The true meaning of Christmas

What a great time of the year! Most folks are just a little happier. They
decorate their homes; they have more friends and family in to share meals
and fellowship. Most give gifts of some kind with someone. In general, it
is a happy if not joyous time of the year.

I realize of course that is not true for everyone, some folks are
overwhelmed by the season. The business, the gift buying, the traffic and
the expectations are somewhat nerve wracking.

What is the TRUE meaning of Christmas, or does it really have any meaning
other than a great big party to our world. I like what Charles Tucker has to
say about it. Notice below:

"This time of year we talk about "the True Meaning of Christmas." OK, I know
that Christmas isn't mentioned in the Bible; Jesus nowhere tells us to
observe His birthday. But the fact that Jesus was born into this world to
live among us as one of us is indeed at the very center of the gospel. It
was "when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman,
born under the law" (Galatians 4:4). We must believe that Jesus was born as
a real flesh and blood baby in order to accept that He gave His body and
shed His blood on the cross (1 John 1:1-2). Jesus became flesh and blood
like us in order to redeem us (Hebrews 2:14). Jesus was Immanuel, "God with
us." (Matthew 1:23). Because we connect this time of the year to the story
of the birth of Jesus, therein is really the 'True Meaning of Christmas.'"

I agree with Charles. If this season puts Jesus more in the forefront of
people's hearts and minds, then it does give a meaning to Christmas, which
is truer than any of our other World Holiday's.

No, Christmas isn't in the bible, but Paul tells us in Romans 14:4-6,"Who
are you to condemn someone else's servants? They are responsible to the
Lord, so let him judge whether they are right or wrong. And with the Lord's
help, they will do what is right and will receive his approval. In the same
way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think
every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day
you choose is acceptable. Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it
to honor him."(NLT)

So, Paul tells us that if we want to set aside special days to honor God,
then do it, but do it wisely. A day to honor God is not about giving gifts
or feasting with friends, it's about remembering our God and what he has
given us.

