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  document.writeln("<span class=\"body\"><b><span class=\"headings2\"><span class=\"actsititle\">He Took My Place</span></span></b><br>");
  document.writeln("<span class=\"actsilinks\"><a href=\"#\" onclick=\"window.print()\">Print this page</a></span>");document.writeln("<br><div id='actsartcl1'>");document.writeln("<p class=\"myparagraph\">A<span class=\"body\">ccording to Doug Batchelor in his  book, <em>Broken Chains</em>, &#8220;There\'s a story  about two Filipino brothers, identical twins, who lived in Manila and made their living by driving  jeepneys, Filipino taxis. Though they were twins and had similar jobs, they  lived very different lives. One was married and had children; the other was  single. Then one day, the married brother accidentally struck and killed a  tourist with his taxi. Accused of reckless driving, the twin was sentenced to  twenty years in the notorious Manila prison&#8212;a  devastating fate that would leave his wife and children without an income.</span></p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\">&#8220;One day,  his twin came to visit him in prison. He said, &#8216;Brother, your family  desperately needs you. Put on my clothes and take my visitor\'s pass and I will  put on your prison uniform and serve the rest of your sentence. Go to your  family.&#8217; So, while the guards were not looking, the twins exchanged clothes,  and the married brother walked out of the prison unchallenged. Do you think the  twin who was freed could ever stop thinking about the sacrifice that his  brother made in trading places with him?&#8221;<sup>1</sup></p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\">At this  Christmas season we are once again reminded of another who made the supreme  sacrifice on behalf of you and me. It&#8217;s the heart of the Christmas story, but you  ask, &#8220;What is so significant about Christmas? Why is it celebrated by millions  all around the world every year? Is it just a time for giving and receiving  gifts, for families to get together, and for having a holiday from school and  work&#8212;or does it have far great significance?&#8221;</p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\">The answer  is yes. Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ&#8212;the dividing point of  human history, not because it introduced the changing of our dating system from  B.C. (<em>before Christ</em>) to A.D. (from  the Latin <em>anno domini</em> which means <em>in the year of our Lord</em>), but because  Christ&#8217;s birth was when God, the creator of the universe, stepped directly onto  the world stage of human history in the person of his Son, Jesus Christ. </p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\">But why did Jesus come to earth? This,  like many things, can be difficult to understand. For example, I can&#8217;t see or  understand electricity, but I believe in it because I see evidence of its reality  all over the place. And while we have never seen God, if we open the eyes of  our understanding, we will see evidence of his existence every-which-way we  look. As God&#8217;s Word says, &#8220;The heavens  declare the glory of God; the  skies proclaim the work of his hands.&#8221;<sup>2</sup></p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\"> So why did  Jesus come to earth? Simply put, God sent his Son, Jesus, to earth as a babe  because he loved us with an everlasting love and did not want us to perish  because of our sinfulness.<sup>3</sup> But, you say, if God is a God of love, why  does he allow so much suffering in the world today? And how could a loving God  ever send anyone to hell?</p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\"> What many  fail to realize is that when God created mankind he placed them in the Garden  of Eden&#8212;a perfect environment where there was no sickness or suffering. But God  didn&#8217;t create our first parents as puppets on a string to involuntarily respond  to his every wish and command. Not so. He created them with a free will so they  could voluntarily choose to live in harmony with God&#8217;s will or go their own  way.</p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\"> Here Adam and Eve had total freedom  to eat from every tree&#8212;&#8220;trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food&#8221;<sup>4</sup>&#8212;except from just one tree: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  They had everything they could ever want with only one exception. Then came the test: &#8220;And the LORD God  commanded the man, &#8216;You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you  must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat  of it you will surely die.&#8217;&#8221;<sup>5</sup></p>");
