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Marching to Zion in Greek!

Πάνω από 4.000 χρόνια πριν, ο Θεός εμφανίστηκε στον Αβραάμ στη Μεσοποταμία και του είπε, "Άφησε την πατρίδα σου και το πατρικό σου σπίτι και πήγαινε σε μια χώρα που θα σου δείξω εγώ. Από τους απογόνους σου θα δημιουργηθεί ένα μεγάλο έθνος." Ο Αβραάμ υπάκουσε τον Κύριο και ήρθε στη γη της Επαγγελίας της Χαναάν, όπου έζησε μαζί με τον γιο του Ισαάκ και τον εγγονό του Ιακώβ, γη που αργότερα μετονομάστηκε "Ισραήλ."

Ο Ισραήλ και οι 12 γιοί του πορεύτηκαν στην Αίγυπτο λόγω λιμού στην γη της Χαναάν, και εκεί πολλαπλασιάστηκαν και έγιναν ισχυρό έθνος. Οι Αιγύπτιοι αισθάνθηκαν να απειλούνται από το ισχυρό έθνος του Ισραήλ που ζούσε ανάμεσά τους, με αποτέλεσμα να το υποδουλώσουν και να κάνουν τη ζωή του πολύ δύσκολη επιβάλλοντας του να δουλεύει σκληρά. Μετά από 430 χρόνια στην Αίγυπτο, οι Εβραίοι, οδηγούμενοι από τον Μωυσή, αποτίναξαν τα δεσμά της δουλείας και στη συνέχεια διέσχισαν την Ερυθρά θάλασσα και πήγαν στην Αραβία, όπου έλαβαν το νόμο του Θεού στο όρος Σινά.

Η γενιά των Ισραηλιτών, που έφυγε από την Αίγυπτο με τον Μωυσή δεν είχε το ελεύθερο να περάσει στη γη της Επαγγελίας διότι δεν πίστευε στον Κύριο. Αναγκάστηκαν να περιπλανηθούν στην έρημο για 40 χρόνια μέχρι να δημιουργηθεί μια νέα γενιά, που πίστευε στον Κύριο και αυτή η γενιά εισήλθε στη γη της Επαγγελίας με τον Ιησού του Ναυή.

Για περίπου 400 χρόνια, οι 12 φυλές του Ισραήλ διοικούνταν από τους Κριτές, σύμφωνα με το Νόμο του Μωυσή. Όταν θέλησαν να αποκτήσουν βασιλιά όπως όλα τα άλλα έθνη, ο Θεός διόρισε τον Σαούλ βασιλιά τους, ο οποίος παρέμεινε βασιλιάς για 40 χρόνια, τον διαδέχτηκε ο βασιλιάς Δαυίδ που βασίλευσε 40 χρόνια και στη συνέχεια ο γιος του Δαυίδ, ο Σολομώντας, που βασίλευσε 40 χρόνια. Κατά τη διάρκεια της βασιλείας του Σολομώντος το βασίλειο του Ισραήλ ήταν το πιο ένδοξο και τότε χτίστηκε ο πρώτος ναός, αλλά επειδή ο Σολομώντας απομακρύνθηκε από τον Κύριο στα γηρατειά του, ο Θεός του είπε ότι 10 από τις φυλές δεν θα είχαν τον γιο του βασιλιά.

Μετά τον θάνατο του Σολομώντα, το βασίλειο του Ισραήλ χωρίστηκε, και οι 10 φυλές του βορά διοικήθηκαν από διάφορους κακόβουλους βασιλείς, που δεν ήταν απόγονοι του Δαυίδ και του Σολομώντα. Το Βόρειο Βασίλειο διατήρησε το όνομα του Ισραήλ και είχε πρωτεύουσα τη Σαμάρεια. Το μικρότερο Νότιο Βασίλειο έγινε γνωστό ως βασίλειο του Ιούδα, είχε πρωτεύουσα την Ιερουσαλήμ και κυβερνήθηκε από τους απογόνους του Δαυίδ. Ξεκινώντας στο Βασιλέων Β' Κεφ. 16, ο λαός του Νότιου Βασιλείου έγινε γνωστός ως "Ιουδαίοι" ή "Εβραίοι" σύμφωνα με το όνομα του Βασιλείου του Ιούδα.

