Another year ends

It is New Year’s Eve.

2012 is almost gone and 2013 is almost here. Wow. Time flies.

In fact, as I have mentioned to several folks lately, time is flying so fast that the pages on my calendar are producing a breeze like a fan!

As 2012 ends and 2013 begins many will be celebrating in various ways.  

Some will be at wild and raucous parties doing things that they will likely regret the next day.

Others will quietly celebrate with family and or friends playing games, watching videos, reminiscing, etc. etc etc.

Many will be working at their jobs, traveling, sick and in hospitals, or at home  sleeping.

Some will be in churches worshipping - or at home praying and reading the Bible.

What will you be doing?  Will you be partying? Will you be reflecting? Or perhaps both?

If you do decide to ‘reflect’ you might want to consider the fact that in 2012, as in all years, many many many people died and passed into eternity.  

2012 was short but Eternity!  That is a long long time. 

Where will you spend it?

Perhaps you should give this some thought as 2012 ends. 

And, to assist you in this thinking, HERE’S A LINK. 

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What is a Christian?

There is a lot of confusion these days about ‘What is a Christian’.

Some just use the name, 'Christian’, without understanding what a real Christian is.

Their life styles do not suggest that they are a Christian as often the person lives, acts, thinks, talks, etc. just like a non-Christian.

So what is a Christian really?

Well, a good and succinct answer to that question came in a snail mail letter that I received awhile back from Samaritan's Purse.

Going to their website I was unable to find it posted online so perhaps it is only in printed form.

Not knowing who wrote it, though it might have been Franklin Graham, the  President of Samaritan’s Purse, still, it is definitely a must read.  

So, without further ado to read this answer for yourself, HERE'S THE LINK

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Hand bells? Who needs hand bells?

Likely you have enjoyed listening to (or perhaps playing in) a hand bell choir.

But, this is not your ‘average’ hand bell choir.

In fact, there are no hand bells at all.

Yet, it is a ‘choir’ and the ‘music’ is being performed by a group from the St Luke’s Lutheran Church. 

They have done several songs and this 2 minute 3 second video is typical. In fact, it is a hoot.  HERE'S THE LINK

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10 Ways to Break into a House

Now that the Christmas Gift giving has ended and your house is filled with exciting new 'things'  (TVs, electronics, etc.)

and

with other occasions when you might be out of the house looming on the horizon,

You will likely find the link today helpful and interesting.

Surely / hopefully you are already taking most if not all of these precautions --

but, just in case you are not,

this is a really good summary of 'Heads Up' preparations you can take.

HERE'S THE LINK

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"10 Everyday things you're probably doing the Hard Way"

Wow.

The article to which we will be linking today certainly has some interesting and helpful tips.

Perhaps my favorite tip was "how to open a tightly knotted plastic take out or grocery type bag." 

That has always been a nemesis to me.

But guess what, this is one of the helpful hints.  In fact it is the very first one.

But the others also also helpful.

So, without further ado, HERE'S THE LINK

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Tiny Hole in Car Door

Recently we received an email warning us of another scary thing.

What is it this time? you ask.

Well, it seems that thieves have a clever new way to break into your car.

Instead of smashing a window and taking stuff, as recently happened to some folks we know, they have a new 'idea'.

What is that idea?

Well, to read about this latest "heads up" warning, HERE'S THE LINK

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The Greatest Christmas Gift

It is Christmas Day.

And all over the world people are giving and receiving Christmas gifts.

But do you know the Greatest Christmas gift of all?

HERE'S THE LINK

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Was Jesus born in a stable? or in a house?

For the past few days and weeks many plays, nativity scenes, church programs, and other activities have depicted the event of Jesus' birth.

Likely almost all of these depictions have pictured the birth happening in a manger setting.

But is this what really happened?  

Was Jesus Christ born in a stable? or a house?

And was He even born on Dec. 25?  (but that is another topic for another time -- indeed we have a short Bible study about that.  It is titled “What really happened on Christmas Day”.   To access that study, HERE’S THE LINK)

But, back to the topic at hand which is “Was Jesus born in a stable? Or in a House?

An excellent article about this was recently posted on the AIG website.  HERE’S THE LIINK.

And if you want to know even more details, HERE’S ANOTHER LINK.

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Handel's "Messiah"

It is not Christmas unless and until I hear Handel’s "Messiah." Perhaps you feel the same way.

If you do. And, if you have not yet heard it this Christmas season, then you will want to listen to this.

NPR (National Public Radio) has on its website the complete Oratorio that was recorded a few years ago by the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia.

It is 1 hr. 57 minutes in length including preliminary comments by several musicians and commentators that precede the actual performance.

All of that preliminary stuff takes about 9 minutes. Then the program begins.

So, even if you can no longer find a performance of the "Messiah" in your ‘neck of the woods’, then, thanks to the internet, we can still enjoy the beautiful inspiring, God-honoring music of Handel’s "Messiah."  HERE'S THE LINK

N.B. When you get to that page, you will see a link near the top of the page that says “Listen: Handel’s Messiah." Click on that and you will get it.

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Christmas Lights and Decorations

Some folks do not do much decorating for Christmas.

Others are moderate.

But others go all out.  

For those that go ‘all out’ I do not want to see their electric bills but kudos to them for spending the money and for all the hard work.

