BenjaminWhitten3rd

There are three elements that must be in place before the world ends. The population of the earth must reach a place where due to over population its resources can no longer support all of its human inhabitants. The last miraculous sign is that ‘Children only one year old shall be able to talk, and pregnant women shall give birth to premature babes of three and four months, who shall live and leap about.’ And when Allah breathed life into the creation of Adam he created all the souls that were to come. Only after that last soul ends its wait, and receives its chance of life, will the end of the world arrive. Regarding the timing, Adam was created on Friday and the final day will begin on Friday. The world will not end unless all these conditions are in place. As you may be aware they have yet to be fulfilled.

Lets imagine a young kid begins to hear something about God from his parents, in this
case at a little before the time he’s six years old. As it turns out he takes to it and
generally likes most of what he learns and forthe most part enjoys the activies and
expectations of his religion. It becomes a pattern of sorts in his life and habits, rituals
and practices are established. He accepts the restrictions which are almost always a part
of any religious thought.
Someone else leads a different life hearing of God but viewing most of the what he hears as extraneous to the day to day significance of life. He can see little if any value in the intangible knowledge many claim they find through religion. Lets suppose that both grow through the number of decades a man has in his life each adhering to their beliefs.
In the first case the man may be recognized as exemplary, fulfilling many expectations accomplishing great works and honoring God. The second man appreciates life and rejoices that he is unemcumbered with the absurd minutia and restrictions of religion.
In the final chapters of their lives, the first begins to resent the sacrifices he has made and the time invested and begins to believe that, as time is running out, he has wasted opportunity that will never come again. He resolves to devote no further time to this religious endeavor and continues his life for the respect he has enjoyed by his peers.
The other man begins to have doubts to the relevance of his pursuits which he now sees as temporary. He considers that his life may have been in better balance with an acceptance of the existance of God. He views his short life through the perspective of the eternal life possessed by God and is in awe.
Both men are evaluated by the attitude they have embraced on the day of their death. Although in each case it took a lifetime to arrive at their true attitude, they arrived at the destination they were after. God views all past days as temporary but judges the final day as the determinate. Wherever you find yourself, with whatever rebuttals, bear all this in mind.

I know first hand that in many locales in the United States kids have been taught
to include, ‘God is Great, God is Good’ in their prayers. I suspect that is true in other English speaking countries and chances are the equivalent occurs in many other languages, but I have no first hand knowledge that this is true.
Often when people hear something for the first time they’ll reply saying, ‘When did you here that?’; so its clear a lot of us are curious to know just when a comment or quote originated. The remark, ‘God is Great’ however is so universal, even common place, that most people rarely stop to wonder who said so first. It turns out that
the phrase was given to Moses at about the time he came down from a mountain with Ten Commandments. Deuteronomy includes the story of these events and it’s in Deuteronomy 32.2 that the words ‘God is Great’ is first described in the the time as ‘Allahu Akbar’ which is still spoken and heard now maybe 5,000 years later. There is no recorded hint that this phrase was ever used before this specific mention by Moses. And the echo is still heard, really around the world today. And that makes Deut. 32.3 pretty cool, I suppose.

Answer to the question, ‘Why was I born?’

Why is any human-being born? The reason you
were born is to come to the realization, that
while you were previously dead for millions
of years, life was and remains eternal and this is your chance to acquire that life by recognizing and gaining favor with the Originator.

It’s been said countless ways that attitude makes a difference. You may have heard it expressed, ‘The difference is attitude.’ True enough and if we agree its true isn’t it necessary to explain something of the how and why. And it’s not particularly hard to explain.

All activities whether it’s a job skill or improving a talent in music, whether it is singing or playing an instrument include effort, difficulty and frustration. For someone who loves, say the violin, the frustration is expected, comes with the territory and is recognized as an inevitable obstacle and challenge. For someone who is just forcing themselves to go through the motions the effort and headaches will soon seem greater than the reward.

Even some measure of achievement will not seem like success because the frustration will still outweigh the cost in this case. For the true musician the greater the challenge, the greater the perceived benefit and the greater the pleasure in the reward of a perfect performance. So the musician is encouraged many times over, while the casual student gets little if any re-enforcement and will soon conclude the pain is not worth the little pleasure. It’s not hard to see who finds success and who finds failure and how ATTITUDE makes a difference. Hopefully now you see a little more clearly
how and why.

Again this many seem so straight-forward that it is obvious but I want to add an additional point that can be easy to miss. Sure a bad attitude counts as ZERO, but there’s a lot going on between 0 and 100 percent. Maybe you bring a poor attitude of 18% to your endeavors. Can you see how you can greatly diminish your results without killing your efforts all together? Life is a multiplication problem.

