Happy Wednesday

Knowing CHRIST As He Should Be Known 

By Pastor C.R. Stam

John the Baptist introduced our Lord with the proclamation: "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2). Throughout His earthly ministry Christ was known as the "Son of David," the King with whom God made a covenant to establish His kingdom forever.

The Old Testament prophets predicted that Christ would (and He will) reign on earth upon the throne of His father David. While His kingdom was being proclaimed "at hand" He walked and talked and ate with men as "the Son of Man". Wearied with traveling He sat at Jacob's well and asked for a drink of water. Pressed by the throng, He got into a fishing boat and addressed the multitude from the sea. Hated by His adversaries, He was tied, scourged, spit upon and nailed to a tree. This was indeed "Christ manifest in the flesh."

With regard to His humiliation, however, the Apostle Paul says by divine inspiration that "God also hath highly exalted Him and given Him the Name which is above every name" (Philippians 2:9).

Again, the Apostle declares that God's mighty power was "wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenliest, far above all (Ephesians 1:20). He is no longer to be known as "the lowly Jesus" but as the exalted Lord in Heaven. And this has its bearing on us too: "Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: Yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now, henceforth, know we Him no more" (II Corinthians 5:16). Our blessed Lord is now to be known as the glorified Son of God, the great Dispenser of Grace to a lost humanity; the One who in love and mercy "tasted death for every man" (Hebrews 2:9).


Oh, How I Love JESUS

1. There is a Name I love to hear,
   I love to sing its worth;
   It sounds like music in my ear,
   The sweetest Name on earth.
   • Refrain:
     Oh, how I love Jesus,
     Oh, how I love Jesus,
     Oh, how I love Jesus,
     Because He first loved me!
2. It tells me of a Savior’s love,
   Who died to set me free;
   It tells me of His precious blood,
   The sinner’s perfect plea.
3. It tells me of a Father’s smile
   Beaming upon His child;
   It cheers me through this little while,
   Through desert, waste, and wild.
4. It tells me what my Father hath
   In store for every day,
   And though I tread a darksome path,
   Yields sunshine all the way.
5. It tells of One whose loving heart
   Can feel my deepest woe;
   Who in each sorrow bears a part
   That none can bear below.
6. It bids my trembling heart rejoice;
   It dries each rising tear;
   It tells me, in a “still small voice,”
   To trust and never fear.
7. Jesus, the Name I love so well,
   The Name I love to hear:
   No saint on earth its worth can tell,
   No heart conceive how dear.
8. This Name shall shed its fragrance still
   Along this thorny road,
   Shall sweetly smooth the rugged hill
   That leads me up to God.
9. And there with all the blood-bought throng,
   From sin and sorrow free,
   I’ll sing the new eternal song
   Of Jesus’ love for me.

Daily Smile:

In The News:

Texas Policeman Gives Ticket and $100 to Needy Driver
A police officer in Texas -- who wants to remain anonymous -- is gaining attention after he gave a man a $100 bill folded in a citation, Fox News reports. When Hayden Carlo, 25, was pulled over by Plano police because he had an expired registration, he said he told the police officer he was struggling financially. "I don't have the money," he told the officer. "It was either feed my kids or get this registration done." The officer then handed him a citation, but when Carlo opened the paper, he saw a $100 bill. Carlo said he "broke down" in his car -- "What else can you do?" -- and was able to update both his and his wife's registrations with the money. The charitable act would have gone unnoticed, except Carlo's grandfather was moved to contact the police department about the gesture. The officer does not want to be identified, but a department spokesman said he is 43 and has a family. He apparently has a past of doing good deeds at his old post at another police department, and his coworkers are reportedly planning on honoring him for his generosity.

Christian Father of Five Shot to Death in Somalia for Leaving Islam
Gunmen in central Somalia on Dec. 8 killed an underground Christian who had been receiving death threats for leaving Islam, Morning Star News reports. Two unidentified masked men shot Mursal Isse Siad, 55, outside his home in Beledweyne, 200 miles north of Mogadishu, and fled immediately after the murder. Siad's oldest daughter, 15, said her father was killed "because he failed to attend the mosque for prayers and used to pray at home. He used to share with us about Jesus." She said he had received messages on his mobile phone stating, "We know what you are doing, and you must stop, otherwise you risk your life." A Christian source in Mogadishu confirmed the killing, and a Muslim resident of the Beledweyne area also said Siad was killed for leaving Islam. "Siad deserved to die because he was not committed to the Islamic religion," the resident said. Siad's 42-year-old wife, three daughters and two sons have fled the area, fearing for their lives.

Unbelief Now the World's Third-Largest 'Religion'
A new study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life shows that while Christians and Muslims make up the two largest groups, those with no religious affiliation -- including atheists and agnostics -- are now the third-largest "religious" group in the world, the Religion News Service reports. The study found that 84 percent of the world's 7 billion people adhere to some form of religion. Christians make up the largest group, with 2.2 billion adherents, or 23 percent worldwide, followed by Muslims, with 1.6 billion adherents, or 23 percent worldwide. Close behind are the "nones" -- those who say they have no religious affiliation -- at 1.1 billion, or 16 percent. "One out of six people does not have a religious identity," said Conrad Hackett, a primary researcher and demographer on the study. "But it is also striking that the overwhelming majority of the world does have some type of religious identity. So I think people will be surprised by either way of looking at it. The next largest groups, the report finds, are Hindus (1 billion people, or 15 percent), Buddhists (500 million people, or 7 percent) and Jews (14 million people, or 0.2 percent). More than 400 million people -- 6 percent -- practice folk traditions from African, Chinese, Native American or Australian aboriginal cultures. An additional 58 million people -- slightly less than 1 percent -- belong to "other" religions, such as the Baha'i faith, Jainism, Sikhism, Shintoism, Taoism, Tenrikyo, Wicca and Zoroastrianism.

