CHRISTIAN CHURCH

Patrick Williams   BA Biblical Studies/MA BS/THD

Marilyn Williams BS Business

Bread and Wine Ministry Shema is a teaching ministry of Ministers' Patrick and Marilyn Williams

OUR MISSION IS HELPING PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY BACK TO GOD

We’ve seen the transformation hundreds of times – people who came to us full of doubt and uncertainty become secure in the knowledge of their rightful place in God’s great kingdom. The change may start slowly – in a Bible Study class or choir participation, perhaps – but once it begins, it picks up speed. The good works, shared experiences, time spent in prayer – all bring us closer to our highest calling.

Take the first step being born again!

Survey reveals most people panic when their phone battery drops to 38%

Older generations are more lax regarding battery life

In brief: Battery life remains a top concern for smartphone and portable device users. While researchers actively explore alternatives to lithium-ion, manufacturers often rely on software-based solutions to boost efficiency. A recent study suggests that anxiety over remaining battery life sets in surprisingly early – especially among younger users.

An online survey by Talker Research found that Americans begin worrying about phone battery life when it hits 38 percent on average. Some might view that threshold as conservative since it reflects over a third of the remaining charge. For example, iPhones typically do not issue a warning until the battery drops below 20 percent.

Among the 2,000 American respondents, most reported panicking well before Apple's 20 percent warning. That popup, which suggests enabling low power mode, served as a guideline for 34 percent of users. The least anxious group, comprising 13 percent, doesn't consider finding a charger until the battery drops below 10 percent. Meanwhile, 24 percent of survey participants feel uneasy before reaching the halfway mark.

Talker Research also found that older generations are progressively less concerned about battery life. Millennials and Generation Z (born after 1981) begin to worry when their phones hit 43 percent on average, followed by Generation X (1965 to 1980) at 38 percent. Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) don't start feeling anxious until their phones drop to 34 percent.

The study also indicated that most respondents (61 percent) choose to display the exact percentage on their battery-life indicator. The remaining 39 percent prefer the simpler battery bars icon.

Declining battery health is a primary source of anxiety for smartphone users. Although manufacturers haven't found a way to prevent lithium-ion batteries from degrading over time, software adjustments have helped mitigate the issue to some extent.

// Related Stories

Teens and tech: Almost 90% own iPhones, most use Instagram and Spotify
Google's new battery tech will lower capacity over time, whether you like it or not

For example, Apple's optimized charging mode limits charging above 80 percent to extend long-term battery health. Meanwhile, Google's new Pixel 9a phone automatically decreases maximum battery life after every 200 charge cycles to minimize the effects of inevitable battery degradation.

External battery packs are a popular physical solution, but Oukitel's recently introduced WP100 Titan smartphone adds more capacity through internal hardware. The bulky device features a massive 33,000 mAh battery, trading compactness for ruggedness and extended functionality. It can handle various functions for dozens of hours and last for months in standby mode.

                         The Bronze Serpent 

 

 

The king of Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the South, heard that Israel was coming on the road to Atharim, then he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoners. So Israel made a vow to the LORD, and said, “If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.” And the LORD listened to the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites, and they utterly destroyed them and their cities. So the name of that place was called Hormah. 

 

 

The king of Arad was a Canaanite who dwelt in the South. He heard that Israel was coming into the land and many nations feared Israel because of their size. As the new generation of Israelites began their approach into Canaan, they met with their first hostile army led by the King. 

As they fought many people of Israel were taken prisoner. This prompted Israel to make a vow to God that they would utterly destroy the cities of Arad the king. After the vow, God granted them victory (delivering up the Canaanites). 

Notice how Israel did not depend upon their own power in war. God had enabled them to rout the Amalekites, and to defeat many other adversaries; but when this new foe appeared, they did not rely upon their own swords, spears, or bows, but they went straightaway to the Lord, and presented their case to him, in humble, earnest prayer.  

This was the beginning of Israel’s wars of conquest and God’s judgment against the Canaanites. These were not only battles to take the land that God promised to Israel, but they were also part of a unique war of judgment against the Canaanites. If you can recall during the days of Noah God cursed Canaan, the younger son of Ham. Canaan's offspring is frequently described as a morally corrupt and wicked people whose practices included idolatry, child sacrifice, sexual immorality (such as incest, adultery, homosexuality, and bestiality), and various forms of divination. The biblical texts state that their pervasive sinfulness warranted divine judgment.   

God literally gave them hundreds of years to repent but they didn’t. So, as only God can do, He sometimes used other nations to bring judgment against His people, in this period the LORD used His people to bring judgment against the Canaanites. 

