"The Light of Christmas"

Cultivate complacency

But isolate integrity;

Trample down what little

Hope of righteousness remains, until

In bleakened, strangled, starving moans,

it passes from this life,

unmourned.

Left alone now,

idle thoughts grow;

weeds in virgin soil

unchecked.

Hope is such a painful word --

Too much effort,

    too much toil.

So like the toy in young man's closet,

Left to gather cloak of dust,

Leave it now,

Forsake it

to the junkyard

of my cluttered mind.

All that is, or was, or will be,

Hopelessness cares not for this.

Journey now in desolation;

Wander in the darkest pit

of Hell

until, in blinding flashes,

Light surrounds me,

Searching, probing,

finding now a weakness

in the hardness of

my heart's defenses;

gently shining light

into the darkest corners of

My soul.

Now in sudden self-awareness,

Sin I see as ne'er before,

Touching every fiber

of my prideful, unrepentant soul.

Now upon my knees I fall;

In sorrow deep I lift my voice.

I cry out to the One whose birth

made possible this

Blessed Light.

I cry to Jesus,

Son of Mary,

Born in lowly

manger stall.

I cry to Jesus,

Son of David,

Son of God,

Immanuel.

8 Kevin Ness

Words from my son's heart to yours

My son had a creative writing assignment to do on any topic he chose.  I was pleased with his topic of choice, and thought he did a great job of expressing himself, so I wanted to share it.  May it touch your heart as it did mine.

 

 

No Idols in the House

Do you know why you shouldn't worship idols?  You should not worship idols because there is one God:  Yahweh!

There are a couple of reasons why you should not worship idols.  One of God's commandments is not to worship anyone but Him, Yahweh.  Idols might be pieces of wood or stone worth throwing in the lake.  Have you ever gone to the river in the fall or spring and thrown rocks or sticks in the river?  If so, you were throwing the same materials many idols are made from.  Buddha, or whatever god you worship, was probably carved out of wood or stone.

Another kind of idol is something that you spend more time on than God and His Word.  You can make your TV, computer, car, bike, or work an idol.  If you are a school teacher, school can become an idol.  You can make your friends idols by spending too much time with them.


If you want to become a Christian, just pray something like this:  "Dear Lord, please come into my heart.  I want to know You better.  Amen."  Pray something like this with faith  that Jesus is the only way to God and to Heaven.  It is your faith [and God's grace] that saves you, not the prayer.

NOMB

NOMB...None Of My Business.  How often have we hidden behind that cloak of apathy, under the guise of open-mindedness and tolerance, all the while wallowing in the sewage of mediocrity?  Because, after all, if I point out so-and-so's shortcomings, oversights and outright sins, maybe they will do the same to me.  And that might lead to...growth...and healing...and maturity...and all sorts of other difficult, painful words. 

"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."

Notice that NOMB is only one letter away from "numb" and "tomb."  Coincidence?  I think not.  How many are now in tombs because our collective numbness and apathy have allowed evil too many triumphs?

Our society rightfully condemns the ancient pagan practice of sacrificing children to pagan gods.  Yet in the same breath, many will sacrifice their children on the altar of Convenience, with the NOMB approval of far too many.  The blood of these innocent children is on all of our hands.  We need to come alongside these hurting women and surround them with unconditional love, and help them to see that there are options available that do not involve taking an innocent life.

And for those who have already gone through the trauma of abortion, we must reach out to them with the love of the God-of-second-chances.  When Jesus said, "It is finished," He meant it.  There is no sin that His blood hasn't paid for, and forgiveness and healing are only a prayer away for anyone, regardless of what they have done, or what has been done to them.

It is time for Christians in this country to rise up and be a blessing to this nation.  Christ suffered and died for us, and we should be willing to suffer and die for those around us, if need be, to help them to understand how truly amazing the love of Christ really is.  We need to pray passionately, fervently, expectantly and unceasingly for the salvation of every person we know.  Because their eternal souls are worth the effort.

Redemption in His Blood

Eph 1:7-8a NASB In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace [8] which He lavished on us.

This verse makes it clear that our redemption does not come from within ourselves. We cannot pull ourselves up by the bootstraps, dust ourselves off and present ourselves to God as worthy of entering Heaven. No, our redemption is "In Him."

More specifically, our redemption is "through His blood." While it may offend our modern, sanitized sensibilities, the process of bringing forth life is a messy business. That is true whether we speak of our physical birth into this world, or our spiritual re-birth into the family of God through Jesus.

As we push through the spiritual birth canal, the indescribable power of the blood of Christ completely surrounds and covers us. We are immersed in it. There is no part of our being that is not touched by His blood, so when we come out of the birth canal, we appear spotless and blameless before a holy God.

There are two significant differences between the two births. First, physical birth is a long process that can take many hours. But since Jesus lives in eternity, our spiritual birth happens in the instant that we acknowledge our sin, recognize our need for a Savior, and accept the gift of salvation that only Jesus is qualified to offer. Second, on the physical level, we had no input into whether or not we would be conceived or born. But on the spiritual level, every person must make that choice.

Imagine the pains of childbirth. Now multiply that pain billions of times for every person, from the beginning to the end of human history who has ever been conceived and concentrate it down to a period of hours. In a very real sense, this is precisely what Jesus went through in His scourging, crucifixion and death. He was going through the pains of childbirth for the entire human race, to give us all the opportunity for new life.

Since Jesus paid the price for the sins for ALL of humanity, EVERY person will pass through this birth canal. Tragically, there are many who will needlessly arrive stillborn into the Second Death. This will be by their own choice of spitting in the face of Jesus, by spurning the gift that it cost Him everything to provide. But not one person suffering an eternity in hell will be paying for their sin. They will be suffering the consequence of this one decision to spurn Jesus' gift.

If Jesus was willing to go through that agony for us, then those of us who know Jesus as our Savior must we must be willing to step out of our comfort zones to passionately, urgently, gently, genuinely and lovingly share the Truth of this gift with everyone we meet.

Kevin E. Ness

#TheTruthJustIs