Christmas Night

From 'God Came Near' by Max Lucado

It's Christmas night. The midnight hour has chimed and I should be asleep, but I'm awake. I'm kept awake by one stunning thought.

The world was different this week. It was temporarily transformed. The magical dust of Christmas glittered on the cheeks of humanity ever so briefly, reminding us of what is worth having and what we were intended to be. We forgot our compulsion with winning, wooing, and warring. We put away our ladders and ledgers, we hung up our stopwatches and weapons. We stepped off our race tracks and roller coasters and looked outward toward the start of Bethlehem.

It's the season to be jolly because, more than at any other time, we think of him. More than in any other season, His name is on our lips.

And the result? For a few precious hours, our heavenly yearnings intermesh and we become a chorus. A ragtag chorus of longshoremen, Boston lawyers, illegal immigrants, housewives, and a thousand other peculiar persons who are banking that Bethlehem's mystery is in reality, a reality.

"Come and behold Him" we sing, stirring even the sleepiest of shepherds and pointing them toward the Christ-child. For a few precious hours, He is beheld. Christ the Lord.

Those who pass the year without seeing Him, suddenly see Him. People who have been accustomed to using His name in vain, pause to use it in praise.

Eyes, now free of the blinders of self, marvel at His majesty. All of a sudden He's everywhere. In the grin of a policeman as he drives the paddy wagon full of presents to the orphanage. In the twinkle in the eyes of the Taiwanese waiter as he tells of his upcoming Christmas trip to see his children. In the emotions of the father who is too thankful to finish the dinner table prayer. He's in the tears of the mother as she welcomes home her son from overseas. He's in the heart of the man who spent Christmas morning on skid row giving away cold baloney sandwiches and warm wishes. And He's in the solemn silence of the crowd of shopping mall shoppers as the elementary school chorus sings "Away in a Manger."

Emmanuel. He is with us. God came near. It's Christmas night. In a few hours the cleanup will begin-lights will come down, trees will be thrown out. Size 36 will be exchanged for size 40, eggnog will be on sale for half price. Soon life will be normal again. December's generosity will become January's payments and the magic will begin to fade. But for the moment, the magic is still in the air.

Maybe that's why I'm still awake. I want to savor the spirit just a bit more. I want to pray that those who beheld Him today will look for Him next August. And I can't help but linger on one fanciful thought: if He can do so much with such timid prayers lamely offered in December, how much more could He do if we thought of Him every day?

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In Him is No Darkness

Source:  Institute for Creation Research

“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)

  Light is the most fundamental and important form of energy, and energy includes every phenomenon in the physical universe.

It is appropriate for John to affirm that God is light, because everything created must reflect the character of its Creator.

The term “light,” therefore, has come to be applied not only to light in the physical sense, but also to that which is true in the intellectual realm, and holy in the moral realm as well.  

In terms of truth and genuine knowledge, “the entrance of thy words giveth light” (Psalm 119:130). “In thy light shall we see light” (Psalm 36:9). Without God’s truth, there is only darkness. “The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:4).
The Bible also speaks of light as moral holiness. “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light. . . . And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Ephesians 5:8, 11).  

There are still other analogies: “In him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). Not only is light symbolic of life itself, but it also depicts God’s daily guidance for our lives. “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).

Since there is no darkness in God, “if we walk in the light as he is in the light” (1 John 1:7), there remains no excuse for any darkness in our lives. “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). HMM

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Lack of sleep: what it does to your brain

Very informative article from emily sohn of discovery news

Source:
http://mashable.com/2013/12/06/lack-of-sleep/?utm_cid=mash-com-Tw-main-link

Behind the controls of the Metro-North train that derailed in New York earlier this week was a tired driver, according to new reports that engineer William Rockefeller fell asleep at the wheel.

Could lack of sleep cause such a fatal mistake?Biologically speaking, experts said, yes. Sleep deprivation affects the brain in multiple ways that can impair judgment, slow reaction times and increase the likelihood of drifting off during monotonous tasks.

