Putting Christ Back Into Christmas

Putting Christ Back into Christmas Now that Thanksgiving has passed, the Christmas season is upon us. Just today, while walking with Lulu, we noticed a home with pillars. On each pillar was a big, red ribbon – a sure indication that people are getting into the Christmas spirit. It won’t be long until I either read or hear the phrase, “Put Christ Back into Christmas”. I know what the phrase means. It means that the holiday has lost its sacred emphasis. It means that a meaningless secular emphasis has become paramount and the true meaning should be reclaimed. For some, “putting Christ back into Christmas” is pretty simple: let the public school children sing carols at the school; and do not shop at stores that eliminate the phrase “Merry Christmas” by substituting “Happy Holidays.” Let’s get away from the simplistic, emotional stuff. Yes, I think public school children should be able to sing “Silent Night”. This is, after all, a Christian holiday. And I prefer “Merry Christmas” to “Happy Holidays” any time. But this is not really “putting Christ back into Christmas” to me. Do you really want to “put Christ back into Christmas”? Remember that the church is called “the Body of Christ” in 1 Corinthians 12. Among other things, that means that we are supposed to be doing what Jesus would do if He were on earth physically today. You can put Christ back into Christmas by doing what He would do. Is you church having a food drive to replenish the shelves at The Salvation Army in Alliance, Ohio? If not, don’t wait, go ahead and purchase some staple and canned goods and take them, with your children, down to 57 E. Main Street in Alliance. Let the children walk in with the groceries to feed the hungry in our community. Let them experience the joy of giving. Do it in the Name of Jesus – that would be putting Christ back into Christmas. Do you know a boy or girl whose prospects for a Christmas gift are bleak? Why not make an additional purchase for that child and his or her family. Invite the child and his or her family over to your home for Christmas lunch, give a small gift and tell them that Jesus loves and cares for them. That would be putting Christ back into Christmas. Do you have a family member with whom you are estranged? Make a call either on the phone or physically and seek to restore the relationship. Take a meaningful gift – like a grocery store gift card. Let the person know you are doing this because Jesus told us to do so. That would be putting Christ back into Christmas, too. Do you know someone who is all alone, perhaps elderly and unable to get out? Visit him or her. Take a small block of cheese and a box of Ritz crackers as a gift. Then visit for a half hour or so. Let the person know you are doing this because Jesus loves us all. That would be putting Christ back into Christmas. I think we can all agree that a thoughtful gesture or deed done in the Name of Jesus would go a long way toward… Putting Christ back into Christmas.

Thank You, God, for C.S. Lewis

Thank You, God, for C.S. Lewis As I write today, it is November 22, 2013. President Barack Obama has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in memory of former President Kennedy, who was tragically slain on this date fifty years ago. The newspaper is featuring this sad episode from the nation’s history; we should as Americans reflect and mourn Jack Kennedy’s unnecessary and brutal assassination. I think of another who passed away in England on this same date: the great thinker and writer C.S. Lewis. He genuinely possessed one of the finest and clearest thinking minds of the Twentieth Century, and his books continue to sell in the millions annually. Some of you may be asking, “What are his books?” Some of the more popular ones are The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian. These have both been made into blockbuster films. But my favorite book is Mere Christianity, a series of radio lectures given to the British people during the dark days of the Second World War. These lectures, now published as a book, provide clear, logical, sensible reasons to believe in Christianity and the hope it provides. Oddly, there was a time when the young C.S. Lewis was not a Christian and made no pretenses about it. Actually, he was an atheist. But through the influence of Oxford friends J.R.R. Tolkien, Owen Barfield and Hugo Dyson, Lewis first became a theist and then a Christian, “the most reluctant convert in all of England” he would call himself. He spent the rest of his life lecturing and writing at Oxford and Cambridge. He became an ardent proponent of “mere Christianity”, the essence of the faith. He was emphatic in the belief that if Christianity is fiction, then it has no importance, but if true, has eternal and utmost importance. He has written in regard to Christianity, “The one thing it cannot be is moderately important.” He also desired to make the Christian message appealing and meaningful to children and did so with the writing of the Narnia series, which famously features Aslan, the lion who is a picture of Christ. In the first of the series, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Aslan sacrifices his life for the sake of a traitor, but is resurrected and returns to defeat the white witch and restore peace to the land of Narnia. One of the positive traits of these works, and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in particular, is that they are not fairy tales denying reality. Anyone, child or adult, who reads the story will come to grips with stark realities such as violence, pain, adventure, heroism, betrayal and death. The world is presented as it really is, not as we wish it were. So today, while our country mourns the passing of President John Kennedy, I also mourn the passing of C.S. Lewis. But along with the mourning, I commend his works to you. Purchase or borrow his books. Read them. Learn from them. You will be entertained, enlightened, encouraged and helped. And you will say, as all who have read Lewis say, “Thank you, God, for C.S. Lewis.”

