Various Quotes for Reflection

1. "I know! I have had the experiences of being gripped by something stronger than myself. Something that people call God." - Carl Jung

2. "The great act of faith is when a man decides he is not God." - Oliver Wendell

3. "The realities of faith lie outside the realm of psychology" - Carl Jung

4. "We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run down." - Aneurin Bevan

5. God's a circle whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere." - Empedocles (5th Century B.C.)

6."[Christians] are they who, above every people of the earth, have found the truth, for they acknowledge God, the Creator and maker of all things, in the only-begotten Son and in the Holy Spirit - Aristides 140 A.D.

7. "Nevertheless, what cannot be said of anyone else who ever lived, that he is himself in his own right God and Lord . . . may be seen by all who have attained to even a small portion of the truth" - Irenaeus 189 A.D.

8. "Grace be with you, mercy, and peace from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love." 2 John 3


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Matthew 1:1-25 (Christmass Sermon for the week of December 24th)

Gospel
Mt 1:1-25
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse, Jesse the father of David the king. David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asaph. Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah. Uzziah became the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amos, Amos the father of Josiah. Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brother sat the time of the Babylonian exile. After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.

Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ. Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Christ, fourteen generations.

Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold,the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,and they shall name him Emmanuel,which means “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus.

SERMON:

Merry Christmas everyone! This is the time that we celebrate the birth of the Son of God who came down to us in a tent of flesh as 100% God and 100% human in order to conquer death, conquer Hell, and conquer Sin. Death is our price that we are to pay for the sin that we perpetually committ. By being born of the Holy Spirit, the True God-Man was crucified for no just cause by this world, and lived a perfect life being the Son of God in a human tent of flesh. The world owes Jesus His life back, and since Jesus is the "I AM" who is the Creator, who is the One that talked to Moses through the burning bush (and why we have Christmas tress in our home) the world cannot give His life back. Their is no court or no King or Emperor powerful enough to reverse His carried out death sentence. Satan and hell have some abilities but not the ability to give Life. By conquering His own Law by His own death in the hands of this world, Jesus is able to save those souls who do one thing..."FAITH"eth" in Jesus. Faith"eth" is a verb...an action that we do by placing our will and our lives in His care and direction.

Our reward? Eternal life and salvation from Death. Jesus is able to give us Life by His death and resurrection which is the NEW Covenant. His New Covenant is faith"ing" in Him and His ability to grant us Eternal life comes from the fact that the world and Satan killed The Son of God for no reason, and He allowed Himself to be the sacrificed for all those who believe in order to "catch 22" the Law of the world...the same "Law" He has been giving this world a chance to complete...but has failed following.

Over and over, the Chosen People failed..."First to the Jews and then to the Gentiles"...Christmas is our time to reflect on the Gift of Gifts that Our Lord Jesus the Christ has given those who faith"eth", those who choose Him and allow Him to lead their lives. Rejoice for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and YOUR grave has been conquered!

Now let's look at this weeks reading...What are all of these names at he beginning of the reading and why are they there? Well, thankfully Matthew paid attention to the FACT that Jesus by the lineage of Joseph is A DIRECT DESCENDANT of KING DAVID. Remember King David and the prophecy surrounding him? Many prophetic passages speak of a descendant of King David who will rule Israel during the age of perfection. (Isaiah 11:1-9; Jeremiah 23:5-6, 30:7-10, 33:14-16; Ezekiel 34:11-31, 37:21-28; Hosea 3:4-5). According to Jewish sources, the Messiah will be born of human parents and possess normal physical attributes like other people. The Messiah must be descended on his father's side from King David (see Genesis 49:10, Isaiah 11:1, Jeremiah 23:5, 33:17; Ezekiel 34:23-24). Matthew presents the facts as they are...Jesus is a direct descendant of King David on His father's side, through the lineage of Joseph. Jews believe that Jesus is not the Messiah because He was born through a virgin and did not have a bloodline father. Well, the Jews "err for not knowing their own scriptures". Some Jews may think that the Messiah is a human with "god like" qualities...then they do not know the definition of the Messiah. If they believe that the Second Coming (to the Jews the First coming) Messiah will be the Son of God...then how...by the knowledge contained in the Scriptures...would the Son of God / Son of Man be the Messiah AND be born into sin? We all have two parents...and we all are born into sin since we are descendants of Adam and Eve.

Let's look at why Jesus could not have a human bloodline father...

"Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. "

Sin passes through the lineage of the father, and thus in order for Jesus to be born sinless, and to live free from sin, He could not have been conceived by a human father. The Holy Spirit, who is without sin had to conceive Jesus in the womb in order for Jesus to forfeit or cancel out His own commandment from the very beginning of Adam and Eve's fall out of the Garden of Eden as spoken of in:

Romans 5:12
Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ
"12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— "

Jesus as 100% God and 100% man could not be born into sin--the sin that is inherited from all descendants of Adam. So the blessed Mother of Jesus, Mary, was impregnated with Jesus by the only pure source...the Holy Spirit. Jesus was ADOPTED by Joseph later on as commanded by the Angel. Is an adopted parent still a parent? YES!
Are the Jews looking for a way...THEIR way to discredit Jesus as the Messiah? I understand what Old Testament scripture says about the coming Messiah...and I understand why Jesus was born the way He was.

