THANKS BE UNTO GOD FOR HIS UNSPEAKABLE GIFT. II Corinthians 9:15
Thursday, December 29, 2022
The Wondrous Gift
The Wondrous Gift by Dr. D. James Kennedy
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
— John 3:16
Christmas is all about giving. God gives. Therefore, we give.
For years spiritual analysts have lamented the secularization and commercialization of Christmas, but I think there is something perhaps even worse: the trivialization of Christmas. Stop to think about it. Santa Claus, Rudolph the red nosed reindeer, a chattering Christmas chipmunk—that trio is like “Three Blind Mice” compared to the Hallelujah Chorus.
Or, when asked the meaning of Christmas, a six-year-old child replied: “Santa Claus’ birthday.” I think this is symbolic of the spiritual blindness of the world as it gropes in its darkness for some meaning to Christmas.
The good news is that at Christmas, we are reminded annually of God’s indescribable gift in Christ. The wondrous gift is given, God’s Son for our salvation¾that is what Christmas is about. The most important gift will not be found under any tree on Christmas morning; rather, it was purchased on a tree outside a city wall long ago.
At Christmas, “God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heaven.” This Christmas, let God rain down His blessings on you and yours. Let us receive Him who has come to make all things new.
Fear Not
Fear Not by Dr Jim Denison
It’s easy to become pessimistic about our world. The headlines we cover so often attest to that unfortunate reality.
Yet these three things will always remain: faith, hope, and love.
As Christians, we should never forget God’s calling on our lives to be salt and light to our culture, no matter the persecution we may face for speaking the truth in love.
And if you fear that 2023 may hold more challenges in store for Christians than this past year, let God’s word through the prophet Isaiah bring you peace:
"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10).
We don’t know the future, but we know the Author of that future, and we can trust Him with it.
Fear not.
Wednesday, December 28, 2022
Surrendering to the Left
Surrendering to the Left by Bill Wilson
In coaching we have a saying, “Control what you can control.” In other words, focus on what you can do and do it. Unfortunately, many have become very adept at recognizing problems, but few have taken the step to control what they can control. Case in point is the anti-Christian, anti-American brainwashing that is taking place in the public school system. Many complain about it. Few are doing anything about it. Same with colleges and universities. “What can we do?” is so often asked. Most don’t realize that the education of their children is the responsibility of the parents and the taxpayers who live in the school districts. There is control. People don’t have to accept the nonsense.
I recently had a conversation with a very dear young man. All he could talk about is how bad America was and is, and how other countries like China and India are so much better. He also pontificated on the stupidity of the English language. He is only 16 and is in AP classes at a public school. Robert Knight, columnist for the Washington Times, recently wrote an article documenting how the extreme leftists in education are restructuring the English language as “part of the Left’s plan to turn the U.S. into an updated version of the Soviet Union.” It’s outright Marxism designed to destroy this nation from within by ideological subversion, a brainwashing technique designed to change a person’s perception of reality. The problem extends to colleges and universities, where the teachers are taught—see where this heads?
The Epoch Times reported, “A Christian law student, who supports the National Rifle Association (NRA), told The Epoch Times he didn’t know he’d been reported as “an extremist” for expressing conservative views until FBI agents knocked on his apartment door. They questioned him about his political views for more than an hour. A journalism student said she felt bullied by a professor who forced students to parrot her scorn for America’s “systemic racism” and affirm “progressive talking points” on immigration, gender-identity issues, “queer theory,” intersectionality, transgenderism, religious faith, and the ideas of Karl Marx, author of “The Communist Manifesto.” When she writes about conservative ideas, she gets an F, when repeating leftist ideas she gets As.
This brainwashing of our kids can be changed. It takes local action. First, the school boards. Hold them accountable by attending meetings. The folks in Loudoun County, Va., did just that. They faced the buzzsaw of being dragged out of meetings, being arrested, even having to file lawsuits. But they succeeded. And they’re not finished yet. Parents can also influence where their kids go to college and have ongoing talks with them about what they are being taught. What is taught now will be how our country is run in the future. And we don’t have to allow this garbage. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Toleration of kids being subjected to this leftist child abuse that has long-lasting moral, ethical and social consequences is, say it with me…Stupid
Revelation 3:20
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear MY voice and open the door, I will come in to him and sup with him and he with ME." Revelation 3:20
John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1 NIVThank YOU, JESUS
Thank YOU, JESUS!
When I fall, HE lifts me up.
When I fail, HE forgives me.
When I am weak, HE is my strength.
When I face trials, HE defends me.
