My reaction to Halloween has softened, although I think that it is extraordinary that it should be celebrated in schools while Christmas is banned for its religious associations. There is no attempt to make decorations, to have Christmas parties or to write letters to Santa Claus (hardly religious, but fun!). In my opinion, American children are missing out on potentially the most enjoyable time of the school year. When I was teaching young kids in England we enjoyed decorating the classroom and putting on Christmas plays.  Increasingly multiculturalism was pushing teachers to be politically correct, encouraging them to embrace other religions, while pushing the Nativity into the background. However, I was still able to teach the kids about the first Christmas in a way that would be impossible in public schools here.

My desire was to introduce our American friends to a fuller appreciation of Christmas. I decided to put on a Nativity play in our home. This would normally happen in an elementary school or at church in Britain but I felt that one put on in a home was a relaxed and fun alternative. Our very first home Nativity party was very sweet as our children were young. Alice was only four and she was thrilled to be Mary. Each child was invited to come in costume and a local 16 year friend played the piano as we sung carols. We  tried to introduce our friends to the concept of afternoon tea: scones, cake, cups of tea etc but gradually we have given up and now offer a finger buffet at a later time.

We have some poignant memories. Destiny a thirteen year old girl played Mary one year. This was her last Christmas as she was suffering from a rare and debilitating illness. It gave her family great joy to watch her playing that role. We have had Jewish and Muslim friends attend out party. The Muslims have come from Iran, Palestine and this year we will welcome a guy from Turkey. Our Jewish friends lit the menorah last Christmas and the year before, to celebrate Hanukkah, and I lit a candle to illustrate  Jesus the light of the world entering this dark world as a baby. I believe that many Americans are happy to be invited to share our Christmas traditions with us. They are not forced to share our faith and their smiling faces suggest that they enjoy themselves. For those who do not go to church, our celebration may be the only opportunity for them to hear carols and the Christmas story.

We can only invite a small proportion of our friends to our annual party. Our raised hall becomes the stage and fitting everyone in, so that they can see, will be a challenge this Sunday. I have the daunting task of finding kids to put on costumes and teenage musicians to play the carol music. For me the hardest part is cleaning and tidying a very messy house before everyone arrives. Once we have enjoyed the carols and the drama, the party is easy, so long as our hungry boys have not eaten most of the food before the guests arrive!

Wherever you are celebrating Christmas, I hope that you will take time to consider the real meaning of Christmas: celebrating the birth of Jesus. The angel said to Joseph when he was concerned about Mary’s surprising pregnancy: ..”do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”  (Matthew chapter 1 verses 20 – 21)

I am so thankful that Jesus is my Saviour.

Merry Christmas!

This is a post from: WomenRespond.com

Christmas: how we Celebrate the Real Meaning of Christmas

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David Kinnerman conducted extensive surveys between 2002- 2005 examining the nature of teens’ faith. He described kids and young people as the mosaic generation. Typically they have a patchwork of values and lifestyles, pulling ideas and input from a variety of sources. They are interested in the supernatural but unless they receive good, personalized Bible teaching they may not recognize that Christianity is any more true, valuable or life changing than any other supernatural alternative. It is no longer the case that most teens are raised to believe that Jesus is the only way. 83% of teens believe that moral truth depends on circumstances and only 6% say that moral truth is absolute.

We cannot assume anything. A generic, feel good church youth group with a smattering of Bible teaching by one male youth pastor, may well not be enough to encourage kids to follow Christ in preference to other alternatives. Most kids are interested in spirituality but receive most of their input on this subject from movies and other media. Unfortunately, most churches do not offer teaching to help kids shape their views on the supernatural world.

Many kids have been engaged in some form of psychic or witchcraft related activity, beyond media exposure or horoscope usage: 73%. If America’s kids are involved with this type of dark spirituality we cannot assume that they will transition quickly and easily to become children of God. We must fast and pray for our young ones who are in many cases ensnared by the demonic.

It seems that Christians must wake up to the reality that this generation is in most cases just dabbling with a notion of God and spirituality. Biblical teaching must be thorough, assuming no prior knowledge. I believe that churches need to move out of their safe youth rooms, develop teams of men and women (girls need women, boys need men) who can teach and mentor kids. We need to wow the church kids and their non Christian friends with the dramatic supernatural message of the Bible: rising from the dead, healings, casting out demons etc is dramatic and real. We should demonstrate radically changed lives and show real interest and concern for our kids, witnessing the love of Jesus.

