... And a Successful New Year!

Now is a good time to stop and ask ourselves about how this first year of a new decade is going to go. What will it hold for us? Will it bring resolutions or revolutions? And, perhaps most importantly, what can we do to control our future, our success, in 2010?

"We wish you a happy and successful new year!" How many times do we hear this, as the calendar runs out? Well wishes fly about like snowflakes. At times they mean something; sometimes they're just trite communication, rather like "have a good day."

Whatever the use of the term "a successful new year," now is a good time to stop and ask ourselves about how this first year of a new decade is going to go. What will it hold for us? Will it bring resolutions or revolutions? And, perhaps most importantly, what can we do to control our future, our success, in 2010?

As we begin the New Year, it would be good to get a clear meaning for the term "success." One online dictionary defines it as "The favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors," or "the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like." No doubt these are aspirations we all have for the New Year, and for the new decade.

Many centuries ago, a national leader was about to undertake a huge new endeavor: not a new year, but a new homeland. Under the guidance of his predecessor, he had trained and prepared for his challenging new set of duties. When the great lawgiver Moses died, God commissioned Joshua to lead the young nation and reminded him of the path to success. Listen to these words God gave Joshua: "Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful" (Joshua 1:7, 8, NIV).

The words of Joshua's commissioning should ring true for us as we enter the New Year. Our real success will come not from winning the lottery or a chance event, but from our relationship with our Creator, and from subjecting ourselves to Him and to His laws.

We encourage you to take time now to re-examine your relationship with God, and to re-commit to Him, and you will discover true success.

Have a happy and successful 2010.

The Real Nativity Story: Surprising Truths You May Not Know!

The biblical accounts of Jesus Christ's birth present some surprising differences from popular ideas and traditions. Do you know the facts from the fiction?

Most of us have been brought up with the traditional Christmas story—you know, the one about Jesus being born on Christmas day in a stable in Bethlehem with the shepherds and three wise men looking on as depicted in countless manger scenes.

But is that the way it really happened? Most people think so, but a careful look at what the Bible really says reveals some surprising differences. Let's examine what the Bible actually does say about the circumstances surrounding Christ's birth.

While the Gospel accounts of Matthew and Luke describe the true story of Jesus' birth, we'll see that they assuredly do not describe the Christmas story so popular at this time of year.

Luke's important background

Consider first Luke, the Gospel writer who had the detailed mind of a physician and a historian. He wanted to make sure he presented all the pertinent facts.

Notice his preface: " Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed" (Luke 1:1-4, New Revised Standard Version, emphasis added throughout).

Luke, in other words, interviewed those who had witnessed or were knowledgeable of the events of Christ's life, and that information was the basis for his Gospel. After this important introduction, Luke begins the true story leading to Jesus' birth with an account of God's dealings with Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist:

"There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division [or "course"] of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth " (verse 5). Later in the account it tells us she was a cousin of Mary (verse 36, King James Version).

"And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years" (verses 6-7).

Zacharias' priestly assignment or "division" helps us to know and understand the general time frame of Christ's birth. His was "the course of Abijah." But what does this mean?

About a thousand years earlier, King David had organized the Levitical priesthood into 24 "courses" or "divisions." As explained in 1 Chronicles 24 and more specifically in verses 3, 10 and 19, there was an abundance of priests to serve in the various temple functions.

Not wanting any to be left out of serving, David's solution was to divide the priests into 24 courses. Each priest would then serve for a specified week-long term twice during the year, plus the three festival seasons (Deuteronomy 16:16) when all the priests would serve.

The question is: Do we know at what times of the year the course of Abijah served at the temple? Yes, we do. The determination can be made by combining the information in 1 Chronicles 24 with a study into the traditions of Judaism regarding when the temple courses were carried out during the year.

The evidence points to Zacharias' week of service described by Luke being around Pentecost, which generally falls in late May to mid-June on our calendar. Although they fall at specific times on God's sacred calendar, the dates of His annual Holy Days and festivals vary up to several weeks on the Roman calendar we use today.

So it seems we can ascertain when Zacharias was serving in the temple. One resource, The Companion Bible, calculates it to the week of June 13-19 in the determined year (1974, Appendix 179, p. 200).

An unexpected angelic appearance

Luke's account continues: "So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord" (Luke 1:8-9).

What happened next would have been rather frightening to anyone. "Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him . . . And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, 'Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John'" (verses 11-13).

Then the angel explained the mission of Zacharias' son-to-be, John the Baptist: "He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb . . . He will also go before Him [Jesus Christ, the coming Messiah] in the spirit and power of Elijah . . . to make ready a people prepared for the Lord" (verses 15-17).

Although a righteous man, in this instance Zacharias was all too human and displayed a lack of faith in the angel Gabriel's message. Because of his unbelief, he would not be able to speak again until his son John was born (verses 18-20).

Timing of Elizabeth's and Mary's conceptions

"So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months" (Luke 1:23-24). Since Zacharias' temple course was in mid-June, assuming she became pregnant within a couple of weeks, five months would put this into mid- to late November.

The scene then shifts to the Messiah's birth: "Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph . . . The angel said to her, 'Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women" (verses 26-28).

This account clearly shows that Mary was a remarkable young woman of faith. Gabriel said to her, "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest . . . And He will reign over the house of Jacob [Israel] forever" (verses 31-33).

Mary, since she was a virgin, then asked the obvious question. The answer came back: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you" (verse 35).

Gabriel emphasized God's miracle-working power: "Now indeed, Elizabeth, your relative [ cousin, KJV] has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible" (verses 36-37).

Mary and Elizabeth

So a little more time has elapsed. It is now Elizabeth's sixth month, perhaps late December or a little beyond. "Now Mary arose in those days [the same basic time frame] and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb" (verses 39-41).

Elizabeth at this time was in her sixth month of pregnancy with John the Baptist. It would not be a stretch to understand from the previous passage that Mary was now also pregnant with Jesus. Elizabeth even speaks of Mary as though she knows Mary is an expectant mother: "But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy" (verses 43-44).

Verse 56 says, "And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house." Timewise it was now late March. Mary stayed with Elizabeth right to the birth of John the Baptist. "Now Elizabeth 's full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son" (verse 57).

We see, then, that Mary was probably three months pregnant when John was born. John was probably born in late March or early April. So when was Jesus Christ born? Six months later would be late September or early October—in the autumn of the year, not in the dead of winter, as so many today mistakenly assume.

