The past two weeks have been very draining on me emotionally, which then causes physical exhaustion such as I have never known before.

People in my family are sick and my phone has been popping with someone calling me about something important while I’m speaking to someone else about something important.

My step-mother has had major back surgery, my cousin is battling dementia and cancer and having a daughter who wants her to herself, my aunt on my father’s side is now in ICU because it looks as though she will need another bypass operation, my husband is still waiting for results from a capsule endoscopy after already having an endoscopy, colonoscopy and barium enema to determine where the bleeding is originating, my niece having problems which seem to be clearing up now and on and on.

We got a respite last Thursday when our son’s daughter flew in from Dallas and was here until Saturday, when we dropped her off to her other grandparents who had paid for her trip to visit with them for three weeks.

Thursday night we had three of our four grandchildren with us. We had offered to bring our other grandson from Texas to stay with us for the summer and perhaps take him to DC so he could see the museums and monuments, but his Mom said no because she wanted at least one child home this summer.

We thoroughly enjoyed having our grandchildren get to know each other as cousins as they don’t get together very often, but by Saturday I was completely wiped out. I went to bed Saturday night and couldn’t even get up to go to church on Sunday.

With all the commotion going on in my life I have had to turn it all over to Jesus because He is much stronger than I am. I had to quit fighting Him and stop worrying when worrying does no good anyway. I have received a great peace since then and now He is resting my mind and my body.

Jesus is my best Friend. He has promised He will never leave us or forsake us and that He will provide our needs.

I’ve been getting relaxation Sunday evening and this morning by listening to Southern Gospel music. It always soothes my soul because it is from the heart, as so much Southern music is.

I will leave you with two songs that have deeply moved me last night and this morning:

The first tells you how you can know Jesus too, and the second tells you and me what Jesus can do if we just let go and let God.

And now, listen and get the peace that passes all understanding.

14But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 19:14 KJV

As I was reading this story the Bible verse quoted above kept going through my head.

A local woman is accused of beating her young grandson so badly he lost consciousness, police said.

According to police, Delores Henderson, 55, was walking down the street, hitting the two-year-old in the stroller and slamming it into the curb.

“People driving in the area of Dixon at this boulevard were witnessing this woman hitting this child,” Barbara Matthews with Cocoa police said.

The incident occurred at the intersection of Fiske and Dixon Boulevard in Cocoa.

Police arrived after being contacted by witnesses. Police said the beatings didn’t stop, even after Henderson dumped the boy out of his stroller and on to the concrete.

“As he drove up, he saw her hitting the child in the head. She was slapping him with her open hand,” Matthews said. “The officer described it as looking like a rag doll. She threw him back in the stroller and started to hit him again.”

An officer was eventually able to wrestle Henderson away from the child. The boy got up after being briefly unconscious.

There are times when you don’t feel like watching your grandchildren because you want to do something else, but you watch them anyway and you love them for all you’re worth.

I’m sure all grandparents feel the same way my husband and I and Sue and her husband feel about our grandchildren: If I knew they were so much fun I would have had them first!

To hear the voice of a little boy trying to sound grown-up, calling to ask for money for the American Heart Association makes my heart melt and, though he doesn’t know it, I would give everything I have to please him.

Not spoil him because we realize they have certain responsibilities, but we spoil them a lot more than we did our own children, even though we make them mind. I can’t tell you how much I love our four grandchildren.

Children are a gift from God. Why in the world would an adult slap a child until he lost consciousness for a few minutes? I was going to say, “And in public”, but I’m glad it was in public because she got reported and the little guy got saved from abuse.

The story doesn’t mention his mother or where he is now, but I can imagine Jesus was in Heaven intervening on that boy’s behalf. Who knows what plans God has for this little innocent?

When the disciples tried to hold back children who had been brought to Jesus to be touched and blessed Jesus got angry and told them to let the children come to Him because such is the Kingdom of Heaven.

He has time for all of us regardless of age and I somehow think He has a special spot in His heart for children.

