MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30 1874: A BRITISH LION FIRST ROARED

   He was born two months prematurely on a Monday on the thirtieth day of the month of November in the year of our Lord 1874 in Blenheim Palace of Woodstock, Oxfordshire in Great Britain under the name of  Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill.  Though he was born into a world of material affluence, he would have to overcome obstacles in his life that could have held him back.  As a young boy, to the discouragement of his father, he did not do well in school.  Many believe now that this was due to young Winston having a form of dyslexia.  He spoke with a heavy lisp that could still be heard in his latter public speeches.  Both of his parents were were concern about keeping up their social status than giving any affection to young Winston or any of his siblings.
   In the 1930s Churchill would become the lone voice warning Great Britain and the world about the coming conflict with Adolph Hitler and the Nazis.  As Great Britain's Prime Minister during World War II, he would bolster the courage of the tiny island nation in the darkest days of standing alone against the Nazi war machine by the commanding power of his voice.  Churchill saw World War II as a fight for the survival of Christian civilization against Nazi barbarism.
   Let's let this loin out of his cage, and speak for himself:

   "Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the new world, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old." (in an address to the House of  Commons, June 4, 1940)

   "Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen."

   "Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never - in nothing, great or small, large or pretty - never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense."

SELAH

Ephesians 6:13

   Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.  (ESV)

Ephesians 6:13

A JOURNEY THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF LUKE: ZECHARIAH'S PRAISE UNTO THE GOD OF SALVATION

Luke 1:67-79

   And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied saying,
   "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people,
   and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,
   as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
   that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;
   to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant,
   the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us

   that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear,

   in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

   And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

   to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins,

   because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high

   to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."  (ESV)

Luke 1:67-79

   Because Zechariah first doubt the message that Gabriel brought to him from the Lord, he was struck with a form of muteness until the day that his promised child was circumcised.  When he did speak, he was used by the Lord as a vessel of praise.  The words that came from Zechariah were truly not his own, but were from God himself, the third person of the trinity, the Holy Spirit.

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SELAH

   God's inspired Word (Holy Scriptures) is the best vehicle that a believer can use to praise Him.  This is another reason that a believer should be immersed in Scriptures.  So, that when the believer prays to praise God, the Holy Spirit can bring back to that believer's memory those Scriptures that the believer has read that praises God for his many attributes.

A JOURNEY THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF LUKE: IT IS GOD WHO OPENS AND CLOSES THE WOMB

Luke 1:18; 24,25

   And Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know this?  For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years."
   After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying,
   "Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people." (ESV)

Luke 1:18; 24, 25

   The Jewish priest Zechariah and his wife were an older couple who apparently went through most of their lives without having any children.  Now, in their latter years, an angel of the Lord came to announce that they would have a son who would grow up to be a mighty prophet of God (John the Baptist).  This was a difficult thing for Zechariah to believe. 

   But, as we see here, and many other examples throughout the Scriptures, it is God opens and closes the womb.  It is God who takes a dead womb and brings life to it.

Genesis 20:18

   For the LORD had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife. (ESV)

Genesis 20:18

Genesis 21:1-2

   The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he promised.

   And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. (ESV)

Genesis 21:1-2

   Conception is an act of God. That is the bottom line.  All human conceptions happen because God sovereignly wills them to happen. 

   The Bible also does not make any distinction between a baby inside the womb, or a baby outside the womb. 

   God can also cause a young woman, who had not have any sexual relations with any man, to conceive a child in her womb.

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SELAH

Psalm 127:3

   Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. (ESV)

Psalm 126:3

HAPPY 112TH BIRTHDAY MR. LEWIS

   He was born on a Tuesday on the 29th day of the month of November in the year of our Lord 1898 in Belfast, Ireland under the name of  Clive Staples Lewis.  He would later in his youth give himself the nickname "Jack", and this nickname would stick with his closest friends.
   C.S. Lewis was not always a christian.  During a good bit of his younger adult life he was a atheist.  He would later write about his journey to faith in Christ and his conversion in his allegorical work "The Pigrim's Regress."  During World War II, the BBC commissioned Mr. Lewis to air a series of broadcast on the topics of Christianity and morality.  Through these broadcast C.S. Lewis' voice became the second most recognized voice in the United Kingdom. (Second only to the great Bristish statesman Mr. Churchill, ofcoarse)  Another work that would eventually come from a compiling together of  these broadcast in writing form was Mr. Lewis' well known book "Mere Christianity."  "Mere Christianity" would become a favorite from C.S. Lewis' writings for many christians.  One of my favorite C.S. Lewis writings is his "The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses."
   Lewis is mostly known today for his children's books "The Chronicles of Naria."  Two of the books have been made into successful motion pictures, and a third is to be released this December.
   Clive Staples Lewis went to be with his Lord on a Friday on the 22nd day of the month of November in the year of our Lord 1963.  He died on the same that U.S. President John F. Kennedy and author/atheist Aldous Huxley did.
   Alot more can be said here about the life of C.S. Lewis. (e.g. his later marriage to Joy Greshem, his freindship with J.R.R. Tolkien ["The Lord of the Rings" author])  I just wanted to take this moment to thank our Lord for the gift that He has given His chruch through the life and works of Mr. Clive Staples Lewis.



