Liberal clergy have, predictably, been quick to issue statements in support of Obama’s announcement. For example, one minister quoted in favor of gay marriage was the Rev. Susan Russell, an Episcopal priest at All Saints Church in Pasadena, California. How does she justify a stand so clearly at variance with the Scriptures she is called to uphold?

Ms. Russell first asserts that since Jesus taught the most important commands are “Love God” and “Love your neighbor as yourself,” he would celebrate committed, same-sex relationships. She then presents her crowning argument: “Jesus never said a single word about anything even remotely connected to homosexuality.”

Apparently someone has distributed a memo with talking points for those who are promoting homosexual unions, because I have seen this same statement repeated by a number of different writers. It stands as one of the most egregious examples of “Scripture twisting” (2 Peter 3:16) I have ever seen, since it overlooks three fundamental facts.

First, Jesus was a Jew. He lived and died under the Law of Moses, and from the beginning of his public preaching Jesus proclaimed continuity with that Law (Matthew 5:17-20). The Jewish culture in which his ministry was conducted had, for centuries, been shaped and molded by the holiness code of the Old Testament, a code that included such clear moral standards as “If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable” (Leviticus 20:13; cf. 18:22). God’s prohibitions against homosexual behavior were well understood by Jesus’ audience and did not need to be repeated.

Second, while Jesus did not need to specifically address same-sex unions, he did uphold the Biblical pattern of marriage as being between a man and a woman by quoting the account of the original union between Adam and Eve (Genesis 2:24). “Haven’t you read,” asked Jesus, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?” (Matthew 19:4-6).

The creation account cited by Jesus establishes the male-female union as divinely sanctioned, socially normative, and biologically necessary for the procreation of life (Genesis 2:27-28). I will personally believe in “gay marriage” when someone will identify for me, out of the more than 7 billion people now living on the face of the earth, just one individual who is the product of a same-sex union.

Third, Jesus himself explained that he had not, in his earthly ministry, covered every subject that should be addressed (John 16:12) but instead was sending the Holy Spirit to empower his chosen apostles to deliver his teaching in its fullness (John 16:13).

Once those apostles carried Jesus’ message out of the confines of Judaism and into the larger Gentile world, they immediately encountered a culture that was saturated with immorality, including the widespread practice of homosexuality (although not of same-sex marriage). For this reason the writings of the apostles are filled with moral instruction and urgent appeals to sexual purity, including the specific condemnation of homosexual behavior (Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

Those clergy who seek to justify gay marriage by asserting that “Jesus never said anything about homosexuality” are either demonstrating a profound ignorance of Scripture or are more concerned with politics than truth.

-Dan Williams
El Dorado, Arkansas

You may have no need of it today, but it can be stored in your mind and reserved for some time later.  (I use advice today that I laid away years ago–advice that made little sense to me as a teenager but has wisdom I can fully appreciate today.)

Someone gave me advice on how to keep a job before I even filled out my first resume, advice on how to handle bills even before I ever had any, and advice about marriage long before I ever started dating.  (My parents told me the best way to keep my marriage healthy was to “board up the kitchen and eat out.”)

I couldn’t use much of that advice in the fourth grade, but I still listened.  And when the day came that I got a job, got my first bill, and said, “I do,” I had a storehouse of good advice to draw from.

THOUGHT: When someone gives you good advice, don’t tune it out because you don’t feel you need it right now.  Put it on layaway.  Keep it in reserve.  Who knows?  It could come in very handy some day.  (Martha Bolton)

“Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life” (Prov. 4:13).

–Mike Benson

He, along with Friedrich Engels, wrote one of the most well-known political treatises in all of history, the Communist Manifesto. As evidence of his keen understanding of the great power of words, Marx is credited with saying: “Give me twenty-six lead soldiers and I will conquer the world!” Who are the twenty-six lead soldiers Marx referred to? They are the twenty six letters of the alphabet on a printing press.