At the time of Mary's pregnancy, she was engaged to Joseph...and not married to Joseph. Jesus was born into this world and not in the way we are born into to it for a very good reason...HIS (Jesus') REASON AND HIS REASON ALONE. For starters, the Son of God had to be born sinless! But allow me to interject something here: How does man justify questioning the Creator about the way He works? Surely the student isn't the teacher too?! Since Joseph was engaged to Mary, the pregnancy was a troublesome dilemma and probably frightening to Joseph.

Let's look at why...

"Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold,the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. "

The Jews follow the Law (imperfectly) but zealously when it comes to adultery. Throughout Jewish history, a woman would be stoned to death for becoming pregnant with someone else's child while engaged. Her sudden and unexplainable pregnancy would make it seem to the Jews to be a case of adultery. In the time of Joseph, the Jews could have stoned her to death as instructed in Deut. 22:23-24, but the verse in Matthew tells us that she would have lived a life in shame. Mary would have been a black sheep...lower in societal worth than a thief and looked upon as prostitutes were looked down upon. It would be a life of constant shame and ridicule...probably physical assault would befall her at some point by a few outraged Jews. It would have destroy her life and would have affected her families lives. Joseph knew what the Law said, and in all of his confusion...decided to divorce her quietly. It makes me think that his plan was to marry Mary quickly and then divorce her quietly, or Joseph planned to contact her father and break off the engagement. The word divorce imply's marriage first...

However, in this messy situation which is all the Lords plan anyway's, it takes a messenger of the Lord called an "Angel" to straighten things out. Joseph receives this angelic message in a dream where he is instructed to take Mary and wed her. This dream must have been a powerful and lucid in order to change the mind of a man who has no idea how his loving wife to be just got pregnant! What would you do? Would you take Mary as your wife? Would an angelic message via your dreams change your mind? I've seen enough in my own life to say..."Yes!"
But it would take an angelic message to diffuse me.

"For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,because he will save his people from their sins.”

Joseph is told how Mary was impregnated...but this must have seemed "Out of this world" because IT IS! It took an angel to get the message through to Joseph, and it worked. Joseph is also told the name of his son which would be "Jesus" because He will save HIS PEOPLE from their sins. A side note: this is a good time to reflect on this verse...Jesus did not come to save everyone (even though everyone has the opportunity) from their sins...only HIS PEOPLE will be saved from their sins. That is important.

Let's look at the name of the Lord and what it means...Mary's role is to bear a son, and Joseph's role is to adopt Him by naming Him. By naming Him, Joseph makes Jesus his son and brings Him into the House of David. The name Jesus, "is the Greek form of the Hebrew YEHOSUA, which means: "YHVH is Salvation". If you study certain areas of "advanced" Jewish study...YHVH is the unknowable and unnameable "name" (yes it doesn't make sense for a reason) of God. YHVH "Limitless and The Creator". If the Creator is All Knowing then He has the ability to come to us in whatever way He wants. There are reasons for everything and reasons for what He did from the time of the Creation of the world, to Adam and Eve, to Moses, to His coming to walk among us as Savior, to His witness of us now and His coming to be. THERE ARE REASONS, HIS REASONS, FOR EVERYTHING. The name Jesus means, the best I can say it in English is..."I AM SALVATION" or YEHOSUA is salvation.

POWERFUL! Before Jesus was born Joseph and Mary knew this Son would be the Messiah...the Lord Jesus planned it from the foundations of the world!

"All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,and they shall name him Emmanuel,which means “God is with us.” "

Yes, the Creator who is The Messiah, who lived among us in a tent of flesh with the name Jesus is the One who speaks through the prophets. The Lord spoke through Isaiah in Chapter 7 verse 14 when Isaiah spoke these same words to King Ahaz. Isaiah's prophecy was that a child would be born and that by the time he reached maturity, the threat from the enemy would have passed. Isaiah referred to a young woman and Matthew states that Mary was a virgin. In Hebrew, EL is a short form of Elohim, a name for God. Immanu-EL means,"God with us" a meaning which Matthew spells out for non-Hebrew readers. Emmanuel is not another name Jesus would be called...Jesus is His name and Emmanuel describes His role.

"When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded himand took his wife into his home. He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus."

An angel appears to Joseph three times. Each time, Joseph obey's the angel's commands without question and with faith"ing". He does as commanded. To be righteous is to obey the Word of God and Joseph's faith"ing" allows Jesus to be ADOPTED as a true Son of David while Mary's role allows Jesus to be born the Son of God. As stated in Holy Scripture, Joseph had no relations with Mary until she gave birth to Jesus. Christians are divided on this issue...some say that there was no need or desire for Mary to have any type of "romantic" relations after giving birth to The Messiah...one would think that this experience and role would be too Holy for Joseph and Mary to even think of such a thing. The other side sees marriage and marital relations as a God given gift because marriage is of God, created by God. The marital relations between a husband and wife is a true gift and is righteous. What's the big deal? I believe that it is natural, and righteous if Mary and Joseph did indeed engage in marital relations AFTER the birth of Jesus because they loved each other and love is the reason why they came together in engagement in the first place. Who in this world would say that having healthy marital relations with one who is your husband or wife is not a gift given and protected by God? There is nothing wrong with that! Romantic relations with one's husband or wife is not dirty or evil...it is a worldly act that was instituted and created by God, and for that reason, it is absolutely fine that Mary and Joseph had marital relations after the birth of Jesus. Holy Scripture says it, and I doubt that the marital "relations" spoken of in Matthew implies that this meant dealings with the finances of the household or who would baby sit Jesus! The Law is clear...have romantic relations with your wife and enjoy...have romantic relations with someone else's wife or a woman who will be someone's wife and you commit adultery. You could be stoned to death for adultery.

