What is the eye of a needle in the Bible?

Jesus said,

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:24. Similar verses are in Mark 10:25 and Luke 18:25). What is the eye of a needle, or a needle's eye?

Many people have tried to explain this phrase. We believe it means exactly what it says, and does not need watered-down explanations to make it easier for a rich man to enter Heaven. We will show you why.
Small gate?
Some say the needle's eye, or the eye of the needle, was a small gate at the entrance of Jerusalem and other cities. When the city-keepers had locked the main gates, camels and their owners who arrived after hours could squeeze through this gate.
But scholars have searched in vain to find ancient evidence that people referred to any of these gates as “the eye of a needle”.
Camel means rope?

Others have said the Aramaic word for camel was the same as the word for rope, and that Jesus meant it was hard for rope to go through the eye of a needle. Well, Jesus did speak Aramaic, but again, reliable evidence is weak that this is what He meant.
All these other explanations downplay the wonderfully memorable and clever illustration that Jesus came up with to teach the difficulty of getting into Heaven if you are loaded with loot. He was talking to the rich young ruler at the time, and the man was sad at hearing this because he was very rich.
He would hardly have been sad knowing that camels always got through the city gate. And he would hardly be sad knowing that anyone could untwist a piece of rope to thread it through the eye of a sewing needle.
Impossible means impossible
What the rich young ruler was sad about was that Jesus said it would be impossible for him to enter the kingdom of God because of his riches.
The bystanders recognized this is what he meant, because they said, “Who then can be saved?” (Luke 18:26). And Jesus replied, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27).
This kills the “little gate” theory, because that was not impossible. And it kills the “camel rope” theory, because that was not impossible either.
What these verses say are that:
The rich man had to be willing to give up his possessions.
Only God could save him.
Rich people can be saved like anyone else if they do what God wants. Joseph of Arimathea was wealthy. And Paul said in Romans 2:11 that God doesn't show favouritism. Anyone can be saved.
The illustration of the camel going through the eye of a needle was perfect for those He was speaking to. The eye of a needle means the eye of a needle. Jesus' explanation that what is impossible for men is possible with God shows that rich men can be saved and enter Heaven. But only if they put their faith in Christ rather than in their riches.

IF A TEENAGER ASK!

If a teenager said the words (above right) to you, should you be offended or flattered?
The answer, thankfully, is flattered, since a rough translation is "Wow! You are the coolest person. Do you want to hang out at my place?"
Society is more geared than ever to young people, but their slang - and the speed at which it changes - can be a mystery to those old enough to vote.
This coded language designed to exclude adults is being used to tempt would-be teachers into schools - the latest campaign by the Teacher Training Agency includes a poster which asks "Linguists. Would you like to learn new words?"
So which words are current in the classroom? E-cyclopedia, the Magazine's guide to matters of linguistic interest, has compiled this guide. The main influences seem to be Creole patois and rapper slang.

Wanna roll with Vicky and the gang?It is by no means an exhaustive list, though we hope that with your suggestions it will become more complete. Nor will you find the likes of "chav" or even "chavtastic", which this week proved their mainstream usage by making it into the Collins English Dictionary.
But a health warning to non-teens - use this slang at your own risk. Not only will it sound desperately lame issuing from your mouth, chances are it will be out-of-date by the time we hit the "publish" button.
Use the form at the bottom of the page to add any choice words you've picked up throughout the year.
A
ah nam - tell on, rat on.
B
back slang - a code which uses the original spelling of words and adds extra letters and syllables for effect or to disguise the real meaning. The rap lyric "shizzle my nizzle", which confounded a High Court judge, is one such example.
bait - obvious, as in "that's so bait".(Nimesh Bhudia, Wembley, London)
bare - a lot of, very. In the case of a man or woman described as bare butters, see below.
beast - an adjective to describe something that's really cool. (Suggested by reader Richard Beadnall, North Yorkshire)
book - cool. The first option given in predictive text when trying to type c-o-o-l.
boom boom - a slogan of approval in inner-city London. There was much debate during the election campaign about whether Tony Blair was booed or boomed at the Lilian Bayliss Technology School in London.
buff - sexy, fit.
bum - to enjoy something: "he bums that game so much". And there are levels of bummage - to really like something is to "bum it blue", but "he bummed it black" means he used to like it but has since gone off it.
butters - ugly (pronounced without sounding the t's).
buzzing - cool.
C
chirps - chat up: "we chirps some buff gals last night."
chung - extremely sexy. If someone is described as "chung", that's better-looking than their "buff" friend.
clappin' - out of date or worn out, usually to describe attire or accessories, as in "man, my tracksuit is clappin'. Gotta get down JJB Sport and buy a new one." Also means tired out.(Suggested by reader Denney, Reading)
cotch down - to hang out, relax, chill out or sleep. Possibly derived, via patois, from the French "se coucher", meaning to lie down. See also kotch.
crump - a multi-purpose term which can be an insult, an exclamation and a rather explicit sex act. It generally means bad, but can also mean good, depending on the context: "that ain't good man, it's crump" or "that's one crump message you left there".

