MERRY CHRISTMAS!

*
joy
grace
hope - love
faith - peace
honor - purity
courage - loyalty
goodness - prudence
sympathy - humility
fortitude - temperance
brotherhood - cooperation
and
God
is
love.

As we welcome the DAY we’ve all been waiting for, let us celebrate those God-given gifts which help us to sustain a lifestyle patterned after Him whose birth we celebrate. All that we are…or can ever hope to be…begins with the receiving and nurturing of those gifts we have been given!

The Bethlehem Manger is empty….and bare is Calvary’s Tree. The Saviour of the world now lives….forever….in you and me!

ADVENT -2009

Actually, Advent precedes the Christmas season. Advent is one season - Christmas is another season.

Sometimes Christians are so involved in the busy preparations for the Christmas celebration that they forget their main purpose in Advent is to prepare their hearts to welcome Jesus. Perhaps we are missing the most important part of celebrating the birth of the Christ child….the season of Advent!

Could this be the year when we put events in proper order and observe the Season of Advent by preparing our hearts and homes to receive the Christ Child. This period is marked by contemplation of God’s Word and all the prophecies of the birth of the Savior of all mankind and WHY God sent His Son to earth in human form!

The Advent Season began on Sunday, November 29, 2009, and continues until
Christmas Day – December 25th - THEN we begin to celebrate the Christmas Season!

November 30, 2009 - We light a candle for HOPE. This light of
hope shines bright as we prepare for the coming birth of
Jesus.

December 6, 2009 - We light a candle for PEACE. This light of
peace shines bright as we join together to proclaim Jesus
"Prince of Peace".

Decenber 13, 2009 - We light a candle for JOY. This light of
joy shines bright as we wait for the glorious birth of Jesus.

December 20, 2009 - We light a candle for LOVE. This light of
love shines bright as we share the love of Jesus with others.

December 25, 2009 - We light the CHIRST CANDLE.

O COME, LET US ADORE HIM!

IF I WERE THE DEVIL (by Paul Harvey)

If I were the Devil. . .

I would gain control of the most powerful nation in the world;

I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come from man's
effort, instead of God's blessings;

I would promote an attitude of loving things and using people, instead of
the other way around;

I would dupe entire states into relying on gambling for their state revenue;

I would convince people that character is not an issue when it comes to
leadership;

I would make it legal to take the life of unborn babies;

I would make it socially acceptable to take one's own life, and invent
machines to make it convenient;

I would cheapen human life as much as possible so that the life of animals
are valued more than human beings;

I would take God out of the schools, where even the mention of His name was
grounds for a law suit;

I would come up with drugs that sedate the mind and target the young, and I
would get sports heroes to advertise them;

I would get control of the media, so that every night I could pollute the
mind of every family member for my agenda;

I would attack the family, the backbone of any nation.

I would make divorce acceptable and easy, even fashionable. If the family
crumbles, so does the nation;

I would compel people to express their most depraved fantasies on canvas and
movie screens, and I would call it art;

I would convince the world that people are born homosexuals, and that there
lifestyles should be accepted and marveled;

I would convince the people that right and wrong are determined by a few who
call themselves authorities and refer to their agenda as politically
correct;

I would persuade people that the church is irrelevant and out of date, and
the Bible is for the naive;

I would dull the minds of Christians, and make them believe that prayer is
not important, and that faithfulness and obedience are good enough to get by;

Hmmm...I guess I would leave things pretty much the way they are."

FORGETTING SARAH PALIN

I just LOVE Ann Coulter. And I do believe Sarah Palin is one of the most competent, conservative, Christian, political figures to come on the scene since Ronald Reagan!

Read Ann's July 8th column from WorldNetDaily.com:

Sarah Palin has deeply disappointed her enemies. People who hate her guts feel she's really let them down by resigning.

She's like the ex-girlfriend they're SO over, never want to see again, have already forgotten about – really, it's O-ver – but they just can't stop talking about her.

Liberal: Ha, ha ... Sarah who? She's over, she's toast, a future Trivial Pursuit answer, nothing more.

