<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><rss xmlns:atom='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' version='2.0'><channel><atom:id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394</atom:id><lastBuildDate>Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:17:58 +0000</lastBuildDate><title>Humble Servant</title><description></description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/</link><managingEditor>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</managingEditor><generator>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>75</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394.post-5381887049051089940</guid><pubDate>Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:47:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-11-25T16:50:50.690-08:00</atom:updated><title>Christ died for Sins</title><description>&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;1Peter 3:18&lt;/span&gt; For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It was God's will for Christ to suffer. &lt;blockquote&gt;"It was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering" &lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Is 53:10 &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;Jesus said, &lt;blockquote&gt;"Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? `Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!" &lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;John 12:27-28a&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/blockquote&gt;Christ dying for sins is central to the gospel message. &lt;blockquote&gt;"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" &lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;1Cor 15:3,4&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; And &lt;blockquote&gt;"He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt; 1John 2:2&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The resurrection of Christ from the dead provides us with forensic evidence validating his testimony as the Son of God, and giving us hope of our resurrection. For &lt;blockquote&gt;"if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." &lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Rom 8:11&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4469171484993599394-5381887049051089940?l=humble777.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/2009/11/christ-died-for-sins.html</link><author>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394.post-3064745709366126916</guid><pubDate>Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-06-02T16:02:37.412-07:00</atom:updated><title>God's Wrath - Hell</title><description>Eternal Suffering is hell is clearly preached in the Bible, especially by Jesus.&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Luke 12:5 &lt;/span&gt; But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Mt 13:41,42 &lt;/span&gt;The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Mt 18:34,35&lt;/span&gt; In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Jude 1:7 &lt;/span&gt; In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.&lt;/blockquote&gt;Despite the fact that eternal suffering would seem contrary both the God's judicial nature and his mercy and would seem to portray God the Father as the God Father, Jesus didn't shy away from portraying his Father in this manner. Because first of all this is the way God actually is. And secondly, from God's perspective, this a just sentence. True that it's difficult to see how eternal punishment is a just sentence for temporal sins, especially in consideration of the circumstances in which we live. It's difficult to see how it meets the standards of the law of Moses - an eye for an eye. But it apparently is. And fear and intimidation in light of hell is part of how the gospel is preached in the Bible. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now there are those who would say that it's ineffective preaching hell. It turns people off. And so we hear little of hell today. But this is not an issue of effectiveness. This is an issue of what constitutes the essential elements of the gospel. To remove the wrath of God from the gospel is to preach a different gospel. If people won't accept the idea that God sends people to hell, if people can't accept that such judgment is condoned by the Lord Jesus Christ, then they have yet to believe the gospel of Christ.&lt;blockquote&gt;"Then he will say to those on his left, `Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." Mt 25:41&lt;/blockquote&gt;The Berean Christian Bible Study Resources&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4469171484993599394-3064745709366126916?l=humble777.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/2009/06/gods-wrath-hell.html</link><author>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394.post-1082936674990627104</guid><pubDate>Wed, 20 May 2009 23:16:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-05-20T16:19:44.266-07:00</atom:updated><title>How to be certain of the gospel</title><description>Luke mentions proofs of Jesus' credentials, not only in his gospel but in the book of Acts. &lt;blockquote&gt;"After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God."&lt;/blockquote&gt; Acts 1:3 And both Acts and the gospel of Luke were letters written to a man called "Theophilus". Why? Luke tell us why at the beginning of his gospel saying, &lt;blockquote&gt;"Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught." Luke 1:1-4&lt;/blockquote&gt; It was to impart a sense of certainty. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The reason why faith comes from hearing the message is because the message itself provides forensic evidence, evidence in the form of eyewitness testimony of miracles, evidence which gives a sure foundation for faith, evidence of validating Jesus' testimony, evidence constituting Jesus' credentials.&lt;blockquote&gt;"Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves."  