Tuesday, December 5, 2017
Monday, December 4, 2017
CBS News Poll: Alabama Judge Takes Commanding Lead
CBS News Poll: Alabama Judge Takes Commanding Lead
As the majority of Alabama Republicans believe the allegations against Judge Roy Moore are false, a CBS News poll says Roy Moore takes a commanding lead over his Democratic counterpart, Doug Jones by a 49% to 43% lead. Four percent they would vote for someone else and four percent stated they are undecided. The CBS News Poll was conducted between November 28-Dec. 1 among 1037 Alabamians registered to vote. One interesting note concerning the sexual allegations against Moore, those who were most likely to vote didn't believe those numbers one bit. We'll wait and see what happens between now and the special election on December 12. Click on the above link to read the story..
The Christmas Tree Tradition
History of Christmas Trees
Christmas Traditions
The tradition of Christmas trees goes back to ancient times. The Egyptians were part of a long tradition that worshipped evergreens. When the winter solstice arrived, they brought green date palm trees into their homes to symbolize life's triumph over death. The Romans celebrated the winter solstice with a fest called Saturnalia in honor of Saturnus, the god of agriculture. They decorated their houses with greens and lights and exchanged gifts. They gave coins for prosperity, pastries for happiness, and lamps to light one's journey through life. Late in the Middle Ages, Germans and Scandinavians placed evergreen trees inside their homes or jst outside their doors to show their hope in the forthcoming spring. It was through them that brought about the modern-day Christmas tree tradition.
Tradition has it that the Reformation leader Martin Luther began the practice of decorating trees to celebrate Christmas. One crisp Christmas eve around 1500, Luther was walking through snow-covered woods and was enchanted by the beauty of a small group of evergreens, Their branches, dusted by the snow, shimmered in the moonlight. When he arrived home, he set up the fir tree indoors and shared this story with his children. He decorated the tree with candles, which he lighted in honor of Christ's birth.
The Christmas tree in America problem arrived with the Hessian troops during the Revolutionary War or with German immigrants to Pennsylvania and Ohio. The Christmas tradition was slow in America because the Puritans banned Christmas in New England. Prior to the mid-1800's, the Christmas tradition had a totally different meaning. It wasn't familial like it is today. Even as late as 1851, a Cleveland minister nearly lost his job because he allowed a tree in his church. Students attended school on Christmas Day in Boston until 1870, when it became a federal holiday. The Christmas tree market was born in 1851 when Catskill farmer Mark Carr hauled two ox cars of evergreens into New York City. By 1900, one in five Americans had a Christmas tree, and 20 years later, the custom was universal.
To read the rest of story behind the Christmas tree, click on the two above links about the history of the Christmas tree.
Christmas Traditions
The tradition of Christmas trees goes back to ancient times. The Egyptians were part of a long tradition that worshipped evergreens. When the winter solstice arrived, they brought green date palm trees into their homes to symbolize life's triumph over death. The Romans celebrated the winter solstice with a fest called Saturnalia in honor of Saturnus, the god of agriculture. They decorated their houses with greens and lights and exchanged gifts. They gave coins for prosperity, pastries for happiness, and lamps to light one's journey through life. Late in the Middle Ages, Germans and Scandinavians placed evergreen trees inside their homes or jst outside their doors to show their hope in the forthcoming spring. It was through them that brought about the modern-day Christmas tree tradition.
Tradition has it that the Reformation leader Martin Luther began the practice of decorating trees to celebrate Christmas. One crisp Christmas eve around 1500, Luther was walking through snow-covered woods and was enchanted by the beauty of a small group of evergreens, Their branches, dusted by the snow, shimmered in the moonlight. When he arrived home, he set up the fir tree indoors and shared this story with his children. He decorated the tree with candles, which he lighted in honor of Christ's birth.
The Christmas tree in America problem arrived with the Hessian troops during the Revolutionary War or with German immigrants to Pennsylvania and Ohio. The Christmas tradition was slow in America because the Puritans banned Christmas in New England. Prior to the mid-1800's, the Christmas tradition had a totally different meaning. It wasn't familial like it is today. Even as late as 1851, a Cleveland minister nearly lost his job because he allowed a tree in his church. Students attended school on Christmas Day in Boston until 1870, when it became a federal holiday. The Christmas tree market was born in 1851 when Catskill farmer Mark Carr hauled two ox cars of evergreens into New York City. By 1900, one in five Americans had a Christmas tree, and 20 years later, the custom was universal.
To read the rest of story behind the Christmas tree, click on the two above links about the history of the Christmas tree.
Sunday, December 3, 2017
The Three Wise Men
All About the Three Wise Men
[Mat 2:1-12 KJV] 1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 3 When Herod the king had heard [these things], he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. 5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, 6 And thou Bethlehem, [in] the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. 7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found [him], bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. 9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
The Three Wise Men, or the three kings, were a group of distinguished foreigners who visited Jesus after his birth, bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They came from the East to worship the "King of the Jews." They were definitely men of great learning. They had seen an unusual new star in the sky, and it was the story of the birth of a special king. The very fact that they came just shows how special of an event Jesus' birth was. They were from somewhere in the East whether it be Yemen, or what is presently known as Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, etc. They had traveled a long distance to go see and worship the king of the Jews. Today, Jesus desires for us to worship Him. We don't have to travel to Israel, Iran, or far ends of earth to see Jesus. If you are saved, you have access to the Father through Jesus our Lord. If you don't know the Lord as your personal Savior, you have that opportunity to do just that this Christmas season. All you have to do is to call upon Him and repent of your sins and accept Him and Lord and Savior in your life.