Russ Lawson

Jesus of Nazareth

Because Of This One Man by Tom Wacaster Many a tribute has been paid to Jesus of Nazareth. "Believers and mockers, skeptics and saints, the mighty and the humble; all have testified to the fact that this Man among men was more than a man." Those who are diligent students of the Bible see in the pages of that inspired book a portrait of One Who was (and is) the epitome of selfless service and supreme sacrifice. Those who refuse to hear the Word of God cannot deny that the life of this One man made an impact upon the world that continues to be felt more than two thousand years later. The ministry of Jesus lasted only three years. Yet in those three years we find condensed the deepest meaning of history and a manifestation of God "come in the flesh." The impact He made upon history for generations yet unborn is summed up in His own words: "If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto myself" (John 12:32). He chose twelve apostles, not from among the scholars, or from among the leaders of the elite religi ous hierarchy, but from the common masses. With no possessions to call His own, and no friends among the mighty and rich, He associated with sinners and publicans - not to stoop to their sinful life, but to raise them up to a higher and nobler life. When zealots sought to make Him their king, He withdrew and boldly declared that His kingdom was not of this world. He was an encouragement to the down-trodden, a teacher of those who hungered and thirsted after righteousness, a Great Physician to those who suffered from bodily ailments that robbed them of their strength and hope. He was kind and compassionate to those who sought His wisdom; and He was stern and straightforward toward those who were determined not to come to the light. He provided unmistakable proof that He was from God by the miracles He performed. Prompted by compassion for those who suffered, He demonstrated the power of God to overcome physical ailments so that men could see in Him the same power to overcome ! the spiritual ailments. His miracles were performed without ostentation and served to demonstrate the authority of His words. His life was so holy that He could face His accusers and ask, "Which of you convinceth me of sin," knowing that they could find no occasion of stumbling in Him. Philip Schaff commented on the pure and sinless life of Jesus Christ: "Who would not shrink from the attempt to describe the moral character of Jesus, or, having attempted it, be not dissatisfied with the result? Who can empty the ocean into a bucket? Who can paint the glory of the rising sun with a charcoal. No artist's ideal comes up to the reality in this case, though his ideals may surpass every other reality. The better and holier a man is, the more he feels his need of pardon, and how far he falls short of his own imperfect standard of excellence. But Jesus, with the same nature as ours and tempted as we are, never yielded to temptation; never had cause for regretting any thought, word, or action; he never needed pardon, or conversion, or reform; he never fell out of harmony with his heavenly Father. His whole life was one unbroken act of self-consecration to the glory of God and the eternal welfare of his fellow-men. A catalogue of virtues and graces, however complete, would give us but a mechanical view. It is the spotless purity and si nlessness of Jesus as acknowledged by friend and foe; it is the even harmony and symmetry of all graces, of love to God and love to man, of dignity and humility of strength and tenderness, of greatness and simplicity, of self-control and submission, of active and passive virtue; it is, in one word, the absolute perfection which raises his character high above the reach of all other men and makes it an exception to a universal rule, a moral miracle in history. It is idle to institute comparisons with saints and sages, ancient or modern. Even the infidel Rousseau was forced to exclaim: 'If Socrates lived and died like a sage, Jesus lived and died like a God.' Here is more than the starry heaven above us, and the moral law within us, which filled the soul of Kant with ever-growing reverence and awe. Here is the holy of holies of humanity, here is the very gate of heaven" (Schaff, History of the Church). Every great story has a tragedy that unfolds in its plot, along with the triumph of the main character. The history of Jesus is not a myth; it is not a novel; nor is it something written for mere entertainment. But the story of Jesus provides the ultimate tragedy and triumph. As God's mystery unfolded in that little, isolated, insignificant country, Jesus began to tell of His death. But His was not a natural death, for He died the shameful death of the cross, the just for the unjust, the innocent for the guilty. So horrible was the death of the sinless Savior that the sun refused to shine at noon, and the earth shook as its Maker finally gave up the ghost. When He was laid in the tomb, the hopes of His disciples were dashed. An immense stone to seal the tomb, and a powerful Roman legion to guard its entrance, those fishermen returned to their fishing business, their dreams and expectations buried in the tomb with the Man Who walked and talked in their midst for three and on e half years. Meanwhile, as the guest of Paradise, Jesus awaited that moment when He would roll back the stone that blocked the exit from that cold dark tomb, and come forth Conqueror over death and the grave. On the third day, He burst the bonds of death. God turned the tragedy into triumph. Today men can have a renewed hope because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The angels in heaven rejoiced at His birth. Men can rejoice today because of His resurrection and ascension to the right hand of God the Father. ~~~~~~ There is an amazing structure to the Bible, unequaled by products of human writings. Take, as an example, the topical structure of our Bible. This is especially true when it comes to the New Testament. The Gospels provide us with the manifestation of Christ, the book of Acts records the propagation of Christ, the letters set forth the inspired interpretation and application of Christ, and the book of Revelation gives us a glance at the victory we have in Christ. Geisler and Nix provide this fascinating summary of the New Testament as it relates to Christ. "Here the promised Saviour becomes present; the concealed becomes revealed; the Logos enters the cosmos (John 1:1, 14), as Christ is made manifest in the flesh. The Gospels give a fourfold manifestation of Christ: He is seen in His sovereignty (Matthew), ministry (Mark), humanity (Luke), and deity (John)" (Introduction to the Bible, page 23). I find it rather ironic (if not tragic) that men attempt to honor the Lord from Thanksgiving Day until December 26th, but pay little attention to the very book that provides us with the information as to how we are to truly honor Him. The rest of year (December 26th-mid November) is life as usual, with special emphasis between Christmas and New Year on partying, merrymaking and frivolity. If men would study the very book in which the knowledge of Him Who holds "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3) exists, they might realize the beauty of that book, and the beauty of holiness that comes with applying it to one's life.

 

#Hurricane #Sandy

We've seen and heard lots of news lately about "Sandy," the storm that struck the East coast late last October, haven't we? Almost daily we hear about the devastation and the resulting clean-up efforts. About all the losses and the heartaches brought by the storm. Seems like "storms" and "heartaches" go together, don't they?

I wasn't there to experience Hurricane Sandy, but I've been in storms before (haven't we all?) both the physical and the other sort of "life storms" that seem to find us at times, no matter where we are. Even though not having been in the area of that storm I can say, with much surety, that a lot of praying went on. Perhaps with a lot of those prayers including the words, "Lord, save me" in them.