May this little boy grow up knowing and loving Jesus, and may he be used by the Lord to lead many more people to Him.

Here are the simple words to the song:

For some reason I feel the Holy Spirit tonight. I have been down all day, and the Lord has put this glorious music and the message from Jack Kinsella on my heart and has lifted me.

May God bless you and cause His light to shine upon you, both now and forevermore.

After writing the post below this one I just had to find Eva Mae LeFevre singing “I’ve Got a Mansion”.

Thank you, Lord, that you have a mansion built just for me.

Death of a loved one is the saddest thing a human can endure. Separation from that loved one. No more will you hear his/her voice, see his/her smile, smell his/her scent. Emptiness follows in your heart for a long, long time. Sometimes even until we ourselves die.

That’s all natural, but the worst thing imaginable is for us to have a loved one die who never knew Jesus as his/her Savior because we then know they are in Hell and there is no hope for him/her forever.

I’ve known saints who went to heaven and I miss them so very much. I have also known loved ones who rejected the invitation so freely given by Jesus to save them from eternal death and separation from God, and the fires of hell where they can look over the chasm and see those of us who believed, but we won’t be able to see them.

In a way, what they have done in rejecting Christ has been a very selfish act on their part because they have made sure we will never again have fellowship.

My mansion is built or being built. At my age I can at least say with a certain amount of certainty it’s well on its way to being finished. The finishing carpenters are right there either doing their work or waiting to do it.

It will be a mansion like nothing seen on this earth no matter how rich a person gets. And when the world’s richest person dies we are all equal. His money means nothing to God.

If you are unchurched you need to get back to church and find your Savior before it’s too late for you. You will never regret that decision.

Below is Saturday’s Omega Letter by Jack Kinsella. I hope you gain some knowledge from it.

When somebody dies, it is always an occasion for grief, even among Christians.

I know, I know. When a Christian dies, he goes home to be with the Lord, it is cause for celebration, his suffering is past, and all that.

But I’ve been a Christian for more than half my life, and in that time, many of my loved ones have gone home to be with the Lord.

I have to admit that I grieved their loss, in each and every case. For some whom I particularly loved, that grief is only diminished, but not gone, even after many years.

Paul was writing of physical death when he penned;
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.” (2nd Thessalonians 4:13)

Does that mean I am ignorant? Or faithless? I don’t think so. I believe in the certainty of salvation, the literal existence of a loving God and the literal existence of a place called “Heaven.”
My grief isn’t for the person who has gone to be with the Lord. My grief is for my own loss.

Knowing I will see my loved one in the ’sweet by and by’ is a source of immense comfort, but it isn’t the same as seeing them now.

You don’t fully appreciate the measure of comfort offered by the certain knowledge salvation until someone you love dies without that hope. When that hope is absent, the grief is magnified beyond measure.

Your personal loss is now inconsequential to the complete and permanent loss of the hopeless. Your grief isn’t for yourself, it is truly and tragically for that lost one.

Your loss is over, his is just beginning.

We’ve discussed at length in previous briefings what kind of eternity is in store for those who enter eternity without Christ.
Let’s take a brief look at what the Bible tells us awaits the saved Christian on the other side.

Is Heaven a Real Place?

“In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:2-3)

This is a proof text for the Rapture; Jesus promises that He will come again and receive us personally unto Himself.

That isn’t the 2nd Coming, where He comes astride a white horse, with ten thousands of His saints, wielding a sword and exacting judgment on a rebellious earth.

The purpose of this secret ‘coming’ is to take the Church, the Bride of Christ, to the honeymoon mansion prepared for us.
But note that also that He is speaking of a real place. Heaven is His Father’s house; within which are contained ancillary houses, (mansions) and “if it were not so, I would have told you,” Jesus promises.

Elsewhere, Jesus teaches: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:” (Matthew 6:19-20)

That could only apply to an actual, literal, real physical place.
What Does Heaven Look Like?

