he left that area, and many people followed him. He healed all the sick among them, but he warned them not to reveal who he was. This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah concerning him:

“Look at my Servant, whom I have chosen.

    He is my Beloved, who pleases me.

I will put my Spirit upon him,

    and he will proclaim justice to the nations.

He will not fight or shout

    or raise his voice in public.

He will not crush the weakest reed

    or put out a flickering candle.

    Finally he will cause justice to be victorious.

And his name will be the hope

    of all the world.”

Matthew 12:9-21 (NLT)

My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God’s Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion. And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he’s listening. And if we’re confident that he’s listening, we know that what we’ve asked for is as good as ours.

1 John 5:13-15 (MSG)

For by grace you have been saved by faith. Nothing you did could ever earn this salvation, for it was the love gift from God that brought us to Christ! So no one will ever be able to boast, for salvation is never a reward for good works or human striving. We have become his poetry, a re-created people that will fulfill the destiny he has given each of us, for we are joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. Even before we were born, God planned in advance our destiny and the good works we would do to fulfill it!

Ephesians 2:8-10 (TPT)

Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life.”

John 4:13-14 (MSG)

As for us, we have all of these great witnesses who encircle us like clouds. So we must let go of every wound that has pierced us and the sin we so easily fall into. Then we will be able to run life’s marathon race with passion and determination, for the path has been already marked out before us. We look away from the natural realm and we focus our attention and expectation onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. His example is this: Because his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be his, he endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God!

Hebrews 12:1-2 (TPT)

With the above scriptures, it is clear that Jesus deserves all of our praise whenever we celebrate Christmas. Those who are not fully aware of Him and His Word tend to idolize (which is foolish and unholy) people, objects, money, religion, the pawns of evil  and other elements that are not worthy. Being worldly is unholy and this truth should remind you all that as children of God, we have the responsibilities to worship and honor His Son Jesus. Why? Because without Lord Jesus (our Savior and hope), we cannot reach the Heavenly Father. Learn from the scriptures below…

For God is one, and there is one Mediator between God and the sons of men—the true man, Jesus, the Anointed One.

1 Timothy 2:5 (TPT)

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”

John 14:6 (NLT)

As Christmas is all about Lord Jesus, we the faithful children of God also have the responsibility to look forward with Him, follow His teachings and anticipate His return from Heaven. That being said, we must always honor the Resurrection of Lord Jesus (His victory over death) as much as we honor Him on His birth. The Lord will bless and reward the faithful, and He always keeps His promises. Learn from the scripture below…

Behold, I am coming soon, and I shall bring My wages and rewards with Me, to repay and render to each one just what his own actions and his own work merit.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last (the Before all and the End of all).

Revelation 22:12-13 (AMPC)

From this point on, I would like to reach out to all the lost and the unsaved people reading this. You can save yourselves by submitting  to Lord Jesus willingly and realize He is the Light! Glorify only the Lord!

There is no force and no coercion here. You have time and freedom to decide to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. For those who have decided to get born again now and gain salvation, please read the instructions and follow the prayer that I learned from my first pastor.

Are you ready? Firstly, open your heart to the Lord and pray this simple prayer in sincerity from your heart:

Father God,

I thank You. I believe Jesus is Your Son. I believe that He died for me and redeemed me from all of my sins. He took my sins and, Father, thank You for loving me and You demonstrated Your love for me through Your Son Jesus Christ. Forgive me for all of my sins. Jesus, I open my heart to You. I welcome You to enter into my heart. I confess today that You are now my Lord and Savior. Thank You for forgiveness. I receive forgiveness. Thank You for Your blood that cleansed me from all of my sins. I will follow You, Jesus. Thank You for Your plan. I receive the Holy Spirit. And Holy Spirit, help me to follow the will of God in my life in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Congratulations! You are now a child of God! You have received Holy Spirit in your heart! This is easily your greatest decision ever made and also the greatest miracle of your life. Always praise, thank and honor the Lord. No more darkness in your life caused by politics, radicalism, toxicity, rebellion, religion, unbelief, evil, idolatry, traditions and rituals! Leave behind the darkness of your life and don’t look back to it. Remember that idolatry is evil, Purgatory is a lie, penance is a deception and Satan always used religion, lies and unbelief to prevent people from being saved by the Lord.

With Lord Jesus, you are already moving forward and the best is yet to come! You also have a personal relationship with God, a relationship that is strictly off-limits to others (even to your household members or biological family members).

With your new life realized, make an effort to get yourself copy of the Holy Bible (start with New King James Version), study it and apply its lessons into your life no matter what situation you are in right now. I also recommend you to join a local Christian church that God has chosen for you (note: ask Him for a local church!) and find your place in the spiritual family (God’s family!).  Be planted when the Lord shows you the way! Worship the Lord together with them and always remember that faith, not religion, is essential in your personal relationship with God.

When you are at home, be in your room with the door shut and have fellowship with our Heavenly Father. On a personal level, practice Christian Habits in reference to what I published here and here. Remember the truth that God rewards the faithful abundantly  and continue to be people of the Word. Declare your love for Him as well!

The Holy Bible is the ultimate authority and nothing else comes close to it for it is the Word of God. Remember always that Lord Jesus did not die on the cross to start religion at all. He died to redeem us all and showed that we must be led by faith in Him, faith in the Holy Spirit and faith in God the Heavenly Father. He rose from the dead and made His earthly presence felt once more to those who believed in Him. Lord Jesus ascended to Heaven and He promised to return in the future. His return is what we must always remember and keep living with holiness under the watch of God.

We can do our part in building up God’s kingdom here on Earth by preaching His Word, blessing the Jewish people and saving the countless lost and unsaved souls around us by leading them to Lord Jesus. Living as a Christian is always about the personal relationship with the Lord, and it is certainly not about religion. Never let the idolaters, the idol makers and other sinister forces fool you into becoming unholy.

Once again, Merry Christmas to all of you and always be the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus! 

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. Sharing this Christian piece means spreading the good news of the Lord to others. It can help you save the unsaved and the lost souls out there.

If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

The prayer scene of V: The Original Miniseries

The prayer scene of V: The Original Miniseries

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Welcome back my readers, fellow people of faith and those who love entertainment. Today, I want to emphasize something within the 1983 sci-fi epic TV miniseries V: The Original Miniseries.

Before I proceed, I want to address the newcomers reading this. V: The Original Miniseries was about alien humanoids from space who arrived on Earth “in peace” but gradually took control of the world and its people through varied means. Told through the viewpoints of affected Americans in California, V: The Original Miniseries was a cerebral and reflective form of science fiction entertainment that strongly parallels Nazi German’s occupation and takeover of countries in Europe in relation to World War II. As expected, a group of resisting people forms led by a reluctant young woman.

