Category: Uncategorized
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What’s In A Name?
When Mary called Jesus to come in for supper, the name she used was “Yeshua”, the Aramaic for of the name “Joshua”, which was later translated to Greek, then Latin , into the English “Jesus”. As Christians we mostly forget that the baby Jesus was named for the prophet and leader Joshua, by instruction from…
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The Hidden Gift
When I was born my father’s sister, my Aunt Mildred, selected a sterling silver pattern and purchased for me a spoon in that pattern. Afterward I received a spoon or fork or knife every birthday and Christmas from her. On Christmas Eve I was allowed to open Aunt Mildred’s gift only. My brother also opened…
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Back To Your Heart
This Christmas season I felt the urge to binge on feel-good Hallmark Christmas style T.V. Shows. I experienced a diminishing sense of pleasure at one romance after another, accompanied by starry-eyed children and some amazing “coincidences” “Go back to your heart, and from there to God. You’re going back, you see, from the nearest possible…
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Parenthood
The four year old daughter of Diane, a friend of mine, was so unruly that her mother could hardly control her. Lori was the youngest of three children and “willful” would be an understatement of her character. Diane talked to her pediatrician who told her, “You can be very strict, or very lenient, but it…
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Angels and Incarnation
God always knew that words cannot express the “Word”, the one known by his disciple John as the “Word.” (John 1:1) Instead, God wrapped the Word in human flesh and swaddling cloths, so that, with the help of angel visitations to Mary and in dreams to Joseph, in a host of sweet singers to some…
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Love’s Progress
C.S. Lewis wrote a famous book titled “The Four Loves” in which he explores the four Greek words for the English word “love”: Philia, Eros, Storge, Agape. Roughly translated these four are, friendship, erotic love, affection, and holy charity. The translators of the Greek New Testament into English had no choice but to include all…
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Joy
Joy Most of my life I believed that Joy is a by-product of happy circumstances or relationships., but Nehemiah, the steadfast returner to Jerusalem after being exiled, wrote this when his people had become conscious of how far away they had fallen from God’s words to them: “This day (of return) is holy to the…
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Peace on Earth
“The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything , but in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God and the Peace which transcends all understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7) Of all the turbulent lives that have been lived on earth,…
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Waiting
Advent is a season of waiting, and waiting requires patience. Compared to Love, Hope, Joy, and Peace, patience is a poor cousin. It doesn’t come with trumpet blasts or satin ribbons; it doesn’t sit on top of the Christmas tree or sparkle. When my grandson was visiting with his family on Christmas Eve he could…
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Hope
Hope Today is the first Sunday in Advent, the beginning of the Christian year for many denominations. It’s a time of reflection ad of anticipation built on the history of salvation fro the earliest times, and culminating in the birth of Jesus the Christ. While different churches agree that the four Sundays before Christmas represent…
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