Tue, Dec 25th - 6:25PM

Mon, Dec 24th - 7:33PM

Mon, Dec 24th - 11:28AM

poem: THE GLORIOUS LIGHT

THE GLORIOUS LIGHT

A decree was issued by Caesar,
that each to his own town should go
To give an account for a census
each family had to show...

So Joseph from the Line of David
went to Bethlehem from Galilee
With Mary his wife, to pay taxes,
though heavy with child was she...

That journey was long and tedious;
many miles traveled night and day;
Nights were cold and oh, so dark
with no light to show them the way...

Their journey finally ended;
they were weary, ragged and worn;
And The Baby, growing inside Mary
Through the Holy Spirit, was soon to be born...

But there was no room for them in the inn;
So a manger which Joseph did find
Was where the Babe was finally born --
The Light had begun to shine!

Now, there were shepherds out in the country
Keeping watch o'er their flocks by night;
An angel of the Lord suddenly appeared;
His glory shone ever so bright.

The shepherds fell back with astonishment,
But the angel said, Do not fear!
I bring you good news of exceeding great joy
For all of the people to hear...

Today in the Town of David
A Savior is born to you!
He is the Messiah, Christ Jesus the Lord,
And this is the sign for you:

A Babe will be wrapped in swaddling cloths;
In a manger He will lie...
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host
Lit up the evening sky...

Glory to God in the highest!
On earth, peace to men!
The angels then left the shepherds
Who hurried to Bethlehem...

They saw the Light! The Glorious Light!
For the Word became flesh that day!
And ever since then the Light shines so bright!
The Light...and The Life...
and The Truth...and The Way!

(by Sharon A. O. Maxwell)

Fri, Dec 21st - 10:04AM

poem: THE STORY

'I am the Lord's servant,' Mary answered. 'May it be to me as you have said'. Then the angel left her... (Luke 1:38, NIV).

THE STORY

The Angel came and said, Mary, you are from all the rest,

The one whom God has chosen; a virgin honored and blessed;

From in your womb will come a Man; JESUS is His Name.

He'll come to save; He'll come to heal;

To set men's hearts aflame...

Mary kept all these things

And pondered them in her heart;

She humbled herself; she chose to believe

In God's will; she did her part...

The Child was born, and shepherds came

To tell of glorious things,

That angels spoke to them alone

Of the Peace that Christ would bring.

They told of the Glorious Heavenly Host

Who spoke to them in the dark!

Mary kept all these things

And pondered them in her heart...

The years flew by; the Christ Child grew

In stature and wisdom and grace.

Favor He found in the sight of God;

Strength shone from His holy face.

He went about teaching and preaching

Of God's Kingdom so near.

He showed mercy and gave love so free;

Tho' some didn't want to hear...

But down the road was a darker day;

The very reason JESUS came.

Yes, His birth was acclaimed,

But the Cross was the shame,

And the burden so heavy to bear...

Mary's heart cried for her Son; He must die!

For this was God's plan from the start.

Only a mother can know how she felt,

As Mary kept in her heart

All that her Son was to mean to each one

Who would come to Him and believe;

Believe that He died; but rose again, too,

From sin to set us free!

Yes, freedom from sin;

Freedom from fear;

Freedom for Eternity!

So in our lives the whole year round

Let's praise His Holy Name!

For JESUS still lives in willing hearts

And His Message doesn't change:

GOD CAME TO EARTH TO SAVE OUR SOULS!

GLORY TO HIS NAME!

Thu, Dec 13th - 10:40AM

poem: THE SHEPHERD'S CARE

One young lamb, timid, bashful and shy
With distrust hung back, a tear in her eye;
She wanted so much to be like the rest --
Flinging herself on the Good Shepherd's breast!

Believing herself unworthy to be,
She hung back -- that lamb was like me;
While deep in my heart I loved the Master, too,
The enemy of my soul taunted, Unworthy are you!

As the Shepherd took time to speak to each sheep,
He tenderly kept the shy one in eye's reach;
Slowly, tenderly, He taught her He cared;
Slowly, patiently, His love with her shared...

As this scene unfolded before me one day
I realized I was that sheep gone astray!
Forgiven, I finally knew (tho' unworthy I was),
JESUS had died for me simply because
He loves the world and all who are therein;
Yes, He loves the world, but hates the sin...