So keep track of your attitude. After all there’s no rule I know of that keeps you from trying to improve your attitude to 200 or 300%. Hey, it’s your attitude, you can do what you want with it and the higher the number the more everybody benefits!

It takes but a little work to reach 5000 friends on your Facebook Fan Page. Your investment is in time and effort not in an outlay of dollars so don’t let this goal slip away. Make some head way every day or every time you’re on the internet, PARTICULARLY, if you have an internet and/or MLM business. If you are not making the money you expected, fill this hole in your strategy and watch your results improve.

The celebration of what is now called Christmas evolved before man had a method of recording events through the written record. Many celebrations originated within a religious context although they changed enough that the practices now bear little resemblance to their original form.
The timing of Christmas was set to adhere to the winter solstice. That is the day when the sun has its lowest arc in the sky of the northern hemisphere. During the fall, the daylight hours become progressively less until the winter solstice is reached. As we know, gradually the days then begin to lengthen with the sun rising a bit earlier each day.
No one is really sure how long ago humans recognized this turning point and began noting it as a significant event. At least 4,000 years ago the Mesopotamians observed a twelve day festival paying tribute to a god Marduk.
Many cultures existing around the world reflect solstice ceremonies. Each acknowledges the fear that the failing light would not return which would mean certain death. Celebrations might be held to appease the god(s) or to rejoice as the sun provided evidence of its ‘rebirth.’
Newgrange, a huge circular stone structure in Ireland is estimated to be 5,000 years old. It was constructed to receive a shaft of sunlight into its central chamber at dawn precisely on the winter solstice.
Could the idea of noting this day have originated with a simple hunter realizing the threat of the advancing cold of winter? Perhaps it was from a common man storing produce from an ancient fall harvest. It would have taken only a little imagination to conclude that if the sun eventually did not rise at all, death was near. So the worship of the sun caught on and became a worldwide if not universal practice. While much of mankind has long ago moved beyond sun worship, the celebration of the season has endured and has been embellished.
Around the world, religious practices endure which do not incorporate the celebration of Christmas. A number of denominations and religions point out that Jewish resources confirm that the birth of the Messiah would have occurred during the last days of summer. They note that during the development of Christian practices, the early church did not teach or advocate the elements of Christmas recognized as essential today. The celebration of a birthday was never considered a service to God. The exchange of gifts among friends was not a substitute or the equivalent of giving of alms. The decoration of a tree, quite common among many Christian religions, carried no religious significance.
Although the Christmas tradition is now well established, its acceptance continues to be questioned from a number of corners and fresh controversies come to light each solstice season.

In the days of King Herod of Judea there was a priest, a member of the Abiyah priesthood named Zecharyah. His wife Elizabeth was descended from the ‘daughters of Aaron’ and both were upright and devout, flawlessly observing all the commandments and ordinances of Allah. Both were well on in years and they had no children for Elizabeth was barren.
Once, when it was the turn for the Abiyah priesthood to enter the sanctuary of Allah, and Zecharyah was there to take part in the service, it fell to his lot, by priestly custom to offer the incense.
[when it was the turn : approximately June]
The whole congregation was at prayer outside and it was the hour of the incense offering when an angel of Allah appeared to him standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
Zecharyah was startled at this sight and fear overcame him, but the angel said, ‘Your prayer has been heard Zecharyah, do not be afraid. Your wife will bear you a son, and you shall name him Yahyah. Your heart will thrill with joy and many will be glad that he was born, for he will be great in the eyes of Allah. He shall never touch wine or strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit from his birth and he will bring back many Israelites to the Lord, their God. Possessed by the spirit and power of Elijah, he will go before him as forerunner to reconcile father and child, to convert the rebellious to the ways of the righteous, and to prepare a people to be fit for the Lord.’
Zecharyah said to the angel, ‘I am an old man and my wife is well up in years. How can I be sure of this?
‘I am Gabriel. I stand in attendance upon your God, and I have been sent to speak to you and bring you this good news,’ the angel replied. ‘But now listen, you will lose your power of speech, and remain silent until the day when these things happen to you, because you have not believed me, though at their proper time my words will be proved true.’
Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zecharyah, surprised that he was staying so long inside. When he did come out he could not speak and stood there making signs to them and remained dumb, till they concluded that he had had a vision in the sanctuary.
When he period of duty was completed Zecharyah returned home and his wife conceived. For five months she lived in seclusion, thinking, ‘This is Allah’s doing. Now at last He has deigned to take away my reproach among men.’
During Elizabeth’s sixth month, Gabriel was sent from God to Nazareth, a town in Galilee with a message for a girl named Mary engaged to Joseph, a descendant of David.
In the semblance of a full-grown man she saw him and said, ‘May the Merciful defend me from you. If you fear Allah, leave me and go your way.’
The angel said to her, ‘Greetings, most favored one. Allah is with you.’
So she wondered what this greeting might mean and she was deeply troubled by what he said. Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for God has been gracious to you. You shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall give him the name YahShua. He will be great, and bear a title, ‘Son of the Most High.’ The God Allah will give him the throne of his ancestor David, and will be king of the house of Jacob forever; his reign shall never end.’
‘How can this be?’ Mary reflected. ‘I am still a virgin.’
The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come down upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and for that reason the holy child to be born with be called ‘Son of God.’ Additionally, your own relative Elizabeth, in her old age has conceived a son. She was reported barren, but is now in her sixth month for God’s purposes can never fail.’
‘Here am I,’ said Mary. ‘I am the Lord’s servant. As you have spoken, so be it.’ Then the angel left her.
Soon thereafter Mary set out and went straight into Zecharyah’s house in a town in the uplands of Judah. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting the baby in her womb stirred and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and cried out aloud, ‘God’s blessing is on you above all women, and his blessing is on the fruit of your womb. Who am I, that the mother of my lord should visit me? I tell you, when your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby in my womb leapt for joy. How happy is she who has had faith that Allah’s promise would be fulfilled.’
Mary now knew she was with child by the Holy Spirit and said,