Normal person: Whatever. How about the North Korean missiles?

Liberal: Can you believe she just resigned the governorship like that? What a quitter!

Normal person: Speaking of quitting, how's work?

Liberal: Did you hear she might get a TV show? There's no way Sarah Palin's getting a TV show! No way! I can't believe stupid Sarah Palin could get her own stupid TV show now. Well, I'm sure not gonna watch it – that's for sure!

Normal person: Have you seen all the Michael Jackson coverage on TV?

Liberal: How does she think she can run for president in 2012 if she can't finish her term as governor of a Podunk state? She's finished.

Normal person: OK, then! You won't have to vote for her.

Liberal: I was never going to vote for her! But now I'm not going to vote for her twice. And I will never watch her TV show. I am so over her.

Reporters had already written their stories on Palin's press conference – "rambling!" "incoherent!" – before she even stepped to the podium.

Whatever you think of Palin, her argument for resigning was the opposite of "rambling" and "incoherent."

Palin's basketball analogy couldn't have been clearer, even to prissy liberal pundits who get uncomfortable when the subject turns to sports: She decided to destroy the other team's game plan, which has been to obsessively focus on her, by resigning.

This is particularly apt here – she's passing the ball to a fantastic right-wing lieutenant governor, who shares her principles but doesn't set off the left's neuroses.

This is better for him, better for the state, better for the conservative program and better for Palin personally, whose family is sick of all the crap. Now she can make a lot of money and promote conservatism on a national stage.

It certainly won't be held against Palin by people who don't already loathe her. (On the other hand, her approval ratings among people who think she's worse than Hitler are down to 48 percent.)

With the left frenetically filing ethics complaint after ethics complaint against Palin, costing her state millions of dollars and her personally half a million dollars, citizens of Alaska must be asking, "Can we please have our state back?"

But to read the news reports – which actually were rambling and incoherent – you would think Palin was speaking in tongues.

The truth is liberals are furious they won't have Sarah Palin to kick around anymore – at least not with Palin's hands tied behind her back by her public office.

Something tells me Keith Olbermann isn't going to be pulling any big numbers this summer attacking Eric Cantor and Michele Bachmann. I don't anticipate any sudden outbreaks of "Mitch McConnell Derangement Syndrome."

Soon we'll only hear about Keith when his creepy e-mails using his mother's death to hit on chicks start making the rounds again. (Tip to Keith: When a girl refuses to give you her phone number, her assistant's phone number or her personal e-mail address, and only gives you her assistant's e-mail address, you're not halfway in the sack.)

Bonus: If Olbermann gets canceled as a result of Palin's resignation, that will put her in a really good position for 2012.

But instead of being honest and saying, "Oh well, it was a good ride while it lasted," liberal chatterers indignantly demand: "Is this not the greatest betrayal a public servant ever committed against the people?"

On one hand, liberals are enraged at the heinousness of Mark Sanford – whom they didn't vote for – for not resigning and, on the other, they're enraged at Palin – whom they also didn't vote for – for resigning.

The peculiarly venomous hatred of Palin is driven by women of the left and their whipped consorts. All that needs to happen is for a feminist to overhear two Nation readers saying, "I hate to admit it, but Palin is kind of hot" and ...

WHAT??????????? YOU CALL THAT HOT? I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW WE'VE GOT A MEGA-SUPER HOTTIE IN DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. AND NEED I REMIND YOU AGAIN OF THE RAW SEX APPEAL OF RACHEL MADDOW?

Democrats are a party of women, and nothing drives them off their gourds like a beautiful Christian conservative. (How much money has that other beautiful born-again, Carrie Prejean, been forced to spend on lawyers to respond to liberal hysteria?)

So the motives are clear, but the money is not. Who is paying the rent for the losers filing all these frivolous complaints against Palin?

At least when Richard Mellon Scaife was funding investigations of Bill Clinton, we knew who Scaife was, he was an American citizen, and his money was accessible to U.S. tax authorities and not stashed in offshore accounts like a certain Hungarian Nazi-collaborator I can name.

