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let's talk...

3/11/2020

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                             Let’s Talk…
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us; And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. 1John 5:14-15

THESE ARE THE MASTER-VERSES ON PRAYER. All the promises and instructions on prayer come under these verses. “According to His will.” Jesus lived and prayed that way. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. (Matthew 26:39)
 
 “iF IT BE THY WILL, LET THIS CUP PASS FROM ME." We should learn to think and pray that way. God’s will is the highest order and the greatest blessing we can imagine. “Thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven…” (Matthew 6:10)
 
A SONG SAYS: “Thank you for the valley, I walked through today.” Jesus’ disciples liked it better on the mountain of transfiguration. We read the text of that experience on Mount Herman:
 
"And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elijah talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.
 
 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.
 
And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead." (Matthew 17:1–9, KJV)
 
I LEARNED WHILE WORKING IN THE GARDEN that you can “get more taters” if you dig all around and go a little deeper. Let’s dig a little deeper. The disciples Jesus selected, do not appear to be anything special. They were out of their league when they teamed up with Jesus. They had no idea what they were getting into. How on earth would Jesus launch a world-wide ministry with these fellows? They were unlearned and selfish to the core. It was like trying to make a silk purse out of a fertilizer sack.
 
THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING ON THE MOUNTAIN or what was about to take place. When it took place, they didn’t know what to do with it. “Man alive! We have arrived! Let’s make this a permanent thing. Let’s build three shelters: one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” They wanted to stay on the mountain top, permanently! They didn’t know that was a temporary meeting. But they needed this one-time experience. They would need to remember it many times. I’ve had a few extraordinary experiences that have been good to remember. I'm sure some of you have had unusual times when God came through in an unusual way and you are helped by remembering them. 

GOD BROUGHT THEM UP ON THE MOUNTAIN for a “show and tell” session. Their real, long-term mission was going to be in the valley, down where it was ugly. It was hot and sweaty in the valley. People got sick and died in the valley. People fought and squabbled and killed one another in the valley. They wouldn’t need a retirement program because they wouldn’t live that long. The hardened Roman soldiers said that Christians died well. Tradition and various records say that the disciples all died a violent death, all but John, who lived to be 93-94. (Judas hanged himself.)
 
JESUS HAD TOLD THEM AT THE BEGINNING: And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (Luke 9:23)

SO, BEING A CHRISTIAN IS NOT FOR SNOWFLAKES AND SISSIES. People are not going to make it easy for you to be a Christian. If you are dead-serious about being a Christian, you are going to need a firm grip on the Bible and learn how to pray. Being a Christian involves a partnership between you and God; a relationship. It’s not just a set of rules and a set of songs to sing. We need to meet with God every morning and then to pray throughout the day. I like:

Let the words of my mouth,and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

Memory Verse This Month:
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.  (Psalm 91:1-2)

Read Through the Bible in a Year 
March 11, 2020 - WEDNESDAY
 A.M. Deuteronomy 14-16   P.M. Mark 13:14-37
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

Song for Today: 
It’s Not an Easy Road (3:16) (Peterson Trio)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK5kTlDiTxQ
 
You may have to adjust the volume and/or delete an ad.
 
 
 
 
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why have ye done this?

3/9/2020

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            Why Have Ye Done This?
And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?  (Judges 2:2)
 
(I WROTE THIS ARTICLE FOUR YEARS AGO. But I need to edit it and send it out again. Our new readers haven’t read it and we all need to be reminded.)
 
OUR NATION IS IN MORAL CRISIS. Many Americans had rather cuss and rail as to pray. Our nation increasingly rejects the Bible as its moral anchor and authority.
 
WE HAVE BECOME A CULTURE OF DEATH and do not seem to notice or care. We have moved from abortion to infanticide (recently in Virginia). We are moving rapidly toward euthanasia (mercy killing) and the next step is enforced euthanasia as was practiced in NAZI Germany under Hitler. Germany killed over 300,000 infirmed Germans before turning on the Jews. They were called: “useless bread eaters.” When we have the death of God, we soon have the death of man. It is as certain as night following day.
 
IN AMERICA,THE MOTHER HAS TO SIGN THE EXECUTION ORDER for the death of her unborn baby. The president of the United States or the doctor cannot do that. Only the mother. Only a tiny fraction of the abortions is to save the life of the mother, or for rape or incest. The rest of them are “convenience” killings, murder. We have murdered over 60 million of the most helpless people in our nation and we wonder why our hearts are so hard and hateful toward each other.

CHILD ABUSE HAS ROCKETED SINCE WE EMBRACED ABORTION. A mentality of “kill those who bother me” generates a cruel society. If killing those who bother us is the order of the day, knives and stones will do. Cain killed Abel without a gun.
 
HITLER KILLED 6 MILLION JEWS. We have out-murdered Hitler ten times. The government didn’t force it upon us. The government allowed us to do what our own wicked impulses influenced us to do; millions of us! Millions of mothers murdering millions of babies. Many boyfriends and husbands and parents have insisted that it be done.
 
AND GOD DIDN'T NOTICE 60-MILLION BABIES SHOWING UP IN HEAVEN before their time to be there?
 
WE GOT THE "SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENT" bad wrong and now we are getting other things wrong. We have become a culture of death and defiance of the God of Heaven. We will tell God what He can have and what is right and wrong. Half of our nation wants the people of God to shut up and let the wicked make the rules for everyone to live under.  We would do well to pause and do some serious thinking.

GOD IS OVER ALL NATIONS AS WELL AS INDIVIDUALS. God is over Israel and God is over America. We would do well to read God’s opinion on how a nation should conduct itself. A nation that serves God is always in great danger when an old generation dies off and a new generation takes over. Put them in fear, O Lord: that the nations may know   themselves to be but men. Selah. (Psalm 9:20)

And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.  (Judges 2:7)
 
IN OUR DAY, THE DANGER OF A NEW GENERATION should be taught. There are token young people who are truly smart and realize they have a lot to learn. But as a whole, the younger generation thinks it already knows everything and is smarter than the “old folks”. The younger generation cannot spell D-A-N-G-E-R or W-I-S-D-O-M. I knew a teenager who was arguing with her dad: “Dad, you just don’t understand!” To which he quickly replied: “Oh, I understand alright. I just don’t agree with you.

WHEN I WAS 16, THERE WAS NO DANGER in running the family car at 100 M.P.H. on a two-lane country road. It’s terribly dangerous now but it wasn’t dangerous 69 years ago. It was going on big-time in our community and our loving, wise English teacher knew about it. Mrs. Looney required her entire class to memorize an article in the Reader’s Digest, stand before the class and recite it. If they couldn’t recite it, they had to read it aloud to the class. We memorized it and heard each other recite it 25 times:

“EARLY ONE MORNING LAST FALL in Hammond, Indiana a car careened around a curve…for one paralyzed moment a gasoline truck driver saw the glare of headlights as the machine bore down upon him. Then came the impact of steel upon steel…heads burst against the dashboard like overripe fruit…bones snapped….lungs collapsed…smothered hearts lurched into another beat and then died. Even before the uninjured truck driver leaped from his cab, it was all over…all over but the funeral bills for four dead people.” (Classmates?)

I CAN STILL QUOTE MOST OF IT. I understood this better after I ran my Dodge under the rear end of a log truck parked in the road at night. The point of this story is that young people are vulnerable to danger because they lack knowledge and perspective. Hosea said:  My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.  (Hosea 4:6) Now that I’ve got that out of my system, let’s move on.

