Dear Friends,
I thought you might enjoy hearing some about how Christmas has been here in Nigeria. Christmas was nice, but decidedly different, to say the least.
Christmas eve, the American seminary student staying with me & I went out to dinner with two Nigerian friends (Naomi and Greg). We went to a Lebanese buffet at Hill Station Hotel. The food was great and it was a nice change - lots of Christmas decorations, a pretty tree, candles on the tables, cloth napkins and tablecloths - quite the affair. Sitting at the table next to us was the previous governor of our state with a large group of friends celebrating one of their birthdays. The "retired" governor made the rounds of the room at one point greeting everyone. My table mates quietly explained that there was some question about how he had become so wealthy during his term and why little progress seemed to have been made in improving the general standard of living for local Nigerians, but these situations are pretty routine here, even with democracy now.
After we got home, there was no electrical power, as usual, so we used candles and kerosene lanterns till bed time - which was sort of Christmasy too. The night ended up being very long. The bar across the street from my apartment was playing very loud music over the sound of their generator until very late (as usual). There were firecrackers going off at least 5 or 6 times every hour (evidently this is a Nigerian tradition, although supposedly illegal now). There was a group that marched through the neighborhood (passing my house twice in about 45 minutes) around midnight playing drums and singing African style Christmas music very loudly (greeting the Christmas day maybe?). After the bar turned off their music, there were people wandering through the area all night long. So it would quiet down awhile and then someone noisy would walk through talking and laughing with their friends & wake me up again (did I mention my window is on the street?). And then around 3 am some of my neighbors who were still up made a bonfire in the street in front of my apartment and were standing around it chatting and drinking. I learned the next day that the fire in the street thing is another Nigerian tradition, which was a little reassuring as it had been a bit strange to wake up from my frequently interrupted sleep to the red glow of the fire through my curtains and the sound a crackling fire, wondering what that was all about. My upstairs neighbor got up at 5 am as usual to attend early mass on Christmas day, and after she left the rest of her household gradually got up and started cleaning (sweeping everything early in the morning is a common practice & involves moving heavy chairs which of course I can hear while I'm trying vainly to get a little more sleep) and cooking for the day. So I gave up sleeping and got up early.
We went to church around 10am at the Baptist church I've been attending in my neighborhood. The service was a pretty traditional Christmas service with Christmas carols and stuff like that, and was a blessing to be part of, and lasted only 2 hours which is short for most Nigerian churches.
Some of the neighborhood kids visited me in the afternoon, expecting to get treats or money (another tradition - sort of like our Halloween, but with no costumes). I gave them each one of the snickerdoodles I had managed to bake last Saturday. I made good old American spaghetti for dinner because the propane stove top is easier to use than the oven (cooking a turkey, ham, or roast would have been a miracle accomplishment). One of my friends brought over a spicy Nigerian rice and chicken dish, which was rounded out with a green salad (not common here & definitely a treat). 5 of us shared a nice dinner with cookies and brownies for dessert (yes I managed to keep the oven going long enough to bake some dynamite brownies). I managed to boil water for tea or hot chocolate to have with our dessert just before the propane tank ran out (which means it will be cold bucket baths tomorrow if the electricity doesn't come on because it's another holiday tomorrow and the propane places will be closed).
And then we had one more little Christmas miracle - there was actually a Xmas movie on tv last night - the Grinch who Stole Christmas. We have been trying to find Xmas movies to watch for the past week and there have been almost none - maybe because our satellite tv system is an Arabic system (about 10 stations in English with Arabic subtitles that we watch, and a couple hundred in Arabic). Anyway, we enjoyed a silly Christmas movie and went to bed, although it was another short night with the bar as usual playing on into the night. I did sleep soundly after that until 5 am when the upstairs lady got up to go to mass again. At the same time, one of our resident street preachers turned up with her loud speaker and started preaching non-stop for 2 hours (I'm pretty sure she has some mental problems cause not much of her preaching makes sense most days).
Today is Boxing Day - a remnant of the English colonial days - Nigerians do not do anything special this day anymore - it's just a day off from work with more eating going on. I have no special plans for today, but think I will try to fit in a nap this afternoon.
Did I say that this Xmas was different??? Maybe that is an understatement :-)! In spite of the differences and periods of homesickness for all of you, I feel blessed and thankful for all that the Lord has been doing in my life.
The power just went off, so I had better close and send this out before my UPS box loses power and I lose the internet connection.
God bless you all. Hope you had a very Merry Christmas. Love, Biana
On the 12th day of the Eurocentrically-imposed midwinter festival, my potential acquaintance gave to me,
TWELVE males reclaiming their inner warrior through ritual drumming.
ELEVEN pipers piping (plus the 18 member pit orchestra made up of members in good standing of the Musicians Equity Union as called for in their union contract even though they will not be asked to play a note...)
TEN melanin-deprived, testosterone-poisoned scions of the patriarchal ruling class system leaping,
NINE persons engaged in rhythmic self-expression,
EIGHT economically-disadvantaged female persons stealing milk products from enslaved Bovine Americans,
SEVEN endangered swans swimming on federally-protected wetlands,
SIX enslaved fowl-Americans producing stolen, nonhuman animal products,
FIVE golden symbols of culturally-sanctioned enforced domestic incarceration, (NOTE: after a member of the Animal Liberation Front threatened to throw red paint at my computer, the calling birds, French hens and partridge have been reintroduced to their native habitat. To avoid further animal American enslavement, the remaining gift package has been revised.)
FOUR hours of recorded whale songs,
THREE deconstructionist poets,
TWO Sierra Club calendars printed on recycled, processed tree carcasses,
and a Spotted Owl activist chained to an old-growth pear tree.
Author Unknown - from an e-mail
"The 12 Politically Correct Days of Christmas"
On the 12th day of the Eurocentrically-imposed midwinter festival, my potential acquaintance gave to me,
TWELVE males reclaiming their inner warrior through ritual drumming.
ELEVEN pipers piping (plus the 18 member pit orchestra made up of members in good standing of the Musicians Equity Union as called for in their union contract even though they will not be asked to play a note...)
TEN melanin-deprived, testosterone-poisoned scions of the patriarchal ruling class system leaping,
NINE persons engaged in rhythmic self-expression,
EIGHT economically-disadvantaged female persons stealing milk products from enslaved Bovine Americans,
SEVEN endangered swans swimming on federally-protected wetlands,
SIX enslaved fowl-Americans producing stolen, nonhuman animal products,
FIVE golden symbols of culturally-sanctioned enforced domestic incarceration, (NOTE: after a member of the Animal Liberation Front threatened to throw red paint at my computer, the calling birds, French hens and partridge have been reintroduced to their native habitat. To avoid further animal American enslavement, the remaining gift package has been revised.)
FOUR hours of recorded whale songs,
THREE deconstructionist poets,
TWO Sierra Club calendars printed on recycled, processed tree carcasses,
and a Spotted Owl activist chained to an old-growth pear tree.
Author Unknown - from an e-mail
"Politically Correct Santa"
'Twas the night before Christmas and Santa's a wreck...
How to live in a world that's politically correct?
His workers no longer would answer to "Elves",
"Vertically Challenged" they were calling themselves.
And labour conditions at the North Pole
Were alleged by the union to stifle the soul.
Four reindeer had vanished, without much propriety,
Released to the wilds by the Humane Society.
