THE "MORNING STAR" OF THE REFORMATION GOES HOME

   It was on a Saturday, on the thirty-first day of the month of December, according to the then used Julian calendar, in the year of our Lord 1384, that John Wycliffe went to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
   John Wycliffe is best known for his translation of the Bible directly from the Latin Vulgate into the vernacular English. 

The beginning of the Gospel of John in a copy of John Wycliffe's translation of the Bible.

SELAH

   There have been many Christian men and women who have paid a heavy price to get the Bible translated into the tongues of the common peoples of many nations.  Those of us who claim to have a love for the Holy Bible dishonor their sacrifices and memories when we neglect the Bilbe either in our lack of reading, or our disobedience to its commandments to our daily lives.

Winston Churchill "Never Give In"

We miss you, Sir Winston. We need more like you today.

AN IRON CURTAIN DESCENDED ON EUROPE

   It was birth on a Saturday, on the twenty-second day of the month of December, in the year of out Lord 1922.  It was named the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR [CCCP in Russian]), but most of the world would simple come to know it as the Soviet Union.
   At the height of its power, it had come to engulf most of Eastern Europe, some of Germany, and portions of the Middle East.  It would plunge all those under it's domain into approximately seventy years of darkness.  From it, the world would become familiar with frightening terms like "KGB" and "the Gulag."
   It's main mission was to spread revolution and its form of single party atheistic communism throughout as much of the world as possible.  It saw the world's capitalist countries as it's enemies, but it believed that it's main enemy was God Himself.  The main religion of the Soviet Union was a form of Socialistic Darwinism.

The Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow during its 1931 demolition.

SELAH

   Ideas and philosophies have consequences.  The Soviet Union was the child of Karl Marx's atheistic communism and Charles Darwin's naturalistic evolution.  As a matter of fact, it is said that Marx wanted to dedicate his first edition of "Das Capital" to Darwin until he was discouraged by his wife to do so.



AMAZING GRACE: ...AND GRACE WILL LEAD ME HOME

   It was on a Monday, on the twenty-first day of the month of December, in the year of our Lord 1807 that John Henry Newton went home to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
   His mother, Elizabeth Newton, was a Nonconformist Christian.  She died of tuberculosis in July, 1732, just two weeks shy of John's seventh birthday.  John Newton would spend most of his young adult life at sea and lost to the things of Christ.  He would eventually would become the captain of the Duke of Argyle (1750) and the African (1752-53 and 1753-54), both were English slave ships.
   In was in the midst of a storm aboard the merchant ship Greyhound, on a Sunday, on the tenth day of the month of March, in the year of our Lord 1748, that John Newton came to know Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.  Newton did not renounce the slave trade in England until later in his life.
   He would later become a clergyman in the Church of England.  He would also later influence a young member of the British Parliament named William Wilberforce.  Wilberforce, as an Evangelical Christian, would become the driving force behind the abolition of the African slave trade in the British Empire.
   Newton would go on to write many Christian hymns in his life, but none of them are so familiar to the world and so loved and cherished by the church of Jesus Christ as Amazing Grace.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

When we've been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.

DID YOU HERE THAT? THAT WAS THE SOUND OF ANOTHER NAIL IN AMERICA'S COFFIN

Romans 1:18-28

   For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

   For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
   For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
   For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
   Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
   and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

   Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 

    because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

   For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 

   and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

   And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.  (ESV)

Romans 1:18-28

   As of this afternoon, Saturday, December 18, 2010, the United States Senate (63-33) passed a bill that will allow openly homosexuals to serve in the United States Military.  Eight Republicans joined the Democrats to pass the bill. Of coarse, there are the usual suspects from Maine, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, were two of the eight Republicans.  Oh, and guess what. So was the newly re-elected Republican senator from Alaska, Lisa Murkowski.  Well, isn't that special.  Oh, and President Barry will sign when it gets to his desk.  One more thing.  Isn't funny how the Senate has no problems working the weekend and overtime to get things like this done.