I personally love V: The Original Miniseries as well as its 1984 sequel V: The Final Battle. I own Blu-ray discs of the two mini-series (click here and here) and I encourage you to check out my retro reviews (click here and here). To this day, both mini-series remain solid to watch and are worth replaying all over again in my experience.

Going back to the subject matter of this post, the one significant scene of V: The Original Miniseries I want to emphasize is the prayer scene in the 2nd episode. The prayer scene took place just before the human resistance (led by Julie Parrish played by Faye Grant supported by Mike Donovan played by Marc Singer, Caleb Taylor played by Jason Bernard and others) execute their desperate moves to free their people from the Visitors (the aliens). Watch below the video clip I recorded off-screen while replaying V: The Original Miniseries on Blu-ray disc…

The prayer scene of V: The Original Miniseries.

As you can see in the above clip, the affected people were about to pull off a major push back against the Visitors from outer space. They no longer had the local police (who are already working with the aliens) nor the National Guard, nor the State Government of California nor any American authority to help them. Caleb, who lost a son, reminded Julie of having a prayer as he knew that without the Lord, everything they will do will fail. Caleb knew that as a rebelling force, they could not succeed against the Visitors by focusing on themselves, their resources and their abilities. Caleb knew they had to look up to God even though he does not know the state of each group member’s personal connection with Him. It was also symbolic to see Julie Parrish declare amen before finally giving the go-signal for their next operation which eventually served as the series of spectacle (action scenes) and suspense serving as the big pay-off for viewers.

Within the context of the what happened in the 2nd episode of the mini-series, Julie and her crew moved to secure essential equipment and military hardware at a local facility guarded by the Visitors which results in acts of violence as both sides fire at each other. These scenes happened after the prayer scene.

That being said, I want to make clear that I am not emphasizing the concept of praying to God to be able to win against the opposition by means of violence. Violence and using the very methods of wicked people as a means of getting back at them are clearly not the ways under the watch of the Lord. God has a plan for each and every one of us and we have Lord Jesus to follow to save the lost and unsaved souls. The Lord has His ways of defeating Satan and his pawns, and we only need to follow the Lord instead of taking matters on our own hands.

If you are oppressed and you truly need the Lord’s help for favor and breakthroughs, let the Holy Spirit guide you instead of giving in to your fleshly desire of using force on those who attacked you. Do not even think about using the ways the evil ones used against you. Trust in Him, not the worldly and certainly not your flesh. Always remember that vengeance is the Lord’s. Read the bible verses below…

Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

If he is thirsty, give him a drink;

For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:19-21 (NKJV)

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave the way open for [God’s] wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay (requite), says the Lord.

But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.

Do not let yourself be overcome by evil, but overcome (master) evil with good.

Romans 12:19-21 (AMPC)

Vengeance is Mine, and recompense, in the time when their foot shall slide; for the day of their disaster is at hand and their doom comes speedily.

Deuteronomy 32:35 (AMPC)

But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.

Romans 1:18 (NLT)

For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand,
Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’

Isaiah 41:13 (NKJV)

As seen among the bible scriptures above, Romans 12:19-21 should remind you all that vengeance is the Lord’s and we only need to follow Him because He knows best and has the means to help us overcome the forces of evil. In relation to that, this should remind you all that V: The Original Miniseries is not a faith-based story. Rather, it is a science fiction tale designed to entertain viewers while emphasizing the concept of what the world would be like if people welcomed foreign entities to come in peace pretentiously and take over societies by means of force, violence and fascism. Take note that the mini-series was released at a time when science fiction movies and TV shows were in high demand arguably due to George Lucas’ Star Wars.

The prayer scene should serve as a reminder that we the faithful in real life should keep trusting in the Lord and we need to support each other and strengthen our faith in Him no matter how twisted the world is around us. That is what makes it significant as part of the mini-series. Learn from the scriptures below…

For wherever two or three come together in honor of my name, I am right there with them!

Matthew 18:20 (TPT)

Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 15:5-6 (NKJV)

In Whom, because of our faith in Him, we dare to have the boldness (courage and confidence) of free access (an unreserved approach to God with freedom and without fear).

Ephesians 3:12 (AMPC)

Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV)

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKJV)

For God has not appointed us to [incur His] wrath [He did not select us to condemn us], but [that we might] obtain [His] salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah)

Who died for us so that whether we are still alive or are dead [at Christ’s appearing], we might live together with Him and share His life.

Therefore encourage (admonish, exhort) one another and edify (strengthen and build up) one another, just as you are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 (AMPC)

Finally, while focusing on being with other people of faith and praying to the Lord together as a united body of His, learn from the scriptures below pertaining to Lord Jesus’ ascension to Heaven and His faithful followers (the early Christians) who stayed united together at the Upper Room in Jerusalem and prayed together knowing they are living on with His victory. May this encourage you to be with your fellow spiritual family (God’s family) members and pray to Him together.

Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey. And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

Acts 1:9-14 (NKJV)

Now watch this video I recorded during my first-ever visit to the Upper Room in Jerusalem which was part of the pilgrimage tour I joined with my local church.

This was from my 2nd visit to the Upper Room in Jerusalem. I went to Israel on a pilgrimage tour with my local church because I desired to seek God’s kingdom there (read Matthew 6:33).

From this point on, I would like to reach out to all the lost and the unsaved people reading this. Did a religious and idolatrous extremist ruin your life? Have you been living in bondage for too long? Did the atheists, the humanists and the secularists fool you and abused you? Were you involved in the terrorist activities of Iran or the Palestinians? Have you been living as a homosexual or as a transgendered person? Are you still addicted to sex, drugs and other inappropriate elements? Did you spend an entire life worshiping statues, statuettes, images, people and relics? Are you a toxic person or one of those modern-day Leftist activists (Black Lives Matter, Democratic Socialists of America, Antifa, the abortionists and others) who got fed up fighting for worthless causes? Did you kill someone and have been living so long with the guilt?

All of the darkness related to what was mentioned above can finally end and you can decide to do it! How? You can save yourselves by submitting yourselves to the Lord Jesus willingly and realize He is the Light! There is no force and no coercion here. You have time and freedom to decide to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. For those who have decided to get born again now and gain salvation, please read the instructions and follow the prayer that I learned from a pastor.

