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Prophe-Zine Issue 070
PropheZine #70
Dec. 15, 1998
Bob Lally Publisher
Mimi Nila Senior Editor
Rick Woodcock Asst. Editor
Abraham George Asst. Editor
Lori Eldridge Asst. Editor
Bob Ippolito Asst. Editor
Faye Carrier Asst. Editor
ARTICLES
James Beauseigneur...............Proving Jesus
David Hocking...................Why Did Jesus Come?
Cheyenne Evangelical Free Church......Ancient Bible Prophecies
Fulfilled in the Birth of Christ
PROPHEZINE COMMENTARIES
Melissa Charbonneau,
reporter for CBN.......... Could Big Brother Become Your Banker?
Lee Underwood ...................F.Y.I. - Israel in the News
Terry Denbow............A Father and a Son
Sylvia Genders LeReverend............The Final Word
Author Unknown...................Merry Christmas ?
Author Unknown.......................Jesus Goes To Church
Jean C. McNeal.......................The Perfect Gift
************************************
Holiday Greetings!
What a wonderful time to slow things down for a moment to reflect on who we
are. Children of God. The one and only God. So often we get bogged down
in life on this Earth that we forget that we are no longer citizens of this
mess. And that we are not fighting the battles alone. He is there with us
ALL the time.
Take a moment and rejoice. Really Rejoice that through His Son Jesus we
have ETERNAL life through Grace and faith alone. This is really amazing to
me because we are raised that we need to perform to advance or get ahead.
Hah - Trust your life in the hands of the Father and you should never worry
again!
If you are feeling down this time of year please do not hesitate to contact
the Prayer Board and ask for prayer. It is for this reason that we have
12-15 dedicated Prayer Warriors who will prayer for you.
http://www.prophezine.com/prayerboard/
PropheZine has a numerous advertisers and we are looking for more. If you
have any questions concerning advertising please contact Lori at
lorel@on-ramp.ior.com Good News! We have revitalized the Prophecy Alliance
and have signed up Midnight Call ministry joining the 8 or 10 other Prophecy
Alliance members. If you are interested in joining or would like to talk to
someone about this exciting area please contact Ron at
rleonard@memphisonline.com Briefly, PropheZine will be attending the
International Prophecy Conference in Tampa Florida in March 1999. If you
are planning on attending please make sure you stop by to say hello. You
may read about the conference at http://www.prophezine.com We are
planning on attending many conferences next year as we are in the process of
purchasing a professinal display.
Lastly, I will be the speaker at a Y2K conference in Schenectady NY
sometime in January. The conference may be webcast live on the internet and
then archived. If you live nearby please stop in and say hello. I'll post
the information on the website.
In closing, PLEASE take a moment and pray for the people of Iraq. I have
children and can not imagine the terror the mothers and fathers living in
Iraq must be feeling at this moment.
God Bless,
Bob Lally
bob@prophezine.com
************************************
Hello Everyone,
Timing is everything, considering what is going on in our country with our
President and now the bombing of Iraq.
The focus of this newsletter is not the current state of our nation, nor the
world, it is about our King's Birthday. I am sure for some of you as well
as me this is a hectic paced time with Christmas shopping and visiting
families and friends. We at PZ want to share His love with you and why He
is our Lord and Savior. It is always our hope that this newsletter
glorifies Him in showing why we worship Jesus Christ and how bible prophecy
was fulfilled in his coming to earth as a human being to be sacrificed for
our sins. Maybe for a while your focus will be on Him and not on your
circumstances during the holidays or for that matter during the war with
Iraq. Our desire at PZ is to bring you messages that will help you to grow
closer to Jesus, to understand Bible Prophecy in a way that will heighten
your desire to share His message of the free gift of eternal life, with
those you love and even those you may not.
In His Service,
Mimi Nila
Mnila@ibm.net
|================================================
|
| Proving Jesus
| by James Beauseigneur
|
What if you could prove beyond a reasonable shadow of a doubt that Jesus was
and is who he claims to be? You can. Just read on.
If you've ever taken a class in comparative religions, by the time you
finished the class you probably had a basic knowledge of the teachings,
ceremonies, and traditions of each religion and maybe some familiarity with
the cultures that spawned and were impacted by them.
But you'd have no way of knowing which, if any, of the religions were
correct and which were incorrect. In fact, you would probably come away
from the class with the "enlightened" conclusion that while none of the
religions are completely true, all have some value in that they provide
comfort and moral guidance to their adherents. And as long as those
adherents didn't try to impose their belief system on you, everything would
be fine .
If you did try to judge the validity of one religion over another, your only
measure would be whether the teachings of a particular religion seemed
appropriate for your life. Certainly, you would never expect to find proof
that one of the religions was true and the others false.
Strangely, comparing religions usually involves only looking at what the
religions have in common and ignoring where they are truly different. It
would be like comparing a bicycle, a car, a truck, a train, and an airplane.
You might look at the number of wheels on each, the different navigational
controls, the means of propulsion, the number of passengers each can carry,
their maximum speed . . . In fact, as you continued to consider the
similarities you might never get around to the fact that there is something
that makes one of the vehicles completely different from all the others: the
airplane flies.
The same is true when comparing religions. We compare everything about
them, but we never get around to looking at whether any of the religions can
be proven. My assertion is that it is possible to prove that Christianity
is true.
Let me give an example of the kind of proof I'm talking about.
You've probably heard or read that at one point Mohammed - who claimed that
the truth had been revealed to him by the angel Gabriel -decided to
demonstrate that he was God's messenger by moving a mountain by the power of
his faith. According to the story, after three days of trying without
success, Mohammed gave up and said, "If the mountain will not come to
Mohammed, Mohammed will go to the mountain." Now, if Mohammed HAD moved
that mountain, and if geologists today could confirm that the mountain had
been or even appeared to have been moved, then we'd have some tangible
evidence of Mohammed's claim to be God's prophet. And based on that, it
would be reasonable to seriously consider what he taught.
Or let's look at Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism. In 1827, Smith
said that an angel named Moroni had shown him golden tablets that were
inscribed in elaborate detail with the history of the ancient inhabitants of
the Americas. This history, Smith claimed, included the complete and "true"
gospel of Jesus, who, Smith said, had gone to the Americas after his death
and resurrection in Jerusalem.
Unfortunately for our search for proof, there has never been any shred of
archaeological evidence to support Smith's account of the history of the
Americas. Oh, Smith's followers would point to ancient Aztec or Incan ruins
or Indian burial mounds and say there was the evidence, but not one
non-Mormon archaeologist or scholar has ever found anything to lend even the
slightest credence to their claims. And as for the golden tablets, Smith
said that after he translated them an angel took them into heaven, so we
don't have any physical evidence that there even were any tablets. There
were eleven other people who said Smith had shown them the tablets, but all
were either close friends or members of Smith's family, and the stories
these witnesses told did not match in many of their important details.
Fortunately though, the golden tablets were not the only documents that
Joseph Smith translated. In 1835, after starting his religion, Smith
acquired some ancient Egyptian papyri which he said were the lost books of
Abraham and Joseph. At the time very few people knew how to decipher
Egyptian hieroglyphics and so, just as with the golden tablets, Smith again
relied upon God to give him the translation.
Incidentally, Smith discovered a number of very interesting things from the
papyri, including, he said, that black people were supposed to be servants
and slaves to whites and Asians.
Unlike the golden tablets, however, the Egyptian papyri were not taken to
heaven by an angel, but were placed in a museum. Thanks to the discovery of
the Rosetta stone,(endnote 1) Egyptologists were later able to translate
Smith's papyri and determined that, far from being the books of Abraham and
Joseph, they are actually copies of the EGYPTIAN BOOK OF THE DEAD and
another book called THE BREATHING PERMIT OF HÔR.(endnote 2) While not
nearly so sensational as promising to move a mountain, Smith's demonstration
of his authority obviously met with no more success than had Mohammed's.
Of course, most religious leaders have not been so willing to go out on a
limb to prove themselves or validate their teachings. Their claims to
authority are generally based on the visions or experiences of their
founders. Siddhartha Gautama, the father of Buddhism, based his authority
on having achieved "nirvana" and "bodhi." Nanak, the founder of Sikhism,
said that he had a mystical experience in which he visited heaven and spoke
with a god named Sat Nam. Lao Tzu, the father of Taoism, and Confucius, the
father of Confucianism, simply claimed to know the truth based on their own
acquired wisdom. Thousands of New Age groups throughout the world today
purport to have the truth as it has been revealed by such entities as
angels, space aliens, inner selves, ascended masters with names like
Ray-O-Light,(endnote 3) and even a 35,000-year-old warrior from
Atlantis.(endnote 4) The founders of Hinduism and Shinto are unknown,
leaving those religions to stand entirely on the merits of their teachings.
We have, therefore, nothing on which to base our decision about the truth of
any of these religions except what the founder of the religion said and
whether the teachings seem to work in our own lives. Whether we reject one
religion or accept another is simply a matter of blind faith.
Personally, I never cared for blind faith. I want something that can prove
itself worthy of my trust before I put my trust in it.
There's the key difference. All the other religions stand or fall on
something that no one can prove or disprove. No one can prove whether
angels appeared to Mohammed or Joseph Smith. No one can tell if Siddhartha
Guatama achieved nirvana, or whether Nanak visited heaven.
No one can tell if a New Age channeler is just putting on an act or is
really channeling a spirit, or for that matter, if it is a real spirit, is
it a benevolent one or a malevolent one? It's left entirely up to the faith
of the follower.
Christianity isn't based on what someone said. It's based on what someone
did at a specific time in a specific location. At such it is historically
provable or disprovable.
Jesus staked his whole claim to authority on his resurrection.
Everything else he said and did stands or falls on this. If he didn't rise
from the dead, then you might as well take everything else he said and use
it to stuff fortune cookies.
Since the very beginning, belief in Jesus' resurrection formed the core of
Christian teachings.(endnote 5) And remember, Jesus' followers weren't
telling people about what had happened in some heavenly realm. They didn't
talk about what had happened on Mount Olympus or in some far-off land.