John 14:11  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." John 10:9&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4469171484993599394-1082936674990627104?l=humble777.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/2009/05/how-to-be-certain-of-gospel.html</link><author>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394.post-116735970846393741</guid><pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2009 21:23:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-04-30T14:24:01.881-07:00</atom:updated><title>GOD</title><description>&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JyO0HYhPd6Q&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JyO0HYhPd6Q&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4469171484993599394-116735970846393741?l=humble777.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/2009/04/god.html</link><author>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394.post-354778874031553840</guid><pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2009 17:05:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-04-18T10:09:11.438-07:00</atom:updated><title>COURAGE</title><description>The dictionary defines it as: &lt;blockquote&gt;The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or vicissitudes with self-possession, confidence, and resolution; bravery.&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ambrose Redmoon once said: &lt;blockquote&gt;“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.”&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We see movie after movie, situation after situation, of people calling up something from within that overcomes all things to do the seemingly impossible. Have you ever found yourself standing at some point trying to summon up some courage to do something you are totally and positively fearful of doing [who hasn't]. The question truly becomes not have we found ourselves standing in those situations but did we move in those situations and in which direction.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I imagine a scene where there are a few warriors staring down a massive attacking enemy, the numbers are too great, the odds insurmountable, what do we do. To do nothing is unthinkable but to do something is insane. When a voice comes from no where summoning up the courage, telling you all is well, you are not alone. Your eyes flash wide and you move.... The enemy thinks you foolish and almost mocks your attack... but what he does not see is the undefeatable foe within, that thing which death does not defeat.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Courage&lt;/span&gt; is doing what most would consider foolish but faith would call wise..&lt;br /&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Acts 6:8-7:60&lt;/span&gt; Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God." So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified, "This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us." All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel. Then the high priest asked him, "Are these charges true?" To this he replied: "Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. "Leave your country and your people,' God said, 'and go to the land I will show you.'……………………………..Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it." When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Courage,&lt;/span&gt; also known as bravery and fortitude, is the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty or intimidation. It can be divided into "physical courage" — in the face of physical pain, hardship, and threat of death; and "moral courage" — in the face of shame, scandal, and discouragement.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move.&lt;br /&gt;Matthew 17:20&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My brothers, I know your fear and feel it myself for in my heart is a fear that would swallow my day. But it is not our fear. Ours is a courage that knows not this world. A timeless enduring that sees no bounds, no edge. A focus on the almighty that takes us from this place and places fire within our hearts. Our enemy only knows fear for his time has come to an end.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When you feel your courage failing and fear standing beside you, look to the one who purchased you from this day, from death. For in Christ Jesus is a courage that shoots across the sky like a flash of light, spreading from the east to the west.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;An hour comes when wolves will stand round about you, but one is here who delivers you, and sets you at a table before your enemies. &lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;No matter the day, no matter the night, an eternity is pressed across our skies. A place has been set for us, a feast. And his glory will you see, his presence is with you. And your enemy will flea and release those imprisoned. For the Glory of God Will you stand, will you speak, will you go!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4469171484993599394-354778874031553840?l=humble777.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/2009/04/courage.html</link><author>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394.post-3888837033583827926</guid><pubDate>Wed, 08 Apr 2009 23:51:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-04-08T16:52:40.900-07:00</atom:updated><title>Passover.... Easter... .Resurection Day</title><description>&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DvAYQLsW05o&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DvAYQLsW05o&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4469171484993599394-3888837033583827926?l=humble777.