Court convicts man who says he can raise dead MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Moscow court convicted a man of fraud on Monday for preying on people mourning loved ones by saying he could resurrect the dead.
Grigory Grabovoy stood passively inside an iron cage as he was sentenced to 11 years in prison working hard labor in a case which has grabbed headlines around Russia.
"He used a special method of influencing people distressed by the loss of relatives or the illness of loved ones," the judge said as he found Grabovoy guilty of 11 cases of fraud.
In one case from 2003 a man paid Grabovoy 39,500 roubles ($1,700) to attempt to cure his dying parents and in another case a woman paid him 118,000 roubles to try to resurrect her two dead sons.
Grabovoy had also once met with mothers of children killed at a school siege in the south Russian town of Beslan in 2004 -- where he had promised to resurrect their children for a fee -- although Monday's verdict was not linked to this meeting.
Over 300 people -- mainly children -- died during a botched operations to rescue the hostages.
Dozens of Grabovoy's supporters crowded outside the scruffy court house in a Moscow suburb.
Despite the guilty verdict his mainly older supporters still believe Grabovoy has powers which can help them and that he has been unfairly persecuted and Grabovoy's lawyer vowed to appeal the ruling.
"We think the sentence is based on speculation and is absolutely unfair," lawyer Mikhail Tsyganenko said.
At the height of his support Grabovoy used to draw hundreds of people to listen to his seminars.
Woman overpowers thief with tea and sympathy TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese woman and her six-month-old baby escaped unhurt from a knife-wielding thief this week after the mother calmed him down with a cup of tea and a chat.
The 30-year-old Tokyo woman was walking along a corridor in her apartment building with her daughter Monday when a man brandishing a knife demanded money, the Asahi newspaper said.
When the housewife told him she had none, the man barged into her apartment. Hoping to calm him, the woman made the thief a cup of tea, whereupon he put his knife away and began a 20-minute monologue about his life.
The woman then gave the man 10,000 yen ($93.34) and ran outside to call the police from a pay phone, the report said.
Police rushed to the scene, but the thief had fled and is still being sought.
Dying to get cheaper as Malta ends hearse cartel VALLETTA (Reuters) - The cost of living is rising in Malta, but the cost of dying may be about to drop.
The Maltese Transport Ministry announced on Monday that the government had decided to liberalize the granting of licenses for hearses. No licenses have been issued for 36 years, leaving only 11 owners of hearses and, in the ministry's words, "creating the conditions for a cartel."
"The people have been denied freedom of choice and the benefits of competition" the ministry said.
College Student Gets Death Threats for Smuggling ‘Body of Christ’ Fox News A student at the University of Central Florida claims his life — and afterlife — were threatened by enraged Catholics after he pocketed "the body of Christ" during a church ceremony, according to a report on myfoxorlando.com.
Webster Cook says he received death threats and eternal damnation after he removed a wafer of bread from his mouth during communion and smuggled it from the church in a Ziploc bag.
Though Cook returned the wafer one week after the theft, outraged Catholics were unforgiving, according to WFTV.com.
“We don’t know 100 percent what Mr. Cook's motivation was,” Susan Fani, a spokeswoman with the local Catholic diocese, told myfoxorlando.com. “However, if anything were to qualify as a hate crime, to us this seems like this might be it.”
The UCF student leader said he stole the communion bread, known by Catholics as the Eucharist and believed to symbolize the body of Christ, to show to his non-Catholic friend.
American Airlines Flight From Miami to New York Grounded After Angry Passengers Scare Crew Fox News A holiday weekend flight from Miami to New York never got off the ground after the crew arrived more than an hour late and angry passengers intimidated them so much that they refused to work.
American Airlines Flight 1908 was scheduled to leave Sunday evening from Miami en route to LaGuardia Airport in New York City. But the flight crew arrived an hour and 15 minutes late, prompting impatient and irate passengers to boo — and worse, MyFOX New York reported.
One witness said some people used "harsh language" with the gate attendants and were "really kind of like being a mob about it. It was scary."
When a few of the crewmembers refused to work because of the "hostile environment," American tried to find replacements — but to no avail, according to MyFOX New York. The airline had to put everyone up in a hotel and fly them out Monday afternoon.
Adding insult to injury? Flight 1908's passengers flew into LaGuardia, but their bags arrived at JFK.
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" I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? "
Let's continue.
This is incredible what Jesus is saying in these verses.
Just a reminder before we get started with verse 48.
Back in verse 47 when Jesus said;
" Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. " John 6:47
again as I have said many times before, the Greek word "pisteuon" translated "believeth " is in the present tense and is ongoing.
Unlike and contrary to the Calvinist doctrine of "once saved, always saved ", unconditional eternal security and predestination, Jesus clearly said " ho pisteuon echei zoen aionion" - "the one believing has life eternal."