A JOURNEY THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF LUKE: GOD BREAKS HIS SILENCE

Malachi 4:5-6

   Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.
   And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction. (ESV)

Malachi 4:5-6

Luke 1:11-13

   And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

   And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.

   But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John." (ESV)

Luke 1:11-1

   There are over 400 years of  Israeli history between the above two passages recorded in Holy Scriptures.  Over 400 years of  God sending no prophets to speak to the Jewish people either to bless or to curse.  Over 400 years of no new revelations spoken directly from God.  Over 400 years of no new books being written by a messenger of God.

   Those 400 years or more for Israel can also almost be seen as being under one foreign occupation after the other. First there was the Presians, then the Greeks, and after that the Romans.  There were short periods in between these occupations when Isreal as a nation had a sense of independence, but those periods were relatively sort ones.  No doubt there were cries from the people of Israel like, "Where is God in all of this?" and "Where is our promised Messiah?"  Many Jews most have thought that God had forgottened them in their dispair.  But, our sovereign God never forgets or fails to bring to pass any of His promises.

   God promised that He would send Israel a special messenger before He would send Israel their promised Messiah.  The birth of John the Baptist was the answer to that promise.

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SELAH

   We as believers have many promises given to by our loving Father in His Word.  Remember that our God is sovereign, and that He will keep all of His promises that are in His Word to us. Here are a couple that we can hold on to no matter what comes our way as we travel along the earthly journey:

Hebrews 13:5

   Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave nor forsake you." (ESV)

Hebrews 13:5

Philippians 1:6

   And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (ESV)

Philippians 1:6

Your servant in Christ,

Michael Hotard

Soli Deo Gloria

A JOURNEY THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

Luke 1:1

   Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us,

Luke 1:1

   So begins the longest of the four accounts of the earthly life and ministry of  Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

   For some time I have been thinking about going through a book of the Bible with my adult Sunday School class.  I guess you can say that I have been wanting to do a form of exegetical teaching.  But, I did not know during that time which book was the best to start with.  So, I prayed about it, and now believe that the Lord has impressed me to start with the Gospel of Luke.

   I will be posting some of the observations that I will come across in studying the Gospel of Luke in this blog.  I just ask that the reader will pray with me that I will remain diligent in my studying of the Word of God, and that the Holy Spirit will illuminate the truths of God's Word for my own growth and edification, and also for the the growth and edification of those who I am privileged to teach in an adult Sunday School.  I also hope that my studies of this book will be a blessing to you the reader of this blog.

   Note:  Please excuse and indulge, dear reader, any grammatical errors that may be encountered here.  I am still abit of a novice in my writing style, but hoping that these posts will help me in improving these skills.

Your servant in Christ,

Michael Hotard

Soli Deo Gloria 

PRIMA FACIE

     Truthfully, this is not my first attempt at starting a blog.  I pray that this attempt will fare much better than all of the others.  But, this will be my first posting on this particular blog.
     My guiding Bible verses for this blog will be:

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

   For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war in the flesh.
   For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
   We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,  (ESV)

   Spiritual warfare is a major part of a Christian's walk also long as he/she is on this side of what Shaespeare's Hamlet referred to as "the undiscovered country."  That warfare does not for the part and for most Christians consist of any head-to-head battles with or banishing of devils.  No.  The spiritual warfare that I as a Christian will face each day is explained in the verses above.
   Our daily battles are against any and also errors that come against the truth of the one true God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  These all come in the forms of the wrong thoughts, doctrine, and arguments that those who do not truly know Christ as Lord and Savior have about Him and His Word.
   As a Christian, God requires that I should be able to articulate a sound defense of what I believe and why I beieve in it in a firm but also humble manner. (c.f. 1 Peter 3:15)
   So, as shown in the sub-title of this blog, the main motis operandi of this blog will be the proclamation and defense of the Gospel of  Jesus Christ.
   All visitors will be welcomed and commit on any post. I know that some exchanges will become passionate, but there is no need for profanity in any of these exchanges.  I look forward to the days ahead.

Your servant in Christ,
Michael Hotard

Soli Deo Gloria