The evidence of the Roman census

Can we find other biblical evidence that Jesus was born in the autumn rather than in winter? Indeed we can.

Continuing in Luke's account: "And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered" (Luke 2:1). "All the world" in this context would mean all the areas under Roman rule. "This census took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city" (verses 2-3).

What kind of people were the Romans when it came to order and efficiency? They built bridges, roads and buildings that in some cases are still in use to this day, 2,000 years later. Their roads were marvels of engineering. They constructed great waterworks and sewage systems. Even today, our city planning owes a great deal to the Romans. Even much of modern government and military organization is copied from the Romans. They were masters of organization and structure.

Would the Romans, then, have ordered a census in the dead of winter? Of course not. This would have defeated the whole purpose! In winter, temperatures drop below freezing around Jerusalem, and the roads would have been muddy and wet with cold rains and occasional snow. It would've been a terrible time to travel, especially for a wife nearing her delivery.

One author states that this census "could hardly have been at that season [winter], however, for such a time would surely not have been chosen by the authorities for a public enrollment, which necessitated the population's traveling from all parts to their natal districts, storms and rain making journeys both unsafe and unpleasant in winter, except in specially favorable years. Snow is not at all uncommon at Jerusalem in the winter months, and I have known it so deep that people lost their way outside the gates" (Cunningham Geikie, "Christmas at Bethlehem," Edward Deems, editor, Holy-Days and Holidays, 1968, p. 405).

No rational Roman official would have scheduled a census in winter. For an agrarian society such as that of first-century Judea, a census in the autumn, when the crops would've been safely gathered in, would have made much more sense.

Why was there no room in Bethlehem?

Picking up our story in Luke again, we find other biblical evidence for the true timing of Jesus Christ's birth.

"Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth . . . because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered" (verses 4-6).

We don't know how far ahead of time they traveled, nor how long they were there for the census. The essential point is that the most important human birth in all history took place under these circumstances.

"And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloth, and laid Him in a manger [margin, feed trough], because there was no room for them in the inn" (verse 7).

But why was there no room for Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem? We learn a great deal from understanding the culture of the time.

If we have judged the time frame correctly based on John being conceived shortly after the time of the first term of Abijah around Pentecost, and his birth following nine months later, followed by Jesus' birth six months after that in late September or possibly early October, was something else happening at that particular time of the year that would've created crowded conditions in Bethlehem?

Indeed there was. Late September and early October is the autumn festival season on God's calendar, one of the three times in the year when families would travel to Jerusalem to observe God's Holy Days (see Deuteronomy 16:16). With the Jews of Israel still obeying this command, even today it is difficult to find a hotel room in Jerusalem at this time of year!

The population of Jerusalem swelled several times over to overflowing at this time. This affected nearby towns such as Bethlehem, a few miles south of Jerusalem. Because of this huge influx of people, every house was filled. Joseph and Mary did find a place in what was normally used to shelter animals. It certainly wouldn't have been first class, but likely they were thankful to have even that.

The shepherds and their flocks

Continuing in Luke's account, we find further proof that Jesus wasn't born in winter. Verse 8 tells us, " Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night."

This likewise shows that these events did not take place in winter. The common practice of shepherds was to keep their flocks in the open fields from April to October, but in the cold and wet winter months they took their flocks back home and sheltered them.

The Interpreter's One-Volume Commentary (1971) says this passage argues "against the birth [of Christ] occurring on Dec. 25 since the weather would not have permitted" shepherds watching over their flocks in the fields at night.

Adam Clarke's Commentary explains that, "as these shepherds had not yet brought home their flocks, it is a presumptive argument that October had not yet commenced, and that, consequently, our Lord was not born on the 25th of December, when no flocks were out in the fields; nor could He have been born later than September, as the flocks were still in the fields by night. On this very ground the nativity in December should be given up. The feeding of the flocks by night in the fields is a chronological fact, which casts considerable light upon this disputed point."

Again, the evidence in Luke points to a late September birth.

The shepherds come to see Jesus

Continuing the story in Luke 2:10-17: " Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day
in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.'

". . . And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child."

We might notice that only the shepherds arrive in time to see Jesus in the manger. The wise men, as we will see, didn't arrive on the scene until later.

" And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, 'Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord'), and to offer a sacrifice . . . a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons" (Luke 2:21-24; compare Exodus 13:2).

This was called "redeeming the firstborn." Leviticus 12:2-3, 6 tells us that this ceremony occurred 40 days after the birth of a son. So if Christ was born in late September, we are now into mid-November.

The wise men and Herod

We'll now continue the story flow in Matthew 2:1-3: "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.' When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him."

Why did this news disturb Herod? Other historical accounts attest to Herod's paranoia about being overthrown. The news that a new king of the Jews had been born threatened his position.

Herod obviously knew of the traditions and the prophecies relating to the Messiah. "And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, 'In Bethlehem of Judea'" (verses 4-5).

King Herod carefully concealed his murderous intentions. "Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, 'Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also'" (verses 7-8).

Notice that now Herod referred to Jesus not as a baby, but as "the young Child." He realized how long their travels would have taken the wise men—possibly from as far away as Parthia or the region around Babylon, where the Israelites and Jews had been exiled centuries before. Herod knew from when the star had appeared that he was not seeking a newborn baby, but a boy by now considerably older.

And to remove any threat to his position, Herod "put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men" (verse 16). Herod, covering all of his bases in protecting his throne, ordered the murderous slaughter of those 2 years old and under.

It wasn't the common nativity scene

The wise men were miraculously guided to the Christ child (verses 9-10). "And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother" (verse 11). The typical nativity scene completely falls apart at this point. There is no mention of a manger here. Rather Jesus was, as stated, in a house. And Jesus was no longer an infant, He was a young child. The wise men obviously visited Jesus long after the shepherds had come and gone—perhaps a year or more later.

The typical manger scene includes three wise men. The Bible, however, nowhere says how many wise men there were. It does note, however, that they presented three kinds of giftsto Him—gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Why these three particular gifts? Their symbolism is striking when we understand it.

Gold was a gift for royalty—in this case the chosen King of the Jews and ultimately the "King of Kings and Lord of Lords" who will rule over the entire earth (Revelation 19:16).

Frankincense was an incense intimately connected with the priesthood and temple sacrifices, foreshadowing the fact that Jesus Christ would serve as our High Priest and give Himself as the perfect sacrifice to pay the penalty for the sins of all mankind (Hebrews 4:14-15; 9:11-14; 1 Peter 1:18-19).