Happy Tuesday - Christmas Day

Happy Birthday JESUS...

Loneliness During the Holidays

Devotions taken from the messages of Adrian Rogers.

BIBLE MEDITATION: “For Thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.” Psalm 116:8

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
I believe that the holidays are the loneliest time of the year. Everywhere you look, people are told they’re supposed to be happy and they realize they’re not. They see everybody else acting happy, and they feel so lonely. Just walking down the mall can make you feel lonely.

But Jesus has said, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). When I’m discouraged, His presence sees me through. When I’m lonely His presence cheers me up.  When I’m worried, His presence calms me down. And when I am tempted, His presence will help me out.

ACTION POINT:
Write down the last portion of this devotional thought and personalize it. Now use it as a prayer of faith and trust.

A Russian Christmas Story - "For Always"

by Will Fish

In 1994, two Americans answered an invitation from the Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics (based on biblical principles) in the public schools. They were invited to teach at prisons, businesses, the fire and police departments and a large orphanage. About 100 boys and girls who had been abandoned, abused, and left in the care of a government-run program were in the orphanage. They relate the following story in their own words:

 

It was nearing the holiday season, 1994, time for our orphans to hear for the first time the traditional story of Christmas. We told them about Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem . Finding no room in the inn, the couple went to a stable, where the baby Jesus was born and placed in a manger.

 

Throughout the story, the children and orphanage staff sat in amazement as they listened. Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp every word.

 

Completing the story, we gave the children three small pieces of cardboard to make a crude manger. Each child was given a small paper square, cut from yellow napkins I had brought with me. No colored paper was available in the city. Following instructions, the children tore the paper and carefully laid strips in the manger for straw. Small squares of flannel (cut from a worn-out nightgown an American lady was throwing away as she left Russia ) were used for the baby's blanket. A doll-like baby was cut from tan felt we had brought from the United States .

 

The orphans were busy assembling their manger as I walked among them to see if they needed any help. All went well until I got to one table where little Misha sat--he looked to be about 6 years old and had finished his project. As I looked at the little boy's manger, I was startled to see not one, but two babies in the manger.

 

Quickly, I called for the translator to ask the lad why there were two babies in the manger. Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at his completed manger scene, the child began to repeat the story very seriously. For such a young boy, who had only heard the Christmas story once, he related the happenings accurately --until he came to the part where Mary put the baby Jesus in the manger.

 

Then Misha started to ad lib. He made up his own ending to the story as he said, "And when Maria laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no mamma and I have no papa, so I don't have any place to stay. Then Jesus told me I could stay with him. But I told him I couldn't, because I didn't have a gift to give him like everybody else did. But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if I kept him warm, that would be a good gift. So I asked Jesus, "If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift?" And Jesus told me, "If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave me." "So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and he told me I could stay with him---for always."

 

As little Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that splashed down his little cheeks. Putting his hand over his face, his head dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed. The little orphan had found someone who would never abandon nor abuse him, someone who would stay with him--FOR ALWAYS.

“And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” –Deuteronomy 6:7

Away In A Manger

Away in a manger,
No crib for His bed,
The little Lord Jesus
Laid down His sweet head;
The stars in the heavens
Looked down where He lay,
The little Lord Jesus
Asleep on the hay.
The cattle are lowing,
The poor Baby wakes,
But little Lord Jesus,
No crying He makes.
I love Thee, Lord Jesus;
Look down from the sky
And stay by my cradle
Till morning is nigh.
Be near me, Lord Jesus;
I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever
And love me I pray!
Bless all the dear children
In Thy tender care,
And fit us for Heaven
To live with Thee there.
Away in a manger,
No crib for His bed,
The little Lord Jesus
Laid down His sweet head;
The stars in the heavens
Looked down where He lay,
The little Lord Jesus
Asleep on the hay

For those of you that have lost loved one this year and in previous years...

 

Christmas in Heaven

I've had my first Christmas in Heaven
A Glorious, wonderful day.
I stood with the saints of the ages,
who found Christ the Truth and the Way.

I sang with the Heavenly Choir:
Just think: I who longed so to sing!
And oh, what celestial music
we brought to our Savior and King!

We sang the glad songs of redemption,
How Jesus to Bethlehem came,
And how they called His name Jesus,
That all might be saved through His name.

We sang once again with the angels,
The song that they sang that blest morn,
When shepherds first heard the glad story
That Jesus, the Savior, was born.

Oh, how I wish you had been there:
No Christmas on earth could compare
With all the rapture and glory
We witnessed in Heaven so fair.

You know how I always loved Christmas;
It seemed such a wonderful day,
With all of my loved ones around me
The children so happy and gay.

Yes, now I can see why I loved it:
And oh, what a joy it will be
When you and my loved ones are with me:
To share in the glories I see.

So dear ones on earth, here's my greeting:
Look up till the day dawn appears,
And oh, what a Christmas awaits us,
Beyond all our parting and tears.

In The News:

American Pastor Imprisoned Without Notice of Charges While Visiting Family in Iran
A 32-year-old Iranian who is a U.S. citizen and a Christian convert has been imprisoned without notice of any formal charges while visiting his family in Iran, Fox News reports. In July, the Rev. Saeed Abedini, who lives in the U.S. with his wife and two young children, was making one of his frequent trips to visit his parents and relatives in Iran, his home country where he spent many years as a Christian leader and developer of Iran's underground house church movement for Christian converts from Islam. The Iranian government pulled him off a bus, confiscated his passports and subjected him to intense interrogation, saying he must face a penalty for his previous work as a Christian leader in Iran. He is currently awaiting trial in Iran's notorious Evin Prison, where he has been since late September, and his family members -- who are also Christian converts from Islam -- are under house arrest. Two days before Abedini was thrown in prison, his wife, Naghmeh, received a call from someone she thinks was an Iranian government agent threatening that she would never see her husband again. "When he became a Christian, he became a criminal in his own country," Naghmeh said. The American Center for Law and Justice is providing legal support to Naghmeh by working through the U.S. government, members of Congress, various governments around the world, and leaders in the U.N. to help release Abedini. Over the course of Abedini's involvement, his house church movement had about 100 congregations in 30 Iranian cities with more than 2,000 members.