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/2009/04/passover-easter-resurection-day.html</link><author>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394.post-5838873831106503055</guid><pubDate>Sun, 22 Mar 2009 23:35:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-03-22T16:36:54.611-07:00</atom:updated><title>Interview With An Atheist</title><description>&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/INttODEPzp0&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/INttODEPzp0&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4469171484993599394-5838873831106503055?l=humble777.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/2009/03/interview-with-atheist.html</link><author>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394.post-6360213589969302266</guid><pubDate>Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:52:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-03-11T09:53:24.684-07:00</atom:updated><title>Salvation by John MacArthur and Kirk Cameron</title><description>&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/agvnZbdGppQ&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/agvnZbdGppQ&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4469171484993599394-6360213589969302266?l=humble777.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/2009/03/salvation-by-john-macarthur-and-kirk.html</link><author>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394.post-5833767693396216083</guid><pubDate>Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:10:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-02-19T05:11:54.838-08:00</atom:updated><title>the inner essence of simplicity</title><description>Following are several of Richard Foster's principles that may help us in evaluating whether we have captured the inner essence of simplicity:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;First:&lt;/strong&gt; buy things for their usefulness rather than their status.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Second:&lt;/strong&gt; reject anything that is producing an addiction in you.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Third:&lt;/strong&gt; develop a habit of giving things away.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Fourth:&lt;/strong&gt; refuse to be propagandized by the custodians of modern gadgetry.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Fifth:&lt;/strong&gt; learn to enjoy things without owning them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Sixth:&lt;/strong&gt; look with a healthy skepticism at all "buy now, pay later" schemes.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Seventh:&lt;/strong&gt; shun anything that distracts you from seeking first the kingdom of God.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4469171484993599394-5833767693396216083?l=humble777.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/2009/02/inner-essence-of-simplicity.html</link><author>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394.post-4664522971439846935</guid><pubDate>Thu, 12 Feb 2009 00:49:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-02-11T16:50:42.907-08:00</atom:updated><title>Luke Warm &amp; Loving It</title><description>What Jesus actually REALLY meant when he said it's hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, is that it's hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pBhqrtMqrv8&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pBhqrtMqrv8&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4469171484993599394-4664522971439846935?l=humble777.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/2009/02/luke-warm-loving-it.html</link><author>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394.post-5171028721627136669</guid><pubDate>Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:17:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-02-10T06:23:53.475-08:00</atom:updated><title>I am unashamed</title><description>&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4L2FjHRIaVU/SZGNeg5OWpI/AAAAAAAAAE4/dnWQL0MdspY/s1600-h/n23304141705_1781143_4216.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 184px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4L2FjHRIaVU/SZGNeg5OWpI/AAAAAAAAAE4/dnWQL0MdspY/s320/n23304141705_1781143_4216.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301173791757326994" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This was written by an African man on the night before his execution for being a Christian.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"I am part of the "Fellowship of the Unashamed."&lt;br /&gt;The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line.&lt;br /&gt;The decision has been made. I am a disciple of&lt;br /&gt;Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down,&lt;br /&gt;back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present&lt;br /&gt;makes sense, and my future is secure.&lt;br /&gt;I am finished and done with low living, sight walking,&lt;br /&gt;small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams,&lt;br /&gt;chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position,&lt;br /&gt;promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I now live by&lt;br /&gt;presence, lean by faith, love by patience,&lt;br /&gt;lift by prayer, and labor by power. My pace&lt;br /&gt;is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my&lt;br /&gt;road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few,&lt;br /&gt;my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought,&lt;br /&gt;compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back,&lt;br /&gt;diluted, or delayed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the&lt;br /&gt;presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy,&lt;br /&gt;ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander&lt;br /&gt;in the maze of mediocrity.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until&lt;br /&gt;Heaven returns, give until I drop, preach until all know,&lt;br /&gt;and work until He comes. And when He comes to get&lt;br /&gt;His own, He will have no problem recognizing me.&lt;br /&gt;My colors will be clear."