THE BOOK OF JUDGES IS ABOUT generation after generation that would not learn from the previous generation.  In our day poll after poll shows that 60% of the young people are leaving Bible-believing churches by the time they leave high school, BEFORE they enter college. So, the decisions are being made to leave church while they are still attending church. I think this is what’s going on: For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.  (Hebrews 4:2)
 
DADDY AND MAMA CAN'T BELIEVE GOD FOR THEIR CHILDREN. The children have to believe God for themselves. If parents could only get hold of this truth, maybe they would be more committed to having a Godly home to model Christianity to their children; reading Bible stories to their young children and reading the Bible to their older children. Maybe parents would kneel and pray with their children hundreds of time. Give the children something to have to climb over if they are determined to go to hell. And after the best of parenting, some kids are determined to rebel against parents and God and live hell-bent.
 
WATCHING A FOOTBALL GAME WITH YOUR KIDS may be good camaraderie but it won’t necessarily move your children toward Heaven.  Play catch with your children one minute and talk about John 3:16 the next minute. Live the Christian life in front of your children. Make it hard for your children to turn away from God. You can’t make your children choose God, but you can make it harder for them not to.  Notice the tragedy that happened in Israel:
 
And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.  And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:  And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.  And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. 
 
And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.  (Judges 2:10-14)
 
Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.  Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.  And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so.  (Judges 2:15-17)
 
And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.  And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.  (Judges 2:18-19)

Memory Verse This Month:
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.  (Psalm 91:1-2)

Read Through the Bible in a Year 
March 9, 2020 - MONDAY
 A.M. Deuteronomy 8-10   P.M. Mark 12:28-44
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
 
Song for Today: 
Rise Up O Men of God (1:57) (Unknown)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XObMcJfNxI
(I learned this as a teenager from one of the older hymnals. Perhaps the Broadman Hymnal, page 186.)
You may have to adjust the volume and/or delete an ad.
 
Historic Quote:
"The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” (George Washington – 1789, Inaugural Address)
 
 
 
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In good health

3/4/2020

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               In Good Health

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. 3John 1:2-4

JOHN WROTE GAIUS A SHORT LETTER in which he almost immediately went to the subject of physical health. He complemented Gaius on the good reputation he had among the brethren. A reputation for a commitment to truth (whatever it is and wherever it is found) is refreshing, indeed! There are people like that, and they are the kind of people you want to talk to when you’ve got a knotty problem of some kind. “Well, you may not like what he says, but you know you are going to get the truth when you talk with him.”  
 
IT SEEMS THAT GAIUS WAS NOT IN GOOD PHYSICAL HEALTH and John wishes that his physical health would come up to his reputation for telling and living the truth. I was curious what some of the most reliable Bible commentators would say about this. They all agree that John was targeting Gaius’s physical health: not spiritual health. It was common then for people to greet one another and immediately reference their health. Don’t we say: “Good morning! How are you doing?” Same thing.  
 
JOHN TAKES IT A STEP FURTHER AS IF TO SAY: “Someone told me you were not feeling well, and I just want you to know I’m concerned about it. Since John had been one of Jesus’ disciples, he had been well-trained by the Master to be concerned about the health and well-being of people as you mix with them. Jesus “went about doing good,” How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. (Acts 10:38)
 
THE KING JAMES BIBLE LISTS: “one another” 547 times in 238 verses. That declares us to be quite “sociable,” wouldn’t you say? The Bible is about us and God. The Bible is also human-to-human. We go to church to worship God and we also go to church to exercise and refine our social natures And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
 
IT IS BIBLICAL FOR US TO BE CONCERNED about the physical well-being of one another. James dealt with our need for food and clothing. And one of you say unto them, depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? (James 2:16)

AS WE HAVE THEREFORE OPPORTUNITY, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:10 The local church has some duty to see to the welfare of others, as we are able, especially to those of the household of faith. (If you are not able, you do not have opportunity.) The church is unable to perform the function of an enormous government program such as Social Security. The limited ability of the church to meet community needs is built into the phrase: “as we have opportunity,” or, as we are able.

WELL, HERE WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF ANOTHER PLAGUE,  the Coronavirus. Some of the news is true and some of it is hype. It’s also a thing to politicize and use as a football, while people get sick and die. We commoners should do what people have always done: talk to the doctor’s office on the phone and stay out of the office if possible, quarantine, drink water, sleep, etc. Check in with www.cdc.gov often and see what’s really going on. Congress has appropriated $8-billion. That ought to do it.

Also, you may want to check in with CBN and listen to Lorrie Johnson, the very able and honest health reporter. https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/health (browse and learn) https://www.cbn.com/special/BuildABetterGut/ Get this free booklet or download it. There is also a 2-page summary you can download.

In America, the Coronavirus is killing mostly older people and people who already have underlying health problems. The new thing America is beginning to learn is that 80% of our immune system is in our gut, in the bacterial colonies that live in our gut. Take probiotics (capsules of gut bacteria) and prebiotics (what the bacteria eat to stay alive). Some of the best bacteria food is raw kraut and kimchee (bigger chunks of fermented vegetables).
Go to Google and type in: “how to make sauerkraut.” Try this website here:  https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-homemade-sauerkraut-in-a-mason-jar-193124.  This will make 2 quarts of kraut, or one half-gallon jar.
 
TODAY, I CHOPPED UP 1 1/2 HEADS OF GREEN CABBAGE, put it in a dishpan, sprinkled 2 tsp salt, with clean hands stirred and squeezed the cabbage for ten minutes. Put in a crock and placed inside the crock, on top of the cabbage, about 2” of water in a plastic bag and let the water in the bag flow out to the wall of the crock. I put a weight on top of the bag of water, which went down onto the plate. Covered with cloth. Set the crock in a bedroom on a rug. Will check it in a couple of days and then every day until the product begins to turn sour. If it foams (normal thing) remove weight and water and remove foam; return water and weight to crock. In 5-6 days the product should be about ready to put into pint or quart big-mouth jars.
 
YOU CAN MAKE SAUERKRAUT IN QUART OR HALF-GALLON JARS. Jars make the product faster than crock. For 20 years, I searched for “why is salt used in making kraut?” Books, websites, old-timers. No one knew. I found the reason salt is used in making sauerkraut in this book I saw advertised on a website: Fermented Vegetables, 375 pages. About 9”x11”, paperback. New: $24.95. Amazon Books: $18.83. You may find a good used copy.
 
I’VE BEEN MAKING SAUERKRAUT IN A CROCK for about ten years. I’m making it now to boost my immune system against the Coronavirus and all other infectious diseases that lurk in the wings for 85-year-olds. I hesitate to be taking in much salt. I balance it out by upping my intake of potassium. (These two things are antagonistic to each other.)

Too much salt will raise blood pressure in some people, will swell the nasal passages and swell the feet. Swelling is a signal to increase potassium or back away from the salt. When eating kraut, refuse other salted products such as corn chips.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 
March 5, 2020 - THURSDAY
 A.M. Numbers 34-36 P.M. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+10%3A32-52&version=KJV​
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

Good Verse to Memorize:
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.  3John 1:2
 
Song for Today: 
Give Me Jesus (3:05) (Calvary Memorial Church) 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h64X3dotG5A 
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the i.r.a.d. thing

2/25/2020

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         The I.R.A.D. Thing…

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. (Hosea 4:6 
The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. Isaiah 1:3 

For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. Jeremiah 4:22
 
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16)

TODAY'S: "THE I.R.A.D. THING..." IS A CONTINUATION of yesterday’s “Review…” article.
So, how do we best learn the Word of God? When I began searching to nail down the practical principles of learning, I had no idea what I was looking for. The first clue I found was in an Air Force Manual written not long after World War 2. A school mate who had been in the Air Force gave it to me.