In conclusion, Joseph and Mary are blessed people for being the two people who bring the kingship lineage together for the Messiah to be born. The Jews expected and still await a king who will unify and exalt them and the Jewish people...the Messiah chose to come into this world the WAY HE WANTED not the way the Jews wanted Him too. Why rescue the Jews from their oppressors when oppression is of THIS WORLD anyway's? The Kingdom of Heaven is NOT in this present world as we see it, thus the world and it's problems are the dealings of mankind. We need to learn that this life is our time to focus on what is truly important, living our lives in order to build a relationship with the Lord and become tool's of His Good Works. The works of mankind stay with mankind and we must lift up our hearts, mind, and soul to what really counts...and that is eternal life through the salvation of Jesus Christ and acting in Faith in His Word and His Works.

Christ was born, Christ was killed, and Christ has risen! Rejoice for Our Salvation has been sealed in a New Covenant by our faith"ing"!

Hallelujah!

God Bless you and your families this week.

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Christian Persecution in SRI LANKA

SRI LANKA
Mobs Attack Churches - Compass Direct

Buddhist militants attacked two church services in Sri Lanka on November 12 and hit Christian workers returning from a funeral. In the first attack, a mob of some 100 people, including four Buddhist monks, pasted anti-Christian posters in the neighborhood of an Assembly of God church in Yakkala, Gampaha district, and blocked the road leading to the church. Four days later, as a young Christian woman arrived at the pastor's house asking for prayer, a man doused her with a container of burnt oil. In another attack, a mob of about 35 people - including 12 Buddhist monks and a local government official - walked into the Sunday service of a prayer ministry in Kandy district, demanding that the service cease immediately. "We were threatened that if we gathered together for worship again, the building would be flattened," the local pastor said. Pray God will protect the Christians as they continue to follow Jesus.

Ephesians 6:10-13
The Armor of God

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Every month The Voice of the Martyrs reports on what is really happening around the world where our brothers and sisters are persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ. Now you can receive a free subscription to The Voice of the Martyrs award winning monthly newsletter. You will be inspired, you will learn to pray and even discover practical ways to get involved. Sign up today.

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Luke 3:10-18 (Sermon for the week of December 17th)

Gospel
Lk 3:10-18

The crowds asked John the Baptist,
“What should we do?”
He said to them in reply,
“Whoever has two cloaks
should share with the person who has none.
And whoever has food should do likewise.”
Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him,

“Teacher, what should we do?”
He answered them,
“Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.”
Soldiers also asked him,
“And what is it that we should do?”
He told them,
“Do not practice extortion,
do not falsely accuse anyone,
and be satisfied with your wages.”

Now the people were filled with expectation,
and all were asking in their hearts
whether John might be the Christ.
John answered them all, saying,
“I am baptizing you with water,
but one mightier than I is coming.
I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor
and to gather the wheat into his barn,
but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Exhorting them in many other ways,
he preached good news to the people.


SERMON:

John the Baptist was the one sent to prepare the way of the Lord. Born to parents who were unable to bear a child until the Lord manifested John's birth, the Lord sent John into this world SIX MONTHS prior to the Lord Jesus coming through the womb of His mother Mary after conception by the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist was to be the one to prepare this world by Baptism by water after Repentance. Repentance is the changing of one's current way or path and giving up control and direction to the Lord. The passage this week are John's spoken words BEFORE the Lord Jesus Christ was ministering. There is a six month difference in age between John the Baptist and Jesus Christ...at this time the preparation began through John BEFORE the Lord found the Apostles and before the Lord was crucified. So, let's look at the beginning verses more in-depth:

The crowds asked John the Baptist,
“What should we do?”
He said to them in reply,
“Whoever has two cloaks
should share with the person who has none.
And whoever has food should do likewise.”
Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him,

“Teacher, what should we do?”
He answered them,
“Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.”
Soldiers also asked him,
“And what is it that we should do?”
He told them,
“Do not practice extortion,
do not falsely accuse anyone,
and be satisfied with your wages.”

The people of this time KNEW that the Messiah was coming via the prophets and the time period that John is Baptising coincides with the expectations that John may be a candidate for the Messiah. Now is a good time to take a look back at some of the prophecies that Jesus fulfills. Do you know that Jesus fulfills over 300 Old Testament prophecies? NO ONE can claim to even come close to 10% fulfillment of these prophecies! NO ONE!