“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” (1st Corinthians 2:9)

Since the Bible says it is beyond our capacity to imagine, those images we are shown are simply that — images.

John describes it in Revelation 21 and 22, streets of gold, inlaid with precious gems, but I like the picture in Revelation 22:1 of a “pure river of water of life, clear as crystal,” with the Tree of Life growing on its banks, “and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations . . . and there shall be no more curse.”
Heaven is a place of indescribable beauty, but it appeals to me as a place of perfect peace.

Do The Saved Go To Heaven Immediately?

Emphatically, yes. 2nd Corinthians 5:8 says: “to be absent from the body,” [is] “to be present with the Lord.”
Paul wrote to the Philippians: For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better.” (1:23)

Man is not ‘a body’, but rather, man has a body. My body is not me, it is my possession. These are my arms, my legs, my eyes, and my hands.

This is also my keyboard, my monitor and my computer. They are in both cases, my possessions, they are not me.
When I leave this body behind, I leave behind a possession, but that part that is ‘me’ is the eternal part, that which was created in the Image of God.

But From Body to Disembodied?

There is considerable Scriptural support for the conclusion that we already have some kind of temporary, physical body awaiting us in Heaven — even before the resurrection of the dead in Christ at the Rapture.

Paul writes to the Corinthians;
“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens . . . .
Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: . . .
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” (2nd Corinthians 5:1,6,8)

Paul reveals here that when our bodies die (and are dissolved) there awaits us a “new building of God.”

Since our resurrection bodies are our actual physical earthly remains, reformed in the image of Christ’s Resurrected Body, the ‘building of God not made with hands’ that awaits us in Heaven cannot be one and the same.

Further, Luke 16 teaches that Lazarus had a finger to dip in cool water, that the rich man had a body to be tortured by the flame, and that the rich man recognized the forms of both Abraham and Lazarus.

Chronologically, this all took place prior to the death and Resurrection of Christ.

But they had bodies of some description, notwithstanding.
If Heaven is a Real, Physical Place, Where is It?

We tend to think of Heaven as ‘up’ and hell as ‘down’ — but the earth is round.

If, when I die, I go ‘up’ to Heaven, does that mean that a guy in China who dies at that same moment goes ‘down’?

The idea of Heaven being ‘up’ is derived from the points on a compass. Straight up is ‘north’.

Christians often refer to the passing of a loved one into Heaven as a ‘promotion.’ Many obituaries announce one’s ‘promotion to Glory’ rather than a death announcement.

The Psalmist reveals: “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.” (75:6)

Isaiah recorded the indictment of Lucifer as follows: “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north.” (Isaiah 14:13)

Heaven, therefore, is a fixed location in ‘the sides of the north’ from our universe, orienting due north from our North Pole and somewhere north of the highest star.

Will We Know Each Other?

Undoubtedly. Jesus told the Pharisees; “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.” (Luke 13:28)

Clearly, if they can see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets, they will also recognize them for who they are. Otherwise, why the weeping and gnashing of teeth?

At the Mount of Transfiguration, both Moses and Elijah were there. Moses and Elijah had never met. (But not only did they know each other, note that they still had the same names.)
The rich man recognized Abraham. Ok, but that’s Abraham! (He also recognized Lazarus)

Paul writes: “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”(1st Corinthians 13:12)

The Apostle Paul expected to be known when he entered Heaven. So do I.

Assessment:
Heaven is a real, literal, physical place that will we will inhabit with real, heavenly, physical (but temporary) bodies that we begin to inhabit at the moment our physical bodies are ‘dissolved’ (die).

According to the Bible, we will know and be known by our loved ones who have preceded us in death.

Although the literal, physical Heaven is beyond our capacity to imagine, we are assured by our Maker that it will exceed our most optimistic hopes (He should know), that it will be a place of eternal peace, and that our existence there will be one of unimaginable joy.

The curse will be lifted, man will no longer exist by the ’sweat of his brow’ there will be no more sickness, no more death, and all our ‘tears will be wiped away.’