Are you ready? Firstly, open your heart to the Lord and pray this simple prayer in sincerity from your heart:

Father God,

I thank You. I believe Jesus is Your Son. I believe that He died for me and redeemed me from all of my sins. He took my sins and, Father, thank You for loving me and You demonstrated Your love for me through Your Son Jesus Christ. Forgive me for all of my sins. Jesus, I open my heart to You. I welcome You to enter into my heart. I confess today that You are now my Lord and Savior. Thank You for forgiveness. I receive forgiveness. Thank You for Your blood that cleansed me from all of my sins. I will follow You, Jesus. Thank You for Your plan. I receive the Holy Spirit. And Holy Spirit, help me to follow the will of God in my life in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Congratulations! You are now a child of God! You have received Holy Spirit in your heart! This is easily your greatest decision ever made and also the greatest miracle of your life. Always praise, thank and honor the Lord. No more darkness in your life caused by politics, radicalism, toxicity, rebellion, religion, unbelief, evil, idolatry, traditions and rituals! Leave behind the darkness of your life and don’t look back to it. Remember that idolatry is evil, Purgatory is a lie, penance is a deception and Satan always used religion and unbelief to prevent people from being saved by the Lord. Also, do not ever hail Mary (the mother of Lord Jesus) because all the praise and honor belong to God, Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit only.

With Lord Jesus, you are already moving forward and the best is yet to come! You also have a personal relationship with God, a relationship that is strictly off-limits to others (even to your household members or biological family members).

With your new life realized, make an effort to get yourself copy of the Holy Bible (start with New King James Version), study it and apply its lessons into your life no matter what situation you are in right now. I also recommend you to join a local Christian church that God has chosen for you (note: ask Him for a local church!) and find your place in the spiritual family (God’s family!).  Be planted when the Lord shows you the way! Worship the Lord together with them and always remember that faith, not religion, is essential in your personal relationship with God. When you are at home, be in your room with the door shut and have fellowship with our Heavenly Father. On a personal level, practice Christian Habits here and there. Remember the truth that God rewards the faithful abundantly, only He can lift you up and restore you fully,  and continue to be people of the Word. Declare your love for Him as well!

The Holy Bible is the ultimate authority and nothing else comes close to it for it is the Word of God. Remember always that Lord Jesus did not die on the cross to start religion. He died to redeem us all and showed that we must be led by faith in Him, faith in the Holy Spirit and faith in God the Heavenly Father. He rose from the dead and made His earthly presence felt once more to those who believed in Him. Lord Jesus ascended to Heaven and He promised to return in the future. His return is what we must always remember and keep living with holiness under the watch of God. We can do our part in building up God’s kingdom here on Earth by preaching His Word, blessing the Jewish people and saving the countless lost and unsaved souls around us by leading them to Lord Jesus. Living as a Christian is always about the personal relationship with the Lord, and it is certainly not about religion. Never let the idolaters, the idol makers, the ritual practitioners and other sinister forces fool you into becoming unholy.

In ending this, here are some videos of Christian worship music for you to enjoy and praise the Lord with. Always be the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus! 

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. Sharing this Christian piece means spreading the good news of the Lord to others. It can help you save the unsaved and the lost souls out there.

If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

I Love Israel: Philippine President Marcos cites Israel as a model for achieving water security

I Love Israel: Philippine President Marcos cites Israel as a model for achieving water security

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Recently Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., emphasized the need to use new technologies so that the country will be able to improve the management of its water resources and ensure a stable supply for the people, according to a Philippine News Agency (PNA) news article. Along the way, Marcos mentioned Israel as a role model that the Philippines can learn from to achieve water security.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the PNA article. Some parts in boldface…

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday emphasized the need to use new and emerging technologies to improve the management of the country’s water resources and provide safe and affordable water to all.

Marcos made the statement during the opening of the 6th Edition of the Water Philippines Conference and Exposition at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

“I happened to have been given the opportunity to walk around a little bit and see some of the exhibitors. And it is very gratifying to note that in fact, the technologies that are being used, that are being employed in terms of water treatment, in terms of water management are well-known technologies,” he said. “And so, I am very optimistic that the solutions that we need to formulate are out there, the technologies are out there. What has continued to change in the light of climate change is the management, the stratagems on how we manage our water.”

Marcos particularly pointed out that flood control projects have evolved through the years, along with the changing times, noting that these are no longer just exclusively used for that.

“We take the water and we use it for irrigation, we use it for drinking water if we have a treatment plant,” he said, adding that water can be used to produce power with small hydroelectric plants.

He also cited Israel’s experience showing how it promotes the sustainable use of clean water for various purposes despite having a limited water supply.

“I’d spent some time in Israel and I saw how they treat the water because water is very scarce. They live in the desert. Nevertheless, they are able to collect the water during the rainy season, whatever is available, they put fish in it to grow fish. When the summer comes, they take it out, take out the water, harvest the fish, and then that goes to irrigation and so forth,” Marcos said.

He said the Philippines could learn from Israel and apply this approach to achieve water security.

“These are the kinds of thinking that we have to apply to the Philippines because of the crisis that we are facing and how debilitating it will be to the entire economy, to the entire society if our water supply problem continues to get greater, continues to become more dependent on what we have been doing in the past,” he said.

It is very notable that President Marcos mentioned Israel while talking about the state of water in the Philippines. I myself had been to Israel recently on pilgrimage tour and there were times when our tour bus traveled great distances on desert areas, I did not just see sand and rocks. I saw lots of plantations along the road and the sight of lively vegetation in the desert of Israel was astounding. Israel is very well known not only for their highly advanced treatment and management of water, they are also highly proficient on agriculture and creating abundant supplies of food. Very recently, the 65th anniversary of friendship between Israel and the Philippines was commemorated. We need to pray to the Lord that President Marcos and an official delegation of the Philippines will someday visit Israel and have official meetings with their Israeli counterparts, meet with the Filipino community there and come up with new agreements for greater cooperation between the two nations.

To my fellow Filipinos reading this, I encourage you to accept the truth that Israel is the land God designated specifically for the Jewish people (read Genesis 35:10-12) and His command must be followed by all. If you want to be blessed further by the Lord, do so by loving and blessing the Jewish people (Genesis 12:1-3). I did my part when I was in Israel.

If you truly believe in Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit and God the Heavenly Father wholeheartedly and you continue to be faithful, you should be aware that Christians are meant to stand united with Israel and love the Jewish people no matter what. You can do your part supporting Israel by donating to Christians United for Israel (CUFI). Do not forget to read the Holy Bible, then pray in tongues to the Lord in the privacy of your room with the door shut.

Always be the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus! Always stand in support of Israel and pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

In ending this I Love Israel piece, posted below are Israel-related videos for your viewing pleasure and enlightenment.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

Christian Music Appreciation: How Great is Our God

Christian Music Appreciation: How Great is Our God

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Welcome back, my readers and fellow Christians! In this newest edition of my Christian Music Appreciation (CMA) series, we will focus on How Great is Our God, a very well-known worship song written by Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash and Jesse Reeves. The song was part of the DVD release of the live praise-and-worship Hillsong Worship album titled Mighty to Save.