Let's read an excerpt from the writings of Mr. Pete Benson found at
http://www.unityinchrist.com:

"The scribes and Jewish religious leaders knew the time that the Messiah’s ministry would come on the scene, right to the year, just as they knew the town he would be born in. Daniel 9:24-26, “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore [margin: build again Jerusalem] and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince [reference to the Romans] that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary [this happened in 70A.D.]; and the end thereof shall be with a flood [prophetic term in the Bible for an army], and unto the end of the war, desolations are determined.” From this prophecy the Jewish leaders and teachers of the Law knew the Messiah was coming-down to the exact year of the start of his ministry. In prophecy one prophetic year is equal to 360 prophetic days. One prophetic day is equal to one normal year. In verse 25 where it says “from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build [rebuild] Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks:…” This commandment to restore Jerusalem and the temple is the very same commandment spoken of in Ezra 1:1-11 and II Chronicles 36:22-23. This commandment is dated as having gone out in 457BC, the first year of Cyrus the Persian and is recorded in Ezra 1:1-3, which states “Now in the first year of Cyrus the king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus the king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, ‘Thus saith Cyrus the king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah…”

Now lets figure this out. It is really simple. 7 weeks + 62 weeks = 69 weeks. 69 weeks times 7 [converting weeks to days] = 483 days. 483 prophetic days = 483 years. Going 483 years forward in time from 457 B.C. is done by subtracting 457 from 483 which = 26. But since there is no year zero, you add 1 to the 26 giving you 27 A.D., the year Jesus started his ministry. By this calculation his death was in the spring of 31 A.D. Some disagree, making their calculation dating from another decree from another later Persian king to go and rebuild the wall, received by Nehemiah. But dating from the later decree doesn’t really fit the instructions found in Daniel 9:25. So in the year 27 A.D. Jesus was walking up to John the Baptist to get baptized. If the scribes had been on the ball, they would have known to be on the lookout for him. Isn’t this amazing? The Creator God inspired these prophecies to be penned many hundreds of years in advance of their being carried out, from the year of the start of Jesus ministry, to the eventual destruction of the Romans in 70 A.D., it all happened. In verse 26, the word “prince” is referring to the Roman prince, and not the Prince of Peace. Verse 27 takes us up to the beginning of the tribulation when a world superpower will step onto the scene in Jerusalem after the Jews have built a temple or tabernacle and restarted the “morning and evening” sacrifices. Verse 27 states that this “he”, referring to the leader of this restored Roman system, will cause “the sacrifice of oblation to cease…” stopping the evening and morning sacrifices being carried out by the Levitical priesthood yet to be set up by the Jews sometime in the near future [they’re working on setting this all up right now]."

This is the same knowledge the Jews had as they anticipated the coming of the the Messiah...AND the Messiah did come...Jesus began his ministry in 27 AD...and He was sacraficed for Our sins...what more do the unbelievers want?

So, the people ask John the Baptist: "What do we do in the meantime?"
And John the Baptist singles out groups of people by their profession and tells them this; "DO WHAT IS RIGHT! DO WHAT YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE!" For their works can only be the works of man and not God until the One who is the Messiah comes and is sacraficed amd redeems those who have Faith in Him!

The "works" John the Baptist speaks of are:

Soldiers also asked him,
“And what is it that we should do?”
He told them,
“Do not practice extortion,
do not falsely accuse anyone,
and be satisfied with your wages.”

...these "works" are not guidelines for living in which we "try" our best not to break. These are works of mankind living in this world for a short duration that should be done at all times. The Good Works of God are done by God and those who live in God are tools of God. If you were a soldier in these times of John the Baptist, you were paid a very small wage. What would a soldier do if this world began to bother him and he lived outside of a life devoted to God? He would abuse his power in order to "get more". Get more of what? GET MORE MONEY TO FURTHER HIMSELF IN THIS WORLD. Note that money is not used in God's Kingdom...it is used HERE...in this world only. A soldier could create a lot of problems for you if you upset him. All a soldier would have to do is demand the money...the person would quickly hand it over! Not taking money from people that you are suppossed to be protecting has nothing to do with God. Not abusing your power in order to get money is what you should always do on this planet. It is basic, it is acting like a person willing to live their life in ANTICIPATION for GREATER WORKS! These "Greater Good Works" come from God only when you are with God. You are with God when you accept and turn over your will and your life to Jesus and thus the Son brings you to God and you are able to fulfill the Good Wirks of God planned for you to do! There are works of man and Works of God...mankind can do the works of man but can only do the Works of God when you have handed your will over to God. This is the act of faith in the Son, Jesus Christ! Without Jesus, you can't do ANY GOOD WORKS of God...unless you are somehow able TO BE PERFECT in this life and found "worthy in GOD'S EYES" , not worthy mankind's eyes, and become a worthy being apart from the redemption given by the Son Jesus Christ!

Now we have better insight into the reason behind John the Baptist's answer:

Now the people were filled with expectation,
and all were asking in their hearts
whether John might be the Christ.
John answered them all, saying,
“I am baptizing you with water,
but one mightier than I is coming.
I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.

John knows why he is here and why he is baptising. He know the Messiah is alive in flesh. He knows that he is paving the way. The people don't know...

John indeed is baptising by water...and He is not worthy to loosen the sandals of the Messiah. NEITHER ARE WE! Don't confuse this cliche out there that we need to be more "Christ like" and fall into the worldly thought that we can act ANYWAY like, or ever come close to being ANYTHING AT ALL "Christ like"! Humility is the word needed to be reflected on. You can act as good as you want...there is no good acts unless they are acts of God. As Jesus tells us, "Only God is Good!" (Mark 10:18) This "Act like Christ" motto floating around is foolishness unless one is clear on the difference between mankind's good works and the Good Works of God! How many people believe that they can do Good Works without having any faith in Jesus? MANY! Too many!

Now for the warning to those living apart from Jesus:

His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor
and to gather the wheat into his barn,
but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Exhorting them in many other ways,
he preached good news to the people.

