SPIRITUAL ENLIGHTENMENT

The Book of Ephesians...

SPIRITUAL ENLIGHTENMENT

Webster's 1828 Dictionary refers to the word Spring as meaning " to leap  or shoot in the primary sense. To vegetate and rise out of the ground; to begin to appear; to break forth; to leap; to thrive. To proceed or issue, as from a fountain or source, as waters springs from reservoirs in the earth, and rivers spring from lakes or ponds." The idea of "spring (s)" whether in reference to movement or a source of water, appears in the Bible nearly 90 times...

SPIRITUAL ENLIGHTENMENT

BIBLE FACTS...

Did you know....the system of chapters was introduced to the Bible in A.D. 1238 by Cardinal Hugo de S. Caro, while the verse notations were added in 1551 by Robertus Stephanus, after the advent of printing.  And one version of the Bible at the University of Gottingen, founded in 1734 by King George II of Great Britain, was written on 2,470 palm leaves.

According to statistics from Wycliffe International, the Society of Gideons, and the International Bible Society, the number of new Bibles that are sold, given away, or otherwise distributed in the United States is about 168,000 per day... 

HERE ARE SOME INTERESTING BIBLE STATISTICS:

1. Number of books in the Bible: 66
2. Chapters: 1,189
3. Verses: 31,101
4. Words: 783,137
5. Letters: 3,566,480
6. Number of promises given in the Bible: 1,260
7. Commands: 6,468
8. Predictions: over 8,000
9. Fulfilled prophecy: 3,268 verses
10. Unfulfilled prophecy: 3,140
11. Number of questions: 3,294
12. Longest name: Mahershalalhashbaz (Isaiah 8:1)
13. Longest verse: Esther 8:9 (78 words)
14. Shortest verse: John 11:35 (2 words: "Jesus wept").
15. Shortest chapter (by number of words): Psalm 117 (by number of words)
16. Longest book: Psalms (150 chapters)
17. Shortest book (by number of words): 3 John
18. Longest chapter: Psalm 119 (176 verses)
19. Number of times the word "God" appears: 3,358
20. Number of times the word "Lord" appears: 7,736
21. Number of different authors: 40
22. Number of languages the Bible has been translated into: over 1,200...

The Bible is the single richest heritage of the Christian life. A Love Letter from God to us. Take some time to explore it. You can read more interesting facts at: http://agards-bible-timeline.com/q10_bible-facts.html

(where the above information was borrowed from).

SPIRITUAL ENLIGHTENMENT:

Good Medicine...

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Proverbs 4:23

"A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones." Proverbs 14:30

"A cheerful heart is good medicine." Proverbs 17:22

"So don't be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time." Matthew 6:34

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, Whom you have received from God ... So use every part of your body to give glory back to God..."

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

"...By His wounds you have been healed." 1 Peter 2:24

…Is God as concerned about your physical health as He is about your spiritual health? References to health and health related issues are mention more than 100 times in the Bible. The word “heart” is mentioned roughly between 700 – 900 times depending on the translation. So what’s the bottom line? 3 John 1:2 sums it up best: "...I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well." As we head into the winter season why not make it a family project to do a Bible study on the subject of health. You may be surprised the beneficial wisdom you find.

SPIRITUAL ENLIGHTENMENT:

The Dead Sea Scrolls

Until 1947, scholars had only clay tablets from Babylon and Egyptian papyri to help them understand background information on the Bible, since no ancient Old Testament manuscripts were known to have survived. However, all this changed with the discovery of over 800 papyrus and parchment texts, found in the Judean wilderness caves along the northwest corner of the Dead Sea. The oldest existing manuscripts of the Old Testament, they include portions of every book of the Hebrew Bible except Esther. The Dead Sea Scrolls point to the fact that there is a high degree of accuracy in contemporary translations of the Old Testament text, as well as provide important information on Jewish history during the time between the Old and New Testaments.

For me it just seems to affirm the fact that God is able to watch over His Word through the ages, and make sure every generation has the opportunity to learn about Him. You can dig around for more background details about the Bible at:

(please cut and paste links into a new window, so you don't loose your place at Deliverance Voice)
http://www.wcg.org/lit/bible/digging.htm
http://contenderministries.org/biblestudy/deadseascrolls.php

SPIRITUAL ENLIGHTENMENT

WHAT IS PENTECOST?

Pentecost (Ancient Greek: πεντηκοστή [ἡμέρα], pentekostē [hēmera], "the fiftieth day") is one of the prominent feasts in the Christian liturgical year. The feast is also called Whitsun, Whitsunday, Whit Sunday, Whitsun- tide, especially in the United Kingdom. Pentecost is celebrated seven weeks or 49 days after Easter Sunday, hence its name. Pentecost falls on the tenth day after Ascension Thursday.

Historically and symbolically related to the Jewish harvest festival of Shavuot, which commemorates God giving the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai fifty days after the Exodus, Pentecost now also commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus as described in the Book of Acts, Chapter 2 in the New Testament. For this reason, Pentecost is sometimes described as "the Church's birthday". The Pentecostal movement of Christianity derives its name from this biblical event.(1)

Since May 31, 2009 DEC has been doing a study on Pentecost and our relationship to the Holy Spirit. If you would like to learn more on this subject refer to the following Scriptures: Acts 2 (the entire book of Acts); Ephesians 5:15-20; I Corinthians Chapters 12, 13, and 14; Galatians 5:16-24; I Thessalonians 5:16-22; John Chapters 14 and 15.

(1) www.Wikipedia.com

SPIRITUAL ENLIGHTENMENT

BIBLE FACTS
WHAT A BOOK!

About 40 men wrote the BIBLE, over a period of 1600 years from 1500 BC to about 100AD. The first English translation was initiated by John Wycliffe and completed in 1388. Since then, the Bible has been translated into over 1200 languages and dialects. In some countries where it is still illegal to read the Bible, people smuggle Scriptures in by tearing the pages into small pieces to share secretly among believers. They memorize the book passage by passage then pass them on. If caught, they face imprisonment or death, so they are taught to eat the small pieces – but only as a last resort… Aren’t you glad you live in a country where you can study God’s Word freely?