Syrian Christians Prepare for Somber Christmas
For Syrian Christians in the midst of a terrible civil war, Christmas will be different this year. Open Doors USA reports that there will be few decorations and no big celebrations, as Christians don't want to attract attention and make themselves a target for extremists. "We will use the Christmas time to visit the families that have been going through pain and suffering," a pastor in Damascus says. "The whole city is mourning the loss of their people, family and friends this year, so people will not really celebrate. ... We will be just serving others. We will focus on getting together for prayer." A church leader from the northern Syrian city of Aleppo says their Christmas celebrations will be somber too. "We are not  celebrating Christmas like before," he says. "We will have services in church and invite church people to come and bring their friends. The focus will be on children more than anyone else because they need to feel some joy." Syrian Christians ask prayers during this time for safety and strength, for the ability to meet during Christmas, for comfort, and for believers to be able to continue sharing the gospel with their Muslim neighbors.

Church Bells Ring Nationwide for Newtown Shooting Victims
Church bells tolled across the U.S. Friday morning in remembrance of the victims of the Newtown, Conn., school shooting last Friday, and religious leaders called on people to pause and reflect on the tragedy, the Christian Post reports. "Bells in churches historically have a variety of functions. They are announcements, they are a call to prayer, they are a memorial and they are a call to action," said the Rev. Richard Burnett of Trinity Episcopal Church Downtown in Columbus, Ohio. "I think all of those things at one level or another can speak to people in our community a week after the tragedy of the massacre." Some churches, like the one in Ohio, rang the bell 26 times in observance of the victims shot dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School, while others, like some in Texas, rang 28 times to include the gunman and his mother in the count. People across the U.S. on Friday morning also joined in a nationwide moment of silence called for by Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy.

Happy Monday - Christmas Eve Day

The Dime
Author: Unknown

Bobby was getting cold sitting out in his back yard in the snow. Bobby didn't wear boots; he didn't like them and anyway he didn't own any. The thin sneakers he wore had a few holes in them and they did a poor job of keeping out the cold. Bobby had been in his backyard for about an hour already.  And, try as he might, he could not come up with an idea for his mother's Christmas gift. He shook his head as he thought,

"This is useless, even if I do come up with an idea, I don't have any money to spend."

Ever since his father had passed away three years ago, the family of five had struggled. It wasn't because his mother didn't care, or try, there just never seemed to be enough. She worked nights at the hospital, but the small wage that she was earning could only be stretched so far.

What the family lacked in money and material things, they more than made up for in love and family unity. Bobby had two older and one younger sister, who ran the house hold in their mother's absence. All three of his sisters had already made beautiful gifts for their mother.  Somehow it just wasn't fair. Here it was Christmas Eve already, and he had nothing.

Wiping a tear from his eye, Bobby kicked the snow and started to walk down to the street where the shops and stores were. It wasn't easy being six without a father, especially when he needed a man to talk to.  Bobby walked from shop to shop, looking into each decorated window. Everything seemed so beautiful and so out of reach.

It was starting to get dark and Bobby reluctantly turned to walk home when suddenly his eyes caught the glimmer of the setting sun's rays reflecting off of something along the curb. He reached down and discovered a shiny dime. Never before has anyone felt so wealthy as Bobby felt at that moment.  As he held his new found treasure, warmth spread throughout his entire body and he walked into the first store he saw.  His excitement quickly turned cold when the salesperson told him that he couldn't buy anything with only a dime.

He saw a flower shop and went inside to wait in line. When the shop owner asked if he could help him, Bobby presented the dime and asked if he could buy one flower for his mother's Christmas gift. The shop owner looked at Bobby and his ten cent offering.  Then he put his hand on Bobby's shoulder and said to him, "You just wait here and I'll see what I can do for you."  As Bobby waited he looked at the beautiful flowers and even though he was a boy, he could see why mothers and girls liked flowers.  The sound of the door closing as the last customer left jolted Bobby back to reality. All alone in the shop, Bobby began to feel alone and afraid.

Suddenly the shop owner came out and moved to the counter.  There, before Bobby's eyes, lay twelve long stem, red roses, with leaves of green and tiny white flowers all tied together with a big silver bow. Bobby's heart sank as the owner picked them up and placed them gently into a long white box.  "That will be ten cents young man." the shop owner said reaching out his hand for the dime.

Slowly, Bobby moved his hand to give the man his dime. Could this be true?  No one else would give him a thing for his dime!  Sensing the boy's reluctance, the shop owner added, "I just happened to have some roses on sale for ten cents a dozen. Would you like them?"  This time Bobby did not hesitate, and when the man placed the long box into his hands, he knew it was true. Walking out the door that the owner was holding for Bobby, he heard the shop keeper say, "Merry Christmas, son."

As he returned inside, the shop keeper's wife walked out. "Who were you talking to back there and where are the roses you were fixing?"

