Archive for December 2007
three types of peace
I wish that I could have attended one of Billy Grahams crusades.Thomas
Immanuel
Matthew 1 (New International Version)
The Birth of Jesus Christ
18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[c] because he will save his people from their sins.”
22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[d]—which means, “God with us.”
24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Matthew 2
The Visit of the Magi
1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east[b] and have come to worship him.”
3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ[c] was to be born. 5“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6” ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’[d]“
7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east[e] went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Luke 2 (New International Version)
The Birth of Jesus
1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town to register. 4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
The Shepherds and the Angels
8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Thank you, God, for the greates gift ever. Your son, Jesus, my Lord, my King, my Savior.
Thomas
The Shepherds and the Angels
8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Thank you, God, for the greates gift ever. Your son, Jesus, my Lord, my King, my Savior.
Thomas
Merry Christmas
It only took 93 years.
OBERLIN, Kan. – A postcard featuring a color drawing of Santa Claus and a young girl was mailed in 1914, but its journey was slower than Christmas. It just arrived in northwest Kansas. To read more click here.
Another example of our hard working government employees.
Thomas
banging my head against the walls
Surrender don’t come natural to me
I’d rather fight You for something I don’t really want
Than to take what You give that I need
And I’ve beat my head against so many walls
Now I’m falling down, I’m falling on my knees (Rich Mullins ~~ Hold Me Jesus ~~ A Liturgy, a Legacy, and a Ragamuffin Band)
There are many song lyrics that relate to me, but these lyrics resonate with me. It seems that most of the time what I want is not what God want to give me. I end up miserable instead of being at peace with myself and God.
I wonder how many people would be happier if they were willing to take what God is offering instead of fighting with Him. Think about. You need a car so you set your mind and heart on a BMW instead of taking a used Buick that a relative or friend is offering. It could be the God is providing a safe reliable vehicle for you, but you just want that dream car. You end up stressed out trying to pay for a car that you cannot afford.
I wonder how many of us do not have an impact in ministry because we have this picture in our minds what our ministry should look like. Lets say God gives you the talents to write and perform great music. He put it in your heart to use these gifts to advance His kingdom, but you spend all your time trying to be the next Michael W Smith instead of being the next Shaun Groves who is rescuing children from poverty.
A person has the feeling to get married and have children, but spends their time chasing after the next pin up girl or guy, instead of looking at the person sitting next to them at church. They end missing the person that would make them complete. Instead they end up marrying a person they do not truly love and they end up get divorced a few years latter.
I wonder why it is this way for some of us. We are not willing to take what God is giving us and end up fighting Him for all the wrong things. I just know that I am tired of banging my head against so many walls and it time again for me to fall to my knees.
Thomas
Is she a hero?
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Amid deafening cracks of gunfire, smoke-spewing canisters and the evacuation of thousands of New Life Church members, security guard Jeanne Assam, a former Minneapolis police officer, said she suddenly saw the hallways clear and a gunman come through the door. “I took cover. … I identified myself. I engaged him. I took him down,” the 42-year-old former law officer and volunteer church guard said Monday at a news conference in the Colorado Springs police station. “I just said, ‘Holy Spirit, be with me.’ I wasn’t even shaking,” Assam said. “I give the credit to God. I say this very humbly. God was with me.” To read more click here.
I wonder if God was with her and helped her when she shot the gunman. Does God deserve the credit for her actions? Does this make her a hero? Could the gunman be subdued without more blood shed and death?
Thomas
Cards and pizza
A couple of weeks ago I got together with some friends to play cards and eat some pizza. It was a good night with me breaking even at end of the night.
One of the most hotly discussed things during the night was on how much do you tip the pizza driver. I stated that I thought that it should be at 15%. That was the wrong thing to say. It seemed the prevailing mood was 10% is the max a driver should be tipped. The argument for this was that there is a delivery fee added to the bill so driver is already being paid to deliver the pizza. I still disagree with this argument. That driver should not be cheated because the pizza joint charges us for delivery. It is not like they are giving that money to the driver. I tried sticking in a couple of bucks extra into the money for the pizza, but the person who got up to pay the bill took those couple of bucks out of pizza money pool.
Maybe I am wrong about this. Maybe 10% should be the max tip I should give for anything. I have to think about this some more.
Thomas
taking your Jesus pill
It seems that people believe that following Jesus is like taking a Jesus pill and everything will be easy and all right. In truth, following Jesus is demanding while often being mysterious and or dangerous at times.
That summed up this weekends sermon. Can you sum up your church’s weekends sermon in a couple of sentences?
Thomas