It is fun to drive around town and look at the Christmas lights and decorations. 

But if you would rather just sit at your computer and not get out in the cold, snow, sleet, whatever and  still see examples of the ‘all out’ category in decorating, HERE'S THE LINK

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"Government promises world won't end on Dec. 21"

 Now that is comforting.  The Gov. has promised.

So, "what me worry ???"

But, seriously, the world is not going to end today.

How do we know?

Because, according to the Bible, the world still has an undetermined 'now' plus 7 years and 1000 years to go before the world ends and the new world is created.

So, fret not.

Anyway, to read the Gov. promise that this is not the end, though not for the same reason, HERE'S THE LINK

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Christmas Island

As you are well aware, we are in the midst of the Christmas Season.

Decorations are everywhere.  

Stores are bustling with shoppers.

On the radio you can find stations playing Christmas music.

But did you know there is a Christmas Island?

And, no, this is not the vacation island for Santa Claus or an alternate location for his workshop.

Rather, it is an island in the Indian Ocean, not far from Australia, as you can see on this map from Wikipedia.

It has probably not seen much snow or ice but it does have some very amazing critters who live on this "naturalist's wonderland."

I wonder if Darwin visited here.  It seems to be much like Galapagos Island.

Anyway, to read about some of these interesting critters, HERE'S THE LINK

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"Where is the Line to see Jesus?"

Another email with an awesome link has arrived.

The email contained an explanation of how the song, “Where is the Line to see Jesus” came to be.

Cutting and pasting from the email, here is the explanation:

“As the stores start displaying Christmas trees and the like, I wanted to share this song with you.  I know you will enjoy it. Here’s the story behind the song:

About the Song

"While at the mall a couple of years ago, my then four year old nephew, Spencer, saw kids lined up to see Santa Claus. Having been taught as a toddler that Christmas is the holiday that Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, he asked his mom, "where's the line to see Jesus"?

"My sister mentioned this to my dad, who immediately became inspired and jotted words down to a song in just a few  minutes. After putting music to the words, and doing a quick recording at home, he received a great response from friends.  … … … 

"... Out of the mouths of babes come profound truths that many adults can not understand.  Hopefully Spencer's observation will cause people all over to reflect on the love of Jesus, and that one day we will all stand in line to see Him. We are most thankful to our Heavenly Father to have this chance to share our music with you. Merry Christmas everyone.”

And with that said by way of introduction, to see the Video of this song, HERE'S THE LINK

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Silent Monks sing Hallelujah Chorus

Well, as you know, I love the Hallelujah Chorus.

But something has happened to it.

It is not what it used to be.

What is it? 

Well, briefly, it is a 2 minute 58 second rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus as portrayed by High School Students dressed as monks.

HERE'S THE LINK

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December 17, 1903

What is so important about that date?

Well, that was when Orville and Wilbur Wright made their first successful airplane flight.

Pictured here, the plane is not much to look at --

and it only flew very short distances on Dec. 17, 1903.

On that date, the first attempt flew 120 feet at 6.8 MPH, 

the next two flights went approximately 175 feet in distance,

and the final flight of the day travelled 852 feet in 59 seconds.

Not much you say --

But, wow, this opened the door to everything from small planes and gliders to giant passenger planes to spacecraft destined for the moon and beyond.

Amazing.

To read about the Wright brothers and the groundbreaking work they did, HERE'S THE LINK.

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"Merry X-Mas" What does this Mean?

For years folks have tried to ‘shorten’ the Christmas greeting by substituting an X for the word Christ.

Sometimes they say this is ‘ok’ because the “X” is a substitute for a greek letter that somehow is the same as the word, Christ.

Well, not being a greek scholar, that may or may not be true but I seriously doubt that it is true.

And, even if it is, how many of us non-Greek scholars would interpret the X to stand for Christ?

So, ever since this substitution began, it has seemed to me that writing “Merry X-mas” is just plain wrong and even blasphemy.

An email recently came from a friend of a friend who has a friend (are you confused yet) who is good with graphics.  

Apparently the friend of my friend’s friend thinks similarly and made a graphic depicting his views on X-mas.

He really tells it like it is. To see the graphic, HERE’S THE LINK

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What happens when children die?

Doubtless you heard of the very tragic school shooting in CT.

At least 20 children, mostly of kindergarten age, were killed.

And 6 Adults also died in the tragedy.

So, you are likely asking, What happens when infants and young children  die?

And What happens when adults die?

Is there is a difference?

Yes, 

And it has to do with the "age of accountability."

Since the ages of the children, currently being reported on the news, ranges from about 5 to 9, these children are now in Heaven with Jesus and oodles of other children and adults.

Is there any scripture to back this up? you ask.

Well, yes, and the answer is in 3 parts.  

Part 1 gives the big picture.  HERE'S THE LINK

Part 2 gives Scriptures from the Old Testament on the subject.  HERE'S THE LINK

Part 3 gives Scriptures from the New Testament and the conclusion.  HERE'S THE LINK

But, what about the adults who died?  Do they automatically go to heaven?

No, 

because for adults, i.e. those who have reached the "age of accountability," more is involved. 

So, for the answer to the question, what happens when Adults die, HERE'S THE LINK

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