And equal employment had made it quite clear
That Santa had better not use just reindeer.
So Dancer and Donner, Comet and Cupid,
Were replaced with 4 pigs, and you know that looked stupid!
The runners had been removed from his sleigh;
The ruts were termed dangerous by the C.A.A.
And people had started to call for the cops
When they heard sled noises on their rooftops.
Second-hand smoke from his pipe had his workers quite frightened.
His fur trimmed red suit was called "Unenlightened."
And to show you the strangeness of life's ebbs and flows:
Rudolf was suing over unauthorized use of his nose.
So, half of the reindeer were gone; and his wife,
Who suddenly said she'd enough of this life,
Joined a self-help group, packed, and left in a whiz,
Demanding from now on her title was Ms.
And as for the gifts, why, he'd never a notion
That making a choice could cause so much commotion.
Nothing of leather, nothing of fur,
Which meant nothing for him. And nothing for her.
Nothing that might be construed to pollute.
Nothing to aim. Nothing to shoot.
Nothing that clamoured or made lots of noise.
Nothing for just girls. Or just for the boys.
Nothing that claimed to be gender specific.
Nothing that's warlike or non-pacific.
No candy or sweets...they were bad for the tooth.
Nothing that seemed to embellish a truth.
And fairy tales, while not yet forbidden,
Were like Ken and Barbie, better off hidden.
For they raised the hackles of those psychological
Who claimed the only good gift was one ecological.
Dolls were said to be sexist, and should be passé;
And Nintendo would rot your entire brain away.
So Santa just stood there, dishevelled, perplexed;
He just could not figure out what to do next.
He tried to be merry, tried to be gay,
But you've got to be careful with that word today.
His sack was quite empty, limp to the ground;
Nothing fully acceptable was to be found.
Something special was needed, a gift that he might
Give to all without angering the left or the right.
A gift that would satisfy, with no indecision,
Each group of people, every religion;
Every ethnicity, every hue,
Everyone, everywhere...even YOU.
So here is that gift, it's price beyond worth...
"May you and your loved ones enjoy peace on earth."
Author Unknown
Joy is the true gift of Christmas, not the expensive gifts that call for time and money....Let us pray that this presence of the liberating joy of God shines forth in our lives.
Pope Benedict XVI
For many of us, sadly, the spirit of Christmas is "hurry." And yet...the hour comes when the rushing ends and...Christmas itself is eternal.
-Burton Hills
This is Christmas: not the tinsel, not the giving and receiving, not even the carols, but the humble heart that receives anew the wondrous gift, the Christ.
-Frank McKibben
Advent is the perfect time to clear and prepare the Way. Advent is a winter training camp for those who desire peace.
-Edward Hays
Hope, struggle, fear, expectation and fulfillment are all part of our Advent experience.
-Connections
The liturgy of Advent…helps us to understand fully the value and meaning of the mystery of Christmas.
-Pope John Paul II
Life is a constant Advent season: We are continually waiting to become, to discover, to complete, to fulfill.
-Connections
Valerie Rae Hanneman
There is so much to love about Christmas. To begin with, worldwide, everybody stops to celebrate Jesus’ birthday – to quote my favorite preacher-guy “All this fuss over Jesus.” I love to ring the bells for the Salvation Army. I love the two days I spend with Fawn as we bake and make our gifts for our loved ones. And I love the lights of Christmas. This year my mom and I drove through Cindy Lane in Clovis. The whole subdivision decorates their homes with lights – it is simply incredible. I am of the belief that Cindy Lane can be seen from the moon during Christmas - there are so many lights! Truly, Christmas is the Season of Light!
There are four seasons of light in our human history. Each appearance of the light is for a season of time, changes everything that had come before it, and brings us closer to God.
The first season of light shows up in Genesis and is the weakest of the four lights. It happened when God said, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:14) and created the sun that warms our planet and gives life to the plants, seas, animals and us. I do not know how long after the creation of the sun that Adam and Eve brought sin into the world. I would like to think it was a million years – but the practical side of me (the side that knows me too well) wonders if it was even a year. Once sin entered into the world there had to be a method of reconciliation between sinful man and perfect God. God gave man a system of animal sacrifice as this first method of reconciliation. This method of reconciliation required that humans work to bring about the reconciliation. Humans had to offer different types of sacrifice for different types of sin and there were the annual sacrifices at Passover to cover all of the people’s sins. The problem was that the animal sacrifices were insufficient to fully cover sin and each year, sin had to be covered again. The form of reconciliation based on humans work was weak and insufficient. God was at His most distant – hidden behind the curtain in the Holy of Holies in the Temple.
The second season of light can be found in John 1:4 & 9 when the Word says, “In Him was life and the life was the light of men” and “The true Light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.” This Light was – and is – Jesus. Born of a virgin, born in a stable, God has left the glory of eternity to become Emmanuel, God with us. No longer distant, God is with us physically. For thirty-three years the Light of the World walks with us, He talks with us, He touches us with His love, and then He dies for us as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. No longer dependent on the imperfect sacrifices given by man, reconciliation with God is now dependent only on the once-and-for-all sacrifice given by God. This reconciliation brings us closer to God then ever before.
The third season of light came after Jesus rose from the dead and returned to eternity with His Father. It happened on the day of Pentecost when the Book of Acts 2:3 records, “They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.” This season of light is the outpouring of Holy Spirit. On this day everything changed because God is no longer distant, He is no longer physically with us; instead He has chosen to dwell within us. This is when reconciliation changed to relationship as God no longer speaks to us through the priests and the prophets, nor even through the physical presence of Jesus, but through Holy Spirit within us. God is no longer distant and behind a curtain, nor does He physically walk with us anymore. Instead, He dwells within us to personally guide us, teach us and protect us. This is the season of light that humanity currently lives within. God within us is closer to us than He has been at any time in our history. But this is not the last season of light.
The last season of light has not yet come to us. We are told of it in Revelation 19:11 & 16 when elderly John records what was reveled to him as this, “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse whose rider is named Faithful and True” and “On His robe and on His thigh He has this name written, “King of kings and LORD of lords.” Jesus, the Light of the World, is coming back to this world. Only He is not coming back as a servant, or as a sacrifice. He is coming as King of kings and LORD of Lords to take His proper place as Messiah-King and to make everything in this sad broken world right again. And we who are in relationship with Him will be riding beside Him, chosen to share in His final victory. This final and greatest season of light is an eternity in His presence, where we will finally enjoy a perfect relationship with our God that is not marked by sin or shame, tears or pain. We will live with Him in the New Jerusalem that is lit not by the weakness of the sun but rather by the glorious radiance of The Son. We will finally be complete.
Cindy Lane is bright with lights, marking Christmas as the Season of Lights. It is beautiful! But Jesus says that we ain’t seen nothin’ yet. He says that in the final season of lights – the season when He takes His throne – will be more glorious than anything we can imagine – in fact He says that we are incapable of imagining it. As bright as the Christmas lights are, they are not as bright as our future.
LORD Jesus, my relationship with You is more joy than I could believe was possible, and yet Your promise is that even greater joy awaits me in the fourth season of light. I can hardly wait to be with You, to worship You as You are seated on Your throne.
Contact Valerie or sign up for the e-Ministry of FFBC at Valerie@fresnofirst.org
Twas the Night of Jesus
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Twas the night Jesus came
and all through the house,
not a person was praying,
not one in the house..