THOUGHTS: All words of have power and meaning (Isa. 55:11). Jesus said we would be held accountable for even our idle words (Matt. 12:36-37), and Proverbs says that that words have the power of life and death (18:21). So the question is not whether words have power. The question is, “What power am I releasing with my words?” If you have sent froth words that hurt, take them back with an apology and replace them with words that heal. The greatest untapped source of healing in life is “pleasant words.”

You may not consider yourself a physician, but you should–as along as you are dispensing words of life. (David Jeremiah)

“Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones” (Prov. 16:24).

–Mike Benson

But that’s not the end of this item, we need to look at “the rest of the story.” It turns out that he was diabetic and his injured toe was gangrenous. By chewing off the toe, the dog saved his life. I’ve read about animals chewing off their own diseased paws and I guess this instinct may have been the dog’s motivation here. But, let’s see if there’s a spiritual lesson here.

The man lost his toe BUT, in so doing, saved his temporal life. What a great parabolic illustration to Christ’s teaching about being tempted into sin. Read with me from Matt. 18:8-9 “And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.” (ESV)

So then, what’s more important – a toe or your physical life? What’s more important – an earthly body part or your eternal life? Jesus is simply drawing us a picture that points out the relative importance of the “earthly” versus the “eternal.” It’s a decision that we each have to make. To paraphrase the words of the old knight in the movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark” – “Choose wisely.”

–Ron Covey

Black is for sin.  There is little room for disagreement here because sin is so ugly it cost Jesus His life on the cross (Jn. 3:16).

Red represents Jesus’ blood shed on the cross.  Jesus did die, His death was designed to justify man from sin (Rom. 5:9), so using the color of red to symbolize this act is certainly not objectionable.

Purple is for a sad heart.  Sadness is involved with become a Christian (2 Cor. 7:10), but sadness is not enough.  On the Day of Pentecost described in Acts 2, some were certainly sad (Acts 2:37), but Peter said they needed to “repent” (verse 38).  Repentance is a turning from what is wrong and embracing what is right (i.e. turning to and following God’s will).

Blue was the other key color on this card and this was said to represent the “personal faith in Jesus Christ that results in salvation.”  Or, as another has said, “Blue is the way you stand up and say, Jesus washed my sins away.”

Blue could stand for faith because faith is absolutely necessary (Heb. 11:6), but blue could also represent baptism.  There was no mention of baptism on the card I saw, but there are numerous passages in the Bible that say God requires baptism for salvation.  Jesus said we must believe AND be baptized (Mk. 16:16) to be saved.  Peter said baptism “now saves us” (1 Pet. 3:21).  Paul said baptism puts us “into Christ” (Gal. 3:27), the place where salvation is located (2 Tim. 2:10).  Sins are “washed away” (Acts 22:16) and “remitted” by being baptized (Acts 2:38).

Whether you use jelly beans or something else to teach people about Christianity, be sure to inform those you know about the need for “faith” (Jn. 8:24), “repentance” (Lk. 13:3), “confession” (1 Tim. 6:12), and being “buried with Christ in baptism” (Rom. 6:1-3) so they can have a “new life” (Rom. 6:4).

–Brad Price
www.abiblecommentary.com

Symptoms abound that show Americans don’t like their work. Each week thousands exclaim “It’s Friday!” In those two words is the promise of time away from the salt mine. During the week employees discuss dreams of retirement and how to speed up the process. Retirement, of course, means never having to go to work again.

Then there are those who play the lotteries. No one likes paying taxes, but many gladly pay a few bucks to their state government as they try to woo Lady Luck.

An article on SavingAdvice.com, however, states the case bluntly: “Don’t waste your money.” A typical state lottery, says the article, has odds of winning at 1 in 18 million. A person is six times more likely to be killed by a lightning strike, and three times more likely to die in a car crash on the way to purchase that ticket. /1 Such facts, however, don’t seem to dim the pursuit of a financial windfall.

People go to great lengths to never have to work again. Wouldn’t life be simpler if we could make peace with our jobs?