Saturday, December 2, 2017
Christmas in Australia
Christmas in Australia
In Australia, Christmas comes toward the beginning of the summer holidays. Children have their summers off from mid-December to early February. Some people even go camping at Christmas. Because the climate is so hot during the Christmas season, there are numerous bush fires across the country. Many volunteer bush firefighters are involved in saving people, property and travel from all over Australia to help in other states. Australians hang wreaths on their front doors and they like to head out Christmas caroling on Christmas Eve.
People also decorate their houses and gardens with Christmas trees and Christmas lights. Neighbors have very little competition to see who has the best light display. Australians also decorate their houses with bunches of Christmas bush, a native Australian tree with small green leaves and cream colored flowers. During the summer the leaves turn into a deep shiny red over a period of weeks (generally by the week of Christmas in Sydney.) In each state there is a large Carols by candlelight service. Famous Australian singers like the Wiggles, John Farnham, Anthony Warlow, Colin Gentry, Niki Webster, and many more to help sing the carols. These carol services, broadcast in different cities, is broadcast on TV across Australia. There are also huge Christmas pageants in each state capital city, that are also broadcast across the country. Most towns and cities have festival parades. There is also a fireworks display at the local park.
To read more about Christmas in Australia, click on the above link.
Friday, December 1, 2017
Rev. Graham on Matt Lauer: It's Not Misconduct; It's Called Sin
Rev. Graham on Matt Lauer, It's Not Misconduct; It's Called Sin
Franklin Graham
Commenting on NBC firing the long-time anchor of the Today show anchor Matt Lauer over inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace, Rev. Franklin Graham stated that such behavior, whoever is involved, is called sin, not "sexual misconduct." Graham said that all of us should be wary that our own sin will eventually find us out (Numbers 32:23). Matt Lauer of the Today Show was terminated after an investigation, according to Graham on a November 29th posting on Facebook. Graham stated that what we're seeing in the recent string of what is termed "misconduct" really boils down to a morality issue--people failing to follow God's standards, and that's called sin, Graham rightly points out. Today when you look onto a website or you see the billboards that picture women who are seductively dressed, there's no wonder that you find so much sexual harassment taking place in society. There are many men whom the Bible says don't know how to "possess their vessel." (I Thessalonians 4:4).
One of the things that's surprising is the number of politicians, many who are very leftist, such as Nancy Pelosi who have been recently calling for Democratic politics such as Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) to resign. Until just recently when there have been a host of revelations of sexual harassment from Harvey Weinstein to Senator Al Franken (D-MN), for example, the Democrats would turn a deaf ear to such a thing. Former president Bill Clinton was involved in all kinds of sexual escapades but the Democrats turned a deaf ear to it. The truth is Nancy Pelosi, the Democrats, or even the Republicans don't care about sexual harassment. I believe Nancy Pelosi is an opportunist and she's giving the false impression like she's concerned about it. She feels it's to her benefit to be speaking out against John Conyers and Al Franken, for example. I believe she wants to be Speaker of the House once again. If the GOP doesn't get their act together, that could very well happen. Click on the above link to read the full story.
Franklin GrahamCommenting on NBC firing the long-time anchor of the Today show anchor Matt Lauer over inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace, Rev. Franklin Graham stated that such behavior, whoever is involved, is called sin, not "sexual misconduct." Graham said that all of us should be wary that our own sin will eventually find us out (Numbers 32:23). Matt Lauer of the Today Show was terminated after an investigation, according to Graham on a November 29th posting on Facebook. Graham stated that what we're seeing in the recent string of what is termed "misconduct" really boils down to a morality issue--people failing to follow God's standards, and that's called sin, Graham rightly points out. Today when you look onto a website or you see the billboards that picture women who are seductively dressed, there's no wonder that you find so much sexual harassment taking place in society. There are many men whom the Bible says don't know how to "possess their vessel." (I Thessalonians 4:4).
One of the things that's surprising is the number of politicians, many who are very leftist, such as Nancy Pelosi who have been recently calling for Democratic politics such as Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) to resign. Until just recently when there have been a host of revelations of sexual harassment from Harvey Weinstein to Senator Al Franken (D-MN), for example, the Democrats would turn a deaf ear to such a thing. Former president Bill Clinton was involved in all kinds of sexual escapades but the Democrats turned a deaf ear to it. The truth is Nancy Pelosi, the Democrats, or even the Republicans don't care about sexual harassment. I believe Nancy Pelosi is an opportunist and she's giving the false impression like she's concerned about it. She feels it's to her benefit to be speaking out against John Conyers and Al Franken, for example. I believe she wants to be Speaker of the House once again. If the GOP doesn't get their act together, that could very well happen. Click on the above link to read the full story.
3 Hours of Christmas Music--Traditional Instrumental Christmas Songs
3 Hours of Christmas Music--Traditional Christmas Instrumental Songs
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