Staring out the window, and blinking the tears from his own eyes, he replied, "A strange thing happened to me this morning. While I was setting up things to open the shop, I thought I heard a voice telling me to set aside a dozen of my best roses for a special gift. I wasn't sure at the time whether I had lost my mind or what, but I set them aside anyway.  Then just a few minutes ago, a little boy came into the shop and wanted to buy a flower for his mother with one small dime. When I looked at him, I saw myself, many years ago. I too, was a poor boy with nothing to buy my mother a Christmas gift. A bearded man, whom I never knew, stopped me on the street and told me that he wanted to give me ten dollars.  When I saw that little boy tonight, I knew who that voice was, and I put together a dozen of my very best roses."

The shop owner and his wife hugged each other tightly, and as they stepped out into the bitter cold air, they somehow didn't feel cold at all.

May this story instill the spirit of Christmas in you enough to pass this act along.

“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” - James 1:27  

The First Noel 

 The first Noel the angel did say
Was to certain poor shepards in fields as they lay:
In fields where they lay a keeping their sheep
On a cold winter's night that was so deep.
Noel Noel Noel Noel
Born is the King of Israel.

They looked up and saw a star
Shining in the east beyond them far:
And to the earth it gave great light
And so it continued both day and night.
Noel Noel Noel Noel
Born is the King of Israel.

And by the light of that same star
Three wise men came from the country far;
To seek for a King was their intent,
And to follow the star wherever it went.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.

This star drew nigh to the north-west;
O'er Bethlehem it took it's rest,
And there it did both stop and stay,
Right over the place where Jesus lay.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.

Then entered in those wise men three,
Fell reverently upon their knee,
And offered there in his presence
Their gold and myrrh and frankincense.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the kind of Israel.

Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord,
That hath made heaven and earth of nought,
And with his blood mankind has bought.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.

Daily Smile:

Top Things Overheard on the Wise Men's Journey to Bethlehem

- "OK, we got gold. We got the frankincense. We got the Myrrh. Think we should get something more practical, like diapers maybe?"

- "I thought this was SUPPOSED to be a WEEKEND road trip. Boy, is my wife ever gonna be ticked when I get home."

- "All this gazing at a star while riding a camel is making me woozy."

- "I still say it wouldn't hurt to drop by Balthazar's place for another visit on the way back. That was SOME buffet!"

- "16 hours a day on a camel. Are you sure this beats walking?"

- "Why should I always have to be in the rear? It's somebody else's turn to get sand in his face."

- "You guys have any idea how to treat saddle sores?"

- "Man, I'm starting to get a rush from this frankincense!"

- "You guys ever eat camel meat? I hear it tastes like chicken."

- "You know, I used to go to school with a girl name Beth Lehem."

- "What kind of name is Balthazar anyhow? Phoenician?"

- "Hey, do you either of you know why "MYRRH" is spelled with a "Y" instead of a "U"?"

- "Okay, who forgot to give their camel a bath before we left?"

- "Whaddya mean we'll be part of history? A year from now, nobody will have a clue why we did this."

And the top thing overheard on the Wise Men's Journey to Bethlehem:

- "I can't wait to see and bow down before the Messiah that has long been foretold!"  

In The News: Obama Announces More Gun Control by January
President Barack Obama announced Wednesday the formation of a new working group on gun violence to be chaired by Vice President Joe Biden in light of last week's school shooting in Connecticut, CNSNews.com reports. Obama told press gathered at the White House: "Look, like the majority of Americans, I believe that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual the right to bear arms. ... And the fact is, the vast majority of gun owners in America are responsible; they buy their guns legally and they use them safely. ... But you know what? I am also betting that the majority of responsible, law-abiding gun owners would be some of the first to say that we should be able to keep the irresponsible, law-breaking few from buying a weapon of war. I'm willing to bet that they don't think that using a gun and using common sense are incompatible ideas. That an imbalanced man should be able to get his hands on a military-style assault rifle so easily." Almost immediately following Friday's deadly shooting in Newtown, Conn., Obama hinted at taking action on gun control, but he did not talk about specific measures until Wednesday. Several members of Congress have also called for stricter gun control measures in response to the shooting.

In Debate Over Gun Control and Mental Health, Evangelicals Diverge From Rest of Nation
In the wake of last week's massacre of 20 first-graders at Sandy Hook Elementary, two main subjects of debate have emerged regarding how to prevent future tragedies: better gun control versus better treatment of mental illness. Both sides have vocal advocates, and a recent survey of attitudes toward gun control suggests where evangelicals and other religious groups stand on the issue, Christianity Today reports. The August survey by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Religion News Service posed the question: "What do you think is the most important thing that could be done to prevent mass shootings from occurring in the United States?" Only 8 percent of white evangelicals said "stricter gun control laws and enforcement," whereas 19 percent said "better mental health screening and support." Thirty-six percent chose a third option: "Put more emphasis on God and morality in school and society." Meanwhile, 41 percent of minority Christians favor focusing on gun control whereas 20 percent favor focusing on mental health and only 14 percent favor focusing on God and morality. By comparison, 27 percent of all Americans favor focusing on gun control, 22 percent favor focusing on mental health and 20 percent favor focusing on God and morality. Catholics and the religiously unaffiliated favor focusing on gun control, whereas mainline Protestants favor focusing on mental health. 

Parents Say Christmas Carols are Form of Bullying
A group of parents in Missoula, Mont., are upset over the religious nature of Christmas songs performed at a local elementary school -- alleging the songs about Jesus are unconstitutional and a "form of bullying," Fox News reports. The parents are threatening to sue the Missoula County Public School District unless songs like "Joy to the World" and "Good Christian Men Rejoice" are replaced with secular tunes. "Bullying is such a hot topic, yet that seems to be what is occurring here," the parents, whose children attend Chief Charlo Elementary School, wrote in a letter obtained by The Missoulian. "When the children are singing about the lord and savior Jesus Christ -- public school is not the place." The school has a number of students who are Jewish, Buddhist and Muslim, and according to the parents, "one of the largest complaints last year was the young children singing about 'their Lord.'" Superintendent Alex Apostle said he took church and state issues seriously. "These are difficult waters sometimes, and I think we are moving forward in a respectful way," he said. "We as a school system want our children to enjoy the holiday season. In the process, we are obviously respectful of the beliefs and cultures of all children and their families."

