The American nation was built on the vast farmlands that stretch from the Alleghenies to the Rockies, and it was that farmland which produced the wealth that funded American industrialization.

What do you do when your dreams, your plans and your hopes blow up in your face? Who do you blame when everything in the Bible gave you hope, but then, out of the blue, all was destroyed? How do you react when difficult and trying circumstances seem to go on and on and on?

How would you like to embark on the ultimate literary adventure? An excursion that will result in practical, strategic awareness of the entire Bible - a perspective from which you can navigate your own personal adventure that will enrich a lifetime and even more? It's not just a fascinating study; it's a participation that will determine your eternal destiny.

One of the strangest episodes recorded in the Word of God is King Saul's consulting a witch (after having ostensibly cleansed the land of Israel from this occultic practice). The forthcoming Halloween "holiday" seems like an appropriate time to review the implications of this puzzling tale.

October this year includes the Fall Feasts of Israel, which occur in the first 15 days of the month of Tishri. Each of the seven Feasts of Moses commemorate historical events of the nation Israel, but they also have prophetic significance as well.

This will be our final article on Private Worship - The Key to Joy. I pray the Lord has used these articles to stimulate you not only to "do your own homework" in the subject of worship, as my Chuck always says, but also to prompt you to begin your own daily time of intimacy with the Lord.

As Bible students, we all are aware of the allusions to the "Kings of the East" in the prophetic scenario:

On August 14th, our Jewish friends will observe Tisha B'Av ("The Ninth Day of Av"). This is a special day of mourning, since on this day four tragedies occurred:

This month and next, we will be wrapping up our series on Private Worship: The Key to Joy. I pray the Lord has used these articles to encourage you and provide you with practical steps to experiencing His joy through worship.

In the not-too-distant future, wars will be fought over natural resources. Last year China consumed nearly half of the world's cement, 2/3 of total world consumption of copper, nearly 1/3 of the world's coal, and 90% of the world's steel (plus huge quantities of nearly every other commodity).

We have just returned from the most impressive trip we have ever taken: an inside look at Israel's security and their battle against terrorism! Our trip included briefings by top-level leaders from the Shin Bet, the Mossad, and the Israel Defense Force. This was all arranged by Shurat HaDin, the Israel Law Center.

Last month, we shared a little about spiritual warfare and its connection to worship. We said that if we are going to learn to worship on a daily (and deeper) basis, then we must be knowledgeable in the art of warfare.

The current issue of Scientific American includes an article that details the pursuit by physicists of the nature - and ostensible stability - of the "constants" of our physical reality. The velocity of light, c; the constant of gravitation, G; the mass of the electron, me, etc., all have been assumed to be the same at all places and times in the universe.

Hal Lindsey called it "the greatest betrayal of Israel committed by any American president in history."

The dispute over Iran's nuclear program has held a prominent place in the news in recent months - and for good reason. It is a considerable threat to our national security and will most likely have disastrous consequences in the Middle East.

An electromagnetic pulse (EMP), triggered by a high-altitude detonation of a nuclear weapon, poses a considerable threat to our national security and is one of a small number of weapons that could be used to bring the whole of America to its knees. An EMP attack would strike what has become the United States' Achilles heel - its relatively unprotected, yet vital, technological infrastructure.

Spiritual warfare? What does this have to do with learning to worship the Lord on an intimate basis?

Six years ago we experienced a practical test of our epistemology (the study of knowledge, its scope and limits): the apparent threat of a widespread computer calendar "bug" known as "Y2K." Was it real or an imaginary tempest in a teapot? Among many misinformed, the debate continues to this day. In many ways, the entire issue was a "laboratory course" in the use of our epistemological tools.

Why is worship the single most important thing a Christian can learn to do? This is the subject we have been exploring over these past several months.

It is tragic that the most blessed book of the Bible is also the one most overlooked or ignored! The mere mention of its name results in fear and apprehension among the uninformed. It intimidates the uninitiated, and many regard it as unfathomable - too difficult to understand.