We began this morning talking about grief and loss. We went on to examine Paul’s admonition that ‘we sorrow not, even as others who have no hope’ — yet we know that we do sorrow at the death of a loved one, blessed assurance notwithstanding.

But Paul began by saying, “I don’t want you to be ignorant.”
We can’t imagine Heaven, but we can be certain that it exists, and that every single Christian who ever lived and died is still alive and well and physically in the presence of God and all their loved ones.

And we can be equally certain that they will still be there, waiting, when we get there.

If Heaven is such a great place, why is it that we can’t really imagine it? Think that through. God put us on this earth with a mission.

It is our job to spread the message of Heaven and the path that leads to it. We are given to know just enough to fulfill that message.

There is an old saying to the effect that “everybody wants to go to Heaven, but nobody wants to die.” It’s only true because we really can’t imagine the things that God has prepared for those who love Him.

That’s how good it is. And how important the message we carry is. So important that God can’t trust us with too much information about the Prize that awaits us at the end of the race.

Because if we really knew what awaits us, there’d be nobody left down here willing to wait and carry the message to the next runner.

For now, we’ll just have to take His Word for it. On faith.

Maranatha!

The Lord Jesus Christ is perfectly capable of taking care of Himself, and ultimately needs no defending from—or by—we mere humans. His truth would stand even if no one on earth believed it. Nevertheless, we who believe must defend Him against the atheists and agnostics and Muslims and etc. who are attacking the historicity of Jesus Christ the divine man/God who walked on this earth 2,000 years ago.

The attacks have come from many quarters in recent years and have gotten much popular press. They include Christopher Hitchens’ God is Not Great, Bart Ehrman’s well-written and runaway bestseller Misquoting Jesus (written by a former highly educated Christian-turned agnostic), Dan Brown’s popular but laughably ludicrous The Da Vinci Code, Bill Moyers’ books What Jesus Really Meant and What Paul Really Meant, the “discovery” of the Gnostic so-called “Gospel of Judas,” which has liberal scholars all a-twitter, James Cameron’s phony “Tomb of Jesus,” and so on.

What’s the answer, and more importantly, how can Christians equip themselves properly, instead of just saying “I believe the Bible!” when the very foundations of the Bible and Jesus Himself are under attack?

Never fear: Lee Strobel has done it again. The author of The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith and The Case for a Creator has turned his considerable investigative talents toward responding to the ferocious attacks on the Lord Himself. The former atheist and hard-hitting investigative reporter, now a born-again-Christian, published The Case for the Real Jesus earlier this year. As with his earlier works, he sought out the absolute best experts in several fields and asked the tough questions on a quest to discover the real Jesus. The results in this book are stunning. It’s Strobel’s best work yet.

What sets this book apart is that Strobel plays much more of the devil’s advocate (heh—in this case, literally) than in previous books by really digging into the atheistic and etc. objections. And when he interviews his experts, he challenges them several different ways to “prove it!”

One of the best sections is Strobel’s interview with Michael Licona, one of the world’s foremost New Testament scholars. During the two-chapter interview recorded by Strobel, Licona uses five pieces of minimal historical evidence that even most ultra liberal, atheist and agnostic scholars agree on to make the case that Jesus Christ rose from the dead—that He was/is who we believe Him to be:

1. Jesus was killed by crucifixion
2. Jesus’ disciples believed that he rose from the dead and appeared to them in the flesh
3. Saul’s conversion from church persecutor to the Christian champion, Paul
4. Jesus’ half-brother, James, converted from skeptic during Jesus’ ministry to believer and leader after His resurrection
5. The tomb was empty

Again, a large majority of historians, including liberal, atheist or agnostic scholars, accept those central facts AS undeniable facts, says Licona. And he definitely would know.