Εξαιτίας της έχθρας που έτρεφε γι' αυτούς το Βόρειο Βασίλειο του Ισραήλ, το βασίλειο ανατράπηκε και οι Ιουδαίοι αιχμαλωτίστηκαν από τους Ασσύριους. Οι Ισραηλίτες που απόμειναν «αναμίχθηκαν» με τα ειδωλολατρικά έθνη που εισέβαλαν και κατέλαβαν τη γη τους. Αυτοί οι άνθρωποι έγιναν γνωστοί ως Σαμαρείτες, και οι 10 φυλές του Βορείου Ισραήλ δεν έγιναν ποτέ ένα ενιαίο έθνος.

Οι υπήκοοι από Νότιο Βασίλειο του Ιούδα τελικά αιχμαλωτίσθηκαν και μεταφέρθηκαν αιχμάλωτοι στη Βαβυλώνα σαν τιμωρία επειδή πίστευαν σε άλλους θεούς και ο ναός τους καταστράφηκε, αλλά μετά από 70 χρόνια οι Ιουδαίοι επέστρεψαν στο Βασίλειο του Ιούδα, ξανάχτισαν το ναό στην Ιερουσαλήμ και συνέχισαν να κυβερνώνται από βασιλείς που ήταν απόγονοι του Δαυίδ.

Στους χρόνους που έζησε ο Χριστός, το έθνος του Ιούδα ήταν γνωστό ως Ιουδαία και ήταν υπό ρωμαϊκή κυριαρχία. Ο Ιησούς Χριστός και οι μαθητές του κήρυξαν το ευαγγέλιο σε όλη την Ιουδαία αναζητώντας τους απολωλότες αμνούς του οίκου του Ισραήλ. Μετά από τριάμισι έτη κηρύγματος, οι Ιουδαίοι απέρριψαν τον Ιησού ως Μεσσία τους και έπεισαν τον Ρωμαίο διοικητή να τον σταυρώσει. Τρεις ημέρες αργότερα, αναστήθηκε εκ νεκρών και εμφανίστηκε ζωντανός στους μαθητές του πριν αναστηθεί και καθίσει εκ δεξιών του Πατρός του στους Ουρανούς.

Λίγο πριν σταυρωθεί ο Ιησούς, προφήτευσε ότι θα τιμωρηθούν επειδή τον απέρριψαν και θα καιγόταν η Ιερουσαλήμ, θα καταστρεφόταν ο ναός, και ότι οι Εβραίοι θα οδηγηθούν μακριά αιχμάλωτοι σε όλα τα έθνη της γης. Αυτή η προφητεία εκπληρώθηκε το 70 μ.Χ όταν ο Ρωμαίος αυτοκράτορας Τίτος κατέκτησε την Ιερουσαλήμ. Για πάνω από 1800 χρόνια, οι Εβραίοι παρέμειναν διασκορπισμένοι σε όλα τα έθνη της γης.

Στη συνέχεια το 1948 συνέβη το αδύνατο. Ιδρύθηκε το κράτος του Ισραήλ, και οι Εβραίοι ήταν πλέον κάτοχοι της γης της επαγγελίας. Πολλοί Χριστιανοί δήλωσαν ότι επρόκειτο για θαύμα και ευλογία από τον Θεό, αλλά ήταν πραγματικά ευλογία του Κυρίου, ή εργάστηκαν κάποιες σκοτεινές δυνάμεις; Αυτή η ταινία θα σας δώσει την απάντηση.

Marching to Zion in Romanian!

Acum peste 4.000 de ani, Dumnezeu i-a apărut lui Abraham în Mesopotamia și i-a spus: „Ieși din țara ta, din rudenia ta, și din casa tatălui tău, și vino în țara pe care ți-o voi arăta. Voi face din tine un neam mare.” Abraham l-a ascultat pe Domnul și a mers pe pământul promis al Canaanului, unde a trăit împreună cu fiul său Isaac și cu nepotul său, Iacob, care mai târziu s-a numit „Israel”.