When you're sleep deprived, your brain reverts to a teenager — it's all gas and no brake," said Michael Howell, a neurologist at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. "Suddenly the part of the brain that says, 'Let's think through this,' is not functioning well."

The purpose of sleep has long mystified scientists, said Maiken Nedergaard, a neuroscientist at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York.

In an evolutionary conundrum, lying unconscious for hours on end makes people and other animals vulnerable to predators.

Yet, not sleeping for long enough can actually lead to dementia and death. Chronic sleep-deprivation can cause obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other ills.

Studies have shown that exhausted people do worse on tests of memory and have more trouble learning. Tired basketball players sink fewer free throws. Even golfers who fail to get enough shut-eye take more strokes to finish a round.

Almost everything researchers have looked at," Howell said, "they've demonstrated is impaired if you don't get enough sleep.

"When it comes to accidents, sleep matters because failure to get enough rest hampers functioning of the brain's frontal lobes, which are responsible for executive judgment, or the ability to pay attention and make good decisions.

In overtired people, Howell said, imaging studies have shown that there is less blood flow to these areas in the front of the brain and brainwaves there move more slowly.The result is a compromised ability to respond to things, along with a faulty tendency to do things you shouldn't have done. 

When the frontal lobes aren't working efficiently, people also have more difficulty paying attention during boring tasks, such as driving a car on a highway or operating a morning commuter train.Early morning hours, like when the Metro-North train crashed, are some of the most vulnerable times for sleepy accidents, Howell said, especially for people whose circadian rhythms favor a later sleeping schedule and make it biologically difficult to function well after waking up with an alarm clock at 5 a.m.

Reports that Rockefeller had been driving for 20 minutes since his last stop and felt zoned out before the accident suggest that he probably fell asleep before the crash, Howell added.

Recently, scientists have begun to piece together an even more nuanced understanding of why sleep is so restorative.

In a study published in Science this fall, Nedergaard and colleagues injected mice with a green dye that allowed them to track the movement of cerebrospinal fluid, the liquid that surrounds the brain.

As our brains do their work throughout the day, previous work had shown that cerebrospinal fluid collects the waste products of normal metabolism and functioning. Then, a network of tiny channels works like a dishwasher to regularly flush out the dirty fluid and send it to the liver for detoxification.

The new study found that sleeping facilitated the flushing of this toxic fluid, which was much slower to drain in sleep-deprived rodent brains. Nerve cells are very sensitive to the presence of waste, Nedergaard said. When surrounded by contaminated fluid, communication at the cellular level likely slows down."What we described is that this microscopic cleansing system turns on as soon as we fall asleep and washes the brain clean," Nedergaard said. "From our standpoint, when you're sleep deprived, you get a dirty brain."

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American Pastor Saeed Abedini: condition worsening

Source: http://aclj.org/iran/american-pastor-saeed-abedini-robbed-life-threatened-knifepoint-health-deteriorates-deadly-iranian-prison

American Pastor Saeed Abedini Robbed, Life Threatened at Knifepoint, as Health Deteriorates in Deadly Iranian Prison

By: Jordan Sekulow Filed in: Iran 11:38 AM Dec. 3, 2013

American Pastor Saeed Abedini not only faces deadly conditions in Iran’s Rajai Shahr prison, but we can now confirm that he faces direct threats on his life from other prisoners. Pastor Saeed’s Iranian family was able to visit him yesterday – the second visitation allowed since he was transferred to the deadly new prison last month.

Pastor Saeed is facing constant threats to his very life in the new prison.  There have been several nights where he has awoken to men standing over him with knives.  Pastor Saeed’s “cell” is only separated by a curtain from the rest of the violent prisoner ward he is forced to share, allowing dangerous prisoners – murderers and rapists – unfettered access to him 24 hours a day.He has also been robbed at knifepoint several times, stripping him of what few necessities he has been permitted to purchase for personal hygiene.

As a result of the robberies, the utterly deplorable conditions of the prison, and the lack of doctor-prescribed medication which is being withheld by prison authorities, Pastor Saeed’s health has quickly deteriorated.