Paul believed that a new view of work is possible. He said this to Christians at Ephesus:

“Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men” (Ephesians 6:5-7, NKJV).

Those in free societies have difficulty imagining a more difficult existence than being a slave. Talk about a bad job! At no time are you off the clock, and you can never call in sick. Yet slaves were urged to change their views of their work. Instead of focusing on the harsh master, look to the benevolent Lord to whom we willingly bound ourselves. See work as an opportunity to do service “to the Lord, and not to men.”

Paul’s exhortation to servants in Titus 2:10 adds one more dimension to this new view of work: “… that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.” The way we go about our daily employment displays our view of God. A Christian has the opportunity on the job to show the good difference God can make. Our faith is not just for Sunday mornings; it shapes the attitudes we bring to the workplace.

Let us no longer view our jobs as a ball and chain that keeps us from enjoying life. It’s a new mission we’ve received. Through our work we can show the devotion we have to the Lord who will one day lead us to eternal rest (Revelation 14:13).

–Tim Hall

1/ http://tinyurl.com/39fto7

And none of the suits wrapped around those bodies required pockets.  “You can’t take it with you.”

Solomon forces us to face that moment we all tend to ignore — the moment of death.  He backs up three spaces and looks at the crash and says, “This is the grievous evil: Those who have clutched can quickly crash.”  Put another way, “Those who grabbed and rose to the top will ultimately release and drop to the bottom.”

Can you imagine the scene?  I envision a man who hoarded what he had and then lost it through a bad investment.  I can see another who fights and wins his way to the top, only to have the bottom drop out of his life as the stock market plunges.  And how about the individual who spends himself in a maddening pursuit of some financial goal, who drops dead of a heart attack?  It happens every day.  In Solomon’s words, he “toils for the wind.”  He departs exactly as he entered life…naked and without a thin dime to his name.  (Charles Swindoll)

“There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: riches kept for their owner to his hurt.  But those riches perish through misfortune; when he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand.  As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, to go as he came; and he shall take nothing from his labor which he may carry away in his hand” (Eccles. 5:13-15).

– Mike Benson

In fact, there are several reasons.  Testing times are to:

UNCOVER something:  When God allows pressures and trials, it is so that you might uncover something in your life He wants to deal with.  Hardships reveal areas of weakness and vulnerability.  God wants to strengthen us in those very areas, and better equip us not only to stand strong in the storms ourselves, but also to be a shelter for others.

RECOVER something:  God allows us to be tested so that we might recover something we’ve lost over the months and years.  Perhaps it is our delight in the Word of God, a habit of daily prayer, or the delight of regular fellowship with those of like-precious faith.  Trials may force us back to that “first love” walk with the Lord that has slipped away from us.

DISCOVER something: Even though it’s a test you may not like or enjoy, you discover that He’s your God, you’re His child, and that He loves you.  He’ll care for you and see you through.

I hear people talk about this trial and that trial, this test and that test.  People will say, “Pray for me, I’m going through a trial in my marriage (or in my job or in my finances or in my relationships at home).”  But in reality, those aren’t the things being tested at all.  What’s being tested is our faith, whether we will really trust Him to work in and through our circumstances.

That’s what’s really at stake.  When the heat’s on…when the shadows fall…when disappointment rips through my heart…am I going to trust Him?  Am I going to wait on Him, worship Him, and give my anxieties to Him?  Or am I going to turn away from Him in my doubt and discouragement?  (Ron Mehl)

“And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Rom. 5:3-5).

–Mike Benson

In many areas of life, we risk bogging down in the minutia and majoring in the minor.  Men’s business meetings or even elders’ meetings which regularly, predominantly deal with finance and material matters to the neglect of what our main mission is risks doing the equivalent of counting a bucket full of change (cf. Acts 6:3-4; 20:28).  In our own personal, spiritual lives, when we are consumed with the here and now with little regard to eternal matters, are we frittering away time counting our bucket of change?  That’s what the rich farmer did (Lk. 12:15-21).  How easily we can lose sight of the important which poring over the ultimately inconsequential!