When I am lost, HE guides me home.
When I am sick, HE heals me.
When I am in despair, HE encourages me.
When I am weeping, HE dries my tears.
When I am broken, HE repairs me.
When I am alone, HE is with me.
Numb to the Cold
Numb to the Cold by Dr. D. James Kennedy
… if you continue in the faith, grounded and settled, and are not removed from the hope of the gospel …
— Colossians 1:23
In his book To Light a Fire, Jack London describes a man walking through the freezing, frigid cold of Alaska, where the temperature had dropped down to 40 degrees below zero. The biting cold was searing his lungs and throat, freezing his breath and his hands and feet. He was utterly exhausted. He felt, at length, that if only he could sit down for a few minutes and regain his strength, perhaps he could go on and make it to his home.
Having sat down and leaned back against the snow, he began to feel the burning pain assuage, until he felt a warmth that surged through his body. He began to relax. He thought, “If I could just lean my head against the bank of snow and perhaps catch a few minutes sleep, then I would be refreshed and able to go on.” And so he closed his eyelids and soon slept the sleep of death.
So Satan would have us to be comfortable in our apostasy. The one thing he doesn’t want us to do is come back to God and rejoice in His presence and His love. Sometimes we need to be startled awake and realize that we have slidden back. We need to realize we are far from that comfortable relationship of joy and intimacy that once we knew—that comfort that only Christ can give—and be drawn back to Him.
Tuesday, December 27, 2022
Peace of God
The Peace of GOD by Dr. D. James Kennedy
Let the peace of GOD, to which also you are called in one body, rule in your hearts. And be thankful.
— Colossians 3:15
A young lady told me that all her life at Christmas time she always felt very sad, because no matter whether she was in the church or out, she always felt she was standing outside the candy store looking through the window. Now that she knows CHRIST, however, she said, she is on the inside, and her heart is filled with joy.
Joy is to be shared, and we need to keep busy helping others, praying for others, witnessing to others, and sharing our joy. Joy is increased by sharing. The more we give to other people as we encourage and uplift them, the more our joy is increased. The result: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will protect your hearts and minds through CHRIST JESUS” (Philippians 4:7). It is true joy which leads to peace, and the two are closely linked to each other.
The term used here for “protect” is an interesting one. It is a military term. Paul brings the idea of peacefulness, serenity, into close accompaniment to a military term. The word means “to garrison, to set up as a fortress, to guard with armed soldiers.” The peace of GOD will “garrison” our hearts from all of the buffetings of this life.
We are blessed to know that "the joy of the LORD is your strength," Nehemiah 8:10. That joy can overpower every and all attempts of the enemy to defeat the people of GOD.
Don't allow circumstances to undermine your joy -- NO! Let the joy that the HOLY ONE imparts to you be your strength to overcome every adversity that comes your way.
Can't do it?
Of yourself, you can do nothing, but "YOU CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS YOU." Philippians 4:13
Quote from Dr. Gary Wood
The first time I saw Jesus I was completely overwhelmed. When He looks at you His eyes pierce you, they go all the way through you. Just love! I melted in His presence. Dr. Gary Wood
The Peace of God
The Peace of God by Dr. D. James Kennedy
Let the peace of God, to which also you are called in one body, rule in your hearts. And be thankful.
— Colossians 3:15
A young lady told me that all her life at Christmas time she always felt very sad, because no matter whether she was in the church or out, she always felt she was standing outside the candy store looking through the window. Now that she knows Christ, however, she said, she is on the inside, and her heart is filled with joy.
Joy is to be shared, and we need to keep busy helping others, praying for others, witnessing to others, and sharing our joy. Joy is increased by sharing. The more we give to other people as we encourage and uplift them, the more our joy is increased.
The result: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will protect your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). It is true joy which leads to peace, and the two are closely linked to each other.
The term used here for “protect” is an interesting one. It is a military term. Paul brings the idea of peacefulness, serenity, into close accompaniment to a military term. The word means “to garrison, to set up as a fortress, to guard with armed soldiers.” The peace of God will “garrison” our hearts from all of the buffetings of this life, if we will do these things.