The pain in his stomach has returned and he is now experiencing increased pain in what he described to his family as his kidneys. 

As a result of repeated beatings in Evin prison, Pastor Saeed suffered from internal bleeding.  After months of being refused medical care, Pastor Saeed was allowed to see a doctor and was prescribed medication earlier this year.  As a result of that medication, his physical condition had improved and his pain had subsided. 

However, since being moved from Evin to Rajai Shahr last month, Iranian officials have refused to allow him this critical medication and his condition is worsening.He is being refused medication, prescribed by Iranian doctors, for injuries he sustained from prison beatings.  This is one of the most deplorable human rights violations imaginable.

To make matters worse, the prison conditions and lack of basic hygiene have led to his body being covered head to toe in lice.  Because of the lice and increased pain, Pastor Saeed has been having trouble sleeping. 

He is also experiencing symptoms of recurring urinary tract infections.  There is no medication to stop the infections.  He is now also experiencing significant joint pain.

His family reports that Pastor Saeed has also noticeably lost weight in the new prison from lack of proper nutrition.The conditions he faces are unfathomable.  He faces direct threats to his life on an almost daily basis.Iran has sent him to disappear. 

The Obama Administration abandoned this U.S. citizen when given the opportunity to negotiate his release, even reportedly releasing an Iranian scientist for nothing in return. 

Pastor Saeed has been left for dead.We must not forget Pastor Saeed.  We must take action now.I, along with ACLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, am in Berlin this week meeting with foreign dignitaries and world leaders across Europe urging them to use international pressure to free Pastor Saeed.The time is now to pressure Iran for his release.  Each day could be his last.

Join tens of thousands in standing with Pastor Saeed by signing our petition demanding international sanctions until he is freed.

 CALL OUR PETITION LINE1-877-989-2255CALL JAY SEKULOW LIVE1-800-684-3110Lines open Mon-Fri noon to 1pm ESTGET LEGAL HELP757-226-2489

The ACLJ is an organization dedicated to the defense of constitutional liberties secured by law

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Paul walker believes there is GOD

Source http://m.christianpost.com/news/paul-walkers-daughter-meadow-walker-encouraged-dad-to-keep-acting-as-he-reassessed-his-life-photo--109961/cpt

By Jessica RodriguezDecember 3, 2013 |
Paul Walker's Daughter, Meadow Walker, Encouraged Dad to Keep Acting as He Reassessed His Life 

It has emerged that Paul Walker's daughter, Meadow Walker, 15, encouraged the Hollywood actor to continue acting after turning 40.

The "Fast and the Furious" actor was contemplating to pull back from his career to reassess his life and even "go in a completely different direction," but his daughter inspired him to carry on. Walker was set to appear in six new movies from 2013 to 2014.

Comments that Paul Walker made just months ago have reemerged recently following his tragic death at the weekend.The actor was killed in a car accident on Saturday, Nov. 30, after a vehicle driven by his good friend crashed into a tree and exploded in flames, killing Walker and the driver.

Walker is survived by father Paul Walker III, mother Cheryl Walker, brothers Cody and Caleb, sister Ashley and his 15-year-old daughter Meadow from a previous relationship.

Meadow had just moved in to live with her father in recent times, and they were reportedly very close.In an interview with GQ UK magazine in August, Walker explained how his daughter encouraged him to keep acting.Walker said, "It's so funny, my daughter now lives with me full time and my original plan was to work up until I was 40 then reassess my life, even go in a completely different direction with things.""She keeps encouraging me to do all this stuff. I thought at this point in my life I would need to be home with her, but she wants me to keep acting so she can travel around the world with me.

Would that be so bad?"He added, "Thing is, I went to a born-again Christian high school, was brought up in a traditional Mormon family where these ideas about parenting are of structure and sacrifice. To think outside of that idea of family and parenting that I've grown up with is tough, but also very freeing."

