The Bulletin Board:(Please SCROLL DOWN this page to find the article titled on this post in LARGE CAPITAL LETTERS. Thank you.)
U.S. Supreme Court has Reconvened: Let's be praying WHENEVER the Court is in session as their decisions can have impact on GENERATIONS to come. The fact that they may have an opportunity this session to actually vote on same-sex "marriage" where it has the same impact on this country that Roe v. Wade did should be motivating enough!
Of course, let's CONTINUE PRAYING FOR AN END TO THE EBOLA CRISIS IN WEST AFRICA AND THE HEALING OF ALL THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN INFECTED.
"The Challenge: Begin with Christmas" - Rebecca Hagelin | Dec 11, 2014;
http://townhall.com/columnists/rebeccahagelin/2014/12/11/the-challenge-begin-with-christmas-n1930170?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&newsletterad=
He gave up Heaven, power and honor in exchange for a dirty feeding trough, helplessness and a cross. He gave up all the benefits that come with being God just so He could save us from our own mess. The Creator of the Universe became like us and lived among us. But the miracle that makes Christmas worth celebrating is much more personal than God with us. The miracle of Christmas is that God came here to be born within us.
When Jesus was nailed to the cross, he took on the broken and corrupt spirits of every person who would ever choose to believe in him—and he crucified them along with himself. 1 Peter says, “He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin…” And when Jesus walked out of his grave, he paved the path to full, abundant and eternal life.
In John 3 (right before the “For God so loved the world” passage in verse 16) Jesus tells a man that if he wants to see God’s Kingdom, he must be born again. Jesus’ entire life, death and resurrection took place so He could offer us an entirely new spirit. Jesus was born so that we could be reborn. But just as Jesus’ purpose on earth was bigger than his birth, our spiritual lives have potential that reaches far beyond Christmas morning.
We don’t know much about Jesus’ childhood, but we do know that when he was 12 years old, he went missing for three days. When his parents finally found him, he was hanging out in the Temple with the religious leaders, asking them questions and impressing everyone with his insights. Jesus went there as a young boy to soak in spiritual truth. He craved deeper knowledge and understanding and pursued it. Even though he was God incarnate, he had to grow, learn and mature spiritually, just like he had to physically. And He knew that he needed to nourish his body, mind and spirit in order to grow into full maturity.
The Hope: Grow in Christ - Likewise, we need our own nourishment to grow into spiritual maturity after we have been born again. 1 Peter 2:2-3 says, “Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.”That passage mirrors Proverbs 2:2-5, which says:
“Tune your ears to wisdom,and concentrate on understanding.Cry out for insight,and ask for understanding.Search for them as you would for silver;seek them like hidden treasures.Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord,and you will gain knowledge of God.”
We all love the holiness of Christmas Eve. We light candles in church as we sing “Silent Night” and we gaze at the manger scenes set up in our homes and we read the account of the first Christmas. It is all so wonderful, but we can’t forget that Christmas is only the beginning. We can’t forget it as we wait throughout this season of Advent or as we celebrate on Christmas day or as we put away the lights and the stockings.
We can’t forget that the birth is only the beginning because we have so much to learn. God wants to keep growing us “until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).To miss growing beyond Christmas is to miss the true meaning of Christmas altogether. As we continue to wait well for the celebration of Christ's coming (as we discussed last week) with great expectations, with confidence, and with joy, we should also start planning on how to grow as Christians beyond Christmas Day...
Why not make it your goal of this Advent week to not only wait well for the coming of Christ's birth, but to prepare to grow in His Truth?
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
Rebecca Hagelin is a public speaker on the family and culture and the author of the new best seller, 30 Ways in 30 Days to Save Your Family.
PRAY FOR AMERICA: THANK GOD for His many blessings on America throughout it's history. May we then ask that AMERICA once again be a blessing TO GOD, by once again submitting to HIS will in our affairs - both personal and national - that He may truly "heal our land." (2 Chron. 7:14)
Here is an example of how a 13-year old can say things much more eloquently than too many adults. In the midst of all the protests over recent decisions regarding officer actions, people are forgetting the daily sacrifices SO MANY make. Especially during this season of the year, you would think people would pause to remember our PEACE officers. [Let's all be in prayer for this teen and the other members of the families grieving as we prepare for Christmas.]