Israel și cei 12 fii ai săi au ajuns în Egipt din cauza foametei din Canaan și s-au înmulțit, devenind un popor puternic. Egiptenii s-au simțit amenințați de puternicul popor al lui Israel, care trăia printre ei, astfel încât i-au înrobit și le-au făcut viața amară prin asuprire cruntă. După 430 de ani în Egipt, au fost dezrobiți de Moise, apoi au traversat Marea Roșie și au ajuns în Arabia, unde au primit legile lui Dumnezeu pe Muntele Sinai.

Generației de israeliți care a părăsit Egiptul cu Moise nu i s-a permis să pășească pe tărâmul promis din cauza faptului că nu credeau în Dumnezeu. Astfel, s-au văzut nevoiți să pribegească în pustiu timp de 40 de ani, până s-a ivit o nouă generație care credea în Domnul și a intrat pe pământul promis cu Iosua.

Timp de aproape 400 de ani, cele 12 triburi ale Israelului au fost conduse de Judecători, după legea lui Moise. Când au vrut să aibă un rege, precum toate celelalte popoare, Dumnezeu l-a numit pe Saul să le fie rege. Saul a domnit peste aceștia timp de 40 de ani, urmat de Regele David, care a domnit timp de 40 de ani, și de fiul lui David, Solomon, care a domnit 40 de ani. În timpul domniei lui Solomon, regatul Israelului a atins perioada sa de glorie, și s-a construit primul templu, însă inima lui Solomon s-a întors de la Domnul la bătrânețe. Astfel, Domnul i-a spus că 10 dintre triburile sale nu aveau să fie conduse de fiul său.

După moartea lui Solomon, regatul Israelului s-a dezbinat, iar cele 10 triburi din nord au fost conduse de un șir de regi cumpliți, care nu se trăgeau din David și Solomon. Acest regat din nord și-a păstrat numele de Israel și în cele din urmă capitala sa a fost Samaria. Regatul mai mic, din sud, a fost cunoscut sub numele de Iudeea, având drept capitală Ierusalimul, și a fost condus de descendenții lui David. Începând cu Cartea a doua a regilor 16, cei din regatul de sud au fost cunoscuți sub numele de iudei, după denumirea regatului, Iuda.

Din cauza faptului că regatul Israelului de nord era un regat păcătos, a fost cucerit de asirieni. Israeliții care au rămas s-au amestecat cu națiunile păgâne care i-au cucerit și au ocupat pământul. Aceștia au fost cunoscuți mai târziu sub numele de samariteni, iar cele 10 triburi ale Israelului de nord nu au mai fost niciodată una și aceeași națiune.

Regatul din sud, Iuda, a fost cucerit, fiind integrat în Babilon, drept pedeapsă pentru că iudeii slujeau altor zei, iar templul a fost distrus. Însă după 70 de ani, iudeii s-au întors în Iudeea, au reconstruit templul la Ierusalim și au fost păstoriți în continuare de regi care se trăgeau din David.

În perioada în care a trăit Cristos, Iuda era cunoscută sub numele de Iudeea și se afla sub dominație romană. Iisus Hristos și apostolii săi au răspândit cuvântul Domnului în tot cuprinsul Iudeei, având grijă de oile pierdute ale Israelului. După 3 ani și jumătate de propovăduire, iudeii l-au respins pe Iisus ca Mesia și l-au convins pe guvernatorul roman să îl răstignească. După 3 zile, Iisus s-a ridicat din morți și li s-a arătat viu apostolilor înainte de a se ridica la cer la dreapta Tatălui.