Myrrh had a much more sobering symbolism. When a person died, this perfuming agent was wrapped with the body to help cover up the stench of death. Jesus' own body would be wrapped in linen with myrrh and aloes (John 19:39-40).

Why we should celebrate God's Holy Days instead

Matthew and Luke reveal the true story of the birth of Jesus Christ and the general timing of when it really occurred. John the Baptist was born in the spring. His cousin Jesus was born six months later—probably in late September, possibly early October. The shepherds visited immediately; the wise men—their number unknown—arrived much later.

It's tragic that the true story should have become so badly garbled by human traditions. It's also tragic that people ignore the Bible's clear instructions and invent their own. Jesus Himself roundly condemned religious leaders of His day who were "making the word of God of no effect through your tradition" (Mark 7:13).

A strong and weighty biblical principle is found in Deuteronomy 12. It tells us why we should observe the annual Holy Days and festivals God has revealed in His Word—not traditional holidays borrowed from paganism:

"You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates have they done to their gods . . . whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it, nor take away from it" (Deuteronomy 12:31-32).

Have you ever thought it curious that although two of the Gospel writers describe the circumstances surrounding Christ's birth (the other two don't even cover the event), neither of them gives the date? Has it puzzled you that the Bible never once mentions "Christmas"? And that none of the biblical writers says anything about commemorating that birth?

We do find, however, explicit commands to commemorate Jesus Christ's sacrifice and death on our behalf (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). We also find commands to observe other biblical festivals, the same festivals Jesus and the New Testament Church celebrated. Isn't it about time you looked into the Bible to see what God's Word says about them?

The First Christmas in Rome and What It Means to Us

The majority of Christians believe they are honoring Jesus Christ by observing Christmas. A minority of Christians believe keeping Christmas does not honor Christ. Where does the Bible stand on this question?

First, test yourself with the following question: When did the Christian Church first commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ on Dec. 25?

Was it during the time of the New Testament apostles? Was it in the second century when Christmas was first celebrated? Was Dec. 25 sanctioned as an official celebration of the church sometime in the third century?

If you answered yes to the first, second or third centuries, you answered incorrectly. Surprising as it may seem, the church in Rome didn't sanction a Christmas celebration until well into the fourth century. Notice this verification in the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church: "Though speculation as to the time of the year of Christ's birth dates from the early 3rd century…., the celebration of the anniversary does not appear to have been general till the later 4th century" (p. 277). The Catholic Encyclopedia adds, "Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church" (Vol. III, p. 724).

Why did the church leaders wait over 300 years before instituting a Dec. 25 observance?

No biblical authority for Christmas

There were two main reasons why the ecclesiastical officials didn't sanction a Dec. 25 festival during the first three centuries. First, the New Testament gave no authority to observe Christ's birth as a religious celebration. "The observance of Christmas is not of divine appointment, nor is it of New Testament origin" (Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, McClintock and Strong, Vol. III, p. 276).

Second, Dec. 25 was already spoken for by the non-Christian Roman populace who were celebrating it as the day to the unconquerable sun, dies invicti solis in Latin. The Church identified this as an outright pagan festival and refused to have anything to do with it. For example, the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition, states, "In Britain the 25th of December was a festival long before the conversion to Christianity" (Vol. VI, p. 293).

But in the fourth century, in spite of its pagan association, Dec. 25 became acceptable as the date on which to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. And what was the reason for this about-face?

Once the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great accepted the Christian religion in the early part of the fourth century, the church was encouraged to bring the Roman masses into the Christian fold. After all, the emperor had accepted Christianity and worshipping the sun god on Dec. 25 had to go. But this was easier said than done. The pagan population didn't want to forgo their celebrations. It was decided to celebrate Christ's birth on the Dec. 25 date and so try to prevent non-Christians from worshipping their pagan sun god on that day.

Of course, it didn't really turn out that way. The pagan populace continued in their superstitious ways and licentious behavior and so brought their customs into the church. Many of those customs are still observed in today's celebrations of this dubious festival. "There can be little doubt that the Church was anxious to distract the attention of Christians from the old heathen feast days by celebrating Christian festivals on the same days" (James Hastings, Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Vol. III, p. 607).

When God called the children of Israel out of a superstitious and idolatrous nation, Egypt, He realized their proclivity to copy pagan concepts rather than follow His advice. That is why He warned them of that tendency that would lead them away from the Creator and destroy their special relationship with God. The warning is found in Deuteronomy 12:30: "Take heed to yourself...that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.'"

Two ways to worship God

In worshipping God we can follow the instruction that Jesus gave in John 4:24, "Those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." Or we can follow the traditions that have grown up through the centuries based on using human reasoning to decide how to worship the Almighty.

The alternative way of worship is the most popular. But a person who worships God "in spirit and in truth" will allow God to have the final say.

Jesus Christ makes it clear that human tradition can result in worshipping God in vain. Notice His admonition: "In vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Matthew 15:9). Those who seek to honor Him by observing religious customs that have no biblical basis but are based on human traditions drawn from pagan religions can be worshipping God in vain.

God established festivals that help us worship Him in spirit and truth. These days help us learn more about His great plan for mankind.

Silvio Berlusconi Attacked

Events like this bring to mind a passage in the New Testament—a troubling description of social trends in the last days.

A political leader assaulted while signing autographs in his own country? Last Sunday, December 13, that's exactly what happened to Italian politician Silvio Berlusconi in the city of Milan. As he mingled with the crowd and signed autographs, an enraged assailant threw a heavy object that hit him full in the face. Press reports later showed a bloodied Mr. Berlusconi being driven to a nearby hospital. He reportedly suffered a broken nose, cuts, and two broken teeth.

The attacker, described as a "mad person," reportedly had lain in wait for the prime minister, armed with the object—an alabaster model of a Milan cathedral—as well as pepper spray, and a resin crucifix. According to press reports, he had been "developing a rage" against Mr. Berlusconi for some time.

Since the incident, social networking web sites have seen thousands of messages praising the attacker. Meanwhile, Italian politicians of the left and right began to exchange accusations of responsibility for creating an environment in which this kind of attack could take place.

So since when does political debate in a democratic nation come to this? Surely there are better, non-violent methods of expressing one's dissent. And what does this say about people's respect for national leaders, and their ability to discuss differences in a civilized manner?