BURIED IN THE HALF-INCH PAPERBACK AIR FORCE MANUAL was a summary statement that said: “Learning relates strongly to 1. Impression 2. Repetition, and 3. Association.” At the time, I didn’t know I had found the essential principles of learning. Somebody in the Air Force was a sharp cookie! After thinking about it for forty years, I decided that we should add one more part: 4. Desire. More on this, later.

THE FIRST I.R.A.D. PRINCIPLE OF LEARNING is IMPRESSION. The stronger the impression, the less you have to repeat it and the longer it lasts, up to a lifetime. The second principle of learning is REPETITION. The weaker the impression, the more often the experience must be repeated. The third principle of learning is: ASSOCIATION. If you can associate or relate a new thing to an older, already learned experience, if will help you to recall the new thing learned.

THE FOURTH PRINCIPLE OF LEARNING (I am adding) is: DESIRE. You may want to repeat these four things, out loud, to set them in your mind. WARNING: If you have no interest in learning, this whole article will whiz by you and you will have gained nothing. So, stop right here and break down IRAD. Repeat each letter and its word several times. I-R-A-D. IMPRESSION – REPETITION – ASSOCIATION – DESIRE. One word to remember (IRAD). Repeat it throughout the day for 30 days.

THE PROPHETS, APOSTLES AND JESUS ALL TOLD STORIES to reinforce their message. So, I will give some eyewitness accounts to reinforce our theme for today. 

MOST (IF NOT ALL) STATES IN AMERICA HAVE A LAW OF COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE. When 63 churches and their pastors, in the 1980’s were at war with the State of North Carolina over the laws that related us to the State, the then State Director of Non-public schools, Calvin Criner, shared with us that law can require school attendance but cannot require education. “You can spend all the money you want to, but you can’t make Johnny read if Johnny doesn’t want to read.” The N.C. Constitution said that all children of school age “…shall attend the public school unless educated by other means.” 

THAT HAS BEEN IN THE N.C. CONSTITUTION from soon after the end of the Civil War (April 9, 1865). The assumption was that if a child attended school, he/she would “become educated.” TRUTH: Education may or may not take place. But, there’s no enforcement of a child to be educated.  There IS enforcement on attending school.

THE MAIN REASON IS SIMPLE: you cannot educate a child against his/her will. Since parents are responsible by law for school attendance, that exercise can be measured, and the parent can be fined or imprisoned if it is not carried out. But a parent cannot be fined or imprisoned if the child is not educated. It is too hard to define and too hard to carry out.

SEVERAL YEARS AGO, RUDOLPH FLESCH WROTE A BOOK:  “Why Johnny Can’t Read.” It created a storm of agreement and protest. In a few years, he wrote another book: “Why Johnny Still Can’t Read.” (I bought and read both books. He was on Johnny’s side.)
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=book+why+johnny+can%27t+read&ref=nb_sb_noss 

THESE BOOKS CAN STILL BE PURCHASED AT AMAZON, and…..a whole string of books on Why Johnny can’t do this and that. Seems Johnny is having trouble all over the place and people are trying to fix Johnny. Check out the link above to see the available books. (Mr. Rudolph listed several things that hinder Johnny from learning.)

PUBLIC SCHOOLS, CHURCH SCHOOLS, AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS are not held accountable for education. But they are held accountable for feeding into the schools, certain educational efforts and for keeping school attendance records. I learned this in the court room and the N.C. Legislature where I spent many months, full-time, mixing with the powers-that-be.

THE ABOVE PARAGRAPHS HAVE PRACTICAL MEANING in this article in that God will not make us submit to Him against our will. God will not make us hear, read, study, memorize or meditate on the Word of God against our will even though God has commanded us to do these things. If we don’t want to obey God, He won’t make us. We have to want to. We have to be willing. This article today is an appeal to you (and a reminder to me) to obey God and embrace His Word. We don’t have to. We can wait and explain to Him why we didn’t obey Him.
 
THE AIR FORCE MANUAL NEEDED POINT 4 IN THEIR PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING. Who am I to be so forward in advising them? The Air Force is a bastion of precision. That’s the way the pilots successfully carry out missions and return home to sleep in their beds. But I do think that if the U.S. Air Force is still printing that book and teaching from it, they should add “desire” to the three elements of learning.

WOULD I HAVE READ THE AIR FORCE BOOK IF I HAD NOT PREVIOUSLY developed a keen interest in “how do we learn?”  In observing people (and myself) it is clear that people learn what they are interested in. We learn what we desire to learn. Why does America read the comic-cartoon page in newspapers? Because we want to read it. Desire. I still remember Dagwood smacking his neighbor, Herb Woodley in the mouth with a wet paint brush because Herb was such a nuisance. Out of all the years of reading the comic page, I remember that one. One other: Blondie answered the phone and talked for an hour. Dagwood asked: “Who was that?” She: “I don’t know. It was a wrong number.”

I TAUGHT PIANO FOR 25 YEARS TO AN AVERAGE OF 20-25 STUDENTS and for a few years taught class music to a thousand students per week. I led class music by walking around in the room among them and taught them from what I had memorized. Some of them learned and performed well and some of them survived the best way they could until it was over, and learned little, if anything.
 
IN PRIVATE LESSONS, JOHNNY OR JANE WAS ON MY PIANO BENCH because they wanted to be there or because Mama wanted them to be there. If the student wanted to be there, learning was a breeze. If piano was Mama’s project, it was slow and difficult and nigh on to impossible.

IMPRESSION: PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. While I was enrolled in the Homestead High School at Crossville, TN, four of us decided that we needed a day in the pool hall at Crossville, 4 miles away. On the set day, we got off our bus and quietly made our way off campus and stood by the side of the road. Traffic was light. An old International pickup moseyed down the road at about 25 m.p.h. We thumbed him and he stopped. A 1939 International pickup DID NOT have a big plush cab. Two passengers and maybe a third. There were four of us plus the driver. The driver had a comfortable space between him and his door.  
 
THE OTHERS SCOOTED INTO THE CAB AND I WAS THE LAST ONE IN. Fine. Now, all we had to do was to close the door, which was a heavy, clunky thing. I reached out for the door, braced my feet on the floor, and positioned my left hand inside the cab above the door opening. At the same time, I pulled the door with all my strength to slam it hard. The door slammed and closed tight. The farmer, an older man, revved up the engine and the truck began to move. I had felt the pain, but it hadn’t hit me yet. When I tried to bring my left hand down into my lap, my hand wouldn’t come down.
 
MY THUMB WAS CAUGHT OVERHEAD IN THE DOOR, UP TO THE FIRST KNUCKLE. I opened the door, removed my thumb, and slammed the door again. We were all excited! We were on our way! We were going to play hooky from school and shoot pool all day! But I had a secret. My mind was no longer on shooting pool. The feeling had come back into my flat thumb, and the feeling was 100% PAIN! I quickly decided to “man-up” and not complain about it. At Crossville, we asked to get out at the pool hall.
 
I KEPT MY HAND IN MY POCKET TO KEEP IT WARM. I played pool a little, but mostly I concentrated on my thumb, which was throbbing…bad! I discovered I should NOT put my hand in my pocket, but to hold it up at chest level. Time to hitch-hike back to school to catch our busses. One of the fellows suggested I go see the principal: Mrs. Looney. I did and showed her my purple thumb. She looked and winced. “I caught it in a door,” I told her. I told her the truth: sort of. It was a door. It just happened to be a truck door. In her mind, she thought it was one of the heavy wooden school doors.
 