How about some modern-day Scaife investigate the investigators? (End of article)

SARAH PALIN.....MIKE HUCKABEE.....SARAH PALIN.....MIKE HUCKABEE....WHAT A FORMIDABLE TICKET FOR 2012. PRAY ABOUT IT!

AND THE BATTLE RAGES

“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:28)

Folks, I have been challenged for the past couple of weeks as I have never been challenged before! I, along with the help of my daughter’s family, planted a fair size garden in the back yard this year, plus the usual plants in containers on the patio. All germinated well, God and I together have provided the adequate amount of moisture needed and Miracle Grow has supplemented additional nutrients needed for growth.

Everything was looking fine…and the squash, okra, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, cantaloupe, and watermelon were lookin’ good! I went home from work one afternoon about 10 days ago to discover that an army of invaders had attacked with a vengeance! ALL of the leaves on my squash, okra and cucumbers, plus many on my beans, peppers, tomatoes, cantaloupe and watermelon, had been devoured by these marauding invaders!

Now I have no problems with SHARING my garden, but I got MAD (“anger” isn’t strong enough to convey my feelings) at their greediness and am waging an ALL OUT WAR to get at least a PORTION of the harvest! (Thus far, I have harvested two “messes” of white halfrunner beans; they were delicious, but “man cannot live by green beans alone – he must have tomatoes and cucumbers”.)

Now, realizing that God created the animals, too, I don’t want to destroy them; so I have waged war to bring them under MY dominion as God has given me the authority to do! Am exploring lots of “safe” deterrents, both for the animals and us humans.

Any ideas?

WHERE IS GOD WHEN IT RAINS?

Picture this!

The place: Wilson's Creek Historic Battlefield, 12 miles west of Springfield, MO.

The event: A Civil War Reenactment Weekend.

The crowd: Hundreds of participants, with thousands predicted to attend.

The WEATHER FORECAST: Rain, rain, more rain. Thunder, lightning, storms. More rain.

WHAT TO DO? "Go ahead as planned--it rained during the Civil War; if THEY survived, so can we!"

And with that determination, the show went on that weekend, a great tribute to history and the memory of some brave men, both North and South.

Picture this!

The place: Anywhere on Planet Earth.

The event: Your life.

The crowd: A watching world of family, friends and enemies--and the enemy of your soul, lurking around the corner too!

The WEATHER FORECAST: rain, thunder, lightning--storms that umbrellas don't shield from; mud that does more than soil your clothing; situations over which we have no control......

WHAT TO DO? WHERE IS GOD?

1) He's STILL here...with you in the storm, watching over you and yours. He'll never forsake you.

(2) He's STILL there...wherever the situation lies, however bleak or hopeless...He remains.

(3) He's STILL everywhere overseeing all the storms--floods, tornados, hurricanes and earthquakes of our lives. He reigns as King forevermore; He rides the storms--and He'll bring you through!

So "Go ahead as planned"...God is with you. He will see you through. He's with you today--and tomorrow--and the next day--EVEN in the rain!

Believe it--now march straight ahead--singin' in the storm, splashin' through the mud, dashin' through the drops, and have a great day!

WHAT IF YOU ARE WRONG?

During the past few months I have spent a great deal of time yelling at the television. I swear the ignorance of those in positions of authority astound me. I'll never forget what my daughter told me after a year of working as a legislative aide in the Ohio Senate.

"Dad, you wouldn't believe how stupid some of the legislators are. I can't believe some of the things I hear them say. No wonder government is so messed up." Two years was all she could take.

So, on Tuesday when President Hussein went to new extremes in nominating our latest affirmative action Supreme Court Justice, my daughter's lament rattled around in my memory chamber as I listened to a parade of talking heads explain what a great Justice “Sayonara Sanity” was going to be.

"How do you know you pencil neck?" I yelled as I sailed my size seven sneaker at the TV? "A lifetime appointment is on the line here, Bub! Are you sure she is the best choice? Is Lady Justice now peeking out from under her blindfold to see if there are any mitigating circumstances to this judge's qualifications? What if you are wrong?" I yelled as another shoe knocked the remote control holder off of the coffee table.