Events like this bring to mind a passage in the New Testament—a troubling description of social trends in the last days. In 2 Timothy chapter three, verses one to five, the apostle Paul described the way human beings would become. "In the last days perilous times will come," he wrote. Listen to some of the adjectives he used to describe these days: "Men will be… unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal…"

That sounds like the incident in Italy, doesn't it? And the world scene presents us with many other examples. The world has become a brutal, violent place.

Thankfully, there are those who still follow the words of Jesus Christ, who declared "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall see God." In the midst of this brutal and violent world maybe it's time to take a new look at the words of the Savior. And to put them into action.

Copenhagen: Just Snuff?

We do need to take a major step toward global management of our planet—we need a one-world government. But who can be trusted to be fair, truthful and benevolent to all the world?

Question: What has the eyes of many around the world fixed on Denmark?

Answer: the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change taking place in Copenhagen from December 7th through the 18th.

Also referred to as the global warming conference, these meetings will be making plans for major changes in the lives of people in many nations.

As the new president of the EU Herman Van Rompuy stated in a speech reported by the BBC: "2009 is the first year of global governance with the establishment of the G20 in the middle of the financial crisis," and he continued, "the climate conference in Copenhagen is another step toward the global management of our planet."

It's easy to see why skeptical American conservative reporters read "global management of our planet" as "one-world government and surrender of United States sovereignty."

Furthermore, in late November unnamed hackers collected thousands of emails and other documents from the Climate Research Unit at East Anglia University in the U.K. These were later posted on a Russian file-sharing server and revealed active discussions between "politically correct" scientists concerning, among other things, active attempts to shut out the data and opinions of scientists that dissent from the popular "global warming" viewpoint. The revelation and developing furor has been dubbed "climategate."

Nevertheless, Climategate has raised the destabilizing concern about politically corrupted science—which many have long suspected.

So whose science can you trust?

This specter is compounded by the supra-national tone of "global management of our planet" of the global warming conference in Copenhagen.

In the United States chewing tobacco is often called "snuff" and one longtime brand is named after the host city of the global warming conference. Recently a commentator derisively described the Danish conference by summing up the dissenting view about global warming, "Copenhagen is just snuff!"

Maybe, time will tell.

In the final analysis there is one salient point raised by EU President Van Rompuy. We do need to take a major step toward global management of our planet—we need a one-world government. But who can be trusted to be fair, truthful and benevolent to all the world?

The good news is that a world government is coming—and soon. However, that government's most important representative will not darken the door of this Copenhagen conference. Yet in spite of that He will in fact be able to control the planet's thermostat—because He created it.

That leader will also bring about a far more important change—spiritual climate-change. You can learn more, just read about the return of Jesus Christ.

Christmas: Why Are We Doing This?

Have you ever stopped and found yourself asking why? Why are we doing this? Why are we spending all this money, even burdening ourselves with debt carrying over into the new year? Is Christmas even worth celebrating?

"Black Friday." "Cyber Monday." What strange terms have come to be associated with the start of the Christmas season! The day after Thanksgiving, "Black Friday," is so named as the day many retailers hope to break even for the year, and start making a profit by using the Christmas shopping season to move out of the red and into the black. Last Friday, some 195 million people visited stores and online shopping sites on "Black Friday," up from 172 million in 2008. Shoppers on average spent more than $340, down from the $372 they parted with last year.

"Cyber Monday," on the other hand, marks the supposed start of the online buying season. This year online retailers rang up over $900 million in web-based sales in the United States, a record figure.

But even with total Christmas spending down this year, the season still accounts for a lot of money – some $417 per shopper this year, at a time when many consumers are saddled with thousands of dollars in credit card debt.

But in this crazy, year-end spending frenzy, have you ever stopped and found yourself asking why? Why are we doing this? Why are we spending all this money, even burdening ourselves with debt carrying over into the new year?

Is Christmas even worth celebrating? Believe it or not, early immigrants to the New World once banned the celebration of Christmas. Massachusetts Puritans in the seventeenth century prohibited the celebration of this year-end festival. In England, Christmas was forbidden by an Act of Parliament in 1647. Why? They identified it as a time of waste, greed and self-indulgence that dishonored Christ. Another reason was that the Savior wasn't even born in late December, a fact clearly understood in secular and religious sources.

The New Testament makes that fact clear. We're told that a census took place just before the birth of Jesus. Hard to do in the coldest, darkest days of the year. We also read that shepherds were keeping their flocks out in the fields by night when the Savior was born, something they would not have done in the dead of winter (Luke 2:1-5, 8).

So you see the Savior really wasn't born in winter at all. Frankly, Christmas is more commercial than religious, just as it was in the seventeenth century. So the big question is: why be part of it? And are we really doing the right thing when we drop all that cash, to pay for a festival not even mentioned in the Bible? Now's a great time to reconsider.

Et Tu, Tiger?

The Tiger Woods high-profile sexual scandal have captured headlines around the world. This should serve as a sober reminder to all of us of the danger of letting down our own moral guard, and lead us to ask ourselves if we could do something similar.

The tawdry details of another high-profile sexual scandal have captured headlines around the world. One of today's most respected athletes, Tiger Woods, has suddenly found the intimate details of his personal life laid bare under the harsh glare of public humiliation. In a statement posted on his web site he admits heartfelt regret for private "transgressions," offers a profound apology to his family and those who have supported him, and promises that he will strive to be a better person and husband and father. Most of all he pleads for family privacy to allow healing to take place.

Undoubtedly some of the more salacious allegations will prove to be untrue, and we frankly have no need to know the details of his admitted transgressions. But when someone has betrayed the sacred trust that lies at the foundation of every marriage, when we see apparently innocent victims like his wife and children, it's difficult to feel a great deal of compassion for those who caused their heartache.

How did this tragedy happen? Did Tiger Woods leave home one day intending to bring shame on himself and emotional devastation to his family? Of course not; no one ever does. So how did that family end up where they are today? Some may decry the invasiveness of tabloid journalism, but the tabloids didn't cause this problem.

Certainly we all extend our heartfelt wishes for healing to those who are suffering and sincerely trying to make amends and regain the trust and love that have been so deeply wounded. A part of that healing process will include an honest examination of the small, seemingly inconsequential moral compromises that brought them to this place. For any of us, the path to self-destruction begins with small choices made in the total privacy of our own minds.

Most of all this should serve as a sober reminder to all of us of the danger of letting down our own moral guard, and lead us to pause—at least for a moment—to ask ourselves if we could do something similar. A second, even more important question comes to mind as well: "What can I do to protect myself and my family from that kind of pain?"