   According to the portion of  the book of Romans above, events like what we witnessed today will not bring upon America not wrath of God.  No.  Events like what we saw today IS the wrath of God being poured on America.  We just heard the sound of another nail being nailed into the coffin of the United States of America.

SELAH

   There probably no hope left for America as a nation (Oh, let us remember that Jesus came and died for individuals. Not for nations as a whole), but each one of us need to make sure our lives are with God.  Each one of us needs the Gospel.

A JOURNEY THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF LUKE: THERE ARE NO CONTRADICTIONS IN GOD'S WORD

Luke 2:39

   And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.

Luke 2:39

   If a casual reader of the bible were to first read the birth account of Jesus Christ in the Gospel of Matthew, and then read the birth account in the Gospel of Luke, the following questions might pop in that reader's head about Luke's account:

"Where is the visit of the Magi?"

"Where is the slaughter of the innocent?"

"What about Joseph, Mary and Jesus going down to Egypt?"

   Our proposed reader might then make the conclusion that since these events are omitted from the account recorded by Dr. Luke, then that means that there are contradictions in the two recorded accounts (e.i. Matthew and Luke).  That is the conclusion that many who reject the Bible as a whole come to.  As a matter of fact, some Biblical skeptics have made a career out of claiming such things.

   Bart Ehrman, a New Testament scholar, and currently the James A Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has made a very lucrative career out of claiming that the Bible is full contradictions and major errors in the early manuscripts that we still have today.  To be honest, most of the "errors" in the manuscripts that Ehrman likes to point out are mostly things like minor differences in the spelling in the different manuscripts, and many of the others have been addressed and explained many years ago by Christian Biblical scholars who were more reputable that Dr. Ehrman.

   Now to the differences in the birth accounts recorded in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.  First of all, let's understand that all four Gospel (i.e. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) were each written with different original audiences in mind.  Each Gospel emphasized on different aspects of the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.

   Each of the four Gospels are like different sides of the same diamond.  Each has a different sparkle to it, but it is part of the same diamond.

   Most importantly, all four Gospels, just like the rest of the Bible, were inspired by the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. ( c.f. 2 Timothy 3:16). The Holy Spirit does not make any contradictions or mistake.

SELAH

   Let the Scriptures defend itself.  Let Scriptures explain Scripture, and used the clearer portions of Scripture to interpret the more difficult portions of Scriptures.

   "Scriptura Scripturam" (Scripture interprets Scripture) was the believe and practice of  Luther, Calvin, and many of the sixteenth century reformers.  It has been the belief and practice of all true believers throughout the history of the church, and it should be of ours today.

    

  

HAPPY 303RD BIRTHDAY, CHARLES WESLEY

   He was born on a Sunday, on the eighteenth day of the month of December, in the  year of our Lord 1707, under the name of Charles Wesley, in Epworth, Lincolnshire, to a Samuel and Susanna Wesley.  He was one of nineteen children in his family.  He and his younger brother, John, would later become known as leaders of the English Methodist movement.
   Charles is mostly known by today's Evangelical Christian for his many hymns that he wrote.  On of those pieces is probably one of the most heard Christian hymns heard at this time of the year, "Hark! The Herald Angels Sings".

Hark! The herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th’angelic host proclaim,
Christ is born in Bethlehem!

Refrain

Hark! the herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn King!

Christ, by highest Heav’n adored;
Christ the everlasting Lord;
Late in time, behold Him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail th’incarnate Deity,
Pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus our Emmanuel.

Refrain

Hail the heav’nly Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Ris’n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die.
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.

Refrain

Come, Desire of nations, come,
Fix in us Thy humble home;
Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed,
Bruise in us the serpent’s head.
Now display Thy saving power,
Ruined nature now restore;
Now in mystic union join
Thine to ours, and ours to Thine.

Refrain

Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface,
Stamp Thine image in its place:
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in Thy love.
Let us Thee, though lost, regain,
Thee, the Life, the inner man:
O, to all Thyself impart,
Formed in each believing heart.

Refrain