Egyptians Take to the Streets to Reject Islamist Constitution
Egypt's opposition is leading mass protests to reject the Islamist-backed draft constitution, days after President Morsi claimed victory in the first round of voting amid allegations of polling violations, International Christian Concern reports. The National Salvation Front, a coalition led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, called for mass demonstrations Tuesday to urge rejection of the constitution, which was finalized by the Islamist-dominated constituent assembly after Christians and secular parties had pulled out of it, alleging marginalization. Ten of Egypt's 27 districts cast ballots Saturday, Dec. 15 -- following which the Muslim Brotherhood claimed the constitution was approved by 57 percent of those who voted -- and voting in the remaining governorates is scheduled for this coming weekend. The constitution must be approved by more than 50 percent of voters who cast ballots. According to rights groups, irregularities and violations marred Saturday's voting -- including the presence of Muslim Brotherhood members at the polls, women being prevented from voting because they weren't wearing Islamic veils, and Christians being denied entry to polling stations.

Planned Parenthood Election Spending Highly Effective
The country's top abortion provider received a great return on the money it spent in this year's election, according to an analysis by the Sunlight Foundation, Baptist Press reports. The analysis showed that more than 98 percent of Planned Parenthood Action Fund's spending in election races produced the desired result, making Planned Parenthood No. 1 for effectiveness in the 2012 election cycle. Planned Parenthood, which spent about $15 million in the election, succeeded with a two-part approach, pollsters and strategists told The Washington Post. It used Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's words against him, and it identified about 1 million women voters, mostly in swing states, who were especially open to its message. "Those were the women that we were going to relentlessly target over and over again between June and November," said Dawn Laguens, Planned Parenthood's executive vice president. Planned Parenthood used Romney's opposition to Roe v. Wade and federal funding of Planned Parenthood to influence those voters -- part of a dramatic shift by campaigns and outside groups, which spent $39 million on advertising related to abortion. "There was a huge increase in the number of spots on these issues in 2012 versus 2008," said Ken Goldstein, president of the media tracking company Kantar Media. "Over

Happy Sunday

A Baby's Hug

We were the only family with children in the restaurant.. I sat Erik in a high chair and noticed everyone was quietly sitting and talking. Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, "Hi." He pounded his fat baby hands on the high chair tray. His eyes were crinkled in laughter and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin, as he wriggled and giggled with merriment.

I looked around and saw the source of his merriment. It was a man whose pants were baggy with a zipper at half-mast and his toes poked out of would-be shoes. His shirt was dirty and his hair was uncombed and unwashed. His whiskers were too short to be called a beard and his nose was so varicose it looked like a road map. We were too far from him to smell anything, but I was sure he smelled! His hands waved and flapped on loose wrists.

Hi there, baby; Hi there, big boy. I see ya, buster," the man said to Erik. My husband and I exchanged looks, "What do we do?" Erik continued to laugh and answer, "Hi".

Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us and then at the man. The old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby. Our meal came and the man began shouting from across the room, "Do ya patty cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he knows peek- a-boo."

Nobody thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk.

My husband and I were embarrassed. We ate in silence; all except for Erik, who was running through his repertoire for the admiring skidrow bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments. We finally got through the meal and headed for the door. My husband went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The old man sat poised between me and the door. "Lord, just! let me out of here before he speaks to me or Erik," I prayed.

As I drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to sidestep him and avoid any air he might be breathing. As I did, Erik leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms in a baby's "pick-me-up" position. Before I could stop him, Erik had propelled himself from my arms to the man's.

Suddenly a very old smelly man and a very young baby consummated their love and kinship.. Erik in an act of total trust, love, and submission laid his tiny head upon the man's ragged shoulder. The man's eyes closed, and I saw tears hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of grime, pain, and hard labor, cradled my baby's bottom and stroked his back.

No two beings have ever loved so deeply for so short a time. I stood awestruck. The old man rocked and cradled Erik in his arms and his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said in a firm commanding voice, "You take care of this baby."

Somehow I managed, "I will," from a throat that contained a stone.

He pried Erik from his chest, lovingly and longingly, as though he were in pain I received my baby, and the man said, "God bless you, ma'am, you've given me my Christmas gift." I said nothing more than a muttered thanks.

With Erik in my arms, I ran for the car. My husband was wondering why I was crying and holding Erik so tightly, and why I was saying, "My God, my God, forgive me."

I had just witnessed Christ's love shown through the innocence of a tiny child who saw no sin, who made no judgment; a child who saw a soul, and a mother who saw a suit of clothes. I was a Christian who was blind, holding a child who was not.

I felt it was God asking, "Are you willing to share your son for a moment?" when He shared His for all eternity. The ragged old man, unwittingly, had reminded me, "To enter the Kingdom of God, we must become as little children."