There's no "once upon a time" in their story. They talked about what had
happened right there, in the very same city where they lived. If Jesus'
resurrection had not happened, if the body of Jesus were not, in fact,
missing from the grave, then all anyone had to do to disprove it and
discredit the apostles was simply to go to the tomb. All that the Jewish or
Roman authorities had to do to crush the growth of Christianity was to
produce the body. But they couldn't. And since there was no body, the only
thing they could do to try to stop Christianity was to persecute and then
finally kill its leaders.
It has been suggested that perhaps the apostles removed the body. But if
the apostles HAD removed the body, would such men as followed Jesus -
fishermen, carpenters, a tax collector, a rabbi - or any men for that
matter, willingly have been tortured and killed as martyrs for something
that they knew was a lie? And remember I'm not talking about those who came
later, those Christians who died because they believed what they had been
told or because of some religious experience. Every major religion has
those. I'm talking about people who, if the resurrection were a lie, would
have known it. These were people who said they had seen Jesus resurrected
from the dead and chose to die themselves rather than change their story.
Some people may be willing to die for what they believe, but no one gives up
his life for what he knows to be a lie.
Now consider this, if a man testified that he was innocent of some crime -
that he had been somewhere else at the time - it would prove nothing. He
might really be innocent, or he might simply be lying.
If the man's friends substantiated his alibi, you still might have some
doubts.
But if the man's enemies also supported his alibi . . . well, then you could
reasonably conclude that he was probably innocent.
In the same way, if I show you in the New Testament where Jesus said that he
was the Messiah, I will have proven nothing. And if I then show you where
Jesus' followers said that he was the Messiah, I still will have proven
nothing. But if I could show you that Jesus was the Messiah based on the
OLD Testament - a book which has been preserved through the centuries by
people who have rejected Jesus - then I might just have something.
Of course, since the Old Testament was completed 400 years before Jesus was
born, anything I could find there to prove Jesus was who he said he was
would have to be prophetic.
Before you object, remember that prophecy is inherently historical. It
stands or falls based only on whether it does or does not accurately predict
future historical events. God used prophecy to prove the authenticity of
the Bible as his word. Of all the religious documents in the world, the
Bible is the only one that deals with events of the future with the same
certainty that it deals with events of the past and present. No other book,
religious or otherwise, includes the minute details and the grand scale of
prophecies as does the Bible; whether discussing the rise and fall of
empires and kingdoms that had not even been created when the prophecy was
written, or prophecies of individuals who would not be born for hundreds of
years afterward.
One of these individuals - the most important one - is the Messiah.
The Messiah has always been central to Judaism. The prophet Isaiah said that
he would be born to the lineage of Jesse.(endnote 6) Jeremiah narrowed it
down further to the descendants of Jesse's eighth son, David.(endnote 7)
The prophecies get incredibly more specific after that. Isaiah said that
the Messiah would be born to a virgin.(endnote 8) The prophet Micah said he
would be born in the province of Judah, in the small village of
Bethlehem.(endnote 9)
Isaiah went on to say the Messiah would be called Mighty God, the
Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace;(endnote 10) that his ministry
would begin in Galilee;(endnote 11) and that he would perform numerous
healings and other miracles.(endnote 12) But to make it even more
exact, the prophecies of Zechariah and Daniel even specified WHEN and HOW
the Messiah would arrive in Jerusalem, so that no one who was willing to see
the truth could miss it. According to these prophecies, the Messiah would
come into Jerusalem riding on a donkey (endnote 13) 483 years after the
decree to rebuild Jerusalem,(endnote 14) which had been destroyed by the
Persians. That decree was issued by the Babylonian Emperor Artaxerxes in
457 BC(endnote 15) When you account for the fact that there was no year
zero, that means the Messiah was to come in the year 27 AD. From the Gospel
of Luke, we know that Jesus was born during the first tax taken while
Quirinius was governor of Syria,(endnote 16) or about the year 7
B.C.,(endnote 17) so in the year 27 he would have been 33 or 34 when he rode
in to Jerusalem and a week later was crucified. In brief, he exactly
fulfilled Zechariah's and Daniel's prophecies.
But if that's not precise enough, Zechariah said that the Messiah would be
betrayed by a friend for 30 pieces of silver; that the money would be thrown
on the floor of the Temple; and that it would be used to buy a potters'
field.(endnote 18)
And Isaiah said that at his trial, the Messiah would not defend himself, but
would be led as a lamb, silent to the slaughter.(endnote19)
Writing more than a thousand years before anyone had even heard of
crucifixion, King David prophetically described the Messiah's death in
painful detail down to the piercing of his hands and feet, the taunting of
the crowds, and the casting of lots for his clothing.(endnote 20) Isaiah
gave additional details of the crucifixion of the Messiah (endnote 21) and
said that though he would be innocent of any wrongdoing, the Messiah would
be executed with criminals, and then buried in a rich man's grave.(endnote
22)
But the prophets said Messiah's death would not be in vain. In fact, Isaiah
explains that the Messiah would intentionally give his own life as a
sacrifice to save each of us: that he was pierced for our sins, and crushed
for our iniquities.(endnote 23)
The prophecies also reveal that Messiah would be resurrected.(endnote 24)
And though he had been killed, what he had done and said would be told
throughout the world (endnote 25) for generation after generation, forever,
and that ultimately, all people of all nations would bow down to
him.(endnote 26)
It doesn't take a Bible scholar to see that all of these prophecies are
describing Jesus. In fact, the only way you could miss it is if you wanted
to.
1. Discovered in 1799 by Boussard and used by Jean Francois Champollion
beginning in 1821 to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics, the Rosetta stone is
inscribed in hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek.
2. Translated by Egyptologists John S. Wilson and Klaus Baer of the
University of Chicago Oriental Institute, and Richard A. Parker of Brown
University. See Fawn M. Brodie, NO MAN KNOWS MY HISTORY, THE LIFE OF JOSEPH
SMITH, Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged (New York: Alfred A.
Knopf, 1977), pp. 168-175 and 421-423.
3. Elizabeth Claire Prophet, Church Universal and Triumphant.
4. Ramtha, who is channeled by J.Z. Knight.
5. I Corinthians 15:14.
6. Isaiah 11:1-2 & 11:10.
7. Jeremiah 23:5.
8. Isaiah 7:14.
9. Micah 5:2 (written circa 710 B.C.).
10. Isaiah 9:6.
11. Isaiah 9:1-7.
12. Isaiah 35:3-6.
13. Zechariah 9:9.
14. Daniel 9:25-26.
15. Artaxerxes I served as Emperor of Babylon from 464-424 B.C.
According to Ezra, chapter 7, Artaxerxes issued this decree in the seventh
year of his reign, i.e. 457 B.C.
16. Luke 2:2.
17. John Elder, PROPHETS, IDOLS AND DIGGERS, (Indianapolis:
Bobbs-Merrill, 1960), p. 160.
18. Zechariah 11:12-13.
19. Isaiah 53:7.
20. Psalm 22:7-8 and 16-18.
21. Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12.
22. Isaiah 53:9 & 53:12.
23. Isaiah 53:4-6; 53:8; 53:11-12.
24. Isaiah 53:10-11; Psalm 16:10 and 30:3.
25. Isaiah 49:6.
26. Psalm 22:27-31.
BIO ON JAMES BEAUSEIGNEUR
James BeauSeigneur is author of THE CHRIST CLONE TRILOGY, called by
PropheZine's Ray Gano and many other, the best end-times series they've ever
read. A former intelligence analyst for the National Security Agency and
former newspaper publisher, BeauSeigneur taught political science at the
University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and in 1980 was the Republican nominee
for U.S. Congress running against Al Gore, now the Vice President. His other
published works include manuals on strategic defense and military avionics;
newspaper articles; speeches for U.S. Congressional and Senatorial
candidates; and lyrics for several published contemporary Christian songs.
The Best End-Times Novel?
With scores of end-times books, novels, and movies to choose from, one
publisher has stuck its neck out to distinguish its books from the crowd.
SelectiveHouse Publishers, in cooperation with Armageddon Books is offering
an unconditional guarantee that you will agree that THE CHRIST CLONE TRILOGY
is the best end-times novel or series you've ever read, or they will refund
your purchase price in full. Here's what people, including:
Ray Gano founder of PropheZine,: "intriguing and captivating"
- Brandt Gustavson, President, National Religious Broadcasters "engrossing
and ingenious!"
- Charles Sheffield, HUGO and NEBULA Award winner
"brilliant . . . most impressive,"
- Ian Wilson, noted historian and best selling author "intelligent,
well-researched, and flawlessly executed... For the first time we see an
Antichrist that is worthy of Jesus' warning in Matthew 24:24. In fact, I
found that I really liked the guy...By far the best end-times novel I've
ever read."
For more information, visit Armageddon Books at
http://www.armageddonbooks.com/clone.html
|==========================================
|
| Why Did Jesus Come?
| By David Hocking
|
The names of Jesus Christ prove He is God, God in human flesh. He is called
the true God. He's called the Son of God, referring not to His origin but to
His position as the heir. He is called the Lord, and in certain Old
Testament passages He is identified as Jehovah. He's called the Lord of
glory, the Holy One, the First and the Last, and Jehovah of hosts or armies.
The attributes of our Lord Jesus Christ clearly point to His deity. He is
eternal, He is unchangeable, He is omnipresent (every,where at once),
omniscient (knows all things), and omnipotent (He can do anything). He is
perfect; all the fullness of God dwells in Him. And He is incomprehensible;
His name is Wonderful, beyond our ability to understand.
So we can confidently proclaim, Jesus is God. But we're left with a
question: Why did He come? And we find our answer in God's own Word.
There are at least eight reasons why Jesus came to this earth, eight reasons
why God became flesh and lived among us. As we look at each of these
reasons, may we learn again how wonderful is His plan and purpose in coming
into this world.