Calvinism teaches that a one time moment of faith in Jesus as Savior guarantees a person eternal life. If this is true then Jesus was mistaken when He clearly said;
" They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. " Luke 8:13
Yes, these people Jesus mentioned clearly described them with the Greek word "dechontai " translated " receive " meaning they understood and accepted Jesus knowing what they were doing and clearly "pisteuousin " translated "believe " meaning they believed to salvation and was clearly in the faith and then later "aphistantai" translated "fall away " meaning to withdraw, desert, remove, instigate to revolt, depart, to withdraw self, and clearly implies a choice, a decisive act of one's own choosing to leave the faith.
No, Jesus never forsook them as the Calvinist teachers always use as an excuse for defending the "once saved, always saved" Calvinist doctrine of unconditional eternal security.
Jesus clearly said these believers willingly left the faith on their own choosing.
This is why Jesus also said;
"But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. " Matthew 24:13
This is important to emphasize because as a result of a recent survey taken in this country concerning religion and faith, many evangelical christians are leaving the faith today.
No, they are not rejecting the idea that Jesus is a way to Heaven.
What they are rejecting now is the idea that Jesus is the only way to Heaven.
The survey revealed that 57% of evangelical christians no longer believe that Jesus is the only way to Heaven.
What they now believe is like Joel Osteen who believes as long as a person believes in God, anyone can make it to Heaven.
Jesus is no longer the "only way" to Heaven but now He is "a way" to Heaven.
My friend, to believe that Jesus is one of many ways to Heaven is not of "the faith".
These born again christians once believed Jesus is the only way to Heaven but now believe that as long as one believes in God he or she will make it to Heaven, anyway.
Like with Calvinism that teaches a one time faith and then live with no personal commitment to Jesus necessary in continuing in the faith gets one to Heaven, so these christians no longer believe a personal commitment to Jesus is necessary to stay in the faith and make it to Heaven, that ultimately the whole world will make it to Heaven because God is a loving God.
Catholicism, or at least some of its priests teach a "universal salvation" doctrine meaning that ultimately the whole world will make it to Heaven. But I have noticed on EWTN many of them, much like within the protestant realm, cannot agree with each other on doctrinal issues and teach one thing in one breath and in the very next breath teach something totally contrary to what they just said a minute ago. They, like the evangelical world, have really no clue what they believe nor can they make up their mind.
But in today's society, who cares as long as people are told they can make it to Heaven with no commitment in obedience.
This might have been influential in John Calvin's new doctrine, himself having come out of the catholic church... that is, the Calvinist belief that no one can lose his or her salvation, even though contrary to what Jesus said.
While I do not think John Calvin meant his new doctrine to be used as a license to sin, it certainly has become that in today's society. Just go to any church that directs all its activities and efforts toward the youth.
Not a bad idea though, as this is what made Madonna famous and rich. She admitted to the media that her music she designed to reach teenagers. That is where the money is for her business.
I wonder how the Bible would be today if God had inspired its writers to relate to only children. But this is the mentality of today's churches. Why? Because like with Madonna's genius business mind, that is where its at!
" I am that bread of life. "
As I have discussed in earlier studies, Jesus refers to Himself as spiritual food, meaning that He is as satisfying to our soul as eating a double cheeseburger is to our physical stomach. We have to eat food to live physically. If we did not eat we would die soon.
Since our soul is dead, eternally separated from God at physical birth, Jesus being our spiritual bread provides all the nutrients for our soul that we need to live in Him spiritually. This is why Jesus says later as we will soon get to;
" Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. " John 6:53
It is also important to remember when Jesus says "Ego eimi" translated " I am " this is what He said to Moses to tell the Jews;
" I AM hath sent me unto you." Exodus 3:14
and what He said to the Jews later;
" Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. " John 8:58
and what He told the woman at the well as we learned earlier;
" Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. " John 4:26
( technically in the Greek "ego eimi ho" meaning I am, the one.)
and also as we learned earlier when Jesus came to His disciples in the boat saying;
" It is I; be not afraid. " John 6:20
( technically in the Greek " ego eimi me phobeisthe" meaning I am; not you fear.
" Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. "
These Jews ancestors ate bread God sent down from Heaven and still died.
"This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die."
Quite obviously Jesus is talking spiritual death here.
The Greek word "apethanon " translated " dead. " in verse 49 and the Greek word "apothane" translated "die. " in verse 50 can be either literal or figurative in meaning, referring to the physical or spiritual and is quite clear enough when understood within the context of what Jesus is saying.
Any of us who are human and have had friends and family die know that these physical bodies cannot last forever in this earthly life.
Jesus makes it clear when He says later;
" It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. " John 6:63
I cannot understand why the catholic church gets hung up on thinking they must eat the literal flesh of Jesus' body. I always thought such as this was what they call, "cannibalism".