I know that I've written editorials on the subject of "storms" before and tied those "storms" into spiritual lessons, but it's always appropriate to look at a lesson on dealing with the "storms" of life. Today seems to be another one of those occasions and I appreciate your considering my words again on the subject.

Before getting into the Biblical references of our lesson, allow me to offer one more commentary: it just seems to me that a lot of people only remember God in the midst of a "storm," whatever shape of form that "storm" is when it comes upon us. It doesn't have to be a "dark and stormy night" like Snoopy starts his stories off with, but "darkness" is really fitting to our "storms," isn't it? The adjective "light" just doesn't come to mind when we talk about "storms," does it?

And "darkness" certainly was part of the scene we're going to use in our Bible reference here today. This reference is found in the 14^th chapter of Matthew and in verses 23 thru 33. Please follow along there and make sure that I relate the events in those verses correctly.

First, let's set the scene, so to speak. We know that it was dark because verse 25 tells us that this event occurred "in the fourth watch of the night." That equates to being about 3:00 in the morning. And, we know that it was "a dark and stormy night" because the ship was being "tossed with waves" and the wind "was contrary." Just so that we fully understand this: "contrary" means things like difficult, troubling, hostile or adverse. Generally speaking: something unfavorable.

Certainly not the best time for the apostles of Jesus to be out in the middle of the Sea of Galilee in a little boat. They were there because Jesus had sent them on ahead to the "other side" of the sea while He went onto a mountain to pray.

Now some of the apostles were fishermen and, no doubt, were more used to being in a boat out on the sea, but most of them were occupied on land so, human nature being what it is, I have no trouble seeing them fairly alarmed by their predicament. Me, I'd be scared to death.

And then, to add another fear factor to this scene, they looked out on the water and saw what they thought was a "ghost" coming towards them. (Vs. 26) The Bible says that they were "troubled" by this vision. I'll bet they were. It says that they "cried out in fear." In some places the Bible uses the phrase "sore afraid," which to us Okies, Arkies and Texans means "flat scared."

That's when Jesus called out to them with some words that all of us should take to memory and recall when we're in the midst of our "storms:" "Take heart, it is I. Do not be afraid." (ESV) I'm sure that these would have been soothing words for them to hear because it wasn't too long back (Chap. 8) that they had been on the same sea in a little boat, but Jesus had been with them on that occasion. When the storm came up and they were afraid they called out the same thing: "Lord, save us." That's when He "rebuked the winds and the sea" and they calmed down. But, He wasn't with them in the boat this time. (Doesn't that inspire a lesson on "being in the boat with Jesus?)

Thinking about these words brings me to recall some other words of Jesus in Matthew 10:28 when He told His disciples to not be afraid of things that "kill the body" but rather, be afraid of the things that can kill both the "body and the soul." The idea here being, if you're with me (Christ) you're safe from eternal harm. Our "storms" are just one of those things that can take our human life, but can't take our "soul" if its secure in Jesus.

But then, up pops Peter. Good old impetuous Peter who would later on do and say other impetuous things. But Peter is going to serve as a "show and tell" lesson here to the disciples then present and to everyone since. Allow me to explain what I mean by those words.

I see a little different aspect here than most teachers I've heard speak about this occasion in a lesson. In the earlier event on the sea, Jesus chided them about their being of "little faith." I see another "lesson in faith" about to be taught to them here in this event using Peter to accomplish it. Take the time to read both accounts that I'm using today, Matt. 8:23-27 and Matt. 14:23-33. I think that you'll see some very similar words said by Jesus on both occasions.

But, back to Peter on the second occasion. Notice he says, "Lord, IF it is you, command me to come to you on the water." (Vs. 28) Notice my emphasis on "if." Doesn't that sound a little like a test? Now, we know that Jesus knew what was going to happen, don't we? So He simply says, "Come." Like, "OK, come on."

Now Peter didn't hesitate a bit. He left the boat and started walking on the water towards Jesus. But then, he started paying more attention to the "storm" going on around him than he was paying on Jesus. He became "afraid" and "beginning to sink" he called out "Lord, save me." Not an uncommon request, is it?