While the world continues to push Jesus aside, we bring Him to the forefront
of our attention. He is the focus of our life, He is the priority, He's what
life is all about.
1. Jesus came to do the will of God.
As I direct the searchlight of study upon the Word of God and ask myself,
Why did Jesus come? I find the Bible answers that question in many different
ways. One of those answers is found in Hebrews 10:5-10:
Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:
"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for
Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you had no pleasure. Then I
said, 'Behold, I have come--In the volume of the book it is written of Me-To
do Your will, 0 God"'
Previously saying, "Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings
for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them" (which are offered
according to the law), then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will O
God." He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will
we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ
once for all.
Why did Jesus come? Why was He born as a baby in Bethlehem? He came to do
the will of God. The Lord Jesus constantly referred to this as His reason
for coming. He came to do the will of the Father who sent Him. That's His
purpose; that's why He came. He's our great example in that we also are to
do the will of God.
In John 4:34, Jesus said to His disciples, "My food [that which sustains Me,
that which I eat everyday, that which keeps Me going and gives Me life and
strength] is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work." I
ask you, Christian, Is it your food-what you're sustained on, what you're
committed to, what nourishes your heart-to do the will of God?
A couple of chapters later in the Gospel of John, Jesus again lets us know
why He has come:
"For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of
Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He
has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.
And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and
believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the
last day."
(John 6:38-40)
What wonderful words. Why did You come, Jesus? "I came to do the will of Him
who sent Me. I did not come to do My own will. I was controlled, dominated,
obsessed by one thing-the will of My heavenly Father, who sent Me into this
world to give life to all who will believe."
2.Jesus came to fulfill the law and to satisfy its righteous demands.
Why did You come Jesus? Why were You born as a baby in Bethlehem? In the
Sermon on the Mount, our Lord gives us another reason why He came, and it
has to do with the righteous demands of the law.
The law is a killer. The Bible says if you offend in one point of the law,
you are guilty of all of it (James 2:10). The law has penalties; the law
produces guilt; the law brings consequences. The Bible says the soul that
sins, it shall die (Ezek. 18:4). You violate that law and you're going to
pay for it. And who among us has not violated it?
Jesus came to provide a solution for our inability to live up to the
righteous demands of the law. Look at what He says in Matthew 5:17-18:
"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come
to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and
earth pass away, one jot [the smallest letter in the Hebrew language] or one
tittle [a little marking on a letter to distinguish it from another] will by
no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled."
Why did You come Jesus? "I came to do the will of God. And I came to fulfill
the law and to satisfy its righteous demands."
Paul writes about this mission of Christ when he says in Romans 6:14, "[we]
are not under the law but under grace. Does that mean there is something
wrong with the law? No, the law is spiritual, holy, righteous, and good,
says Romans 7:14. There's nothing wrong with the law. What is right and what
is wrong remains.
Maybe you have convinced yourself that you're no longer guilty of any
wrongdoing because you are under grace, not under the law. Maybe your
friends have also come to tolerate the things you do that violate God's law
because you've been able to convince them that God's law is no longer the
standard. And so the standard changes in your mind.
But God's standard has never changed. How many sins does it take to make a
sinner? Just one. How many lies to make a liar? Just one. You offend at one
point of God's law, the Bible says you are guilty of all of it (James 2:10).
Jesus came to satisfy the righteous demands of the law. Because He had no
sin, the law could not execute any penalty against Him. He never violated
God's law He fulfilled it. He was God and could satisfy the demands of the
law for every last one of us. God paid the penalty that you and I deserved
to pay.
Why did Jesus come? He came to do the will of God, and He came to satisfy
the laws demands. He came to fulfill it.
3. Jesus came to seek and to save lost sinners.
I look at the baby in Bethlehem and the beautiful manager scene at Christmas
time, and I ask, Why did that baby come? The Bible teaches He came to seek
and to save lost sinners.
Many believe Luke 19:10 is the theme of the Gospel of Luke. There Luke
records these word from Jesus: "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to
save that which was lost." What a wonderful message and mission of Christ.
Most of the religions of the world are built around man seeking God. But
Jesus is seeking lost people.
I like that. I like to say to those I'm witnessing to, "You know, He's after
you."
Often they will glance nervously around and ask, "Where is He?"
"He's everywhere. You can't run away from Him."
The Bible has some wonderful parables describing the searching and seeking
of our Lord. It tells us about a shepherd who had a hundred sheep.
Ninety-nine were in the fold, but one was lost. The Bible says that the
shepherd left the ninety-nine and went after the one that was lost (Luke
15:4).
The Bible gives us another story of a woman who had ten silver coins, but
she lost one somewhere in the house. The Bible says she will seek and search
through that whole house until she finds the one that is lost (Luke 15:8).
The Lord Jesus gave a parable of a boy who left home, took his portion of
his inheritance, and wasted it on riotous living. He spent it foolishly,
perhaps immorally, and wound up in a pig pen. When he came to himself, he
realized what he had left in his father's house, and he started on his way
back. And the Bible says the father say him a long ways off and had
compassion on him. He ran down the road toward his son, threw his arms
around him, and repeatedly kissed him, saying, "This my son was lost, and is
found" (Luke
15:11-24).
Jesus was-and still is-a friend of sinners. Unfortunately, there are a lot
of folks who don't want to admit that they're sinners.
I was on a plane once trying to share the gospel with a businessman next to
me, and I said, "The Bible says we are all sinners."
He said, "Speak for yourself."
I don't know how you would respond to a comment like that, but this is what
I said, "I am so honored to be sitting beside you. I have been all over the
world, and I have never before met someone who is not a sinner. It's just a
delight-"
"Okay, okay, so maybe I have done some things wrong."
I'm not embarrassed to tell you that I'm a sinner, because my Jesus is a
friend of sinners. I'm not at all hesitant to tell you I'm a lost sinner who
has been found by the love of my Savior.
The apostle Paul gives his testimony in 1 Timothy 1, and in the midst of
that expresses a wonderful truth about why Jesus came: "This is a faithful
saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners, of whom I am chief' (v.15).
You say, "David, how do you know why Jesus came?" I read my Bible, and my
Bible says He came into the world to save sinners.
Jesus had a habit of disturbing the Jewish religious leaders by the things
He did and said. On one occasion, Jesus called Matthew, a tax collector, to
follow Him (Matt. 9:9). Now tax collectors were a hated bunch. They were
looked upon as traitors who lined their own pockets through extortion.
Because they were so wealthy, they often threw elaborate parties. You talk
about party time, you could go to a tax-gatherer's house and that's where
you'd find it. Well, after Jesus told Matthew to "follow Me," Matthew threw
a party and invited all his cronies. They were all there-this miserable lot
of gangsters and thieves and immoral people-and Jesus was the guest. Imagine
that!
And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your
Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" But when Jesus heard that, He
said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who
are sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not
sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to
repentance."
(Matt. 9:11-13)
Aren't you glad of that? Why did Jesus come? He came to seek and to save
lost sinners.
Some of the most familiar words in our culture, even among people who don't
attend church, are these:
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not
send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through
Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned: but he who does
not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of
the only begotten Son of God."
(John 3:16-18)
Jesus did not come to condemn you and put you down and tell you how awful
you are. He already knows how awful you are. He didn't come to condemn you;
He came to save you. Jesus Christ, that baby born in Bethlehem, came to seek
and to save lost sinners-He came to seek and to save you and me.
4. He came to bring light into our darkness.
A prison inmate who came to Christ and listened to our radio broadcasts once
wrote to me about his conversion, "Man, it was like the lights were turned
on in my brain."
A lot of us are in darkness. We are in darkness in our homes and families.
It's a terrible darkness when we start blaming all our circumstances on
other people instead of facing our own responsibility. It's a terrible
darkness when we have no meaning and purpose in life. It's a terrible
darkness not to have God's perspective on things, and to be overwhelmed and
depressed and discouraged by the circumstances of life. What a terrible
darkness! We need to have the lights turned on.
Jesus came to turn on the lights. He came to bring light into our darkness.
In John 8:12, Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me
shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." And in John 12:46,
Jesus again clearly tells us why He came into this world: "I have come as a
light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in
darkness."
Why did You come, Jesus? And Jesus answers, "I have come as a light. Believe
in Me, and you will never walk in darkness again."
5. He carne to give us eternal Life.
Jesus once entered into a marvelous theological discussion with the Jewish
people about the manna that God provided the people of Israel in the
wilderness. As you recall, this manna just dropped out of the sky and they
ate it every day. There was no other food in that desert land, and God
miraculously provided for them. Jesus takes that story and applies it to
Himself in a marvelous way:
"I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and
are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one eat of it
and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone
eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is
My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."
(John 6:48-51)
Why did You come Jesus? "I came to give you eternal life, that you would
live forever
Later on in the Gospel of John, Jesus again tells us what He came to give
us:
"I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and
out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill,
and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have
it more abundantly. . . . And I give them eternal life, and they shall never
perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand."
(John 10:9-10, 28)
Imagine this-that baby in Bethlehem can give us eternal life. You can live
forever because of Him.
6. He came to be King.
A lot of people tell me that Jesus didn't claim to be who we Christians
claim that He is. When I try to tell my Jewish friends that Jesus is the
Messiah, they say, "You Gentiles have it all confused.,' They're not against
the teaching of Jesus-He's Jewish, after all, and He's recognized and
honored as a wonderful teacher even among the Jews-but they hate what
Christians say about Him. They say our understanding of the Messiah has been
affected by Greek mythology's ideas of men being gods. They say Jesus Christ
didn't claim to be God in human flesh. And one of the claims about Jesus
that they most resent is the claim that He is King. They do not believe that
Jesus Christ ever claimed to be King.
I love the atmosphere in Jewish bookstores. I was in a Jewish bookstore not
long ago, and I saw (and bought) a book with the provocative title, You Take
Jesus, I'll Take God. Even though this book is an attack against the
Christian view of Jesus Christ, I love it because it shows me exactly where
the problem lies. This book claims that we Gentiles are saying things about
Jesus that He never said.