"I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? "
This is important to us.
Notice Jesus said;
" if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever "
This does not imply a one time feast the moment we are saved.
As we must continually eat food to stay alive physically even though eventually our physical bodies will bite the dust no matter what we try to do to keep ourselves alive on this planet, since their is no "fountain of youth" for any human being, as Ponce de Leon realized, so must we continually eat of Jesus, the bread of life that came down from Heaven so we can stay alive in the spirit, in continuing in the faith, and making it to the end.
In other words, just as we cannot take one bite of a loaf of Wonder sandwich bread and expect to live to be 70 years old without eating more than that, so we should not think by accepting the Calvinist doctrine of a one time faith being enough to sustain us through the rest of our life and make it to the end without continually eating Jesus in our spirit in staying in the faith to the end of life - that is, making a personal commitment to Jesus and having an ongoing personal relationship with Him.
This question from these Jews was not of ignorance;
" The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? "
I think they were simply being a smartmouth. No one in their right mind would even conceive the idea of eating someone's body, unless it was cannibalism, which is the product of a perverted and corrupt mind.
However, the Greek word "Emachonto" tranlsated "strove " does seem to indicate they argued intensely among themselves as to how Jesus could give them His body to eat, so I guess some of them might have been sincere enough in wondering what He meant by this.
We do have to remember that Nicodemus, who was also a Jewish church leader did come to believe in Jesus and remained in the faith even until the death and resurrection of Jesus. There were others as well, including Jesus' own disciples who were not church leaders but were Jews too.
Like the world even today, these Jews just hated Jesus because like Pilate said;
" For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. " Matthew 27:18
These Jews were jealous of Him. The people liked Jesus more than they liked the hypocrite church leaders and this made them jealous.
I wish people today would quit worshipping church leaders and instead turn their focus on Jesus. I personally know pastors who will have great difficulty turning the reigns over to Jesus when His time comes to rule this planet.
It refreshes me personally when I go into a McDonald's and I see someone sitting at a table with a Bible open and he or she is studying God's word... especially when there are 2 or more also sitting there studying God's word together.
I understand in Europe people are generally getting tired of what we Americans call "megachuches" because of the hypocrisy and commercialism within.
When the Lord sees fit, my wife and I are going to start an in home Bible study class right here where we live.
It is so interesting that Pilate, a Roman gentile, had the wisdom to know all this about these hypocrite Jews.
Listen up!
If we were ever genuinely saved and for some reason now believe that God is too good to let anyone go to an eternal hell, that God will make allowances that do not include the need for His only begotten Son Jesus, which is His plan and only plan for our salvation according to the Bible and now have come to the decision that our faith - that is, that Jesus is the only way to Heaven, is no longer the only way to make it to Heaven as we once believed it was when we were first saved and for us now our faith is one of different ways to Heaven and as long as anyone believes in God can make it to Heaven, then we are no longer of the faith because the faith is clearly;
" I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. " John 14:6
We either believe this or we don't.
According to the stats recently, 57% of christian evangelicals no longer believe Jesus is the only way to Heaven but rather "a way" - that is, one of many ways to Heaven.
If we do not think this is important enough or is serious enough then I guess we no longer care.
It's our call. Whatever we decide. God laid out the plan to us so we would know and believe but it is up to us to believe... or continue to believe, whichever the case.
I will continue with verse 53 in the next study.
If you are in the faith, please stay in the faith to the end of life.
Today's society, including both church and secular, is going to be evermore increasingly tempting to depart from the faith that saved us.
" They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. " Luke 8:13
Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: But that which beareth thorns and briars is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have showed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
Today's Recipe For Food Lovers:
Strawberry Shortcake
Recipe courtesy Mary Nolan
1 1/2 pounds strawberries, stemmed and quartered 5 tablespoons sugar 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 2 tablespoons sugar 3/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups heavy cream Whipped Cream, recipe followsMix strawberries with 3 tablespoons sugar and refrigerate while juices develop, at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Add heavy cream and mix until just combined. Place mixture in an ungreased 8-inch square pan and bake until golden, 18 to 20 minutes.
Remove shortcake from pan and place on a rack to cool slightly. Cut into 6 pieces and split each piece in half horizontally.
Spoon some of the strawberries with their juice onto each shortcake bottom. Top with a generous dollop of whipped cream and then the shortcake top. Spoon more strawberries over the top and serve.
Whipped Cream: 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled 3 tablespoons sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zestUsing a mixer, beat the heavy cream, sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest until soft peaks form, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
On This Date July 9, 1850 - U.S. President Zachary Taylor died in office at the age of 55. He was succeeded by Millard Fillmore. Taylor had only served 16 months.
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