The Bible was left
on the shelf without care,
for no one thought
Jesus would come there..
The children were dressing
to crawl into bed,
not once ever kneeling
or bowing their head..
And Mom in the rocking chair
with babe on her lap,
was watching the Late Show
as I took a nap..
When out of the east
there rose such a clatter,
I sprang to my feet
to see what was the matter..
Away to the window
I flew like a flash,
tore open the shutters
and lifted the sash..
When what to my wondering
eyes should appear,
but Angels proclaiming
that Jesus was here..
The light of His face
made me cover my head...
was Jesus returning
just like He'd said..
And though I possessed
worldly wisdom and wealth,
I cried when I saw Him
in spite of myself..
In the Book of Life
which he held in his hand,
was written the name
of every saved man..
He spoke not a word
as he searched for my name,
when He said "it's not here"
My head hung in shame..
The people whose names
had been written with love,
He gathered to take
to his Father above..
With those who were ready
He rose without sound,
while all of the others
were left standing around...
I fell to my knees
but it was too late,
I'd waited too long
and thus sealed my fate.
I stood and I cried
as they rose out of sight,
Oh, if only I'd known
that this was the night....
In the words of this poem
the meaning is clear
the coming of Jesus
is now drawing near...
There's only one life
and when comes the last call,
We'll find out that the Bible
was true after all....
B Basic
I Instruction
B Before
L Leaving
E Earth
by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
http://www.joyfulheart.com/christmas/gabriel-mary.htm
As the tall, stately angel rose and walked toward the front of the chapel, there was a buzz among the cadets. Gabriel was a living legend. He cleared his throat.
I've been asked to speak to you today about what I've learned throughout my career. Foremost is this: we are servants of the Most High God. This lesson I learned not during my days here at the academy, but from a human being, a girl.
I had been summoned before God to be briefed on a new mission. He told me:
"Gabriel, you have a most delicate assignment. I am sending my Son to redeem the earth. To do this he must become a human himself. You mission is to announce this plan to the young woman I have chosen to be his mother.
"Her name is Mary. She lives in the village of Nazareth in Galilee. She is betrothed to be married. That means that she is already considered a wife, though she is living at home until the final ceremonies a few months from now. And Gabriel ... she is a virgin."
He went on to describe my role and brief me on the various contingencies, concluding with these words. "Gabriel, by all means, be gentle."
I arrived one spring morning as Mary was climbing the path from the well and came to where I was sitting on a large boulder.
She's only a child, I thought when I first saw her -- only twelve or thirteen. Betrothed at that age? But such were the customs of that place and I was assured that the Father knows what he is doing. As she approached, I stood, dressed as I always dress -- long white robe, golden sash, and so forth.
"Greetings, Mary," I began.
She gasped.
"Hail, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you!"
All the color drained from her face. I motioned for her to sit. She carefully removed the full water jug from her head, set it down, then eased herself onto the far end of the rock.
"Don't be afraid, Mary," I said. "You have found favor with God." I waited a moment for her to calm down.
"You will conceive in your womb and bear a son. You are to name him Jesus." She appeared stunned by these words, but I continued.
"Your son will become a great man. He will be called the Son of the Most High God. What's more, the Lord God will give him the throne of David his ancestor. And he will reign as Messiah over Israel forever. Of his kingdom and reign there will be no end!"
I paused. The message shocked me; I couldn't imagine the impact it must have had on her! She was quiet for a time. Then she asked in her young teenager voice:
"How will this happen, since I am not yet married?"
I answered:
"The Holy Spirit will come to you,
The Power of the Most High will overshadow you,
Therefore your son to be born will be holy,
He will be called 'Son of God.'"
Amazing! The Father was prepared to rest his entire Christ-enterprise on this young girl -- her response, her whim, her decision. She was to be the mother of God's own Son -- so young. I continued to reassure her.
"And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has conceived a son."
Mary murmured, "Old Elizabeth? Really? Oh!" I could see just a glimmer of a twinkle return to her eyes.
"Yes, they called her 'barren,' but she's already six months pregnant."
Mary was almost grinning for a moment. Then I saw her smile fade. I couldn't read her thoughts, but could only imagine what she must be thinking.
How could she ever explain this to anyone? Who would understand? Who would ever believe her? Her father would be furious, her mother deeply hurt. And Joseph? There would be no wedding. Her dreams of marriage and family vanished in an instant. And the town fathers? Would they try to stone her?
I had been given one sentence by the Father with which to respond: "Nothing will be impossible with God," I said. "Nothing!"
She was quiet a moment longer, lost in her thoughts. Then she looked up at me with clear eyes and said intently: "Here I am. I am the Lord's servant, his handmaid. Let what you have said come to pass."
She stood up. As she began to lift the heavy water jug to her shoulder and then hoist it up to her head, I reached to help, but she shook her head and lifted it up herself. As she made her way up the path to the village, her steps were assured, almost a spring to them. At the top of the hill she steadied the jar with one hand and waved to me with the other. Then she was lost from view.
And that is how I met Mary. She taught me what it means to be a servant when it's hard to obey, when there seems to be no hope except God's promise. Mary took the words, "For nothing will be impossible with God," and believed them. Whenever I struggle with obedience, I think of this young girl who began a servant's journey with the words:
"I am the servant, the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be! Let it come! I am His servant."
The tall angel touched the corner of his eye for a moment, then stepped down and took his seat. Gabriel had learned servanthood from a even a greater servant than himself -- a young virgin from Nazareth named Mary
Faith is a pipeline. It can flow in health, in terms of water or oxygen, or it can be filled with poison. What values do you pour through there?-Robert Schuller
I was sitting up in choir last Sonday and got the greatest pleasure from looking out and seeing Bev & Floyd Willis back in services. They both look wonderful!
Kelli Hastings has checked in with me. It is so good to hear from her! She had her operation, unfortunately they nicked her colon. She is confined to home for several weeks – she can’t drive her car – so she is going stir-crazy. Tyler is about to take off to visit several foreign countries and Kelli is reacting in typical mom fashion – worried!
German Amezuca sent out the following update on his son, Emmanuel “As my sister in law said “Today was a beautiful day” Manu said “Hi Dad”, yesterday was mom’s day and today was mine. He has said a lot more today but obviously these words have never sounded so sweet. He is slowly getting back to his chatty self, Ms Baker (his teacher) was here and spoke with him and he reciprocated, The Fresno Bee was here and he hammed it up for Tomas Ovalle’s camera. Jessi (the mom) did her physical therapy today and is doing well. We were told that Friday morning we get to ride the bus and travel all they way to the River Park shopping center (5 miles away) and shopping at some of the stores. Sunday Manu might be able to go home for a visit. He is doing so well, today he ate his favorite Macaroni and Cheese and chocolate pudding along with other things. He amazes me more and more each day.”
Please pray for a co-worker of mine, Jack Daniel. He is in the hospital with pnumonia, a complication arising from his cancer. Jack is not a believer.