Excuse me, but we are reading His claims. He is either telling the truth, or
He's a liar or a deceiver or a paranoid with delusions of grandeur. Jesus
did say that He was a King. Where? standing in front of the earthly ruler,
Pilate.
Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him,
"Are You the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered him, "Are you speaking for
yourself on this, or did others tell you this about Me?"
(John 18:33-34)
I love that. Can you imagine being a Roman procurator with all the authority
of the imperial government behind you and asking this Jew, who has been beat
up and mocked, "Are You the King of the Jews?" And Jesus responds, "Did you
come up with this on your own, or did someone else tell you?" Can you
imagine? The drama of that delights me. Reading on:
Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have
delivered You to me. What have You done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not
of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so
that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from
here." Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered,
"You say rightly that I am a delusions of grandeur. Jesus did say that He
was a King. Where? Standing in front of the earthly ruler, Pilate.
Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him,
"Are You the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered him, "Are you speaking for
yourself on this, or did others tell you this about Me?"
(John 18:33-34)
I love that. Can you imagine being a Roman procurator with all the authority
of the imperial government behind you and asking this Jew, who has been beat
up and mocked, "Are You the King of the Jews?" And Jesus responds, "Did you
come up with this on your own, or did someone else tell you?" Can you
imagine? The drama of that delights me. Reading on:
Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have
delivered You to me. What have You done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not
of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so
that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from
here." Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered,
"You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this
cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth."
(John 18:35-37)
Those aren't words I made up. That's what Jesus said. Don't tell me Jesus
didn't claim to be King. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, and
the Bible says "of this Kingdom, there shall be no end." It is an
everlasting kingdom, and it shall crush all earthly kingdoms. His kingdom
will be established on earth.
Why did You come, Jesus? Why were You born in Bethlehem? And Jesus answers
in His own words, "For this cause I was born to be King."
7. He came to be received.
John 1:10-13 gives us another reason why He came, a reason that I find very
touching:
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did
not know Him.
Can you imagine what it must have been like for Jesus to come into the world
He had created, to identify with humanity, becoming flesh, and to realize
they didn't know Him?
He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received
Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who
believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Why did Jesus come? He came to be received. I've used this passage many
times, urging people to receive Jesus Christ, but just recently it hit me in
a fresh, new way: My Savior came into this world to be received.
Can you imagine what His heart must have felt when people ignored Him,
rejected Him, accused Him of being a deceiver, hated Him, nailed Him to a
cross?
There are thousands of church members in this culture who have never
experienced spiritual birth because they don't yet understand that Jesus
came to be received. Friend, you may have gone to church all your life, you
may have picked up all the Christian vocabulary, but you are not a
Christian until you receive Jesus Christ. When you have a personal
relationship with Him, everything else pales into insignificance.
Do you know that you have received Jesus Christ into your life? He came to
be received.
8. He came to serve and to give His Life a ransom for many.
One day the disciples were arguing about who was the greatest, and Jesus
told them:
"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who
are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you;
but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And
whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave just as the Son
of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a
ransom [a payment for many).
(Matt. 20:25-28)
Why did You come, Jesus? "I came not to be served. I had no hidden agenda or
ulterior motives I came to serve, to give My life as a payment for many.
That's why I came."
Often when I see beautiful Christmas decorations and a manger scene, I think
that flowing out of the manger ought to be a cross. Why did that little baby
in Bethlehem come into this world? He came to give His life as a payment, as
a ransom to bring us to God.
In writing to Timothy, the apostle Paul said:
There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, for which I
was appointed a preacher and an apostle I am speaking the truth in Christ
and not lying as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
(1 Tim. 2:5)
Paul says to Timothy, "Here's the issue; make sure people understand.
There's only one way to God, there's only one Mediator between God and men
the man Christ Jesus, and He came to give His life a ransom for all."
Perhaps you re thinking, "Wait a minute. In Matthew 20:28, it says He came
to give His life a ransom for many. In 1 Timothy 2:5, it says a ransom for
all. Which is it?"
It's both. In each passage, a different Greek preposition is translated by
our English preposition for. In Matthew 20:28 the original word is anti.
Often in English, the prefix anti means "against." But the preposition anti
in Greek most often means "instead of" it's a word of substitution.
Let me give you an example. When we speak of antichrist, we think of a man
who opposes Christ. That is certainly true, but a better understanding of
antichrist is "instead of' he's a counter to Christ. He will act like
Christ, and people will acknowledge him as the Messiah, but he's false, he's
counterfeit, he's in the place of the true Messiah. That's the meaning of
anti.
The Bible says that Christ came to give His life a payment, a ransom,
instead of the many. Christ substitutes for the many who will believe in
Him.
But is He not also a ransom for all? Here the Greek preposition is not anti
but hyper, which means, "in the behalf of." It's a word of sufficiency. Was
Christ's death on the cross, was His payment for sin sufficient for the
whole world? Yes, it was sufficient for all. But we say it's only efficient
it only works for, it's only a substitution for those who believe and
receive Him as Savior and Lord.
Why did Jesus come? He came to give His life as a ransom for the many who
will believe.
My friend, if you're going to be in heaven, you're going to be there because
your trust is only and always in Jesus Christ alone. It's not your church
that saves you, it's not your background, it's not your or your friends'
ideas. The only One who can save you is Jesus Christ our Lord.
Every time I think of Him I am thrilled, because I know that He knows me and
He knows what I'm like. He knows I'm a sinner, but He's a friend of sinners.
He came to seek and to save that which was lost. He loves you. He loves you
so much that He gave His only begotten Son to die in your place.
God knows our hearts. He knows us from the day we are born until the day we
die. He knows all about us. We can't hide from Him, though we may hide from
our friends and family. He knows how many of you have received His Son,
Jesus Christ. He knows those who belong to Him, for He says, "My sheep hear
My voice, and they follow Me" (John 10:27).
He also knows those who really don't know His Son personally. Perhaps you
are
one of those. Oh, you know a lot about Him, but you've never received Him.
You've never put your faith and trust in Him alone. My prayer for you is
that God, by the power of His Holy Spirit and His Word, would draw you to
the Lord Jesus Christ (John 6:44).
Perhaps you think there's too much sin in your life, there's too much
standing between you and Jesus Christ for you to ever come to Him. Remember,
Jesus is a friend of sinners. Each one of us must come to Him just as we
are. There is nothing we can do to somehow make ourselves acceptable to Him.
He is the One who will cleanse us and forgive us. Jesus Christ, the Almighty
God in human flesh, loves us and invites us to come to Him.
I hope that in reading this you have been struck by the serious consequences
of knowing who Jesus Christ is. It is not enough to just go along with the
crowd, to use the jargon that other professing believers use so you'll be
accepted. God says we must bow the knee, we must submit to the authority and
lordship of Jesus Christ, His Son. He is God, and apart from Him there is no
Savior.
I pray that we will stand for Him, we will honor Him, we will praise Him
until the day, that sweet day, when we are called home to be with Him
forever.
God, help us to commit our lives and our futures to You. May we be set free,
by the power of Your Holy Spirit, from our sin, from the consequences of
death and hell, to eternal life and complete forgiveness through our faith
and trust in Jesus as the God who made us and the God who saved us. He is
Lord of all. Amen.
New Bible study material on various biblical themes & theology. You may also
listen to actual broadcasts, music, view Hope For Today's complete catalog
information about the ministries of HOPE FOR TODAY, 1.800.75.BIBLE, P.O. Box
3927, Tustin, Ca. 92781.
If you are interested, ask us for David's recent tape "The Coming Invasion
of Israel" on Ezekiel 38:1-23 (PS2301).
|================================================
|
| Ancient Bible Prophecies Fulfilled in the Birth of Christ
| From the Cheyenne Evangelical Free Church
|
Isaiah 7:14: Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin
will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Matthew 1:22-23: All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said
through the prophet: 'The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a
son, and they will call him Immanuel'--which means, 'God with us.'
Micah 5:2: But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the
clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over
Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.
Matthew 2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of
King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem.
Jeremiah 31:15: This is what the Lord says: 'A voice is heard in Ramah,
mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to
be comforted, because her children are no more.'
Matthew 2:16-18: When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi,
he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its
vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he
had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah
was fulfilled: 'A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they
are no more.'
Hosea 11:1: When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called
my son.
Matthew 2:14-15 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night
and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was
fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'Out of Egypt I called
my son.'
Other General Prophecies Concerning His Life
Isaiah 9:6-7: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the
government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase
of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's
throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and
righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.
Genesis 22:17-18 [Spoken to Abraham]: I will surely bless you and make your
descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the
seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their
enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed,
because you have obeyed me."
Psalm 72:17: May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the
sun. All nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him
blessed.
[Peace on Earth!]
[Good will toward men!]
http://pages.prodigy.com/jddd/#Ancient Bible Prophecies Fulfilled in The
Birth of Christ
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PROPHEZINE NEWSLETTER - Commentaries
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Could Big Brother Become Your Banker?
Melissa Charbonneau, reporter for CBN
December 10, 1998
As the criminal element continues to hone sophisticated techniques to
launder dirty money through the banking industry, Uncle Sam is keeping a
watchful eye on illegal activity. But some consumer groups warn the federal
crackdown on money laundering could reach into your checkbook. As White
House correspondent Melissa Charbonneau reports, a newly proposed regulation
that lays down the law on bank fraud is raising the specter of Big Brother.
Imagine that each time you deposit your paycheck or withdraw money from your
checking account that your bank tracked every transaction and reported it to
the federal government.
That's what some fear might happen if banking authorities approve a new
regulation called "Know Your Customer," or KYC.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, is one of four federal
agencies promoting the rule as a tool to combat illegal money laundering and
drug trafficking.
"We want to make sure banks are not used to promote criminal activities and
erode public confidence," says Michael Zamorski of the FDIC.
Some consumer advocates are raising the red flag.
"It's not acceptable privacy policy," says Ed Mierzwinski of the U.S. Public
Interest Research Group. "It's scary. It's Big Brother."