And that’s just a small taster of what’s in this book. It’s intensely scholarly, thought-provoking, challenging and, ultimately, edifying. If you truly know who you worship and why, you won’t have your faith knocked flat by the latest attack from an Ehrman or Hitchins, or from a breathless media frenzy over a “lost” gospel. However, if you are ignorant about what you believe, you can and will be knocked flat and will question what you believe, because you will not know better.

Don’t be an ignorant Christian (as in “lacking knowledge and understanding”). Arm yourself with knowledge, as we are commanded to do. As the apostle Peter wrote (2 Peter 1:3-11):

“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

“Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

In 1 Peter 3, the apostle says: “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”

“Add to your faith…knowledge…” Or, to quote the old cartoon show, “Knowing is half the battle.”

Get Strobel’s book, read it, absorb it, and, above all else, absorb your scripture—which is the final (and only) authority. You won’t be disappointed.

1And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

2(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David)

5To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

7And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

15And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

16And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

17And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

18And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

20And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

21And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

22And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;

23(As it is written in the law of the LORD, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord)

24And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

25And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.

26And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

27And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,

28Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

29Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:

30For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

31Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

32A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

33And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.

34And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;

35(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

36And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;

37And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

38And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

39And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.

40And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

41Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.

42And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.

43And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.

44But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.

45And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.

46And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.

47And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.

48And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.

49And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?

50And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.

51And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.

52And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

No need to say anymore.

A few years ago, my wife and I attended a conference at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Mich., which focused on music and arts in worship. One of the presenters was Dennis Dewey, who has a passion for oral presentations of the Bible.

His methodology makes perfect sense, because the Bible—scripture—was always read to people until relatively recently, before the printing press (and literacy) made the Bible physically accessible to everyone. If I remember correctly, Dewey said to take note of how some passages seem repetitive, possibly because the text often lends itself more to oral presentation than written presentation.

During the weekend conference, we were given a copy of the following, which I think is magnificent. We always seem to think of the warm and cuddly baby Jesus and how indescribably wonderful a gift He was. But how often do we reflect that the gift of the baby Jesus culminated at the cross?

This is meant to be spoken aloud, performed during a service or Christmas play—or Easter play, which would be equally apropos. Enjoy, and have a merry and blessed Christmas!

ONE: In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. (This was the first enrollment when Quirinius was governor of Syria.)

TWO: Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was perverting the people; and after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. I will therefore chastise him and release him.”

ONE: And all went to be enrolled to their own cities. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

TWO: But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. So Pilate gave sentence that their demand should be granted. He released Barabbas, the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, whom they asked for, but Jesus he delivered up to their will.

ONE: And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered.

TWO: And when they came to the place which is called the skull, there they crucified him, and two criminals—one on the right and one on the left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

ONE: And she brought forth her first-born son and wrapped him swaddling cloths…

TWO: And they cast lots to divide his garments.

ONE: …and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them in the inn. And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

TWO: And the people stood by, watching.

ONE: And an angel of the Lord appeared to them. And the glory of the Lord shone around them. And they were filled with fear! But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for, behold, I bring you good news of great joy which shall be for all the people. For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

TWO: But the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others! If this IS the Christ of God, God’s chosen One, let him save himself!”

ONE: And this will be a sign for you…

TWO: And while the sun’s light failed, the curtain of the temple was torn in two. And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!”

ONE: ….You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths…

TWO: Then Joseph of Arimathea took down the body of Jesus and wrapped it in a linen shroud…

ONE: …and lying in a manger.

TWO: …and laid him in a rock-hewn tomb.

[PAUSE, as the tellers switch stories]

TWO: And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and earth peace among people of God’s favor!”

ONE: The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid, and returned and prepared spices and ointments.

TWO: When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened that the Lord has made known to us!”

ONE: And on the first day of the week at early dawn they went to the tomb.

TWO: And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

ONE: And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb! But when they went in, they did not see the body!

TWO: And when the shepherds saw the babe lying in the manger, they made known the saying which had been told them concerning the child.

ONE: While they were perplexed about this, suddenly, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel, and they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? Remember how he told you when he was still in Galilee that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinners and be crucified and on the third day rise?”