If you want to discover and learn more about Hillsong Worship, I encourage you to click here (Facebook page), here (Instagram) and here (YouTube). To learn more about Chris Tomlin, click here (Facebook), here (Instagram) and here (official website).

Before getting into the analysis of the Biblical relevance of How Great is Our God, posted below for your reference are the lyrics composed by Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash and Jesse Reeves.

Lyrics:

The splendor of a king

Clothed in majesty

Let all the earth rejoice

All the earth rejoice

–

He wraps Himself in light,

And darkness tries to hide

And trembles at His voice

Trembles at His voice

–

How great is our God

Sing with me

How great is our God

And all will see

How great, how great is our God

–

Age to age He stands

And time is in His hands

Beginning and the end

Beginning and the end

–

The Godhead Three in One

Father, Spirit and Son

The Lion and the Lamb

The Lion and the Lamb

–

How great is our God

Sing with me

How great is our God

And all will see

How great, how great is our God

–

Name above all names

Worthy of all praise

My heart will sing

How great is our God

–

Name above all names

You are worthy of all praise

And my heart will sing

How great is our God

–

[3x]

How great is our God

Sing with me

How great is our God

And all will see

How great, how great is our God

–

To begin with, let’s take a close look at the first section of the lyrics above: The splendor of a king, Clothed in majesty, Let all the earth rejoice, All the earth rejoice.

The above lines emphasize the greatness of God in Heaven. In His Kingdom, the Lord is the ultimate which is undeniably true and as His faithful children, we do our part honoring Him, praising Him, serving Him, rejoicing with Him and keep on having an eternal personal relationship with Him. God’s greatness also rewards us as we keep on having unwavering faith in Him. Do not forget that submitting to His Son Jesus is the only way to the Heavenly Father. Learn from the following holy scriptures below…

To you, O God, belong the greatness and the might, the glory, the victory, the majesty, the splendor; Yes! Everything in heaven, everything on earth; the kingdom all yours! You’ve raised yourself high over all.

1 Chronicles 29:11 (MSG)

And I said: “I pray, Lord God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments,”

Nehemiah 1:5 (NKJV)

For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself.

1 Samuel 12:22 (ESV)

Jesus explained, “I am the Way, I am the Truth, and I am the Life. No one comes next to the Father except through union with me. To know me is to know my Father too.”

John 14:6 (TPT)

Then Jesus came close to them and said, “All authority of the universe has been given to me. Now wherever you go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And teach them to faithfully follow all that I have commanded you. And never forget that I am with you every day, even to the completion of this age.”

Matthew 28:18-20 (TPT)

Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him!

Philippians 4:4 (MSG)

Next, take a close look at the next batch of lines from the lyrics: He wraps Himself in light, And darkness tries to hide, And trembles at His voice, Trembles at His voice

The above lines explain that the holiness of the Heavenly Father is true and eternal. God is great and His light shines upon His faithful children as well as the other souls who repented and submitted to His Son Lord Jesus to come to Him in the Kingdom of Light. Darkness, sin, destruction, poverty and other elements of the enemy have no place in God’s kingdom nor in the hearts of the children of God. With unwavering and unbreakable faith in the Lord, you can defeat Satan and his minions and stay high with the Lord’s holiness! Pay close attention to the following holy scriptures.

Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great! You are clothed with honor and majesty—

[You are the One] Who covers Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain or a tent,

Who lays the beams of the upper room of His abode in the waters [above the firmament], Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind,

Psalm 104:1-3 (AMPC)

Everything I am will praise and bless the Lord!

O Lord, my God, your greatness takes my breath away,

overwhelming me by your majesty, beauty, and splendor!

You wrap yourself with a shimmering, glistening light.

You wear sunshine like a garment of glory.

You stretch out the starry skies like a tapestry.

You build your balconies with light beams

and ride as King in a chariot you made from clouds.

You fly upon the wings of the wind.

Psalms 104:1-3 (TPT)

There is none holy like the Lord, there is none besides You; there is no Rock like our God.

1 Samuel 2:2 (AMPC)

You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!

James 2:19 (NKJV)

Giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified and made us fit to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints (God’s holy people) in the Light.

[The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,

In Whom we have our redemption through His blood, [which means] the forgiveness of our sins.

[Now] He is the exact likeness of the unseen God [the visible representation of the invisible]; He is the Firstborn of all creation.

Colossians 1:12-15 (AMPC)

Then Jesus said, “I am light to the world, and those who embrace me will experience life-giving light, and they will never walk in darkness.”

John 8:12 (TPT)

Next, take a close look at the next batch of lines from the lyrics. Specifically, the following are lines from the chorus of the song: How great is our God, Sing with me, How great is our God, And all will see, How great, how great is our God.

The above lines emphasize again the greatness of God. It teaches us that as His faithful children, we should be ready to always recognize true greatness comes from the Lord and no other forms of greatness will ever come close to His. The greatness of the Lord is a lively reminder that we must dedicated ourselves to Him, spread His Word to others and help the lost and unsaved souls come to Lord Jesus to be with the Heavenly Father and realize His greatness. Read the hole scriptures below…

There is none like you, O Lord;

you are great, and your name is great in might.

Jeremiah 10:6 (ESV)

For God is the triumphant King; all the powers of the earth are his. So sing your celebration songs of highest praise to the glorious Enlightened One!

Psalms 47:7 (TPT)

The Mighty One has worked a mighty miracle for me; holy is his name!

Luke 1:49 (TPT)

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

1 John 3:1 (NKJV)

Death once held us in its grip, and by the blunder of one man, death reigned as king over humanity. But now, how much more are we held in the grip of grace and continue reigning as kings in life, enjoying our regal freedom through the gift of perfect righteousness in the one and only Jesus, the Messiah!

Romans 5:17 (TPT)

The time came to observe the winter Feast of Renewal in Jerusalem.  Jesus walked into the temple area under Solomon’s covered walkway when the Jewish leaders encircled him and said, “How much longer will you keep us in suspense? Tell us the truth and clarify this for us once and for all. Are you really the Messiah, the Anointed One?”

Jesus answered them, “I have told you the truth already and you did not believe me. The proof of who I am is revealed by all the miracles that I do in the name of my Father. Yet, you stubbornly refuse to follow me, because you are not my sheep. As I’ve told you before: My own sheep will hear my voice and I know each one, and they will follow me. I give to them the gift of eternal life and they will never be lost and no one has the power to snatch them out of my hands. My Father, who has given them to me as his gift, is the mightiest of all, and no one has the power to snatch them from my Father’s care. The Father and I are one.”

John 10:22-30 (TPT)

For there [is only] one God, and [only] one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,

1 Timothy 2:5 (AMPC)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1 Peter 1:3 (ESV)

The Lord has done great things for us;

We are joyful.

