Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Joy To The World!

It's finally Christmas Day--a day the cynics and skeptics hate with a passion.

We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ because it's a true and accurate testimony to our foundational belief that we have a lawgiver from above who sent his son to be our King and Redeemer.

But here's the thing: The devil can only imitate. He has no original thoughts or plans. The world can only copy what Christians have this time of year--the birth of our King. And He, not the government, is our only King.

That's what the founders of this country believed. That's what I believe and that's what Isaac Watt's believed when he wrote:

Joy to the world! The Lord is come.
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare him room
And heav'n and nature sing.


Merry Christmas!

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Christmas Love

I Corinthians 13

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows,
strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls,
but do not show love, I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen,
baking dozens of Christmas cookies,
preparing gourmet meals and
arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime,
but do not show love, I'm just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen,
carol in the nursing home and
give all that I have to charity,
but do not show love, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes,
attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir,
but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.
Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband.
Love is kind, though harried and tired.
Love does not envy anothers home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.
Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful they are in the way.
Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return, but rejoices in giving to those who can't.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.


Video games will break,
pearl necklaces will be lost,
golf clubs will rust,
but giving the gift of love will endure.
~Unknown~


Merry Christmas!

Friday, December 21, 2012

It's Christmas Time!


In today's world we are inundated with images of Christmas from the media. We are told that it is all about buying expensive gifts for each other. In today's challenging economic times it is a tragedy that parents spend way more than they can afford to try to please their children. The sad truth is that, "money can't buy you love". A holiday is about the time spent together with loved ones. It is about gifts that come from the heart, and it is the about the thousands of years of tradition that mark the holiday season.

During the Holiday season let us remember to be grateful for the gifts God has bestowed upon us instead of envious of the gifts He has bestowed upon others.

CHRISTMAS TIME
© Ronald Doe
Christmas Time is finally here,
It only comes but once a year.
And it's a time to spread good cheer,
To those we love and hold so dear.

Christmas Time is a time of glee,
A time when peace and love run free.
A time for those like you and me,
To sit beneath the Christmas Tree.

Christmas Time is a time of joy,
A time to sit back and enjoy.
The smile on each girl and boy,
As they play with a Christmas Toy.

Christmas Time is a time to share,
The passing of another year.
Birth of Jesus, a joyful prayer,
To show loved ones how much we care.

Christmas Time is a time for song,
A time for us to get along.
To make us feel Lord Jesus strong,
Forgive all those who did us wrong.

Christmas Time is a time to pray,
Put love and kindness on display.
Show compassion along the way,
Christmas Time should be everyday.


Source: Christmas Time, Christmas Poem
www.FamilyFriendPoems.com

Saturday, December 15, 2012

A Prayer For Newtown, Connecticut

Max Lucado released this prayer:

Dear Jesus, It's a good thing you were born at night. This world sure seems dark. I have a good eye for silver linings. But they seem dimmer lately. These killings, Lord. These children, Lord. Innocence violated. Raw evil demonstrated....The whole world seems on edge. Trigger-happy. Ticked off. We hear threats of chemical weapons and nuclear bombs. Are we one button-push away from annihilation?

Your world seems a bit darker this Christmas. But you were born in the dark, right? You came at night. The shepherds were nightshift workers. The Wise Men followed a star. Your first cries were heard in the shadows. To see your face, Mary and Joseph needed a candle flame. It was dark. Dark with Herod's jealousy. Dark with Roman oppression. Dark with poverty. Dark with violence. Herod went on a rampage, killing babies. Joseph took you and your mom into Egypt. You were an immigrant before you were a Nazarene.

Oh, Lord Jesus, you entered the dark world of your day. Won't you enter ours? We are weary of bloodshed. We, like the wise men, are looking for a star. We, like the shepherds, are kneeling at a manger.

This Christmas, we ask you, heal us, help us, be born anew in us.
Amen

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

God's Day 12-12-12

Global Day of Worship
Like the coming of a new year, for one hour (7-8 p.m. where you are), a wave of worship and adoration across the nations will unite us as one body. Utilizing 24 time zones, we will agree with and join the 24 elders, spoken of in Revelation 4, who are already worshiping Jesus around the throne. It is when the worship of heaven meets the worship of earth that spiritual climates of nations will shift as we serve faithfully here and now in preparation for His return.