‘Sing out, my soul, the greatness of Allah,
rejoice, rejoice my spirit, in God my savior
so tenderly has He looked upon His servant, humble as she is.
For, from this day forth, all generations will count me blessed
So wonderfully has He dealt with me, Allah, the Mighty One.
His name is Holy,
His mercy sure form generation to generation
Towards those who fear Him.
The deeds his own right arm has done disclose His might.
The arrogant of heart and mind he has put to rout,
He has brought down monarchs from their thrones
But the humble have been lifted high.
The hungry He has satisfied with good things,
The rich sent away empty.
He has arranged Himself at the side of Israel his servant,
Firm in the promise to our forefathers,
He has not forgotten to show mercy to Abraham
And his children’s children forever.’

Mary remained with her for about three months and then returned home.
Being a man of principle, and at the same time wanting to save her from exposure, Joseph longed to have the marriage contract set aside quietly. He had resolved to do this, when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. ‘Joseph son of Dave, do not be afraid to take Mary home with you as your wife. It is by the Holy Spirit,’ the angel said, ‘that she has conceived this child. She will bear a son, and you shall give him the name YahShua, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this happened in order to fulfill what the Lord declared through the prophet, ‘The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and he shall be called Emmanuel, a name meaning ‘God is with us.’
Rising from sleep, Joseph did as the angel had directed him. He took Mary home to be his wife, and resolved to have no intercourse with her until her son was born.
When Elizabeth gave birth to a son, her neighbors and relatives heard what great favor Allah had shown her and they were as delighted as she was. Then on the eighth day, they came to circumcise the chilled and were about to name him Zecharyah after his father, when his mother spoke up and said, ‘No, he is to be called Yahyah.’ ‘But,’ they said, ‘there is no one who has ever had that name before.’
By signs they asked his father what he would have him be called. He asked for a writing tablet and wrote down to the astonishment of all, ‘His name is Yahyah.’ Immediately his lips and tongue were freed and he began to speak, praising God. All the neighbors were struck with awe, and everywhere in the uplands of Judea the whole story became common talk. All who heard it were deeply impressed and many said, ‘What will this child become, for indeed the hand of Allah is upon him.’
Zecharyah was filled with the Holy Spirit and uttered this prophesy:
‘Praise to the God of Israel
for He has turned to His people, saved them and set them free
and He has raised up a deliverer of victorious power
from the house of David.
So he promised, age after age He proclaimed
By the lips of His holy prophets
That He would deliver us from our enemies
Out of the hands of all who hate us
That he would deal mercifully with our fathers
Calling to mind his solemn covenant.
That was the oath He swore to our father Abraham
To rescue us from enemy hands
And to grant us, free from fear, intercourse with Him
In a holy worship, with uprightness of heart
In His presence, our whole life long.
And you my child, you shall be called Prophet of the Highest
For you will be the Lord’s forerunner to prepare his way
And lead his people to salvation through knowledge of him,
By the forgiveness of their sins.
For in the tender compassion of our God
The morning sun heaven will rise upon us
To shine on those who live in darkness, under the cloud of death
And to guide our feet into the way of peace.’
So appeared a man named Yahyah, sent from God. He came as a witness to testify to the light, that all might become believers through him. He was not himself the light; he came to bear witness to the light. The light which enlightens every man was even then coming into the world.
As this child grew up he would become strong in spirit and live out in the wilds until the day when he would appear publicly before Israel.
During these days a decree was issued by the Emperor Augustus for a registration to be made throughout the Roman world. This was the first registration of its kind taking place while Quirinius was governor of Syria. For this purpose everyone made his way to his own home town.
Because he was of the house of David by descent, Joseph took Mary who was still engaged to him, and went up to Judaea from Nazareth in Galilee to register in Bethlehem, the city of David.
When they were near, the time came for her baby to be born and when she felt the throes of childbirth she lay down by the trunk of a palm-tree, crying, ‘Oh, would that I had died and passed into oblivion!’
But a voice from below cried out to her, ‘Do not despair. Your Lord has provided a brook that runs at your feet, and if you shake the trunk of this palm-tree it will drop fresh ripe dates in your lap. Therefore eat and drink and rejoice, and should you meet any mortal say only, ‘I have vowed a fast to the Merciful and will not converse with any man today.’
Carrying the child, she came to her people, who said to her, ‘Mary, this is indeed a strange thing. Sister of Aaron, your father was never a whore-monger, nor was your mother a harlot.’
She made a sign to them, pointing to the child. But they replied, ‘How can we speak with a babe in the cradle?’
Whereupon he spoke, ‘I am the servant of God. He has given me the Book and ordained me a prophet. His blessing is upon me wherever I go, and He has exhorted me to be steadfast in prayer and to give alms as long as I shall live. He has exhorted me to honor my mother and has purged me of vanity and wickedness. Blessed was I on the day I was born, and blessed I shall be on the day of my death and on the day I shall be raised to life.’
She laid him in a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes because there was no room for them in the inn.
Now in this same district there were shepherds abiding in the fields keeping watch over their flocks by night, when suddenly there stood before them an angel of the Lord, and the splendor of Allah shone round about them, and they were most afraid.
But the angel spoke and said, ‘Do not be afraid, I bring you good tidings of a great joy coming to all the people. Unto you this day in the city of David a savior which is the Messiah, the lord. And this is your sign; you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger.’ At once there was with the angel a great company of the heavenly hosts, singing the praises of God:
‘Glory to God in highest heaven
and on earth peace towards men on whom His favor rests.’
After the angels had left them and gone into heaven the shepherds said tone another, ‘Come, we must go straight to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened which the Lord hasmadeknown to us.’