Earnestly Engage in Prayer for Our Country It was a beautiful fall afternoon. My wife and I decided that it was a nice afternoon for leaf-peeping. So we loaded ourselves and Lulu, our mixed breed dog, into the car and took off. Our destination was what we thought was Virginia Kendall Park, part of the Akron Metropolitan Park System. Upon arriving, we immediately became aware that what had been Virginia Kendall Park is now part of the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreational Park. Notice the word “National”, as in “closed due to the government shutdown.” Yes, it was closed, the government being shut down over the budget debate – so we drove about ten miles or so to another of the Akron Metro Parks, a gorgeous but hilly park called Hampton Hills Metro Park. Yes, the government was partially shut down. The people who were really shut down were average American citizens. People like the senior citizen who, on a limited income, wants to spend an inexpensive day in the national park enjoying nature. Or the young family that cannot afford expensive entertainment, but can take the kids for a picnic in the park. The partial shutdown targeted who to hurt, and its target was the average citizen. I noticed no park rangers on the day we visited. But other reports, and television cameras captured rangers on duty making sure no one entered the parks. Of course, they could have been spending their time watching the citizens enjoying the parks, but were under orders to “make life as uncomfortable as possible” for the people. Let’s all give a big hurrah to the person who either gave or approved these orders: “Barack, you are all heart”. A group of tourists traveling to Yellowstone National Park told a Massachusetts newspaper reporter that the Park Service had treated them in “Gestapo” fashion. I take this to mean with extreme rudeness. A weekly publication stated in an editorial that the Park Service’s conduct “might be the biggest scandal of the Obama administration.” This same publication, Weekly Standard, shared: “People first noticed what the NPS (National Park Service) was up to when the World War II Memorial on the National Mall was ‘closed.’ Just to be clear, the memorial is an open plaza. There is nothing to operate. Sometimes there might be a ranger standing around. But he’s not collecting tickets or opening gates. Putting up barricades and posting guards to ‘close’ the World War II Memorial takes more resources and manpower than ‘keeping it open.” We all know now what happened: the World War II veterans who arrived to visit the memorial removed the barricades blocking their way – against orders from rangers not to do so, paid their respects to their comrades who had died in defense of freedom, and took the barricades two or three blocks down to the white House, where they were stacked against the fence in protest. Their attitude must have also been, “Barack, you are all heart.” Now dear readers please understand, I am about as apolitical as it gets. I think the members of both major parties and those of minor parties can be heroic or villainous, and all need a good dose of God’s grace. But the citizenry better wake up and wake up fast. The Internal Revenue Service is targeting groups for audits based on moral and religious stands, the NSA is spying on everyone’s emails and phone calls, not just suspected terrorists. And now we realize there is spying on phone calls of other nations’ leaders (is Angela Merkel a terrorist?). Further, the people being punished for Obamacare’s unpopularity and inefficiency are – us! The people who work for these agencies are being punished through manipulation, orders and threats. The common citizen is being punished through park closings. May God help us! How can we sustain liberty and trust in our government leaders when they establish such a circus atmosphere? How about punishing some prominent politicians instead of me, my wife and Lulu? Lock those prominent politicians in a room with each other and don’t feed them until they resolve the budget issue. Can you imagine being locked in a room with some of these people? Ever visited a haunted house? It is time for prayer. “If my people…will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will they hear from Heaven and I will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14, paraphrased). Pray for America and its leaders. Pray that God will turn them back to Himself. It is time to… earnestly engage in prayer for our country.