NOW THAT THE ELECTION IS OVER:1) Let's be praying that God showed us grace in giving us representatives who will sincerely work to DO NO HARM to us and future generations. Let's also be praying that should He have chosen to give us those who WILL do us harm, that He extends mercy to us now and for the years ahead. His will is now done as far as the results we have. Now it's up to us to be diligent to hold those elected accountable!, and 2) Let's be praying that the present lame-duck session in Congress will not be allowed to pass legislation that will do harm to our country as they can easily do. (See post #1051 - 'Return of the Zombie).
Here is an example of how a 13-year old can say things much more eloquently than too many adults. In the midst of all the protests over recent decisions regarding officer actions, people are forgetting the daily sacrifices SO MANY make. Especially during this season of the year, you would think people would pause to remember our PEACE officers. [Let's all be in prayer for this teen and the other members of the families grieving as we prepare for Christmas.]
NOW THAT THE ELECTION IS OVER:1) Let's be praying that God showed us grace in giving us representatives who will sincerely work to DO NO HARM to us and future generations. Let's also be praying that should He have chosen to give us those who WILL do us harm, that He extends mercy to us now and for the years ahead. His will is now done as far as the results we have. Now it's up to us to be diligent to hold those elected accountable!, and 2) Let's be praying that the present lame-duck session in Congress will not be allowed to pass legislation that will do harm to our country as they can easily do. (See post #1051 - 'Return of the Zombie).
URGENT PRAYER REQUEST: Save Christian Mom Asia Bibi from Execution - A Christian mom has been sentenced to death in Pakistan for her faith. Asia Bibi was falsely accused of “blasphemy” – speaking against the prophet Muhammad. Now this wife and mother of five will hang for her Christian faith.She would be the first woman executed under Pakistan’s Shariah blasphemy law.This is the ultimate human rights violation. We’re mobilizing our international affiliate – the European Centre for Law and Justice – and its partner in Pakistan to stop this atrocity. Add your name to our letter to the government of Pakistan demanding Asia Bibi’s freedom.Go to http://aclj.org/persecuted-church/save-christian-mom-asia-bibi-from-execution; please add your signature to mine and over 35,000 others AND pray for Asia Bibi.
U.S. Supreme Court has Reconvened: Let's be praying WHENEVER the Court is in session as their decisions can have impact on GENERATIONS to come. The fact that they may have an opportunity this session to actually vote on same-sex "marriage" where it has the same impact on this country that Roe v. Wade did should be motivating enough!
WORLD-WDE PRAYER REQUESTS:
Friday, Sept. 26th - Two Year Anniversary of Pastor Saeed Abedini's Imprisonment in Iran! - [NOTE TODAY'S POST!]
We need to continue to pray for Pastor Saeed - that his health will improve and that he will be re-united with his wife and two young children who live in the United States. [If you have not yet, please sign the petition for his clemency- http://beheardproject.com/saeed#sign] For comfort and .\
"Not Everyone Happy with Religious Ambassador Pick," Caitlin Burke,July 29, 2014;
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/July/Obama-Taps-Rabbi-for-Religious-Freedom-Ambassador/ "..An estimated 76 percent of the world's population live in countries where religious freedom is restricted. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States must take a strong stand against those violations. "Around the world repressive governments and extremists groups have been crystal clear about what they stand against, so we have to be equally clear about what we must stand for," Kerry said. "We stand for greater freedom, for greater tolerance, greater respect, for rights of freedom of expression and freedom of conscience," he said A key development in the 2013 report is the large number of displaced members of religious communities, including entire Christian communities in Syria and Iraq that have been forced to flee their homes because of persecution."
