HAVE A CIGARETTE...PLEASE!

I remember the good ol' days with good ol' fashioned sins. I remember when smoking a cigarette was as close to devil worship as you could get. You were a "good Christian" if you didn't smoke, didn't cuss, didn't drink, didn't gamble and didn't dance. Oh, and I remember that in some church circles you weren't allowed to have "mixed bathing". Do you know what mixed bathing is? It's when boys and girls swim in the same pool or on the same beach. You could make certain church people freak out by showing up without a tie!
Today Christians are smoking joints (marijuana), shooting up drugs, cutting themselves, having online sex, getting abortions, beating their spouses and children, abandoning all standards of decency, and experimenting with homosexuality. This is not to mention the acceptable behaviors of slaughtering other reputations with gossip, splitting churches with power plays that match those of the corporate world, and stealing from God with lousy giving.
Between you and me, the next time I see a Christian have a cigarette, I'll just assume they're engaging in that "sin" to avoid something worse like getting high, cutting themselves, or beating up on someone.
Please, have a cigarette. You won't hear a sermon from me.

CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS IN FEAR

That's one of the stories you'll find on the FoxNews website today. In Pakistan there are believers living in a tent city because they were burned out of their homes last Christmas. This year, they've been warned that they will be burned alive inside their tents!
Why? Because they will not deny their faith in Jesus Christ!
So if you think the Christmas season is stress for you, just remember your brothers and sisters living (for how long?) in Pakistan, China, North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Indonesia, and many other places where faith in Christ is not welcomed....not even tolerated.
Hmmm. That's starting to sound a lot like places in the U.S.

Something Better than a White Christmas

"Come, let's discuss this," says the Lord, "though your sins are like scarlett they be as white as snow..."
You can dream of a white Christmas -- and I used to have plenty of Christmastime snow when I lived in Connecticut -- but an even greater reality is to dream of a place where the people are clean and white like snow. It's a real place called New Earth. (More on that later).
White Christmases will melt and become a memory. But when God cleanses your sins, you are truly whiter than snow.
The pigment used to make fabrics red or purple in the old days was like a permanent dye. If you got it on your hands it wouldn't come off. You were literally, "red-handed." But God says that even though our sins are that way -- permanent and indelible -- He is capable of cleansing us completely. And it's all because of the scarlett and crimson flow that came from the Messiah's sacrifice.
I think that's better than a white Christmas.

Twinkle, twinkle little star

"Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are?"
And it's a good thing to wonder what that star is. It's probably not so little. It's probably 10, 100, or 1,000 times the size of earth. We just can't always tell by looking at stars from a distance just how big they are; how many moons they have; or what they're made of.
God is that way...don't underestimate Him just because He looks little to you. The fact is, He's a lot bigger than you can imagine. And the closer you get, the more you'll come to appreciate Him.
The magi appreciated the stars and that appreciation for God's creation helped them comprehend God's signs. It was a long trip, but they made it into the presence of deity!
It may seem like a long trip to you, but follow the signs God gives you and you'll find yourself in the presence of deity eventually.

A Person Can Only Take So Much Christmas

Have you been to the mall lately? It's a madhouse!! People pressed for time and short on money have everything on there mind but the reason for Christmas. You can only take so much.
And have you watched the news lately? Christmas is being dissed by the mainstream media and Christians are being ridiculed for wanting a simple manger scene displayed in public. The nerve of those Christians! You can only take so much Christmas.
Have you seen the Santas lately? I mean, they're everywhere. There's more Santas in Dallas County than in the skies of Bethlehem 2000 years ago. A person can only take so much.
But then, when we remember that Christmas is about Immanuel -- God actually being with us -- it helps us see that He loves us. But God was with us for a reason: thogive His life as a ransom for us. Now we know HOW MUCH God loves us.
A person can only take so much of Christmas -- but can never get enough of Christ!