TWO: And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds had told them. But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.

ONE: And they did remember his words, and, returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest!

TWO: And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them!

ONE: But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.

– Composed by Luke’s Community/Rearranged by Dennis Dewey, 1995

(If you pass this on to anyone else, please include the credit line!)

What do you think of when you think of Christmas? Lights, trees in your house, wreaths, gifts, meals, family time?

We traditionally have all these symbols at Christmas and spend gads of money so we can buy gifts the recipients don’t really need and we could give to them all year long without a holiday.

To the kids it’s Santa and the reindeer, school vacation and excitement on Christmas Eve to see what kind of haul they will get this time.

To some it’s a culmination of a year’s worth of shopping and hiding for the big day.

How many think of what Christmas really is? You don’t get gifts when you tell the story of God made flesh and born of a virgin, come to earth to save us from our sins and eternal spiritual death. But if you believe it and accept Jesus as the Messiah you get the Greatest Gift of all: eternal life and fellowship with God Himself.

Christmas and Easter are so holy we actually celebrate both in Christian churches of any denomination.

Some people think they have never sinned, but fail to understand that when Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit they passed along a gene in every person’s DNA that was labeled “Sin and Eternal Spiritual Death”. Every person except for One.

Today it’s trendy to say anything to do with the Bible is fiction written over 2,000 years ago and not applicable today and certainly not proven science.

It’s strange, though, that when one studies the Bible he or she can follow the thread from the Old Testament prophesying the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ to the New Testament showing exactly how it all came about just as the prophets wrote.

Just as the mother of Moses hid her son so he wouldn’t be killed by Pharoah’s men, so did Joseph and Mary flee to Egypt to escape the death sentence placed on the heads of all boys under the age of two by Herod, who was afraid this King of the Jews was going to take his throne.

We think of Mary and Joseph as being homeless and Jesus being born homeless when that is not the case at all. They had a home in Nazareth, but a decree went out by Caesar Augustus that all men would return to the city of their birth and register and pay taxes. It was on this trip that Mary gave birth. They were homeless only in the sense that all the hotel rooms were full and they took refuge in a kind man’s stable, where she gave birth to the King of Kings.

Everything the prophets wrote about Jesus came true down to the tiniest detail.

Isaiah wrote that He went as a lamb to his shearers and spoke not a word when accused. He wrote that by His stripes we are healed.

He did have stripes on His body, you know. It wasn’t the sanitized version of crucifixion we have always imagined until we actually saw a depiction of it in “The Passion of the Christ”.

Yes, I knew He was beaten, I knew He had a crown of thorns placed upon His head, I knew He willingly lay down and had the nails put through His feet and wrists (it had to be the wrists or the hands would have torn and defeated the purpose of execution), I knew He gave the care of His mother to John, and I knew He cried out when the Father turned His back on Him as He became sin for you and for me. I just never imagined how extremely horrible it was. But, remember, He came down off that cross and went to the grave but only for three days. He lives even now!

Good Friday and Easter are the reasons we celebrate Christmas. It was to die and rise again that He stepped into space and time. He committed no sin, but became our sin that we might have the fellowship with God the way He intended it before Satan successfully tempted Eve.

Yes, by His stripes we are healed and by His blood we are sealed—forever if we just accept Him on His terms as a child would do. Accept by faith He is the One and only begotten Son of the One and only God Who died that we might have eternal life and fellowship with this God Who loves us so much He gave His most precious Only Begotten Son because He was the only Perfect Lamb Who could take away the sins of the world.

You can’t reason God; you have to believe as a child believes, only this isn’t a fairy tale and the consequences of not believing are eternal.

I honestly believe that when He was on that cross He looked down through the ages and saw you and me as individuals. Why couldn’t He? He’s God.

So enjoy the gifts and relax from the shopping and just think of what Christmas and its companion holy day are all about, because without one we couldn’t have the other, and without either we would be eternally separated from God.

