The "Merry Christmas" Season

12/4/08

I was wandering through the various forums that I have been known to frequent, and ran across an interesting website. Each Christmas we go through the usual pro/anti-Christmas wars, as we witness the disappearance of the traditional "Merry Christmas" greeting in the stores. One of the participants in the forum mentioned that he had recently set up a web site that listed businesses that still say "Merry Christmas" during the Christmas season. The name of the site, appropriately, is "The Merry Christmas Club", and they have two easy to remember URL's (website addresses, both URL's forward to the same place):

www.TheMerryChristmasClub.com

www.MerryChristmasClub.com

During the pro/anti-Christmas wars each season, we have the usual debates about companies banning the Salvation Army and other Christian traditions and symbols, while still encouraging you to spend money in their stores... While boycotts are usually ineffective, I found this "Merry Christmas Club" spin on Christmas to be a positive message, for a positive season. They are currently focusing on South Carolina, but they are interested in expanding. I hope they do... I like the message.

On a different note, I will blog a bit about the election later, but for now our prayers are with the President-elect, even though we opposed many of the liberal worldly causes that he supports. The Bible says to pray for your leaders.

I think this "Merry Christmas Club" is a nice positive message to start off the season, and I pray that this friend's website is a blessing and grows.

Yours in Christ,
Job.








Vote For John McCain for President

10/27/08

I know.... most of you are shocked that the webservant (Job) of a conservative Christian website might support a candidate in the blog section that is pro-life, strong on national security, experienced, and has a solid history of saving money in government. Since our website is operating as an online Christian magazine (i.e., we are not a non-profit organization), then we are exercising our rights of freedom to speak out on issues that affect the Body. I will probably modify this message over the next few days stating the reasons why I am voting, as a Christian, for John McCain.

If the polls are correct, then I know that this is an unpopular view. Like a lot of Christians, I am surprised, and more than a bit disappointed, at the "polling" results for the upcoming election. Given the issues involved, like late-term abortion, assisted suicide (Washington State), murdering children *after* birth (Infanticide), gay marriage, security of the nation, economics, general moral decay and other issues, it would appear at this point that most Christians... according to the polls... are voting against the candidate that supports standard Christian views on these topics... and voting for a candidate that opposes standard Christian values.

There are many reasons why I am supporting John McCain, just a few of which are listed in the first sentence of this message. There are also many *many* reasons that motivate my belief that Barack Hussein Obama would be an extremely poor choice for President of the USA. Just *one* of the many reasons (don't worry, you will hear more) is that Senator Obama, as we all know, has not yet served a SINGLE term in the U.S. Senate. It is time for people in the Church to wake up, and look at who they are voting into the most powerful office in the USA. In the *normal* world, a person applying for a job at a mid-level of management is expected to submit some kind of resume or job history, and of course this resume should show some record of positive accomplishment. Why is America, right now at a dangerous and risky time in economics and terror, willing to have looser standards for the President of the United States than most employers have for mid-level management in a medium sized corporation? Either the polls are wrong, or somehow the Church (all members in the Body of Christ) is being deceived into voting for things that they would *never* vote for in the past.

... and it is *not* John McCain's fault that the economy has turned down... This great man has been thoroughly trashed by the Mainstream Media (MSM), like NBC, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, New York Times, and the usual media powerhouses with their ultra-liberal agenda. Before the election, John McCain was known as a person that tried to reduce US Government waste. But I will have more to say about this later... as I edit this post.

I will expand on this section later...


Update: 10/30/08

I would like to make a few comments about media bias that relates to the previous message. Before the election John McCain was commonly regarded as a very moderate Republican (most would say he was a liberal Republican), and Obama was commonly regarded as an extremely liberal Democrat (his record shows he is the most liberal person in the Senate). Once the election season started, the public media began describing McCain as an extremist right wing fanatic, and Obama as a moderate. You do the math. The media has dropped any pretense of being a neutral reporter of the news, and is now nothing more than a paid arm of the Democrat party. These people have been poisoning the election atmosphere with their liberal views to the extent that they now blame *everything* on George Bush, and are now compounding that with guilt by association - namely, any person that ever agreed with Bush on anything is guilty.

