Category Archives: Holidays

-Happy Thanksgiving

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(“The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth”: Wikipedia)

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. The following is our traditional Thanksgiving message:

Thanksgiving is an uniquely American celebration that began nearly four centuries ago with a deeply religious people, the Pilgrims, giving thanks to God for preserving them though a very hard year and bringing them their first bountiful harvest which they gratefully shared with their indigenous neighbors.

It was our first President George Washington who proclaimed that our first official national day of public thanksgiving should be dedicated by observing and:

“…by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God.“

In recent years the ‘politically correct’/secular crowd has rewritten the history of the First Thanksgiving placing an emphasis upon the hand that the indigenous American Indians played in helping the original Pilgrim community to survive. In the process they have redirected the emphasis on thanks towards neighbors and friends and away from the providence of Almighty God.

While it is always good to be thankful for others who have enriched our own lives and certainly that has a good part to play in the celebration. Nevertheless the major emphasis of Thanksgiving should always be upon giving thanks to God along with our family and friends as it was on that very first occasion.

For my family and I, we will be praising and thanking the Lord God Almighty for the bounties and the providence that he has bestowed upon us this year in the name of his Son Jesus Christ. May Our Heavenly Father bless your family today and continue to bless all of us and this nation during this holiday season and in the year to come.     

–Oct. 31: Happy Reformation Day!

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(The door of All Saints’ Church, Wittenberg)

Happy Halloween –Happy Reformation Day!

I know. October 31st is known for witches, goblins, pumpkins, and trick or treat.

It is amazing to me how in the last 20 years or so Halloween has gone from a one night ‘celebration’ to become an entire ‘holiday’ season of it’s own with parties and decorations that span nearly an entire month. Plus it has become an excuse for every TV station to flood the air with the worst horror movies of all time.  Not a genre that I am particularly fond of.

However, this is also the anniversary of a real earth shaking -game changing- historical event that altered the face of Europe and forever changed the Christian Church. Over 500 years ago on this day- October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany starting The Reformation.

The enemy (Satan) likes to use this day for propagating his dark agenda but on this day a genuine move of God was initiated that still continues. The beginning of a revival right in the face of the enemy on his own day.

For years the church tried to redeem this day calling it- All Hallows’ Eve, or All Saints’ Eve with church services looking forward to midnight which began the traditional Christian celebration of ‘All Saints Day.’ However in our present culture the historical Christian observance of this day has been largely forgotten.

Let us redeem this dark day and pray for God to continue to reform and revive his church.  Let’s also in remembrance of the original Reformation pray today for a new awakening to begin in America. May a new door of renewal and revival open in America that no man can shut.  In Jesus name, Amen          

-Happy Independence Day

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Declaration_of_Independence_(1819),_by_John_Trumbull

Happy Independence Day

The following is our traditional message for the 4th of July:

Flags are flying, parades are moving, drinks are flowing, and politicians are speaking today in America.

Over 240 years ago a document was confirmed by representatives of 13 colonies proclaiming their freedom, a freedom that was considered to be derived from God:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Much has been made of the variety of beliefs held by the founders of this country but their words and convictions remain not only on paper but also in the hearts of the people.

Declaration of Independence: The Emphasis Upon God

When it comes to the Declaration of Independence, the words- “by their Creator” were a major part of the message, the subject, and the emphasis.

Many secularists and atheists today want to de-emphasize the role of faith in the founding of this country to the point that many are attempting to actually rewrite history itself. For them, God could have easily been left out of the document with little or no effect.

But in the context of 1776, those words were the whole linchpin of the document and appealed to as the ultimate authority and source for the rights of the Americans to rebel against the King of England.

In the context of the 18th century the Europeans believed that their Kings reigned and ruled ‘by Divine right’ under the authority of God and were His direct representatives. In fact, the King of England was also the head of the church and was supposed to defend the Christian faith against heresy and all enemies. In that cultural context, to rebel against the King was tantamount to rebelling against God the Creator himself.

In the Declaration the founders made it clear that they were not rebelling against God but that the Creator was actually the ultimate authority they were appealing to saying that their ‘rights’ were derived directly from the Creator and not given to them by the King of England or some parchment or Parliament.

It was a radical document at the time and changed the whole course of human history and ‘the Creator’ was part and parcel of the Declaration of Independence and the ultimate authority appealed to in the whole process.         

-Revival on Resurrection Day (Easter)?

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                                        (Photo Courtesy: Pastor Greg Laurie via X)

Churches all across America reported that this Resurrection Day (Easter) was special and saw larger crowds than usual for their Easter Sunday services.

Some churches even saw manifestations of revival breaking out with thousands coming to Christ. Read the following article from CBN:

‘We Are Seeing the Fires of Revival’: Churches Flooded on Easter in Widespread Sign of Awakening

-Christ is Risen!, He Has Risen Indeed!

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Happy Resurrection Day! Here’s a great article for today: “Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?”  by William Lane Craig, professor of philosophy at Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, California. His answer to the question is obviously yes!

clip_image002Dr. Craig takes a look at all the facts surrounding the resurrection of Jesus. This is probably the best and most concise summary of the event that I have ever read:

“To answer the question of Jesus’ resurrection from a historical standpoint, we must first determine what facts concerning the fate of Jesus of Nazareth can be credibly established on the basis of the evidence and second consider what the best explanation of those facts is. At least four facts about the fate of the historical Jesus are widely accepted by New Testament historians today.”