Want to Live a Mediocre Life?

Want to Live a Mediocre Life? “Whoever covers an offense seeks love; but he who repeats a matter separates close friends” – Proverbs 17:9. Chris Fabry, who is probably best known for a weekday afternoon radio broadcast, wrote a book a few years ago. Fabry’s book is a satire, taking its cue from the best – seller by the late Stephen R. Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change. Fabry’s book is entitled, The 77 Habits of Highly Ineffective Christians (Inter Varsity Press, 1997). One of Chris Fabry’s points is that if you really want to live a mediocre life, follow Habit #72 – Hold Grudges. Ever held a grudge? If so, you have followed a predictable pattern. First, you convince yourself that anger is deserved over some perceived injustice perpetrated against you. This is the “mull” stage. Then you move from mulling over this deserved anger into thoughts of revenge. “Boy, would I like to do this terrible thing to that person” is the way you think. But because you know there would be negative consequences for such behavior, like a jail term for example, you simply hold on to the thought of revenge. By holding on to this thought, you “hold a grudge.” Chris Fabry is right, of course. Holding a grudge is a guarantee that you will live a mediocre life. This is because you will spend so much time thinking about how to “get even” (whatever that means). Consequently, you will not spend time in creative and productive thinking. It is creative and productive thinking, combined with action, that leads to excellence in life. Proverbs 17 teaches an important fact about relationships: we need to be forgiving toward others and discreet in our speech. A real friend values the other person so much that he or she willingly refuses to nurture anger by “covering a personal offense”. This may take grace, but you have to decide whether the friendship, marriage or relationship is worth saving. The amazing thing about Jesus Christ is that He valued friendships and even told His disciples, “If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matthew 5:39). An authentic Christ-follower does not permit himself to be a punching bag or a target for verbal abuse, but is willing to be wronged, especially when no malice is involved. This is active forgiveness – not just words, but conduct. This proverb also gives advice on a sure way to terminate a friendship: remember an offense, relive it and discuss it often with third parties. Forgiveness means not discussing it repeatedly and attempting to put another person in a bad light. This is the behavior God intends for us. He wants us to have lives of excellence. Want to live a mediocre life? Hold a grudge.