&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4469171484993599394-5171028721627136669?l=humble777.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/2009/02/i-am-unashamed.html</link><author>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4L2FjHRIaVU/SZGNeg5OWpI/AAAAAAAAAE4/dnWQL0MdspY/s72-c/n23304141705_1781143_4216.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394.post-107896698269331952</guid><pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:49:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-02-09T04:54:04.469-08:00</atom:updated><title>Living by Faith</title><description>&lt;strong&gt;Romans 1:16-17; I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In Scripture, we read that strong faith is essential for facing life's uncertainties. It prompts us to look beyond our trials to the One who's promised to guide and sustain us.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;As trust in the Lord increases&lt;/strong&gt;, &lt;strong&gt;obedience becomes a higher priority than pleasure or profit.&lt;/strong&gt; Moses' life illustrates this--he chose to forsake the advantage of Egyptian royalty in order to be identified with God's people. Placing his future in the Almighty's hands, he became the Israelites' leader and gave precedence to the Lord's interests over his own. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;As devotion deepens, a second outcome is spiritual discernment--believers develop an ability to look beyond the external appearance to see things as God does.&lt;/em&gt; &lt;strong&gt;The attractiveness of sin will decrease, and its offer of satisfaction will be recognized as false.&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;em&gt;At the same time, eternal matters will become more valuable to us.&lt;/em&gt; Moses left his livelihood of 40 years to become God's appointed leader. Pursuing the Lord's plan became more important than anything else in his life. Despite his misgivings and sense of inadequacy, he placed trust in his heavenly Father. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Finally, a growing faith will not permit misunderstandings and criticisms to deter us from pursuing God's plan. The Hebrew slaves didn't make it easy for Moses to lead, but his beliefs enabled him to move forward. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Hebrew leader's faith became the defining quality of his life. The Lord wants the same to be true of you. By trusting God deeply, you, like Moses, will be able to meet each day's challenges with courage and determination. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;intouch ministries&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4469171484993599394-107896698269331952?l=humble777.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/2009/02/living-by-faith.html</link><author>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394.post-7009197083849191511</guid><pubDate>Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:52:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-01-30T14:54:10.185-08:00</atom:updated><title>A Proxy Server</title><description>&lt;blockquote&gt;1Cor 16:10,11  If Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is carrying on the work of the Lord, just as I am. No one, then, should refuse to accept him. Send him on his way in peace so that he may return to me. I am expecting him along with the brothers. &lt;/blockquote&gt;Recall earlier Paul wrote, &lt;blockquote&gt;"Therefore I urge you to imitate me For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church." 1Cor 4:16,17 &lt;/blockquote&gt;And as Timothy was Paul's proxy server, all in ministry are proxy servers to Christ. Jesus said, &lt;blockquote&gt;"He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me." Mt 10:40 &lt;/blockquote&gt; And likewise &lt;blockquote&gt;"`I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."" Mt 25:40-42 &lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4469171484993599394-7009197083849191511?l=humble777.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/2009/01/proxy-server.html</link><author>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394.post-2533992825833696563</guid><pubDate>Mon, 26 Jan 2009 02:34:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-01-25T18:35:16.604-08:00</atom:updated><title>you raise me up</title><description>&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Th9Y_cg7ep0&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Th9Y_cg7ep0&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4469171484993599394-2533992825833696563?l=humble777.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/2009/01/you-raise-me-up.html</link><author>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394.post-4160427955079790570</guid><pubDate>Fri, 23 Jan 2009 22:31:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-01-23T14:36:31.259-08:00</atom:updated><title>The Sting of Death</title><description>&lt;blockquote&gt;1Cor 15:54-57 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. &lt;/blockquote&gt;Paul is alluding to &lt;blockquote&gt;Isa 25:8  "&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;he will swallow up death forever&lt;/span&gt;. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken." &lt;/blockquote&gt;Of which is also alluded to in &lt;blockquote&gt;Rev 21:4 "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."&lt;/blockquote&gt; And Paul also alludes to &lt;blockquote&gt;Hosea 13:14 "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. &lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?