Please continue to pray for – Katie Arrizon, Eddie Ronsley and his heart, Idaleen Conklin with undiagnosed medical problems, Nelle Lacy in hospice care, Sible Spikes in hospice care, Yolanda Morales recovering from surgery, Blanche Shuck in SJG Health Center, Johnnie Sowell & vertigo, Vance Smith with nerve damage, Ellen Burton’s family following Ellen’s passing, Donna Hemphill, Kelli Hasting, Linda Morris, Carol Robertshaw, Bob Molander, Glen, Josh, and Ann Herrington with kidney cancer, Kathy waiting for back surgery, and Walt Couch, with prostrate cancer.
Pray for our missionaries –Biana and Faith Alive in Nigeria, Judy, Faye & Miisaw with New Life Center in Thailand, Jan & Larry Martin in Thailand, The Reaching Hand Society in India, Yvonne Deel in Belize, Bounkham & Khamla in Laos, Laurie Bethall in Prague, Meghan Dineen in Mexico, and all the missionaries worldwide.
Pray for our pastors our leadership, our ministries, and Father’s provision for His Church. Pray for the opportunity to go fishing.
Pray for our county, the military who serve freedom and our leadership.
LORD Jesus,
In just a couple of days it will be Christmas. We know that this isn’t really Your birthday but it is an opportunity to celebrate Your birth, to celebrate Your love for us that is so compelling, to celebrate You. We celebrate You, LORD of Christmas.
Healer of Body & Soul, we pray for the continued healing of Bev & Floyd Willis and thank You for the joy of seeing them in services.
We continue to lift up the Amezuca family and ask for continued healing for Emmanuel & Jessie.
We lift up Kelli for continued healing, patience and we pray Your protection for Tyler as he travels the world. Help him to see Your glory in all that he sees.
Giver of all Hope, Jack is not in a good place. His health concerns are secondary to his real problem. He doesn’t know You. I pray that You send somebody to him that he will listen to. Father, if it is me – then let me see clearly the opening to speak.
We pray in agreement for those who remain on our prayer chain, some of them with short-term problems, others with situations that will continue to challenge for a long time. Grant peace and mercy into each of these situations.
We pray, LORD of All, that You bring peace and contentment to all of Your missionaries who serve You in countries far from home. During this season let them discover You anew.
Eternal and Everlasting Holy Spirit, place a hedge of protection around our pastors and their families during this season that is so joyful – and yet, can present additional challenges for them. Help us to express our love and support for them in all that we do. Renew the fire within us to serve You, LORD, in the ministry opportunities provided by our community of faith, and in our day-by-day lives. In this Season of Life, help us to see those who do not know the Giver of Life. Give us the courage to speak and the words to say.
God, bless the United States with wisdom to know and follow You. Restore our land. Help our leaders to listen to Your voice of Truth. We thank You for our military men and women who are so far from their families at this time. Comfort them.
LORD Jesus, everybody seems to turn their attention to You during this time. Help us, who are called by Your name, to give You that attention year round and to reflect Your glory in every word we speak, in every move we make and in every thought we think.
You are more than everything – You are the only thing that matters. To speak the words, “We love You, LORD” are insufficient to express how completely You capture our hearts.
Dear family and friends,
This is not a typical Christmas letter, or even my typical mission newsletter, but nothing in my life seems to be typical right now. I knew that Christmas in Nigeria away from all of my family, friends, and comfortable American traditions would be different, but I wasn’t prepared for how this would affect me. After all, I’ve spent more time living in Nigeria in 2006 and 2007 than in the USA and have prided myself on how I’ve become such an adaptable bi-cultural person capable of being content both in the affluent USA or poverty stricken Nigeria. So I was caught off guard when I realized about a week ago that I had turned into a very grumpy depressed person. Yes, I was two weeks into a bad case of the flu that I am still coughing from, which was part of the problem, but mostly I was missing all of the Christmas traditions I have come to cherish, as well as everyone who is dear to me and who are such an important part of why I love Christmas.
It is so entirely different here this Christmas than any other Christmas I can remember. There are few Christmas decorations to see anywhere. I have seen only two decorated trees, and those are both in establishments that cater to American & British expats like me. I thought about buying a small artificial tree and making decorations the way I did many years ago when I was pregnant with Sarah, but I’ve always had a live tree and there’s no family or close friends to share the tradition with anyway. It seemed silly to decorate a tree just for me, and honestly, I was feeling guilty that 95% of Nigerians aren’t earning enough money to even consider something like a decorated tree. I did start baking goodies to give to friends the way I have done since childhood, but gave up after taking all afternoon to make one batch of chocolate chip cookies, one small tray at a time in my small propane oven. Not only did I have to constantly check on the oven because the temperature varied minute by minute from barely warm to extremely hot (no normal temperature gauge in this oven), but I also had to stand guard over the cookie dough and the cooling cookies all afternoon in order to keep the resident cockroaches away from a feast. I did enjoy giving the few cookies to friends, but haven’t had the energy to try another batch since then.
Eventually, I had to admit that I wasn’t doing so well with the holiday season this year. I set aside some time to rest, read my Bible more, and listen to God. I admitted to God that I really needed his help, and had no idea what to do differently or change to get out of this moodiness. My normal Christmas traditions just didn’t fit or make sense here in Nigeria, and I was at a loss, feeling guilty for my life of affluence (compared to Nigerians) and depressed about the separation from my family and friends. I didn’t know what else to do, so I asked God to show me where he is working this holiday season and let me join him in that work. At least then, I might feel like there was some purpose to all of the effort and struggle I was experiencing, and perhaps I could find the joy of the Christmas season again.
A few days later, a three of my Nigerian friends came to me at different times asking for help with financial problems related to surgeries for family members. Helping people through these kinds of problems is always a challenge. Sometimes God provides for these needs through Faith Alive’s resources, but this time Dr Chris had traveled and I couldn’t just turn this over to him. So I prayed, and asked our pastors to pray also. We began asking everyone we could think of to make a donation to help meet these needs. Individuals gave whatever they could give: from one dollar to several hundred dollars, and slowly the needs were met. I realized afterwards that this was the answer to my prayer. This was God working through the church. There was nothing flashy or exciting going on. There was no special ability or work that I could undertake personally that would meet these needs and make me feel good inside (dare I say self-righteous?). In fact, I usually felt embarrassed asking people for money. Instead, God used many of his children who chose to give in spite of their own needs to someone who had a greater need. Not only were the few who needed the help blessed, but every person who contributed was blessed with the true joy of Christmas – the simple and holy joy that comes with freely giving out of whatever God has given us. I was blessed to be living in the midst of a Christmas miracle and might have missed it if I hadn’t been willing to struggle through the disappointments and depression of the weeks before this time. God would have still been working and blessing, but I might not have been part of that work or blessing.
Nothing has really changed in the circumstances of my daily life. My house isn’t decorated, nor are there a pile of presents under a Christmas tree. I may or may not be able to bake a batch of brownies this weekend. And the thought of producing a complete turkey or ham dinner with all of the trimmings for Christmas to share with family and friends, is just beyond comprehension. What has changed is my perspective. I can choose to dwell on all that I am missing this year, and continue to feel bad, or I can keep looking for my Lord working all around me, just as he does everyday of the year, and join him in being part of the blessings of his kingdom. So, maybe I will invite a few Nigerian friends who would have also spent Christmas alone to come over for a homemade spaghetti dinner after church. I don’t have to turn on the oven for that, and my mama taught me how to make an amazing spaghetti sauce.
May each of you experience the blessing of joining God in the things that he is doing all around us this Christmas and everyday of the New Year.