Psalm 126:3 (NASB)

The above lines emphasize that the Lord is eternal and He does not change Himself. He is always present to guide the faithful and provide for them. He is always there to fight battles that are too great for us to handle. God is always present to emphasize His faithfulness to those who dedicated themselves to Him. He is always present to spend time with each of us – His faithful children – and is always ready to welcome the souls who got born again after repenting to Lord Jesus and accepting Him as their Lord and Savior. Learn from the scriptures below…

The eternal God is your refuge and dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He drove the enemy before you and thrust them out, saying, Destroy!

Deuteronomy 33:27 (AMPC)

For this is God,

Our God forever and ever;

He will be our guide

Even to death.

Psalm 48:14 (NKJV)

Have you not known?

Have you not heard?

The everlasting God, the Lord,

The Creator of the ends of the earth,

Neither faints nor is weary.

His understanding is unsearchable.

Isaiah 40:28 (NKJV)

Jesus responded and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

John 3:3 (NASB)

“I tell you this timeless truth: The person who follows me in faith, believing in me, will do the same mighty miracles that I do—even greater miracles than these because I go to be with my Father!”

John 14:12 (TPT)

Then Jesus came close to them and said, “All authority of the universe has been given to me. Now wherever you go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And teach them to faithfully follow all that I have commanded you. And never forget that I am with you every day, even to the completion of this age.”

Matthew 28:18-20 (TPT)

Next, take a close look at the following lines of lyrics: The Godhead Three in One, Father, Spirit and Son, The Lion and the Lamb, The Lion and the Lamb.

The above lines refers to the Holy Trinity composed of God the Heavenly Father, His Son Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Having the Holy Trinity is essential in our faith in the Lord as well as Christian living. The lion and the lamb mentioned symbolize our Lord.

Go then and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you all the days (perpetually, uniformly, and on every occasion), to the [very] close and consummation of the age. Amen (so let it be).

Matthew 28:19 (AMPC)

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

John 14:16-17 (ESV)

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

John 1:29 (NKJV)

Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice:

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain

To receive power and riches and wisdom,

And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:

“Blessing and honor and glory and power

Be to Him who sits on the throne,

And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”

Revelation 5:11-13 (NKJV)

And I wept audibly and bitterly because no one was found fit to open the scroll or to inspect it.

Then one of the elders [of the heavenly Sanhedrin] said to me, Stop weeping! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root (Source) of David, has won (has overcome and conquered)! He can open the scroll and break its seven seals!

Revelation 5:4-5 (AMPC)

The Lord also will roar from Zion,

And utter His voice from Jerusalem;

The heavens and earth will shake;

But the Lord will be a shelter for His people,

And the strength of the children of Israel.

Joel 3:16 (NKJV)

Finally, we take a close look at the following lines of lyrics of the song in two similar looking batches: Name above all names, Worthy of all praise, My heart will sing, How great is our God and Name above all names, You are worthy of all praise, And my heart will sing, How great is our God.

Our Lord’s name is the ultimate of all names. No name can be greater than the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus, the only begotten son of God sent here on Earth to lead humanity out of darkness. Jesus died on the cross carrying all of humanity’s sins and trespasses with Him, and a few days later He returned from the dead (conquered death), made His presence felt to the faithful and ascended to Heaven with the promise of returning in the future. Lord Jesus is the Messiah, the King of all kings and the One we must follow in order to be with the Heavenly Father in His kingdom. The Lord is worthy of all our praise! Learn from the following scriptures below…

Because of that obedience, God exalted him and multiplied his greatness! He has now been given the greatest of all names! The authority of the name of Jesus causes every knee to bow in reverence! Everything and everyone will one day submit to this name—in the heavenly realm, in the earthly realm, and in the demonic realm. And every tongue will proclaim in every language: “Jesus Christ is Lord Yahweh,” bringing glory and honor to God, his Father!

Philippians 2:9-11 (TPT)

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

John 3:16-17 (NKJV)

And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

KING OF KINGS AND

LORD OF LORDS.

Revelation 19:16 (NKJV)

She will give birth to a Son; and you shall name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.

Matthew 1:21 (NASB)

I will exalt You, my God, the King,

And I will bless Your name forever and ever.

Every day I will bless You,

And I will praise Your name forever and ever.

Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised;

And His greatness is unsearchable.

One generation will praise Your works to another,

And will declare Your mighty acts.

On the glorious splendor of Your majesty

And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.

People will speak of the power of Your awesome acts,

And I will tell of Your greatness.

Psalm 145:1-6 (NASB)

For through the eternal and living Word of God you have been born again. And this “seed” that he planted within you can never be destroyed but will live and grow inside of you forever. For: Human beings are frail and temporary, like grass, and the glory of man fleeting like blossoms of the field. The grass dries and withers and the flowers fall off, but the Word of the Lord endures forever!

1 Peter 1:23-25 (TPT)

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah is God’s spiritual child and has been fathered by God himself. And everyone who loves Father God loves his children as well. This is how we can be sure that we love the children of God: by having a passionate love for God and by obedience to his commands. True love for God means obeying his commands, and his commands don’t weigh us down as heavy burdens. You see, every child of God overcomes the world, for our faith is the victorious power that triumphs over the world. So who are the world conquerors, defeating its power? Those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

1 John 5:1-5 (TPT)

Very clearly, the worship song How Great is Our God is a very holy song. Indeed, the lyrics composed by the writers are very biblical and it is safe to say that the Lord anointed them as well as their musicians to make this great praise-and-worship song. Musically, it is unsurprisingly beautiful to listen to and easily it is ideal to lead your fellow faithful Christians at church to the Lord with. How Great is Our God will easily fit in with your local church’s Sunday worship service music as well as during special worship events that involve the church’s music team. Ultimately, How Great is Our God will not only remind you of His everlasting greatness but also inspire you to deepen your faith in Him and help lead the lost and unsaved souls to Him through Lord Jesus!

In conclusion, posted below are YouTube videos of How Great is Our God for your faith and viewing pleasure. While watching it and listening to the music, remember to be faithful and thankful to the Lord. Always remember to realize the good life from the Lord, practice Christian habits (click here and here for reference), have private time with God, get yourself planted in a local church (allow the Holy Spirit to guide you) and remember the truth that He rewards the faithful abundantly and He established plans for you before you were even created! Continue to live with God’s Word, seek God through His son Jesus, follow the light of Jesus, and keep on being the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus!

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Sharing this Christian piece means spreading the good news of the Lord to others. It can help you save the unsaved and the lost souls out there. Also please consider making a donation to support my publishing of faith articles, CMAs and feature articles.

If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco/

2023

2023

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Happy New Year to everyone!

The year twenty twenty-three – 2023 – is finally here. While we do not know for certain what events will happen to us in the next 365 days, we must always be faithful to our Lord and keep on living on and moving forward with His Word (the Holy Bible).