<Read the Whole Article>           

-Holy Week (Easter) Bible Study

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An 8 day devotional Bible study for each day of the Holy Week (Easter). Starting with Palm Sunday and ending with Resurrection Day (Easter):
-Palm Sunday: The Prophetic Entrance Into Jerusalem
-Holy Monday: Jesus at the Temple
-Holy Tuesday: The Temple Leaders Confront Jesus
-Holy Wednesday: The Betrayal
-Maundy Thursday: The Last Supper
-Good Friday: The Trial and Death of Jesus
-Holy Saturday: While Jesus Was in The Tomb
-Resurrection Day (Easter)

-I Know That My Redeemer Lives

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I Know That My Redeemer Lives

Once I was asked on my Bible answers website: “Why do you Christians keep celebrating Easter and the Resurrection of Jesus- something that happened 2,000 years ago and seems rather impossible?”

My Answer: Because Jesus Christ is still alive today and still appearing to folks and changing lives.

In fact, there has never been a generation in 2,000 years when Jesus hasn’t appeared to somebody.  Church history records a number of those appearances.

Lately, I have read the testimonies of a number of Muslims who converted to Christianity after Jesus showed up in their bedrooms. I also personally know a number of folks, even in my own family, who have seen the Lord and I have heard of many others.

Finally, I myself must testify that I have seen my Lord and talked to Him. Therefore for me this goes beyond faith or even strong conviction-

I Know That My Redeemer Lives

-Read the Bible: An Excellent Idea for 2024

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A new year has come and many are looking to change their life for the positive in 2024. I believe that one of the best things one can do if not the best is read the Bible daily. It is life changing.

Several polls taken during the last year have unfortunately demonstrated that American Christians are somewhat illiterate when it comes to the Bible and particularly Biblical teachings. One good way to reverse the trend is to set aside time to read the good book everyday. An excellent idea is to read through the whole Bible or at least the New Testament during 2024. There are a number of good programs to help you in the process.

One of the easiest ways to get it done is to get a ‘One Year Bible’ where the whole year is divided up into daily readings usually with a selection from the New Testament, the Old Testament, and from Psalms. You can even get it in your favorite version at the book store or at Amazon.

If you find that reading all of it in one year is maybe too much, then you could read just the New Testament and Psalm offerings for each day and then maybe save the Old Testament or the following year (or visa versa).

There are also a number of good plans available that allow you to use your regular Bible for the reading. Here’s a few online: The One year Bible Online, Bible Gateway

You could also get the Bible on CD or tape and listen to it on the way to work this year or download it into your iPod, iPhone or MP3.

There are lots more Bible helps available just search online.

May God Bless you and yours during 2024.

-Christmas and Attacks of the ‘Super Spiritual’ and ‘Knowledgeable’

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Sometimes it is Sunday, Tattoos, the name ‘Christian’, contemporary worship, or any Bible but the KJV that gets them going.

But this time of the year it is Christmas that is under attack by those folks that I call the ‘Super Spiritual’ and ‘Knowledgeable’-folks that know it all and are way beyond the rest of us Spiritually.

I am sure you have all heard it by now from one source or another, December 25 was originally celebrated by the Romans as ‘Saturnalia’- the birthday of Saturn and the tradition of decorating trees comes from Druid pagan worship -‘Real’ Christians don’t celebrate Christmas and God hates and condemns it!

All that may be somewhat historically true and I guess if you are worshipping Saturn on the 25th of this month and you have dedicated and decorated a tree to a pagan god then they may have a point.

First time I heard this line was back in the early 70’s one Saturday when our family was decorating our tree. Then there was a knock on our door and a very fine couple from the Watch Tower (Jehovah Witnesses) proceeded to explain to us how what we we doing was pagan. It wasn’t very convincing to me then and still isn’t and I do know all of the history and the facts thank you very much.

Yes, Jesus was probably born sometime in the fall since the shepherds were still in the fields and the Wisemen didn’t show up till months later when they were living in a house, that’s why Herod had all the babies under 2 killed and not just the newborn. But the rest of the events and story we celebrate this time of the year is entirely true and recorded in Matthew (Mt 1:18-2:18) and in Luke (Lk 1:26-56, 2:1-40). However, Isaiah should never be ignored:

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Is. 7:14)

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Is. 9:6)

As usual on Christmas Eve our family will break out the Bible and read those passages about the first Christmas and when we come to the part of the angels appearing to the shepherds my granddaughter will probably point to the angel at the top of our tree.

Oh yes, there will be no mention of Saturn or any other pagan deity.

-A Day to be Thankful!

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Be thankful in all circumstances,
for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.              –1Thessalonians 5:18clip_image002

As we gather together with friends and family for Thanksgiving in America, let us remember the blessings that God has bestowed upon this nation and the ultimate gift to be thankful for–His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit that graces our lives.

In the midst of economic trouble we do need to remember that our worst times are better than the best of fortune for 95% of the folks living on this planet. Even in times of personal difficulty we can always be confident in the love and the strength of the Lord–we can always depend on him.

It is a great time to remember how the Lord has truly blessed each one of us and our family.

Thank you Father for your Love for us, thank you Lord Jesus for your strength, and Holy Spirit for your peace. In Jesus Name Amen.