Mierzwinski sees KYC as part of a trend -- just another example of
government encroaching on personal privacy.
"This time it's drug trafficking," he says. "Last time it was illegal
immigration. Regardless of the purpose, they're imposing on the privacy of
American citizens.
Law-abiding consumers could be affected by these rules."
Under the KYC proposal, banks would be required to verify customer
identities and determine the source of funds; decide what is "normal" for a
customer's transactions; monitor accounts for unusual activity;
and report anything suspicious to federal agencies.
"We're very concerned some of the language could be misconstrued," says John
Byrne of the American Bankers Association. "But I don't think regulators
intend that."
Byrne says buzz words like "monitor" may be too broad and should be changed
in the regulation. But, he says, KYC is not a new concept, and the new rule
would simply formalize identification policies most banks have had in place
for years.
"The average consumer works hard all week and deposits his paycheck," says
Byrne. "They'll have nothing to lose in this proposal in the final
regulation, because we won't support anything that requires anything more
than what we do today. And that is, protecting their accounts and everybody
else's accounts."
But PIRG's Ed Mierzwinski suspects the rule poses a greater potential for
abuse. "Innocent people could be branded as drug money launderers because of
mistakes made by banks," he says.
Mistakes ... or standard operating procedures.
Suppose you sell your car or receive an inheritance, and you make a large
deposit to your account. Would that be enough to trigger a bank review and
give federal agencies access to your private records?
The FDIC says probably not.
"I want to emphasize we're dealing with large suspicious transactions," says
Zamorski. "And by suspicious, let's say they involve offshore accounts or
wire transfers. But if they understand a customer has a regular pattern of
large transactions that won't necessarily be tagged for further review.
Officials say law-abiding depositors are not their target, and KYC is the
best way they know to keep criminals from using the banking system. Still,
others worry that when confidential information reached government
databases, good intentions may fall short of consumer protection.
"Thousands and thousands of consumers may be victims of mistakes in bank and
credit report accounts," says Mierzwinski. "If those consumers are now going
to be accused of being drug money launderers on top of other problems they
already have, they've got good reason for concern."
The "Know Your Customer" rule is now open for 90 days of public comment.
After that, regulators will amend or approve the final rule scheduled to
take effect in April of the Year 2000.
http://www.the700club.org/news/stories/981210.asp
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is
distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and
educational
purposes only. For more information go to:
www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
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F.Y.I. - Israel in the News
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F.Y.I. - Israel in the News
Week Ending: 12 December 1998/23 Kislev 5759
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And it will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone
for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the
nations of the earth will be gathered against it." Zechariah 12.3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Covenant Will Not Be Changed: On Thursday a group of senior Palestinians led
by PLO leader Yasser Arafat voted to approve a letter in which Arafat
informed US President Clinton that the charter clauses calling for Israel's
destruction were null and void. The action is purely a token gesture meant
to appease the US administration as the PLO Charter can only be changed by a
two-thirds vote of the Palestine National Council: "This Charter shall not
be amended save by [vote of] a majority of two-thirds of the total
membership of the National Congress of the Palestine Liberation Organization
[taken] at a special session convened for that purpose" Article 33 of the
PLO Charter. However, Selim Zanoun, chairman of the PNC, said the larger PNC
will not vote again on the matter when it meets Monday. This makes the
action taken by the PLO, and sanctified by the US administration, a total
farce. The Israeli government took note of the vote, but said that the
nullification process is far from complete. "Unless the PNC votes on Monday,
we will not consider it a rejection of the Covenant," said Prime Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu's communication's director David Bar-Illan.
The PLO insists that no vote is called for and no vote will take place. In
the Wye accord, the word "vote" is not actually mentioned in connection with
the PNC meeting, but rather only the word "reaffirmation". There are no
guidelines as to how such a reaffirmation would be manifested. The PLO says
it took all the required steps of canceling the clauses at a special session
of the PNC in Gaza in 1996. However, at that meeting, the PNC only voted to
form a committee to look into changing PLO Charter.
Meanwhile, over 500 members of various terrorist and PLO-sanctioned groups
met last week in Gaza regarding the Charter. Members of Hamas, Islamic
Jihad, PFLP, DFLP and other groups declared their opposition to the Wye
River accord with Israel and the ratification of amendments to the
Palestinian National Charter. (AP, JERUSALEM POST, NANDO TIMES, AFP/JORDAN
TIMES)
Clinton Travels to Middle East: Clinton will arrive in Israel Saturday night
at midnight, and will meet with PM Netanyahu on Sunday. A State dinner will
be held in Clinton's honor on Sunday night, to which will be invited family
members of terrorist victims who struggled unsuccessfully for the
extradition of the murderers from the Palestinian autonomy. A 16-member
congressional delegation, including Senators Frank Lautenburg (D-New Jersey)
and Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania), will also arrive together with Clinton.
Netanyahu has insisted that he will accept nothing less than a change in the
PLO Charter that is voted upon by the entire PNC, as the charter itself
stipulates. He also reiterated that the recent Palestinian violence must be
immediately halted. In addition, Netanyahu demanded that US Commerce
Secretary William Daley (traveling with Clinton) apologize for intervening
in Israel's internal affairs by calling for a change in government in
Israel. A major part of Clinton's trip will be his addressing a meeting of
the PNC. (ARUTZ-7)
The Violence Continues: Violence erupted over the land this past week as
Palestinians rioted in protest of the Israeli prisoner releases and
celebrated the 11th anniversary of the start of the intifada. Four
Palestinians died and others were injured from the rioting over the course
of the week. Several IDF soldiers as well as passersby were also injured as
Palestinians threw rocks at cars as they drove by. Some of the violence was
organized in part by two Palestinian para-military policemen in civilian
clothes, who were arrested and are being questioned by the Israeli police at
this hour.
Clashes took place at Rachel's Tomb outside Bethlehem, Jenin, the Shechem
area, the Ayosh junction north of Ram'Allah, Kalkilya, eastern Jerusalem,
and Hebron. Israeli troops were deployed against rioters throwing firebombs,
bottles, concrete blocks, and stones. A resident of the Kadim settlement
near Jenin was shot and wounded as he drove his car on Monday, HA'ARETZ
reported. YEDIOT AHARONOT reported that two Israelis were assaulted by a
Palestinian mob in Abu Dis near Jerusalem. The two were driving past
Palestinian demonstrators when they were attacked. KOL YISRAEL also reported
that an Israeli schoolgirl was injured in Bethlehem when stones were thrown
at a car in which she was riding.
Arafat, during a dinner in Ram'Allah, urged US special Mideast envoy Dennis
Ross to use his influence to convince Israelis of the importance to the
Palestinian people of releasing more political prisoners. However, he never
once denounced the violence of the past week. In fact, he has been
encouraging it with declarations of statehood as well as other incitements.
(ISRAEL LINE, IDF SPOKESPERSON, ARUTZ-7)
Clinton Waives PLO Sanctions: Clinton waived yet again the official American
sanctions against the PLO. He signed a bill at the end of last month that
states, "I hereby determine and certify that it is important to the national
security interests of the United States to waive the provisions of section
1003 of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1987, Public Law 100-204, through May 24,
1999." Section 1003 states, "It shall be unlawful ... to further the
interests of the Palestine Liberation Organization ... to receive anything
of value ... from the PLO ... [or] to expend funds from the PLO ... or
maintain [a PLO] office, headquarters, premises, or other facilities or
establishments within the jurisdiction of the United States." (ARUTZ-7)
US Back PLO Statehood: Arafat declared on Wednesday in Hebron that a
Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital would be established whether
Israel likes it or not, adding that the Palestinians would free the land
centimeter by centimeter until the establishment of an independent
Palestinian state.
Meanwhile, the US is leaving the door open to a Palestinian state, conscious
that its creation may be inevitable. Clinton is set to pay a visit to Gaza
Monday, in what some see as a calculated move by the US to become engaged on
the issue of Palestinian nation-building. Officially, Clinton is going to
Gaza, the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority (PA/PLO), as part of a
deal he made under the Wye River land-for-security agreement signed here on
October 23.
In another development, several sources that attended a symposium on the
question of a Palestinian state and its legal aspects, organized by the
French Foreign Ministry with the support of the European Union [EU], have
stated that the Palestinians who participated in the symposium stressed the
need for international recognition, particularly by the EU, of a Palestinian
state. The sources spoke of a proposal put forward by American participants,
who included Henry Sigman, the official responsible for peace process
affairs at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in New York, calling for
postponement of the proclamation of the Palestinian State for two years in
return for Israeli concessions. The so
urces pointed out that the general
atmosphere at the session was "positive" from the Palestinian point of view
and that the French stressed the question of the legal basis of the
proclamation of the state. It should be noted in this context that during
Arafat's visit to the French capital a few days ago, President Jacques
Chirac declared that his country and the EU are prepared to provide material
support for the institutions of the Palestinian State. (ISRAEL LINE, AFP,
AL-HAYAH)
Iran Closer to Nuclear Capability: Based on new intelligence, security
officials revised their estimation of Iran's progress toward reaching
nuclear capability to two to three years, MA'ARIV reported. Previous
assessments had indicated that Iran was five to seven years from nuclear
capability. Israel has collected further evidence of Russia's involvement in
the Iranian nuclear project. YEDIOT AHARONOT reported that Iran hired
several members of the former Soviet Union's biological weapons program to
assist in developing weapons of mass destruction.
The newspaper quoted the NEW YORK TIMES as reporting that Russian and
Kazakstani scientists were hired by the Iranians for $5,000 per month. Iran
denied this accusation, stating that many foreign scientists work in Iran,
but only on projects for peaceful purposes. PM Netanyahu intends to bring up
Iran's weapons programs during his meetings with Clinton next week.
Meanwhile, Iran and Iraq are continuing to reconcile. Last week a senior
Iraqi official traveled to Iran and personally examined the fine service the
Iranians are giving to Iraqi fighter jets that defected there over the
years. The two countries are conducting military discussions mainly over
issues concerning the position of the two as States possessing the largest
armies in the region. (ISRAEL LINE, ARUTZ-7)
US Patriots to Israel: The US Pentagon is shifting three Patriot
anti-missile batteries from Europe to Israel for a joint military exercise.
Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon said only that the Patriot batteries would
participate with American helicopters in an exercise called "Mobile
Shirley".
In another development, Amman's AL-MAJD reports that it has learned from
reliable sources that a fourth US warship will arrive at the port of
al-'Aqaba in the middle of this month to join the three other US vessels,
which have been docked at the port since February. (AP, CMEP)
US Encouraging Hizb'Allah? In Beirut, a source close to the Hizb'Allah
terrorist organization, told LEBANON BULLETIN that "the Americans are
encouraging Hizb'Allah to increase its operations against the Israelis in
south Lebanon to raise hell on the Netanyahu government. They expect us to
cause maximum casualties among the Jewish soldiers in the Security Zone,
causing the enemy's government to collapse. We know the Americans are using
us for their own political purpose, but we will go along, as long as this
will bring us a victory". The source said "when Americans and Israelis are
in conflict, we win. We will win over the Jews, now, then we will move
against the forces of the istikbar (imperialism), later". (LEBANON BULLETIN)
PA/PLO Declares Death to Jewish Residents of Yesha: The Palestinian
Legislative Council has recently enacted two laws. One of the laws makes it
permissible for the PA/PLO to manufacture weapons and accord its citizens
the right to bear arms. Israeli Chief Military Prosecutor Brig.-Gen. Uri
Shoham called the law "a serious violation of the agreements". A second law,
called to Netanyahu's attention by Justice Minister Tzachi Hanegbi, is
entitled "The Law on Foreign Ownership of Real Estate in Palestine." Nadav
Ha'etzni, a columnist for MA'ARIV, wrote, "This law amounts, according to
jurists, to a declaration of war on the State of Israel." The law stipulates
that any Israeli citizen or institution -- such as Yesha residents or the
IDF -- holding 'Palestinian real estate' is guilty of treason for harming
Palestinian 'national security', and is therefore liable to the death
penalty. (ARUTZ-7)
Russia Is Arming Syria, Egypt: Russia has renewed its weapons shipments to
Syria and Egypt, according to Russian news reports cited in HA'ARETZ. The
arms deals were reportedly concluded last month during a visit by Russian
Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev to the two countries. According to the
report, about 100 Russian military advisers are currently in Syria and more
than 70 Syrian officers are training in Russia. The Syrian army wants large
quantities of small arms and ammunition, as well as anti-aircraft missiles.
Russian experts are also upgrading fire-control systems in Syrian tanks, and
have established a presence at the Syria port of Tartus, the only
Mediterranean location accessible to Russian naval forces today. Meanwhile
Russia will reportedly supply anti-aircraft and radar systems to the
Egyptian air force. Russia will also send experts to help the Egyptian army
upgrade its outdated Soviet-era weaponry. (ICEJ)
Jerusalem's Oldest Synagogue Found: Israeli archaeologists claim to have
uncovered the remains of the oldest synagogue in Jerusalem, within the ruins
of a Byzantine-era building discovered years ago. The two-story stone
structure and courtyard are located inside Jerusalem's walled old city near
the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount. It was destroyed during the
Persian conquest of AD614 but rebuilt after Muslim conquerors seized the
city and ruled it from AD638. Artifacts from this period suggest that the
Muslim rulers allowed the building to be used as a Jewish house of prayer. A
study by Eilat Mazar, an archaeologist at Hebrew University, states that the
structure, known as the "House of Menorot" (seven-branched candelabra)
because of the profusion of candelabra paintings inside, was in fact a
synagogue from the 7th century AD. Other elements in the building include
indentations in the entrances where mezuzoth -- or scrolls containing
sections of Scripture -- would have been attached. "All of these elements
taken together point to the building's use as a house of prayer and study,"
said Dr. Mazar. Her grandfather, Professor Benjamin Mazar, partly excavated
the site in 1971-73. The oldest-known synagogue until now has been the
Ramban synagogue in the Jewish quarter of the old city, dating from the 13th
century. (LONDON TIMES)
What about the PLO? UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged Israel to
implement its part of the latest land-for-peace accord and to continue
releasing Palestinian prisoners during a meeting Thursday with Israeli
Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon, UN officials said. Annan also asked Israel to
stop building new settlements, and specifically mentioned Har Homa [which is
not a settlement-ed]. The UN chief also urged Israel to exercise restraint
in southern Lebanon. (AP)
PA/PLO Figures: An op-ed by Michael Kelly in the WASHINGTON POST this
weekend reported the following: *Since July 1, 1994, the day that Arafat
arrived to take charge of Gaza, the international community has given the
PA/PLO some $2.5 billion in aid. The PA/PLO's own auditors reported last
year that nearly 40 percent of the annual budget -- $323 million -- was
wasted, looted or misused. * In that time ... wage rates in Gaza have fallen
50 percent, unemployment has risen to highs of 50 percent, and is currently
around 30 percent. * The gross national product per Palestinian has declined
by 35 percent. * The percentage of goods manufactured in Gaza and marketed
in Judea and Samaria (where the consumers are) declined from about 50
percent to 2 percent by 1996. * In the first two years of Arafat's rule,
one-third of Gazan businesses folded. * Foreign commercial investment in
Gaza declined from $520 million in 1993 to below $300 million in 1997. * The
number of Palestinians living in poverty soared; one out of every four now
lives below the poverty line. * The Palestinian Authority has yet to draft a
criminal and civil code. (ARUTZ-7)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FYI - Israel In The News
"For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace,
and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest" Isaiah 62:1
'F.Y.I.' may be reproduced & distributed in any form. Please give proper
credit.
Send comments to Lee Underwood at: fyi@tzemach.org
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Web site: http://www.tzemach.org/fyi
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A Father and A Son
By Terry Denbow
"Son, I want to talk to you." "Yes Father." "My creation has sinned
against me and have no way to redeem themselves. They need a Savior."
"What will you do?" "The only way for them to be redeemed is too have the
blood of an innocent sinless person be poured out for them." "Someone
without sin must die?" "Yes, to make payment for their sin." "I see."
"Whom is there that hasn't sinned?" "No one...yet. I want you to go to
earth and be born as a child and be human and give your life for their sins.
You will suffer so much and will not be allowed to use your powers to
destroy evil, only overcome the evil. You will feel everything they
experience. You will know what it is like to hunger and thirst, to be
lonely and rejected, to tire and endure hardship. You will experience great
physical and emotional pain. Your sacrifice will be the only way for them
to receive forgiveness and be reconciled to Me." Then the Father looked
deeply into His son's eyes and said, "During your death we will be
separated for a time because you will have every sin from all time placed on
you. Three days after your death I will raise you up and exalt you to the
highest position where every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess
you are the Lord. You will be the ruler of all those who will believe in
You and your kingdom will have no end. Are you willing?" "Yes Father I am
willing. I have no other desire than to please you." "You are a good and
faithful son." "I love them like you Father."
"Then go and return to Me. I will be with you." The son left and the
Father wept knowing that this was the only way. He wept because of what His
son must endure and because He was so willing to obey.
The Father and all the angels shouted for joy at the birth of Jesus.
Through the lowliest of births, born in a manger, he was the highest of
kings. The Father watched as Mary tenderly held him in her arms and looked
upon him with tender love and affection. The Father watched as Joseph stood
in awe at the great miracle that just took place before his eyes which made
his love for God grow even more. All of heaven was proclaiming his deity
and giving the son worship because of his greatness.
As the years went by the Father knew the time was approaching for the son to
start his ministry. He sent him to John the Baptist, his cousin, to be
baptized with the Holy Spirit. As he entered the water he said to the
Father, "Father, please strengthen me to do all that you've called me to do.
For it is my desire to glorify you. May all that I do be pleasing unto
you." Then all of heaven opened up and the Father spoke unto the son for
all to hear, "You are my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased." Just then
the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus as dove descending from heaven.
Soon after, a messenger came to the Father and said that the evil one was
demanding to speak to Him. The Father said to let him in. "I see your son
is about to start his ministry on earth. Are you sure his loyalties lie
with you?" "I am sure." "Well I am not! Any robot can complete this task.
I will wager that given the opportunity he will serve me and forget these
little insignificant humans. It was cruel for you to even send him there
among these inferior beings. You haven't been fair. He hasn't even had the
choice..." "Enough. You may test my son." "I will and you will see that
he'd much rather be given all that I have than to suffer what you have
planned." And immediately the evil one left to devise his plan to deceive
Jesus when he was weakest and most vulnerable.
The Father, constantly with Jesus, watched as his son fast and pray 40 days
and 40 nights. The Father listened as the son poured his heart out to him
to strengthen and direct him in the way the Father wanted him to go. The
Father spoke encouraging and comforting words to his son and the Holy
Spirit told him of the temptation the evil one was planning. Then the Father
said, "Submit yourself to me and resist him. Your words are a powerful
weapon against him." "I will Father." "Don't be so quick to agree Jesus,"
suddenly the evil one appeared and said. "You don't even know what I am
offering you." And then changing his tone he said, "Sit down. You must be
hungry. Let me get you something to eat. Better yet make these stones into
bread and use the power that is rightfully yours." And then Jesus spoke,
"Man does not live by bread alone." As these words went forth all of the
evil one's forces fell prey to a legion of angels. The evil one himself
cried out in pain from the gaping gash left across his face by the words.
Regaining his composure the evil one showed Jesus the glory of the earth
and said, "All of this is mine and I will give it to you if you will only
bow down and worship me. Do you really want to suffer all that your Father
has planned for you? I will give you royalty," he boasted. "He has given
you rags. Serve me and all of this will be yours," as his hands and arms
motioned to show Jesus the vastness and beauty of the land. "It is written,
you shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only," Jesus said boldly.