Sweet Little Jesus Boy

Sweet Little Jesus Boy
They made made you be born in a manger
Sweet Little Holy Child
We didn't know who you were

Didn't know you come to save us Lord
to take our sins away
our eyes were blind, we could not see
We didn't know who you were

You have shown us how
We are trying
Master you have shown us how
Even when you were dying

It's just seems like we can't do right
Look how we treated you
But please Sir, forgive us Lord
We didn't know it was You

Sweet Little Jesus Boy
Born long ago
Sweet Little Holy Child
And we didn't know who you were

Daily Smile:
Editor's Note:
 After reading "A Baby's Hug" and listening to "Sweet Little Jesus Boy", I had tears in my eye and a huge smile on my face... 
Just didn't want to run the moment with a joke... Richard
 
In The News:

Mike Huckabee: Removing God From the Classroom Leads to Violence in Schools
In response to the deadly mass shooting Friday in Newtown, Conn., former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said new laws regulating guns won't deter such shootings, linking the removal of God from the classroom to increased violence in schools, CNN reports. "We ask why there's violence in our school but we've systematically removed God from our schools," Huckabee said on Fox News. "Should we be surprised that schools have become such a place of carnage? Because we've made it a place where we don't want to talk about eternity, life, what responsibility means, accountability. That we're not just gonna have to be accountable to the police if they catch us but one day we stand before a holy God in judgment. If we don't believe that, then we don't fear that. People are going to want to pass new laws. This is a heart issue ... laws don't change this kind of thing." Huckabee made similar comments following the mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., earlier this year, saying violent acts should not be a surprise considering the removal of God from public forums.
Islamists Claim Victory on Egypt Constitution Vote
Islamists appear to have won a narrow victory in the first round of voting on Egypt's constitution, though Egyptian rights groups are charging that there were widespread violations, CBN News reports. The opposition umbrella group, the National Salvation Front, condemned irregularities and violations and called for a massive rally against the constitution on Tuesday, Dec. 18. According to rights groups, violations included the presence of Muslim Brotherhood members at the polls, women being prevented from voting because they were not wearing Islamic veils, individuals falsely identifying themselves as judges, and Christians being denied entry to polling stations. Additionally, as polls closed, hundreds of Islamists attacked the offices of one of Egypt's oldest liberal parties. The controversial draft constitution would empower Islamists to enforce the most widespread and strictest implementation of sharia (Islamic law) that modern Egypt has ever seen. One voter, Mohamed Ewais, said: "I cannot accept a constitution with very limited, very limited actually, rights for minorities, rights for women, rights for even children. It's not suitable for Egypt, actually. We are talking about a country that has been in place for over 210 years as a modern state." Israelis are also watching the Egyptian vote with concern, as an Islamist victory could threaten the 33-year peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.
Atheist Billboard in Times Square Dubs Jesus a 'Myth'
The group American Atheists has put up a billboard in Times Square with an anti-Christian message, WORLD News Service reports. The billboard features a picture of Santa Claus and the caption "Keep The Merry!" above a picture of Jesus with the caption "Dump the Myth!" American Atheists' David Silverman told Fox News: "Most Christians are really atheists who feel trapped in their family’s religion. They need not be Christian to enjoy the holiday season." Silverman said a private donor paid more than $25,000 to have the billboard posted above a nightclub in the crossroads of the world for one month, ending Jan. 10, 2013. "We chose Times Square because it is a place where people go to shop and be festive, which has nothing to do with religion," Silverman said. Lamar Outdoor, the advertising giant that leased the space to Silverman's group, said it wasn't the company's place to censor the message.

Happy Saturday

Two Important Christmas Truths

By  Late Pastor Ernest R. Campbell

Dear Friends:
As Christmas draws near, our focus is on two very important truths. First, the fact that the eternal Son of God became incarnate in a human body. Second, what He accomplished in His sinless body.

The fact that the Son of God was destined to become incarnate in human flesh was prophesied in the Old Testament. The Spirit of God says in Isaiah 7:14: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." In Matthew 1:23, the Holy Spirit applies this statement to Mary, adding that the name Immanuel means God with us.

The Holy Spirit also applies what He said through the prophet Micah, hundreds of years earlier, to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, that "out of you One shall come forth to be a ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting" Micah 5:2. The incarnation of the Son of God in a human body is also affirmed in the New Testament. The Holy Spirit says in Matthew 1:18, prior to a conjugal relation between Joseph and Mary, "she was found with child by the Holy Spirit."

This was a great shock to Joseph, a Jew imbued with the high moral standards of the Law! As he reflected on the counsel given to him, that he should secretly separate from Mary, the Lord said to him through an angel, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your woman, for the one conceived in her is out of the Holy Spirit" (cf. Matt. 1:20). This verse certainly affirms that the Holy Spirit produced in Mary's womb the body which the Son of God was to occupy!

The Holy Spirit via Luke gives us a very graphic picture of how God produced the physical body for His Son to inhabit on earth. The angel of the Lord told Mary: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the one who is born will be called holy, the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). How could language more explicitly declare that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the Son of God?

Now let us consider the second important truth, which is based on the fact that the conception and birth of Jesus was produced by God via the Holy Spirit. As the Mediator between the holy God and sinful men, the Person of Jesus Christ had to be both true God and true man. As the eternal Son of God, He is true God, and as a result of the Holy Spirit producing Mary's conception, He is true man, void of Adam's sin.

In the book of Hebrews, this same truth is confirmed regarding Jesus Christ's relation to God and to men. First, the Spirit says that He is a "Great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God . . . who has been tried as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:1 4-15).

Second, since He came to rescue flesh and blood sinners, "He Himself also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Heb. 1:14). Furthermore, "He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people" (Heb. 2:17).

Grateful to Him for the sacrifice of His perfect, sinless body for our sins.

We Three  Kings
We three kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar.
Field and fountain, moor and mountain,
Following yonder star.

O star of wonder, star of night,
Star with royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect Light.

Born a king on Bethlehem's plain,
Gold I bring to crown Him again,
King forever, ceasing never
Over us all to reign.

O star of wonder, star of night,
Star with royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect Light.

Frankincense to offer have I.
Incense owns a Deity nigh.
Prayer and praising all men raising,
Worship Him, God on high.