What if you're wrong? We never seem to ask that question any more, do we? Just think of all of the problems we wouldn't have if someone had just taken the time to consider that option.

You see, all wrong action begins with wrong thinking. The prison inmate never thought he'd get caught. The teenage girl never thought she would get pregnant. The business man never expected one trip to the bar would ruin his marriage. Wrong thought leads to wrong action.

Look where this stinkin' thinkin' has gotten us. How have we become so easily bound by the advice of “experts?” I thought Bill O’Reilly was looking out for us.

Un-wed young women abort their babies because:
Their parents won't understand.
They can't afford a child right now.
A baby will mess up their future plans.
It is merely a blob of tissue.
An abortion won't affect them in the future.

But what if you are wrong?

A pastor sneaks into the darkness of his den at night to surf the net because:
The temptation to look at porn won't overcome him.
The porn won't create a lust for other women.
His wife will always satisfy his sexual desires.
He will never try and live out the fantasies that he sees online.
His midnight internet sessions will not affect his ministry.

But what if you are wrong?

A young man finds himself sexually attracted to other men having been convinced that:
He was born that way.
It is impossible to change one's sexual orientation.
According to his church homosexuality is not sin.
Anal sex between males is normal behavior.
Those Chistians who speak against homosexuality are full of hatred.

But what if you are wrong?

The average Christian remains silent in the cultural war believing that:
The Bible said that things would only get worse.
They are going to be "raptured" out before the trouble hits.
Speaking up wouldn't make any difference and they don’t want to be divisive.
Homosexual indoctrination by public school is harmless.
Jesus said that we shouldn't judge.

But what if you are wrong?

"Public school" is safe for children and will not harm their faith because:
The principal is a Christian and there are some Christian teachers in the
building.
My wife and I went to public schools and turned out fine.
Christian children will be salt and light and have a positive impact.
Teaching tolerance, diversity, and acceptance is the Christian thing to do.
Humanism won’t impact children who are in a church youth group.

But what if you are wrong?

Separating Christianity from our government is a good thing because:
You can't legislate morality.
No one should tell another person what is right or wrong.
"Under God" means all religions deserve equal exposure.
America was not founded as a Christian nation.
Muslims and Christians worship the same God.

But what if you are wrong?

Scientists tell us that man evolved and:
That non-living matter produced living matter.
That the earth is billions of years old.
That carbon dating is reliable.
That man has come from apes rather than a Creator.
That religion is a myth while science is proven.

But what if they are wrong?

Government tells us that they must intervene to prevent the economy from collapsing so:
They bail out the banks so the banks will have money to loan.
They seize control of the auto industry to create more jobs.
The Federal Reserve prints monopoly money to stabilize the economy.
Giving more control to the government will solve the healthcare crisis.
Inflating the money supply will result in tax cuts for the poor.

But what if they are wrong?

Americans will be better off with government controlling more of your life because:
Gun ownership leads to crime.
Giving up personal privacy will make you safer.
Census workers will mark your home for GPS accuracy.
They know how to spend money better than the tax-payers do.
Taking your shoes off at the airport makes everyone safer.

But what if they are wrong?

It is best for the judges to make the decisions that change America because:
We aren’t smart enough to understand what “Congress shall make no law” means.
The Constitution is a living breathing document.
Spiritual education is harmful to children but sex education is not.
They have studied foreign law instead of the outdated US Constitution.
They aren’t bound by the “laws of nature” and of “nature’s God.”

But what if they are wrong?

All roads lead to Heaven to those who “believe” in God because:
God Almighty is multi-cultural and diverse.
Most people are good and being a good person will get one to Heaven.
Going to church makes you a Christian.
God is more concerned with love than He is with justice.
A loving God will not send a person to hell.

But what if you are wrong?

Thank goodness for the new messiah in the Whitehouse. He will bring the change that America needs. We just need to give him some time. Who cares about the content of his character…he should only be judged by the color of his skin. He will bring us change we can believe in. At least that is what the experts are telling me.