Words that teens should know

Words that teens should know

Here are some words you may like to know. Some of them are new, so you may be the first in your group to learn them. Others are still finding their feet after being around a few years. Anyway, we believe they will contribute something to your vocabulary. Have fun with them!

freegan
Someone who eats only what they can get for free. Street kids and misers are largely freegans. The word comes from vegan, which is someone who doesn't eat meat or animal products.

second-hand speech
Overheard mobile phone [cell-phone] conversation.

walking piñata
A person who is constantly criticized or ridiculed. (That second word, by the way, is pronounced pin-YAR-ta.)

showdogging
Walking beside an attractive stranger to get people to think you know the person.

uptalk
Hmmm. You may do this yourself, but we hope not. Uptalkers turn up the last word or syllable of a sentence to make it sound like a question — even though they are just making a statement. They will say “I'm going to school??”, “I've lost my lunch???”, “I bought some new shoes????”. They are just statements of fact, but uptalkers make everything sound like a question. Weird!

cyberfossil
Someone who spends too much time on the internet.

skats
Australian slang for body piercings. People who have them are called skatters.

annoyicon
1. An emoticon. 2. A logo that stays in the corner of a television screen.

type T personality
Someone who regularly seeks out thrilling or dangerous experiences.
extreme tourism
Traveling to trouble spots such as Iraq.

McMansion
A big new home in incredibly bad taste.
togethering
Taking a vacation with your family or a few close friends.

fur kid
A pet whose owner treats it as though it's a child. Also: fur-kid, furkid.

cat typing
Typing in emails and elsewhere that is so bad it's almost unreadable. (Like the random keystrokes made by a cat as it walks across a computer keyboard.)

lunch rage
Becoming hyperactive or acting crazy after eating or drinking something you are allergic to.

flexitarian
A vegetarian who occasionally eats meat.

nanny-cam
A special video camera — so small you can hide it inside stereo equipment or a teddy bear — used for spying on baby-sitters. Also: nanny cam, nannycam.

crittercam
A camera attached to a wild animal.

tanorexia
Addicted to getting a tan.

hoplophobia
The fear of guns. You would say that someone who is afraid of guns is a hoplophobe, and is hoplophobic.

earworm
A song or tune that keeps wriggling around in your mind after you've heard it on the radio, or in McDonald's. Sometimes you will hear someone whistle or hum a tune, and it will keep coming into your mind even though you don't want it to. That's a bad earworm. Earworms don't have to be songs you like — they just have to be persistent.

hurry sickness
A condition where a person feels chronically short of time, and tries to do every task faster, then flusters over any delay.

culled from :http://www.users.bigpond.com/rdoolan/words.html

FINAL EXAMS !

One night Jack Evans, along with his 3 university
friends went out

drinking till late night, as many college students are

prone to do, and didn't study for their test, which, of course, was scheduled for
the next day.

In the morning they thought of a plan. They made
themselves look as dirty and weird as they could with grease and dirt.

They went up to the dean and explained that they had
gone out to a wedding last night and on their return the tire of
their car burst. They continued to explain how they had to push the car all
the way back and that they were in no condition to appear for the test.

The dean, being a compassionate human being said that
they could take the test after 3 days. The students graciously replied
that they'd be ready by that time.

On the third day, they appeared before the dean. The
dean explained that since this was a special test all four were required
to sit in separate classrooms for the duration of the exam.

They all agreed as they had prepared well in the last
three days. The test consisted of 5 questions with total of 100
points:

MID SEMESTER COURSE WORK EXAMINATION

INSTRUCTIONS :
All questions are required. Any inconsistencies on any
of the questions among the four students will result in all the
candidates getting a zero mark.


Q.1. Write down your name. ----- (2 POINTS)
Q.2. Write the name of the bride and bridegroom at the wedding you attended. ----- (30 POINTS)
Q.3. What type of a car were you driving? ------(20 POINTS)
Q.4. Which tire burst? ------- (28 POINTS)
Q.5. Who was driving? ------ (20 POINTS)



Na Serious Yawa o!!!

BE GRATEFUL

BE GRATEFUL.

NO ONE CAN LIVE A LIFE APART UNTOUCHED BY OTHER LIVES AS WELL ONE MIGHT ATTEMPT TO PAINT A PICTURE IN ONE WITH NO DETAILS OF SHADE AND LIGHT;OR PLAY A MELODY WITH JUST A LONELY NOTE.

MY LIFE I NOT JUST MY OWN DESIGN BUT PART OF ALL THE REST THAT PASS MY WAY,AND EACH OF THESE IS PART OF MINE.

MY FATHER SAID...

This Was What My Father Told Me:

A Stone is Enough to Break a Glass?? One Sentence is Enough to Break a Heart??

One Second is Enough to Fall in Love?? and One Misunderstanding is Sufficient to Break Friendship. Friendship is the Rainbow Between two Hearts, sharing 7 Characters.... First i like u, then i loved u. Now i'm afraid to lose u,

If you dont send this to everyone on ur list, u will lose the person you love. sorry i dont wanna lose the person i love........................................................