With Peace in my heart I gave up all of my past
To enter into Christ's Kingdom -- Joyfully, at last!

(by S.A.O.Maxwell)

Wed, Dec 12th - 9:54AM

poem: THE PROMOTION

Sun, Dec 9th - 4:45PM

THE GREATEST GIFT...

...the angel said to Mary, You will give birth to a son and you are to give him the name JESUS, because he will save his people from their sins . . . JESUS! Creator! Emmanuel! God with us! God exalted Jesus the Christ to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name! That at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess 'Jesus Christ is LORD' to the glory of God the Father...for the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…(Matthew 1:21; Philippians 2:9-11, John 1: 14 ).

JESUS is the Greatest Gift ever to be given or received...

THE GREATEST GIFT

When we celebrate Christmas Day, what does that mean to me?

Thinking back over all the years, I know what it used to be:

Oranges and apples and different kinds of nuts and ribbon candy, too;

We didn't realize it way back then but the toys were very few.

We'd each get one new outfit from our head down to our feet;

(Not one that Mom had made --

But a brand-new, store-bought set of clothes;

There was nothing that could beat!)

Oh, what joy there would always be

When we woke up that morn --

Though we never thought about the Christ Child,

Nor the Reason why He was born.

We'd race downstairs, we thought quietly,

And we'd look under our Christmas tree;

We’d hurry because we didn't want to miss

"What's Santa brought for me?”

And all the years of Christmases past are very dear to me --

Because Mom and Dad did all they could

To make them that way, you see...

But, somewhere along the way as life with me was dealing,

I grew up and older, and lost that special feeling;

I lost that certain something that seemed magical in its charm;

I lost that looking forward to; it was gone, I realized with alarm!

How could I recapture my youthful days of old?

Did I even really want to?

My thoughts were running cold . . .

Then, Someone New entered my life in a very special way;

He entered my life, my heart, my soul;

He is here and here to stay!

I know what I've been missing

And what's been gone from my life each day --

The Reason why I am living: Christ JESUS –

Who came to Bethlehem and in a manger lay.

For the Word became flesh and dwelt among us;

He came for you and me;

Yes, JESUS came to save the world;

He came to set us free...

For there wouldn't be a Christmas if so very long ago,

God hadn't sent His Only Begotten Son down here to us below.

So, praise His Precious Holy Name!

Praise Him one and all!

CHRIST JESUS is the First Christmas Gift!

THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL!

(by S.A.O.Maxwell)

Wed, Dec 5th - 10:39AM

THE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS

...behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto (Joseph) in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins (Matthew 1: 20-21, KJV).

As a youngster, Christmas was meaningful only to the extent that it meant getting gifts. At the age of 37, Christmas took on a whole new meaning when I met the Reason for Christmas, the Reason for Life itself...

THE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS

It's time to think about the things we do,

as Christmas time draws near;

It's time to think about the Reason why

we celebrate each year.

Is Christmas just another day

for fun and games and play?

Or does it mean much more than that?

Yes! The Savior paved the way!

Christmas reminds me of a manger-stall

two thousand years ago;

Birthplace of Christ the Messiah --

because God deemed it so.

JESUS is the Savior's Name;

He came to save from sin,

And so He chose the human form

to dwell Himself within.

Christmas also pointed to a Cross

and a blood-drenched Crown of Thorns;

Because this was the reason why

our Savior JESUS was born.

Upon that Cross He bore for all

degradation and disgrace;

Our guilt . . . my guilt!

Our sins . . . my sins!

By His Blood He did efface...

For Christmas isn't just a baby,

precious, cute and small;

Christmas is EMMANUEL!

GOD WITH US!

CREATOR! KING and LORD OF ALL!

Tue, Dec 4th - 2:12PM

A Christmas poem...

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God; He was in the beginning with God… and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us… His Name is Jesus… (John 1:1, 14, NKJV).

JESUS is God incarnate! He came to earth to save us from our sins . . .Nothing helped my understanding of that simple truth until I received Him into my heart and life by faith; and then I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt...

WHY HE CAME

God made a decision to leave heaven

To come to earth one day;

When the time was right He came and was born

In Bethlehem, on a bed of hay…

Why leave glory and splendor?

Why cast robes of royalty aside?