We don’t deserve His love and we still sin because we are human, but our goal is to accept Him as our savior and try to walk in His footsteps. We won’t completely succeed until we are physically with Him for eternity, but it’s so much better than believing everyone who doesn’t believe will have their heads lopped off. That’s only physical, and what He offers is spiritual.

For some strange reason some people, most people, will not choose Jesus over Satan and will be doomed to eternity in Hell, where the physical punishment won’t be as bad as the mental anguish of knowing they could have prevented it and could have had fellowship with God. They will see those they loved in Heaven while those they loved will not be able to see or remember them.

This is because God gave us all free choice to decide for ourselves. It’s not what He wants and the Bible says that one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God. For some that confession will come too late.

I wish you all a Happy Birthday to Christ, the Messiah still rejected by His own people. One day, soon I hope, they will see He is the King God promised them, and you will too if you haven’t already.

Sometimes I just think this world is going to hell in a handbasket, and I long for the day when I will be in God’s Eternal Kingdom and no longer have to worry about what’s going on in this world.

I feel that God has begun to withdraw His blessing from our own country and yet I pray for the sake of the believers He will not completely withdraw His blessing from us.

We turn our heads and look the other way on sin that God declared is sin from the beginning of our awareness of Him. We try to justify it as being a sign of modern times and modern thinking, but if God said it was wrong a million years ago it’s still wrong today.

We allow our unborn to be killed in utero because it’s the woman’s body. Guess what? Our bodies are God’s and not ours.

Yet, because we are human, we constantly sin. That’s why we should go to Him daily confessing our sins in order to be sanctified by Him. Sanctification is not something you can grab onto and keep unless you treat your mind and body as God wants you to treat it. It does not affect your salvation, but we are to be as pure as possible before our Lord. That’s why we pray for forgiveness of our sins, and we do it daily.

Our bodies are not our own and when people realize that maybe we can get back on track.

Unfortunately I just see us getting worse with demands of same-sex marriage, pedophilia, doing anything that is pleasurable to us and nothing that is pleasing to God, our Creator.

I have felt strongly about these issues for a long time.

I was distressed to read that Israeli Vice Premier Haim Ramon wants to cede part of control of Jerusalem to the Palestinian Authority.

“The government does not have a majority (to support) Haim Ramon’s opinions on anything to do with Jerusalem,” Pensioners Party Chairman Rafi Eitan said Tuesday following the exposure of the vice premier’s letter calling for the division of Jerusalem and the establishment of joint sovereignty over the city’s holy sites.

I totally agree with that statement.

Where does this man get off thinking he can give away one grain of sand of the land given to the Jews by God Almighty Himself? He holds the deed to that property and Jesus even instructed us to pray for peace in Jerusalem, the city He loves so much.

There will never be real peace in that city until Jesus sets foot on it again, but praying for the peace in Jerusalem is something I do daily.

Israelis shed their blood and lost their sons and daughters in battles brought against them when they recaptured the land that had been taken from them for 2000 years.

Since the election of Olmert we are seeing a policy which is disturbing in that he seems willing to bend over backwards to do the bidding of the Palestinians, all in the name of a peace that will never come.

The Palestinians and all Muslims are sworn to destroy Israel. Not just destroy it, but push the people into the sea.

Now it seems members of the government are doing their level best to see to it the Palestinians get their way.

I’m not an Israeli citizen so I have no say in their internal affairs, but I can say I hope someone who is stronger against the threats to Israel will get elected and soon.

I have read reports Olmert is even considering granting the right of return to Palestinians who left Israel of their own accord when the state of Israel was re-created.

These people or their ancestors were given the opportunity in 1948 to remain in their homes on their property and become a part of Israel.

They can be elected to the Knesset and enjoy full citizenship. That’s for those who decided to stay. The others left and gave up any claim to the land when they did.

If they were to get the right of return to Israel it wouldn’t be long before they would take over the government and run the Jews into the sea.

I don’t see God allowing that to happen.