La puțin timp după răstignire, Iisus a profețit că, drept pedeapsă pentru faptul că l-au respins, Ierusalimul va fi pârjolit, templul va fi distrus, iar iudeii vor fi duși în sclavie în toată lumea. Această profeție s-a îndeplinit în 70 d.Hr., când viitorul împărat roman Titus a cucerit Ierusalimul. Timp de peste 1.800 de ani, iudeii au rămas risipiți pretutindeni în lume.

Apoi, în 1948, s-a întâmplat imposibilul. A fost înființat Statul Israel, iar iudeii au pus stăpânire din nou pe tărâmul promis. Mulți creștini au calificat acest lucru drept un miracol și o binecuvântare de la Dumnezeu. A fost oare chiar o binecuvântare de la Dumnezeu sau au lucrat de fapt forțe necurate? Acest film conține răspunsul.

Marching to Zion in French!

Il y a 4000 ans, Dieu apparut à Abraham en Mésopotamie et lui dit :

“Sors de ton pays, quitte ta famille et la maison de ton père, pour aller dans une contrée que je te montrerai. Et je ferai de toi une grande nation.”

Abraham obéit au Seigneur et vint dans la terre promise de Canaan, où il vit avec son fils Isaac et son petit-fils Jacob, qui fut plus tard rebaptisé “Israël”.

Israël et ses 12 fils descendirent en Egypte, à cause d’une famine dans la terre de Canaan, où ils se multiplièrent pour devenir une puissante nation. Les Egyptiens se sentaient menacés de la puissante nation d’Israël vivant parmi eux, donc ils les réduirent en esclavage et leurs vies devinrent amère servitude. Après 430 ans en Egypte, ils furent guidés hors de la servitude par Moïse, puis traversèrent la Mer Rouge et se rendirent en Arabie, où ils reçurent la loi de Dieu au Mont Sinaï.

La génération d’Israélites qui avaient quitté l’Egypte avec Moïse n’étaient pas autorisée à rejoindre la terre promise, à cause de leur manque de foi dans le Seigneur. Ils furent forcés d’errer dans les terres sauvages pendant 40 ans, jusqu’à ce qu’une nouvelle génération s’élève, qui fit confiance au Seigneur et pénétra en terre promise avec Joshua.

Pendant environ 400 ans, les 12 tribus d’Israël furent dirigées par des juges, selon la loi de Moïse. Quand ils voulurent avoir un roi comme toutes les autres nations, Dieu désigna Saul pour être leur roi, qui régna sur eux pendant 40 ans, suivi par le Roi David qui régna pendant 40 ans, puis le fils de David, Salomon, qui régna 40 ans. Pendant le règne de Salomon, le royaume d’Israël était au faîte de sa gloire et le premier temple fut construit, mais parce que le coeur de Salomon s’éloigna du Seigneur au crépuscule de sa vie, Dieu lui dit que 10 des tribus ne seraient pas sous le règne de son fils.

Après la mort de Salomon, le royaume d’Israël était divisé et les 10 tribus du nord furent dirigées par une série de rois iniques, qui ne descendaient pas de David et Salomon. Ce royaume du nord conserva le nom d’Israël et finalement pris Samarie comme capitale. Le royaume du sud, plus petit, fut alors connu sous le nom de Juda, avec Jérusalem comme capitale et eut les descendants de David comme rois. A partir du 2ème livre des rois chapitre 16, le peuple du royaume du sud devint connu sous le nom des “Juifs”, d’après le nom du royaume de Juda.

A cause de l’iniquité du Royaume du Nord d’Israël, celui-ci fut renversé et fait prisonnier par les Assyriens. Les Israelites qui restaient devinrent entremêlés avec les nations païennes qui étaient venues occuper les terres. Ceux-ci devinrent connus en tant que Samaritains et les 10 tribus de l’Israël du nord ne furent plus jamais une nation.

Le royaume du sud de Juda fut finalement emmené en captivité à Babylone, comme punition pour avoir servi d’autres dieux et le temple fut détruit, mais après 70 ans, les Juifs retournèrent en Juda, reconstruisirent le temple à Jérusalem et continuèrent le règne des rois descendant de David.