MRS. LOONEY HAD A RAZOR BLADE IN HER DESK DRAWER. She wiped it clean, poured some alcohol on it, and I extended my thumb to her. She placed my hand on the corner of her desk, and with the skill of a surgeon, at an angle she sliced through my thumb nail at the cuticle, reversed the angle and made another cut to remove a V of nail. With the last cut, a spurt of purple blood shot up and oozed all over.
 
SHE WIPED IT OFF WITH A KLEENEX, took my thumb in her fingers and squeezed it until all the purple blood was out of it. Immediately! All the pain was GONE! “She has done this before,” I thought. I did not expect such immediate relief. I came close to hugging her, but she was a dignified lady and I didn’t dare. Somehow, the playing hooky thing just went away. Not a single teacher marked us “absent” that day. We got back in time to catch our busses home. I had trouble milking the cow that day and for a couple of weeks.
 
NOW THEN. DO YOU THINK I HAD TO LOOK IN A FILE DRAWER and find some notes to tell this story? I tell you; I did not need any notes! I can see the whole thing just like it happened 70 years ago. BECAUSE…the IMPRESSION of that experience was so intense, so vivid, so deeply recorded that I did not have to repeat it to remember it.
 
I ALSO REMEMBER A LATER TIME WHEN I WAS MILKING OLD RED. She did a lightening kick and brought her split hoof down onto the rim of the bucket of milk. I had my finger under the bucket bail so I could snatch the bucket away from a fast kick. NOT GOOD! Her split hoof was split over the rim of the bucket and she was leaning hard on the bucket to keep from falling. With all my might, I pushed back with my head and shoulder in her flank and got her weight off that bucket bail…and retrieved my finger. I know for sure which finger it was and I don’t need to watch a video to remember it. IMPRESSION! The stronger the impression, the less often it has to be repeated to remember it. This is how learning works. It also works that way in Bible study.
 
MANY (most?) HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES HAVE A HARD TIME their first year in college because they have not learned how to study. They have not learned how to extract the important points from the textbook, how to make notes, and how to store them into the brain for the upcoming test.  The notes should summarize the textbook and the notes should be studied by repeating the notes OUT LOUD! I learned this from memorizing Scripture. It helped me a lot when I found the laws of learning.
 
WHEN WE HEAR, READ, STUDY, MEMORIZE AND MEDITATE on the Word of God, the first impression will be slight, and we will have to repeat the verses many times until they are etched into our brains. And as we etch the Word of God into our brains, we decide if we will take it to heart and submit to all we understand. Hiding the Word in our heads is not the same as hiding the Word in our hearts. I.R.A.D. is there for you to use, anytime you want to take advantage of it. Now then, can you look at I.R.A.D. and say the four words? And be careful about closing truck doors and milking the family cow.
 
Good Verses To Memorize:
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 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 6:6-7

Read Through the Bible in a Year 
FEBRUARY 25, 2020 - TUESDAY
 A.M. Numbers 14-15    P.M. Mark 6:1-32    
(Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.

Song for Today: 
Victory in Jesus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_2dN5XM114&t=45s
 
1st-2nd Grades -Calvary Christian School – Southern Pines, NC
INSIDE, YOU WILL NEED TO PUSH THE RED TIME-LINE TO THE LEFT TO BEGIN.
 
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IT'S TIME FOR A REVIEW

2/22/2020

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It's Time for a Review…

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 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 6:6-7

Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;  Deuteronomy 4:9
 
IT’S TIME FOR ME TO REVIEW ALL MY BIBLE VERSES, Genesis-Revelation, and to select a few new verses to add to them. I haven’t done this in a while and I’m ashamed of myself. There are at least 100 verses on prayer that I need to focus on this year. I’m 85 but I still need to review and learn. I hope you will join me in reviewing all the verses you know and add a few new verses. Have you ever done this? Please do it.

YOU PROBABLY KNOW MORE VERSES THAN YOU THINK. At least, you know significant phrases from verses. If you know some Bible phrases, look them up and copy the complete verse. I urge you to compile all the verses you know (use paper, half-3x5 cards, or computer). It may take you several months. As I said, above, include the verses that you only know in part. Look them up and finish writing the verse.

YOU WILL DO BETTER ON HALF-3x5 CARDS with lines on one side (opinion). Staples Office Supply (or similar store) will sell you the cards and cut them in half for you at a reasonable price. If you don’t have an office supply in your town, cut a template: 3 ½ x 2 ½ from a cereal box and lay it on top of a 3x5 card and cut with scissors, one at a time. Depending on the scissors you’re are using, you may need to trim the 2 ½” template down slightly to make room for the bevel on the scissors when you are cutting the cards.  You may not need to trim it.

IF ALL OF THIS IS TOO MUCH, LET ME KNOW and I’ll cut some for you. I have a commercial paper cutter that will cut it right. I would need to cut them a pack at a time (100 3x5 cards). Suggested colors: bright/neon green, bright/neon pink, canary yellow, white.

I USE THE BRIGHT-GREEN (NEON) COLOR.The colored cards are easier to find if I lay them down somewhere in the house. Pink? Canary yellow? White? Use a color you like. You can also get cards at Amazon.com. Go to the link below and scroll down. Amazon’s Choice or Oxford, 100 or 1,000 cards.
 
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=3x5+index+card&crid=2PPL4EXU9KPBH&sprefix=3x5%2Cprime-instant-video%2C158&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_3

AVOID BLUE BECAUSE THE COLOR CONTRAST between card and ink is weaker and a little harder to read. Use medium black ball-point pen or Sharpie extra-fine point.

LATER, I MAY TYPE THE CARDS ON WHITE Half-3x5 CARDS. I still have the typewriter I started typing on when I was five (1935 Royal). It’s fun and is good finger exercise.

NONE OF THE ABOVE VERSES WERE EVER READ IN MY HOME or in any of the several churches I attended. I was almost 20 years old before I “stumbled” over the verses that commends us and commands us to take in the Word of God. I found them as I read through the Old Testament.
 
I RECKON NOBODY, INCLUDING MY SEVERAL PASTOR/PREACHERS, had ever gotten this far in their Bible reading. Or, maybe some read the verses and thought everyone else knew about them. We didn’t! I didn’t! I had never heard or read these verses. You’ve caught me. I was not a Bible reader. If I had been reading my Bible through, I would have found these verses sooner. You think?
 
PREACHERS AND BIBLE READERS TEND TO FOCUS on the New Testament and avoid the Old Testament altogether. BIG MISTAKE! “The New Testament is in the Old contained; and the Old Testament is in the New, explained.”

FINDING THESE OLD TESTAMENT VERSES SHOOK ME UP! “But, that’s in the OLD TESTAMENT!”  Uh huh. But Colossians 3:1i6, Matthew 4:4, Matthew 4:10, Ephesians 6:17, 1Peter 2:1,2, 2Timothy 3:15, 2Timothy 2:15, 2Peter 3:15, Romans 15:4, are in the New Testament and they are ignored as well as the Old Testament. Few preachers use these verses. That puzzles me. I’ve wondered if it’s because they do not practice it themselves.
 
PAUL FERGUSON TOLD ME that when he was corresponding with Dr. John R. Rice about Paul’s preparation for preaching, Dr. Rice said: “Be sure and memorize a lot of Scripture. Preachers tend to be lazy about memorizing Scripture and that makes their preaching weak.”
 