So they went at full speed and found their way to Mary and Joseph and the baby was still lying in the manger. When they saw him, they recounted what they had been told about this child, and all who heard were astonished at what the shepherds said. But Mary treasured up all these things in her heart and pondered over them. Meanwhile the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for what they had heard and seen, since it had all happened s they had been told.
Eight days later when it was time to circumcise him, Joseph named the child YahShua, the name given by the angel before he was conceived. Then after their purification was completed in accordance with the Law of Moses, they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord as prescribed in the Law of the Lord: ‘Every first-born male shall be deemed to belong to the Lord’ and to make the offering as also stated in the Law of ‘ . . a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.’
At this time in Jerusalem an upright and devout man called Simeon watched and waited for the restoration of Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him and it had been disclosed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had seen the Lord’s messiah. There was also a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. She was a very old woman who had lived with her husband seven years, and then alone as a widow for another eighty years. She never left the temple, but worshipped day and night fasting and praying.
Guided by the spirit, Simeon came into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child YahShua to do what was customary under the Law for him, Simeon took him in his arms, praised God and said;
‘This day, Master, Thou givest Thy servant his discharge in peace. Now Thy promise is fulfilled for I have seen with my own eyes the deliverance which Thou hast made in full view of all the nations; a light that will be a revelation to the heathen, and glory to Thy people Israel.’
Coming up at that very moment, Anna returned thanks to God.
The child’s father and mother were full of wonder at what was being said abut him. Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, ‘This child is destined to be a sign which men reject, and you too shall be pierced to the heart. Many in Israel will stand or fall because of him and thus the secret thoughts of many will be laid bare.’
As time passed Anna talked about the child to all who were looking for the liberation of Jerusalem.
YahShua was born during the reign of Herod, king of Judaea. After his birth astronomers arrived from the east in Jerusalem asking, ‘Where is the child who is born to be king of the Jews? We observed the rising of his star and have come to pay him homage.’
King Herod was greatly perturbed when he heard this, and so was the whole of Jerusalem. He called a meeting of the chief priests and lawyers and the Jewish people and asked them this question, ‘Where is the messiah, to be born?’
‘At Bethlehem in Judaea,’ they replied, and referred him to the prophecy which states, ‘
Bethlehem in the land of Judaea, you are far from least in the eyes of the rulers of Judah, for out of you shall come a leader t be shepherd my people Israel.’
Herod next called the astronomers to meet him in private, and determined from them the time when the star had appeared. He then sent them on the Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and make a careful inquiry for the child. When you have found him, report to me, so that I may go and pay him homage.’
So they set out at the king’s bidding following the same star they had seen until it stopped above the place where the child lay. They were overjoyed at the sight of the star and entering the house, they saw the child with his mother. They bowed in homage to him, and opening up their treasures offer him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
They returned home by another way, being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod.
After they were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Rise up, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you otherwise, for Herod is going to search for the child to do away with him.’ So Joseph rose from sleep and taking mother and child by night he stole away with them to Egypt.
When Herod saw how the astronomers had tricked him he fell into passion. He gave orders for all children two years old orless, and thus corresponding with the time he had determined from the astronomers, to be massacred in Bethlehem and its neighborhood.
So the words spoken through Jeremiah the prophet; ‘A voice was heard in Rama, wailing and loud laments; it was Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing all consolation, because they were no more’, were fulfilled.
When Herod died an angel of Allah appeared in Egypt to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Rise up, take the child and his mother, and go with them to the land of Israel, for the men who threatened the child’s life are dead.’ This was to fulfill what the Lord had declared through the prophet; ‘I called my son out of Egypt.’
Joseph rose, taking mother and child with him and journeyed toward the land of Israel.
He was afraid to go there, however, hearing that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as king. Being warned by a dream, Joseph withdrew to the region of Galilee where he settled in a town called Nazareth. This was to fulfill the words spoken through the prophets; ‘He shall be called a Nazarene’. The child grew big and strong and full of wisdom, and God’s favor was upon him.
It was the practice of his parents to go to Jerusalem every year for the Passover festival, and when he was twelve, they made the pilgrimage as usual. When the festival season was over, they started for home, but the boy YahShua stayed behind in Jerusalem, without his parent’s knowledge. They journeyed for an entire day, only then looking for him among their friends and relations. Since they could not find him they returned to look for him in Jerusalem. After three days they found him sitting in the temple surrounded by teachers, listening to them and engaged in dialog. All who heard him were amazed at his intelligence and the answers he gave. His parents were astonished to see him there, and his mother said, ‘My son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been searching very anxiously for you.’
‘What made you search?’ he asked. ‘Did you not know I was bound to be in my father’s house?’ But they did not understand what he meant by this.
He went back with them to Nazareth, and continued to be under their authority. As YahShua grew up he advanced in wisdom and in favor with God and men and his mother treasured all these things in her heart.