Au temps du Christ, la nation de Juda se fit connaître sous le nom de Judée, sous le règne romain. Jésus-Christ et ses disciples préchèrent la bonne nouvelle un peu partout en Judée, cherchant les brebis égarées de la maison d’Israël. Après trois ans et demi de prêche, les Juifs rejetèrent Jésus en tant que Messie et convainrent le gouverneur romain de le crucifier. Trois jours plus tard, il revint d’entre les morts et se montra vivant à ses disciples avant de monter aux cieux, à la droite de Dieu au Paradis. Peu avant que Jésus ne soit crucifié, il prophétisa que comme punition pour son rejet, Jérusalem serait brûlé, le temple serait détruit et les Juifs seraient chassés et rendus captifs dans toutes les nations. Cette prophécie fût accomplie en 70 après Jésus-Christ, lorsque le futur empereur romain Titus conquit Jérusalem. Pendant plus de 1800 ans, les Juifs restèrent dispersés parmi toutes les nations.

Puis, en 1948, l’impossible se produit. L’état d’Israël fut fondé et les Juifs possédèrent encore une fois la terre promise. De nombreux Chrétiens clamèrent que c’était un miracle et une bénédiction de Dieu, mais était-ce là réellement la bénédiction du Seigneur, ou est-ce que des forces plus sombres étaient en jeu ?

Ce film a la réponse.

"Marching to Zion" in German!

Vor 4.000 Jahren erschien Gott Abraham in Mesopotamien und befahl ihm: „Geh aus deinem Land und aus deiner Verwandtschaft und aus dem Haus deines Vaters in das Land, das ich dir zeigen werde. Und ich will dich zu einer großen Nation machen." Abraham gehorchte Gott und kam in das gelobte Land Kanaan, wo er mit seinem Sohn Isaac und seinem Enkelsohn Jacob lebte, der später den Namen „Israel" trug.

Als Kanaan unter einer Hungersnot litt, zogen Israel und seine 12 Söhne nach Ägypten, wo sie zu einer mächtigen Nation heranwuchsen. Die Ägypter fühlten sich durch die mächtige Nation Israels, die unter ihnen lebte, bedroht. Deshalb versklavten sie sie und machten ihnen ihr Leben durch schwere Arbeit bitter. Nach 430 Jahren in Ägypten führte Moses sie aus ihrer Knechtschaft durch das Rote Meer nach Arabien, wo sie auf dem Berg Sinai die Zehn Gebote Gottes empfingen.

Der Generation der Israeliten, die Ägypten mit Moses verlassen hatte, war es nicht vergönnt, das Gelobte Land zu betreten, weil sie nicht an Gott glaubte. Sie war gezwungen, 40 Jahre in der Wüste umherzuwandern, bis eine neue Generation heranwuchs, die in Gott vertraute und mit Josua als Anführer das Gelobte Land eroberte.

Die 12 Stämme Israels wurden ca. 400 Jahre lang von den Richtern nach dem Gesetz des Mose regiert. Als sie, wie alle anderen Nationen, einen König wollten, ernannte Gott Saul zu ihrem König. Er regierte 40 Jahre über sie, gefolgt von König David und dessen Sohn Salomon, die ebenfalls jeweils 40 Jahre herrschten. Das Königreich Israel erlebte während der Regierung von König Salomon seine Blütezeit und der erste Tempel wurde gebaut. Als sich Salomon jedoch im hohen Alter von Gott abwandte, sagte ihm Gott, dass 10 der israelitischen Stämme nicht von seinem Sohn regiert werden würden.

Nach dem Tod von Salomon spaltete sich das Königreich Israel auf und die 10 Stämme im Norden wurden von gottlosen Königen regiert, die nicht von David und Salomon abstammten. Dieses Nordreich mit Samaria als Hauptstadt behielt den Namen Israel bei. Das kleinere Südreich war hingegen als Juda bekannnt und wurde mit seiner Hauptstadt Jerusalem von den Nachkommen Davids regiert. Ab dem 2. Buch der Könige, Kapitel 16 wird das Volk im Südreich nach dem Namen des Königreichs Juda als „Juden‟ bezeichnet.