Walker was born on Sept. 12, 1973, in Glendale, Calif., and was raised in a Mormon family. He graduated from Village Christian School in Sun Valley, Calif, and became a non-denominational Christian and was well-known for his compassion and work to help those less fortunate than himself.

IMDb has reported Walker as saying, "I'm a Christian now. The things that drove me crazy growing up was how everyone works at fault-finding with different religions. The people I don't understand are atheists. I go surfing and snow boarding and I'm always around nature. I look at everything and think, 'Who couldn't believe there's a God? Is all this a mistake?' It just blows me away."

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The Soldanelle Plant Is Solitary Of Natures Amazment

By Farid

Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/The-Soldanelle-Plant-Is-Solitary-Of-Natures-Amazment-/1161926#.UpZ8APWwqSw

Actually this little plant and the way it grows and bloom is one of our great creators marvels.

These plants grow and bear flowers in the most atypical way. There are snow patches in these areas edged with frozen ice. Through this ice curst these soldanelle flowers blossom and the surprising fact is that these weak flowers come out through the ice safe and unscratched.

In the by-gone summer the plant is said to spread its leaves wide and flat on the floor, and drink in the sun-rays, and it keeps the heat stored in the root through the winter.

When spring comes and stirs the pulses under the snow and when it sprouts,  the warmth that was stored in the roots through summer is given out in the strangest measure that a little dome is thawed in the snow over its head.

As the plant keeps getting taller and taller this bell of air as well rises higher. And on fine day the flower bud forms safely within it. Even though it is under the ice the flower is safe and not ruined because it is in the bell of air.

Then to conclude, the icy covering gives way and allows the little flower to blossom through in to the warm sun shine.The mauve petals shine like snow itself, and the crystalline texture of its petals seem to reveal the flight through it came.

Although the conditions seem unworkable this bell shaped flower blossoms in the Alpine meadows. Frequently there are 2 or 3 flowers on each stem. The flowers are bell shaped and bent over. The flower is divided into five lobes and each lobe is divided into many fold narrow strips.

This is an uncommon plant which grows in harsh weather and under the strangest surroundings.

This pretty flower not only adds grand beauty to nature but also reveals the creative power and the capability of the almighty creator.

We human beings can gain knowledge of a great lesson from this simple but strong plant.

When things seem to be impossible and under the most difficult conditions, we must rely only on the power that is above us.

This God who has created us has the power and ability to change any circumstance or else take us through any variety of weather, if we will only have faith in him and not trust and depend on our own feelings and influence.

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Overcome with Awe

Insightful article :)

(Source: THE GOSPEL COALITION http://thegospelcoalition.org/mobile/article/trevinwax/overcome-with-awe)

Trevin Wax
Trevin Wax Blog | November 26, 2013

After spending 11 chapters magnifying the grace of God shown to us in Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul broke out into a hymn of praise:"Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!" (Rom. 11:33).

Have you come to this place before? A place of awe before an all-knowing, all-wise God?Whenever we study the big questions of life, the big debates of our world, and the development of a biblical worldview, we can easily become smug and confident in what we know. We put God in a box and assume we have figured out His ways and His plans.

Reacting against this arrogant overconfidence, some Christians make everything about the Scriptures a mystery. They wonder whether we can know anything with certainty about who God is and what He has done.

The apostle Paul struck the right balance. Paul believed he knew things about God, and he held these truths with confidence. At the same time, the more Paul knew, the more he realized he didn't know everything. In other words, though Paul could know many things about God with absolute certainty, he understood that he didn't know God exhaustively.

So what was Paul's response? He bowed his knees in worship. He proclaimed what he knew about God based on God's revelation of Himself, and then he knelt in worship, fully recognizing his own limitations of knowledge.

That's where intellectual growth should lead us, not to overconfidence in our ability to figure God out but to our knees in worship, in awe of His goodness to us.

What is the role of worship in developing a Christian worldview?What are some ways you can turn your knowledge of God into more opportunities for worship?

***This post is adapted from a session I wrote for The Gospel Project's Winter 2013-2014 Bible study on "A God-Centered Worldview."

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