Archive for December, 2011

SHEPHERDS OF BETHLEHEM – THE FIRST PASTORS!

Monday, December 26th, 2011

We are all familiar with the wonderful Christmas story and the Shepherds of Bethlehem!  One of my best friends was born right outside those fields and runs a Middle Eastern theme restaurant in Springfield called “The Holy Land Diner”.
Over the years, my conversations with him have been really full of joy at the confirmation of the almost 2000 year old story….the story when God sent His holy angels to preach the first Gospel sermon. The landing of this Angelic Host on Shepherds Field (which is still around as you can see) is significant for many reasons!
These messengers from Heaven, could have announced the Birth of Jesus to kings and satraps and governors. They could have announced it to the priests in the temple, the teachers of the law and pharisees and the righteous (in their own eyes) religious folks in Jerusalem. But they didn’t! Why?
Why did the Holy God of Heaven select dirty, poor and outcast men, who worked from March to November in hard scrabble (as you can see again, from this photo) land among animals, animal waste and more. These men were kept out of Jerusalem almost exclusively! They were banned from entering any Temple of God to worship, because they were ceremonially unclean, under the 613 Laws of Moses in the Torah/Pentateuch! They were around dead sheep at times and animal waste, all the time. So the priests and religious authorities banned them!
These are whom God chose! It is a symbol for what He would do in the Life of Christ, not just in the short three year ministry He had on earth, but ever since He died and rose again!
The first sermon of Christ started like this “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed…(Luke 4:18)….and you can add to that “the outcast, unwanted and those left behind by the world!!
The Lord also chose the Shepherds for a simple yet VERY CRUCIAL mission, even though these men were unaware of the reason! The word shepherd here in the Christmas passage from Luke 2, is “poimenes”or…get this – “Pastor” in the English!

In one fell swoop, God revealed Himself, the Gospel and the Heavens to lowly outcasts and then anointed them the Pastors of the First Worship service – right on the harsh Shepherd’s field in Bethlehem.

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING PASSAGES AND THE WORDS IN BOLD BLUE:
LUKE 2:
READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE HERE

TEBOW & PUJOLS – CHRIST OR MAMMON?

Sunday, December 18th, 2011

Very few athletes have been making as huge headlines recently than football’s Tim Tebow and baseball’s Albert Pujols. Both men have been known to wear their ‘testimony’ on their sleeves.
Love ’em or not, both men have people talking not just about their public professions of Faith in Jesus Christ. However, by doing so, they have invited more scrutiny on their individual lives to see if their talk matches their walk!

The latest example is current Chicago Bears wide receiver Sam Hurd. After claiming Christ, the Bible and a picture perfect family life, the Feds just arrested him last week, for running a Cocaine/Marijuana ring worth millions of dollars! When he was arrested last Friday and charged, the news media led with the fact that he was a man who quoted the Bible and spoke to others in need.This is actually not a bad thing, as many a so-called “Christian Athlete” has fallen  hard on  their face, making all their talk about “Jesus is my Savior” a laughing stock to a cynical word.  Christian ministries are actually partially to blame for this, because they fall all over themselves, to hire this or that newly minted celebrity athlete, who happens to say that he believes in the bible or is a “christian”! I have yet to hear of some poor soul say that he/she got saved because Kurt Warner or Deion Sanders spoke at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes banquet!

Both Pujols and Tebow do not fall into this category because neither have committed any type of crime. However both men have to guard their conduct – personal and professional, because the reputation of Christ rests on it.

READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE BY CLICKING HERE