Wegen seiner Gottlosigkeit wurde das Nordreich Israel von den Assyrern erobert und seine Bewohner gefangen genommen. Die Israeliten, die übrig blieben, vermischten sich mit den heidnischen Völkern, die in das Land einfielen und es besetzten. Sie sind später als Samaritaner bekannt. Die 10 Stämme des israelitischen Nordreiches werden jedoch nie wieder eine Nation sein.

Als Strafe für die Anbetung anderer Götter wurde das Südreich Juda von Babylon erobert und der Tempel zerstört. Nach 70 Jahren kehrten die Juden jedoch nach Juda zurück, bauten den Tempel in Jerusalem wieder auf und wurden von Königen regiert, die von David abstammten.

Zur Zeit von Jesus war die Nation von Juda als Judäa bekannt und stand unter römischer Herrschaft. Jesus Christus und seine Jünger verbreiteten das Evanegelium in ganz Judäa auf der Suche nach dem verlorenen Schaf des Hauses Israel. Nach 3,5 Jahren des geistlichen Wirkens lehnten die Juden Jesus als ihren Messsias ab und überredeten den römischen Statthalter, ihn zu kreuzigen. 3 Tage später stand er unter den Toten auf und zeigte sich seinen Jüngern lebend, bevor er zur Rechten seines Vaters in den Himmel aufstieg.

Kurz vor seiner Kreuzigung prophezeite Jesus, dass Jerusalem als Strafe für seine Ablehnung niedergebrannt, der Tempel zerstört und die Juden unter alle Völker gefangen weggeführt werden. Die Prophezeihung erfüllte sich 70 n. Chr., als der spätere römische Kaiser Titus Jerusalem eroberte. Die Juden wurden für über 1800 Jahre in alle Himmelsrichtungen verstreut.

Dann, im Jahre 1948, geschah das Unglaubliche. Der Staat Israel wurde gegründet und die Juden herrschten erneut über das Gelobte Land. Viele Christen verkündeten, dass dies ein Wunder und der Segen Gottes sei, aber war es wirklich der Segen Gottes oder waren dunkle Mächte am Werk? Dieser Film kennt die Antwort.

10 Times More Views than I Thought!

In my last blog post, I was talking about our project to get our documentary films into a multitude of foreign languages. I mentioned how exciting it was that the Spanish version of After the Tribulation had been viewed a whopping 125,000 times on YouTube. Then tonight, I was pointed to a different upload of the movie that has over 1.25 MILLION views!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnPaFX0KpiY



Wow! Praise the Lord! Let's get these important films translated into as many languages as possible!

The Gift of Tongues!

Right now, we are in the process of putting the films After the Tribulation and Marching to Zion into a multitude of foreign languages. Last summer, we released the full movie of ATT in Spanish, and it has already received over 125,000 views on YouTube! Now we are working on getting it into even more languages. So far, we have done German and Hungarian versions of the trailer, and we have also added subtitles to the English trailer in Dutch, German, Greek, Hungarian, Romanian, Polish, Spanish, and Swedish.


Not only that, but even our brand new film Marching to Zion is being translated right now into Spanish and German. We have already added subtitles to the trailer in English, Greek, Hungarian, Polish, and Romanian. We also have a French version of the trailer in the works that should be out by next week!


If you, like me, have a burden to reach people in foreign countries with the Gospel and other truths from the word of God, there are a few ways you can help with this project. The internet is such a powerful tool to reach people even on the other side of the world with this powerful information. Also, films like these bring in a lot of viewers from other denominations, and even non-Christian viewers, and many of them need the plan of salvation at the end of the film. Not to mention the fact that Christians who speak other languages have a lot less resources like this in their language to help them learn the word of God.

Here are some ways you can help with this project:

1. Share the foreign language films with anyone you know who speaks these languages as we upload them to YouTube. If you know people who speak Spanish, let them know about Después de la Tribulación! Same thing with the other languages we are releasing these films in.

