You Cannot Take Christ Out Of Christmas, Only Man Out Of Christ

If you want to make this a special Christmas, DON'T FORGET THE BIRTHDAY BOY!
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A young man training to be a missionary came to me one day and confided he was struggling in his relationship with the Lord. "I want to please Him," he said, "But it's very difficult, and I mess up all the time. It troubles me to know end, and I don't know, will I ever be pleasing to God?"

"You are exactly the one who pleases God the most!" I exclaimed to the young man with the troubled heart for God.

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God is not looking for perfection in His children, just that we are His humble children. We were all born sinners, appalling creatures. Sin cannot be removed from us completely. To have a relationship with Christ, our Lord, one only needs to turn his heart over to Him, and live his/her life by faith in Him. No human can avoid sin completely, but, accepts the Holy Spirit's conviction and repents (turns away) and is forgiven.

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We cannot live in sin (iniquity) and expect the Holy Spirit to dwell in us, in an ungodly place.

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When we accept the truth of the Gospel and ask Jesus to come into our life and we give up control to Him, we become dead to sin. This does not mean we cannot sin, rather, we lose the desire to sin.

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Are you struggling with the idea of giving your life over to the One who gave you life? Are you not ready just yet to give up that sin that pleases you so much right now? Maybe it is iniquity you have struggled to walk away from, but, have not been successful. Well, it is all perception. Perception is everything. We cannot conceive of His Glory and Love through our transgressions and discontent. In fact, the only content we will ever TRULY find is when we surrender our pathetic way of life over to Him and live in His Will.

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Christmas, regardless of all the rhetoric and ignorance, is Christ's birthday. It is why we even celebrate the 25th December. We have come to make Christmas all about us humans. A special time to feel good about ourselves in giving gifts to one another and 'spreading cheer'. But, it is Christ's birthday. Not very many consider giving Him a gift, instead, we give everyone BUT Him a gift. In some cases, we go out of our way to find a gift for someone we don't even like.

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Did you know December 25 is not even the actual day Christ was born? Nope! it was actually much earlier in the month, but, for commercial reasons we decided to place Christmas closer to New Year's Day.

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If only more people could perceive iniquity as a pleasure only for a season, then their world will come crashing down. Many people even call themselves Christian, but, never turned to His Will and direction in their life. In other words, I hate to have to be the one to tell them, they are not really Christians. If you were led to read this far and you have been struggling with repenting of some iniquity in your life and you would like to do things His way for a change, for your life, follow this link immediately and I will tell you how. It is really very simple---the hard part is having the heart to do so.

I Wish All of You a Safe and Merry Christmas and God's Blessings!

Planned Parenthood Does Not Need "Bail Out"

Planned Parenthood is the world's largest abortion provider, with an annual budget in excess of $1 billion - that's right, $1 billion - and posted an $85 million profit last year. Planned Parenthood also received $350 million in federal funding in 2007.

The number of federal government "bailouts" of private businesses over the past year is bad enough - but forcing American citizens to finance the abortion industry under the guise of "health care" cannot be accepted. The taking of human life is not health care. That's why Americans United for Life is fighting back against abortion lobbyists in the U.S. Senate. Will you join our fight today?

You can help prevent the tragedy of a dramatic increase of abortions in America -- funded by your tax dollars! Please follow this secure link right away to make a contribution of $50, $100, $250 or more to support our fight against federal funds being used to take innocent lives.

Every year, well over 1,000,000 children lose their lives through abortion in America. For decades, existing federal law has prohibited the use of taxpayer funds from paying for abortions. But now a radical change would take place if the Democrat's health care bill becomes law, our government would force pro-life taxpayers to pay for abortions.

Senate Democrats are perilously close to passing a health care bill that does not include language prohibiting federal funding of abortion; in fact, it explicitly includes federal funding for abortions and for insurance plans that include abortion coverage. If this version of the bill passes, there's virtually no way the final version will protect life when it is signed into law by President Obama.