King Solomon's warning about infidelity, calling it "playing with fire," has become a common metaphor in daily language. Have you ever read what he wrote a few verses later? "But a man who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself. Blows and disgrace are his lot, and his shame will never be wiped away…" (Pro 6:32-33, NIV)

We wish the very best for the Woods family, but we must always remember that anyone who starts down that seductive path of immorality will discover it's a dead-end road with nothing but broken hearts and lives waiting at the end.

Out of the Rubble

The next time you face the storms of hardship, try to look at them from a different perspective and determine to make it an opportunity for greater growth.

A few years ago, my in-laws hometown was devastated by an F4 tornado. Violent winds destroyed the small Missouri village. The old town square – gone; historic downtown buildings – consumed.

The twister damaged so many properties, left scores of homes ruined, not to mention the countless number of trees that were left with completely leaf less limbs.

In the months following the huge tornado the town began reconstruction. Ultimately, the town square was rebuilt with a modern, yet hometown appeal. Out of the rubble has risen a beautiful quaint little town that has a forward-looking approach.

Now imagine this: some townspeople say that the tornado was the best thing that ever happened to the little city.

Thinking of this circumstance, I'm reminded that we should be cautious in how we view tragedy. Personal losses, family misfortunes or even unexpected adversity in life can be like a purifying fire in our lives.

When your personal F4 whirlwind is raging, or after it leaves what seems like total disaster behind - it may just make new growth and greater development possible.

Jesus taught this principle in John 12:24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain."

So the next time you face the storms of hardship, try to look at them from a different perspective and determine to make it an opportunity for greater growth.

Thanksgiving: More than Turkey and Football!

Thanksgiving is about more than turkeys and football. It's a day dedicated to our Lord and Creator. As we approach the holiday this year, let's remember and acknowledge Him, and His role in our national blessings.

When I came to the United States a number of years ago, I was surprised and pleased to be invited into the home of some friends in late November. I knew little about Thanksgiving then, having just arrived from England, where we had no such national celebration.

What an enjoyable day it was! Lots of food, friends and football! I delighted in this very American national celebration, quite unlike anything I had ever done in my native land.

At first, it seemed to be a day just to stuff oneself, like the turkey on the table. But as time went by, I began to learn about the rich and meaningful history of Thanksgiving Day.

First observed in Plymouth Colony in 1621, Thanksgiving was a day for the pilgrims to thank God for having protected and provided for them in those perilous times. The day was later proclaimed by President George Washington, in the year 1789. Listen to these words of America's first president:

• WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have… requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLICK THANSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God…"

• NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be...

What's striking about that first Thanksgiving proclamation is the nation's readiness to acknowledge the Creator, and to dedicate a day to Him. Even in 1863, over seventy years later, the sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln, was unabashed in his gratitude to Almighty God, as he set a date for the celebration. Here are some of Lincoln's words:

• The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God… No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. .. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States… to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.

The United States of 1863 was going through times of great crisis, just as we are now, in the year 2009. Yet now we hesitate even to mention God in public, much less to request His help in our national trials. It would today serve us well to remember Lincoln's words, and to make them our own.

Thanksgiving is about more than turkeys and football. It's a day dedicated to our Lord and Creator. As we approach the holiday this year, let's remember and acknowledge Him, and His role in our national blessings.

Artificial Barriers

Have you ever regretted not trying something new because you worried about failure or looking bad? How many artificial barriers have you constructed in your life

Have you ever regretted not trying something new because you worried about failure or looking bad? If you have, think about this story.

The transcontinental railroad, laid across America in the 1860s, is one of the greatest engineering feats of history. Mountain passes were leveled, miles of tunnels drilled using only dynamite and picks, rivers bridged, and vast expanses of prairie graded for the iron horse.

There was one concern that almost derailed the project. It wasn't the heights of the Rockies, the raging rivers, or even the desert that caused this concern.

You see, in the 1850s some people claimed that the human body couldn't withstand the pressures of the fantastic speed of sixty miles an hour. The steam engine proved this theory to be an artificial barrier.

How many artificial barriers have you constructed in your life? The transcontinental railroad proved that many barriers simply disappear by having the courage to believe in your dream and putting forth the effort to lay the tracks one day at a time.

Bend But Don't Break

The next time you experience one of those difficult times that take you close to your breaking point, remember the bamboo: bend but don't break.

Did you know that bamboo is the fastest-growing plant on Earth? Believe it or not it has been documented that it can grow over 47 inches in a 24-hour period! That's almost four feet a day! Bamboo not only grows fast, but tall. It attains different heights depending on the species, the land and climate. The average is 25 to 65 feet tall, with a tallest recorded bamboo at 164 feet!

Another amazing fact about bamboo is that even in the strongest of winds, it has the ability to bounce back and return to its upright position. The word comes to mind? Resilient.

If you use this word to describe a person it means they have the ability to recover from a challenging situation. The disturbing winds of loss, stress, and depression can blow through the landscape of your life. Have you ever felt like you're at the breaking point? Have you ever felt like you just might snap? You probably felt emotionally drained, mentally exhausted and most likely endured difficult physical symptoms that threatened your wellbeing.

No doubt, life is a mixture of good times and bad times, happy occasions and down moments. The next time you experience one of those difficult times that take you close to your breaking point, remember the bamboo: bend but don't break. How? Get help to cope. Go to God immediately in prayer, for he promises not to let the situation get the best of you (1 Corinthians 10:13).

God promises to give us hope to guide us through life's challenges - a hope for a better tomorrow, a better situation, a better attitude, a stronger outlook. Notice the wonderful promise He gives you in Romans 14:4 – "Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand."

Keep in mind, when the going gets tough and you are at your breaking point choose to be resilient. It's possible to have a tremendous spiritual growth spurt - if you rely on God. He will strengthen you like the bamboo tree, so you bend, but don't break!

40 Years of Sesame Street

Sesame Street has done a lot in its 40 years to strengthen important life skills in younger generations.

So Sesame Street is officially over the hill now, eh, Mr. Evans?

Yes, it's hard to believe that it came out when I was only eight.

What?

Uhh…nothing,

No, really—what is it?

It's just, uh…you were really eight once?

Believe it or not. Now this was before your time, but Sesame Street used to do some parodies of The Beatles' songs—"Letter B," "Hey Food," "With a Little Yelp From My Friends," that sort of thing.

Hey, neat! You know, I remember the Spin Doctors making an appearance.

The who?

Naw, don't remember seeing them.

Well, it's no surprise that the show has changed a little with the times. What is surprising is that today, more than 40 years after it started, it's still going strong.