2. If you are fluent in a foreign language, translate one of the films or film trailers into that language and send it over to us so we can use it for subtitles and/or voice over. Visit the "text" page at the Faithful Word Baptist Church website to get the English text to translate and also to see which translations have already been done, and which ones still need to be done. Scroll to the bottom of the page and keep checking back because new translations are being added everyday!

3. If you are a native speaker and have access to high quality recording equipment, send over audio of you reading the script for either trailer (either After the Tribulation or Marching to Zion), so we can release a version of the trailer in that language!

4. Donate to the translation project. If you would like to see translations into a particular language, make a donation to Faithful Word Baptist Church specifying which language you would like the money to go toward, and we will translate these materials into that language. Some of these translations are being done by volunteers, but most of them are being done by professionals, which costs money. The more money comes in, the more translations can be produced.

Keep checking the "text" tab at the Faithful Word Baptist Church website to see the progress of the translation work (scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the foreign language material).

Check this out: New World Order Bible Versions with Korean Subtitles!

Also, After the Tribulation with Korean Subtitles! 

Running Every Single Day

Here is a riddle for you: I run every single day, 7 days a week, and yet I have a full day of rest from running each week.

Ever since January 1 of this year, my goal has been to run at least 1 mile every single day. Most days I run more than that, but even on my worst day, I still run 1 non-stop mile. So far I am 69 days in and haven't missed a day!

Running everyday is the greatest thing that has ever happened to my running and has taken my training to a whole new level. In the past I had always tried running 3 days a week (every other day) in order to allow my body to rest between workouts. The problem for me was that it was hard to maintain a habit of doing something only 3 days a week. I am not very good at following rigid training schedules, and I am a very busy person, so I would plan on running 3 times a week, and before I knew it, I had gone 7-8 days without running. Where did the time go?! By running everyday, however, I never go long stretches like that without running, and therefore I never lose progress. Even on my busiest day, there is always 7-9 minutes to go out the front door in my bare feet for an easy 1 mile run in my neighborhood.

I am not denying that there is probably a physical benefit to getting proper rest between workouts and following a strict 3 day a week running plan that contains long slow runs, tempo runs, and track repeats, etc., etc. However, I find that the psychological benefit of running every single day outweighs it. By running every single day, running becomes a much stronger habit. It is much easier to get in the habit of doing something everyday than 3 times a week. The habit has become so strong, that I crave running (it's become an addiction!) and look forward to it everyday.

I must admit that I tried the same thing back in 2014 and failed after only a few days. My body just wasn't ready for daily running back then, but this year it has been great. Maybe for someone who is at the point in their training where I was in January 2014 (i.e. not physically ready for a minimum of 1 mile per day), a plan of 1/2 mile minimum per day would work? I'm not sure because I never tried that.

Right now I am running about 30 miles per week and am training for my first 50k ultra-marathon later this month, so we'll see how it goes.

A few other notes about my current training:

- No training plan. If I feel good, I run far. If I feel bad, I run 1 mile. If I feel like going fast, I go fast. If I don't, I go slow. One reason I'm able to run everyday is that I enjoy every run. If I were forced to do certain types of runs that I didn't feel like doing because of a strict training plan, I may burn out or stop enjoying running.

- The majority of my runs are done on pavement completely barefoot. My longest runs are done on hilly trails wearing my ultra-minimalist luna sandals.

- Every single run I eat organic dark chocolate peanut butter cups while running. Since I love peanut butter cups and only eat them while I run, sometimes I'm not sure whether I am craving running or craving peanut butter cups! It has become a Pavlovian response where running and peanut butter cups have become inextricably linked in my mind. I will admit that 69 days into my daily peanut butter cup binge, I am starting to branch out into other chocolates, but I still always eat at least one peanut butter cup to keep the streak going!

- My children have been running with me a lot more lately since they seem to have caught the running bug, too! (or maybe they just love chocolate peanut butter cups). My 6-year old daughter Rebecca just recently clocked an 8:10 mile!