SIGN A PETITION TO THE UN FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHRISTIANS :" The church in Syria has shone brightly for 2,000 years. But today violence and persecution threatens its survival. Thanks to an incredible response, Open Doors is helping 8,000 families in Syria survive each month. We believe the signatures and prayers of 500,000 people will encourage the UN to act and protect the rights and lives of all Syrians, especially the vulnerable Christian community." Go to: http://lp.opendoorsusa.org/emails/nov-13-action/save-syria.html?utm_source=action&utm_medium=email&utm_content=button&utm_campaign=november
Of course, let's CONTINUE PRAYING FOR AN END TO THE EBOLA CRISIS IN WEST AFRICA AND THE HEALING OF ALL THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN INFECTED.
PRAY FOR THE CRISIS HAPPENING NOW IN IRAQ (see post #907) Pray that allied forces will be able to drive the group ISIS back (see post #964)
/PRAYER ALERT- UKRAINE: As the Lord leads, please pray:
*For God to suppress President Putin’s ambitions to "restore" the Soviet empire.
*For the people of Ukrainen [esp. for the church 'to be THE church'] as they wait to see if the Russian troops will advance.
*About President Obama and to use wisdom in crafting our foreign policy, and wisdom for his advisers.
Continue to Pray for EGYPT - Continue to pray for the tense situation in Egypt and especially for the Christian believers who are being targeted with violence by Muslim Brotherhood members.]
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"The Challenge: Begin with Christmas" - Rebecca Hagelin | Dec 11, 2014;
http://townhall.com/columnists/rebeccahagelin/2014/12/11/the-challenge-begin-with-christmas-n1930170?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&newsletterad=
He gave up Heaven, power and honor in exchange for a dirty feeding trough, helplessness and a cross. He gave up all the benefits that come with being God just so He could save us from our own mess. The Creator of the Universe became like us and lived among us. But the miracle that makes Christmas worth celebrating is much more personal than God with us. The miracle of Christmas is that God came here to be born within us.
When Jesus was nailed to the cross, he took on the broken and corrupt spirits of every person who would ever choose to believe in him—and he crucified them along with himself. 1 Peter says, “He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin…” And when Jesus walked out of his grave, he paved the path to full, abundant and eternal life.
In John 3 (right before the “For God so loved the world” passage in verse 16) Jesus tells a man that if he wants to see God’s Kingdom, he must be born again. Jesus’ entire life, death and resurrection took place so He could offer us an entirely new spirit. Jesus was born so that we could be reborn. But just as Jesus’ purpose on earth was bigger than his birth, our spiritual lives have potential that reaches far beyond Christmas morning.
We don’t know much about Jesus’ childhood, but we do know that when he was 12 years old, he went missing for three days. When his parents finally found him, he was hanging out in the Temple with the religious leaders, asking them questions and impressing everyone with his insights. Jesus went there as a young boy to soak in spiritual truth. He craved deeper knowledge and understanding and pursued it. Even though he was God incarnate, he had to grow, learn and mature spiritually, just like he had to physically. And He knew that he needed to nourish his body, mind and spirit in order to grow into full maturity.
The Hope: Grow in Christ - Likewise, we need our own nourishment to grow into spiritual maturity after we have been born again. 1 Peter 2:2-3 says, “Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.”That passage mirrors Proverbs 2:2-5, which says:
“Tune your ears to wisdom,and concentrate on understanding.Cry out for insight,and ask for understanding.Search for them as you would for silver;seek them like hidden treasures.Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord,and you will gain knowledge of God.”
We all love the holiness of Christmas Eve. We light candles in church as we sing “Silent Night” and we gaze at the manger scenes set up in our homes and we read the account of the first Christmas. It is all so wonderful, but we can’t forget that Christmas is only the beginning. We can’t forget it as we wait throughout this season of Advent or as we celebrate on Christmas day or as we put away the lights and the stockings.
We can’t forget that the birth is only the beginning because we have so much to learn. God wants to keep growing us “until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).To miss growing beyond Christmas is to miss the true meaning of Christmas altogether. As we continue to wait well for the celebration of Christ's coming (as we discussed last week) with great expectations, with confidence, and with joy, we should also start planning on how to grow as Christians beyond Christmas Day...
Why not make it your goal of this Advent week to not only wait well for the coming of Christ's birth, but to prepare to grow in His Truth?
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
Rebecca Hagelin is a public speaker on the family and culture and the author of the new best seller, 30 Ways in 30 Days to Save Your Family.
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