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Is a quiet spiritual revival occurring across the planet?

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From Christianity Today at  https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2018/december/most-popular-bible-verse-2018-youversion-app-bible-gateway.html

Here is some good news for a change!

The Top Bible Verses of 2018 Don’t Come from Jesus or Paul

For the first time in recent years, YouVersion and Bible Gateway users searched for and shared verses from Old Testament prophets the most.
GRIFFIN PAUL JACKSON

DECEMBER 10, 2018 8:00 AM

 The Top Bible Verses of 2018 Don’t Come from Jesus or Paul

It’s a charge that extends back to the earliest parts of Scripture, gets repeated from the lips of Jesus, and resonates the modern world. It’s also the message of the most popular Bible verse of 2018 on YouVersion, the world’s most-downloaded Bible app.

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God,” reads the year’s top verse, Isaiah 41:10. “I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

That exhortation from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah was shared, bookmarked, and highlighted more than any other passage by hundreds of millions of YouVersion users.

The year’s top honor at Bible Gateway comes from another Old Testament prophet. The most-read verse on the Bible website was the familiar Jeremiah 29:11: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

On the leading Bible website, either Jeremiah 29:11 or John 3:16 have topped the annual list every year. (The oft-quoted line from Jeremiah has come to be considered one of the most frequently misinterpreted Bible verses.)

The rest of Bible Gateway’s top 10 come from Psalm 23 (verses 1, 4, 6, and 6), Romans (Romans 8:28 and Romans 12:2), and Matthew (6:33).

YouVersion’s top verse, Isaiah 41:10, ranked thirteenth on Bible Gateway. Bible Gateway’s top verse, Jeremiah 29:11, also spiked to No. 1 in several countries worldwide, according to the YouVersion data.

The two Bible platforms’ lists end up being pretty different from one another each year, evidence that users tend to look up different verses online than they highlight or share during their study time on an app.

This year, Bible Gateway ranked popular verses based on 920 million searches across versions of the site. YouVersion’s picks stem from more than 1.7 billion highlights, bookmarks, and notes on more than 350 million devices.

Previously, YouVersion’s verse of the year award has gone to Joshua 1:9 (2017), Romans 8:28 (2016), and Proverbs 3:5–6 (2015). This year marks a shift to a prophet, but continues the theme of biblical reassurance to digital readers.

“This year’s data shows people worldwide are continuing to turn to the Bible in search of comfort, encouragement, and hope,” said Bobby Gruenewald, pastor and innovation leader for Life.Church and YouVersion founder.

While Isaiah 41:10 was the app’s most popular verse overall in 2018—and the top pick in the United States, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain—several others were ranked as No. 1 in various countries.

Joshua 1:9, the global favorite in 2017, remained the most popular verse in the Central and South American countries of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. John 3:16 took the lead spot in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Turkey. 1 Peter 5:7 topped the list in Egypt, India, and Iraq, and Matthew 6:33 was most popular in Thailand and Vietnam.

Not only was Jeremiah 29:11 the most popular verse of the year on Bible Gateway, it also claimed the YouVersion top spot in countries in the developed West (Australia, Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom) and the Global South (Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria, the Philippines, and the United Arab Emirates), spanning demographics in a way that other verses didn’t.

At Bible Gateway, top searches for passages included Psalm 91, Psalm 23, Genesis 1, Romans 8, and Matthew 6. Its leading keyword searches of the year were “love,” “peace,” and “faith,” respectively (“amor,” which means love, was the top keyword in Spanish, too). “Holy spirit,” was the eighth-most searched word, “forgive” ranked 15th, and “truth” came in as the 19th most commonly searched term.

And with the help of an emoji-based search on YouVersion’s Bible App, which allows users to tap images corresponding to various emotions, individuals conducted more than 18 million searches to find what the Bible might say to them in the midst of their emotional highs and lows.

YouVersion celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the app in July. In the decade since it originated as one of the Apple App Store’s first 200 applications, the Bible App has grown to include more than 1,800 versions of the Bible in more than 1,250 languages. Across the globe, via the Bible App, 27.2 billion Bible chapters were read in 2018; there were 4.2 billion audio chapter listens; more than 400 million verses were shared; and nearly a billion days of Bible plan readings were completed.

Engagement with God’s Word rose across continents. In Asia, Japan led the way in increased use of the Bible App, doubling over 2017, largely due to the addition of a new Japanese translation of the Bible within the app. Nepal (69%), Indonesia (61%), and Vietnam (59%) also saw big boosts in digital Bible engagement.