Kinnaman , who conducted the research about teens and faith makes these concluding statements about his findings:

“Everyone wants a simple solution,” the 32-year-old Kinnaman explained. “Unfortunately, we discovered the answers are quite complex. Teens need help becoming wiser consumers of media, but that takes a long-term, intensive process of coaching. They would also benefit from more integration of Scriptural perspectives into their decision-making – that is, they need to operate on the basis of a biblical worldview. But that takes years to develop, immense effort, and close cooperation between church and home. Youth ministries need to address the supernatural more frequently as well as customize their ministry to each student by providing mentoring and personalized development opportunities, but most youth groups would have to be restructured to accomplish these goals. These types of strategies yield deep, whole-life results. But it is difficult to adopt these alternatives because they take patience, prayer and an intense focus on transformed lives rather than mere program attendance.”

I want to see Jesus becoming the focus of young people rather than a piece of the mosaic or an interesting bit of patchwork, nestling beside other life experiences and input, including the demonic. Becoming a Christian requires a radical change. If you are a parent your changed lifestyle will attract kids to Jesus, whereas hypocrisy is quickly noticed and drives kids away from Him. Ephesians 4:21-24 exhorts Christians to “throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God- truly righteous and holy.” Ephesians 4-5 and Colossians 3 describe some of the necessary life changes that Jesus can help us make. I suggest that you read these chapters in the Bible.

Jesus is all loving, powerful. supernatural, personal and universally true and relevant. He loves us all and I pray that He will give us a wholehearted desire to spend time with the youth and to show them the real Jesus. A youth pastor is not enough. If we want our kids to be impacted by Jesus rather than by all the other dangerous alternatives, WE need to show them the love of Jesus and teach them the Biblical message that is more spiritual and life changing than anything that the movies or video games can offer. The battle is serious, it involves spiritual forces, but Christ is the victor. Let’s partner with Him to win our kids over from the Kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of light: Jesus’ Kingdom.

This is a post from: WomenRespond.com

Teenagers and the supernatural

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God does not suggest in His Word that homosexuality is the only sin to be avoided with the penalty of the offender being kept outside His kingdom. In 1 Corinthians 6:9 there is a list of various practices which will exempt people from a relationship with Jesus now and in the future, unless repentance and godly change take place: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.”

We should not give the impression that we are singling out homosexuality. Rather we should stand up to limit any legislation that encourages greater freedom to promote any of the behaviors listed in 1 Corinthians chapter 6. Churches should clearly teach the dangers of all of these. For example we should be concerned about drinking laws. In the UK a few years ago it was made legal for pubs to dramatically extend their opening hours. Drunkenness increased. Adultery has already become almost acceptable. I am saddened that the partner who commits adultery, leaving his or her family, does not get penalized. Did Christians fail to stand up in the past to limit the consequences of adultery, by failing to petition for just legislation?

I was discouraged by one of the letters in my local newspaper, the “News Chieftain” this week: A woman wrote: “As a Christian I am ashamed that resources are being used to support this offensive proposition when we could be helping our parishioners who are struggling financially and losing their homes, feeding the hungry and teaching children tolerance not hate. That is what Jesus would do. Shame on them! My God loves all of his children.”

This woman writes half truths. Unless we are careful it all sounds so plausible. Certainly we must help the hungry and the poor, but this does not mean that we should not stand up for Biblical truth. John chapter 8 verses 31-32 explain “If you abide in My word you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” Free from what- freedom from sin and its consequences.

God loves everyone but the woman is wrong in claiming that we are all His children. Our response to Him determines whether we become His children. We can be adopted into His family if we believe in Him and receive Jesus: His love, His forgiveness, His presence and His word. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1: 12-13

Ultimately, if we are Christians, freedom should not be a free for all, but a desire to be free from sin. Rights should be about receiving what God offers us. Only He can give us the right to become a child of God. If we are headstrong and persistent in going our own way and ignoring His instruction in the Bible regarding adultery, homosexuality, drunkenness… we are not putting ourselves under His authority and we do not want to become His children.

When I was a teacher in England , I treated the kids as I would treat my own children. I wanted the best for them. As a Christian I oppose any legislation that is likely to push kids away from God. If Proposition 8 is defeated, homosexuality will be normalized just as adultery has been. Adultery has resulted in many children and adults being torn apart. The children are more likely to repeat the behavior that they have observed and the victims are miserable. Adultery is easy to do in this country and it breaks human relationships and it separates the offenders from God and His kingdom. Homosexuality will increase if Prop 8 is opposed, pushing more children and adults into a lifestyle that is opposed to God’s will.