O star of wonder, star of night,
Star with royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect Light.

Myrrh is mine: it's bitter perfume
Breaths a life of gathering gloom.
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding dying,
Sealed in the stone-cold tomb.

O star of wonder, star of night,
Star with royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect Light.

Glorious now behold Him arise,
King and God and Sacrifice.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Sounds through the earth and skies.

O star of wonder, star of night,
Star with royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect Light

 

Daily Smile:
A father says to his teenage daughter: “Hannah, did you have a fight with your mother?”

“Yes, daddy, I’m sorry.”

“Well, she has driven around the block nine times!!! Go out and make peace with her before she wears out my tires!” 

In The News:

Nigerian Christians Ask for Prayer at Christmas Amid Attacks
Nigerian Christians are asking American churches to pray they will be safe from attacks this Christmas, CBN News reports. The radical Islamic group Boko Haram is carrying out a war to drive Christians from northern Nigeria, and dozens of Christians have died in bombing attacks during Christmas services the past two years. Rev. Musa Asake, general secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria, says he's "very, very worried" -- but he says that won't stop Nigerian Christians from going to church on Christmas. He is asking Christians in America to pray that "the Lord will intervene to protect churches." More than 770 people have been killed in Boko Haram attacks so far this year, making 2012 the worst year of violence attributed to the group.

Grad Student Expelled for Stance on Homosexuality 'Vindicated'
Eastern Michigan University has settled a lawsuit with a graduate student who was kicked out for refusing to affirm homosexuality, CBN News reports. Julea Ward was a student in the school's counseling program when she asked her superiors to refer a gay client to someone else, saying her Christian faith prohibited her from affirming homosexual behavior. Instead, EMU officials expelled her from the masters program. The school has now settled with Ward for $75,000, and her lawyer said her constitutionally protected rights had been "vindicated." Alliance Defending Freedom legal counsel Jeremy Tedesco, who argued Ward's case, said: "Public universities shouldn't force students to violate their religious beliefs to get a degree. The Sixth Circuit rightly understood this and ruled appropriately, so the university has done the right thing in settling this case." 

Happy Friday

The Christmas Story Unplugged

By Pres Gillham

"In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And every-one went to his own town to register.

"So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David. because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child."1

Not far from Bethlehem, bivouacked in the Judean hills with his hoards of demons, Satan contemplated Joseph's journey. In the spiritual battle for the hearts and lives of humankind, this inconsequential couple, pregnant out of wedlock, an embarrassment, were the avenue by which God would initiate His coup de grace of mankind's redemption. While the world took no notice, Satan knew, God knew, the demons and angels knew, and Joseph knew Mary was pregnant with the Messiah. With His birth, it would be Christmas.

God was not perturbed or anxious. His plan was working just as He had conceived it from before He laid the foundations of world. Although not visible to Joseph and Mary, an elite corps of angelic, special agents guarded their every move. The hosts of heaven stood ready to trumpet their praise to God with a celebration second only to that planned for the End of Time. The archangel, Michael, and the armies of heaven stood at "red alert" should God issue them a command. Christmas must
not be deterred. Meanwhile, Satan paced, spat, and cursed to himself, brooding, There must be a way.

While Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem, "the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."

With the sound of Mary's labor pains, Satan stalked closer, determined to destroy and devour the child, the hope of mankind, the light of the world, the Crown Prince of heaven's kingdom. His was a desperate plan conceived for a desperate moment. In Satan's war of rebellion, this birth was the harbinger of a heavenly weapon unparalleled in the universe and was without equal in all of hell's arsenal. In the intimate quiet of this Middle Eastern stable, in a stall filled with fresh straw, Mary labored while all around her the demons lurked and the devil poised for a fatal blow to her helpless child. Christmas was imminent.

The ranks of angels in heaven's army waited in disciplined anticipation for a command from Michael, whose eyes were fixed on God. Before them was an earthly scene not unlike any other birth. But from a spiritual perspective, a great initiative was about to be launched. Awaiting the birth of Jesus was an anxious man, Joseph, and a great, red dragon-Satan-having seven heads and ten horns and a tail that twitched from side to side doing violence throughout the universe as if to destroy the stars in the sky.2 His rage at this young woman was controlled only by his anticipation of her giving birth to the Son of God, the heir to the throne, a seat he wanted for himself.

1 Reference Luke 2:1-20 (NIV)
2 General reference to Revelation 12: 1-17 (NASB)

With one final push the baby was born and the enormous dragon lurched forward. The heavenly hosts broke into praises to God accompanied by trumpets and cymbals. God nodded. Michael and the armies of heaven leaped at His bidding and there was war in the heavens between Michael and his angels and the dragon and his demons. The tide turned quickly against the serpent of old, the great dragon, the deceiver of the world. It was Christmas morning.

As the world slept placidly Mary cradled her new-born. Joseph methodically tended to his family and freshened the straw in the stable while the cattle chewed their cud. "And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'

"Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.'''

On this night, the course of history changed. Earth, hell, and heaven would never again be the same. In a placid Judean town, nestled in the hills, in a simple feeding trough for livestock, a helpless boy-child with an olive complexion was wrapped in rags and laid to rest on fresh straw. God had invaded earth, the seat of the dragon's bastion. All around the spiritual world convulsed with the ebb and flow of combat. The great dragon did signs and wonders, children were murdered, and Joseph and Mary eventually fled to Egypt for safety. Michael and the army of heaven carried them as though on eagle's wings. While the hosts of heaven declared the glories of the Lord and his grace, the dragon dragged the very stars from heaven and flung them angrily about.