But what if they are wrong?

Coach Dave Daubenmire



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Source URL:
http://www.ptsalt.com/commentary/what_if_you_are_wrong

NOAH, DIDN'T IT RAIN!?!?!?!?!?

Well, MOST of the garden is planted....not all, but MOST. Am waiting for some tomato plants and pepper plants to get large enough to transplant. Monday night I was praying for God to help me out by sending a shower so I wouldn't have to get the hose out and start watering.

Well, He certainly heard that prayer, and sent some rain. As I was driving home from the office yesterday afternoon, I was a bit concerned that indeed another great flood was coming. But, then I remembered He promised He wouldn't destroy us with water again.

The storms were rather severe yesterday, and I was apprehensive, as well as awed by them. Our God is so awesome, and has such complete control that it becomes an act of worship to experience the grandeur of nature. I think it's great that He reminds us once in awhile that HE's in control........ALL HE TIME!

THE PEANUT BUTTER CONNECTION

Those of you who know me best know of my life-long love affair with peanut butter; and will readily understand WHY I just had to share the following after I found it::

Through the years I have matured,
I feel I have grown up,
I've left childhood things behind me,
And am now a genuine adult.

I've done a lot of this and that,
I've travelled here and there,
I know the ropes; I know the score,
My mind is clear, and I'm aware.

I've met my bills and paid my taxes,
I've held responsible positions,
I feel I am accountable,
And I make competent decisions.

I've had illnesses and surgeries,
A few times I almost died,
I've had joys; I've had sorrows,
And I took them all in stride.

I adore good art and music,
And a shady story, if told right,
But I abhor profanity,
Which is never needed and is trite.

I love my country and my God,
And I will stand with any man,
In defense and in support
Of God's heaven and this land.

By no means, am I perfect,
I have done my share of wrongs,
But I have made an honest effort
To live and love and get along.

I think adulthood does become me,
I have both dignity and pride,
I can hold my head up anywhere,
Without an ounce of shame to hide.

I guess what I am trying to say
Is that I've grown up well from childhood,
And though now I'm old, I can look back
And be glad I had a past so good.

But, as I muse now about my age,
I guess I should confess,
When I was younger, I had hungers
That to this day I still possess.

When my sis and I were still in school,
We had to ride the bus,
And because we lived so far away,
Our Mother packed a lunch for us.

Amongst the goodies she put in,
(Bless her heart - our Mother),
Were sandwiches on plain, white bread,
Spread thick with peanut butter.

Lunchtime was the favorite time,
Of my entire, long school day,
And Mom's peanut butter sandwiches
Made a child's troubles go away.

But I outgrew peanut butter,
As I aged and time moved on,
I did not want the calories ,
And my childish woes were gone.

Then when Mother died and others passed,
I needed to console myself,
And one day at the grocery store,
I saw peanut butter on a shelf.

"Buy me! Buy me!" came the cry,
Why not? I reached up for a jar,
And ever since, I've been convinced
Peanut butter is my caviar.

A soothing balm, a palate pleaser,
A treat that's really neat to eat,
A food with flavor to be savored,
Good for the poor or the elite.

When the good Lord inspired man
To create peanut butter,
I wonder if He had in mind
Childhood memories of His Mother.

I have found it has restored
Much of my childhood security,
And it does not seem to interfere,
With my adult maturity.

I have indulged in many menus,
From simple fares to fine cuisines,
I've eaten at the best chef's boards,
And other places deemed obscene.

I've learned peanut butter's my ambrosia,
That peanut butter is my friend,
And the joy that it gives to me,
I know will never end.

To prove my mature sophistication,
And that a brain still lurks in this old head,
Now my peanut butter is applied
To French Croissants and not to plain, white bread.
(Virginia (Ginny) Ellis)

PRACTICAL PROVERBS

The best way to get even is to forget…

Feed your faith and your doubts will starve to death.

God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts…

Some folks wear their halos much too tight….