Legislation does not discourage adultery. If one of the married couple breaks the marriage to have an affair with someone else, he or she is not penalized. However, it is unlikely that teachers will teach adultery as a good thing-yet…! In the case of homosexuality, teachers are likely to promote this lifestyle in California. Why else has the teacher’s union donated $1.25 million for the No on 8 campaign? Children will be adopted by homosexual couples in greater numbers and if the law is applied as wholeheartedly as hate speech has been in Canada, Christians will be arrested for teaching the Biblical message regarding homosexuality.

I want more people to understand God’s liberating truth. The truth that truly sets us free from sin. I will vote yes on Prop 8 because marriage is between a man and a woman who become one flesh and have children. Homosexuals, like adulterers are separating themselves from Jesus by their behavior. God does love them and so should we, but we cannot promote any behavior that separates them or anyone else from God.

If Proposition 8 is defeated, people will be encouraged to get involved with a lifestyle that will separate them from Jesus. If we are Christians we must teach the whole Word of God. It is important that we are free to teach the truth about sin. This includes homosexual acts as well as adultery, theft etc. We must also teach that Jesus is the only one who can forgive us from the sin that we are guilty of. He can forgive and welcome adulterers, homosexuals, drunks, prostitutes…. into His kingdom, but this is less likely if Christians are not permitted to call certain behavior wrong. We need to know in what ways we are sinful so that we can seek God’s forgiveness and help. Truth leads to freedom. Let’s vote to promote God’s truth: If you live in California please vote Yes on Propositon 8.

This is a post from: WomenRespond.com

Why should Christians vote yes on Proposition 8?

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Lust is a sensual response to another person. In fairy stories such as “Cinderella”,

Cinderella - lust or love?

the prince “falls in love” with a girl who had been recently transformed by her fairy godmother. She was no longer the poor, abused stepdaughter, but rather a well dressed princess. How easy it is to be attracted to someone who appears to be well off, accomplished and beautiful. However, appearance is skin deep and we should warn our teenagers as well as our friends that “falling in love” is often no more than a fatal attraction.

Fairy tales usually have happy endings but if people in the real world assume that attraction equals love, they are in danger of committing themselves to a beautiful witch. The book of Proverbs in the Bible makes the point graphically in chapter 11 verse 22: “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.”

The book of Proverbs highlights the most valuable quality of a woman: “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” (Proverbs 31:30) The word “fears” in this context means someone who takes God seriously, obeying His commands and worshiping Him with reverence.

It seems that most of the warnings regarding falling for beauty rather than judging character and faith is directed at young men. Men are in general more likely to focus on the physical and sexual than women and they need to be warned in particular. However, increasingly, it appears that many modern girls are also motivated to get into a physical relationship with the man of their dreams before they have considered marriage or even a solid friendship.

God’s Word shows the right way of living for everyone, but obeying it is only fully possible if we seek His help. The Amplified translation of the Bible helps us understand God’s will on this matter: “For this is the will of God, that you should be consecrated (separated and set apart for pure and holy living): that you should abstain and shrink from all sexual vice, that each one of you should know how to possess (control, manage) his own body in consecration (purity, separated from things profane) and honor, Not (to be used) in the passion of lust like the heathen, who are ignorant of the true God and have no knowledge of His will.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5)

Sexual purity is an important aspect of being a Christian. A true Christian is different from those who do not follow Christ and we must be self disciplined and godly in the way that we view our own and others’ bodies. We are called to be pure and honorable. Passionate lust is not the right motivation for any behavior and sex should be restricted to marriage. Sexual purity applies not just to sexual intercourse but to any act that is passionate or lustful. Even engaged couples need to avoid situations when they would be tempted to engage in premature sexual activity of any kind.

Does God tell us to remain pure because He is a kill joy? He warns us to avoid a lust driven lifestyle because the consequences cause so much damage, to our lives as well as others’, to our Christian witness and to our relationship with Christ. Controlling our bodies and our passions throughout life will bring tremendous blessing. If you have failed to live a sexually pure life, Jesus will forgive you if you approach Him in a humble and repentant manner. He can give you the power to change. Find a mature Christian who can help you and pray and read the Bible daily.

If Jesus is our focus, the joy we will receive from honoring Him and others is far superior to fulfilling the fantasies of minds that focus on the body in a lustful way. If we worship Jesus we should have the right attitude to others, offering what is good and kind and pure and self-controlled. This is love. In some cases when a man and a woman have tested one another’s Christian character, while offering appropriate Christ like love and compassion as friends, they may choose to marry, entering a life long commitment. Then they will be ready to share the gift of sexual intimacy which in the context of marriage is an important aspect of love, binding the two into one unit which no one should separate.

This is a post from: WomenRespond.com

Lust or love?

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