Jesus did and is seperating those who are His, and those who are NOT His. The winnowing fan is used to seperate the wheat from the chaff.
Those who are Jesus' people are the wheat and those who are not are the chaff. (See Matthew 13:24-30 the Parable of the Weeds)

What happens to the chaff?

"THE CHAFF HE WILL BURN WITH UNQUENCHABLE FIRE"

That can't be good!
Alas! Are you with Jesus or without Jesus?

For you have two options:

1) Live perfectly and do it all on your own.
If you slip ONCE, GOODBYE!

2) Repent that you are not perfect, seek the salvation of Jesus for that is why He suffered and died...it was FOR THOSE WHO REPENT AND REALIZE THEY ARE NOT PERFECT AND NEED SALVATION, and turn your will over to Him! Test it and watch what happens to your life!

The second choice is another way of looking at the last line of this week's Gospel lesson...for indeed this is the meaning behind:

"he (John the Baptist) preached good news to the people."

The Good News is choice #2, and the Bad News is choice #1.

What's your choice?

God Bless you and your families this week!

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Luke 3:1-6 (Sermon for the week of December 10th)

Gospel
Lk 3:1-6

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,
when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,
and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee,
and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region
of Ituraea and Trachonitis,
and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,
during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,
the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert.
John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan,
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill shall be made low.
The winding roads shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

SERMON:

This week we read from Luke and I want to start out by covering a few historical points about the way this reading starts out the way it does and about who this man, Luke was.

Luke was a historian, evangelist and a physician. Colossians 4:14: "Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you."

The Gospel according Luke was written in 60 A.D. Luke was a close friend and companion of Paul. Luke was not an eyewitness to the life of Jesus Christ and little is known of his conversion or his early life. Luke was an evangelist by calling and a physician by profession. He earned the historian title by writing works of testimony and history. Luke not only wrote the Gospel of Luke but also the book of Acts and he traveled with Paul as a missionary. Luke was probably with Paul when he was martyred (2Timothy chapter 4). As to the rest of Luke’s life, we know very little.

Luke the historian, emerges with verses like this one found in the beginning of Chapter 3. So, let's break down the verses to learn the purpose why Luke includes these words in the opening verses of chapter 3 as an introduction for John the Baptist.

"In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,
when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,
and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee,
and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region
of Ituraea and Trachonitis,
and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,
during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,"

For the sake of historical knowledge let's look at the commentary found in The Book of Antiquities by Flavius Josephus who is a reliable and well known JEWISH historian.

"These {verses} establish the year of the appearance of John the Baptist, and hence of the subsequent public career of Jesus. The 15th year of Tiberius was 28/29 as he reigned for 22 years and some 5 or 6 months, from 14-37. Pontius Pilate was procurator from 26-36, and Caiaphas was high priest over almost the same period, 26-35. Herod Antipas ruled Galilee from 4 BCE to 40 CE, and Philip his assortment of lands from 4 BCE to 34 CE As to "Lysanius", Luke is at variance with Josephus. Lysanius was killed by Marc Antony during the reign of Herod the Great.

The small territory of Lysanius was leased by Zenodorus (or "Zeno", War 1.20.4 398), and was later given by Caesar to Philip, as quoted above in one of the passages. After Philip's death this little region that had belonged to Lysanius, along with other pieces of Philip's territory, was given to Agrippa by the Emperor Claudius circa 40 CE (also cited above). This little territory never had a name; it was just referred to familiarly, something like "that piece of land that used to belong to Lysanius."

This is the only way Josephus refers to the property throughout his works. There is no evidence of a ruler named Lysanius at the time Luke speaks about in any case the land is too small for anyone to bother identifying its ruler as a means of specifying a moment in history.
Two explanations present themselves.The more interesting of these is that Luke worked from a written source he did not quite understand; he could have read about the time "when Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea, and Trachonitis, and Abilene the tetrarchy of Lysanius." He could have misinterpreted the last clause as identifying another ruler of the time, rather than continuing the list of Philip's lands; particularly if the grammar had become a little garbled in transmission, perhaps during translation from the Aramaic. This would indicate Luke did not know enough about Judea to recognize that the "tetrarchy of Lysanius" was the way the local inhabitants referred to a little piece of land. The second, more mundane explanation is that Luke originally wrote the version we just surmised, but his text has become slightly corrupted during transmission to us."

Now let's review some history on who John the Baptist was...

"the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert."

John the Baptist's father was Zechariah who was a priest, and John's mother was Elizabeth, the cousin of Mary, the mother of Jesus. John the Baptist has direct lineage to Aaron the first High Priest who was the brother of Moses. The lineage of Mary the mother of Jesus and Elizabeth is important as well as their family relation as cousins. St. Hippolytus gives us a quick lesson on how the lineage of Elizabeth as a daughter of Aaron is true:

According to St. Hippolytus, "Mathan had three daughters: Mary, Soba, and Ann. Mary, the oldest, married a man of Bethlehem and was the mother of Salome; Soba married at Bethlehem also, but a "son of Levi", by whom she had Elizabeth; Ann wedded a Galilean (Joachim) and bore Mary, the Mother of God. Thus Salome, Elizabeth, and Mary, the mother of Jesus were first cousins, and Elizabeth, "of the daughters of Aaron" on her father's side, was, on her mother's side, the cousin of Mary.