&lt;/span&gt;" &lt;/blockquote&gt;There are many who don't presently realize the real sting of death. Some think it's just an end to one's existence. But the real sting of death is the eternal condemnation which follows it, which is a consequence of falling short of God's standards. Thus &lt;blockquote&gt;"He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord." 2Th 2:8,9&lt;/blockquote&gt; But thanks be to God for the grace given by Jesus Christ as revealed in the gospel for those who believe. &lt;blockquote&gt;"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" Acts 16:31  "By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain." 1Cor 15:2&lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;The Boston Christian Bible Study Resources&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4469171484993599394-4160427955079790570?l=humble777.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/2009/01/sting-of-death.html</link><author>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394.post-8629524591728135198</guid><pubDate>Thu, 15 Jan 2009 23:50:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-01-15T16:05:25.588-08:00</atom:updated><title>Why Make the Effort?</title><description>&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;1Cor 15:30-32&lt;/span&gt; And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I die every day— I mean that, brothers— just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." &lt;/blockquote&gt;Why &lt;blockquote&gt;"fight the good fight of the faith." &lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;1Tim 6:12a&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;if it's just about this life? Why &lt;blockquote&gt;"take hold of the eternal life to which you were called" &lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;1Tim 6:12b&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;if there is no eternal life? &lt;br /&gt;Our battle is in three arenas - the world, the flesh, the devil. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;The World&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;The world pressures us with temptations outwardly. But &lt;blockquote&gt;"The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever." &lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;1John 2:17&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; Thus Paul asks, &lt;blockquote&gt;"pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith." &lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;2Th 3:2&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt;"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." &lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Rom 12:2&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;The Flesh&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;The flesh works evil in us. &lt;blockquote&gt;"I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh (sinful nature)." &lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Rom 7:18&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;blockquote&gt;"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry." Col 3:5 &lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;The Devil &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Eph 6:12 "and do not give the devil a foothold." Eph 4:27&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;As for the phrase &lt;/span&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;"Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;, it comes from &lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Isaiah 22:12-14&lt;/span&gt; which says, &lt;blockquote&gt;"The Lord, the LORD Almighty, called you on that day to weep and to wail, to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth. But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! "Let us eat and drink," you say, "for tomorrow we die!" The LORD Almighty has revealed this in my hearing: "Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned for," says the Lord, the LORD Almighty." &lt;/blockquote&gt;God has made no provision of atonement for people who don't respond to the gospel message in repentance from sin. And &lt;blockquote&gt;"everyone must die once, and after that comes judgment." &lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Heb 9:27&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The BCBS Resources&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4469171484993599394-8629524591728135198?l=humble777.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/2009/01/why-make-effort.html</link><author>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394.post-4892651116069738712</guid><pubDate>Wed, 07 Jan 2009 00:51:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-01-06T16:54:48.538-08:00</atom:updated><title>No Resurrection, No Salvation</title><description>&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;1Cor 15:15-18&lt;/span&gt; More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. &lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt; "Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection." &lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Acts 17:18b&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; Paul believed that &lt;blockquote&gt;"there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked." &lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Acts 24:15 &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;The gospel is not just about who Christ was or what he taught. It is also about the historic facts of the death, burial and resurrection, of which a large portion of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are devoted. It is like no other religion in this respect - founded upon historic fact - the fact of miracles, affirmed by a multitude of eyewitnesses, which the hostility of the religious elite could not suppress. One cannot be called a Christian if they deny the resurrection of Christ. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But if Christ wasn't raised, then the gospel is false. If the gospel is false, then Jesus did not atone for sin, and as such there is no provision to escape the wrath of God, and those who have died have gone to hell.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4469171484993599394-4892651116069738712?l=humble777.