–Neal Pollard

A great fire will come at a time no one expects (2 Th. 1;7-9).  God has provided a means to keep us from suffering total loss when this occurs.  The “key” to proper preparation rests in one of the most neglected “tools” of all time-the Bible.  How do we know about the fire?  How do we know about eternal loss prevention?  How do we know about the only true and living water (cf. John 4:10-11)?  How do we know Who the fire escape is?  Yet, so many who think everything is OK are unprepared.  Even more tragic are those who should know better, who have even been shown the “key.”  They throw it away or refuse to take it.  They chose not to be protected.  The fact of Jesus’ sacrifice and grace is wonderful, but that fact will not save.

We must unlock the benefit of God’s grace by faith-filled obedience (cf. Heb. 5:9).  Simply acknowledging His existence or even His identity is insufficient.  There is a “key of knowledge” (Luke 11:52).  Let us use it and show others how to use it, too!

–Neal Pollard

I was shocked that they would show this to a class of high-school students. My teacher quickly stopped the classroom buzz by saying, “That’s not nudity, that’s art.”

There is no question that our society is obsessed with pornography. While it is never a comfortable issue to address, it has become an American epidemic.

Though pornography has been a problem for a long time, only recently has it become something so public. People are no longer ashamed, but actually quite proud, of the pornography industry. Pictures of the “Playboy” bunny are now found on clothing, car stickers and other places.

The pornography industry makes more money than professional baseball, football and basketball combined.

It is a true problem in the world around us and, sadly, it has even filtered into the church.

We need to guard ourselves and our families by whatever means possible to keep from being sucked into this godless pastime.

Job said, “I have made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I look upon a young woman?” (Job 31:1 NKJV).

We, too, should make a covenant with our eyes and keep from joining in with the sex-crazed society around us. Our prayer should be like the psalmist who said, “Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way” (Psalm 119:37).

Sadly, we live in a world of perverts who call pornography art.

Let us not be one of them, but let us make a covenant with our eyes, and let us turn away our eyes from worthless things.

–by Garrett Bookout @ www.forthright.net

.  When a male demands, a female reacts; she doesn’t respond.

.  When a male gives, a female responds.

.  When a male commits, a female submits.  Nothing is more precious to a female than a committed male.  Nothing is more depressing to a female than an uncommitted male.

.  When a male abuses, a female refuses.  Whenever a man abuses a woman, she refuses to respond.

.  When a male shares, a female cares.  If you find a man who is willing to share with the woman in his life, you will find a woman who is willing to care for her man.

.  When a male leads, a female follows.  When a man carries out his God-given responsibility for leadership, a woman responds by following his lead.  Leadership does not mean being bossy, always telling others what to do.  Good leaders lead by example, not by decree.  Jesus led by example, and so did Moses, Peter, Paul, and all the other great leaders in the Bible.  Leading by example means doing ourselves the things we wish others to do.

“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.  So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”   This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”  Ephesians 5:22 – 33

Mike Benson

They enter the store as a group. One or two separate themselves from the group, and the other start a loud commotion in another section of the store. This grabs the attention of the clerks and customers. As all eyes are turned to the disturbance, the accomplices fill their pockets with merchandise and cash, leaving before anyone suspects.

Hours–sometimes even days–later, the victimized merchant realizes things are missing and calls the police. Too late.

THOUGHT: How often this effective strategy is used by the devil! We are seduced into paying attention to distractions, while evil ransacks our heart and lives.

“Lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices” ( 2 Cor. 2:11).

–Mike Benson

What did the wise men bring to Jesus? Gold, frankincense and myrrh. What kind of good did that do a baby? Not much. Maybe Joseph and Mary used the gold to buy food and sold the frankincense and myrrh to have funds to travel back home. They were expensive gifts no doubt. But not practical. What do you give to someone who doesn’t need anything?

The girls came home from school and said, “Dad, my friends get more allowance than I do.” I responded, “You don’t even NEED an allowance! What do you NEED that we don’t give you anyway?” What can you give someone who doesn’t need anything?