During battle Israel was to destroy everything. They could not take spoils, this showed that in the battle against Arad, God did not want His people to rejoice over what they gained as God brought His judgment to others. A similar principle was applied in the conquest of Jericho (Joshua 6:18-21). 

Shortly after their victory, Israel speaks against God. 

Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” 

Israel murmured because they had to go around the land of Edom: They had to go far out of their way because the Edomites refused them passage (Numbers 20:14-21). To go around the Edomites, they had to turn back towards the wilderness and away from Canaan. The people began to complain.  

Has God given you something to do that seemed so hard and it seems like you are going the long way around to get to the blessing? The same God who gave you victory will also provide for all your needs and guide you through any setback. 

They show their behavior was worse than their fathers who perished in the desert. Moses knew and the LORD knew that they were really speaking against God. 

They were on the threshold of Canaan, closer to it than the previous generation of unbelief had been, and now they started to act with the same manner of unbelief. 

Like the generation of their fathers, this generation despised God’s provision of manna, calling it worthless bread. Their complaining against the “bread of heaven” (Psalm 78:23-24) was the sin of ingratitude against the God who miraculously sustained them in the wilderness. 

So, the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. 

Some people think these serpents were fiery in the sense that they were red, like the color of fire. Others believe their bite caused intense burning, so they were called fiery serpents. 

There was a connection between their despising of manna (Numbers 21:5) and these fiery, poisonous snakes. 

They despised the bread from heaven; God gave them serpents from the earth. 

They despised God’s blessings; God gave them burning poison. 

They despised the life God sustained for them; God gave them death. 

These serpents came from God, to get the nation’s attention. If they continued in unbelief, they would never take the land. 

“They soon realize they have made a mistake in mummering against God and swiftly repentance. In their humility, they asked Moses to pray for them. This was an expression of trust in Moses and in the LORD. 

God heard their prayer, commanding Moses to make a (bronze serpent), to set it on pole, so that those who looked upon it could be saved. 

There was no immediate logical connection between merely looking at a serpent on a pole and living or refusing to look and die. But God commanded that such an unusual thing, even a foolish thing be used to bring salvation to Israel. 

Jesus referred to this remarkable event in John 3:14-15: And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. Jesus clearly said there is a similarity between what Moses did here and what Jesus did on the cross. 

The serpent is often used in the Bible to represent evil. However, in the Bible bronze is associated with judgment because it is made with fire. In a sense, bronze receives the fire of judgment as it is made. Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us on the cross, and our sin was judged in Jesus. A bronze serpent is a picture of evil judged and dealt with. 

The serpent lay horizontally on the vertical pole, would be a visual representation of the cross. However, many traditions show the serpent being wrapped around the pole. This concept is the source for the ancient figure of healing and medicine. 

“The pole resembled the cross upon which Christ was lift up for our salvation; and looking up to it is our believing in Christ.”  

The people who were bitten were saved by simply looking to the bronze serpent. They had to trust that something that seemed to be as foolish as looking at a serpent on a pole was enough to save them. It is likely that some perished because they thought it was too simple, too foolish to simply look and live. 

God had willed it, the healing effect of the serpent might have come through contact – if one rubbed the serpent, they would be healed. It might have come through a priest. It might have come with a ceremony or a ritual. But God chose none of those; all one had to do was look and live. 

i am new here

SERVICES

prayer request

Everyone Is Welcome

When Jesus went to the place of Lazarus’ tomb, men roll away the stone from the opening and He shouted, “Lazarus, come forth!” (John 11:43). Those who gathered around the tomb were shocked when the dead man walked out of the cave, still bound in burial cloths.  

Then many who saw this miracle believed in Jesus, but others reported it to the religious leaders. It was this miracle that sealed Jesus’ fate with the Pharisees and rulers. “From that day on they plotted to take his life.  

 

It was not only the life of Jesus the Jewish leaders conspired to take, but that of Lazarus as well: “The chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus . . . for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him” (John 12:10–11).  

After becoming a believer, how many times has the devil attacked and tried to kill you? You a born again, your life is new just as Lazarus was given new life. 

Has God brought you out of the tomb and now the enemy made every effort to kill you again? Has God delivered you from pass hurts and pain and the evil pharisee tried to pull you back into the tomb? The devil always desires to kill you again by using others to destroy your dream of freedom in Christ. By magnifying your problems and getting you bogged down in your own wants and desires, which causes you to kill your relationship! Learn to see what he is doing in your life. 