Jesus "reached out His hand and caught him" and then chided him on his lack of "faith." He asked Peter, "Why did you doubt?" (Vs 31) Let's see if we can see a reason Peter doubted. I think it's pretty simple myself - Peter did what a lot of us do sometimes. He let the "storm" take his focus off of Christ. Instead of paying attention to Christ, he began paying attention to the things going on around his physical life.

Remember I mentioned that he "began to sink?" Isn't that what a lot of us do? We let worldly things pull our attention away from Christ little by little. We don't necessarily go under immediately, as we get less and less focused on Jesus, we slowly sink. We slowly get farther away from Him. But, just as He did with Peter, he will "stretch forth His hand and catch us." However, like Peter, it's upon us to realize that we're sinking and where our salvation is located.

Ron Covey

What's Most Important in life?

What's Most Important?

Family, friends, teammates, and the world were all in shock when they
learned that Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher fatally shot his
girlfriend before driving to the NFL football team's training facility and
shooting himself last Saturday.

On the very next day, the grieving Chiefs decided to proceed with their
scheduled game against the Carolina Panthers. The Chiefs won the
emotion-filled game, but all would agree that the outcome of the game was
not the important thing.

Chiefs quarterback Brady Quinn was asked to share his thoughts about the
tragedy in a press conference after the game. Commenting on Quinn's
remarks, Mike Florio said, "Quinn's post-game remarks were eloquent and
heartfelt and they captured perfectly one of the things we risk losing as a
society that communicates primarily in snippets of misspelled words and
emoticons."

"The one thing people can hopefully try to take away, I guess, is the
relationships they have with people," Quinn told reporters after the game.
"I know when it happened, I was sitting and, in my head, thinking what I
could have done differently. When you ask someone how they are doing, do you
really mean it? When you answer someone back how you are doing, are you
really telling the truth?"

"We live in a society of social networks, with Twitter pages and Facebook,
and that's fine, but we have contact with our work associates, our family,
our friends, and it seems like half the time we are more preoccupied with
our phone and other things going on instead of the actual relationships that
we have right in front of us. Hopefully, people can learn from this and try
to actually help if someone is battling something deeper on the inside than
what they are revealing on a day-to-day basis."

Thank you, Brady Quinn, for the wake-up call!

Relationships. That's what life is all about. Yet, all too often we take
our relationships with family and friends for granted.

And there is one relationship that is THE most important: our relationship
with GOD, for this is the relationship that will save us and give us eternal
life in a place where "there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.
There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." -
Revelation 21:4

Sin disconnects, divides, and destroys us and our relationships with others
and with God (Isaiah 59:1-2). But God loves us so much that He gave His Son
Jesus to die on the cross for our sins (John 3:16). Through Jesus, we can
be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:17-21) and receive the gift of eternal
life (Romans 6:23).

Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, we can be reconciled to God
by placing our faith and trust in Him (Acts 16:30-31), turning from sin in
repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confessing Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10),
and being baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of our sins
(Acts 2:38). The blood of Jesus continues to cleanse us from our sins and
keeps us in fellowship with God as we continue to walk in the light of His
Word (1 John 1:7).

We may not be able to make sense of the tragedy involving Belcher, his
girlfriend, and their families. But may it cause us to come to our senses
and recognize the importance of our relationships - especially our
relationship with God!

Won't YOU establish a saving relationship with the Heavenly Father by
accepting His offer of salvation, life, and relationship by trusting and
obeying Jesus?

David A. Sargent

What do Alpha and Omega mean?

I like airplanes and I like flying them, which I once was able to do. (Commercial, multi-engine rating) Alas, no more as age and physical things now prevent me from obtaining a "Medical" which is really what gives you the "OK" to pilot an airplane. I put the word "OK" in quotation marks for reasons you'll see later.

I also appreciate a good story, especially if it's a true one and if it relates to airplanes and flying, so much the better. Furthermore, if the story can be used to illustrate a Bible lesson, then I've "hit the mother lode" so to speak.