Monday, December 26, 2022
U.S. Military Reports
US military reports that Santa was undeterred by arctic blast by Dr. Jim Denison |
More than one million Americans and Canadians were without power over the weekend as a “bomb cyclone” wreaked havoc with snow, strong winds, and freezing temperatures that affected nearly 250 million people. But I’m happy to report that Santa Claus was not one of them. US military officials assured anxious children that the arctic blast that disrupted US airline traffic would not prevent Santa from making his annual Christmas Eve flight. A spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which tracks the yuletide flight, explained: “We have to deal with a polar vortex once in a while, but Santa lives year-round in one at the North Pole, so he’s used to this weather.” My four grandchildren confirmed the military’s report by opening numerous presents from Santa yesterday morning. Santa Claus has an official addressOf course, rationalistic skeptics might view both the military’s statement and my grandchildren’s testimony as somewhat fanciful. In their view, anything that defies human logic and experimental corroboration must be considered myth and tradition, nothing more. This is especially the case if they can find rational explanations for the events in question. For example, according to the United States Postal Service (USPS), Santa Claus’s official address is 123 Elf Road, North Pole, 8888. The USPS reports that letters sent to this address are received, personal information is redacted, the letters are published online, and generous people “adopt” them and ship gifts to the letter writers. This practice provides a naturalistic explanation for many gifts from “Santa.” Another factor is the bedrock principle of scientific discovery that an experiment’s results must be capable of verification by others who perform the same experiment. Philosopher Antony Flew offered a similar approach called “falsification”: essentially, if a truth claim cannot be proven wrong, it cannot be proven right. If I claim to have met with Santa Claus on his nocturnal visit Saturday evening, you will want evidence: Did anyone else see him with me? Did I take his photo or get other empirical evidence of our encounter? Can you speak with him? If the answer to these and any other investigatory questions is no but I still insist that my story is true, you will obviously dismiss my assertion. And so it is that many view Santa’s “visit” on Christmas Eve with unbridled skepticism. Tragically, millions view the other event we celebrated this weekend in the same way. Was Jesus a great teacher but nothing more?According to a recent survey, 52 percent of American adults believe that Jesus was a great teacher but nothing more. In their view, it is as mythical and irrational to claim that the Christ of Christmas is the Son of God as it is to claim that Santa visited my home last Saturday evening. I believe I understand their reasoning: One: Since 53 percent of Americans believe that the Bible “is not literally true,” they do not allow clear biblical claims for the divinity of Christ (cf. John 1:1, Colossians 2:9, Hebrews 1:3, John 8:8) to change their minds. Two: Since we live in a postmodern, relativistic culture where many people consider all truth claims to be personal and subjective, they are not persuaded by the extraordinary extrabiblical evidence for the deity of Christ. (For a survey of such evidence, see my “Is Jesus really God?”) Three: If Jesus is only a “great teacher,” they are no more bound to do what he said than they are to obey the teachings of Buddha, Confucius, or any other “great teacher.” Four: Thus they can choose which teachings of the “great teacher” they will obey and reject the others in order to live however they wish to live. “The site of God’s surprising presence”The illogical nature of this reasoning deserves a larger response than I have room left to offer today, so we’ll pick up the story tomorrow. For now, let’s close by focusing on the billions of people who do accept the biblical claim that the Baby of Bethlehem was and is the divine Son of God. In her Sunday New York Times article, Anglican priest Tish Harrison Warren explains what this truth claim means for them: “Because God took on a human body, all human bodies are holy and worthy of respect. Because God worked, sweating under our sun with difficulty and toil, all human labor can be hallowed. Because God had a human family and friends, our relationships too are eternal and sacred. If God became a human who spent most of his life in quotidian ways, then all our lives, in all of their granularity, are transformed into the site of God’s surprising presence.” What does the incarnational miracle of Christmas say to the hurting and lonely? Warren continues: “God knows the depths of human pain not in theory but because he has felt it himself. From his earliest moments, Jesus would have been considered a nobody, a loser, another overlooked child born into poverty, an ethnic minority in a vast, oppressive, and seemingly all-powerful empire. We have tamed the Christmas story with overfamiliarity and sentimentality—little lambs and shepherds, tinsel and stockings—so we fail to notice the depth of pain, chaos, and danger into which Jesus was born. “God identifies himself most with the hungry and the vulnerable, with those in chronic pain, with victims of violence, with the outcasts and the despised.” When Jesus was born, “it was not into a posh home in a cozy Christmas movie but instead into a place of hardship and sorrow.” A time for choosingYou and I can dismiss the incarnational miracle of Christmas, or we can believe that “to us a child is born, to us a son is given” (Isaiah 9:7). We can trust that Son with our greatest fears and failures, worries and burdens. And we can invite those we influence to do the same. Warren concludes: “The hope of Christmas is that God did not—and therefore will not—leave us alone.” But we can leave him alone and miss the miracle of Christmas in our daily lives. The day after Christmas is a time for choosing what Christmas will be to us the rest of the year. Choose wisely. |
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