If I dont get this back i guess you're not my friend. If u have a lot of love for someone... copy and send this to your whole buddy list..in 5 min. Your true love will suprise you!!!!!!! ......... sorry 2bother u wif dis but let me just act as instructed...u can do d same..ciao

it all about you!

THOSE TIMES

Seconds after seconds, hours goes by, day by day, I’m always minding my own business and easy going.

It came to a time thing were going tight, and before I knew it, I lost my loves ones, people who have what I need, my relationship crumble, I just lose someone I gave my whole heart to, she’s gone. I can’t imagine the pain. And next my parents file up divorce in court now.

While thousand of people are searching for job, I lost mine some weeks back.

Able people have refused to help; the government has failed His people. Gentle brethren, looking back into the past. It’s like a pit of shit.

My elder brother, with kidney problem in the hospital. How I wish I could turn back the hands of time.

Everywhere I turned to, all I got is “I’m sorry” looking at the mirror, I saw tears rolling down my cheek.

Family knows me not.

I can’t sleep, I can’t think, I can’t eat.
NO! NO! I don’t want to live anymore.

All my friends are gone. No home.

In the middle of the night, I look up into the sky, crying for help.

Where do I start from? I was destitute.

Nobody to take my hands, and now my heart’s deep and heavy just like a tunnel.

In my depression, all of a sudden, just like any other day, I met this guy who turns my life around, its really amazing, my problems are gone within twinkle of an eye. I can’t just believe it. His name is JESUS.

He’s knocking at your door right now, no matter what you are going through now; he’s ready to set you free, if only you will open the door for him just like I did.

LORD I REALISE AM A LOST SINNER IN NEED OF A SAVIOUR. I SINCERELY RECEIVE GOD’S RISEN SON AS MY LORD AND SAVIOUR. TO FORGIVE MY SINS AND BE MY WAY TO HEAVEN.

VISION

Dear friend,

Do you know VISION is the first step to success, because it’s the
Power of seeing the future?
It’s that which you must not do without.

It will be disastrous to come into this world and go like that with
No impact.

For your impact to be felt, you need VISION. Great men that ever live,
Were men that had VISION, picture of the preferred future they wanted.
If you don’t have VISION, you are far away from success.

Vision is the foundation of all activities, which requires commitment
To action, by bringing together all wide ideas, dreams and goal settings
To achieve your VISION in one systematic way.

In whatever you do, ensure you are living with your VISION day by day,
You have to think about it. Your VISION should be part of you. Never for
A day do without your VISION, let it be at the back of your mind, and
You must be willing to carry on irrespective of whatever comes your way.

There is no single guarantee that what you plan will be carried out the way
You ENVISION it, but if you neglect to plan, the chance of success is very
Slim.

Everybody has sight yet no VISION, but progresss has been made by
People who have VISION and not sight. In actual sense, it’s a matter
Of seeing the future before if finally comes into being. But making it a
Reality is the principal thing.

Buying the most expensive cars, billions of currency in banks, owning
Giant Houses does not define why you were born. VISION is about
Real living, which answer the question why you were born. No matter

How much you accumulate will definitely depreciate. But VISION will
Change your life and not what you accumulate or possess. Nothing feels
So good like seeing your VISION coming into manifestation and you
Fulfilling your purpose – that’s why you were
Born.

Without prophetic vision, people run wild, but blessed are those who follow gods
Teaching.

Proverb 29:18 Gods word version.

Marshall Dare
Mcshall2@yahoo.com
authormarshall@oink.co.uk

FRIEND AS JESUS

FRIENDSHIP AS JESUS


True friendship is about giving not getting.


Jesus showed us he His ultimate friend by dying for us.


Love sometimes comes across as a bit of an airy-fairy
Word.


The more we obey God, the more sensitive we become to the
Needs of others.


What kind of friend are you?
Someone who keeps their distance or someone who gets alongside
With other people?


Some people have a gang mentality to friendship; you are either
Accepted as one of a small group of friends or rejected. You are
Either in or out. Some can be afraid of losing their status, or feel
Threatened with new friends in their circle of friends.


Sometimes your friends are not loyal; they disappoint you, and many
Fail you perhaps they let you down.


But Jesus is a great friend, even when we are disloyal. He knows that
We need His help to love and accept
Others. Ask Him and He will teach you to be a friend whom others can
Rely on.


We feel extremely hurt when our friends let your down. And the closer the
Friendship
The deeper the hurt can be. But Jesus wants us to forgive those who betray
Our trust and do all we can
To rebuild the friendship.


Be a good and loving friend to others as Jesus as been to you. And the
World will be a peaceful and loving place for you and me.

Malachi 3:3 says:

Malachi 3:3 says:

'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.'

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.' She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time.

The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?'He smiled at her and answered, 'Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it.' If today you are feeling the heat of the fire , remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

Pass this on right now. This very moment, someone needs to know that God is watching over them. And, whatever they're going through, they'll be a better person in the end. 'Life is a coin.

You can spend it anyway you wish, but you can only spend it once.'