When Lazarus was raised news traveled fast, and people came out to see the resurrected dead man. With the word of the miracle now spreading and Lazarus’ living testimony the Pharisees came to the conclusion, Lazarus must die again.     

The chief priests and other religious leaders wanted to kill him because his resurrection was causing many Jews to believe in Jesus, thus threatening their authority. Lazarus had to flee Judea to escape this threat. 

 

After Lazarus was raised from the dead, he returned to the home he shared with Mary and Martha (John 12:1–2). He was present when Mary poured expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. Knowing the miracle Jesus had recently performed, we understand why Lazarus’ sister was so overcome with gratitude that she would go to such extravagant lengths. Lazarus may have been his sisters’ only provider, and his death could have meant poverty for them both. Jesus had returned to them not only the brother they loved but the protector and provider they needed to survive. 

 

The Bible gives us no further information about Lazarus. Any additional details stem from church history and may or may not be accurate. One tradition holds that, after Jesus’ ascension back into heaven, Lazarus and his sisters moved to Cyprus where Lazarus became the bishop of Kition and died of natural causes in AD 63. Another theory claims that Lazarus and his sisters moved to Gaul to preach the gospel, and Lazarus became the bishop of Marseilles, where he was beheaded under the tyranny of Emperor Domitian. Whatever happened to Lazarus is unknown. But we can be certain that his physical body died a second time. And we know that, according to 1 Corinthians 15:51–53 and 1 Thessalonians 4:14–17, Lazarus will be raised again from the dead to join all God’s saints in eternity. 

 

 

GET IN TOUCH

tmcimissions.org

The Missionary Church International

care ministries

Since the fall of man in the garden mankind has attempted to identify what fruit grew upon the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Throughout the centuries, many have labeled the fruit as an apple, and this has become universally accepted. But is this true?
So, where and when does the apple tradition appear?
The answer is France in the 12th century, and from there to other countries.
Latin authors most commonly refer to the forbidden fruit as a po-mum, a Latin word meaning "fruit" or "tree fruit." Old French, which descends from Latin, has the word "pom" and (modern French "pom-me"), which originally meant "fruit" as well, and was used in the earliest Old French translations of Genesis.
In this language "Adam and Eve ate a pom," meant "Adam and Eve ate a fruit." Over time, however, the meaning of pom changed. Rather than a broad, general term for "fruit," it took on a narrower meaning: "apple." Once this change in meaning became widely accepted, readers of the Old French version of Genesis understood the statement "Adam and Eve ate a pom" to mean "Adam and Eve ate an apple."
However, according to Jewish tradition, it was not an apple, but the pomegranate fruit which is believed to have grown upon the tree of knowledge. This contains 613 seeds, symbolizing the 613 (commandments) in the Torah or law.
In the bible there are 248 Positive (laws) and 365 Negative Commandments (laws). Here is a short list of some of the laws:
To serve the Almighty with prayer daily—Exodus 23:25
To bless the Almighty after eating—Deuteronomy 8:10
To rest on the first day of Passover—Leviticus 23:8
To have children with one's wife—Genesis 1:28
While the negative laws were:
Men must not shave the hair off the sides of their head—Leviticus 19:27
Men must not shave their beards with a razor—Leviticus 19:27
Men must not wear women's clothing—Deuteronomy 22:5
Women must not wear men's clothing—Deuteronomy 22:5
Not to tear the skin in mourning—Deuteronomy 14:1 Cutting ones-self
The pomegranate symbolizes life, fertility, and divine blessing. There were 613 bells and pomegranates sewn onto the hem of the priestly garments. Each symbolizes the 613 laws. They were placed between bells. The ringing bells ensured the priest was heard entering the Holy Place, representing accountability before God. The robe was made entirely of blue yarn, with a reinforced opening for the head to prevent tearing.
The garment was designed for "glory and for beauty" as part of the holy garments for the High Priest.
It shall be on Aaron when he ministers.” The bells could be heard; they represent our words that point people to the Messiah. The pomegranates represent the fruit of the Spirit, which should be reflected in our character and the way we live our lives.
As the priest walked, the pomegranates swing back and forth between the golden bells. Every aspect of the garment was designed to remind the people of their walk with God. As the hems moved back and forth it reminded men to walk holy, for God is holy.
Is your walk aligned with God? Is the fruit of the spirit in your walk?
To produce fruit in your walk and to let your words algin with your walk you must stay connected to the vine, from which you get all your spiritual food. It is then that you will cultivate love, joy, peace, and patience. Transformation happens when you walk in obedience, allowing your life to be shaped by the Holy Spirit
Type your paragraph here.