European countries like Romania, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Italy amplified their use of the leading Bible application, with increases of 100 percent, 67 percent, 60 percent, 57 percent, and 53 percent, respectively. South American countries also contributed to rising overall engagement, with use in Chile increasing by 79 percent and in Argentina by 60 percent.

“Many of us grew up with the ability to read the Bible in our heart language, but countless people around the world don’t have that privilege. That’s why we’re passionate about making the Bible available in more languages through the app,” said Gruenewald.

Overall Bible engagement on the YouVersion platform reached a new pinnacle this year, featuring a 27 percent year-over-year increase in daily use from 2017. The group’s Bible App for Kids, which launched in 2013 and is now available in 42 languages, saw an increase of 55 percent in installations in the last year, reaching 27 million devices worldwide.

 

Church Survives California Wildfire

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When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. (Isa 43:2)

From https://www.christiantoday.com/article/woods-exploded-california-pastor-tells-of-surviving-deadly-camp-fire-by-sheltering-in-church/130925.htm

Woods ‘exploded’: California pastor tells of surviving deadly Camp Fire by sheltering in church

Christian Today staff writer

A pastor who has survived one of the deadly wildfires ravaging parts of California has spoken of how he and others escaped by taking refuge in his church building.

Doug Crowder, pastor of Magalia Pines Baptist Church, told Baptist Press he was helping evacuate around 30 people from the town because of the danger from the Camp Fire, one of the worst in California’s history.

Camp Fire
Reuters — A Butte County deputy sheriff places tape at a location where human remains were found during the Camp Fire in Paradise.

The group was in the driveway of the church preparing to leave when suddenly ‘the woods exploded. The Subway restaurant across the street exploded, and on all sides of us was fire.’

They took refuge in the church building, watching the flames consume neighbouring buildings. Thousands of gallons of propane denonated at a hardware store next door.

Crowder told BP that when they emerged the next day, everything around the church had been destroyed but they were ‘totally unscathed’.

Most residents of Magalia and nearby Paradise had already gone, but Crowder had stayed to help the elderly, homeless and others who had been unable to leave.

His own home was destroyed along with those of three-quarters of the congregation, and his church is one of the only buildings left standing in the town. It is currently being used to house firefighters.

Crowder told BP it would be ‘years’ before Magalia was a town again. ‘But all through that, our church will be standing and our church will be ministering,’ he said.

The church will draw on assistance from the California Southern Baptist Convention’s disaster relief ministry to support local people when they are allowed back.

Charles Woods, director of missions for the local Sierra Butte Baptist Association, told BP three other Southern Baptist churches have been affected by the Camp Fire, with the death of a member reported by at least one of those congregations. None of the churches has lost its building, but all the pastors’ homes were destroyed.

The Camp Fire blaze has killed at least 42 people. Another 228 have been listed as missing.

Another two people have died in the separate Woolsey Fire that has destroyed 435 structures and displaced about 200,000 people in the mountains and foothills near Southern California’s Malibu coast, west of Los Angeles.

Camp Fire – already ranked as the most destructive on record in California in terms of property losses – has consumed more than 7,100 homes and other structures since igniting on Thursday in Butte County’s Sierra foothills, about 175 miles (280 km) north of San Francisco.

 

New Video: The History of the World in One Minute 43 Seconds

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A Psalm by a 19 Year-Old Levitical Minstrel

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Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the Torah of YHVH; and in his Torah doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. (Ps 1:1–3)

This psalm was birthed in the mountain wilderness by a river at Sukkot 2018 in Central Oregon and authored by a 19 year-old born again, Spirit-filled prophetic minstrel in the spirit of Asaph. This young Davidic tender warrior is a next generation spiritual torch bearer for Yeshua the Messiah.

O Lord, my El
Forgive me for I know not how I sin against You.
I sin with the same ease as I draw breath.
The flesh is the coach by which my soul steers,
Take the reigns.
Evil comes against what I desire, drawing me in.
Through Your strength, Your goodness prevails.
Alone I am but a nightcrawler,
Rummaging in the mud, hiding under the rock of evil.
But through You, the rock is lifted and Your light shines—
Transforming my soul and spirit cleansed.
The mud is washed away in Your waters,
I am made whole.
With You there is no lack nor want.
Praise the El of Abraham,
Worship the El of Isaac,
Sacrifice our fleshly lives to the El of Jacob,
So that we may transcend evil and come before You—
Casting our crowns!
Praise the El of complexity.
Praise our Lord Yeshua, King of our lives!