2022 is officially over and looking back to it, there are miracles and positive events that happened which we must thank the Lord for. I am personally thankful to God for His provision, His guiding light and His love for me in 2022. Along the way were blessings from Him such as my attendance of the Planetshakers worship event in September 2022, breakthroughs in my private sector job, further growth through my local church, having attended Sunday worship and the 17th anniversary of CHAN International Ministries in Bulacan province, and the continued global reach of my website and blog at www.CarloCarrasco.com to name some.

There were also big breakthroughs that happened in this very divided world we live in. I am thankful to our Lord that Benjamin Netanyahu return as Prime Minister of Israel as he and his coalition partners won a clear majority of the seats of the Knesset during their national elections months ago. Over in the United States, the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade (legalized abortion) and I personally refer to that at the June 24, 2022 miracle in America. I prayed for Netanyahu’s return to power and the fall of Roe v. Wade, and the Lord answered! For those reading this, I encourage you to pray to the Lord in your room with the door shut. Pray in tongues to Him always.

Speaking of my website, I am thankful to our Lord and also happy to share with you what was achieved in 2022. For the full year of 2022, www.CarloCarrasco.com attracted over 160,000 hits (page views) worldwide and the Top 5 nations of users/readers were from my native Philippines at #1 followed by Cambodia (the host of the 2023 Southeast Asian Games), the United States, India and the United Kingdom. In terms of online visitors, over 122,000 worldwide were attracted in 2022. The single biggest month in terms of page views was December 2022 with over 17,000 hits.

With regards to how many hits were counted for my website in terms of lifetime (starting January 4, 2019), more than 800,000 hits worldwide were counted as of December 31, 2022. I am aiming for the milestone 1,000,000 hits mark.

As such, I would like to express my thanks to all the readers and Internet users who visited my website and blog for news, Christian teachings, Christian music appreciation, entertainment, special features and other content. I also want to thank the local government units, the homeowners’ associations, local churches, the local news media outlets and other private entities for sharing content and letting me magnify or publicize them through my website. For this new year, I have some new special feature articles planned for publishing.

To those of you who enjoy my website, be reminded that I am accepting donations online to keep it running and to keep more content coming in to not only entertain you but help you and enlighten you all. Visit https://carlocarrasco.com/donate/ to donate online.

For 2023 and the future, I urge all of you readers to never lose faith in the Lord no matter how good or bad your situation is. Jesus is our Lord and Savior and no matter what happens, we must always rejoice with Him.

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

Philippians 4:4 (NKJV)

If you are hurting and you need healing badly, come to Lord Jesus with unwavering faith in Him.

Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.  When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”

Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”

But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”

And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.

And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”

Mark 5:25-34 (NKJV)

Ultimately, Jesus is the way, the life and the truth that we must follow with unwavering faith.

Jesus explained, “I am the Way, I am the Truth, and I am the Life. No one comes next to the Father except through union with me. To know me is to know my Father too.”

John 14:6 (TPT)

Always remember to maintain unwavering faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus to move on with 2023 and beyond. Reject the evil ways of the world, push the idols out of the way, and reject religion, atheism and secularism so that you can clear your path of faith in the Lord and make room for Him in your heart. Always be the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus!

Once again, Happy New Year!

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. If you want to support my website, please consider making a donation. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco/.

Planetshakers Conference 2023 in Melbourne and Brisbane, Australia set this coming January

Planetshakers Conference 2023 in Melbourne and Brisbane, Australia set this coming January

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If you are looking for a worship event to deepen your relationship with the Lord and if you also have the means to travel overseas, then you should look to Planetshakers in Australia as they will organize the highly anticipated Planetshakers Conference 2023 in the cities of Melbourne and Brisbane over separate weekends this coming January with the theme “Show me Your glory”. The good news here is that online registration is ongoing.

To join the conference in Melbourne set for January 12 to 14, 2023, click here. The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) is the venue listed.

To join the conference in Brisbane set for January 20 to 21, 2023, click here. The Royal International Convention Centre Brisbane is the venue listed.

Each Planetshakers Conference 2023 page per location has registration fees (note: be prepared with your credit card) and schedules of activities for each day.

The official message from Planetshakers church founders and pastors Russell and Sam Evans emphasizing Planetshakers Conference 2023 goes as follows:

IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN OUR DESIRE AND OUR PURSUIT…JOIN US AS WE CONTINUE TO RUN AFTER GOD WITH THE INTENT OF SEEING HIS GLORY.

Just as Moses would not go anywhere unless God’s presence accompanied him we have that same heart’s cry and at this year’s conference, people from all over Australia and the world will be coming together with that common passion.

Show me Your glory.

We cannot wait to encounter Him and to sit back in wonder at all the incredible things that will take place. It’s going to be awe-inspiring!

Love, Russell and Sam Evans

For the newcomers who are trying to figure out what exactly is a Planetshakers Conference, posted below is an excerpt from their official page. Some parts in boldface…

Planetshakers Conferences are a Holy Spirit-inspired initiative, birthed in a supernatural encounter with God in a revival meeting at the Glasshouse in Melbourne, during which Pastor Russell Evans heard the clear mandate from Holy Spirit to, “Start a conference and call it Planetshakers”.

Without fully understanding what God had in mind, Russell and his wife Sam, obediently responded to God and gathered a small group of passionate leaders and teenagers together to communicate the vision. Full of raw excitement and hungry for a move of God, this small group of young people willingly stretched their faith, gave generously of their resources and embarked on a journey that would ultimately lead to the establishment of a significant, globally-impacting church and ministry.

The first Planetshakers Conference was held in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1997, with 300 young people in attendance. The event was marked by intense hunger for God as young people travelled great distances to attend, and queued for hours in extreme heat— just to position themselves for an encounter with Jesus. When word got out that Planetshakers Conference was unlike any other conference experience, numbers rapidly escalated, necessitating that the event be replicated in other cities around Australia.

Over the years that Planetshakers has run conferences, many people from all walks of life have reported that it was at one of these events that they encountered God in such a radical way that they were arrested in their lives and set on course for their God-given destiny. Having started with young people, the event is now marked by great diversity of age, culture and denomination in attendance—adding to the richness of the corporate worship experience.

Planetshakers Conferences are each marked by a prophetic ‘theme’ or declaration that has been prayerfully sought by Russell Evans. This theme pervades every part of the experience and is reflected in the songs, resources and preaching.

In addition to fresh, passionate, supernatural praise and worship, many great, Spirit-led ministers from all over the world, have graced the pulpit with life-changing, prophetic messages of grace, love, hope, breakthrough and deliverance.