Why all the history? First, we need to learn from the Scriptures, for understanding builds our faith. Instead of reading past the names and disregarding them as just "words" we need to acknowledge that the books of the New Testament tell us information for a reason. This all relates in this week's reading in an important way....

Luke, supplants the reality of John the Baptist's life in historical fact. Luke also shows us that John the Baptist is in direct lineage to Aaron as well as the Mother of Our Lord, Mary is also in the family lineage of Aaron. Elizabeth and Zacharias could not bear children, and an angel appeared to Zacharias to tell him about the coming of their son, John the Baptist. This event happened BEFORE the Immaculate Conception of Jesus.

Let's reflect again on one part of this weeks reading:

"during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,
the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert."

The "high priests" at the time of John the Baptist were Annas and then Caiaphas. Did the word of God come to them? NO! The Word of God came to an unknown man in the desert named John. God chooses who He wants! The coming of the Lord must be prepared and this honor was given to John.

So how did John preapre the way of the coming of our Lord Jesus?

"John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan,
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins."

John BAPTISED using water to renew the people who REPENTED and were thus REBORN in a new life led by the King of kings. They awaited the Savior who would serve as the final price paid for our slavery to sin through sacrafice in order for God to forgive our sins. We may know the Father through the Son...the Son who is Jesus, serves as a mediator between God and us as long as we have faith which is an active living spiritual relationship with Jesus.

John became the "Baptist" who paved the way for Jesus to grant us salvation and this process began with BAPTISM.

Now we need to reflect on the meaning of Baptism, repentance, and the forgiveness of sins.

Baptism is: the sinning, worldly human dying and a new spiritual being rising. In other words, it is the death of one's earthly, sinning self and the rising of a new person of Spirit. Water is a symbol of life and death. By standing in the river, the sinning, worldly person is "drowned" by dunking their head. Out of the water rises a new person, born of the Spirit. How do you become a new person? By killing the old one and this is done by drowning the old person in the living, flowing Spiritual water and a new life is created, a life of the Spirit. John's baptism is for the body becasue the fleshly body is the source of sin.

Repentance is: the acknowledgement of the need to be cleansed from sin. It is acknowledging the sinner and the need for a Savior. It is the realization that you cannot live life YOUR way and the need for your old way's to die. Repentance is giving up control of your life to Jesus. It is not about the human who is "sorry" and it is not saying: "I am sorry, I won't do it again". Repentance is about saying "I can't control myself...you take control Lord!"

A new creature is born by baptism and has repented by giving up control to Jesus.

Forgiveness of sins is: the forgiveness of all worldly, fleshly sins through Jesus. If you commit 3,000 sins the first day and on the second day committed 1,000 sins, and on the third day committed 1 sin....you are the bigger sinner on the third day then on the second day because sins add up. The older you get, the worse sinner you become.

BUT

the very first sin you committed in your life is the one sin that kills you!
The 4001 sin doesn't kill you because you are already dead from the first sin you committed. You are just a worse sinner!

Jesus did not and cannot sin. If you are living in Jesus by repenting and giving over control of your life to Him, then the Spirit cannot sin! The flesh continues to sin, but the born again person who has a new life in Spirit cannot sin.

This is rock of truth that the Word of God brings forth for you to rejoice and be thankful for! Whom the Son sets free is free indeed!

The Gospel reading in Luke ends with the same words as found in Isaiah 40:3-5 and is a perfect way to end this sermon...hear the words again:

“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill shall be made low.
The winding roads shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

God bless you and your families this week!

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Christian Persecution in PAKISTAN

PAKISTAN
Christian Couple Sentenced to Fifteen Years for Blasphemy -
VOM sources

On November 26, two believers were sentenced to 15 years in prison and a fine of 25,000 rupees each for burning the Koran. On October 18, Boota and James Masih, a married couple, were asked to clean a Muslim family's store and burn the garbage when they finished. The two gathered all the garbage in a donkey cart and burned it outside the home. Some Muslim neighbors saw the burning and discovered Koranic papers in the fire. An angry mob gathered and planned to burn Christian homes and churches. Police controlled the mob by arresting James and Boota, even though they are illiterate and did not know the contents of the garbage. Ask the Lord to comfort and protect James and Boota in prison.

Psalm 119:49-51
Remember the word to Your servant, Upon which You have caused me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life. The proud have me in great derision, Yet I do not turn aside from Your law. I remembered Your judgments of old, O LORD, And have comforted myself. Indignation has taken hold of me Because of the wicked, who forsake Your law. Your statutes have been my song In the house of my pilgrimage. I remember Your name in the night, O LORD, And I keep Your law. This has become mine,
Because I kept Your precepts.

Every month The Voice of the Martyrs reports on what is really happening around the world where our brothers and sisters are persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ. Now you can receive a free subscription to The Voice of the Martyrs award winning monthly newsletter. You will be inspired, you will learn to pray and even discover practical ways to get involved.

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Luke 21:25-28, 34-36 (Sermon for the week of December 3rd)

Gospel
Lk 21:25-28, 34-36

Jesus said to his disciples:
“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars,
and on earth nations will be in dismay,
perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
People will die of fright
in anticipation of what is coming upon the world,
for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
And then they will see the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
But when these signs begin to happen,

stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand.