What does God need from us? Nothing. What does God want from us? Nothing. He doesn’t need anything. Nothing we can give God makes Him any wealthier or happier. It’s all His anyway. If He wanted something, He could produce it out of thin air.

When we first started giving an allowance to the girls, one Sunday I asked the girls what they were going to give to “church.” They held out their hands with all of the allowance. My first reaction was, “You DON’T give all of it!” (We’re trying to teach them to budget.) But then I stopped myself. Isn’t that what God tells us to do? Doesn’t He want us to give Him everything? We can’t give God any thing. He doesn’t need it.

But what God does want is all of us. If we are immersed in Christ, there’s no question how we’ll use our time.  If we are immersed in Christ, there’s no debate over how we’ll use our money. If we are immersed into Christ, we don’t have to make decisions about whether to use our abilities to serve Christ.

What does God want? He wants a living gift. “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2).

Today, remind yourself that your time and money are on loan from God. How will you use it for Him?

–Paul Holland

Charlie Brown says, “I thought holding onto that blanket made you secure.”

Linus replies, “I think the warranty has run out.”

Isn’t that true for us? We fear life, we fear death, and everything in between. We are afraid of little things like a black cat crossing our path or spilled salt. Or, leaving our home at night lest we become a victim of crime. Or, the fear that floods our hearts as we wait for the doctor to
tell us if we have cancer. Or, the fear that startles us when the shrill sound of the telephone jolts us awake in the middle of the night.

The antidote to our fears is found in the coming of Christ into the world. The first words of Adam are “I was afraid.” But the first words at the birth of Jesus are, “Don’t be afraid.”

Ian Chapman, Don’t Be Afraid

The Christmas story—the “God-born-in-a-manger” and all that—escapes some moderns.  Mostly, I think, because they seek complex answers to their questions, and this one is so utterly simple.  For the cynics, the skeptics and the unconvinced, I submit a modern parable.

This is about a modern man.  One of us.

He was not a Scrooge.  He was a kind, decent, mostly good man.  Generous to his family, upright in his dealings with other men.  But he did not believe in all that Incarnation stuff which the churches proclaim at Christmas time.  It just didn’t make sense and he was too honest to pretend otherwise.  He just could not swallow the Jesus story.  About God coming to earth as a man.

“I am truly sorry to distress you,” he said to his wife, “but I am not going with you to church this Christmas Eve.”  He said he’d feel like a hypocrite.  That he would much rather stay home.  But that he would wait up for them.

He stayed.  They went.

Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall.  He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier, then went back to his fireside chair and began to read his newspaper.

Minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound.  Then another, then another. At first he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against his living room window.

When he went to the front door to investigate, he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow.  They had been caught in the storm, and in a desperate search for shelter had tried to fly through his large landscape window.

Well . . . he couldn’t let the poor creatures lie there and freeze.

He remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony.  That would provide a warm shelter if he could direct the birds to it.

He quickly put on coat, galoshes.  Tramped through the deepening snow to the barn.   He opened the doors wide and turned on a light.

But the birds did not come in.

He figured food would entice them in and he hurried back to the house, fetched breadcrumbs, sprinkled them on the snow, making a trail to the yellow-lighted wide-open doorway of the stable.

But to his dismay the birds ignored the breadcrumbs and continued to flop around helplessly in the snow.

He tried catching them.  He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around them waving his arms.  Instead, they scurried in every direction—except into the warm, lighted barn.

Then he realized they were afraid of him.  “To them,” he reasoned, “I am a strange and terrifying creature.  If only I could think of some way to let them know they can trust me, that I’m not trying to hurt them, but to help them.”

How?
Any move he made tended to frighten them, confuse them.  They just would not follow . . . they would not be led or shooed because they feared him.

And then – snap – the thought struck him.  “If only I could be a bird myself.  If only I could be a bird and mingle with them and speak their language and tell them not to be afraid and show them the way into the safe, warm barn.”

