Expectation-Angel-From the time of Adam, God had promised that He would send a deliverer. Before Judah fell to the Babylonians, the prophets reminded the Jews of the promise of a Messiah. When Judah fell to conquerors after the return from Babylon, the Jews again looked for the promised Messiah that would deliver them from their enemies. When the angel appeared to Mary, he told her that the time had come and she would conceive and bear a son. He would be the Messiah and His name would be Jesus (a form of Jeshua or Joshua)(meaning God is Salvation) He would be a leader like Joshua who would lead His people out of Egypt (the world) into the Promised land. Because of His name, the Jews did not realize that He must first come to be the Sacrificial Lamb before He would come as the conquering King. He could have been born in a palace but lowered Himself to come not only as a mere man, but as the lowest of men, born in a stable.
Thanksgiving-B
When I was a child, Thanksgiving was when my grandparents gathered their three daughters and their families and we shared Thanksgiving together as a family. Few do that anymore with families so scattered. During Thanksgiving, we celebrate all the blessings God has given us but there are many who will not have much to be thankful for. Some may have lost loved ones, been divorced, or separated, or suffered a financial crisis. They may not have relatives living nearby to share Thanksgiving with. Do you know someone who will not have someone to share Thanksgiving with or have anything to celebrate it with? Invite them to share your table and your family for Thanksgiving, or your church or community can hold a Thanksgiving feast and invite those who have no one to share Thanksgiving with. It is good to remind ourselves and our children why we celebrate the holiday. After we pray before the meal, the head of the family could add a comment such as “Today we celebrate the end of the harvest season when the last of the crops have been gathered in, to remind us of the First Thanksgiving when the pilgrims who survived the first year in America, gathered with the Indians to thank God for their harvest. It also reminds us that one day God will complete the harvest of souls and call His people home to Him in heaven. Then all who believe in Christ will be gathered in heaven, before the throne of God, for the marriage feast of the Lamb of God.”
Study course-Government
I am offering my new course on “Government” for free until November 28, 2024 to the first 100 who sign up with the following link https://www.udemy.com/course/government/?couponCode=3512275
Preparing For Christmas
Children are beginning to think about Christmas as stores are ramping up their Christmas advertising. Yet Christmas is more than getting presents. It is a celebration of when God gave us the greatest gift of all. Advent is a time when we begin to prepare our hearts for celebrating when Christ came to save us and begins on December 1st this year. I have an Advent booklet available to help parents teach their children about Christmas. It has a short Scripture for each day of Advent which helps to remind us of what Christmas is about and includes pictures that go with the daily Scriptures that the kids can color, cut out, and glue to construction paper. It provides a time the family can get together and learn from God’s Word which hopefully will become a regular family practice all year round. The pictures can be hung on the Christmas tree or on cords strung around the room. It is an electronic file that I would be glad to E-mail to you free and can be printed off. E-mail me at neighborhoodministriesnwoh@gmail.com and use heading “Advent booklet”.
Twelfth Sunday of Kingdomtide-Nov 17
Our Spiritual Journey-We are approaching Christ the King Sunday when we remember the God promised to restore the earth to its former glory, however, before we can enter that perfect world, we must be ready. We must learn what we will need there. God tried to teach the Jewish people through the law, but while they obeyed the law, they still experienced the hate and greed that led to violating the law because they did not understand the meaning of love. Therefore God sent Jesus to take on flesh and show us how to live, but we were still subject to the hate and greed by our sinful nature. Therefore Christ died and rose again to free us from the power of sin and death. When we accept Christ as our deliverer, we are born again, however we are just babies and must learn to walk with Christ. Many churches no longer teach their members to walk with Christ so they remain babies unable to discern right and wrong. The Holy Spirit can guide them but they must learn to listen to His voice and obey Him. That takes place as we hear Bible teaching and walk daily, guided by more mature believers who show us by their example, just as a child learns through their parents teaching and by watching their parents. The Christian calendar guides the church as it trains new believers to walk with Christ. It begins with Christmas by reminding us that God had to take on flesh and walk among us so we have to be the living example of Christ in the flesh to unbelievers and new believers. Lent reminds us that we need to learn God’s law and how to apply it to our everyday life. Easter reminds us of the new life we have in Christ and that Christ died to make that possible. Pentecost reminds us that we have the Holy Spirit to guide us and of all those who do not know Christ. It is a time when the church reaches out to those that don’t know Christ. Kingdomtide reminds us that we aren’t alone but have other brothers and sisters in Christ to guide and support us. It is a time when the more mature members help new believers learn to experience the fellowship of the church. Finally, Christ the King Sunday reminds us that one day Christ will return and lead us into the promised land where we will be with Him forever. By walking the path every year, we are remined of how far we have come and where we need to improve. If we do not have guidance in our walk year after year, we lose our way and wander off the path. Let us pledge to renew our walk with Christ this coming year.