Yeah, 40 years! That's like…what, they'd just finished setting up Stonehenge then, right?

Er…well, anyway! Sesame Street was a pretty revolutionary concept for its time, wasn't it?

It certainly was. It was one of the first shows to focus exclusively on captivating children—teaching them everything from reading and counting to dealing with emotions.

Hmm…that almost reminds me of a passage from the Bible.

Proverbs 22:6?

Exactly. "Train up a child in the way he should go…"

"…and when he is old he will not depart from it."

So that's it, then! When I have a kid, I'll just plunk ‘em down in front of the TV set and turn on Sesame Street. Man, and they say parenting's difficult!

Well…well, no, there's a bit more to it than that. The Bible also stresses the importance of actively teaching God's commandments to our children, "speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up."

Oh…yeah, that's kind of a big deal, too, isn't it?

One of the biggest!

Excellent point. Still, Sesame Street has done a lot in its 40 years to strengthen important life skills in younger generations. So a very happy birthday to the show and congratulations to all the dedicate folks who have kept it going!

Peace, Peace—But There Is No Peace

Keep your eyes on the Middle East. Bible prophecy indicates it will be the center of strife and troubles, leading up to the coming of the Prince of Peace. Only He will be really successful in bringing true peace.

Among all the recent news about the world economy and congressional elections in the United States, it's easy to miss one that seems to be a perennial: the search for peace in the Middle East.

Judged by the Obama administration to be the key to peace and democracy for the entire region, negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians commenced shortly after the inauguration of the new president. Mr. Obama named George Mitchell, a veteran diplomat who successfully mediated peace talks in Northern Ireland, as his envoy for the Middle East.

But the Mideast is proving even more challenging than Ireland. Months of shuttle diplomacy have produced little fruit. The Palestinians, led by Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, demanded an immediate and complete halt to Israeli settlement construction, while Israel, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reluctantly agreed to a partial settlement freeze. Mr. Netanyahu's calls for Mr. Abbas to enter into immediate face-to-face negotiations went unheeded, and Mr. Abbas recently announced his intention not run again as Palestinian leader in the elections slated for January.

Both sides are jaded and cynical. Israelis are generally unimpressed by promises of diplomatic relations with the entire Arab world at the cost of relinquishing most or all of the territory gained in the 1967 war. They ask, "If they want peace, why do they continually attack and alienate us?" The Palestinians, meanwhile, are divided between the nationalist Fatah movement which rules the West Bank, and the Iranian-supported Hamas fundamentalists in the Gaza Strip. Many Palestinians ask wearily, "If the Israelis want peace, why won't they return our land?"

In the meantime the prestige of the US, which seemed to be recovering after the president's Cairo speech, suffered a new dip as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared to back away from the administration's insistence on a complete settlement freeze as a precondition for talks, infuriating the Palestinians. Mr. Abbas has insisted on an end to settlement building and expansion before he will enter into negotiations.
On the other side, many Israelis regard Mr. Obama with suspicion and distrust for his apparent pro-Arab tilt in US policy. The mix doesn't make for a lot of hope.

'If all this sounds wearily familiar, of course it is. The twentieth century brought multiple attempts to negotiate peace between the Arabs and Israel, most of them failed. And even as far back as the seventh and six centuries BC a prophet of God coined the famous saying "Peace, peace, when there is no peace," prophesying of the same part of the world. Jeremiah's words apply even today.

Let's keep our eyes on the Middle East. Bible prophecy indicates it will be the center of strife and troubles, leading up to the coming of the Prince of Peace. Only He will be really successful in bringing true peace.

World 2.0

Information abounds and is transmitted, shared and absorbed instantly by a variety of means. Nothing is secret and information cannot be controlled. All this puts a greater responsibility on you and I, to make sure our words and communication are responsible, true and gracious.

World 2.0 is upon us. 2.0 is a metaphor for the technological world of social media and smart phones that it seems everyone has. This was brought home to me by two events a few months ago.

I was watching news coverage the day pop star Michael Jackson died. I was struck by something as the cameras panned across the crown of people gathered outside the Los Angeles hospital where he died. The camera was on the Fox News reporter but I noticed that every bystander you could see in the picture was on a cell phone texting and talking–most seemed to be texting. Everyone was reporting the event. Everyone!

The other event was the mass street demonstration in Tehran, Iran following the recent elections of their President. The people protesting in Iran have employed the Web 2.0 tools of Twitter, YouTube and Facebook to upload videos, pictures and descriptions of the protests. Cell phones and computers are the keys to this information flow. Major cable news sources then use this material on television.

That is the reality of our socially connected wired world today. Anyone with a smartphone and connection can transmit text, pictures and voice instantly from the palm of their hand. Information is instantly posted on Twitter, Facebook and other online media.

Information abounds and is transmitted, shared and absorbed instantly by a variety of means. Nothing is secret and information cannot be controlled.

Nations continue to crack down on the internet within their borders. It doesn't work. Technology is moving too fast and the means to disseminate information is easy, accessible and inexpensive.

Technology is a force multiplier in today's geopolitics. No country, no organization, can expect to compete and grow without pro-actively harnessing the social power of Web 2.0. To fail in this is to fall behind and risk permanent underclass status.

It is far better to learn key lessons about human freedom, dignity and love than to try and censor, control and ignore. History shows the persistent march of human freedom. No government can stop the arrival of the day when God grants spiritual freedom to all humanity.

All this puts a greater responsibility on you and I, to make sure our words and communication are responsible, true, and gracious. We should let God's Spirit motivate us to sound and encouraging communication that builds relationships. The words of Colossians 4:6 sum it all up. "Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one."

When Walls Come Down

We can tear down the physical walls, but until we allow God to tear down the walls in our hearts, we will not have peace.

November 9, 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of the day when the East German government finally allowed its citizens to cross the Berlin Wall into West Germany. Crowds from East Germany poured over the wall, at long last able to see the other half of their still-divided country. In the following weeks, Germans on both sides began to smash away at the concrete edifice that had divided them for almost 30 years.

On this date Germany will commemorate this event with a "Festival of Freedom," during which one thousand 8-foot-tall foam dominoes will be set up along the wall's former location and then toppled. The festival will celebrate the day that paved the way for the reunification of a divided Germany.

But is it united?

A 2004 Forsa Institute poll showed that one in five Germans want the wall to be rebuilt. Even though it has been 20 years since they became one, there remain sharp cultural differences and even resentment between East and West.