This election is taking place during a major downturn in the economy. The damage to the economy was built into the system over a very long time... starting long before George Bush entered office. In particular the damage from the Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac government bailout was caused by the usual suspects known for high taxes and giving away free money. For those that are interested I would recommend googling "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Congressional Hearings 2004" (or click here for some youtube summaries). In these hearings the Democrats in Congress are strongly defending the practices of these institutions, while the Republicans were calling for controls. Now... back to the media... in the news today all we hear from the liberal media (NBC etc.) is that it is all George Bush's fault. The problem was simple: the lenders were making home loans to people that could not afford homes, with encouragement from the big spenders in Congress... and you know who that is.

First of all, as a reminder of another root cause of these difficult economic times: we were attacked on 9/11/01. The resulting war had an extreme impact on our economy, and of course an even more extreme impact on our nation through the loss in lives. When you know that others want to attack you, you either need to be prepared as a nation to defend yourself, or be prepared to be overthrown, enslaved, or killed as a people. Until the Lord's return, we need to realize that we live in a dangerous world. I believe that America's response after the 9/11 attacks was appropriate. The Iraq war, while controversial, came about after MANY years of Saddam Hussein hiding his weapons programs and playing games with the inspectors. There was considerable evidence that Hussein had a program for developing Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) which had everybody concerned - including the Democrats. Hussein didn't help matters by playing games with the inspectors and ignoring multiple UN resolutions over many years. There have also been numerous reports about these WMD being transferred to Syria from Iraq shortly before the war, so the truth has yet to come out on what really happened. The one thing we know for certain is that Saddam Hussein is no longer able to mass-murder his own people with chemical weapons, as he did before. This was an expensive war in both lives and economic terms that is now drawing to a close, although the world is entering a dangerous new phase of terrorism, and hints at a *new* Cold War. So when we think about the economic cost, let's also keep this verse in mind:

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
(Mark 8:36)


If the "polls" are correct, people seem to be casting away their standard Christian values in this election, and it appears that a large portion of this abandonment is based on "profit". People are justifiably upset that the Government mismanaged the economy after a war and a no-risk below-cost house giveaway plan by the government. Well... I am upset too. That doesn't mean that I plan to cast away all of my Christian values when picking out a leader for my country.

John McCain did NOT cause the economic downturn in the economy or your 401K, but as mentioned earlier has been known for trying to control and reduce government spending, which America needs right now. John McCain is also a centrist by nature, and in the past known for bringing people together. That is also what is needed at this time. I simply do not believe that Barack Hussein Obama can bring us together as a nation, or manage the economy well during an economic downturn.

This is something to think about when you walk into the voting booth and vote for the leader of the Free World, the most dangerous job on earth. Some of you may have lost considerable "wealth" in your 401K plans and other investments. This is hard, and the Lord understands this and will watch out for you. But of course, He also wants you to show your love for Him by acting the way He wants you to act. Just as you are called upon in your Church to make judgements and decisions, you are also called upon as a decision maker in this society to exercise reasonable judgement, by your vote, and choose leaders that believe in His ways.

Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
(John 7:24)


The point of this is that we live in a dangerous world. A world that hates the way we live, and that hates our freedoms... including our religious freedoms. This is not the time to elect a "President-in-Training" with less that one term's experience in the Senate. The above passage about judgement is especially relevant in this election since many people are making judgements about McCain based on false information from liberal media outlets like NBC, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, New York Times, and others. As I said earlier in this message: I know this is not going to be a popular message if the polls are correct. Of course I have also said in the past that I have never tried to be popular... looks like I succeeded. There is really only one Person I want to be popular, and most thought about during this election: Jesus Christ.

Yours in Christ,
Job.








McCain vs. Obama
Our New Blog

9/7/08

After running this site for 12+ years we have finally gotten around to opening up a "formal blog". We have been "blogging" on this site since 1996 - long before the word "blogging" came into existence. On the blog we will be commenting on issues of the day as they affect Christians. We have just gone online and will be modifying the look etc. over the next few months, but we figured that the campaign season is a good time to get things started.