“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy
from carousing and drunkenness
and the anxieties of daily life,
and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.
For that day will assault everyone
who lives on the face of the earth.
Be vigilant at all times
and pray that you have the strength
to escape the tribulations that are imminent
and to stand before the Son of Man.”

SERMON:

I wonder how many ministers centered their sermon around the Gospel reading for this week! We may be tempted to look past and ignore apocalyptic texts. Some may find that they are difficult to fathom, scared, or embarrassed to discuss it for fear of being associated with today's apocalyptic preachers. We cannot ignore the fact that Jesus spoke clearly and often about His
Second Coming and the New Testament is full of apocalyptic texts. Why?
For the world as we have known it since the beginning of time has a limited existence, and we are given the opportunity to acquire eternal life by faith in Our Lord. The first generations or first watch were given moral rules to follow perfectly if they wished to attain eternal life. The second watch witnessed the coming of the Lord Jesus, and the third watch awaits His
Second Coming. This third watch also has the chance to witness the Second Coming with all of the tribulation associated with it. I do not wish to be "caught by suprise", I wish to attain eternal life by faith in Jesus and fulfilling the Good Works He has assigned me the best I can with 110% effort.

So, let me begin to break apart this weeks reading and speak about several important points. In the first part of the reading Jesus the Christ says:

“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars,
and on earth nations will be in dismay,
perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
People will die of fright
in anticipation of what is coming upon the world,
for the powers of the heavens will be shaken."

Does anyone need clarification on these words? This is not a threat...this is a promise. This world has horrible history associated with it. Wars, plagues, natural disasters, just plain evil men doing evil things. Show me a span of a hundred years that did not have hell break loose! Our time on earth will always be marred by the horrible events that this world harbors. There are times of peace and times of war...(isn't this in a song?) We are witnesses as servants to the Lord during these times. Are these troubling reoccuring events the same events Jesus is speaking about? NO! There will come a time when the end approaches and there will be those of Christ and those not in Christ. These people and those people, faithers and non-faithers in Jesus.

Do you see in this time or can point to a definite time in history when there are "signs" in the sun AND the moon AND the stars AND the nations of the world in dismay with the "roaring of the sea"? It's not one of five signs taking place IT IS ALL FIVE SIGNS!

I must answer, "NO."

Now, many will sit and discuss what these signs will be and when they will come, but the "doomsday" preachers have this area covered well enough that I don't need to discuss it. The point is, there is a time when the world approaches the end and the signs will be clear BEFORE the event happens. This event is marked by PEOPLE DYING OF FRIGHT....and the powers of the heavens shaken. Hmmm....how many people can preach on what the "powers of the heavens" are? I take it, not many.

Do you have any thoughts on how this happens? I do but that is not the point that is being made here. These events...all these events...let's count them...I count seven now...will come before "the event". What is the event?
Let's read through the rest of the reading...

Jesus the Christ says:
"And then they will see the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

There is your event. Has this happened yet? I'll answer that again...."NO!"
The Messiah who lived 2,000 years ago with the name Jesus, will come in "a cloud with power and great glory".

Forget all of the Rapture talk you hear and listen to Jesus. If you are alive and see all seven signs which lead to the eighth which is the Son of Man coming in a cloud...you need to do one thing, the hardest act but an act of pure faith...

Here are your instructions, Jesus the Christ says:

"But when these signs begin to happen,

stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand."

There are those who have faith in Christ and then there are those who don't have faith in Christ. There are those who will raise their heads and those who refuse to raise their heads...there are those who are redeemed and those who are not redeemed.
Quick question: Is there a possibility that all of the people on the earth at the time before the Second Coming are shaken to the core so severly and everyone who is alive at this time raises their heads and stands erect to the Lord? I hope so, but looking at the history of mankind and witnessing the acts of man in my lifetime...I doubt it.
We'll witness the answer some day.
I have enough knowledge from Jesus' own words in the Gospels alone to tell me that not
everyone will be redeemed...but I have the personal hope for the world that they all will be but my hope and reality are two very different things.

STAND ERECT and know you will be redeemed in the Lord if you ARE WITH the Lord!
Now for the core of this sermon....

Jesus the Christ says:
“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy
from carousing and drunkenness
and the anxieties of daily life,
and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.

You can be ready to stand erect at the end of your time on this rock by following the instructions of Jesus. Those who find these words or read them from another faither down the road when the Son of Man who was Jesus returns to this earth in the Second Coming will need to heed this warning and follow the instructions very, very quickly. For the rest of us, we have the luxury of not being rushed...for a (little??) while. But our time here is not long at all and could end for some of the readers of this blog tomorrow for all we know.

There are three things to do which sums up every possible way to steer you away from faith.
I will list them and then expalin each of them.

