E ZIUA LUI !BINECUVANTARI CERESTI !

Christianity can be condensed into four words: Admit, Submit, Commit and Transmit. -Samuel Wilberforce

GOD SENT HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON TO BE BORN AS A CHILD, SO THAT SINNERS COULD BE BORN AGAIN AND BECOME THE CHILDREN OF GOD.

The deepest sadness belongs to all who still refuse to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour (John 1:12-13) 
Spurgeon.

 

 BORN TO DIE

Those soft baby hands fashioned by the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb were made to have two nails hammered thorough them. Those little chubby feet were made to walk up the hill and be nailed to a cross. That sacred head was made to wear a crown of thorns. His tender body wrapped in the swaddling clothes would be pierced by a spear to reveal a broken heart. The death of Christ was NO ACCIDENT: HE WAS BORN TO DIE.

from 
Drawing Near.

 

SIGN OF CHRISTMAS

Christianity can be condensed into four words: Admit, Submit, Commit and Transmit. -Samuel Wilberforce

Signs of Christmas

 

“Moreover the LORD spoke again unto Ahaz, saying, Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.” (Isaiah 7:10-11)

Although “the Jews require a sign” (1 Corinthians 1:22), and this attitude was rebuked by Christ when He said that “an evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign” (Matthew 12:39), God has given three specific signs with respect to the incarnation of Christ. There were other signs too, no doubt, such as the star of Bethlehem, but three events were specifically called signs.

First, to the unwilling King Ahaz, He said: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). Immanuel means “God with us,” and the sign of the virgin birth, biologically impossible without a mighty miracle of divine creation, assures us that the omnipotent God has entered the human family once for all.

That entrance was not made in an emperor’s palace as a great conqueror, however, but in the very humblest of human circumstances, and this also was a sign. “And this shall be a sign unto you,” said the leader of the angelic host; “Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12).

And there was a third sign. When the infant Jesus was brought to the temple, the aged prophet Simeon said: “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against . . . that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:34-35).

That is, the God/man would Himself be God’s great sign to Israel and the whole world. The attitude of men and women to God, in Christ, would reveal the state of their hearts and seal their eternal destiny, whether rising again to everlasting life or falling forever away from God. 

* Dr. Morris (1918-2006) was Founder of the Institute for Creation Research.

Article posted on December 24, 2015.

by Henry M. Morris, Ph.D. *

Evidence for Creation

CRADLED IN A MANGER, MEANLY-Gospel Hymns For Daily Strength

Christianity can be condensed into four words: Admit, Submit, Commit and Transmit. -Samuel Wilberforce

CRADLED IN A MANGER, MEANLY

Gospel Hymns For Daily Strength

Cradled in a manger, meanly,
Laid the Son of Man His head;
Sleeping His first earthly slumber
Where the oxen had been fed.
Happy were those shepherds listening
To the holy angel’s word;
Happy they within that stable
Worshipping their infant Lord.

Happy all who hear the message
Of His coming from above;
Happier still who hail His coming,
And with praises greet His love.
Blessèd Savior, Christ most holy,
In a manger Thou didst rest;
Canst Thou stoop again, yet lower,
And abide within my breast?

Evil things are there before Thee;
In the heart, where they have fed,
Wilt Thou pitifully enter,
Son of Man, and lay Thy head?
Enter, then, O Christ most holy;
Make a Christmas in my heart;
Make a heaven of my manger:
It is heaven where Thou art.

And to those who never listened
To the message of Thy birth,
Who have winter, but no Christmas
Bringing them Thy peace on earth,
Send to these the joyful tidings;
By all people, in each home,
Be there heard the Christmas anthem;
Praise to God, the Christ has come!

ADRIAN ROGER -THE WISDOM OF CHRISTMAS

Christianity can be condensed into four words: Admit, Submit, Commit and Transmit. -Samuel Wilberforce

Adrian Rogers: The Wisdom of Christmas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM5JDLoxJR4

Published on Dec 3, 2012

Series: What Child is This?

The wisest choice you could make — now or ever — is to follow the example of the Wise Men and worship the Lord Jesus Christ. Seek Him the way they sought Him. Bring to Him what they brought Him. Recognize who He is and say, “Lord, my wealth, my worship, my witness is yours. Jesus, You are Lord.”

I own nothing, all the rights belong to Adrian Rogers (R.I.P.) & his website http://www.lwf.org.