-Anonymous

 

Alaska 2018—Bubble Net Feeding, Glacier Calving, Denali, Grizzlies…

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In this video, visit Alaska via cruise ship, plane and train including Hoonah, Ice Strait Point, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, College Fjord, Denali National Park, Mount McKinley/Denali, major glacial calving, wild grizzly bears up close (a few feet away), humpback whales bubble net feeding up close and much more.

 

Shabbat Shalom—Back from the High Cascade Mountains

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Shabbat shalom everyone!

I’ve said this many times, and I’ll say it again. In this crazy, mixed up world full of hate and manmade ugliness, there is still beauty to be found if we get away and look for it. I find shalom, sanity and Yehovah Elohim in nature—especially in the mountains. I’m not the only one to discover this. The Gospels record that from time to time Yeshua got away from the crowds and city and went to the mountains to be alone with his Father.

My kids and I just returned from six days camping and hiking in the High Cascade Mountains of the Northern Washington State in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in the area between Mount Baker and Mount Shuksin.

We hiked seven to eleven miles every day with elevation gains of about 1400 to 2000 feet on each trail. Our highest point was more than 6,500 feet above sea level.

Mount Shuksin from near Picture Lake

Mount Baker

Another shot of Mount Baker

Table Top Mountain from the Chain Lakes Trail

The stream coming out of Bagely Lake

Glacier Lake and Mount Baker

Mount Shuksin from near Artists’ Point

A mountain stream along the trail to Ann Lake

Snow and ice covered Ann Lake

Mount Shuksin from Ann Lake

View from the top of 6,531 foot tall Winchester Mountain

Looking down on one of the Twin Lakes atop Winchester Mountain

A 1,250 year old western red cedar tree (center) at Silver Fir Campground in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

I’m 6 foot 2 inches tall. This cedar tree is nine foot, one inches wide at breast height!

Kaeli inside the tree. Four of us crawled into the tree and fit comfortably inside with room to spare!

Here I am inside of an old growth cedar stump that was probably cut in the early 1900s.

“The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice. My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.” Song of Solomon 2:8–10

 

Shabbat Shalom—Mount Hood Hike

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Shabbat shalom everyone wherever you are around the world!

Yesterday (Friday) I went for a ten mile day hike up onto the NW side of Oregon’s Mount Hood with some of my kids. Please enjoy some of the snapshots I took from that alpine adventure.

I invite you in joining me in praise and worship of Yehovah Elohim for giving us eyes to feast on such visual delicacies to be discovered in his glorious creation!

Mount Hood, Oregon’s tallest peak, from Lolo Pass Rd.

The Vista Ridge Trail. A few years ago, a forest fire devastated this side of the mountain. Now look at the beauty that has sprung out of the fire’s destruction as the earth is healing itself. This is our wonderful Elohim at work in his creation who gives us beauty out of the ashes (Isa 61:3)!

A blooming carpet of avalanche lilies in the midst of the burnt out trees standing like silent sentinels keeping watch over the forest. Yeshua said, “Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these” (Luke 12:27).

There is even a stark beauty to be found in the pattern of the skeletal remains of the forest fire and the trees that the wind storms have subsequently laid down. There is a beautiful blessing to be found in every adversity of life. All we need is the right mindset of a thankful heart to search for and to find that blessing in the midsts of life’s difficulties and then, once found,  to rejoice in it.

Even the holes in these ghoulish burned out tree snags are a blessing not only for their beauty, but for the wildlife habitat they create. We saw mountain blue birds nesting in some of these tree cavities.

We finally got above the forest fire area and were blessed with this specular view of Mount Hood!

Enjoying a high alpine lunch with my kids. In the front is Lucy, our oldest child and her husband Spencer. In the back are Kaleb and Jared. Hiking ten miles and gaining about 1,600 foot in elevation leaves one with a healthy appetite.

Kaleb beware! One should never drink untreated water in the mountains unless you know where it comes from…

In this case, Kaleb made a wise choice. This water is as pure as you can get on planet earth!

Tiny Dollar Lake was our final destination at just under 6,000 foot elevation. It is the highest alpine lake on Mount Hood. Kaleb stripped down to his shorts and ran down the snow bank and dove in for a quick plunge into the icy waters. It was a very quick dip! He jumped out almost as fast as he got in. It happened so fast that none of us had a chance to snap a photo of him. I’m proud of Kaleb for his adventuresome spirit.

Dollar Lake against the backdrop of majestic Mount Hood. Would have been a great spot to spend Shabbat had we been camping there.