There are bag hermes scarf a lot of decisions in life, and some options that are bag hermes scarf so monumental words just don’t do credit to bag hermes scarf descriptions. Few people make major decisions over night, it’s usually a bag hermes scarf slow erosion of ideas, events, circumstances, or just a recognition that bag hermes scarf your lifestyle just isn’t getting it done. It’s a Dr. Phil question of, “And how is that working out for you?”
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Bag hermes scarf
This is my fifth and final pre-Christmas Commentary, I’ve covered the bag hermes scarf basis from Scriptural reivews of the only two known historical records: Matthew and bag hermes scarf Luke’s infancy accounts, to bag hermes scarf a myriad of fantasy secular and Christian beliefs. For a final overview, just in case you bag hermes scarf don’t already have too much information, WIKIPEDIA has bag hermes scarf a great recap. I want to end on some very personal beliefs and bag hermes scarf observations.
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In this bag hermes scarf fourth commentary leading up to Christmas, let me affirm some of the bag hermes scarf things that those who are atheists, agnostics, or of another faith remind us; that bag hermes scarf are true!
First of all Jesus was NOT born on December 25th. There is bag hermes scarf no reference in the Bible as to the date of His birth. I won’t try to bag hermes scarf go into historical details that few would care about, other than bag hermes scarf to say that shepherd’s usually were not tending to bag hermes scarf their sheep in the cold Judean winter of December. Most historical scholars think he was born in the bag hermes scarf month of September or maybe March. Whatever!
Secondly, I understand that bag hermes scarf December 25th was the Babylonian celebration of the feast of the bag hermes scarf sun god. Isis, the Egyptian queen is bag hermes scarf said to have given birth to a son at this time. By the bag hermes scarf way, it was a virgin birth as well, or bag hermes scarf so history records. Interesting how we can pick and choose which virgin births we want to bag hermes scarf believe and not believe, isn’t it. Before the bag hermes scarf 4th century, there was no Christmas celebration. But, when Constantine declared Christianity as the bag hermes scarf religion of the land in 312, Christmas was combined with the pagan holiday celebration.
Thirdly, over centuries we have bag hermes scarf adopted traditions that have become part and parcel of the holiday season. Yule logs, mistletoe, and bag hermes scarf Christmas trees were not a part of Christmas celebrations in the bag hermes scarf 4th century. And all those Christmas cards so many people spend hundreds (and the White House hundreds of thousands of dollars) of dollars on each year, where’d they come from? Most people would be surprised to know that Santa Claus and all that stuff are recent American traditions.
Finally, we have bag hermes scarf gotten so far off course over the centuries that Christians have bag hermes scarf little standing to complain of the habits of those who do not enjoy Christmas. Instead of trying to bag hermes scarf defend WHEN Christ was born, WHERE, and HOW, why don’t we simply EMBRACE & ENJOY the bag hermes scarf FACT that HE WAS BORN and that no one can deny. Well, they can bag hermes scarf but, you get the point. Maybe if we would go back to bag hermes scarf the “reason for the season”, those who do not embrace Him, would!
Those who bag hermes scarf do not share our faith in Christ see our Christmas habits and bag hermes scarf ask themselves why they should even think about joining us in our: drunkenness at parties, stress at over spending and bag hermes scarf buying presents, impatience at merchandise counters, and lack of joy and bag hermes scarf peace. We sing Joy To The World, but our countenence reflects something other. We speak Peace To The World, and bag hermes scarf yet our agitation speaks louder.
We need to bag hermes scarf more than just CHILL, we need to come back to our first love and bag hermes scarf have our hearts BURN again with His love. There’s just too much stuff (can you say crap?) that gets in the way of us truly celebrating His birth! May this weekend be the most calm, peaceful, and loving ever.
In this bag hermes scarf third commentary leading up to Christmas, I want to follow up on a bag hermes scarf point I made yesterday alluding to the fact that Matthew in his infancy story chooses some of the bag hermes scarf more dark characters to put in his list of forty two generations leading up to bag hermes scarf Christ. Lest we allow patrology run amuck, there are five names in that list that are not male! And they aren’t the names you’d expect either.
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What’s Matthew 1 got to do with Christmas?
In this second commentary (click below if interested in yesterdays post) leading up to bag hermes scarf Christmas, I want to hopefully shed some light on what in the bag hermes scarf world Matthew (probably not the one you’ve been told) had in mind with all those names in the first sixteen verses? Have you seen the list? And why does it differ from Luke’s list (I’ll save that answer to later)? Remember that Matthew’s primary audience is to the Jews, and thus his “Kingdom of heaven” phrase was exclusively Matthew.