Our New Christian Blog:

http://blog.Christ.com

Some of the key blog posts will also be posted here, but not all of the posts so be sure to check the blog. We have also started an RSS news feed for those of you that prefer to view blogs in RSS. To kick off the blogging we will start with a topic that is near and dear to most Christians: Abortion, and its role in the coming election. As some of you know, John McCain has a strong Pro-Life history while Barack Hussein Obama has a strong Pro-Abortion history, in addition to being the most liberal person to ever run for President on a major party (democrats). The facts speak for themselves although Obama has been trying to hide his abysmal voting record in protecting either the unborn or newly born children (called infanticide - the killing of children after birth). We will begin by posting the latest blog on infanticide in its entirety below, although we also encourage you to go to the blog to check it out.


Obamacide: Killing the Newborn

Barack Hussein Obama is not content with just abortion and is apparently a strong supporter of infanticide (killing children after birth). Obama has a voting record of extending abortion to the FOURTH TRIMESTER (after birth). He has been busy backpedaling and spinning his votes against the Illinois law to protect the newborn, but the facts are out there. At least he had the guts to actually vote (even if it was the wrong vote, as is his pattern), compared to the other 129 times he voted "present" to avoid anything remotely controversial in his voting record. It is also apparent from his massive "present" voting record that Obama does not consider murdering children as "controversial enough" to vote "present".

Here is a tip for Mr. Barack Hussein Obama: You can't vote "present" as the President of the USA, or dodge tough issues that are controversial.

Obamacide. It means, 1) Killing the newborn survivor of a botched abortion through a deliberate act of omission; and, 2) That which a nation commits upon itself by electing one who would allow such a thing.

Here is a link to the article which came up with this excellent definition: Obamacide

Here are some extracts from the above link:

During a partial-birth abortion, the abortionist pulls a fully developed, fully "viable" child - often kicking and thrashing -- feet first from her mother's womb, leaving only the top of her head in the birth canal. He then stabs her through the skull with scissors or some other sharp object, piercing her brain until her kicking and moving about suddenly and violently jerk to a halt. Her brains are then sucked out -- collapsing her skull -- and her now limp and lifeless body is tossed aside like so much garbage.
...snip...
Although Obama's love affair with partial-birth abortion has served to chip away at his finely polished veneer, his opposition to the Born Alive Infants Protection Act (BAIPA) has revealed to the world that backward extremism permeates his marrow.
...snip...
While serving in the Illinois state senate, he led the fight against a state version of Born Alive that was substantively identical to the federal BAIPA. In 2002, BAIPA passed the U.S. Senate with unanimous, bipartisan support; yet, Obama vehemently opposed its Illinois twin. This places him on the furthest fringe of pro-abortion extremes. The man's devotion to the pro-abortion industry is so fixed that he would rather allow the murder of newborn babies than give an inch to the sanctity of human life.
...snip...
He not only led the charge to allow the continued practice of infanticide in Illinois, he carried the flag.

Here is a good utube video on Obama's defense of murdering children after they have been born:



Here is a link to the Utube site: Obamacide: The truth hurts

Of course he is now backpedaling in an attempt to explain away and hide his abysmal voting record in protecting children AFTER Birth. Politicians like Obama with no moral center do things like that.


Yours in Christ,
Job.








Our Risen Savior

4/21/08

Let us take a look at what the Bible says about our risen Savior, and some of the first reactions to the fact that He is Risen. This is the essence of this Easter holiday, and we have listed one of the key passages from the Gospel in both the KJV and NASB versions of the Bible:
Mark 16:1-16, King James Version
   1And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
   2And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
   3And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
   4And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
   5And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.
   6And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.
   7But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.
   8And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.
   9Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
   10And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
   11And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.
   12After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.
   13And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.
   14Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
   15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
   16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Mark 16:1-16, KJV