The Time to Stop It is Now

“Stalin is a genius! Stalin is a god! Long live Comrade Stalin!” This is what the Russian populace cried out during the time of the dictator. It was necessary for them to do so in order to live in safety; anyone not crying out such slogans was suspected of subversion and “anti-Soviet behavior”. Anti-Soviet behavior was punishable, sometimes by death. The punishment was usually being consigned to slave labor in a gulag. We may soon have to dust off these old chants and modernize them to avoid America’s version of the gulag. The new secret police in our country is now the Internal Revenue Service and the gulag is the time-consuming, agonizing, punitive audit, called by some “the audit from Hell”. You better not disagree with Washington’s agenda or the IRS will getcha! And you will be punished; no, you won’t be put to death, you will just wish you had been. An IRS audit is unwelcome and intimidating. It is a form of harassment to groups that have done nothing wrong, intended to silence them. USA Today, in a September 18, 2013 story by Gregory Korte, reports that “Newly uncovered IRS documents show the agency flagged political groups based on the content of their literature, raising concerns specifically about ‘anti-Obama rhetoric’, inflammatory language and ‘emotional’ statements made by non-profits seeking tax-exempt status.” The italics are mine. And yes, I am concerned about those “emotional” statements as characterized by Internal Revenue documents. “Emotional”? What does that mean? I think I know and will give you the translation later. It isn’t just groups seeking tax-exempt status. It is also outstanding Christian groups with impeccable accounting standards that have had tax-exempt status for years. The IRS is terrorizing groups with audits or threats of audit for the simple reason of promoting Christian morality in the public discourse. That is too “emotional”. Franklin Graham, President of two large Christian organizations, writes in Decision (July 1, 2013) that the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse had received identical letters on the same day notifying them that the IRS was coming after them. Never before had they been threatened with an audit. Never had either been audited. As expected, the results were that both organizations were “affirmed” as charitable organizations. The audit was announced on September 6 and was concluded “shortly after the election.” Franklin Graham tells us, “This (audit) was not so much about taxes…as it was about Christian morals and biblical standards. A few months earlier, the BGEA purchased ads in North Carolina newspapers, where my father spoke out in favor of the state’s proposed Marriage Amendment. That offended some powerful people.” Gosh, I wonder who? The Internal Revenue document targeting groups that have used “anti-Obama rhetoric” serves as a strong hint as to who these powerful people are. The Internal Revenue Service is a legitimate government agency that has as its purpose the collecting of revenue. It is not supposed to be the secret police for any President or administration. It is time for this harassment to stop. Today it is groups that oppose this administration’s public policy that are being persecuted by IRS. In reality, the freedoms of speech and press are being attacked, not just political opposition. Tomorrow it will be individuals. You may think, “It is okay because I agree with this President’s public policy.” But you may not agree with the next one. If this President gets away with using the IRS for political enforcement, you think another won’t try? Then what? Will you simply begin thinking and reciting slogans like, “Stalin is a god!” and go along to avoid being harassed by the IRS? Martin Niemoller (1892-1984) was a noted German Protestant pastor who survived the Second World War. He initially supported Nazism, but emerged by 1938 as a publicly outspoken foe of Hitler. He spent the last seven years of Nazi rule in a concentration camp. He chose not to say “Heil Hitler”. Persecution followed. He is also the one who wrote, “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists and I did not speak out, because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out, because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.” Now is the time for you to speak. This persecution of groups like Samaritan’s Purse and Billy Graham Evangelistic Association needs to stop. Otherwise, it will get worse. These groups are doing exactly what they are supposed to do: representing their values in a free society. Contact your representative and senators in Washington. Tell them to make sure the Internal Revenue Service does its job in collecting revenue, and does not serve as any politician’s secret police. Audit where there is suspicion of fraud, but not on the basis of “anti-Obama rhetoric” and “emotional” (translation: moral) statements”. Help keep the freedoms of speech and the press. The time to stop it is now. Otherwise, America will not remain free.

Let’s Help These Refugees Today As this is written, President Obama has decided to seek Congressional approval for a military strike on Syria. The presumption is that the ruling Assad regime has used WMD (weapons of mass destruction) on the civilian population. Our Secretary of State, John Kerry, has accused the regime of using chemical weapons to asphyxiate citizens. In a recent poll done on line by a newspaper, 78% of respondents oppose the President using the military to “send a message” to Syria, while 21% support it. Speaker of the House Boehner supports action as does Minority Leader Pelosi. By the time you read this column, the decision may have already been decided. There is a side to this cruel episode that needs to be revealed. It concerns the Syrian refugees. Those people who have lost everything as a result of this civil war. In Jordan sits the second largest refugee camp, Za’atari. David Remnick writes in New Yorker, “In Za’atari, the dispossession is absolute. Everyone has lost his country, his home, his equilibrium.” He then proceeds to describe how this camp of 120,000 residents has become a city, with entrepreneurs establishing pizza shops, small appliance stores and more. It is now the fourth largest population center in Jordan, but run by several gangs. Since July 2012, when the camp opened, about 2000 babies have been born with 70 being born weekly. On the other side of Syria is Iraq, where 50,000 Syrian refugees have fled since the middle of August – just three weeks ago. They have fled into the Kurdish area of Iraq where a Christian presence is found. This was the area, in case you forget, where Saddam Hussein had gassed the residents because they resisted his dictatorship. There are thousands more Syrians at the border, waiting to cross into Iraq. It is here that an American Christian organization called Samaritan’s Purse is working with local Christians to help these refugees. This non-profit organization has delivered rice, sugar, lentils, chickpeas, bottles of cooking oil, thousands of baby diapers, baby food and thousands of shoes to the dispossessed Syrians. The local Christians, called “ministry partners” are doing what they can to provide humanitarian assistance in the name of Christ. The point is: Christ is being glorified and proclaimed to these refugees. One testimony is that of a refugee who shared that he left Syria when militants threatened to kill him, his wife and their six children. They are hoping to return to Syria eventually, but not until the situation stabilizes. They are grateful for the assistance received. Perhaps you would like to assist this organization in helping these refugees. Not only are they being helped with immediate needs, like food and shelter. They are told that the love of God is at work through these provisions. Unlike the deity they have learned through Islam, the LORD cares about people and has showed it in history through Jesus Christ and His followers. Franklin Graham, director of Samaritan’s Purse, has written “Please pray that God will be glorified as we help meet the needs of the refugees, for peace in Syria, and for those suffering the horror of being caught in the middle of brutal conflict.” To learn more about this topic or Samaritan’s Purse, or to make a much appreciated donation, please go to the web site http://samaritanspurse.org Let’s help these refugees today!