1) BEWARE that you do not become drousy from carousing
2) BEWARE that you do not become drousy from drunkeness
3) BEWARE that you do not become stressed out from your day to day life

1) Beware that you do not become drousy from carousing. Let me explain this so that
we may all ponder it for a moment. Carousing includes all of the "fun" things we do to escape our life in order to feel good. Let's name a few....
Time you spend going out to bars, dance clubs, on dates, parties, vacations, watching TV, sports etc...
How many of us wasted time doing this in our lives? Sure, we deserve it right?
Question: Why do you feel that you deserve all of this fun? Where is the line between taking a break (which we all really don't need if we live by faith but I am no one to speak because I like going out with friends and going on vacation) but where is the line between taking a break and allowing it to overun and distract us from our faith? I have gone on vacations that where so enjoyable that I daydreamed and reminisced for weeks. I recall not having the motivation for bible reading, church activities, or praying as intently as I did before I went on vacation. Carousing also includes all of the distractions we create to "fill" our lives with "something" and has nothing to do with faith. Examples are working hard to attain financial, social, family, or personal status and acquiring all sorts of material objects. Where is the balance between fulfilling our duties, balancing our time with the Lord and becoming workaholics? Allow me to give an absolute. We have the opportunity to push all of the above mentioned worldly works aside and only live in faith. I have not done this. I have not relinquished everything I have and left my family in order to "serve the Lord" twenty-four hours a day...so I cannot instruct others to do so. I know the Lord owned nothing and His apostles abandoned their lives to follow Jesus...but I also know that relinquishing everything I have will not automatically grant me faith either. In other words, giving up everything will not mean a thing, and will not provide redemption if I do not have faith. I believe that raising a family and providing for my family creates abundant opportunities to live a life of faith. Plenty of opportunities and acts of faith!

2) Beware that you do not become drousy from drunkeness. The profits raked in by the makers of alcohol, drugs, and all types of substances should tell us how obsessed our world is with indulgence of mind/mood altering substances. (This includes food.) Alcohol exists in every
nation and every part of this world. And if not...they will find some eventually to drink. It is amazing to see how many people create plans centered around drinking.
But this doesn't just include alcohol. Think about how many legal and illegal drugs are ingested throughout the world. These substances physically and mentally effect people somehow or they wouldn't be taking them! Drugs are everywhere and anywhere. Think about all of the other physical substances we can ingest in order to escape our reality and have some "fun". Justify it all you want...the point is, when someone engages in activities that create "drunkeness", faith is not present, and neither is awareness of the Lord!

3) Beware that you do not have anxiety of daily life.
You may not drink, use drugs, have many material possessions, nor a job, but we all have encountered the stress of daily life. Pick an area of life and tell me when you have stressed out about it! When you stress out, you are not living by faith. We all have done it and have moments when we are stressed, but unless one takes the action to ask the Lord for peace, when one asks the Lord to take charge and when we actually turn our anxieties over to God, we are not living by faith, but instead are living on our own self will. We want to change the world that the Lord created...we want it our way. All that causes is more anxiety.

Do you think you had a bad day? Well, it could get worse.
The Lord says:
"that day {can} catch you by surprise like a trap.
For that day will assault everyone
who lives on the face of the earth."

Yes, your days could get a lot worse. Stand erect, stand in faith, and look up to the Lord and you will NEVER be trapped. You will be prepared for day to day life and the impending "assault on earth". Pray it's not in your lifetime.

The Lord says:
"Be vigilant at all times
and pray that you have the strength
to escape the tribulations that are imminent
and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Vigilant means: "alert, keenly aware". Be aware at ALL TIMES and PRAY, PRAY, Pray,
that you have the strength to escape tribulations. Tribulation means, "distress" and
this life and this world will always create dis--STRESS! The Lord will help you "escape"
stress that have always, are, and will always happen in your life. Pray for the strength and the Lord will see you through every day and keep you alert to stand before Him, for you sought direction and help in avoiding the situations that create circumstances where you may become "drousy" in indulgences of this earth, drunkeness, and anxiety. The Son of Man shall come again, the Tribulation of God will happen, you will experience your own personal tribulations, and one day your time will end to live in faith, love in faith, and demonstrate faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on this earth! Rejoice in the opportunity!

God bless you and your families this week.

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The Incomparable Christ

Jesus the Christ born of a virgin nearly 2,000 years ago, lived in poverty and was reared in obscurity. He did not travel extensively. He possessed neither wealth nor high social standing. His relatives were inconspicuous, and had neither training nor formal education. In infancy He startled a king; in childhood He puzzled doctors; in manhood He ruled the course of nature, walked upon the billows as if pavements, and hushed the sea to sleep. He healed the multitudes without medicine and made no charge for His service.

He never wrote a book, and yet many times more books have been written about Him than about anyone else who has ever lived. His discourses and teaching have been translated into over 1,000 languages and have a circulation many times greater than that of any other writings in existence.

He never wrote a song, and yet He has furnished the theme for more songs than all the songwriters combined. He never founded a college, but all schools put together cannot boast of having as many students. He never marshalled an army, nor drafted a soldier, nor fired a gun; and yet no leader ever had more volunteers who have, under His orders, made more rebels stack arms and surrender without a shot fired.

He never practiced psychiatry, and yet He has healed more broken hearts than all the doctors far and near. Once a week the wheels of commerce cease their turning and multitudes wend their way to worshipping assemblies to pay homage and respect to Him.

The names of the past proud statesmen of Greece and Rome have come and gone. The names of the past scientists, philosophers, and theologians have come and gone; but the name of this Man abounds more and more. Though time has spread almost 2,000 years between the people of this generation and the scene of His crucifixion, yet He still lives. Herod could not destroy Him, and the grave could not hold Him. God raised Him from the dead.

He stands forth upon the highest pinnacle of heavenly glory, proclaimed of God, acknowledged by angels, adored by saints, and feared by devils, as the living, personal Christ, our Lord and Saviour.

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