Meanwhile, countries like Yemen, Cyprus and Korea continue to experience extreme division between opposing factions. Tensions in the Middle East remain unresolved as Palestinian and Israeli cities live under the constant threat of missile fire and gunfights.

We can tear down physical walls; we can topple corrupt governments; we can even enforce rules that produce the ideal environment for cultivating peace—but how much closer are we to achieving it? Our world is one where the tensions between two closely related tribes can lead to genocide of over 800,000 people, as we witnessed in Rwanda; where a war between two quarreling sides can bring about rape, pillaging and hundreds of thousands of deaths, as demonstrated in Darfur; where feelings of racial superiority can lead to the slaughter of some 17 million men, women and children in an international Holocaust.

Peace? No, we do not have peace. For six thousand years of recorded human history, man has striven for some kind of peace—and for six thousand years, it has eluded him. There is something fundamentally wrong in our world that, despite our most well-intentioned efforts, continues to render useless every step we take toward peace.

We will not have peace until we come to accept what our failed attempts prove: that we are incapable of overcoming our own human nature.

But there is One who can. We read in the Bible, "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility" (Ephesians 2:13-14, NLT).

We can tear down the physical walls, but until we allow God to tear down the walls in our hearts, we will not have peace.

Christ tells us, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). If we as a people will turn to God, we will find peace—for ourselves, and for the world.

Hope for Fort Hood

Is there any hope, either for the dead or for the sickness that leads to this type of tragedy?

The details are still sparse on why Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Malik Hasan gunned down over 40 men and women—most of them fellow soldiers—just yesterday at Fort Hood, Texas. Thirteen men and women have had their lives cruelly and abruptly snuffed out by the actions of one man. We are grateful that the quick response of emergency medical and police teams prevented things from being much worse, but that thought brings little solace to the families directly robbed of fathers, husbands, sons, mothers, wives and daughters.

Our minds are instantly flooded with so many questions after such a tragic situation. After the answers are delivered on the specific details of the incident, we eventually migrate to the larger questions like how do we comfort the grieving? What hope can they – and all of us – grasp on to? Why do these things keep happening?

Names like Columbine, Red Lake, the Amish West Nickel Mines, Virginia Tech, Northern Illinois, are so ingrained in our national consciousness they all begin to blur together. I wish that we could call this an isolated incident—but of late, mass murders and serial killings have become topics we've just become used to hearing about. Just while I was editing this commentary my wife called with the news that another mass shooting is unfolding in Orlando, Florida. I don't even want to go to the news and see how this one turns out, but I know I have to.

We live in a world where massacres no longer surprise as they once did. One where unsuspecting lives can be ended in a matter of seconds by anyone with a cause and a gun. One where these same murderers can feel perfectly justified in and even enjoy their sprees of death.

This is our world. Scientists can hastily scramble to develop a vaccine for the flu, but the mass murder mentality is different – it is seemingly undetectable until someone just explodes in this manner. And we wonder when the next one will occur.

Is there any hope, either for the dead or for the sickness that leads to this type of tragedy?

Yes. The Bible speaks of a time, not too far away, when it is promised that "the dead will hear the voice of God; and those who hear will live" (John 5:25). Those who were cut down in these violent shootings; every victim of murder; everyone who has ever died—these will all be given life again with a chance to live in another world, the Kingdom of God. With each passing day, this time draws ever nearer.

There is hope, not just for those who died at Fort Hood; not just for the victims of Columbine and Virginia Tech and the countless other school shootings, but for every single human being in this world. The hope that lies in the coming Kingdom of God is not only a promise of a resurrection of all mankind, but a way of life that will lead to healing of all the sicknesses that lead to death.

This hope—these promises—are sure, and they are coming quickly.

In the meantime, our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims of these senseless tragedies.

Afghanistan's Cancelled Elections

Prophecies in the Bible indicate that Islamic fundamentalism isn't going away any time soon, and that the prestige and influence of the English-speaking powers will continue to wane. Events to play out in Afghanistan over the coming weeks, months and years may be key to these developments.

In spite of all the congratulations, Monday's news of the cancelling of Afghanistan's second round of presidential elections may not be good news for the west, nor for the United States, which is deeply involved in the conflict there. President Hamid Karzai was suddenly left as the last man standing after his opponent, Abdullah Abdullah, pulled out of the runoff planned for Saturday, claiming the second-round election would be just as flawed as the first round. Many observers declared the August elections were tainted by fraud and corruption. The UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission investigated and reported to Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission, resulting in some 18% of the ballots being thrown out.

Let's recall that it was from Afghanistan that the 9/11 attacks on New York City came, and that this war is one of the few areas of foreign policy on which presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama have agreed. In fact, president Obama has described the Afghan war as a "war of necessity," unlike Iraq, a "war of choice."

So the prospect of a resurgent Taliban and allegations of voter fraud aren't good news. The western powers need a reliable ally in Afghanistan as a bulwark against the rise of Muslim fundamentalism in Asia. The cancellation of the runoff vote may be exactly the opposite of what was needed.

A Washington Post article published on Monday describes president Karzai as a "wild card" for the US, and goes on to describe a cooler relationship between the Afghan leader and the current US president than the one that existed with former president Bush. But whatever the nature of the relationship, president Obama still faces the dilemma of whether to add some 40,000 new troops to the war effort in Afghanistan. The hope in Washington was to wait on a clear democratic decision from the Afghan people; that hope may now be dashed.

Where is all this leading? Relations between the US and the Muslim world have been strained for decades. The prospect of American equivocation and an uncomfortable alliance with an ally with questionable democratic credentials are likely to further damage American standing in the Muslim world.

Prophecies in the Bible indicate that Islamic fundamentalism isn't going away any time soon, and that the prestige and influence of the English-speaking powers will continue to wane. Events to play out in Afghanistan over the coming weeks, months and years may be key to these developments.

Ho, Ho, Halloween

Why spend so much time, funds and effort celebrating these two terribly expensive holidays when they are based on bad information and manipulation of the masses?

Ho, Ho, Halloween says it all.

Christmas and Halloween are the two biggest consumer spending seasons of the commercial year.

For decades the Christmas season devoured huge percentages of each year's consumer retail spending, running close to half a trillion dollars. In the recent years Halloween has dramatically ballooned to be one of the highest spending holidays behind the winter season—at least in America.

Question: Why should you spend so much of your hard earned wages on soon-to-be broken or obsolete gifts or on obese amounts of candy, in Halloween's case? Come to think of it, dentists must love Halloween.