Time to Judge The Character of This Movement I read in the newspapers that in Texas a big abortion debate roiled the capital for a week or so. The pro-abortionist advocates, whom I shall call “pro-deathers”, eventually lost the debate and the pro-lifers won. Governor Perry now has signed into law a bill that will outlaw abortions after twenty weeks. I am pleased he has done this, as I have much concern for the women who are persuaded to undergo this trauma and the lifelong grief it causes for them, and for the slaying of infants also. It is what you have probably not read that makes this controversy so interesting. Have you ever heard it said, “You can judge a man’s character by the company he keeps”? Keep that saying in mind here. The real story in Texas revolves around the people who were demonstrating in favor of abortion “rights” (which is misusing the word, since the unborn child doesn’t seem to have any rights – not even what our Founding Fathers wrote in the Declaration of Independence, “the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”: the right to life being given first). Here is what you did not read about the protesters that represent the abortion clinics, now fondly called (by me ) The Dr. Kermit Gosnell Clinic Network. I do this to honor one of their most famous colleagues, now in prison. First, if you did not think that the pro-deathers (as opposed to pro-lifers) look upon their cause as a religion, think again. Abortion is sacred to them. In a story written on July 3, 2013, reporter Tad Cronn shared that those opposing abortion restrictions (the pro-deathers) were gathered outside the Texas Capitol in Austin. A group of Christian pro-lifers were observed gathering across the way from them, when the pro-abortionists, excuse me- the pro-deathers began shouting, “Hail, Satan!” In fairness, they were chanting other things also. But “Hail, Satan”? Pardon me, but this seems over the edge. Now, in case you don’t believe this (and I agree it is incredible), a video has been posted on the internet (http://acahnman.blogspot.com/2013/07/texas-capital-abortion-supporters-chant.html). If you have internet access, you will see the Christian pro-lifers singing the hymn “Amazing Grace” while the pro-deathers are chanting; following the hymn one woman walks up to the camera and shouts “Hail Satan!” Well, I guess we know which side she represents. During the debate, the pro-abortionist protesters – excuse me again, the pro-deathers - were removed from the Capitol gallery for screaming during the legislative session. They were also asking one another on Twitter what consequences would follow if they should rush the floor in mob fashion, and the merits of assaulting police. Yes, these are the proponents of the pro-abortion movement. They also put little girls up to holding signs that read, “Stay out of my mommy’s vagina”. Cute, isn’t it? I thought it was the abortionist doctor who invaded mommy’s vagina, but I must be wrong. A member of the Texas Department of Public Safety stated, as reported in The Texas Tribune, that confiscation of bricks, paint, a jar of urine and eighteen jars of feces had occurred. These lovely items were confiscated from the pro-death protesters. These would have been taken into the Capitol in hopes of throwing them upon the legislators as the bill was being debated. Nice touch, protesters. Planned Parenthood and pro-abortion politicians must be very proud of these people. They are all the same tribe. It is time to judge the character of this movement by the people who represent it.