SO, PAUL FERGUSON TOOK IT TO HEART AND BEGAN MEMORIZING Scripture. Over time, he memorized over 8,000 verses. His sermons were mostly Scripture, fastened together with an outline. He had been beat up so many times on his head in the boxing ring that he couldn’t memorize. One night he was on his knees in a dark room, praying for God to help him with memorizing. After a while, a light shone from the ceiling (there was no light there) and God spoke to him in his spirit: “There now, I have fixed you so you can memorize.” From that day forward, he could memorize normally.
 
DR.LEE ROBERSON, WHO WROTE THE FOREWORD TO THE BOOK: “Paul Ferguson the Fighter” did not have a problem with Paul’s claim. There are 31,173 verses and 1,189 chapters in the King James Bible. PaulFerguson memorized a fourth of the Bible. Jack Van Impe (who died recently at 88) memorized 11,000.
 
SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL, PRIME MINISTER OF ENGLAND (1940-45 and 1951-55) is famous for saying: “Men occasionally stumble over the truth. But most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as though nothing had happened.”

IN BIBLE COLLEGE THEY TOLD US TO BUY A PACK OF 3X5 CARDS and cut them in half and write our verses on the cards and put a rubber band around them. Ok. Got it! Cards, rubber band, write the verses, go over the verses, say them out loud, say them to anybody who will listen to you. I still didn’t have the big picture of what learning was all about. We studied to pass the upcoming tests: weekly, six weeks, semester. But with the Word of God, you want to keep it for life.

IT FINALLY DAWNED ON ME THAT IT TAKES 60 DAYS of daily review to learn a Bible verse. And then, you review it monthly for a year. And then you review it every year for the rest of your life. Reviewing enables you to spot the weak verses and throw them back into daily review for a while. I DID NOT learn that in college. I learned it from another teaching group, the NAVIGATORS.

IN SCHOOL, I BECAME AWARE OF A GROUP OF NAVY VETERANS on campus who had gone through the NAVIGATORS TOPICAL MEMORY COURSE in California or in a war zone. I began asking them questions and they invited me to their next meeting, and I joined them. Through the NAVIGATORS, I began a diligent study of 108 verses printed on little cards in a carrying case. We met for an hour, once a month on Thursday. There were 36 topics and three verses on each topic. From them, I learned: HOW TO LEARN AND RETAIN WHAT I HAD LEARNED. Here is their website:
 
https://www.navigators.org/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_Le6ud_h5wIVBJSzCh3EfwyvEAAYASAAEgJwj_D_BwE
Inside, scroll down to the dark section that contains a white circle with a triangle inside it. Click on the circle and watch the short video.
 
TRUTH IS, FOR $2.00, (STUDENT RATE IN 1953) I had learned how to turn short-term learning into life-time learning. I will be coming back to this encounter many times as we study God’s method of learning His Word. Other good writers are: Oscar Lowry, Norm Lewis, Ron Hood, Lorne Sanny. Jack Van Impe memorized 11,000 verses. I led singing for him in a meeting. But, as far as I know, he did not write anything on memorizing. I picked his brain for a week and learned some good things to add to what others have practiced. More on him at a later time.

FOLLOWING THIS AMAZING ENCOUNTER WITH “How to do It,” I continued to search for and read every book, booklet, and pamphlet I could find. After 40+ years of searching, reading and experimenting, I concluded that I had found the best there is. The NAVIGATORS is the best entry level of memorizing and studying the Word of God. I urge you to search out their website (link above).

THIS ARTICLE IS A ROUGH SUMMARY of the best I learned in 40 years of searching. There remains the IRA thing that I will explore in a following article. 

DAWSON TROTMAN, WHO FOUNDED THE NAVIGATORS, came to Tennessee Temple to speak in chapel. It so happened that I was scheduled to sing in chapel that day. Dawson Trotman died in a boating accident at a Bible camp. He was trying to rescue a camper who had fallen overboard into the lake.

•THESE WORDS: Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,  (1Peter 2:1) 
•COME BEFORE: As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: (1Peter 2:2)
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year 
FEBRUARY 21, 2020 - FRIDAY
 A.M. Numbers 5-6    P.M. Mark 4:1-20
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

Good Verses to Memorize:
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 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 6:6-7

Song for Today: 
Thy Word Have I Hid in My Heart
The Claremont Kids
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UuMu1tzzN4&list=RD8UuMu1tzzN4&start_radio=1
 
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the milk and meat of the word

2/18/2020

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          The Milk and Meat of the Word

I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?  (1Corinthians 3:2-4)

“HOW TO BE SAVED" and “How to live after we’re saved” needs to be clear. In a world that is exploding in population and swimming in immorality, some church leaders are trying to make the Gospel of Christ as easy as possible to attract as many people as they can. But Jesus said, up front: … If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (Luke 9:23)

JOHN THE BAPTIST AND JESUS both preached out of the Old Testament, because there was no other testament to preach from. They both preached repentance (a change of mind that results in a change of behavior). Paul summarized his preaching: Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:21

RECENTLY, I LEARNED THAT A “respected name” pastor in Atlanta, Georgia has given up preaching from the Old Testament and does all of his preaching out of the New Testament. He’s tired of defending the Old Testament against all the accusations brought against it.
 
JESUS NEVER PAINTED AN EASY, ROSY PATH: And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.  (Luke 9:23) This is up front! The cross is an instrument of death and He is saying that we are to embrace the cross daily. “If you accept me, this is what you are getting into.” His disciples had a hard time getting it.
 
LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE INCLUDES the assembling of ourselves together for feeding and fellowship, but it also includes death to self and being alive unto God. It doesn’t take much to stop a surface believer, one whose commitment is barely skin deep. It has always been that way. In the above verse (Luke 9:23) Jesus was giving us the attitude we are to have if we are going to follow Christ. I memorized this verse in 1953.
 
SOMETIMES THERE IS A BIG COVER-UP of the real Gospel. God will save people in the hog pen but loves them too much to leave them there, wallowing in the mud. Getting saved is like being converted from a hog into a sheep. The nature of a hog is to wallow in the mud and filth. The nature of a sheep is to leave the hog pen and get on high, dry ground. God requires that we accept Christ as Savior and Lord. We are to repent of our sins and put our faith in the finished work of Christ on the Cross. HE WILL NOT ACQUIT THE GUILTY. ACQUIT means to count one as not guilty of sin. He will not count as His own, those who persist willfully in sin. When we are saved, we have two opposing natures and they are at war with each other.
 
PETER SAID: As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: (1Peter 2:2) We understand that. What a nice thought that a Christian must begin with the milk of the Word. He says it is to be sincere milk. I once read that in Roman pottery shops, the glazed vessels would sometimes come out of the kiln with a hairline crack. To cover up the crack, they would rub the vase with a wax that would make it hard to detest the crack until after it was sold. To counter this cheap trick, merchants began labeling their perfect vases with the word sincere (meaning: without wax).
 
•These words: Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,  (1Peter 2:1) 
•come before: As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: (1Peter 2:2)
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year 
FEBRUARY 19, 2019 - WEDNESDAY
 A.M. Numbers 1-2  P.M. Mark 3:1-21
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

Good Verse to Memorize:
And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.  (Luke 19:40)

Song for Today: 
Let the Rocks Cry Out (2:48) (Calvary Memorial Church)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RB339rbvNU
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December 30th, 2019

12/30/2019

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       Keeping Christ in Christmas
And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.  (Luke 2:16)
 
(Edited from Morning Minute – December 27, 2005)
 
“CHRISTMAS" (Click on “Christmas” to read article in Wikipedia) is the annual festival celebrating the birth of Christ and is observed on December 25 in the western church. The word is a compound word meaning “Christ’s Mass,” the taking of the Eucharist, or Lord’s Supper. Old English Crīstesmæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038 followed by the word Cristes-messe in 1131. The crèche, the babe in the manger with Mary and Joseph is the universal symbol of Christmas.