THE PEOPLE WHO MISSED CHRISTMAS -JOHN MacARTHUR

Christianity can be condensed into four words: Admit, Submit, Commit and Transmit. -Samuel Wilberforce

Grace to You

Uploaded on Nov 5, 2010

It's called . . . "the most wonderful time of the year." But if Christmas really is that great . . . why do so many people miss it? That's right, most people — maybe even you — will miss Christmas this year!

http://www.gty.org/Radio

THE TABLECLOTH -God does work in mysterious ways..A beautiful story….makes you understand that everything happens for a reason.

Christianity can be condensed into four words: Admit, Submit, Commit and Transmit. -Samuel Wilberforce

THE TABLECLOTH 

God does work in mysterious ways..

The  brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first   
ministry,  to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early   
October  excited about their opportunities. When they saw their   
church,  it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal   
to  have everything done in time to have their first service on   
Christmas  Eve. 

They worked hard, repairing pews, 
plastering walls, painting, etc, and on December 18 
were ahead of schedule and just about finished. 
On December 19 a terrible tempest – a driving 
rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days. 
On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. 
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had 
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the 
sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high.

The  pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and  not knowing what else to do but postpone the  Christmas Eve service, headed home. 
On  the way he noticed that a local business was having  a flea market type sale for charity so he stopped  in. One of the items was abeautiful,handmade,  ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth with  exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross embroidered  right in  the center. It was just the  right size to cover up the hole in the front 
wall.  He bought it and headed back to the church. 
By  this time it had started to snow. An older woman  running from the opposite direction was trying  to catch the bus.. She missed it. The pastor invited her to  wait  in the warm church for the  next bus 45 minutes later. 
She  sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a   
ladder,  hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry.   
The  pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked  and 
it  covered up the entire problem area. 
Then  he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face   
was  like a sheet.. “Pastor,” she asked, “where did you get that   
tablecloth?”  The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the   
lower  right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into   it  there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she   had  made this tablecloth 35 years before, in  Austria. 
The  woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told  how he had just gotten the Tablecloth. The woman  explained that before the war she andher  husband were well-to-do people in Austria. 
When  the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her  husband was going to follow her the next week. He was captured,   sent  to prison and never saw her husband or her home  again. The  pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but  she made the pastor keep  it for the church. 
The  pastor insisted on driving her home, that  was the least he could do.. She lived on the other side of Staten  Island  and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning   job. 
What  a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve.  The church was almost full. The music and the spirit were  great.  At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted   everyone  at the door and many said that they would  return. One  older man, whom the pastor recognized from  the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the pews and   stare,  and the pastor wondered why he wasn’t  leaving. The  man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall   because  it was identical to one  that  his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before  the  war and how could there be two tablecloths so much  alike. He  told the pastor how the 
Nazis  came, how he forced  his wife to flee for her safety and he was 
supposed  to follow her, but he was arrested and put  in a prison.. He never saw his wife or his home again all the   35  years in between. 
The  pastor asked him if he would allow him to take  him for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island  and to the same house where the pastor 
had  taken the woman three days earlier. He  helped the man climb the three flights of stairs  to the woman’s apartment, knocked on the  door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion  he could ever imagine.

True  Story – submitted by Pastor Rob Reid 

I know this has gone around before but is proof of …GOD-incidence

A beautiful story….makes  you understand that everything happens  for  a reason.

GOD’S GIFT: EVIDENCE OF THE LOVE OF THE GIVER

GOD’S GIFT: EVIDENCE OF THE LOVE OF THE GIVER

The Greek χάρις (charis), is translated as “grace” over one hundred fifty times in the New Testament. However, it is translated seven times as “favor,” as well, and all of them occur in the writings of Luke (Lk. 1:28, 30; 2:52; Acts 2:47; 7:10, 46; 25:3).  Oddly enough, the writings of Luke also have χάρις translated as “grace” eleven times (Lk. 2:40; 4:22; Acts 1:23; 13:43; 14:3, 26; 15:11, 40; 18:27; 20:24, 32).  Even if the words are interchangeable, one would think the two would show up in other New Testament books.  But, that is not the case.  And after looking at the context where the word “favor” is used, I hate to admit it, but I still have no clue as to why the word “favor” was used.
Nevertheless, the Word of God supplies us with a definition of χάρις, so that there can be no confusion as to the Lord’s meaning.  Ephesians 2:7-9 gives us the meaning of ”grace”: 
“That in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  Not of works, lest any man should boast.” 
The first fact in defining “grace,” is that it is an attribute of God!  He is gracious!  Like “mercy,” “grace” is evidence of God’s love for us.  The two explain just how much God “loved the world” and what that means in John 3:16.
The second truth about God’s “grace” toward mankind, is that it cannot be earned.  It has to be a gift, or it is no longer “grace.”  The two are contrasted as opposites in Romans 11:16, which says, “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace.  But if it be of works, then is it no more grace:  otherwise work is no more work.”
Finally, the text itself declares that salvation is a “gift!”  And just like you and I purchase what we give as gifts to others, salvation is a “gift” purchased by God, to give it to us:  the price?  The life of His only begotten Son (Rom. 5:15)!