And again the armies of the evil one went screaming and fleeing from the
attack of the angel. The evil one suffered yet another gash, this time to
his arms. He too screamed in agony and tried to control the anger welling
up inside him. Then the evil one led the weary Jesus to a pinnacle and
dared him to throw himself off. "Are you afraid? Didn't someone once say
that He will give His angels charge concerning you to guard you and they
will bear you up on their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone?
Now jump!" Jesus in measured words said, "It is said, you shall not put the
Lord your God to the test." "Ahhhhh. Stop, stop," cried the evil one as
the words released mighty warriors to further the devastation of the wicked
forces. More of the evil army was lost and another gash was inflicted
across both legs this time to the evil one. Upon leaving, the evil one
turned to Jesus seething, "This is not over yet. I will make you sorry you
did not listen to me. You will fail and I will win and then you will have
nothing." And with that he left. Immediately the Father sent His most
comforting angels to minister and care for Jesus.
The Father watched as Jesus choose his disciples, healed the sick, gave
forgiveness for sins, cast out demons, raised the dead, walked on the water
and showed compassion on His creation. He watched as the evil one
relentlessly tried to create strife and hatred among those who were once His
chosen. He watched as Jesus successfully escaped every trap prepared by the
evil one and rebuked every false way that the Pharisees had become so
self-righteous about. His eyes never left His son and His heart filled with
pride and pain at the same time. Many times He called Jesus to come away to
a lonely place just to be with Him. The Father missed his son so very much
and yet knew there was no other way.
The time was approaching when the sacrifice was to be made. The evil one
was delirious with joy at the thought of torturing Jesus. He knew the cross
would be the most painful way of death and was so looking forward to the
torment that he would inflict on the son. He reminded him daily about the
suffering that was coming. Do you really think that it is fair what your
Father is doing? I wouldn't let my son go through such pain and agony. For
what? For these ungrateful pigs! They don't even like you and are
rejecting your words as you speak them. They only clamor to you because
they want to be healed or fed. They don't love you. They only want what
they can get. It's only human nature. Watch how they will desert you and
hate you and then you will beg me to rescue you. Well, you had your chance.
Now I will show you my power and authority and you will bow before me."
Jesus went to the garden and bowed down. None of his disciples went with
him to pray. Even though he asked them to. He knew even Peter who came to
him on the water would deny him. He wept before the Father. His anxiety
was so great that he sweat drops of blood. "Father if there be any other
way, please let this cup pass from me." "There is no other way," the Father
wept and yearned to hold His son in his arms. Jesus hung his head and
complied, "Not my will, but yours be done." And he purposed in his heart to
complete the work he was sent to do. Just then the Holy Spirit came and
strengthened him all the more.
The Father watched as Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss. He watched as the
guards took Jesus, His only son, away to the prison. He watched as Peter
denied him 3 times and all his friends deserted him. He watched as Pilot
tried to wash his hands of any judgement of his son's unfair mock trial. He
watched as the crowd cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him!" instead of
Barabas and his sorrow deepened.
He watched as Peter denied him 3 times and all the friends of Jesus deserted
him. "Father are you there?" "Yes son I am here." "The pain is...help
me." "I am here." "Look to Me. Soon we will be together again." And
Jesus grew a faint smile.
The Father watched with anger as Pilot tried to wash his hands of any
judgement of his son's unfair mock trial. He watched as the crowd cried
out, "Crucify him, crucify him!" instead of Barabas and his sorrow deepened.
He knew there was no other way.
Jesus drug the heavy cross on his ripped up back that was bleeding and
oozing. "You should have listened to me Jesus," whispered an evil voice. I
would have never have let you suffer like this. But now that you have
rejected my offer you will experience pain like no other and die just like
any other man." "Silence", said the Father and the evil one fled. "Help me
Father." "I am here my son. I love you. Great will be your victory." The
Father sent Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross for Jesus and called out the
order to strengthen Jesus all the more.
The women were wailing in the streets expressing their deep sorrow for the
holy son. Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit lifted up his voice and said,
"Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for me, but weep for yourselves and
for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say,
'Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that
never nursed.' Then they will begin to say to the mountains, 'Fall on us,'
and the hills, 'Cover us.' For if they do these things in the green tree,
what will happen in the dry?"
When they reached the place called "The Skull" the soldiers laid Jesus on
the cross. He looked into heaven and saw the face of his Father in torment
for the agony of his son. They drove the nails into his hands as he cried
out in pain. Then drove the nail into his feet and he cried again. The
Father reached out His hands to rescue His son and Jesus whispered, "No
Father." The soldiers lifted him up and dropped the cross into the hole
that was dug to place the cross in. The sudden jerk torn ligaments and
muscles and pain shot through the body of the Father's only son. Jesus
barely able to open his eyes looked into the eyes of the Father with a
perfect heart and said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what
they are doing." And as he looked down again he saw that they were casting
lots for his clothing just as it was prophesied.
"Jesus My son, you are perfect in every way. And many will be reconciled to
Me because of your sacrifice. Your love for them is great. Those who have
eyes to see will see this great love and follow you. Your sacrifice is not
in vain but will bring much fruit and glory to your name."
There were two criminals that were crucified on either side of Jesus and
inspired by the evil one, one of them said mockingly to him, "Are you not
the Christ? Save yourself and us."
Then the other replied, "Do you not even fear God, since you are under the
same sentence and condemnation? And we in deed justly, for we are receiving
what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." Then
he turned to Jesus in a pained but hopeful voice and said, "Jesus, remember
me when you come in your kingdom." Jesus smiled at mercy of yet one more
that he would save because of this sacrifice. "Truly I say to you today you
shall be with Me in Paradise." All of heaven shouted for joy and cheered as
yet another believed and was saved from his sins. The demons shrieked in
pain from the voices of the angels rejoicing. It was like nails on a
chalkboard to them.
Six hours had passed since Jesus had been on the cross. Torturous pain
racked Jesus' beaten and dying body. The time was approaching when the
Father would have to leave Jesus. His heart was being ripped to sheds as He
slowly turned away and left Jesus all alone. He put His saddened face in
His tremendous hands and sobbed uncontrollably. As the sky began to darken
Jesus sensed the presence of the Father slipping away. All of the sin of
the world was placed on the dying Jesus. "Where is your Father now Jesus?",
sneered the evil one. "You are so disgusting your daddy doesn't even want
to look at you. Now the victory will be mine when you finally die." He
slithered over to his other ear, "Feeling a little uncomfortable? Only the
beginning of the pain you'll feel and the tortures you will endure. Look
around, you see dear old dad anywhere?" Harshly, "He's left you. Admit
it." Delirious Jesus cried out, "My God, my God why have You forsaken me?"
The evil cackled in delight a most hideous laugh. Just then, the sound of
loud ripping flooded the demon's ears. "What was that?", he said angrily.
"The veil at the temple has just been torn in two, my lord," said one of the
evil ones lackeys. "What! What are you talking about?" Then Jesus cried
out, "It is finished," and died. "Nooo," shrieked the evil one. "This
can't be! I've been tricked," as Satan felt a sharp blow to his heel and
power drained from his twisted body.
The Father rushed to Jesus' side and held him for what seemed to be an
eternity. "I did it Father." The Father pulled Jesus closer and kissed him
on the forehead and said tenderly, "You did it son. Now all who will obey
you will be with you forever and escape My wrath. You have won and the evil
one has lost. You will be hailed King of Kings and Lord of Lords and all
who know you will praise your name and worship you. And after you minister
to the saints in Abraham's bosom and return to earth after 3 days, and 40
you will return to Me and sit on My right side." "My only desire is to
glorify You Father." "You did, in your obedience to Me." The Father and
son embraced again as the angels looked on at the marvel of His grace to the
undeserving. Their hearts filled with joy seeing the reunion of a Father
and His only son.
BibleBabe@eee.org
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Final Word
Hello dear friend!
Well, as you know, it's time for my birthday again. Last year, they had a
real big party for me, and it seems like they will again this year. After
all, they've been shopping and preparing for it for months now, and there
have been announcements and advertisements almost everyday about how soon
it's coming! They really do go overboard about it, but it's nice to know
that at least on one day of the year some people are thinking about me a
little.
You know, it's been many years now since they first started celebrating my
birthday. Back then they seemed to realize and appreciate how much fun it is
for the little children. Just the same, it seems that most folks are missing
the point of it all.
Like last year, for example. When my birthday came around, they threw a big
party, but can you believe it? I wasn't even invited! Imagine! The guest of
honor, and they forgot all about me! Here they had begun preparing for the
festivities two months in advance, but when the big day came, I was left out
in the cold! Well, it happened so many times in recent years, I wasn't even
surprised. Even though I wasn't invited, I thought I'd just quietly slip
anyway. So I came in and stood off to the side.
Everyone was drinking, laughing and having a grand time, when all of a
sudden, in came this fat fellow in a bright red suit, wearing a phony white
beard and shouting, "Ho, ho, ho!" He looked like he had more than enough to
drink, but he somehow managed to weave his way running the floor while
everyone cheered. When he collapsed into a big armchair, all the little
children went running over to him excitedly yelling, "Santa! Santa!" I mean,
you'd have thought he was the guest of honor and the whole holiday was in
his honor!
Then he began telling them the most ridiculous stories you've ever
heard!...that he lives at the North Pole with a crew of dwarfs and that
every year on my birthday he rides in his sleigh pulled by a bunch of flying
reindeer, giving presents to children all over the world! I mean there
wasn't a word of truth in anything he said! Imagine telling such little
impressionable kids such far- fetched fables!
Finally I just had to leave. I walked out of the door, and it was hardly
surprising that no one even noticed that I had gone. As I walked down the
street afterward, I felt about as lonely and forlorn as a stray dog! I could
hardly remember the last time I'd felt that low. Maybe you don't think I
cry...
That little manger scene you had put up in the corner of your living room
was really touching! It's sweet of people to commemorate my birthday like
that. But did you know that nowadays, in some countries, the authorities
won't even allow manger scenes to be placed in the parks, streets, or public
places anymore! Not to mention their schools! And I'm not talking about
Communist countries! I'm talking about the USA. Imagine! What could be more
innocent that a manger scene to remind people of my birthday? And yet they
ban it! They've actually passed laws against it and made it illegal! What's
this world coming to?