Peace, joy, and love from Nigeria. Biana
Valerie Rae Hanneman
Matthew 2:11 (The Message) “They entered the house and saw the Child in the arms of Mary, His mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshipped Him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh.”
My favorite time of Christmas comes this next Tuesday and Wednesday. Fawn and I have those two days off from our jobs. We will spend those two days working hard making fudge, candies, brittles and cookies to give out to our friends as gifts. Every year Fawn and I try to come up with a new fudge or candy to try. This year we are dropping the peanut butter fudge and we are going to try a cherries-in-white-chocolate fudge. We are also going to try to make toffee along with the brittles. (I am gaining weight just thinking about them!) This is my favorite time of Christmas on two levels. First and most important, I get to spend some time with Fawn. Fawn works nights and I work days so we have gone for days on end without actually seeing each other so I am jazzed (understatement) about being together with her. The second joy is that what we make will be gifts for people we love. Truth is, we could probably get our friends some little gift that would cost less and be much easier to get than the goodies we make. We choose to make these gifts because we hope that the effort of the gift lets our friends know how much we love and appreciate them.
What were the gifts from the wise men from the east? “Well duh, Valerie!” I can almost hear you saying, “both the Bible and centuries of tradition say that the gifts were gold, frankincense and myrrh! Everybody knows that!” And you are right, gold, frankincense and myrrh are the gifts that the were taken out of the luggage and physically given. But there were gifts of much greater significance given that day to Jesus.
The first significant gift that the wise men gave to Jesus was time. From where I am sitting right now Sierra Summit in the Sierras is east of me. So is Washington, DC and so is Jerusalem. The Word of God just says that they came from the east but it doesn’t say how long it took them. There are indications that they may have traveled for as much as two years before they reached Jesus. They had to give up their time, drop the everyday hustle and bustle of their lives – they had to give up the “normal” of their lives to pursue and find God.
The second gift was effort and hardship. If I suddenly got a wild and crazy urge to go east all I would have to do is grab my credit cards, my car keys and go. I would have easy access to all that I needed on the road - food, gas, clothes, & hotels. The only limits on my ability go east would be the Atlantic Ocean and the limit on my cards. Not so for the wise men. Whether they traveled for two weeks or for two years there was major effort and hardship involved. They had to arrange for the means of travel – the caravan of horses, camels, wagons, food, servants, guards, animal drovers supplies, accomedations, etc. And although I am sure that they tried to travel as comfortably as possible, sleeping on the ground, cooking with a campfire, enduring the stench of the animals and each other had to be trying on the body and spirit. They had to endure hardship to find God.
The next gift was commitment. They started out determined to see the trip through. There had to have been times when they said to themselves, “What were we thinking to start this?” there were times when it all just got to be too much and they just wanted t throw up their hands and go home. But they didn’t. They had to persevere to find God.
The biggest gift that they gave was faith. They had read in the ancient writings of a star like none other that would herald the birth of a King like none other. When they saw that star they had no physical proof, no scientific proof that there really would be a King. What they did have was a faith big enough to cause them to step out of their comfort zone and to follow a star and to find a King who is God. When they found Him, because of their faith, they knew who He was, and they fell down and worshipped Him
The gifts that the wise men gave to Jesus when they finally found Him were great. But the gifts that caused rejoicing in heaven and brought a smile to Father’s face were not the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They were the gifts that could not bee seen and could not be measured. They were the gifts of time, of endurance, of commitment and of faith and worship. These were the gifts that made a lasting – and eternal – difference.
I wish that I could give Jesus a gift that is worthy of Him, a gift that expresses how very much I love Him, how I worship Him, how I cannot imagine my life without Him. What gift can I give that is fit for a King?
All that I can give Him are the same gifts that the wise men gave Him. I give Him my time, my endurance, my commitment, my faith, my worship and my love. I give Him everything because He is my everything. Jesus takes my humble gifts and He turns them into something that is as bright and magnificent as a star that lit up the night thousands of years ago.
LORD Jesus, You are everything to me. You are the foundation of my life. I am not much, I struggle daily to live a life worthy of You, sometimes I succeed, and more times I don’t. But I love You with my whole heart. I gladly give to You everything I have, I give You my time, my endurance, my commitment, my faith and my worship. Use my gifts; use me to Your glory.
Contact Valerie or sign up for the e-Ministry of FFBC at Valerie@fresnofirst.org
By the reading of Scripture I am so renewed that all nature seems renewed around me and with me. -Thomas Merton
With great sadness I report to you that Ellen Burton has passed away. Please keep her children and family in prayer.
Yolanda Morales is recovering well after undergoing surgery for bone spurs in her shoulder.
Please continue to pray for German Amezcua and his family. This is the family that was hit by the 15 year old driver. Emmanuel, the younger brother is still in ICU of the burn center. He will hopefully be going to Valley Children’s shortly. He is responsive and able to watch TV although he is still not eating on his own – but through a tube.
Our Katie has to wear a safety helmet continuously as she is falling down more. Please keep this precious young woman in prayer.
Please pray for a friend of mine, Eddie Ronsley, as he faces continuing health challenges with his heart.
Idaleen Conklin is undergoing several medical tests to try and determine the cause of her illnesses that are keeping her at home.
Nelle Lacy & Sible Spikes are in hospice care. They are both in good spirits. Please pray for God’s continued mercy on them.
Blanche Shuck is in San Joaquin Gardens health Center after a myocardial infarction. Please go for a visit if you can.
Pray for healing of nerve damage on Vance Smith’s left side
Johnnie Sowell is having tests done to determine the cause of her vertigo.
Please continue to pray for – Donna Hemphill, Kelli Hasting, Linda Morris, Carol Robertshaw, Bob Molander, Glen, Bev Willis, Josh, and Ann Herrington with kidney cancer, Kathy waiting for back surgery, and Walt Couch, with prostrate cancer.
Pray for our missionaries –Biana and Faith Alive in Nigeria, Judy, Faye & Miisaw with New Life Center in Thailand, Jan & Larry Martin in Thailand, The Reaching Hand Society in India, Yvonne Deel in Belize, Bounkham & Khamla in Laos, Laurie Bethall in Prague, Meghan Dineen in Mexico, and all the missionaries worldwide.
Pray for our pastors our leadership, our ministries, and Father’s provision for His Church. Pray for the opportunity to go fishing.
Jehovah Most High,
You are God of heaven and earth; You are God of the skies and the seas, the mountains and the valleys, the deserts and the rainforests. You are God over life and death. You are God over everything that moves and everything that doesn’t move. Most important of all, You are God over us. We bow our hearts before Your majesty.
Infinite Father, we lift up Ellen’s family before You and ask that You comfort them in this time of loss.
Abba, there are so many on our prayer chain who are struggling with health issues. We pray in agreement for their healing. We pray for Yolanda’s continued recovery from shoulder surgery; for Emmanuel Amezuca as he heals from the car accident; for our Katie as her health continues to weaken. We pray for Eddie Ronsley and ask, LORD of Light, that You strengthen his heart; for Idaleen Conklin as she undergoes these tests and that a resolution will be found; for Nelle and Sible as they continue down the path home to You. We call out for Blanche at San Joaquin Gardens, for Vance and the nerve damage and for Johnnie – that they will find the cause of her vertigo.