You've no doubt deduced that this is about to all come together here today. I'm going to tell you a true story, as told to me by a friend and it's a story that caused me to recall some words "revealed" to the Apostle John on the Isle of Patmos by the "Alpha and Omega" - Jesus Christ.

We find these words in the 3^rd chapter of Revelation and in a moment we'll go there, but first the story related to me by my friend who was personally acquainted with people involved in the events of the story. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did and that you can understand my connection of it to the lesson.

My friend had an acquaintance who was a fighter pilot in WW2. He was shot down over Europe, captured by the Germans and interred in a prisoner of war camp. At the end of the war and having been freed from the camp, he was returned to the U.S. and stationed at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio.

He was received there as a returning hero of the war, which he truly was, and his arrival was quite a local news event. While being driven around the city and being shown the various points of interest he remarked on some of the nice houses they were passing. The driver pointed out one particular house and told the pilot that it was the home of Orville Wright.

The pilot told the driver to stop the car at the house and he got out and went to the front door. Upon knocking on the door, it was answered by Orville himself. The pilot identified himself and said how pleased he was to meet him. Orville replied that he had read about the pilot's return in the newspaper and was glad that he stopped by and was equally glad to meet him.

The pilot was scheduled to go to New York City in a few days to speak at a fund raising event and had been told that he could bring a guest speaker with him if he liked. On a spur of the moment, the pilot told Orville about the New York trip and asked him if he would like to accompany him as his guest. Orville readily agreed to do so.

A few days later they went to New York aboard a commercial airliner and upon arrival, as they exited the plane, a stewardess at the door asked if they enjoyed the flight. The pilot said, "Yes, it was fine." She then asked Orville Wright the same question and he replied that it "was OK." She then asked him if it was his first flight and he told her, "No, but it was OK too."

What an understatement by the man who, with his older brother, Wilbur, invented the way to control heavier-than-air flying machines and was the first pilot to actually fly the first powered and controlled airplane. In a little over 2 weeks it will be the 109^th anniversary of that historic event. (Dec. 17, 1903) I wonder if the stewardess ever knew who it was that told her that his first flight was "OK too."

We've all been asked the question "How are you?" and no doubt replied, "I'm OK." You know, by saying that we're "OK" is what I'd call a "middlin" response. Sort of saying that we're "not bad" but then again, we're "not good" either. "Just OK." Many times the use of "OK" means something like "tolerable" or "fair." Like saying that we're "pretty good" which means that we're "not bad." Like I said, "middlin."

Did you ever stop to think that Christ doesn't want "just OK" disciples. Followers who are just "fair" Christians. "Pretty good" Christians. That's sort of describing a Christian who is faithful some of the time and some of the time not. Maybe a "middlin" Christian.

I think that our passage in Revelation 3 fits right well with the description seen in the above paragraph. In verses 15-16 we see some pretty harsh words spoken to the "church of the Laodiceans." He didn't say that they were bad, and He didn't say that they were good. Actually He used the metaphor of them being neither "hot nor cold" but rather described them as "lukewarm."

To me, it's like He was saying they were "just OK." Not bad, but not good either. Just "lukewarm." Sort of "middlin'." If you read just a few words further, you'll see how acceptable this condition is with Him. In the vernacular of teenagers today - NOT!

If you look up the word "OK" you'll find that one of its meanings is "acceptable." As in "OKing" something. As in passing or approving of something. Or, of it's being acceptable. I'm going to go on record here by saying that I don't think that is the situation with the Laodiceans and their being "lukewarm." Christ says that because they're "neither hot nor cold" but "lukewarm" He will "spue thee out of my mouth." The Greek word for "spue" actually means "to vomit" so, in essence, Christ says that if you're "lukewarm" or "just OK" you make me sick.

No, I don't think someone who fits the description of being a "just OK" Christian is one acceptable to Christ. A Christians' faith is to be more than "just OK." I see the Laodiceans as being an "OK" church and we know how acceptable they were.

I guess that our closing thought should be on answering the question "how do we become more than just an OK Christian?" There are probably several passages in the Gospel that can give us the answer to that question, but I've chosen one that I think pretty much sums it up in one verse.

                        "That we might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful

                        in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." Col. 1:10

Ron Covey