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/2009/01/no-resurrection-no-salvation.html</link><author>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394.post-6953163830712028618</guid><pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2009 23:53:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-01-05T15:53:32.604-08:00</atom:updated><title>Jesus Christ is Everything</title><description>&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/a-9jXaR6KfU&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/a-9jXaR6KfU&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4469171484993599394-6953163830712028618?l=humble777.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/2009/01/jesus-christ-is-everything.html</link><author>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394.post-5071013202576809654</guid><pubDate>Thu, 25 Dec 2008 08:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-12-25T00:00:00.623-08:00</atom:updated><title>The Christmas Story</title><description>Mary, a virgin, was living in Galilee of Nazareth and was engaged to be married to Joseph, a Jewish carpenter. &lt;br /&gt;An angel visited her and explained to her that she would conceive a son by the power of the Holy Spirit. She would carry and give birth to this child and she would name him Jesus.&lt;br /&gt;At first Mary was afraid and troubled by the angel's words. Being a virgin, Mary questioned the angel, "How will this be?" The angel explained that the child would be God's own Son and, therefore, "nothing is impossible with God." Humbled and in awe, Mary believed the angel of the Lord and rejoiced in God her Savior. &lt;br /&gt;Surely Mary reflected with wonder on the words found in &lt;strong&gt;Isaiah 7:14 &lt;/strong&gt;foretelling this event, &lt;em&gt;"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." &lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Birth of Jesus:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While Mary was still engaged to Joseph, she miraculously became pregnant through the Holy Spirit, as foretold to her by the angel. When Mary told Joseph she was pregnant, he had every right to feel disgraced. He knew the child was not his own, and Mary's apparent unfaithfulness carried a grave social stigma. Joseph not only had the right to divorce Mary, under Jewish law she could be put to death by stoning.&lt;br /&gt;Although Joseph's initial reaction was to break the engagement, the appropriate thing for a righteous man to do, he treated Mary with extreme kindness. He did not want to cause her further shame, so he decided to act quietly. &lt;br /&gt;But God sent an angel to Joseph in a dream to verify Mary's story and reassure him that his marriage to her was God's will. The angel explained that the child within Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit, that his name would be Jesus and that he was the Messiah, God with us.&lt;br /&gt;When Joseph woke from his dream, he willingly obeyed God and took Mary home to be his wife, in spite of the public humiliation he would face. Perhaps this noble quality is one of the reasons God chose him to be the Messiah's earthly father. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Joseph too must have wondered in awe as he remembered the words found in &lt;strong&gt;Isaiah 7:14&lt;/strong&gt;, &lt;em&gt;"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." &lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At that time, Caesar Augustus decreed that a census be taken, and every person in the entire Roman world had to go to his own town to register. Joseph, being of the line of David, was required to go to Bethlehem to register with Mary. While in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to Jesus. Probably due to the census, the inn was too crowded, and Mary gave birth in a crude stable. She wrapped the baby in cloths and placed him in a manger. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Shepherd's Worship the Savior:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Luke 2:8-20  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;And in the same country there were shepherds living in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came on them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. And they were grievously afraid. And the angel said to them, Do not fear. For behold, I give to you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For to you is born today, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this is a sign to you. You will find the babe wrapped, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it happened as the angels departed from them into Heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Indeed, let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing which has happened, which the Lord made known to us. And hurrying they came and sought out both Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger. And seeing, they publicly told about the word spoken to them concerning this Child. And all those who heard marveled about the things spoken to them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these sayings, meditating in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as was spoken to them.&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Magi Bring Gifts:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After Jesus' birth, Herod was king of Judea. At this time wise men (Magi) from the east saw a star, they came in search, knowing the star signified the birth of the king of the Jews. The wise men came to the Jewish rulers in Jerusalem and asked where the Christ was to be born. The rulers explained, "In Bethlehem in Judea," referring to Micah 5:2. Herod secretly met with the Magi and asked them to report back after they had found the child. Herod told the Magi that he too wanted to go and worship the babe. But secretly Herod was plotting to kill the child. &lt;br /&gt;So the wise men continued to follow the star in search of the new born king and found Jesus with his mother in Bethlehem. (Most likely Jesus was already two years of age by this time.) They bowed and worshipped him, offering treasures of gold, incense and myrrh. When they left, they did not return to Herod. They had been warned in a dream of his plot to destroy the child.