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Showing posts from 2020

One Way

  There are so many people deceived by the prospects of other religions, other paths, and other ways. To these people I want to pose this, if there were 800 cures for the cancer or disease you suffer from, but only 1 worked which would you take? Obviously the one that works right? Well what about gods? There are millions of gods, but only One can save you, guarantee you heaven and heal your broken state, that God is Jesus Christ! Just like cures, only one works, there are many (false) gods, but only One God is the true God and can cure are sinful state and cleanse us of all sins so we may live eternally in heaven and the new earth to come, that God is Jesus Christ!  There is only One Way to heaven, One cure for our brokenness, and One means to reach Heaven, that is Jesus, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know ...

Its Still Christmas

  For many Dec 25th is the end of the joy, the day Christmas reaches its culmination. The result after tearing through wrapping and paper is a feeling akin to melancholy, a sense of profound loss, that the holiday is over and now we are forced to face a dreary and dark winter.  In England and many places in the world this is not the case. They celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas which begins on Dec 25th and lasts tell Jan 5th, known as Epiphany, the celebration of God becoming flesh in the person of Jesus. I think this custom is much more sound, it gets people through the New Year and allows for some more holly jolly and cheer, something we need more than ever.  We could start some new traditions (new to us) and give gifts and help to those in need after the 25th. Certainly it is best to save the grand gift for Christmas Day, but why stop the kindness? Perhaps donate to some charity or help someone you know is in need beyond the 25th. Why does the Christmas Spirit have to ...

A Merry Covid Christmas?

  Celebrating Christmas this year is certain to be challenging. With Covid still spiking, and countries like Germany locking down again, it can be hard to find the “holly” and “jolly” this year. The truth is the First Christmas was not so jolly. It was a census, a Roman decree that Mary and Jospeh had  to return to their ancestral homeland of Bethlehem. Once there they were shunned and unable to procure a room for pregnant Mary. There was no room at the Hampton Inn for Mary and Joseph, “And Mary gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:7). If you think your Xmas is rough, try being Mary and giving birth in stable! And think of God, who came as a babe and was not able to spend a night in the local hotel but among farm animals! Then to make matters worse, King Herod Aggripa orders all children younger than two years old to be slain, and an angel tells Jospeh to take Mary...

The Return of The Star of Bethlehem

  For the first time since the Middle Ages, and Roman Times, the Star of Bethlehem will be returning in the sky tonight on Dec 21st, 2020! The star that guided the Magi to come and worship our Lord Jesus Christ shall be seen by us! A phenomenon that only happens over every thousand years!  The significance of this sign in the heavens cannot be understated. 2020 has been a tumultuous year, and if there was any doubt we are living in the end times  and that “everything is being shaken that can be shaken,” (Hebrews 12:26-29) that is now dispelled. The appearance of the Star of Bethlehem tonight I believe is two fold. It is a reminder of our blessed hope in Jesus Christ, our God and Savior who came 2020yrs ago in human flesh as a baby. The First Advent transformed human history  as God became a man and would grow up to bear our sins on the cross and rise from the dead, ascend to heaven and rule at the right hand of the Father.  The second purpose of the Star of Beth...

Care For The Downtrodden

  It is easy to fall into the thinking that all homeless people are using money for booze, drugs, and other self destructive tendencies. So we seal up our help and excuse indifference with the belief our aid would be in vain. Had Christ adopted such an attitude towards us who have as much sin in us as those on the street, we’d be in a poor state indeed; thanks be to Him he died for us when we were his enemies, “6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person-though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die- 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:6-10). And yet we ...