Mark 16:1-16, New American Standard Bible
   1When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him.
   2Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.
   3They were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?"
   4Looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large.
   5Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed.
   6And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him.
   7"But go, tell His disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.'"
   8They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
   9[Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons.
   10She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping.
   11When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it.
   12After that, He appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country.
   13They went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either.
   14Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen.
   15And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
   16"He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
Mark 16:1-16, NASB
In the Christian calendar, this is the time of year that we celebrate our risen Savior Christ Jesus. Our faith has always been about just that, FAITH. In the above passage from Mark we see that the disciples that walked with Him were "reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen.". Faith is central to Christianity, and without faith there is no salvation. In the passage from Mark we see that this reproach from our Lord was based on their lack of belief.
   1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
   2For by it the elders obtained a good report.
Hebrews 11:1-2, KJV
   9That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
   10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Romans 10:9-10, KJV
We celebrate Easter in recognition of the fact that He is risen, and that someday we too will be resurrected... as long as we have faith. Of course that faith must be well founded in Who Jesus was, Who He is, and what He did on the Cross. These days there are many "churches" that preach an empty gospel, and while the members of these "churches" may have strong faith, it is not a saving faith, and the members are not taking a road to eternal life with our Lord. This is where YOU come in. The commandment to "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." applies to you. If you are saved, then you are called to spread the gospel in any way you can, whether that be sharing your faith with coworkers or formally going into the ministry. In the last two thousand years there have been a variety of tools and helping aids to assist in spreading the gospel, but the most important tool is the believer sharing his or her faith with the unsaved.
   12Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
   13But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
   14And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
   15Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
   16For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
   17And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
   18Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
   19If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
   20But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
   21For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
   22For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1 Corinthians 15:12-22, KJV
We celebrate this day since our faith is not in vain! The story of Easter is the story of the Resurrection. Happy Easter everybody!

Yours in Christ,
Job.








Merry Christmas!

12/25/07

We would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and pray that the coming year will be a true blessing to you and your family. Make it a point this year to share your greatest blessing, your salvation, with friends that do not yet know the Lord. Sharing the Gospel with others is free, just like salvation, and can be a blessing that will last for eternity, for both you and with the people you share your faith! Remember that Christmas is about Christ, and Him crucified. While Christmas is just one day out of the year chosen to recognize the birth of Jesus Christ, remember too that we should celebrate what Christ did on the cross every day of our lives.

As for news about the site, this was a rough year for us at Christ.com, with numerous trials throughout the year. Our own prayers are that we encounter fewer obstacles on the road to sharing the Gospel with the world.

God Bless you,
Job








Update on the Trials of "Job" at Christ.com

10/22/07
It has been a few months since I updated Anything on the site, so I thought I would post a brief news update. I suppose it gets back to the writing name "Job" that I have used since 1996. The book of Job in the Bible is believed to be one of the oldest books, if not the oldest book in the Bible. The character Job comes under attack during his life, and demonstrates tremendous patience in dealing with the attacks of the devil. When I decided to build a website for the Lord I knew that it would take a lot of patience, and that I would come under attack (because Christians always come under attack). People have used "usernames" for blogs, chat rooms, message boards, and writing since the beginning of the computer industry, so the name "Job" was a natural for a Christian website designed to come under attack. Since 1996 the name has been a good fit for this Christian webservant!

We have been behind schedule in implementing some of our planned changes and bug fixes. We Always appreciate your prayer support in keeping us online. Here is the latest update in the Trials of a Christian webservant: A few months back our home flooded, and almost everything on the first floor was destroyed. Needless to say, this put some roadblocks in the way for updating the web site. To complicate matters, while the flood recovery was going on I also had some major health problems, and about a week ago the main server we lease for Christ.com had an upgrade that broke most of the interactive features like Prayer, Message Forums, and other things around the site. Everything should be back online now... and people ask why I use the name "Job" on the net ... (My real name is "Marc", but the site is about "Jesus", not Job or Marc). I will continue to write comments and publish them as "Job", and update you on the latest "trials" as we press on together in His grace.

I will probably leave the detailed word study on "Christ" until the first quarter of next year. We were planning on putting the word study into regular rotation with new words every couple of weeks or monthly, but a few things got in the way (we still haven't finished rebuilding after the flood).

God bless you,
Job (your faithful web servant)






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