Why become a human being?

Why for us should He suffer and die?

LOVE compelled Him to come down!

LOVE perfect and pure and holy!

LOVE compelled Him to come down!

LOVE – for you and me!

Such LOVE, such LOVE!

It is too wonderful; LOVE beyond degree!

Such LOVE, such LOVE,

AGAPE LOVE -- His LOVE for you and me!

Mon, Dec 3rd - 4:03PM

Memo from God

Hi folks, this was sent to me in an email quite a while ago. I thought it worth sharing. Enjoy, and God bless!

Memo From God

Effective immediately, please be aware that there are changes YOU need to make in YOUR life. These changes need to be completed in order that I may fulfill My promises to you to grant you peace, joy and happiness in this life. I apologize for any inconvenience, but after all that I am doing, this seems very little to ask of you.

I know, I already gave you the 10 Commandments. Keep them. But follow these guidelines, also.

1. QUIT WORRYING
Life has dealt you a blow and all you do is sit and worry. Have you forgotten that I am here to take all your burdens and carry them for you? Or do you just enjoy fretting over every little thing that comes your way?

2. PUT IT ON THE LIST
Something needs done or taken care of. Put it on the list. No, not YOUR list. Put it on MY to-do-list. Let ME be the one to take care of the problem. I can't help you until you turn it over to Me. And although My to-do-list is long, I am after all... God. I can take care of anything you put into My hands. In fact, if the truth were ever really known, I take care of a lot of things for you that you never even realize.

3. TRUST ME
Once you've given your burdens to Me, quit trying to take them back. Trust in Me. Have the faith that I will take care of all your needs, your problems and your trials. Problems with the kids? Put them on My list. Problem with finances? Put it on My list. Problems with your emotional roller coaster? For My sake, put it on My list. I want to help you. All you have to do is ask.

4. LEAVE IT ALONE
Don't wake up one morning and say, "Well, I'm feeling much stronger now, I think I can handle it from here." Why do you think you are feeling stronger now? It's simple. You gave Me your burdens and I'm taking care of them. I also renew your strength and cover you in My peace. Don't you know that if I give you these problems back, you will be right back where you started? Leave them with Me and forget about them. Just let Me do my job.

5. TALK TO ME
I want you to forget a lot of things. Forget what was making you crazy. Forget the worry and the fretting because you know I'm in control. But there's one thing I pray you never forget. Please, don't forget to talk to Me - OFTEN! I love YOU! I want to hear your voice. I want you to include Me in on the things going on in your life. I want to hear you talk about your friends and family. Prayer is simply you having a conversation with Me. I want to be your dearest friend.

6. HAVE FAITH
I see a lot of things from up here that you can't see from where you are. Have faith in Me that I know what I'm doing. Trust Me; you wouldn't want the view from My eyes. I will continue to care for you, watch over you, and meet your needs. You only have to trust Me.  Although I have a much bigger task than you, it seems as if you have so much trouble just doing your simple part. How hard can trust be?

7. SHARE
You were taught to share when you were only two years old. When did you forget? That rule still applies. Share with those who are less fortunate than you. Share your joy with those who need encouragement. Share your laughter with those who haven't heard any in such a long time. Share your tears with those who have forgotten how to cry. Share your faith with those who have none.

8. BE PATIENT
I managed to fix it so in just one lifetime you could have so many diverse experiences. You grow from a child to an adult, have children, change jobs many times, learn many trades, travel to so many places, meet thousands of people, and experience so much. How can you be so impatient then when it takes Me a little longer than you expect to handle something on My to-do-list? Trust in My timing, for My timing is perfect. Just because I created the entire universe in only six days, everyone thinks I should always rush, rush, rush.

9. BE KIND
Be kind to others, for I love them just as much as I love you. They may not dress like you, or talk like you, or live the same way you do, but I still love you all. Please try to get along, for My sake. I created each of you different in some way. It would be too boring if you were all identical. Please, know I love each of your differences.

10. LOVE YOURSELF
As much as I love you, how can you not love yourself? You were created by Me for one reason only -- to be loved, and to love in return. I am a God of Love. Love Me. Love your neighbors. But also love yourself. It makes My heart ache when I see you so angry with yourself when things go wrong. You are very precious to Me. Don't ever forget that!

With all My heart
I love YOU!

God