Please continue to bless those on our prayer chain and place Your hand on every situation.
Savior of the World, we ask that You pour Your Spirit on Your missionaries. Help them to see as You see, to hear as You hear and to love as You love.
We pray a wall of protection around our pastors and their families. In Your power we bind satan and his snares away from them. Fill our pastors and our leadership with a fresh vision of what You would have us to accomplish for Your kingdom.
Holy Spirit, we live our lives so fast. It seems that we are always running here and there chasing after who knows what. In our busyness we forget that You are the source of our life and that when You called us to follow You, You called us to fish. In the hustle and bustle – particularly during the Christmas season, we blow pass opportunities to tell of You, without even knowing us. Forgive us for our carelessness. Open our eyes, Father, to see those You would have us speak to.
You are the wonder of our life, there is no beauty brighter than Yours, there is no life better than Yours, there is no place we would rather be than in Your presence. We stand amazed by the wonder of You. We love You, Lord and gladly commit our lives to You.
If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows,
strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls,
but do not show love to my family,
I'm just another decorator.
If I slave away in the kitchen,
baking dozens of Christmas cookies,
preparing gourmet meals
and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime:
but do not show love to my family,
I'm just another cook.
If I work at a soup kitchen
carol in the nursing home,
and give all that I have to charity;
but do not show love to my family,
it profits me nothing.
If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels
and crocheted snowflakes,
attend a myriad of holiday parties
and sing in the choir's cantata
but do not focus on Christ,
I have missed the point.
Love stops the cooking to hug the child.
Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the spouse.
Love is kind, though harried and tired.
Love doesn't envy another's home
that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.
Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way,
but is thankful they are there to be in the way.
Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return;
but rejoices in giving to those who can't.
Love bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things
endures all things.
Love never fails.
Video games will break,
pearl necklaces will be lost,
golf clubs will rust;
But giving the gift of love will endure.
From an e-Mail - author Unknown
Hello! I hope this finds you all doing well... I
myself am wonderful! I leave in a few hours to fly to
Tijuana, where I will be for a week visiting some
churches and friends. From there, my mom will go get
me, and I will be in Fresno for a little over a week,
enough to be able to spend Christmas with the family,
and then leave with the team from First Baptist to
Laos! I am really excited for these travels, and
especially anxious for Laos. As some of you may
already know, I am taking this trip, among other
reasons, but mainly as an "advance team" to check out
opportunities and prayerfully consider taking a group
of our DTS students from YWAM Pachuca to serve in
southeast Asia. It is something you can help me pray
for, as I really believe the ministry opportunity
would be of great impact and influence in the lives of
young people.
Merry Christmas in advance for those I won't be able
to see this season!
Meghan
Valerie Rae Hanneman
Luke 2:6 (NIV) “And while they were there the time came for the Baby to be born.”
Sonday, last week, was a very special day in our Community of Faith. Not only was it the first Sonday of Advent, it was also the first Sonday in December so, as is our tradition, it was also Communion Sonday. Willie talked about what a rare – and yet wonderful - occurrence it is to have both of these celebrations fall on the same day. I am in total agreement with him. How cool is it to celebrate the beginning of Jesus’ birthday party on the same day as when we pause to remember why He was born.
The Communion service began; the elements were being passed to the community. As Willie talked I looked at the cracker in my hand, and just a few moments later the little bit of grape juice and thought, “How small they are, considering what they represent.” My mind filled with thoughts about what these tiny elements represent. (Don’t worry Willie; I was also paying attention to you. I am woman – I multi-task).
The cracker represents His body broken for us, the grape juice His blood shed for the forgiveness of our sins. They represent the sacrifice of His life for our sins. But Jesus’ sacrifice began long before His death. In fact, it began about thirty-three years before then. It began in Bethlehem, in a stable, in a feed trough. The Word of God says that eye has not seen nor mind conceived of what heaven is like. Jesus ruled over eternity in a place so glorious, so magnificent that our minds cannot conceive of it. And He willingly left it to live within the confines of time with His creation. Up until this time God had visited earth in different ways, sometimes physically, like when He appeared it the fiery furnace in Babylonia then He returned to Heaven. Sometimes Holy Spirit came and fell upon a person and that person would prophesy with God’s words, then Holy Spirit returned to Heaven. For awhile His Presence was between the angels of the Ark of the Covenant. But then He left. At the time of Jesus’ birth it had been 400 years since God had last been heard from. But this night is like no other night before, like no other night since, because this is the night that God becomes Emmanuel, God with us. And He will never leave again. Jesus lived with us until He went back to Father and now Holy Spirit lives within us until we go back to Father. And it all changed when Jesus stepped out of glory and into a frail baby boy’s body, to be born in an animal’s shed and laid in a used feed trough. He sacrificed all that He had in eternity to become God With Us.
His sacrifice continued through His earthly life. As a baby He had to learn to walk and learn to talk. He had scrapped knees as a toddler and splinters in His young boy’s hands as He learned in His step-father’s carpenter shop. He had to work as a carpenter to support Himself and His mother. I believe that most of the time He just loved being God Incognito and living daily amongst His creation, but He had “those days” just like we have “those days” when His love for us is the only thing that kept Him here.
When He started His earthly ministry His life became even more difficult – even more of a sacrifice. On one hand there was the time when Peter said “You are Messiah.” How jubilant Jesus must have been to hear these words. And yet, He also had to say to Peter, “Get thee behind me, satan!” How disappointed He must have been when, after He spent so much time teaching the disciples that a life of service is what His followers should aspire to, they argued about who would sit at His right hand, the place of highest recognition. “Okay boys,” He sighed, “Let’s try this again, the first shall be last and the last shall be first….” How painful it must have been for Him to know that there were so many who hated Him so much that they would gladly take His life, when He loved them so much He was going to gladly give His life.
Then came the sacrifice of His death. The night before He dies He shows us the fear of a man when He prays, “If it is possible, take this cup away from Me.” He then shows us the glory of God when He says, “But Thy will be done.” It was His great love – a love that only God could have for us – that caused Jesus to take every step on the way to His death on Calvary. It was His human flesh that felt every punishment and humiliation heaped upon Him until that death.
The size of the cracker and the sip of juice are too small to ever represent the 33 year sacrifice Jesus made for us. But then I realized that their size does not matter. What matters is the size of the remembrance in our hearts and souls; it is the size of the love and gratitude that we lift up to our risen Savior. It is how we translate that remembrance, that love and that gratitude into our everyday life.
LORD Jesus, I stand in awe of a love so compelling that You willingly left the incomparable glory of heaven to live as Emmanuel. I thank You for that love, and I will live a life of remembrance of Your sacrifice for me. I am not much, but what I am, I gladly give to You.
Contact Valerie or sign up for the e-Ministry of FFBC at Valerie@fresnofirst.org
Letter From Jesus About Christmas
Dear Children,
It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season. Maybe you've forgotten that I wasn't actually born during this time of the year and that it was some of your predecessors who decided to celebrate My birthday on what was actually a time of pagan festival. Although I do appreciate being remembered anytime.
How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santa's and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.
Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1 - 8.
If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list. Choose something from it.
1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.
2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.
3. Instead of writing the President complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up. It will be nice hearing from you again.
4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.
5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.
6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.
7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families
8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary-- especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name.
9. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you.
10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.