 
At Christmas time, we honor God’s gift to mankind:  our Lord, His Son!

Reblogged from Paul Mutschler on http://skipslighthouse.blogspot.com/2013/12/gods-gift-evidence-of-love-of-giver.html

:

GOT QUESTION?ORG-QUESTION OF THE WEEK-”What is the true meaning of Christmas?”

Question: “What is the true meaning of Christmas?”

Answer: The true meaning of Christmas is love. John 3:16-17 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” The true meaning of Christmas is the celebration of this incredible act of love. The real Christmas story is the story of God’s becoming a human being in the Person of Jesus Christ. Why did God do such a thing? Because He loves us! Why was Christmas necessary? Because we needed a Savior! Why does God love us so much? Because He is love itself (1 John 4:8). Why do we celebrate Christmas each year? Out of gratitude for what God did for us, we remember His birth by giving each other gifts, worshipping Him, and being especially conscious of the poor and less fortunate. The true meaning of Christmas is love. God loved His own and provided a way—the only Way—for us to spend eternity with Him. He gave His only Son to take our punishment for our sins. He paid the price in full, and we are free from condemnation when we accept that free gift of love. “But God demonstrated His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Got Questions about Christmas?

Should Christians celebrate Christmas? What is the true meaning of Christmas?
How should Christians respond to the War on Christmas?
Do some Christmas traditions have pagan origins?
Should we have a Christmas tree?
Does giving gifts take away from the true meaning of Christmas?
Why is the virgin birth so important?
Was Jesus born on December 25th?
What does the Bible say about the three wise men?
What should parents tell their children about Santa Claus?
What is an advent calendar? How does an advent calendar relate to Christmas?
Should a Christian celebrate Hanukkah (Christmaskah)?
What is Epiphany / Three Kings’ Day and should Christians celebrate it?
What was the star of Bethlehem?
Does Luke’s claim that Jesus was born in Bethlehem at the time of Quirinius’ census match the historical record?
Why did the Magi bring gold, frankincense, and myrrh to Jesus?
Is it wrong to say “Xmas” instead of “Christmas”?
What year was Jesus Christ born?
Recommended Resource: The Case for Christmas by Lee Strobel.

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J.S.BACH-CHRISTMAS-ORATORIU BVW 248

J.S. Bach - Christmas Oratorio BWV 248

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bFnW_CrPUlA#!
 Christmas Oratorio BWV 248 
 

Christmas Oratorio (Photo credit: rao.anirudh)

ja das ist doch der Johann-Sebastian-Bach (Photo credit: nozoomii)

English: First page of the libretto of the Christmas Oratorio from Johann Sebastian Bach, BWV 248 Deutsch: Johann Sebastian Bach, Erste Seite des Weihnachts-Oratorium von Johann Sebastian Bach, BWV 248 (Photo credit:

English: First page of the first part of the Christmas Oratorio from Johann Sebastian Bach, BWV 248 Deutsch: Johann Sebastian Bach, Weihnachts-Oratorium, Autograph der ersten Seite des ersten Teils von Johann Sebastian Bach, BWV 248 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Wikipedia)

English: Opening Chorus of the Christmas Oratorio from Johann Sebastian Bach, BWV 248 Deutsch: Johann Sebastian Bach, Weihnachts-Oratorium, Autograph des Eingangschors aus dem ersten Teils von Johann Sebastian Bach, BWV 248 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Johann Sebastian Bach (Photo credit: Robert Scarth)

Johann Sebastian Bach und Familie in Weimar / Johannes Sebastian Bach and family in Weimar (Photo credit: pittigliani2005)

Johann Sebastian Bach in Weimar (Photo credit: pittigliani2005)

Johann-Sebastian-Bach (Photo credit: tölvakonu)

Johann-Sebastian-Bach (Photo credit: tölvakonu)

Johann Sebastian Bach (Photo 

credit: Robert Scarth)

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