There are bag hermes scarf 42 generations listed in those first sixteen verses, divided into three groups of generations of fourteen. Matthew is bag hermes scarf using the listing of names to confirm that Jesus was a bag hermes scarf natural evolutionary person to come out of Jewish-Hebraic history, and bring to bag hermes scarf light something too many of the religious crowd miss today.
Why did Matthew choose the names that he did? Ever give that any thought? Are you kidding me, who cares who begat whom? Why Isaac over Ishmael? Why Jacob over Esau? And why Judah over Joseph? Who cares you say, what’s the point here? I believe Raymond Brown hits it on the head when he says, “Matthew is bag hermes scarf faithful to an insight about a God who is not controlled by human merit, but manifests His own unpredictable graciousness.” If you bag hermes scarf know you are still a sinner being saved by grace, and bag hermes scarf always in need of mercy, you just have to love Brown’s comment. If you’re aware of your righteousness, the statement means nothing.
We know about the two great reformers: Luther and Calvin. But we’re not all that bag hermes scarf acquainted with the third and most radical one- Ulrich Zwingli. He had bag hermes scarf the rhema word on this area. In January of 1519, he beagn a bag hermes scarf series of sermons on the Matthean genealogy. How boring could that bag hermes scarf be, one would have to ask unless you saw what the bag hermes scarf Spirit of God was bringing to light. Many of the men Matthew mentions (instead of others he left out) are Romans 5:8 people.
In the bag hermes scarf first fourteen grouping we have the patriarchs of which many were liars, betrayers, and bag hermes scarf outright immoral. In the second grouping of fourteen we have bag hermes scarf the Judean kings and we know all too well of their less than bag hermes scarf glorious histories. The final list of fourteen; and talk about a bag hermes scarf list of no-names! Who is acquainted with the likes of Azor, Sadoc, Abiud, or Matthan? Exactly the point the Holy Spirit wanted us to see!
Who are you? Who knows you or your exploits? Who am bag hermes scarf I and does anyone outside of my extended family have a bag hermes scarf clue about me? And if anyone knows anything about any of us, it’s probably only our dastardly deeds that bag hermes scarf they are aware. Now we have Matthew’s reason for listing the names (I doubt he even knew why he was writing mentioning them). We’re all no-bodys! We’re all sinners! But, we’ve all been bag hermes scarf created for His glory and for some wonderful purpose we’re somehow just not recognizing (or else we wouldn’t be where we are today).
Take nothing in the Bible for granted! But, neither take everything literally or you’ll really get messed up. The only two infant stories of Jesus are bag hermes scarf not reconcilable (logically). Luke has Joseph and Mary living in Nazareth as home owners, while Matthew has them living in Bethlehem. Luke has Jesus in a manger, while Matthew has him in a home sale gucci belts! Whatever! Remember, both works were written from bag hermes scarf oral traditions, and or copying works of works 70-80 years after Jesus was born. And we have bag hermes scarf NONE of the original manuscripts.
But, what I am HEARING and hope you do to, is that there’s something of God to bag hermes scarf be found in every book of the Bible: probably not in every word or bag hermes scarf sentence. But to those that hunger and thirst for knowledge and bag hermes scarf a relationship with God’s Son, Jesus Christ, you bag hermes scarf can find it most anywhere you want to look. But doubtful you’ll find Him in most of our made-up, modern-day, consumer-driven, fantasy stories. I pray that bag hermes scarf some of my daily writing will PROVOKE you into SEEKING HIM!
A week of commentaries on the Christmas story? Caution! You’re about to enter a NO SPIN zone! 
Could you handle that? Well, I guess we will see because that bag hermes scarf is what I am going to write about (so I think). I am bag hermes scarf somewhat amused and yet at the same time saddened that Christians make so much noise about this bag hermes scarf being “the reason for the season”, while knowing little about the season. Don’t hear any condescending attitude. I am far from that! I only wish I had more truth, more answers because to go where sacred cows do gather is bag hermes scarf not good, especially when one is hungry and looking for milk or bag hermes scarf meat!
The fact that bag hermes scarf LRC is not having services on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day is bag hermes scarf amazing some. How could we go without church for two Sunday’s? But where in the Bible is church mandated on Sunday? We’re having church, but on Friday the bag hermes scarf 23rd and Friday the 30th, instead so families can get together. At least two people have bag hermes scarf said, “You can’t do that as people won’t come on Friday, and bag hermes scarf how can you go two weeks without a church income”? They might be right. I’ll letcha know come January 2nd.