Don't forget; I am Jesus and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember :
I LOVE YOU, JESUS
Compassion and justice are companions, not choices. -William Sloane Coffin
Do you ever do a search or make a purchase online? I do. I have recently learned that if I do my searches or my purchasing by going through Good Search they will make a contribution to Fresno First Baptist and it doesn’t cost me anything extra! How cool is that? The church gets funding when I do something that I do anyway. All I had to do was go on our website and select the Good Search button, then designate Fresno First as my charity. Then because I do a lot of searches (pleading the fifth on the number of my purchases) I added it to my favorites.
Yolanda Morales is undergoing surgery for bone spurs in her shoulder. Please keep her in prayer. Her recovery will take between four & six weeks – she (and I) would prefer the four weeks
Char Cole’s brother-in-law, Dick, has had surgery for the prostate cancer and is recovering well.
Please pray for German Amezcua and his family. This is the family that was hit by the 15 year old driver. Sabastian, the 9 year old son has passed into eternity. Emmanuel, the younger brother and the mother are in the hospital in critical but stable condition. The most incredible moment of this tragedy was when the father, German, forgave the driver shortly after the death of his son.
Please pray for the 15 year-old-driver and his family. Their lives are also devastated.
Hold up the families in Omaha who will never remember Christmas the same way.
Sara Ojeda is requesting prayer for her non-Christian friends and for the opportunity to witness to them.
Please continue to pray for – Donna Hemphill, Kelli Hasting, Linda Morris, Carol Robertshaw, Bob Molander, Glen, Bev Willis, Josh, Ellen Burton, Ann Herrington with kidney cancer, Eileen Betts, Kathy waiting for back surgery, our Katie as she faced ongoing health challenges, and Walt Couch, with prostrate cancer.
Pray for our missionaries –Biana and Faith Alive in Nigeria, Judy, Faye & Miisaw with New Life Center in Thailand, Jan & Larry Martin in Thailand, The Reaching Hand Society in India, Yvonne Deel in Belize, Bounkham & Khamla in Laos, Laurie Bethall in Prague, Meghan Dineen in Mexico, and all the missionaries worldwide.
Pray for our pastors our leadership, our ministries, and Father’s provision for His Church. Pray for the person that Jesus has laid on your heart, and pray for boldness to speak His truth.
LORD God,
You are incomparable. I inhabit only my body, I don’t understand how You can inhabit all of space, but I know that You do. I live within time, I wonder how You can live in all of eternity, but You do. I love those who love me, You love those who do not love You – and I am so grateful that You do.
Healer, we ask Your compassion and healing on Yolanda as she undergoes this surgery. We ask your continued hand on Dick as he continues to recover. Continue to work in the lives and situations of all who remain on our list.
Abba, there are things that happen in this world that are so sad that our hearts break – even when we do not personally know the people harmed. Comforter, we pray in agreement for the Amezuca family, and for the healing of Emmanuel and his mother. Thank You that the father, German, has found the ability to forgive. We pray for the young driver who will always have to live with the results of his bad decisions and for his family that is also in pain. We pray for the families in Omaha whose lives have been broken apart by a random, senseless act of violence.
We ask that You continue to bless Sara with opportunity and boldness to speak to her friends, and we pray for opportunity and boldness when we speak to our friends.
We pray for the courage to be totally sold-out for You, LORD, in our every thought, our every word and our every action. Help us always to reflect You to those around us.
Spirit of Life, renew and restore our pastors and the leadership of our community of faith. Provide for their physical and spiritual needs, grant them peace. You are our God who provides, provide for the needs of our ministries. Grant us the wisdom to use what You provide to us to make the best impact for Your kingdom. We ask Your provision and mercy for those who serve You from places everywhere around the world.
Thank You for the incredible life You have given us. To feel the love You pour on us so freely is a joy that we can not live without. And we never will live without it. You have given us life, You have given us eternity. We love you, Abba.
By Valerie Rae Hanneman
There is a movie coming out this week called “The Golden Compass.” I am sending out this information for exactly that – information about the movie. What you choose to do with this information is completely up to you.
The trailers for this movie make it seem to be a movie in the same genre as the Narnia series, but it is actually the complete opposite of the Narnia series. “The Golden Compass” is the first of a trilogy written by Philip Pullman, an avowed atheist and a man who admits that he hates CS Lewis and the Narnia series. The trilogy written by Phillip Pullman is called, “His Dark Materials” and is touted to be an adventure pitting good against evil – but in this trilogy evil is God. Although Phillip Pullman denies that the trilogy is anti-Christian, the name of the evil empire is “Magisterum” a word that is used by Catholics to refer to the teaching authority of the Pope. In the books the evil institution is also called “The Church” and the higher-ups are the “Vatican Council.” Although the wording makes it appear to be anti-Catholic, it is an attack on all of Christianity. In the final chapters of the third book the children triumph over evil when they kill God.
At one point in the trilogy one fallen angel says: “The Authority, God, the Creator, the Lord, Yahweh, El, Adonai, the King, the Father, the Almighty – those were all names he gave himself. He was never the creator. He was an angel like ourselves – the first angel, true, the most powerful, but he was formed of Dust as we are, and Dust is only a name for what happens when matter begins to understand itself.”
I urge you to consider what others are saying about this movie. Truthorfiction.com has an excellent non-biased view of the movie. Go to www.truthorfiction.com select the search tab then type “Golden Compass” in the search line to read what it says about this movie.
This is another website to access regarding information on this movie:
http://familyactionorganization.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/the-golden-compass-fraud/
The Catholic League, which is urging all Catholics to boycott this film has this website:
http://www.catholicleague.org/catalyst.php?year=2007&month=October&read=2306
Although the anti-religious themes are “dumbed down” for the movie, many children seeing this movie will then want to read the trilogy – and the trilogy is far more anti-Christianity than is the movie.
Valerie Rae Hanneman
Romans 3:9-11 “ What does all this mean? Does this mean that we Jews are better off than the Gentiles? No, it doesn’t! Jews as well as Gentiles are ruled by sin, just as I have said. The scriptures tell us. “No one is acceptable to God! Not one of them understands or even searches for God.”
This past June we took a bunch of the Care Fresno Kids Klub kids to San Francisco. Going over the Bay Bridge was an adventure as most of the kids had never even seen a bridge that big, let alone ridden over it. We took the Red & White boat tour around the bay and then went to the Exploratorium. The Exploratorium was fascinating! The displays were incredible (Although not nearly as incredible as the prices of a soda!) My favorite display was a water fountain toilet. The water came up from inside the toilet, and you had to put your face almost into the bowl to get a drink. There was a sign by the toilet explaining that the toilet had never been used for anything other that a drinking fountain, and that the water coming out of the fountain was purified and yet most people still could bring themselves to drink from the toilet. Would you be able to drink from the toilet? I can understand why most people could not. Do we want to put our face into anything that might be as tainted as a toilet?
If you ask most people who are not in relationship with Jesus about how they are hoping to get to heaven they will answer with some variation of, “Well, I am a good person, I have never killed anybody or done anything really wrong. I help people, I give to charity, I am honest.” They are hoping that the good part of them outweighs the bad part of them and so they will be allowed into heaven because of what they have done.