Rev 4:10-11
"The twenty-four elders fall down before him 
who sits on the throne, and worship him who 
lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns 
before the throne and say: "You are worthy, 
our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor 
and power, for you created all things,
and by your will they were created and have 

their being."

Sunday, December 9, 2012

The Fool

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good. Psalm 53:1
 
Fools foolishly deny God. Denial of Deity is the default of the degenerate. It is an excuse for loose living without the Lord. It is the rejection of righteousness. It is their hope that there is no God. Somehow, godless belief justifies godless behavior. Denial of God is a pushback against His principles. To deny God is to deny His law. Denial of God’s laws leads to moral and ethical anarchy. There is no stability in a society where everyone does what is right in his or her own eyes. Atheism is an excuse to do our own thing. There is no new atheism. It is all old and foolish. It is corrupt in the eyes of Christ.

Corrupt is how God describes those who deny Him; corrupt and vile. These are not just nice people who have lost their way. They shake their faithless fist in the face of God and demand that He disappear. This is what they did to Jesus. He came claiming to be the Christ. He was the Messiah for the salvation of mankind. But some men did not want God. They were gods unto themselves. So they paid Jesus back evil for good. They also made fun of the men and women who, by faith, followed Him. Some were so offended by His teachings that they ran Him out of town. He taught submission to God’s authority over their list of man-made rules. He made the undercover atheists irate because He rivaled their authority and power. So they attempted to kill God. But Christ’s crucifixion drove the final nail into the coffin of their nihilism. After three days He came alive. God is not dead. It’s ironic that corruption tries to kill others, but winds up wounding itself.

As a follower of Jesus, you may feel the pressure from outside forces to deny Him. There is no need to go there. Do not allow the persuasion of unprincipled people to force you into a faithless box. Atheism is for the uninformed. How can someone deny the existence of God when his or her understanding of all knowledge is relatively minimal? An atheist can only say in their heart, while Christians can know in their heart. We know because the evidence for God is overwhelming. We know because we have experienced God. We know because we know Him. Belief in the absence of God is foolish. It is the opiate of the uninformed. Belief in God is wisdom. It is what makes sense out of life.

So be there for those when they finally figure out that atheism is not working for them. It may be a crisis that turns them to Christ. It may be in a respected relationship that they begin to see authentic faith lived out and they desire the same. It may be reading the Holy Scriptures and mining out mounds of Gospel gold that point them to their heavenly Father. Pray for the Holy Spirit to penetrate the deceived heart of an atheist.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Principles of Liberty

1. The only reliable basis for sound government and just human relations is Natural Law.
2. A free people cannot survive under a republican constitution unless they remain virtuous and morally strong.
3. The most promising method of securing a virtuous and morally stable people is to elect virtuous leaders.
4. Without religion the government of a free people cannot be maintained.
5. All things were created by God, therefore upon Him all mankind are equally dependent, and to Him they are equally responsible.
6. All men are created equal.
7. The proper role of government is to protect equal rights, not provide equal things.
8. Men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.
9. To protect man’s rights, God has revealed certain principles of divine law.
10. The God-given right to govern is vested in the sovereign authority of the whole people.
11. The majority of the people may alter or abolish a government which has become tyrannical.
12. The United States of America shall be a republic.
13. A constitution should be structured to permanently protect the people from the human frailties of their rulers.
14. Life and liberty are secure only so long as the right of property is secure.
15. The highest level of prosperity occurs when there is a free market and a minimum of government regulations.
16. The government should be separated into three branches: legislative, executive and judicial.
17. A system of checks and balance should be adopted to prevent the abuse of power.
18. The unalienable rights of the people are most likely to be preserved if the principles of government are set forth in a written constitution.
19. Only limited and carefully defined powers should be delegated to government, all others being retained in the people.
20. Efficiency and dispatch require government to operate according to the will of the majority, but constitutional provisions must be made to protect the rights of the minority.
21. Strong local self-government is the keystone to preserving human freedom.
22. A free people should be governed by law and not by the whims of men.
23. A free society cannot survive as a republic without a broad program of general education.
24. A free people will not survive unless they stay strong.
25. “Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations: entangling alliances with none.”
26. The core unit which determines the strength of any society is the family; therefore, the government should foster and protect its integrity.
27. The burden of debt is as destructive to freedom as subjugation by conquest.
28. The United States has a manifest destiny to be an example and a blessing to the entire human race.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Foreseeth Evil

Proverbs 22: 3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.

This is such an important point that God repeated this a few chapters later...

Proverbs 27:12 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.