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4469171484993599394-5071013202576809654?l=humble777.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/2008/12/christmas-story.html</link><author>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>1</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394.post-2287357415942796086</guid><pubDate>Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:38:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-12-17T09:39:55.642-08:00</atom:updated><title>Its About The Cross</title><description>&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VyR0lwO-nXc&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VyR0lwO-nXc&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4469171484993599394-2287357415942796086?l=humble777.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/2008/12/its-about-cross.html</link><author>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394.post-3320154807296358027</guid><pubDate>Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:54:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-12-16T10:15:03.551-08:00</atom:updated><title>Defense Attorneys</title><description>an interview with two defense attorneys about the Law&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/UuxO9g4Wjzo&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UuxO9g4Wjzo&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4469171484993599394-3320154807296358027?l=humble777.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/2008/12/defense-attorneys.html</link><author>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394.post-9048934867953635565</guid><pubDate>Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:32:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-12-15T06:33:08.781-08:00</atom:updated><title>Jesus and Santa</title><description>&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NStpjQ477HA&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0xb1b1b1&amp;color2=0xcfcfcf&amp;hl=en&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NStpjQ477HA&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0xb1b1b1&amp;color2=0xcfcfcf&amp;hl=en&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4469171484993599394-9048934867953635565?l=humble777.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/2008/12/jesus-and-santa.html</link><author>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>1</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394.post-755964512913481801</guid><pubDate>Sat, 13 Dec 2008 23:55:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-12-13T15:55:32.335-08:00</atom:updated><title>The Christmas LineBacker</title><description>&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wGtrzQx0M8M&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wGtrzQx0M8M&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4469171484993599394-755964512913481801?l=humble777.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/2008/12/christmas-linebacker.html</link><author>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394.post-8174177722794027429</guid><pubDate>Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:51:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-12-11T10:58:39.822-08:00</atom:updated><title>aethism</title><description>&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4L2FjHRIaVU/SUFhWXeJxII/AAAAAAAAAEo/UZsTnNYucT4/s1600-h/atheism.png"&gt;&lt;img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4L2FjHRIaVU/SUFhWXeJxII/AAAAAAAAAEo/UZsTnNYucT4/s320/atheism.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278607275140433026" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Not meant as an attack...&lt;br /&gt;was meant to raise a question... What do you believe in? &lt;br /&gt;Too often we see society jumping on bandwagons without questioning what is being fed to them. &lt;br /&gt;Global Warming&lt;br /&gt;Evolution&lt;br /&gt;Separation of Church and State&lt;br /&gt;(and I will say the O word) Oprah&lt;br /&gt;We listen and then do not question because they throw out credentials showing them to be an expert. &lt;br /&gt;I can tell you numerous times when I ran into one of these 'Experts' with PhD behind their name, only to find out &lt;strong&gt;all they knew how to do was take a test and pass&lt;/strong&gt; [I am not kidding here].&lt;br /&gt;They dont give tests for common sense.&lt;br /&gt;So the next time you hear anyone (Including ME) say anything dont just take it on face value, QUESTION!... &lt;br /&gt;Because your Life... Even your very SOUL may depend on it.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4469171484993599394-8174177722794027429?l=humble777.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/2008/12/aethism.html</link><author>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4L2FjHRIaVU/SUFhWXeJxII/AAAAAAAAAEo/UZsTnNYucT4/s72-c/atheism.png' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4469171484993599394.post-8917609406579220723</guid><pubDate>Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:58:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-12-10T13:58:00.538-08:00</atom:updated><title>what is christmas all about??!!!!!!!</title><description>&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dvsPB5kEpLw&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dvsPB5kEpLw&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4469171484993599394-8917609406579220723?l=humble777.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://humble777.blogspot.com/2008/12/what-is-christmas-all-about.html</link><author>frederickwc@gmail.com (Bill)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></item></channel></rss>