I am bag hermes scarf going to go slow all this week as I unwrap the bag hermes scarf the Christ birth story, so be patient. Let me begin by saying if it bag hermes scarf weren’t for Matthew and Luke, we’d know nothing about the birth of Jesus! Twenty five of the bag hermes scarf 27 NT books say nothing about his birth. Mark, the earliest gospel, which was written 10-15 years before either Matthew or bag hermes scarf Luke, says nothing about the birth. Wonder why? The majority of the bag hermes scarf Biblical scholars have Mark writing his gospel around 68-70 AD with Matthew around 80-85, and bag hermes scarf Luke around 85-90.
So, one of the four gospels (Mark) said nothing. The point is? The point is neither did the gospel of John (but having been written around 90-100) he was a different bird than the synoptic gospels anyway. So, why only two of the bag hermes scarf four gospels and the earliest one written says NADA?
Okay then what about Paul? He began writing (I Thes. and Gal. as an example) around 48-50. Why did Paul call Jesus, the bag hermes scarf son of man, after the flesh, and mention nothing about His birth, let alone something as speatcular as a bag hermes scarf virgin birth? Hard to bag hermes scarf believe, but then, anything is possible. Why was he silent on such a bag hermes scarf spectacular event in history? And then what about the lost Gospel of Q good replica louis vuitton handbags, written around 40AD (the earliest work suppossedly)? Just a few questions to set you up for tomorrow when I’ll look at the bag hermes scarf only two places where we get a clue- even though the bag hermes scarf two that wrote Matthew & Luke (who were those guys anyway) couldn’t agree (read Matt. 1&2 and Luke 1&2) on their stories and attempts to harmonize, actually demonize one’s thinking.
A final reminder: the bag hermes scarf end game here is to BUILD your faith in Jesus Christ, but all too often that bag hermes scarf can’t be done until you tear down the false worship paradigms of Baal buy louis vuitton cartoon! Sorry, there aren’t any easy ways to make the journey
I want to share two practical, theological concepts. Since it’s the weekend I’ll be bag hermes scarf brief. A man needs his rest and people have better things to bag hermes scarf do on a Sat-Sun. Before I take off on these simple points, let me say that bag hermes scarf I do appreciate the emails, questions, comments, and feedback that I get. People are bag hermes scarf thinking and that’s sometimes good!
When’s the last time you heard someone say, “The encyclopedia says or the public library says”? Maybe a couple of times on the Britannica buy prada dust bag, but never on the bag hermes scarf library. Google sure has killed the careers of enclyclopedia sales people! Yet, I can’t tell you how many times I have said or have heard, “The Bible or the Scriptures says”
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What would you bag hermes scarf do to see some serious, undeniable miracles take place in your bag hermes scarf life? Is that something that interests you at all? It’s a given that we want a miracle when bag hermes scarf there is a crisis, a family member has received a bag hermes scarf bad medical report, a car accident, a child with a bag hermes scarf a fever of 104 degress, etc. I’m not talking about an bag hermes scarf every day thing because if that were to happen it would go to bag hermes scarf our head: we’ve seen too many historical examples. And I’m not talking about any fake TV evangelist stuff that we see too much. And isn’t that the point anyway? Let’s just see miracles without getting money or fame in return.
What are you willing to offer?
Continue reading ‘How Do We Get There?’
I find myself facing two major challenges in ’06 from bag hermes scarf a pastoral position. Being in an inter-denominational body of believers brings much diversity and bag hermes scarf freedom; however, it can be more than interesting when 40% of the body has come from the North pole (Catholics), and 40% have come from the South pole (Baptists). The other 20% is bag hermes scarf such a mixed breed, there is no description. I use the bag hermes scarf North and South pole metaphor because of the traditions that bag hermes scarf are poles apart: yet few know it.
The two challenges are WORD and SPIRIT!
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A Good Year
The year 2005 “was a very good year” as Frank Sinatra would sing. Oh sure, there were times in the bag hermes scarf last twelve months that I could have done without. There were some heartbreaks: isn’t there in every year? But if you bag hermes scarf want to win a big one, you have to pay for bag hermes scarf it. As someone has said the higher the price, the greater the bag hermes scarf prize: reminds me somewhat of Mark 10:30.
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