In conclusion, running everyday has been a major breakthrough for me. In the last few years, I've really struggled to make progress with my running. By the time I was 29 years old, the furthest I had ever run in my entire life was 1.5 miles, and I hated every minute of it! I've been improving slowly but surely over the last few years, but the last 69 days seems to have been a giant leap in progress. The biggest success has been learning to love running.

Riddle answer: Once per week I run in the morning one day and in the evening the next day. This puts about 36 hours between my two runs allowing my body adequate time to rest and recover. By doing this, I am allowing my body a full day of rest (a day and a half, really) while still running every single day, 7 days a week. Even the Old Testament sabbath day only lasted from sundown on one day to sundown on the next (i.e. 24 hours), so even the Old Testament saints could have "run everyday" the way I do and still been in compliance!

The Old Testament in 5 Minutes

Over 4,000 years ago, God appeared to Abraham in Mesopotamia and said to him, "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee. And I will make of thee a great nation." Abraham obeyed the Lord and came into the promised land of Canaan where he lived along with his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob, who was later renamed "Israel."

Israel and his 12 sons went down into Egypt because of a famine in the land of Canaan, and there they multiplied into a mighty nation. The Egyptians felt threatened by the powerful nation of Israel living among them, so they enslaved them and made their lives bitter with hard bondage. After 430 years in Egypt, they were lead out of bondage by Moses, then crossed the Red Sea and went into Arabia, where they received the law of God at Mount Sinai.

The generation of Israelites that left Egypt with Moses were not allowed to enter the promised land because of their lack of faith in the Lord. They were forced to wander in the wilderness for 40 years until a new generation rose up that trusted the Lord and entered the promised land with Joshua.

For about 400 years, the 12 tribes of Israel were ruled by the Judges according to the law of Moses. When they desired to have a king like all the other nations, God appointed Saul to be their king, who reigned over them for 40 years, followed by King David who reigned 40 years, and David's son Solomon who reigned 40 years. During the reign of Solomon, the kingdom of Israel was at its most glorious, and the first temple was built, but because Solomon's heart turned away from the Lord in his old age, God told him that 10 of the tribes would not be ruled by his son.

After the death of Solomon, the kingdom of Israel was divided, and the northern 10 tribes were ruled over by a series of wicked kings, who were not descended from David and Solomon. This Northern Kingdom retained the name of Israel and eventually had Samaria as its capital city. The smaller Southern Kingdom became known as Judah, had Jerusalem as its capital, and was reigned over by the descendants of David. Starting in 2 Kings 16, the people of the Southern Kingdom became known as "Jews" after the name of the kingdom of Judah.

Because of the wickedness of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, they were overthrown and taken captive by the Assyrians. The Israelites who remained became intermingled with the heathen nations who came in and occupied the land. These people would become known as the Samaritans, and the 10 tribes of Northern Israel would never be a nation again.

The Southern Kingdom of Judah would eventually be taken captive into Babylon as a punishment for serving other gods, and the temple would be destroyed, but after 70 years, the Jews returned to Judah, rebuilt the temple at Jerusalem, and continued to be ruled by kings descended from David.

At the time of Christ, the nation of Judah had become know as Judaea and was under Roman rule. Jesus Christ and his disciples preached the Gospel throughout Judaea seeking after the lost sheep of the house of Israel. After 3 and a half years of ministry, the Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah and convinced the Roman governor to crucify him. 3 days later, he rose again from the dead and showed himself alive to his disciples before ascending up to the right hand of the Father in Heaven.

Shortly before Jesus was crucified, he prophesied that as a punishment for rejecting him, Jerusalem would be burned, the temple would be destroyed, and the Jews would be led away captive into all nations. This prophecy was fulfilled in A.D. 70 when future Roman emperor Titus conquered Jerusalem. For over 1800 years, the Jews remained scattered throughout all nations.

Then in 1948, the impossible happened. The State of Israel was founded, and the Jews once again possessed the promised land. Many Christians have proclaimed this to be a miracle and a blessing from God, but was this really the blessing of the Lord, or were darker forces at work? This film has the answer.