document.writeln("<p class=\"body\">When  Satan, the devil (a fallen angel), came to tempt Adam and Eve, he lied to them  and said, &#8220;You will not surely die &#8230; for God knows that when you eat of it your  eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.&#8221;<sup>6</sup> This  was a part truth&#8212;one of the most deceptive forms of lying&#8212;because what the devil  didn&#8217;t tell them was that if they disobeyed God, they would not only know good  and evil but would be forever confirmed in a state of evil that would eternally  separate them from God. But Adam and Eve decided to believe the devil rather  than God and ate of the forbidden fruit. This is how sin and evil (the breaking  of God&#8217;s laws) entered the entire human race&#8212;a tragic consequence that affects  all of us for &#8220;there is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of  the glory [<em>or standard</em>] of God.&#8221;<sup>7</sup></p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\"> The tragedy  of sin is that it separates us from God and destroys us spiritually. It&#8217;s not  that God destroys us but, rather, we destroy ourselves in that all sin has its logical  consequences: death! The result is that a sinner can no longer survive in the presence  of God&#8212;a God of absolute holiness&#8212;any more than a moth can survive in a  flame.</p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\"> God is also  a God of absolute justice. This means that all sin (the breaking of God&#8217;s laws)  must be judged with absolute justice. As God&#8217;s Word, the Bible, says, &#8220;The  wages [<em>consequences</em>] of sin is death&#8221;<sup>8</sup> which  is eternal separation from God, the author of all love and life in the place  the Bible calls hell&#8212;wherever and whatever that may be. Of one thing we can be  certain: hell will be HELL where lost sinners will be separated from God, love,  and loving relationships for all eternity. Such consequences are unthinkable. </p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\"> That&#8217;s the  bad news. The wonderful news is that not only is he a God of absolute holiness and  justice, but also a God of infinite love. This is why he sent his Son, Jesus, to  die on the cross to pay the just penalty of all our sins so we could be freely  forgiven and given God&#8217;s gift of eternal life and, in the afterlife, to live  with God in the place the Bible calls heaven&#8212;whatever and wherever that may be.  Of this we can be certain&#8212;heaven will be HEAVEN where there will be no more  sorrow, sadness, sickness, suffering or dying and where love will rule supreme  forever and ever. </p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\"> This, my  friend, is the purpose and meaning of Christmas. Jesus is God&#8217;s incredible Christmas  love gift to the world&#8212;to you and me individually.</p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\"> If you have  never accepted God&#8217;s Christmas gift for you, I urge you to do that today  because eternity is forever and none of us has any guarantee of tomorrow. The  following prayer will guide you in doing this:</p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body-blue body\">&#8220;Dear God, I  believe that Jesus is &#8216;Son of the living God,&#8217; and that he came to earth on  that first Christmas to live as a man so he could die on the cross to pay the  penalty for all my sins. I confess that I am a sinner and repent of (turn from) my sins.  Please forgive me, and I invite you, Jesus, to come into my heart and life to  be my personal Lord and Savior. Please help me to live in harmony with your  will always in all ways so that I will become all that you envisioned for me to  be. Thank you, Jesus, for dying in my place, for your forgiveness and gift of  eternal life. Gratefully in Jesus name, amen.&#8221;</p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\">If you  prayed this prayer sincerely, please click on the <span class=\"headings4\">Yes to God</span> link below, fill in the form, and we will send you the link for a free copy of the e-brochure, &#8220;How to Grow,&#8221; to help you  in your new Christian and spiritual life.</p>");
document.writeln("<p class=\"body\">1. Doug Batchelor, <em>Broken  Chains</em>, Pacific Press 2004. Cited on <a href=\"http://www.witandwisdom.org/\" target=\"_blank\">WITandWISDOM</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp; 2. Psalm 19:1 (<em>NIV</em>). &nbsp; 3. See John 3:16.&nbsp; 4. Genesis 2:9 (<em>NIV</em>).&nbsp;&nbsp; 5. Genesis 2:16-17 (<em>NIV</em>). &nbsp; 6. Genesis 3:4-5 (<em>NIV</em>).&nbsp;&nbsp; 7. Romans 3:22-23 (<em>NIV</em>).&nbsp;&nbsp; 8. Romans 6:32 (<em>NIV</em>).</p>");
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