People spend all this money to celebrate festivals about what?

Well, about ancient myths reworked to market the birth of Christ—at the wrong time of the year. And, about more ancient myths designed to market conciliation and worship of the Devil on one dark night in the fall.

But here's the odd part…

You yourself already know that both days were ancient idolatrous festivals, and that 300 or 400 years after Christ traditional Christianity re-packaged them into quasi, and I mean quasi-Christian holidays. You already know that in effect these are sham festivals.

Now if this commentary has caught you unawares, then you have my sincere apologies. But please consult the nearest encyclopedia—in print or online for verification.

We live in an incredible instant information age. So if you did know this, then you and I also know that untold numbers of our fellow-citizens know it too.

This line of reasoning still begs the question: Why spend so much time, funds and effort celebrating these two terribly expensive holidays when they are based on bad information and manipulation of the masses?

Bottomline: There is no good mythological, theological or even logical-logical reason to "Ho, Ho, Halloween" your way through the year. You wouldn't be missing any of the warmth and glow of family togetherness—because waiting in the wings there exists already a full set of annual festivals, based on truth.

The good news is that Jesus Himself created, taught and kept that set of actual, non-mythological holy days.

And by the way, they're a whole lot less expensive to keep than Ho, Ho, or Halloween!

Should Parents Protect Their Children From Halloween?

The human mind is very precious in God's eyes, since man was created "in the image of God" (Genesis 1:27). Parents carry the awesome responsibility of bringing up children properly, using the Word of God as their moral yardstick. "Bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord," the apostle Paul admonished guardians of the young (Ephesians 6:4).

Christian parents rightly recognize their obligation to protect their children from the evil influences the world throws at them. They are eager to shield them from mind-destroying drugs, premarital sexual behavior, drunkenness and many other illicit activities.

Should the activities most kids participate in on Halloween fall into this forbidden category as well? Or is your child's participation in this custom nothing more than engaging in a bit of fun? If you think it's okay, then I would suggest finding out more about the dark origins of its observance.

Halloween is the strangest of customs prevalent in Christian-oriented societies, yet it is engaged in by an ever increasing number of children and adults. For most people, dressing up as goblins or witches may seem like harmless fun, not realizing what lurks behind the scenes on this evening and what spirit is behind it all.

Halloween's pre-Christian origin

What about the origin of Halloween and the purpose it serves? Its origin is certainly not Christian. Halloween had its beginnings in a world of sinister forces condemned in God's Word, the Bible. A Christian should have nothing to do with it. Consider the reasons.

The ultimate authority in a Christian's life is God's Word (Deuteronomy 8:3 and Matthew 4:4)—not religious traditions that come to us from sources outside the Bible. Bearing this in mind, let's take a closer look at Halloween.

What's in a name?

The word Halloween itself is an abbreviated form of All Hallow's Evening. Hallow was the old English word for "making holy." Of course there has never been anything holy about Halloween.

Alexander Macgregor, referring to the Celtic people in early Britain, states in his book Highland Superstitions: "It was the night for the universal walking about of all sorts of spirits, fairies and ghosts, all of whom had liberty on that night."That liberty was often used in pursuing destructive goals. The superstitious inhabitants in pre-Christian Britain considered it a night of freedom to do mischief, and it's all too often the case today among the young on Halloween night.

Oct. 31 was also an annual time to commemorate the dead whose spirits would wreak havoc on the living if they didn't provide them with food.

James Napier, in his book Folklore, wrote that the practice of leaving food outside was directly linked to the belief that "at death the souls of good men were taken possession of by good spirits and carried to paradise, but the souls of wicked men were left to wander in the space between the earth and moon, or consigned to the unseen world. These wandering spirits were in the habit of haunting the living…but there were means by which these ghosts might be exorcised" (p. 11).

To exorcise these spirits and to free yourself from their evil sway (tricks) you would have to set out food (a treat). If the spirits were satisfied with your treat, they would leave you in peace. If not, they were believed to cast an evil spell on you.

No wonder the Bible speaks against involving oneself in observing days that have a sinister origin and are based on superstition. Notice the strong wording from God's Word: "There shall not be found among you anyone who…conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead" (Deuteronomy 18:10-11).

Decision time

What about your children? What comes to mind on the evening of Oct. 31? No doubt weird and frightening masks, youngsters dressed as witches and demons, pumpkins and turnips hollowed out in the shape of demonic faces, etc.

If you as a parent want God's Word to have the final say on how children should be brought up, why would you allow them to participate in this "strangest of all customs"?

Harmless Halloween?

Could it possibly be pleasing to God to see us celebrate Halloween? And are you sure you want to get involved?

It's about that time of the year again—the time when ordinary front lawns are transformed into skeleton-filled graveyards, sinister orange heads appear glowing on front porches and small bands of witches, demons and goblins roam the streets in an insatiable hunt for their chocolate-coated prey.

We're talking, of course, about Halloween. It's a well-established holiday whose roots reach back some two thousand years, when the Celts, clothed in animal skins, would gather around enormous bonfires as the Druid mystics called upon the spirits of the deceased to tell fortunes.

The holiday was later re-packaged by the Roman Catholic Church in a bid to absorb these pre-Christian groups under the thinly-veiled guise of "All-Hallows Eve," a time for honoring the saints of the church. The title was the only part of the festival to show any noticeable change—the customs, traditions and superstitions have mostly survived in some form up to the present day.

The idea that the spirit world merges with our own physical realm on Halloween prompted those who left their homes to wear masks, in the hope that malicious ghosts would confuse them for a fellow spirit. Over the years, that tradition has morphed and mixed with others to create the trick-or-treating we know today.

No one has attempted to cover up the origins of Halloween. And they're not difficult to trace—if anything, they are almost common knowledge. But what most people don't understand is that the demonic world we treat so lightly on Halloween is very real. Not only is it real; it is both malicious and active.

Throughout the Bible, we find descriptions of Satan—a fallen angel who leads his demonic legions—as our adversary "who deceives the whole world " (Revelation 12:9), and as "a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8).

And yet every Halloween, we find a huge crowd taking part in a seemingly harmless holiday that has its roots firmly planted in satanic practices. Little children parade through their towns dressed as demons, unintentionally imitating the servants of a murderer, the father of lies and the unabashed enemy of all mankind.

Could it possibly be pleasing to God to see His creation celebrating a day so steeped in these traditions? And are you sure you want to get involved?