“But I’d have to be one of them . . . so they could see and hear and understand.”

At that moment the church bells began to ring.  The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind.

He stood there . . . listening to the bells. . . Adepter Fidelio . . . listening to the bells pealing the glad tiding of Christmas.

And he sank to his knees in the snow.

Hugh Guilford

Tyranny seeks to squelch the voice of freedom.

Satan seeks to do the same to Christians. The great danger is not oppressive governments and persecution from authorities, but from saints who let timidity, cowardice and conformity to the world silence their proclamation of the gospel.

The Gospel of Mark is known as a vigorous account of Jesus’ actions. But in the first chapters it also highlights Jesus’ principal activity and mission: proclaiming the forgiveness of sins. This he does, even in the midst of opposition.

His example calls us to do the same. Let’s see seven points where Mark establishes Jesus’ major activity.

#1. The gospel opens declaring “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Instead of telling about Jesus’ birth or childhood, it goes directly to the forerunner, John the baptizer, whose principal job is “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (1:4 NET). Though John is before Jesus, his message signals what Jesus will be about.

#2. When Jesus started his ministry, soon after his baptism at the hands of John, he “proclaimed the gospel of God” (1:14). The content included the imminent arrival of the kingdom, repentance and faith in the gospel (v. 15). He called men to do the same, to be “fishers of people” (v. 17).

#3. When the disciples search for Jesus to appease the crowds, he refuses and declares why he came to earth: “Let us go elsewhere, into the surrounding villages, so that I can preach there too. For that is what I came out here to do” (1:38). Jesus came to preach. If he didn’t allow his vocal chords to be cut by Satan, neither would he become a panderer to crowds or a miracle-worker for physical and material good.

#4. After four men strained to get their paralytic friend in front of Jesus, the Lord offers him … forgiveness of sins! (2:5), because he knew what the man most needed. Only to prove that he had authority to forgive sins did he finally heal the man.

#5. Infrequent as Jesus’ declarations of purpose are in the gospels, it is surprising to see another so soon after 1:38, but in Levi’s house, among publicans and sinners, he answers a question put to the disciples: “Those who are healthy don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (2:17). The calling comes by going to the sinners and inviting them into the forgiveness of God.

#6. Mark lists three reasons Jesus designated twelve apostles, or envoys: “so that they would be with him [to learn from him] and he could send them to preach [to continue what he started] and to have authority to cast out demons [confirming the message, Mark 16:20]” (2:14-15). And when he did send them out, what did they do? “So they went out and preached that all should repent” (6:12).

#7. The story about Jesus’ family attempting intervention surrounds the accusation that he cast out demons by Satan’s power. He meets that accusation head on, but winds up speaking about what? Forgiveness and non-forgiveness of sins! “I tell you the truth, people will be forgiven for all sins, even all the blasphemies they utter. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin” (3:29-30). Jesus winds up the family issue by saying that his family (the forgiven ones!) are those who do the will of God. A good part of that will, as John and Jesus and the disciples taught, was repentance.

This short survey of the beginning of Mark’s gospel establishes that Jesus came to preach and offer forgiveness of sins. (Mark 10:45 will establish the means.) Jesus spoke at every turn, in the face of opposition, criticism and bald attempts at intervention.

If we want to be like Jesus, we will do the same. For Satan will cut our vocal chords only with our permission.

–J. Randal Matheny @ www.forthright.net

Over three hundred years after Jesus was born the year’s end holiday season was appropriated to make a religious celebration. It was recognized that Jesus was not born in the winter time, for shepherds do not have their flocks out in the open around Bethlehem in December. The continual weather forecast for December is “Hail. Snow on higher hills, and occasionally on lower levels.” Nevertheless, the date of December 25 was selected by Liberius, bishop of Rome, in 354 A.D., to coincide with the established year’s end holidays. Since that time, bishop’s order has been followed by the Roman Catholic Church, and when the Protestant churches were established, they began following Rome’s lead in making December 25 a sacred day.