SINCE WE WERE TODDLERS we have known something about Christmas and each of us had it defined for us according to our family and church traditions. Church pageants in which children dressed up in robes and head dress and interacted with the manger and baby Jesus on stage, this taught us the basics. At home our family traditions taught us that Christmas was special. There was special food, decorations, and however many toys the family could afford.  There was an evergreen tree with lights and beautiful ornaments, and gifts under the tree.

WITHE THAT GREAT VARIATION OF CHURCH-HOME INFLUENCE on our understanding of Christmas, we still came out with the common knowledge that it’s the birthday of the baby-Jesus.  For the past several years those who feel strongly that “Jesus is the reason for the season” have been offended by merchants who want our Christmas money but want to sell us “holiday gifts” instead of “Christmas gifts.” 

MERCHANTS HAVE CREATED A LOT OF ILL-WILL AGAINST THEMSELVES by trying to side-step Christmas celebration by calling it “The Holiday Season.”  We won’t have it! And we have pushed back. In some areas the merchants are in a bind because Jewish Hanukkah (Celebration of Lights) occurs on December 25.  And now Muslims want a special day. However, the Christian Christmas celebration is the one season that brings in the big bucks, not the other celebrations.

THE COMMERCIALIZING OF CHRISTMAS, removing “Christmas” from sight in the stores, and forbidding clerks from wishing customers “Merry Christmas” is where most Christians feel that Christ is being taken out of Christmas. However, having said that, we need to look deeper in recognizing  that if we focus primarily on the symbols of Christmas, i.e. shopping, feasting and going crazy in general over the symbols, we have goaded ourselves into removing Christ from His own birthday celebration by our wild frenzy of celebration. In short, we have begun to celebrate celebration for its own sake.

MAY I SUGGEST A FEW THINGS THAT WILL HELP US ENJOY CHRISTMAS and direct our attention toward the real purpose of Christmas?  The first suggestion I have is a radical one. You may want to forget the Santa Claus thing altogether. If he must be part of your family, explain that he is a “pretend” figure and not real. Limit his activity to filling a stocking with fruit, chocolate candy and nuts that you can devour before Christmas breakfast. All the other gifts are from family members in honor of Christ’s birthday. Santa Claus knows all things and can do “all things.” Therefore, he is omniscient (all-knowing) and omnipotent (all-powerful). Only God is omniscient and omnipotent. Therefore, Santa is claiming traits that only God has.

PLANNING FOR NEXT YEAR: start planning your family Christmas on December 26 of this year. This will help control your Christmas giving and other activities. Early planning can be a rough-draft of what the family can do and help avoid Christmas bankruptcy and insanity. Last-minute Christmas thinking and Christmas shopping make your Christmas an expensive night-mare.  Taking advantage of after-Christmas sales can cut your cost of Christmas in half. Christmas cards cost less on December 26. Of course, food for Christmas and last-minute adjustments will have to be purchased in December just before Christmas.

AVOID FINANCING CHRISTMAS GIVING WITH CREDIT CARDS except what you can pay off in 30 days without incurring interest. If all the Christmas buyers in the family understand and practice this principle, the pain of Christmas will not last through the following year. This simple practice would transform the family Christmas of millions of families. In my opinion, nothing takes Christ out of Christmas like credit cards and the self-imposed pain of unnecessary debt.

MAKE AS MANY OF YOUR GIFTS AS POSSIBLE if there is a knack for making things in the family. Nothing is as personal as things made by the hands of the gift giver. Things made in the kitchen are personal. Be aware of this: a big fruit cake can cost you twenty bucks. Make fruit cakes in smaller baking pans and add fruit and nuts to add variety and savings. Mini-size fruit cakes are appreciated and enables you to size your fruit cake giving to the family size and taste. Encourage young children to begin making Christmas cards for family and their friends. If possible, involve your children in Christmas cooking and giving.

DECIDE EARLY HOW MANY OUTSIDE GROUPS  you are going to exchange gifts with. Some church groups play “Dirty Santa” in church Christmas parties. Take a small gift, even a terrible gift and it is swapped around the circle 2-3 times; much fun, low cost. Don’t forget a little tin of goodies for the mail carrier, garbage carrier, hair-dresser, etc. Planning ahead will help you size your Christmas giving and hold down the costs.

SOME CHURCHES ADOPT A FAMILY OR TWO at Christmas time and post the sizes of the children on the church bulletin board.  The family can also adopt a needy family or a needy individual. This is how the Saint Nicholas thing got started and served a good purpose before it got out of hand and he started coming down chimneys and stovepipes, and started living at the North Pole. Reindeer are real critters but keeping and feeding them all year is costly. Also, the kind of reindeer that fly tend to be temper mental and a bit pushy.
Avoid giving expensive gifts at Christmas. Consider buying larger gifts on birthdays when it is more appropriate. A new Toyota for Christmas may be a bit awkward, especially trying to explain it to the children.

HAVE SEVERAL DAYS OF CHRISTMAS. Advent is the period of four Sundays and weeks before Christmas (or sometimes from the 1st December to Christmas Day!). Advent means 'Coming' in Latin. This is the coming of Jesus into the world. Christians use the four Sundays and weeks of Advent to prepare and remember the real meaning of Christmas.

READ THE CHRISTMAS STORY FROM MATTHEW 1-2 AND LUKE 2 EVERY YEAR over a period of days. Study references to Christ’s birth from the Old Testament. Sing Christmas carols every day. Stand at the dining table, hold hands and sing before you are seated. Light two red or white candles on the dining table at one or more meals.  Pray at mealtime and include the names of people who are sick or have some other special need for prayer.

PRAY FOR YOUR PASTOR AND FOR AT LEAST ONE MISSIONARY. Pray for America. Below is a link that gives you a more comprehensive picture of how many Christians observe the Christmas season. You may find ideas that fit you and your family. You will need to plan ahead several months if you wish to observe the Advent (coming) of Christmas.  https://www.whychristmas.com/customs/advent.shtml
 
 Read Through the Bible in a Year
 DECEMBER 31, 2019 - TUESDAY
 A.M. Malachi 1-4     P.M. Revelation 18
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A Good Verse to Memorize: 
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.  (Matthew 1:18)

Song for Today: 
Unto Us a Son Is Given (4:15) – (Korean?)
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vn5Tjo_8IlE (One day, all the nations who know Him will sing.)
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 Health Tip:
Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables with color. Eat more fruits and vegetables raw; eat something raw at every meal.
            (This article is a total of 1378 words).
 
 
 
 
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we have seen his star

12/26/2019

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We Have Seen His Star
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of  Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,  Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him (Matthew 2:1-2.)

This article is edited from its original post of December 16, 2015.

WISE MEN. Much time and scholarship has been devoted to these “wise men.” It was common practice for kings in the area of Babylon and Persia to assemble a body of men from the smartest they could find who were masters of accumulated philosophy and “professionals” at studying the stars and heavenly bodies. They grasped for any straw of connection to any existing deity “out there anywhere” who could guide them in exercising the controls and expansion of their kingdoms. That is the background.

HOWEVER, MIXED WITH THIS is the fact that, as Jews, they were conquered and forced into exile among these conquering kingdoms to the east, first Babylon and then Persia (modern-day Iraq and Iran).  They took with them a firm belief in the one true God who had given them their land and their sacred books. They were highly educated in their sacred books and their influence had oozed out into their conquerors.