Some marriages are made in heaven,
but they ALL have to be maintained on earth…

Unless you can create the WHOLE universe in 5 days,
then perhaps giving “advice” to God isn’t such a good idea.

Sorrow looks back, worry looks around, and Faith looks up…

Standing in the middle of the road is dangerous.
You will get knocked down by the traffic from both ways.

It isn’t difficult to make a mountain out of a molehill…
just add a little dirt.

A successful marriage isn’t finding the right person ….
It’s being the right person.

The mighty oak tree was once a little nut that held its ground.

Too many people offer God prayers, with claw marks all over them.

The tongue must be heavy indeed, because so few people can hold it.

To forgive is to set the prisoner free,
and then discover the prisoner was you.

It’s all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again.
Just be sure to flush when you are done.

You’ll notice that a turtle only makes progress
when it sticks out its neck….

If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done…
Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which will grow—
perhaps it all will.

WHY I DON’T “BUY INTO” THE EMERGING CHURCH

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father, but
through Me.” – Jesus Christ (John 14:6)
“Anything that one imagines of God apart from Christ is only useless thinking
and vain idolatry.” – Martin Luther

When a “discussion” starts about God, I am not faced with the same choices as those with a postmodern world view. Most people can go wherever they want in the discussion. They can talk about “God as I understand him” or “my higher power” or “my church says that God…” and so on. Really, the choices are practically infinite.

I, on the other hand, must immediately think about Jesus. Jesus from the pages of scripture. Jesus the light, the revealer, the image of the invisible. Jesus in His own words, in the Gospels and in the totality of scripture.

Jesus reveals God, and from there, the discussion can go on. You can explore the Bible, or you can place Jesus into a moral issue or various cultural settings. You can apply what you know of Jesus to what you don’t know of God. You can pray, sing, preach. There are plenty of roads open NOW. But only after we come to Jesus.

It truly breaks my heart to hear, see or read anyone who is a Christian approaching the subject of God, God’s will, God’s guidance, God’s message – without going to Jesus and camping right there with no intention to move or be impressed with anything else.

There are dozens, hundreds of ways to avoid Jesus when talking about God. There are dozens, hundreds of ways to manipulate Jesus to a less than defining place. Many of these are fun. Some have the approval of important and powerful people. Some are wrapped in scripture verses. Many are surrounded by books or endorsed by ministers.

But at bottom, Jesus isn’t defining the God conversation. So the conversation is on the wrong foot and making a wrong turn. It may not be worthless, but it isn’t reliable. You can dress your opinions about God up in whatever language you want. You can validate it with experiences, signs and wonders. You can claim miracles, voices and confirmations in the mystical realm.

When the smoke clears, you’ve explored your own imaginations or otherwise missed Jesus.

If you are going to think about God, go to Jesus and start there, stay there and end there.

This simple rule is too simple for the religious, the worldly wise, the power seeking and the proud. It is infuriating to those who want to manipulate for money or distract for some personal agenda.

Jesus will break our idols, complicate our assumptions, overturn our tables and put Himself squarely in the center of every question. He is the way, the truth, the life. He is the answer. He is the one way we think about, know, love, worship and relate to God.

When you think about God, go to Jesus.

Now you know.

GOD REIGNS OVER THE NATIONS!

"God reigns over the nations!" (Psalms 47:8) Throughout history He used good and bad rulers to discipline and bless His people -- always lovingly calling them back to Himself. Some recognized His hand of love, accepted His wise warnings and were blessed in His loving presence. Others were blind and deaf to His truths and sovereignty. The same is true today for human nature doesn't change much. If we focus on our wonderful King, not on the human agents, He will surely use everything that happens to keep us alert, teach us His Word, strengthen our faith and draw us closer to Himself.

An Old Testament king gave us a wonderful model prayer. When a "great multitude" of enemy troops threatened the freedom of God's people, Jehoshophat simply turned His eyes and heart to His faithful Lord and expressed his faith:

“O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? ... O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” (2 Chronicles 20:6, 12)

God answered in a wonderful way! He always does, though usually the victory is less dramatic. How blessed we are to know Him at a time such as this!