God did not make any day of the week or of the year as a holy day for Christians. If anyone does so, it is his own private doing from “his own mind” (Rm. 14:5). And if he does so, he must not push that day on others, for, said Paul, “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls (Rm. 14:4). The Christians in Galatia were pushing holy days, and they received a blistering condemnation from Paul: “You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you” (Gal. 4:10-11).

The first day of the week to Christians is not more sacred that any other. Every day is a gift from the Lord, and so every day is the Lord’s day, but Christians do remember the first day of the week as a day of precious memory that Jesus arose on that day (Mk. 16:9), and they call it the “Lord’s day” (Rev. 1:10). But they do not regard Sunday as a sabbath or a more holy day than any other. On that day by apostolic teaching they assemble to observe the Lord’s supper and to make financial offerings (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:1-2).

After the Roman Catholic Church had fitted an erroneous birthday of Christ to coincide with the established holiday season, more and more additions became part of the celebration. “St. Nicholas” was a 4th century bishop, who was called “the patron saint of children, sailors, and scholars,” now called “Santa Claus.” In the 11th century someone invented the word “Christmas,” meaning “Christ’s Mass” (Christes Masse). In France the word was “Noel,” meaning pertaining to a birthday.

The burning of candles and the use of bright lights during the December holidays are believed to have come from the Jewish custom in their celebration of the Feast of Dedication, the Hanukkah, the “Feast of Lights,” December 23-30, mentioned in John 10:22.

The use of trees as decorations began in German mystery plays as symbolic of the Garden of Eden. The use of mistletoe came from the English belief of its magical powers: If one’s enemy stood under the mistletoe he would disarm himself.

Manger displays started in Italy, and mincemeat pies began to be baked in oblong shapes to represent the manger. The poinsettia was discovered in Mexico, and came to be called the “Flower of the Holy Night.” The sending of greeting cards originated in England. Today such a custom spreads good cheer the world around.

To thousands, Christmas does not mean a mass for Christ, just as Saturday does not mean a day to worship Saturn, and as Thursday does not mean a day dedicated to the war god, Thor. To thousands, Christmas means only a time for families and good friends to get together, to exchange gifts, and to relax.

All Christians rejoice that the great Father planned that Mary, sitting on a donkey’s back, riding toward Bethlehem, had, in her womb, God in the flesh, being protected by a water bag. But when inns are full, theyarefull.Sleepwhereyoucan.So,inastable,“Goddeep in the flesh became deep in the straw,…waving little arms, hungrily sucking a fist, like any other newborn baby.” This was the super-miracle, for lying in a feeding trough was the creator of the universe (Jn. 1:3), one who would become a brother (Rm. 8:29), a friend (Jn. 15:14), the sin-bearer (2 Cor. 5:21), and the redeemer (1 Pt. 1:18-19).

On any day at any season of the year it is edifying to sing songs about the birth of the Anointed One, the Christ-child. Songs about the birth of the Babe of Bethlehem continue to make millions happy and draw them closer to one another and to the One who came to live among humans and who wants to take them to heaven. The earliest of such carols, from the 4th century, is “Jesus, Light of All the Nations.” Other famous ones are: “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “Away in the Manger,” “Joy to the World,” and “Silent Night.”

G.K. Wallace (GOSPEL ADVOCATE, 12-15-1966) asked “What shall we do this Christmas?” He gives 12 answers:

Seek out a forgotten friend and write a love letter.
Dismiss suspicion and learn to trust.
Share a treasure and give a soft answer.
Manifest loyalty in word, in deed, and encourage youth.
Find time to do what needs to be done and keep our promises.
Forgive an enemy and forgo a grudge.
Listen, understand, and apologize, if you are wrong.
Be gentle, be kind, and so act as to deserve confidence.
Learn to laugh and take up arms against malice.
Do not become complacent. Express your gratitude.
Gladden the heart of a child, welcome a stranger, and take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth.
Speak your love. Speak it again. Speak it still once again and our Holiday will be a happy day.

–by Hugo McCord (Deceased)

–Paul Holland