Let God Be God

As humans we are inquisitive creatures. We desire to learn and to dissect. This is natural. Even encouraged. However, there is one plain we must curb (temper) this nature, and that is in regards to our Lord God. The truth is we see through a glass darkly (1 Corinthians 13:12), and only the Almighty can see the full picture. When we begin to judge God or his ways, making claims, “God is unjust,” or “why did he allow,” we’ve stepped into dangerous dissection. To quote Wordsworth, “we murder to dissect,” which meant that rather than observe a frog and learn from it via relationship, we cut it to pieces and look inside, but then the Frog is dead. We do the same to God in houses of theology and seminary, we try to dissect God and his ways, and end up murdering our relationship with God, hence was Jesus says, “ Nevertheless I have against thee that thou hast left thy first love . Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen and repent and do the first works (love God and love others), or ...

The Light and Life of Man

  As the world prepares for a bew surge of Covid cases and hedonism makes a resurgence, it is important to remember.  To remind ourselves from where our life flows. The apostle John records in his gospel, that Jesus is the Light, but what is this light? Is it illumination or enlightenment? Yes In Christ all the treasures of knowledge and wisdom reside (Colossians 2:2-3). But i believe it is so much more, a light that sustains life and gives purpose to life, a light that pierces the darkness of disease, doubt, and despair.  Let’s look at the passage,  In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God. 1:2  He was with God in the beginning. 1:3  Through him all things came into being, not one thing came into being except through him. 1:4  What has come into being in him was life, life that was the light of men; 1:5  and light shines in darkness, and darkness could not overpower it. 1:6  A man...

Update On Armenia

  Our prayers seem to have been answered. Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia have entered a deal to end the conflict Nagorno-Karabakh ( https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/cwn/2020/november/armenia-azerbaijan-russia-sign-deal-to-end-war-over-nagorno-karabakh ). After Armenian Christian families have been subjected to shelling and surrounded by armies that outnumber them five to one, the bloodshed seems to coming to an end.   While this news is welcome and prayers have been answered, the wild card remains Turkey who is not involved in this deal. Pres. Recep Endogen of Turkey has sworn to have a war between the cross and crescent, a neo-jihad akbar. Holy war may be a pretext or genuine, regardless it is the Turks whose violence against Byzantine Christians spurred Alexios I Commenus to ask for aid of Pope Urban II, cresting the crussdes. It was the Ottoman Turks who tried to take Europe and the world in the 15th century and were beaten back miraculously at Malta, Lepanto, and by the ...

Stand With Armenia!

  Azerbaijan and Turkey with Islamic Militant Mercenaries have started a war with Christian Armenia, killing hundreds and wounding thousands. We must stand with Armenia, who was subjected to the Turkish 1915 Genocidal Campaign that killed over 1.5 Million Armenians because they were Christian (See the movie The Promise , starring Christian Bale and Oscar Isaacs). I happen to have friends, who lost their grandparents to the genocide, and heard first hand their parent’s harrowing journey to safety.  What is alarming is Israel is arming Azerbaijan . The Jewish State is considering putting its arm deals with Azerbaijan on hold, however israel is allies with both Azerbaijan and Armenia, “Israel has strong ties with both countries, making it hard for it to maintain its neutrality. Azerbaijan has a particularly strategic relationship with the Jewish State because it supplies large amounts of fuel to Israel. Meanwhile, Israel is believed to supply up to 60% of Azerbaijan’s weapon s...

The Twilight of Building

  The Lord God told David through His Prophet Nathan that he did not want a temple made of cedar (2 Samuel 7:1-53). Then Christ the Lord died on the cross and the veil in the Temple was tore in two (Matthew 27:49-51). The Lord then through his apostles made it clear that we, Christian believers in Jesus Christ are the temples of God. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). So then why if God never wanted a house of cedar and has now made us Christians the stones making up his Church (Ephesians 2:21-22) do church buildings exist? Why is it so important to have a building if God did not want one in the first place and made it futile after Calvary?  The answer is always ego, that a man wants to leave behind s legacy not to honor God but himself. Constantine The Great ordered the building of cathedrals like St. Peter’s Basilica and The Hagia Sophia, not to honor God with his piety but  to honor himself, you can still see mosaics of Constantine with Jesus and the Virgin Mary, drawing attenti...