Here is a VERY effective way to address the vast majority of the concerns with ‘business opportunity’ offers on the internet. Simply imagine that you had recently made the purchase or had become an active ‘partner’. Now place yourself in the situation of needing some support or follow up. Try contacting someone at the company you are considering and see how easy or difficult it is to make a direct contact. Are you satisfied with email that is never responded to or that shows up only after a half dozen business days? Can you get right through to speak with someone asking questions and getting direct answers. Do you have to leave a voice message? Many times there’s no phone number available at all. If your experience is annoying just think what if would be like if the call was for real and you had already invested even $50 or $950. If you have any problem at this stage, don’t think the events will get better. ‘What you see is what you get,’ is probably an accurate description. Money back guarantees are almost worthless if you have to spend hours and hours to attempt to secure a refund. Many times even if you are successful it may take you weeks or many months to get back what is rightfully yours. So evaluate this first experience very closely. All those old clichés, ‘Don’t buy a pig in a poke,’ are as true as ever. Even more so when the sellers can so easily run and hide. If you closely and without fail, follow this practice a lot of internet disappointment can be avoided. Take NO shortcuts, that’s the best way to actually get where you want to go.

When you have the freedom to work your own schedule it’s sometimes difficult to place value on time. No question, it is of value but if you’re ready for a break or considering starting work 5 minutes late, how do you place a quantitative number for comparison. In boxing or professional prize fighting a round is but 3 minutes with a minute in between. Some fights may last only the first round, with the winner collecting millions of dollars. Even more valuable is the four to five minutes of stored oxygen without fresh supply the brain dies. I think this illustrates in some way the value of every 5 minutes. Your time may be just as valuable. Try when you can to work in 5 minute segments, getting value from every 5 minutes. Time wasted or lost can never be recovered.