Voting-I-A-D
In the 2024 election, Harris only won nineteen States. Twelve do not require photo ID’s, Five require ID’s but don’t require it be a photo ID. Two of the States do all voting by mail and there is no way in a mail-in vote to verify who is sending the ballot. While they check the signature against the voter registration, the voter registration could be fake if no ID was required to register or the signature could be forged and with as many signatures as they have to check, it is hard to do the careful examination needed to detect a forgery. That means she did not win in any States which require photo ID’s. She only lost in two States that don’t require ID’s. One has to wonder if she could have won any States if all States required voter ID’s. It is possible she could have won those States without any fraud involved, but the fact that she only won in States that don’t require photo ID’s raises real questions about the integrity of the Democratic Party and why they have been pushing to remove voter ID laws. It not only raises questions about her wins in those States, it also raises questions about everyone else on those ballots. There was also a lot of Senators and House Representatives on the ballots in States without photo ID requirements, as well as State Governors and legislative representatives. Were those races also compromised? It is only common sense that a photo ID should be required of everyone who votes. Mail in ballots used to require a reason such as being out of State during the election but Democrats have opened it in many States to where anyone could do it without giving a reason. While that was a big help during the pandemic, the pandemic is over and there is no reason to allow unlimited mail in ballots. It is much easier to do a careful check of a few thousand mail-in ballots then it is to do a careful check of hundreds of thousands. By limiting it to only those with a valid reason, it limits the number to where it is easier to do a careful check of them. Picture voter ID’s need to be required in every State and mail-in ballots restricted to those with a valid reason.
Politics-AB-AJ
It reminded me of the Democrat’s current fight to protect abortion. First they said it was necessary, like they did slavery. Then they tried to justify it according to Scripture, like they did slavery. It took a little twisting of Scripture because the Bible banned slavery, but allowed servitude for debts, which they used to justify it, even though their slavery wasn’t for debts and wasn’t limited in time like it was in Isreal. Abortion was more difficult because it wasn’t practiced in Bible times, so they couldn’t justify it on that basis. Finally they justified slavery on the basis that it was the compassionate thing to do. The Negro wasn’t able to take care of himself and so the benevolent plantation owner needed to take care of him in return for his service. Today they claim they have to save the baby from a miserable life and help the poor helpless women and girls who find themselves pregnant with a baby they can’t take care of, or just don’t want. It is their whole approach to life. They feel that the average person doesn’t know what is best for them so they have to step in and help them out. When laws and the will of the people go against what they feel is best, they ignore them, because they feel that they know what is best for everyone. Of course, it helps that they get paid well for their compassion. When the Supreme Court opened the door to abortion, they proclaimed that the States didn’t have any right to restrict it but as soon as the Supreme Court declared that the baby was a person protected by the Constitution, they proclaimed that the States had the right to allow it and moved to change the State laws to allow abortion. When some States decided they didn’t want abortion, they used their power in the federal government to bypass the State laws and make abortion available in spite of the wishes of the people of those States. They don’t really care about the rights of the State, or of the people, all they care about is protecting abortion. In fact, they don’t seem to care about the women and girls either because they fight any attempt to enforce basic protections for women like licensing of those performing abortions and inspections of the facilities, informed consent for clients and parental consent for minors. Their whole efforts stem from their belief that the average person doesn’t know what is best for them and they, the liberal politicians, are superior to the average person and have to make people do what they feel is best for them.