Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 12 – No. 5210 December 25, 2010
Wishing you a very Merry and God blessed CHRIST-mas and God's very best for the HOLY-day Season.
Thought for the season:"The message of Christmas is not about the proclamation of a holiday or the declaration of a season. It is about the proclamation of a Person and the declaration of Salvation. The birth of the child in the manger was an event that prophets had written about, the people of Israel had spoken about, the patriarchs of old had wondered about, and the angels of God shouted about on that glorious night when Christ was born." – Roy Lessin, Cofounder DaySpring Cards. Submitted by Dr. Cath Filmer-Davies
"The enemy surrounds us. Don't let one escape." – Vance Havner
"There is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness." – Countess of Blessington
"One person with a belief is equal to a force of ninety-nine who have only interests." – John Stuart Mill
"Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact." – William James
"A diamond cannot be polished without friction, nor the man perfected without trials." – Chinese Proverb
"By starving emotions we become humorless, rigid and stereotyped; by repressing them we become literal, reformatory and holier-than-thou; encouraged, they perfume life; discouraged, they poison it." – Joseph Collins
The celebrated pianist Arthur Rubinstein often wondered if he gave a concert in disguise, what kind of critical reception he would get. Eventually, he tried a concert under an assumed name and a beard. Critics' verdict: The bearded wonder wasn't in a class with the great Rubinstein. – John McCarthy (Cited in Bits & Pieces)
Year after year with "tireless regularity and eternal patience," God reminds the world every Christmas that he sent his Son, Jesus, to save lost mankind. Christmas is also God's reminder that Jesus is coming back to earth for all who have accepted him as their personal Lord and Savior.
His first coming is an indisputable fact of history. His second coming to end this world age is as certain. According to Bible scholars, there are 1,845 references in the Old Testament and 318 in the New Testament about Christ's coming again. This means for every prophecy in the Bible about Christ's first coming—every one of which was fulfilled in minute detail—there are eight about his second coming!
Jesus is coming again. God has promised this in his Word, the Bible. Jesus himself promised it as well.* And all the signs that Jesus and the Bible said would immediately precede his return are evident today, also reminding us that Christ's return could be very soon. If it were today, would you be ready?
4. Where's the Line to See Jesus? Sung by Becky Kelley
Christmas time was approaching
Snow was starting to fall
Shoppers choosing their presents
People filling the mall
Children waiting for Santa
With excitement and glee
A little boy tugged my sweater
Looked up and asked me
Where's the line to see Jesus?
Is He here at the store?
If Christmas time is His birthday
Why don't we see Him more?
As I stood in amazement
At this message profound
I looked down to thank him
He was no where around
The little boy at the mall
Might as well have had wings
As the tears filled my eyes
Thought I heard him sing
Where's the line to see Jesus?
Is He here at the store?
If Christmas time is His birthday
Why don't we see Him more?
Where's the line to see Jesus?
He was born for me
Santa Claus brought me presents
But Christ gave His life for me
In the blink of an eye
At the sound of His trump
We'll all stand in line at His throne
Every knee shall bow down
Every tongue will confess
That Jesus Christ is Lord
Where's the line?
Where's the line?
Where's the line for the Lord?
While at the mall a couple of years ago, a mother with her four-year-old nephew, Spencer, saw kids lined up to see Santa Claus. Having been taught as a toddler that Christmas is the holiday that Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, he asked his mom, "where's the line to see Jesus"?
'Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin,
But held it up with a smile.
"What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,
"Who'll start the bidding for me?"
"A dollar, a dollar. Then two! Only two?
Two dollars, and who'll make it three?"
"Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice;
Going for three...." But no,
From the room, far back, a grey-haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow;
Then wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening the loosened strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet,
As a caroling angel sings.
The music ceased, and the auctioneer,
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said: "What am I bid for the old violin?"
And he held it up with the bow.
"A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two?
Two thousand! And who'll make it three?
Three thousand, once; three thousand, twice,
And going and gone," said he.
The people cheered, but some of them cried,
"We do not quite understand.
What changed its worth?" Swift came the reply:
"The touch of the Master's hand."
And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd
Much like the old violin.
A "mess of pottage," a glass of wine,
A game—and he travels on.
He is "going" once, and "going" twice,
He's "going" and almost "gone."
But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought
By the touch of the Master's hand.
There's a story about a father and son who were in constant tension about the son's casual attitude about finding a job. During a particularly heated argument, the father said, "If you can get a job you enjoy, that's fine. But in the end, a job is the way you make a living."
The son answered meanly, "Well, I want something a lot better than wasting away as manager of a muffler shop."
The mother overheard the conversation and was furious. "How dare you demean another man's life? Your dad's a wonderful husband and father and people look up to him. He gave up on his dream to be a sportswriter so he could give you and your sisters a good home and college educations. He may not be your idea of success, but he's mine." And she handed him a poem by Betty Anderson Stanley:
"He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who has enjoyed the trust of pure women, the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who has left the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who has never lacked appreciation of Earth's beauty or failed to express it; who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had; whose life was an inspiration; whose memory a benediction."
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"The people of this generation ... are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other: 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.'"1
On a December day back in 1903 at Kitty Hawk in North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright, after numerous failures to fly a heavier-than-air machine, made amazing history. They achieved something that no man had ever done before. Ecstatic, they sent a telegram to their sister Katherine: "We have actually flown 852 feet. Will be home for Christmas."
Overjoyed, Katherine ran down to the local newspaper and pushed the telegram—the greatest news story of the new century—into the hand of the editor. After reading it, he smiled and said, "Well, well! How nice the boys will be home for Christmas."
The religious people of Christ's day who were actually anticipating his coming as their Messiah failed totally to recognize him—and ironically had him crucified—because he didn't come and didn't operate in the way they expected him to.
How sad it is that so many miss the full meaning of Christmas in that they have never thanked Jesus for dying for their sins, nor accepted the most profound and precious Christmas gift ever given ... the gift of the Savior and his pardon for all their sins and his gift of eternal life.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you for the most wonderful Christmas gift ever given—the gift of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Please use me to share your great gift of salvation with as many people as possible for as long as I shall live. And because of my inadequacies, please do this through me. Use me every day to be as Christ to whomever you bring into my life and grant that they, seeing Jesus in me, will want you for themselves. Eternally grateful, in Jesus' name. Amen."
Note: If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior—God's great Christmas gift—and would like to, please click on God's Invitation. http://www.actsweb.org/articles/article.php?i=68&d=1&c=2&p=1
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