Our heart in running Planetshakers Conferences world-wide, is that we might appropriate the breakthrough anointing that God has gifted our ministry, inspire passionate, authentic praise and worship, create an insatiable hunger for God in people’s lives, release generosity and faith in God’s people and facilitate divine partnerships — for the sole purpose of helping to build local churches around the globe, championing Holy Spirit and seeing the Kingdom of God advance.

The Planetshakers Conference is clearly about experiencing the close encounter with the Lord involving faith and His Word (the Holy Bible). As such, there will be opportunities where you can deepen your faith in the Lord and strengthen further your personal relationship with Him.

I personally would love to attend a Planetshakers Conference someday. This past September, I attended a Planetshakers worship event here in the Philippines and as it was very anointed event, I – along with many thousands of others who attended – got blessed by the Lord. I am also very thankful to Him that I personally witnessed and followed the very anointed and heartful prayers led by Pastor Sam Evans herself. That being said, I believe that the upcoming Planetshakers Conference will come with blessings and anointing from the Lord.

If you want to discover and learn more about Planetshakers, I encourage you to click here (Facebook page), here (Instagram), here (Twitter) and here (YouTube). To know more about Planetshakers itself, visit https://www.planetshakers.com/

In ending this article, I posted below assorted music videos of worship songs of Planetshakers. May these enlighten you, delight you and motivate you to come to God, Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit without hesitation. Seek Lord Jesus first, follow His light and always be the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus! Peace and amen to you all!

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others as well as making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco/

Watch Planetshakers’ GREATER: Live At Chapel worship video and praise the Lord

Watch Planetshakers’ GREATER: Live At Chapel worship video and praise the Lord

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Welcome back, my fellow Christians, music enthusiasts and all those who seek the Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit! I really love the way Planetshakers leads the praise and worship of the Lord. This past September, God blessed the Philippines with Planetshakers worship events and I am very thankful to Him as I was able to attend the September 10 worship event and got blessed in return. I was among the many thousands who attended that night and praised the Lord with Planetshakers leading the way to Him with their incredible music, the powerful prayers led by Pastor Sam Evans and dazzling lights.

Planetshakers’ return here in the Philippines was part of their Greater Asia Tour this year and their latest album is titled GREATER. For the newcomers reading this, Planetshakers is a Christian church based in Australia and their worship music team produced a lot of worship songs that became not only popular with Christians around the world but also became part of their worship of the Lord. I reviewed several Planetshakers worship songs on this website and I encourage you to take to read my Christian Music Appreciation (CMA) featurearticles of their worship songs by clicking here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Most recently, Planetshakers launched on their YouTube channel the official video of GREATER – Live At Chapel which shows them leading the worship of the Lord on-location on a mountaintop vista near Melbourne in Australia with several Planetshakers Bible College students participating. The video has several GREATER album songs played such as Beauty For Ashes, No. 1 Sound, Greater, Victory of Jesus, Move in Power, Psalm 23, Emmanuel, Heaven is My Home, It is Done, Stay (You Are Good) and Never Thirst Again.

The GREATER – Live At Chapel video on YouTube is 57 minutes long and you can watch it right here right now!

To add more emphasis about worshiping the Lord with music and a lot of heart, posted below are selected scriptures from the Holy Bible…

Go ahead—sing your new song to the Lord!

Let everyone in every language sing him a new song.

Don’t stop! Keep on singing! Make his name famous!

Tell everyone every day how wonderful he is.

Give them the good news of our great Savior.

Take the message of his glory and miracles to every nation.

Tell them about all the amazing things he has done.

For the Lord’s greatness is beyond description,

and he deserves all the praise that comes to him.

He is our King-God, and it’s right to be in holy awe of him.

Other gods are absolutely worthless.

For the Lord God is Creator-God,

who spread the splendor of the skies!

Breathtaking brilliance and awe-inspiring majesty

radiate from his shining presence.

His stunning beauty overwhelms all who come before him.

Surrender to the Lord Yahweh, all you nations and peoples.

Surrender to him all your pride and strength.

Confess that Yahweh alone deserves all the glory and honor.

Bring an offering and come celebrate in his courts.

Come worship the Lord God wearing the splendor of holiness.

Let everyone wait in wonder as they tremble in awe before him.

Tell the nations plainly that Yahweh rules over all!

He is doing a great job, and nothing will disrupt him,

for he treats everyone fair and square.

Let the skies sing for joy! Let the earth join in the chorus.

Let oceans thunder and fields echo this ecstatic praise

until every swaying tree of every forest joins in,

lifting up their songs of joyous praise to him!

For here he comes, the Lord God,

and he’s ready to judge the world.

He will do what’s right and can be trusted

to always do what’s fair.

Psalms 96:1-13 (TPT)

Planetshakers with their students worship the Lord together at this very scenic location. Pastor Sam Evans, Joth Hunt and the others are here.

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Praise God in his holy sanctuary!

Praise him in his stronghold in the sky!

Praise him for his mighty miracles!

Praise him for his magnificent greatness!

Praise him with trumpets blasting!

Praise him with piano and guitar!

Praise him with drums and dancing!

Praise him with loud clashing of cymbals!

Praise him upon the high-sounding cymbals!

Let everyone everywhere join in the crescendo

of ecstatic praise to Yahweh!

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

Psalms 150:1-6 (TPT)

Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; meditate on and talk of all His marvelous deeds and devoutly praise them.

Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek and require the Lord [as their indispensable necessity].

Psalm 105:2-3 (AMPC)

The cross of Lord Jesus at the mountaintop. Let this image remind you to worship the Lord always and forever. Jesus is Lord and Savior of all!

If you want to discover and learn more about Planetshakers, I encourage you to click here (Facebook page), here (Instagram), here (Twitter) and here (YouTube). To know more about Planetshakers itself, visit https://www.planetshakers.com/

In ending this article, I posted below the official music videos of worship songs related to the album GREATER. May these enlighten you, delight you and motivate you to come to God, Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit without hesitation. Seek Lord Jesus first, follow His light and always be the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus! Peace and amen to you all!

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others as well as making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco/

Hillsong Conference 2023 set for July 3 to 5 next year

Hillsong Conference 2023 set for July 3 to 5 next year

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Hillsong Church, one of the major Christian churches in Australia, announced recently that the next edition of their popular Hillsong Conference will be held from July 3 to 5, 2023. The good news here is that people are welcome to register online for Hillsong Conference 2023 by clicking here.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from Hillsong’s official announcement about Hillsong Conference 2023. Some parts in boldface…

With the success of Hillsong Conference 2022 including over 300 decisions for Christ, 49 nations represented in person and online, and an amazing atmosphere of worship and Spirit-inspired preaching, we are excited to announce that we have dates for Hillsong Conference next year on Monday 3rd – Wednesday 5th July.