I get this mental picture of standing in front of God as He puts all the good we have done on one tray of a giant scale and then all the bad that we have done into the other tray. Can you imagine the tension as the bad tray slowly sinks and the good tray slowly rises? We would know for sure that if the bad scale outweighs the good tray we are toast (literally). But what if the trays are even? Or the good just slightly outweighs the bad? Does the good need to just slightly outweigh the bad? Or is it like twice as much as the bad? Or what? Just exactly where is God’s cutoff?
To discover the answer to that we must first look at God. God is perfect – He is absolutely perfect. He is perfect and holy, sin has never touched Him, sin has never marred His perfection and holiness. Sin cannot be near Him.
We, on the other hand are not perfect. Who among us can deny the truthfulness of God’s Word when it says, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) We may not be murderers, or robbers, or drug abusers, but we are sinners. When we gossip, when we lie, when we are jealous, or spiteful, or damaging to another, we have sinned. Suppose, by some miracle, we only sinned one time a day, in a life of eighty years that is almost three thousand sins! And the day that I am only guilty of one sin is the day that I am probably comatose. How about you? Do you sin only once a day?
How much sin does it take to contaminate us in God’s perfect, holy eyes? Suppose you had a bottle of filtered, purified water and you have just broken the seal of it in preparation of taking a long drink of it. But just before you do, I stop you. I take an eyedropper and fill it with the water from the bottom of your toilet bowl then squirt it into your bottle of water. It is just a little contaminated. Are you going to accept it? Are you going to drink it? Not me – no way!
If we will not accept something even slightly contaminated, how can we expect God to accept us when we are more than slightly contaminated by sin. We cannot.
God cannot accept us when we are contaminated by sin, so He gave us a way to be cleansed from our sin – to be decontaminated. That way is Jesus Christ.
The Word says, “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) That is the price tag of our sin-contamination – death. Thankfully, the Word also says that God is not willing that any should perish. (2 Peter 3:9) The rest of Romans 6:23 is “But the gift of God is eternal life..” That has to be the biggest “but” in all of history. Wages but gift, sin but God, death but life. The gift that God has given us that gives us eternal life is His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus willingly paid the price for our sins through His death.
How do we get this gift of life from God? Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is LORD,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved.” All that we have to do to accept the gift of eternal life is to believe in Jesus as our Savior, to ask Him to forgive us of our sins and to ask him into our hearts and into our lives. Once we do that, Jesus takes our sin from us – He decontaminates us and makes us clean.
If you have not asked Jesus to forgive your sins and you would like to know more – please call Fresno First Baptist at (559)Bap-tist and ask to speak to a pastor, or go to our website at www.fresnofirst.org and select the tab “Knowing Christ”
I drank out of the toilet bowl water faucet. I did it because the largest percentage of people could not, so I had to. But I did not do it easily because of just the thought of what it was, the thought of contamination.
God cannot accept us while we are contaminated by sin. Accept Jesus as Savior and be decontaminated.
Contact Valerie or sign up for the e-Ministry of FFBC at valerie@fresnofirst.org
DRINKING FROM A TOILET
Valerie Rae Hanneman
December 1, 2007
Romans 3:9-11 “ What does all this mean? Does this mean that we Jews are better off than the Gentiles? No, it doesn’t! Jews as well as Gentiles are ruled by sin, just as I have said. The scriptures tell us. “No one is acceptable to God! Not one of them understands or even searches for God.”
This past June we took a bunch of the Care Fresno Kids Klub kids to San Francisco. Going over the Bay Bridge was an adventure as most of the kids had never even seen a bridge that big, let alone ridden over it. We took the Red & White boat tour around the bay and then went to the Exploratorium. The Exploratorium was fascinating! The displays were incredible (Although not nearly as incredible as the prices of a soda!) My favorite display was a water fountain toilet. The water came up from inside the toilet, and you had to put your face almost into the bowl to get a drink. There was a sign by the toilet explaining that the toilet had never been used for anything other that a drinking fountain, and that the water coming out of the fountain was purified and yet most people still could bring themselves to drink from the toilet. Would you be able to drink from the toilet? I can understand why most people could not. Do we want to put our face into anything that might be as tainted as a toilet?
If you ask most people who are not in relationship with Jesus about how they are hoping to get to heaven they will answer with some variation of, “Well, I am a good person, I have never killed anybody or done anything really wrong. I help people, I give to charity, I am honest.” They are hoping that the good part of them outweighs the bad part of them and so they will be allowed into heaven because of what they have done.
I get this mental picture of standing in front of God as He puts all the good we have done on one tray of a giant scale and then all the bad that we have done into the other tray. Can you imagine the tension as the bad tray slowly sinks and the good tray slowly rises? We would know for sure that if the bad scale outweighs the good tray we are toast (literally). But what if the trays are even? Or the good just slightly outweighs the bad? Does the good need to just slightly outweigh the bad? Or is it like twice as much as the bad? Or what? Just exactly where is God’s cutoff?
To discover the answer to that we must first look at God. God is perfect – He is absolutely perfect. He is perfect and holy, sin has never touched Him, sin has never marred His perfection and holiness. Sin cannot be near Him.
We, on the other hand are not perfect. Who among us can deny the truthfulness of God’s Word when it says, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) We may not be murderers, or robbers, or drug abusers, but we are sinners. When we gossip, when we lie, when we are jealous, or spiteful, or damaging to another, we have sinned. Suppose, by some miracle, we only sinned one time a day, in a life of eighty years that is almost three thousand sins! And the day that I am only guilty of one sin is the day that I am probably comatose. How about you? Do you sin only once a day?
How much sin does it take to contaminate us in God’s perfect, holy eyes? Suppose you had a bottle of filtered, purified water and you have just broken the seal of it in preparation of taking a long drink of it. But just before you do, I stop you. I take an eyedropper and fill it with the water from the bottom of your toilet bowl then squirt it into your bottle of water. It is just a little contaminated. Are you going to accept it? Are you going to drink it? Not me – no way!
If we will not accept something even slightly contaminated, how can we expect God to accept us when we are more than slightly contaminated by sin. We cannot.
God cannot accept us when we are contaminated by sin, so He gave us a way to be cleansed from our sin – to be decontaminated. That way is Jesus Christ.
The Word says, “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) That is the price tag of our sin-contamination – death. Thankfully, the Word also says that God is not willing that any should perish. (2 Peter 3:9) The rest of Romans 6:23 is “But the gift of God is eternal life..” That has to be the biggest “but” in all of history. Wages but gift, sin but God, death but life. The gift that God has given us that gives us eternal life is His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus willingly paid the price for our sins through His death.
How do we get this gift of life from God? Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is LORD,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved.” All that we have to do to accept the gift of eternal life is to believe in Jesus as our Savior, to ask Him to forgive us of our sins and to ask him into our hearts and into our lives. Once we do that, Jesus takes our sin from us – He decontaminates us and makes us clean.
If you have not asked Jesus to forgive your sins and you would like to know more – please call Fresno First Baptist at (559)Bap-tist and ask to speak to a pastor, or go to our website at www.fresnofirst.org and select the tab “Knowing Christ”
I drank out of the toilet bowl water faucet. I did it because the largest percentage of people could not, so I had to. But I did not do it easily because of just the thought of what it was, the thought of contamination.
God cannot accept us while we are contaminated by sin. Accept Jesus as Savior and be decontaminated.
Contact Valerie or sign up for the e-Ministry of FFBC at valerie@fresnofirst.org