IT IS BELIEVED BY SOME OF OUR BEST-EDUCATED SCHOLARS of the Old Testament and the Middle East, that the knowledge of the Wise Men who followed a star to Jerusalem, gained their knowledge from Jewish captives, deported to Babylon. When Babylon (Iraq) was conquered by Persia (Iran) the Jewish captives then had access to the scholars of Persia.

THE SACRED JEWISH BOOKS HAD TOLD THEM of One promised to come to Israel who would be a governor. The wise men of Babylon and Persia were interested in this and learned it.

APPARENTLY, THE WISE MEN WHO SHOWED UP IN JERUSALEM, were officials of government in that they had considerable wealth and also, they could be counted by their government as making a justified excursion to follow a strange star they had been studying.

THEIR INQUIRY WAS NOT ABOUT A SUFFERING SAVIOR who would save people from their sins, but about a New King born to the Jews. If a Jewish king was being born in Israel, he would have to be approved by Persia and submit to Persian policies. That would be reason enough for the Persian government to finance the trip of the Wise Men to Jerusalem.

IT IS HARD FOR ME TO IMAGINE THESE MEN TRAVELING ALONE, carrying a fortune in treasure, unguarded and preparing their own food. An entourage of 15-20 men and camels would more easily have “troubled” all of Jerusalem with Herod than a mere three men. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. (Matthew 2:3) 
 
HEROD, WHO WAS A VASSAL KING UNDER PERSIA, had an even stronger and more personal reason to know about a Jewish king baby. Herod was real picky about protecting his throne and had one of his ten wives killed, along with three of his sons. Wikipedia has an interesting article on the Wise Men. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_Magi

BUT APPARENTLY, THE WISE MEN HAD A CONNECTION WITH GOD that their government did not have. God does as He pleases and on His own time schedule. These Wise Men made a long journey to find the Christ. Wise men still seek Him today. Have you sought Him for yourself? The Christmas video: “The Nativity” includes interesting portrayal of the Wise Men. We watch it every year.

McGee POINTS OUT THAT "WHILE THE WISE MEN WERE IN EAST, THEY SAW the star. They did not see a star east of where they were located. If that had been the case, they would have ended up in India or China. No, the wise men were east of Jerusalem, probably in Persia (modern day Iran) and saw a star that was west of them and followed it. But that does not address the question of why they followed such a strange star.

“WHY DID THEY CARE IN THE LEAST ABOUT THE SMALL NATION OF ISRAEL? Why were they interested in Israel’s king? Why did they associate Israel’s king with a star? Please allow me to throw in an opinion here that the star was no ordinary star, not a NOVA star, etc. The star was low enough to move along and be followed and it stood still over the house of the child (not the baby but the child – different words are used for baby and child).

“WHAT THEY CALLED A STAR WAS A SPECIAL LIGHT provided by the Lord that moved and hovered. OK, why did the Wise Men associate a new king of Israel with a star? They got that information from somewhere. There’s a strong suspicion that it came from Jewish Scripture  and Jewish scholars.

“BALAAM WAS A MISFIT PROPHET WITH A DIVIDED HEART.  He wanted to serve God, but he also wanted money and the favor of political power. In spite of his wicked heart and his miserable track record as a prophet, God showed him some things and put up with him until at last He killed him. Balaam wrote: …there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.  (Num 24:17)  This prophecy was about Israel and it was about a star (figurative and literal).
 
McGee CONTINUES TO WRITE: “Notice that the prophecy says a Star shall come out of Jacob—that is, the nation Israel. And a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The star and the sceptre go together. That is the only place I know where they are put together in prophecy in the Old Testament. The wise men in the East had that prophecy, and so they came out of the mysterious East seeking a king. This did disturb the city of Jerusalem and old King Herod.” (McGee) 

WALVOORD AND ZUCK- (BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY) agree with the idea that the Wise Men may have been  informed from their contact with Jewish prophets or scholars. We remember that some of the best minds of Israel were transported to Babylon (final deportation in 586 B.C.) and remained there for 70 years. That gave plenty of time for the scholarship of Israel to ooze out in the surrounding area. Then Persia conquered Babylon and that influence extended into Persia from which the Wise Men most likely came. We remember also that it was the Persian king: Cyrus that later allowed the captured Jews of Babylon to return home and gave them money and protection to rebuild the Temple that had been destroyed.

THE BIG PICTURE OF THE BIRTH OF JESUS, THE CHRIST (JEWISH MESSIAH) is that the entire Old Testament says repeatedly: “He’s coming!” Beginning with Moses and continuing to Malachi, reference is often made to God’s promised one. The New Testament summarizes it: But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,  To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons (Galatians 4:4-5).

Good Verse to Memorize:
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah. 9:6)
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year
 DECEMBER 27, 2019 - FRIDAY
 A.M. Zachariah 4-6     P.M. Revelation 18
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.  (Matthew 1:18)

Song for Today:
The Hallelujah Chorus (4:15) – (English Concert Choir and Orchestra – Sept.3, 2010- 1,002,571 views)
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5Xjz6ZuVk0&pbjreload=10
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                                              (This article is a total of 1377 words).
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joseph's turn on the stage

12/26/2019

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Joseph’s Turn on the Stage…
But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou  shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.  (Matthew 1:20-21)

THE ANGEL OF THE LORD APPEARED TO MARY (Luke 1:31-33) and told her that her baby was going to be a ruler. The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in Matthew 1 and told him that Mary’s baby was going to be a savior. Is there a conflict? No conflict. Mary’s baby was going to be a savior and then he would be a ruler.  The Christmas season is only a month long, so we are hitting a few high spots of Old Testament and New Testament readings for Jesus’ Bible roots.  Today, it is Joseph’s turn on the stage.

JOSEPH WAS NOT A SIMPLETON and neither was he a cruel man. His fiancé was pregnant and he was totally in the dark. He knew it wasn’t his baby. What was he to do except show her the greatest possible kindness? He certainly could not marry such a loose maid of 15. He was older and respected as an established carpenter and must maintain that respect in order to provide for his family. It would take a special act of God to convince him to marry his pregnant fiancé, which is exactly what happened──an angel from God.

IN HIS DREAM, THE ANGEL ADDRESSED HIM AS  “Joseph, thou son of David.” This connected him to King David as a legal heir, qualifying him for the throne of Israel. God knows our fears and knows our limitations in making decisions. When we need the Lord, He is there. We feel less threatened when we read something than when we are desperate for an answer. God intervened at the exact moment; not a day early and not a day late. He did not tell him everything, just what he needed to know. The Spirit of God is the father of the child in Mary’s womb. That’s the only time God ever did that and that is why Jesus was called the “only begotten Son of God.” (John.1:18; 3:18; 1John. 4:9.)

SURELY JOSEPH REMEMBERED the prophet Isaiah’s words: Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.  (Isaiah 7:14) The scholars of Israel knew this passage. They knew that He would be born in Bethlehem. They knew many other prophecies about him, but when was He coming? The angel told Joseph to name the baby: Jesus (Joshua, savior).  Joseph learned just enough to convince him to go ahead with the actual marriage.

AN ANGEL HAD ALREADY TOLD MARY a lot more than Joseph knew at the time. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.  He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.  (Luke 1:31-33)

JESUS HAS BECOME OUR SAVIOR and one day He will sit upon the throne of his father David and rule over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Not only so, but He will be the King of kings, and Lord of lords (Revelation. 17:14; 19:16).
Psalm 2 adds an important page:

Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.  He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. 

Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.  Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.  I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.  (Psalm 2:1-9)

THIS IS ALL PART OF WHAT WE CALL "CHRISTMAS."  Jesus came as Savior two thousand years ago, and He is coming back to the earth soon as King. The angels told Joseph and Mary a little about it. Today, those who have a Bible know so much more about the whole picture than did Joseph and Mary. He is coming and He will rule the world from Jerusalem! Ω

 Read Through the Bible in a Year
 DECEMBER 26, 2019 - Thursday
 A.M. Zachariah 1-3     P.M. Revelation 17
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.  (Matthew 1:18)

Song for Today:
Solo and Group: Mary Did You Know? (Author: Mark Lowry & Group)
(Performed at Rollins College in Concert Hall by 11 singers in acapella – On Facebook, scroll down to black & white picture)
https://www.facebook.com/voctavesings/videos/1022397161220040/
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jesus, savior AND KING

12/24/2019

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              Jesus, Savior and King
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  (Luke 2:11)  Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.  (Matthew 2:1-2)
 ONLY LUKE AND MATTHEW (of the Gospels) tell of Jesus’ birth; see chapter 2 in each book.  Back up a little in Matthew. “Jesus” is His name. “Christ” is His title.

This article edited from “Jesus, Savior and King” posted December 26, 2016

I WAS ALMOST GROWN BEFORE I REALIZED that God’s role for Jesus as Savior and King were not the same. I had gone to church since I was in my mother’s womb but my preachers didn’t get around to it. I learned to read early and had a Bible but I didn’t get around to it. The Jews were ready for a Messiah King to drive out the Roman soldiers and tax collectors. Jesus offered them a kingdom but not on their terms. They were not ready for a Messiah Savior who would be a suffering Messiah and tell them to repent of their sins.

CHRISTIANS LEARN ABOUT THE BIRTH OF CHRIST from church pageants, Sunday school lessons and sermons. The pageants are usually short and cannot present the full picture of the coming Messiah. They do a good job of saying that Jesus was born to die for the sins of the world. Sunday School lessons could do a better job with this subject but somehow do not.  Sermons generally deal with how to be saved and live the Christian life and seldom go beyond these two important things. The books of the Old Testament could well be labeled: “The Forgotten Books of the Bible.”  For thirty years, the first Christians had only the Old Testament.
 
A SERIOUS FACT: Most Christians do not read or study their Bibles. The home is an ideal place to learn a lot about the Bible but it is a busy place and the Bible tends to be neglected. I’m afraid that our electronic gadgets have helped in causing the Bible to gather dust in the home. The solution is to park the “secondary stuff” long enough to do first things first. I recommend that parents read The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes by Ken Taylor to their young children ages 4-8 (Moody Press). Then have a 15-minute Bible reading and prayer time at one of the meals when the family is together. We do not climb hills and learn math and reading by accident. Bible learning is the same way. God gives us 24 hours every day. Let’s manage it!
 
WHEN THE ANGEL OF THE LORD CAME TO THE SHEPHERDS at night, he told them about a savior being born. When the wise men came to Jerusalem from modern-day Iran (Persia), they were looking for a newborn king. They were not looking for a savior.
 
ALMOST A YEAR BEFORE the angels' appearance to the shepherds in Bethlehem, an angel appeared to Mary, about 15 years old. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.   And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.   He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:  And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.  (Luke 1:30-33) The angel does not mention to Mary that Jesus will be the Savior. The message from the angel to Mary is about Jesus’ coming as a king.

WHAT ELIZABETH KNOWS. Shortly after the angel met with Mary, she went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist. When Mary entered Elizabeth’s house and called her, Elizabeth answered in excitement and ended her statement with: And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.  (Luke 1:45)  Elizabeth knows that Mary believed the angel and that God will perform to Mary what He promised her. Elizabeth knows that Mary is the mother of Elizabeth’s Lord. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  (Luke 1:43)

WHAT MARY KNOWS. (A Review) What did God promise Mary? Nothing about her son being born as the coming Savior. The promise to Mary is about her unborn son being a king that would sit on the throne of his father (ancestor) David and that the kingdom would never end. That’s fine but it’s not the whole story. Mary must tell her father and mother that she’s pregnant by the Holy Ghost and she must then face Joseph and the women at the community well and perhaps the elders of her synagogue.

WHEN THE STORY SPREADS IN THE COMMUNITY, the eggs will hit the fan! She could be stoned to death for being found in the situation she’s in. Mary is blessed of the Lord and will pay a price for it. She illustrates the fact that some of God’s callings are different and difficult and not of high approval by family and the public in general. Don’t expect people to pat you on the back for God’s place for you.

WHAT JOSEPH KNOWS. Joseph is a good man and wants to do the kindest and most merciful thing he can. He knows he is not the father of Mary’s child. So, he decides to quietly divorce her from the relationship he has with her, being espoused to her for the upcoming marriage.

BUT, GOD INTERVENED AND AN ANGEL APPEARED to Joseph in a dream: But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:20-21)

MARY KNOWS SHE'S GOING TO GIVE BIRTH TO A KING and her husband-to-be knows nothing about that. Joseph knows about the baby saving his people from their sins and Mary knows nothing about that.
  
SOME OF OUR BETTER CHRISTMAS HYMNS written many years ago, are rich in Bible knowledge. Joy to the World says: “Joy to the world, the Lord is come; let earth receive her king.” It also refers to savior.  Hark the Herald Angels Sing says: “Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the new-born king; Peace on earth and mercy mild; God and sinners reconciled.” This hymn is one of the richest and most comprehensive Christmas hymns and combines king with savior. Silent Night! Holy Night! (written by Joseph Mohr, a Catholic priest) combines savior with king.

THE SAVIOR IS THE LAM SLAIN BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD and relates to sinners by persuasion.  He does not force Himself on anyone. The Holy Spirit pleads and strives with people to be saved. But He does not demand anyone to be saved. The King is not on a mission to save anyone. He is on a mission to rule over the kingdom of God. The king is not a lamb. The king is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. The King will rule by coercion, with a rod of iron. This has not yet taken place.

TO BE SAVED, ONE MUST WILLINGLY EMBRACE CHRIST as Savior and Lord. Jesus has not yet exercised His role as king but is going to. When He is king of the whole earth and reigning from the throne of his father David, in Jerusalem, he will rule with a rod of iron (Psalm. 2).  Today, He is the lamb of God slain for the sins of the world and invites everyone to come to Him to be forgiven and saved. When He rules the earth, He will rule, not as a lamb, but as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Consider Psalm 2.

Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.  I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.   Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.   Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.   Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.   Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.   Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.  (Psalm 2:6-12)

THIS IS THE BABY BORN TO MARY and laid in a manger in Bethlehem. Today He pleads as the Savior of the world. As a King,  He will rule the world with a rod of iron and we who are saved will reign with Him a thousand years. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.  (Revelation 20:6)

AFTER THAT TIME, there will be a new Heaven and a new Earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?   Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.  (2Peter 3:12-13) Ω

Read Through the Bible in a Year –
DECEMBER 24, 2019 – MONDAY
A.M. Zech 1-3    P.M. Rev. 17
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
 
Good Memory Verse:
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.  (Luke 24:27)
 
Background Verses:
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.  (Isaiah 9:6-7)

Song For Today:
Solo, Choir & Orchestra: Silent Night 3.39 ( 1st Bap. Jax, Fl)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TDmoL-oLuA&index=3&list=PLyNDhlNwd3vlwd3q-Rqg2zX1xv9DPFd_i

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    Dan Carr is a "retired" pastor, writer, teacher and continues to write at this website. This blog and other articles are e-mailed free to anyone who wants them. Go to: 
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    Dan and Barbara live 
    at Flat Rock, AL between Chattanooga, TN and Huntsville, AL. on Sand Mtn.
    We enjoy gardening, reading, church, family and friends.

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