Another thing that amazes me is how, on my birthday, instead of giving me
presents, most people give gifts to each other! And to top it all off, it's
usually all kinds of stuff they don't even need! Let me ask you, wouldn't
you find it odd if when your birthday came along, and all your friends
decided to celebrate it by giving each other presents and never gave you a
thing?
Someone once told me, "Well, it's because you're not around like other
people are, so how can we give you a present?" You know my answer to that
one. "Then give gifts of food and clothing to the poor, help those who need
it. Go visit the lonely!" I said, "Listen, any gift you give to your needy
fellow man, I'll count as if you gave it to me personally!" (See Matthew
25:34-40)
It reminds me of what happened recently to a friend of mine, a sweet elderly
fellow. He's from the poorer side of town and he's been trying
unsuccessfully for years to join a church, but it's a very exclusive church
for the 'proper' kind of folks. They just did not think he was good enough
to be a member. I found him one day sitting by the church steps with his
head on his hands bowed, and I asked him what was wrong. He told me about
it, and I put my arm around his shoulder and told him I knew just how he
felt. I've wanted to enter that same church for twenty years, and they've
never let me in, either!
Well there's an end even to my patience. So I'm going to let you in on a
secret.
Now this is something I've been planning on doing for quite sometime. The
way things are going, I'm planning on holding my own party! How about that?
It's going to be the biggest, most fantastic feast you could possibly
imagine! It might not happen this year. But I'm sending out the invitations
anyway, because I know you'll want to come. There's going to be room for
billions, for everyone who wants to come! Some really famous old-timers and
celebrities are going to be there, and I'll reserve you a seat of honor
right with them! (Mat. 8:11)
So hold on to your hat, because when everything is ready, I'm going to
spring it as a big surprise! And a lot of people are going to be left out in
the cold because they didn't answer my invitation. Let me know right away if
you'd like to come, and I'll reserve you a place and, write your name in
large golden letter in my great big Guest Book!
Much Love, JESUS
Sylvia Genders LeReverend sylvia@itrc.on.ca http://www.itrc.on.ca
"One of the most difficult things to give away is kindness -- it is
usually returned." --Court R.
Flint
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Merry Christmas?
Sandra felt as low as the heels of her Birkenstocks as she pushed against a
November gust and the florist shop door. Her life had been easy, like a
spring breeze.
Then in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a minor automobile
accident stole her ease. During this Thanksgiving week she would have
delivered a son. She grieved over her loss. As if that weren't enough her
husband's company threatened a transfer. Then her sister, whose holiday
visit she coveted, called saying she could not come. What's worse, Sandra's
friend infuriated her by suggesting her grief was a God-given path to
maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer. "Had she
lost a child? -No--she has no idea what I'm feeling, "Sandra shuddered.
Thanksgiving? "Thankful for what?" she wondered. For a careless driver
whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended her?
For an airbag that saved her life but took that of her child?
"Good afternoon, can I help you?" The flower shop clerk's approach startled
her. "Sorry," said Jenny, "I just didn't want you to think I was ignoring
you."
"I....I need an arrangement."
"For Thanksgiving?"
Sandra nodded.
"Do you want beautiful but ordinary, or would you like to challenge the day
with a customer favorite I call the Thanksgiving Special." Jenny saw
Sandra's curiosity and continued. "I'm convinced that flowers tell stories,
that each arrangement insinuates a particular feeling. Are you looking for
something that conveys gratitude this Thanksgiving?"
"Not exactly!" Sandra blurted. "Sorry, but in the last five months,
everything that could go wrong has." Sandra regretted her outburst but was
surprised when Jenny said, "I have the perfect arrangement for you." The
door's small bell suddenly rang.
"Barbara! Hi," Jenny said. She politely excused herself from Sandra and
walked toward a small workroom. She quickly reappeared carrying a massive
arrangement of greenery, bows, and long-stemmed thorny roses. Only, the
ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped, no flowers.
"Want this in a box?" Jenny asked.
Sandra watched for Barbara's response. Was this a joke? Who would want
rose stems and no flowers! She waited for laughter, for someone to notice
the absence of flowers atop the thorny stems, but neither woman did. "Yes,
please. It's exquisite," said Barbara. "You'd think after three years of
getting the special, I'd not be so moved by its significance, but it's
happening again. My family will love this one. Thanks" Sandra stared.
"Why so normal a conversation about so strange an arrangement? She
wondered.
"Ah, said Sandra, pointing. "That lady just left with, ah....."
"Yes?"
"Well, she had no flowers!"
"Right, I cut off the flowers."
"Off?"
"Off. Yep. That's the Special. I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet."
"But, why do people pay for that?" In spite of herself she chuckled."
"Do you really want to know?"
"I couldn't leave this shop without knowing. I'd think about nothing else!"
"That might be good," said Jenny. "Well," she continued, "Barbara came into
the shop three years ago feeling very much like you feel today. She thought
she had very little to be thankful for. She had lost her father to cancer,
the family business was failing, her son was into drugs, and she faced major
surgery."
"Ouch!" said Sandra.
"That same year, I lost my husband. I assumed complete responsibility for
the shop and for the first time, spent the holidays alone. I had no
children, no husband, no family nearby, and too great a debt to allow any
travel."
"What did you do?"
"I learned to be thankful for thorns."
Sandra's eyebrows lifted. "Thorns?"
"I'm a Christian, Sandra. I've always thanked God for good things in life
and I never thought to ask Him why good things happened to me? But, when
bad stuff hit, did I ever ask! It took time to learn that dark times are
important. I always enjoyed the 'flowers' of life but it took thorns to
show me the beauty of God's comfort. You know, the Bible says that God
comforts us when we're afflicted and from His consolation we learn to
comfort others."
Sandra gasped. "A friend read that passage to me and I was furious! I
guess the truth is I don't want comfort. I've lost a baby and I'm angry
with God."
She started to ask Jenny to "go on" when the door's bell diverted their
attention.
"Hey, Phil!" shouted Jenny as a balding, rotund man entered the shop. She
softly touched Sandra's arm and moved to welcome him. He tucked her under
his side for a warm hug.
"I'm here for twelve thorny long-stemmed stems!" Phil laughed, heartily.
"I figured as much," said Jenny. "I've got them ready." She lifted a
tissue-wrapped arrangement from the refrigerated cabinet.
"Beautiful," said Phil. "My wife will love them."
Sandra could not resist asking. "These are for your wife?"
Phil saw that Sandra's curiosity matched his when he first heard of a Thorn
Bouquet.
"Do you mind me asking, "Why thorns?"
"In fact, I'm glad you asked," he said. "Four years ago my wife and I
nearly divorced. After forty years, we were in a real mess, but we slogged
through, problem by rotten problem. We rescued our marriage -our love,
really. Last year at Thanksgiving I stopped in here for flowers. I must
have mentioned surviving a tough process because Jenny told me that for a
long time she kept a vase of rose stems-stems!-as a reminder of what she
learned from "thorny" times. That was good enough for me. I took home
stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a specific thorny
situation and give thanks for what the problem taught us. I'm pretty sure
this stem review is becoming a tradition."
Phil paid Jenny, thanked her again and as he left, said to Sandra, "I highly
recommend the Special!"
"I don't know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life." Sandra said
to Jenny.
"Well, my experience says that thorns make roses more precious. We treasure
God's providential care more during trouble than at any other time.
Remember, Sandra, Jesus wore a crown of thorns so that we might know His
love. Do not resent thorns."
Tears rolled down Sandra's cheeks. For the first time since the accident
she loosened her grip on resentment. "I'll take twelve long-stemmed thorns,
please."
"I hoped you would," Jenny said. "I'll have them ready in a minute. Then,
every time you see them, remember to appreciate both good and hard times.
We grow through both."
"Thank you. What do I owe you?"
"Nothing. Nothing but a pledge to work toward healing your heart. The
first year's arrangement is always on me." Jenny handed a card to Sandra.
"I'll attach a card like this to your arrangement but maybe you'd like to
read it first. Go ahead, read it."
My God, I have never thanked Thee for my thorn! I have thanked Thee a
thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorn.
Teach me the glory of the cross I bear, teach me the value of my thorns.
Show me that I have climbed to Thee by the path of pain.
Show me that my tears have made my rainbow. --George Matheson
Jenny said, "Happy Thanksgiving, Sandra," handing her the Special." "I look
forward to our knowing each other better."
Sandra smiled. She turned, opened the door and walked toward hope.
Author Unknown
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
JESUS GOES TO CHURCH
Jesus came to church, dressed in rags today
No one recognized him, they told him "Go away"
They were oh, so worried, of what the town might wonder
And in anxiety and fear, they pulled their biggest blunder!
"Hide this man in the back, and pray the guests won't see"
"Jesus, Jesus", they called out, "Lord, hear our plea"
"The millionaire from town is here, and now this bum is too"
"Help us, help us, help us Lord, what ever shall we do?"
And as they led sweet Jesus, by the hand, way to the back
I saw a tear fall from his eye, for those now off the track
He came to search the hearts, you see, of those now in the pews
And in his heart he wept aloud, at how they spread "GOOD NEWS"!
No one said a word to Jesus, not one, all day long
They gathered round the millionaire, and helped him learn a song
And as they sang and raised their hands, praising King and Lord
Jesus sat there crying, at how he'd been ignored!
- Author Unknown
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Perfect Gift
In 70 A.D. as Isiah foretold Micah 3:12
The Temple was razed by Titus of old
No longer was there an atonement for sin
Using lambs, rams and goats
Being offered to Him. Numbers 29:8
But Jehovah Jirah whom Abraham knew Genesis 22:8
Provided a lamb for me and for you. Isiah 53:7
He came as a baby Micah 5:2
He died on a tree Zech. 12:10
The perfect atonement for you and for me.
Author: Jean C. McNeal
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