In Bethlehem, a baby was born. In heaven, a spiritual revolution established an earthly beachhead that would forever change the course of history and reclaim the hearts of mankind. Christmas had come. The angels filled the universe with their songs. God had become a man.

We live in parallel worlds, and as Philip Yancey says, "One world consists of hills and lakes and barns and politicians and shepherds watching their flocks by night. The other consists of angels and sinister forces and somewhere out there places called heaven and hell. One night in the cold, in the dark, among the wrinkled hills of Bethlehem, those two worlds came together at a dramatic point of intersection. But the few eyewitnesses on Christmas night saw none of that. They saw an infant struggling to work never-before-used lungs.

Unflinching in His determination, God continues to execute His plan of reconciliation. It is His all-out,  last ditch effort to once again state in words we can not mistake, in words that echo from the lips of an angelic envoy in the Judean hills, down to the pits of hell, up to the ramparts of heaven, and into the hearts  of every man, woman, boy, and girl:  "I love you. Merry Christmas." 


Daily Smile:
A church was preparing for Christmas services, and the pastor decided he wanted a banner made for the entryway. The job was promptly delegated to a church member.

The member called the banner company and told the man on the phone the banner lettering he wanted and the dimensions needed for the entryway. 

A few days later the sign arrived, with the following lettering: "Unto Mary Jesus was born, six feet long and two feet wide".

Happy Thursday

A MESSAGE OF JOY

by Ernest R. Campbell

As Christmas draws near, our focus is on two very important truths: First, the fact that the eternal Son of God became incarnate in a human body; Second, what He accomplished in His sinless body.

The fact that the Son of God was destined to become incarnate in human flesh was prophesied in the Old Testament. The Spirit of God says in Isaiah 7: 14: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." In Matthew 1:23, the Holy Spirit applies this statement to Mary, adding that the name Immanuel means "God with us."

The Holy Spirit also applies what He said through the prophet Micah, hundreds of years earlier, to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, that "out of you One shall come forth to be a ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting" (Micah 5:2).

The incarnation of the Son of God in a human body is also affirmed in the New Testament. The Holy Spirit says in Matthew 1:18, prior to a conjugal relation between Joseph and Mary, "she was found with child out of the Holy Spirit."

This was a great shock to Joseph, a Jew imbued with the high moral standards of the Law! As he reflected on the counsel given to him, that he should secretly separate from Mary, the Lord said to him through an angel, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your woman, for the one conceived in her is out of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 1:20). This verse certainly affirms that the Holy Spirit produced in Mary's womb the body which the Son of God was to occupy!

The Holy Spirit via Luke gives us a very graphic picture of how God produced the physical body for His Son to inhabit on earth. The angel of the Lord told Mary: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the one who is born will be called Holy, the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). How could language more explicitly declare that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the Son of God?

Now let us consider the second important truth, which is based on the fact that the conception and birth of Jesus were produced by God via the Holy Spirit. As the Mediator between the holy God and sinful men, the Person of Jesus Christ had to be both True God and True Man. As the eternal Son of God, He is True God, and, as a result of the Holy Spirit producing Mary's conception, He is True Man, void of Adam's sin.

In the book of Hebrews, this same truth is confirmed regarding Jesus Christ's relation to God and to men. First, the Spirit says that He is a "Great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God ... who has been tried as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:14-15).

Second, since He came to rescue flesh and blood sinners, "He Himself also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Heb. 1:14). Furthermore, "He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people" (Heb. 2:17).

Grateful to Him for the sacrifice of His perfect, sinless Body for our sin,

May we all renew our purpose to make the Gospel of His Grace known to all!

 
Away In A Manger
Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head.
The stars in the sky looked down where He lay,
The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.

The cattle are lowing, the Baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes;
I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky
And stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.

Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever, and love me, I pray;
Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care,
And fit us for Heaven to live with Thee there.

Daily Smile:
One day, a cowboy rode into a Wild, Wild West town. The people in the town love to play jokes on visitors. After tying his horse to the pole outside a bar, the cowboy went in. "A cup of milk please." he said to the bartender. After drinking, he went out, only to find his horse missing. Knowing that the villagers did it, he went back into the bar and said to everybody," I am going to have another drink and when I finish it, I want to see my horse outside! Or else, I will have to do what I did in Texas - HERE!" The people were very frightened. When he finished his drink, he went outside and saw his horse. The villagers had put it back. Curious, the bartender asked the cowboy,” What did you do in Texas?"

The Cowboy replied," Well, I had to walk home

In The News:

CAIR Urges Michigan Governor to Veto Anti-Sharia Bill
As Michigan lawmakers are working on a bill that could ban sharia (Islamic law) in their state, the Muslim activist group Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is urging Gov. Rick Snyder to veto any legislation that would block Islamic law should the bill reach his desk, CBN News reports. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Dave Agema (R-Grandville), doesn't specifically mention Islam or sharia -- only "foreign laws that would impair constitutional rights" -- but supporters have said they are concerned about the use of sharia spreading. CAIR issued a statement criticizing what it called the "anti-Islam bill" and urged that it be rejected. At least 20 states are considering similar measures.

Poll: 21 Percent of Small Business Owners Will Cut Their Workforce in 2013
A recent poll from the Wells Fargo/Gallup quarterly survey shows that U.S. small business owners are growing "increasingly pessimistic" as the new year approaches, with 21 percent expecting to decrease their workforces in the next 12 months to a level not seen since Aug. 2003, CNSNews.com reports. Wells Fargo small business head Marc Bernstein attributed the potential decline in part to the possibility of going over the "fiscal cliff," or the automatic tax hikes and defense cuts scheduled to occur if Congress and the White House do not reach a budget deal by the end of this month. "Business owners who navigated through the Great Recession now face more uncharted territory created by ongoing uncertainty in Washington," he said.