2023 conference theme is, Again to our First Love.

This is a new era for Hillsong Conference, and with this in mind we asked for your thoughts on how we can best take the conference forward in the most relevant and meaningful way. A huge thank you to those who participated and provided valuable feedback to help us move forward in strength and with relevance. Survey results were particularly useful as a window into the specific areas of delegates’ interests. This information helps us to focus and refine our direction.

The results revealed approximately 60% of those surveyed want to keep Hillsong Conference in July and for the same length of time. 2022 was attended in the majority (75%) by members of Hillsong Church and 25% from other churches – in keeping with our mandate to champion the cause of the local church. Many of those who attend, do so to hear the speakers and experience corporate worship. Over 65% of those who responded to the survey said their areas of interest were leadership and creative, although almost 25% expressed other areas such as evangelism, the Holy Spirit, theology, and biblical learning, plus areas of social and family support, among others. Feedback on the availability of streaming services and interactive live sessions was very positive, with 75% saying they were open or interested.

In relation to the above announcement, check out this official promo video about Hillsong Conference 2023.

For the newcomers reading this, Hillsong Conference is a very popular and long-running annual worship and Bible-focused event of Hillsong Church. The local church where I attend regularly has pastors who were sent to attend Hillsong Conferences years ago and what they learned was not only valuable but also anointed by the Lord. Hillsong Conference undeniably helps worship leaders from around the world gain insight on worshiping the Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and leading more people to the Lord.

To see the official photos of Hillsong Conference 2022, click here. To register early for Hillsong Conference 2023, go to https://hillsong.com/conference/

Let me end this post with the bible scriptures below.

Lord Almighty, you are the one who created all the nations. Look at them—they’re all on their way! Yes, the day will come when they all will worship you and put your glory on display.

Psalms 86:9 (TPT)

O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker [in reverent praise and supplication].

Psalm 95:6 (AMPC)

Beloved friends, what does all this imply? When you conduct your meetings, you should always let everything be done to build up the church family. Whether you share a song of praise, a teaching, a divine revelation, or a tongue and interpretation, let each one contribute what strengthens others.

1 Corinthians 14:26 (TPT)

Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Colossians 3:17 (NASB)

Know (perceive, recognize, and understand with approval) that the Lord is God! It is He Who has made us, not we ourselves [and we are His]! We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Psalm 100:3 (AMPC)

That’s plain enough, isn’t it? You’re no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.

Ephesians 2:19-22 (MSG)

Now my beloved ones, I have saved these most important truths for last: Be supernaturally infused with strength through your life-union with the Lord Jesus. Stand victorious with the force of his explosive power flowing in and through you. Put on God’s complete set of armor provided for us, so that you will be protected as you fight against the evil strategies of the accuser!

Ephesians 6:10-11 (TPT)

For more about Hillsong Church, visit https://hillsong.com/ and their official YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/hillsong

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Donations for Barangay BF Homes Parañaque hit-and-run victim allegedly taken by scammer, incident reported to police cyber-crime team

Donations for Barangay BF Homes Parañaque hit-and-run victim allegedly taken by scammer, incident reported to police cyber-crime team

carlocarrasco

It has only been days since an elderly sweeper got hit and ran over by a sports utility vehicle (SUV) at the corner of Elizalde street and Aguirre Avenue inside BF Homes subdivision in Parañaque City. Since then, the SUV driver got arrested, the victim got hospitalized and a donation drive was launched. Just yesterday, GMA Network published a Tagalog news report that a scammer took several thousands of Pesos worth of donations away. As such, the victim’s family reported the crime to the police for help.

To put things in perspective, posted below is the excerpt from the GMA Network news report with content translated into English. Some parts in boldface…

(A) scammer cleaned the mobile wallet containing the (donations) for the 63-year-old street sweeper who was run over in Parañaque recently, according to the victim’s son this Tuesday.

In an interview with Unang Balita, Jade (Bacus) said that the scammer got as much as P76,000 from the donation for her mother, Doreen Bacus, who is currently being treated at the hospital.

“All donations to GCAsh have been scammed,” said Jade.

He added that the scammer pretended to be a representative of a charity that wanted to help his mother.

“Because it happened so fast. The woman spoke so well. (She) said (she) would help, (she) said (she) was from a charity. Besides, (she) said (she) watched mom’s video so they want to help,” said Jade.

The family has already reported the incident to the Anti-Cybercrime Group of the Philippine National Police.

It can be recalled that Doreen was hit and rolled by a sports utility vehicle (SUV) recently while sweeping the street at the corner of Elizarde and Aguirre Avenue in Barangay BF Homes.

In the CCTV footage, the arrival of the SUV driven by Raymond Sapirain can be seen and directly collided with the victim and rolled over. The SUV did not stop and the victim was left lying on the side of the road.

According to the police, security guards of the subdivision intercepted the driver and took him to the police.

The street sweeper suffered head and ear injuries, according to (her) son.

“The one on (her) head opened because the one on (her) head was sewn there. Besides, the one in (her) ear was removed, so now is (her) schedule for (her) ear to be closed and put in an artificial ear,” said Jade.

The above report ended stating that the victim’s son already talked to the apprehended driver. For additional insight, watch this related GMA news video.

If there is anything to be learned from the newest incident that happened, better do your donation drive independently complete with total control to yourselves. Never share passwords nor direct access into your accounts with others outside of your inner circle. If you will seek charitable assistance at all, you better make sure that such charities that approach you are credible because online scammers here in the Philippines are many and they are always persistent with their wicked intentions. Scammers are also known to be actors who will pounce on the helpless, the ignorant and the desperate.

As far as this month of September and Parañaque are concerned, it is very notable that two separate SUV-related hit-and-run tragedies happened and made the news in back-to-back fashion. The other hit-and-run incident happened in Barangay San Antonio which resulted in the death of a 3-year-old girl. The driver responsible was apprehended as well.

With these incidents being so disturbing and depressing, I would like to encourage you readers to take time out and pray for the healing of victims who got hurt, and also pray for the souls of the victims who got killed as well as their families who are dealing with the loss. Pray to the Lord wholeheartedly and with unwavering faith. You can start with certain scriptures from the Holy Bible posted below.

For the victims who got hurt and are struggling to recover…

When they are sick, lying upon their bed of suffering, God will restore them. He will raise them up again and restore them back to health.

Psalms 41:3 (TPT)

I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.

John 14:25-27 (MSG)

For the victims who died and their respective families who are in pain…

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9 (NKJV)

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds [curing their pains and their sorrows].

Psalm 147:3 (AMPC)

For the best set-up and privacy with the Lord, be in your room with the door shut closed to pray to Him. Pray in tongues (praying in the spirit) to Him as well.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. If you want to support my website, please consider making a donation. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco/.

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