We worked with pro-life Senators to have a mirror version of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment included in the Senate bill. But pro-abortion Senators like Barbara Boxer, Claire McCaskill, and others who have publicly stated the bill will not pass with any pro-life language prevailed and killed the pro-life amendment that would have maintained existing law preventing taxpayer funds from being used for abortion.

The abortion industry does not need a government bailout! I cannot think of a greater, more important fight than to keep taxpayer funds away from the abortion industry. I can't even imagine how many more children will be killed each year if we allow our tax-dollars to be used to end innocent lives.

We must continue this fight and get this message out to as many people as possible. Please follow this link immediately to give as generously as you can, then forward this message to friends, family, colleagues - everyone you know.

We are not powerless in this fight. We can choose to have our dollars used to protect life, not end it. So I hope I can count on your support today.

Charmaine Yoest

President, CEO

AUL Action

The Legislative Arm of

Americans United For Life

Well over 1,000,000 innocent lives are ended by abortions each year, and now the U.S. Senate is dangerously close to passing a health care bill that will allow our federal tax dollars to fund more abortions. Please follow this link today and make a contribution of $50, $100, $250 or more to Americans United for Life so we can continue our work to prevent federal funding of abortion. Then, please email this post to everyone you know to help us build our grassroots coalition. Thank you.

A Different Christmas Poem

Please, take just 10 seconds to send a printed card to a soldier (FREE)

Or, if you are able to afford a $25 donation USO will send a $75 Care Package

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts…

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said, "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night.
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.”
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
“I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

PLEASE, would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many
people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our
U.S service men and women for our being able to celebrate these
festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.

LCDR Jeff Giles , SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum , Iraq

Do You Believe He is Able?

"He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus
said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"
Matthew 9:28

Have you ever read the Bible and wondered why Jesus would ask a
blind or lame man if they wanted to be healed before He healed
them? The Bible says in John 5:6, that Jesus saw a man who had
been crippled for 38 years lying next to a pool and asked him, "Do
you wish to get well?" More specifically, in Matthew 9:28 the
bible says, "He (Jesus) entered the house, the blind men came up
to Him, and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to
do this? "

The reason Jesus ask these needy individuals these
seemingly obvious questions, is becasue Jesus understood that there
is a real connection between what we "believe" and what we
"receive". Jesus knew they first must believe that they can be
delivered before they were able to receive deliverance. It is
possible for someone to have been in a condition for so long that
they they refuse to believe that anyone can help them. For God to
change many of our situations we must first believe that things
can be better, and that better is God's will for our lives."

In Romans 4:3, we are given the secret to the blessing Abraham
enjoyed in his life. The text says, "Abraham believed God and it
was credited to him as righteousness." The secret is simply -
Abraham "believed God". As a matter of fact, God granted him the
desire of his heart, not because he was perfect and obeyed His
every command, but that he believed Him. Abraham didn't earn what
God gave him, he simply believed God for what he could not do in
his own power.

Your ability to believe in God's goodness and His
predetermined purpose for your life is what gives you the ability
to exceed your limitations. The Bible says that Abraham believed
God despite living in an objectively dead situation. His belief in
God's goodness above the deadness of his situation is what gave
birth to his blessing.

Belief that life has something better in store for you is what will
empower you to overcome what otherwise has overcome you. The reason
so many people's situation becomes their destination is because
they believe that their situation can't change. What we believe is
the most important and determinative factor in our lives. What we
believe will determine what we strive to accomplish and what we
will settle for. Believing in something gives it life and makes it
a reality in our lives.

What is it that you need or want to change in your life? In order
to see better, you must believe better. Better is available, but
you have to believe that it is God's will for your life and that it
is available. Just as we saw above, Jesus is asking you the same
question He asked the blind men in the text, "Do you believe that I
am able to do this?"

Dr. J.C. Matthews, Senior Pastor of Dunamis Life Ministries and Chancellor of The International Kingdom Institute.