Luke chapter  2:8-20  New Living Translation

The Shepherds and Angels

^8” That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. ⁹ Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, ¹⁰ but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. ¹¹ The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! ¹² And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in highest heaven,
    and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

¹⁵ When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. ¹⁷ After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. ¹⁸ All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, ¹⁹ but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. ²⁰ The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.”

This is for most people the time of year when family and friends come together to celebrate Christmas with various traditions that have in many cases defined the season as something other than what it in reality is.

  Christmas as most people know is when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It is widely believed that in reality He was more likely born in the spring of the year and not on December 25^th, which is irrelevant the important thing is that He was born!

  His birth is often portrayed as a sad event in that he was born in a ‘barn’ and not in a palace befitting the King that He indeed was. The truth is that it was necessary for Him to come into the world the way He did because He was born to be more than a King, He was born to be the Redeemer of mankind. Until His arrival among us, man’s sin was covered over repeatedly with the blood of animals as a sacrifice for the atonement of sin. He was destined to be the ultimate once and for all time sacrifice for the REMOVAL, not the covering, of mans’ sin.

  Every detail that was mandated under the Old Covenant dealing with the animal sacrifice for the atonement of man’s sins were fulfilled in his death, none of which could have been met had He come into the world in any other way. God’s ways are not our ways and our ways are not His, He uses the foolish things to confound the wise!

 This year take a few minutes to reflect on the greatest gift ever given, the redemption from sin and the free gift of salvation! Always remember that Christmas is celebrating the beginning of the story. The most important part of the story is that Jesus only remained a baby in a manger for a short time. He grew into a man who changed the lives of countless millions when He willingly gave His life for theirs on a cross made from a tree that He created, wearing a crown made of thorns from a bush He created and at the hands of men He created and willing died for and whom He asked His Father to forgive! He was born to die and it is that which we celebrate on December 25^th.

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

   I sense a stirring in the ‘spirit’ that I have not felt before and I believe it is building to an enormous shift in the way we see the events unraveling not only in the United States but around the world. Old alliances are being broken and replaced by what can only be described as “Unholy Alliances”. Allies that have stood by us through wars and terror attacks are  being discarded and replaced with sworn enemies who have aided and abetted in attacks on U.S. soil and on our embassies and military installations around the world killing thousands of Americans.

  Though I know we are under attack from ‘without’ I have no doubt that we are also under attack from within. The evidence to support that assumption is abundant and growing daily. The enemies within are in our own government and have been for many decades. They are anti-American and anti-capitalism in their ideology and can and will use any and all means to achieve their goal of transforming America into a Socialist/Marxist state. They are ruthless and coldhearted to their core, putting their agenda above the lives of ordinary citizens and the security of the republic which they swore to defend from all enemies.

   The evidence of their coldhearted agenda was put on display once again as they exploited the murders of 26 innocent citizens in Connecticut by employing a key strategy of their end goal of a totalitarian state. Progressives are masters of manipulating facts to play on the emotions of people to make them believe that the facts ‘prove’ that theirs is the only logical solution to any problem and any who oppose them are dangerous and ignorant fools. Demonization of their opponent was clearly seen during the 2012 presidential race and it worked very well for them.

  What needs to understood by everyone who loves this great nation is that we are at war for the soul of the republic. Though our government won’t openly admit that we are at war with Islam, and indeed many of them are too ignorant to know it, Islam is at war with us. These same people will not acknowledge that we are at war with an ideology that is exactly the same as that of Islam, and most Americans refuse to acknowledge that evidence to their own peril.

   The Progressives have done the most disgusting thing imaginable to most decent and respectful human beings by exploiting the atrocity that occurred in Connecticut. There has been an outcry of anger at myself and others who fired back at the Progressives heartless and calculated exploitation of the innocent. This Progressive tactic should have opened the eyes of everyone who condemned the response by conservatives, but it did not.

  Those of us who have been fighting the agenda of the Progressives understand what we are up against and cannot allow the emotional ploys of our adversaries to force us to capitulate on the smallest of issues let alone one as huge as the second amendment. Every hesitation or show of weakness on the part of conservative constitutionalists will be exploited and used as propaganda against our cause of preserving our liberties under the Constitution and restoring those that have been stolen or given up.

   Every war is made up of large and small battles that have casualties on both sides which leave many ‘soldiers’ involved in those battles devastated and in need of R.&R. to recover from shellshock. Progressives know this fully and are always looking for a crisis or tragedy to exploit for their diabolical goal of fundamentally transforming America into what they consider to be utopia. Their utopia is in reality a Marxist Socialist state where they, the elite, dictate every aspect of life, thus eliminating the basic rights of life, liberty and the “PURSUIT” of happiness.  

 The generals and those who are in the ‘war room’ are aware of the need for R.&R. and allow for the regrouping of those wounded warriors, but they cannot withdraw from the war and cede the ground that has been secured in the battle. They must remove themselves from the emotional aspects of war and remain fully focused on the objective before them.

  We cannot allow ourselves to be distracted and let personal feelings about what has happened divide us in our fight for survival and ultimately the over throw and destruction of Progressivism in America. Those who are new to the reality of the assault that fellow Americans are making on the Constitution must understand that they have much to learn about the ruthlessness of Progressives and their hatred of traditional values. I, and many others like me, have been trying to awaken Americans to the threat for a very long time and are only now beginning to see and understand the true depths of evil that dwells in the hearts and minds of the Progressive leadership.

  Every decent and caring American wanted to just grieve and allow those affected by the murders of the children and teachers mourn and bury their dead in peace, unfortunately the progressives know nothing of decency and moral high ground. The President and his propaganda machine, the mainstream media, immediately took advantage of the crisis to demonize and attack their enemy, the constitution. They did exactly the same thing the morning of the attack that ended with the murders of four Americans in North Africa. The first statements from the President and from the Secretary of State were aimed at the First Amendment by saying, at a national press conference, that the deaths were the fault of one individual abusing his right to free speech and went on to emphatically defend the government from any blame.

 With the bully pulpit that the Progressive enjoy we cannot let up and back off for an instant. The war we are in is the most deadly America has ever faced and the enemy is very close to gaining the minds of the uninformed and the unengaged. Every inch of room we give them will be run through their propaganda machine and will be used to demonize us. We must hold every inch we have and keep up the fight to stop them. There is no option but to go on the offensive and pour everything we have into exposing their true motives for exploiting death and demonizing their opponents. They have been able thus far to keep those who support the Constitution on the defensive but that must change.

  It is my hope that once the pain of those who have been so badly shocked by the deaths and the overt politicization by the President and Progressives has run its’ proper course that those who pulled back from the battle would see the reality of the evil that has entrenched itself in the halls of our government and will return to fight again.

   The fundamental transformation of America by a Marxist revolution has gained much ground and the war for the restoration of the core values we were built upon is getting more dangerous with each passing hour. The anger we all feel towards the powers trying to bring us down must be a righteous anger and it must be focused like a laser on the one at the heart of the evil seeking our destruction. Our enemy is not a person but a spirit who is the father of all lies and who appears as an angel of light to deceive even the elect if it were possible. He is the master of deception and division who will stop at nothing to bring confusion and delusion to those who pose a threat to his plan of enslaving humanity under his control.

  Prayer and fasting will have to be our first line of OFFENCE in exposing him and those in his employ. An honest and urgent desire to know and follow the voice of our Shepherd must be our second line of OFFENCE. The desire for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven must be our third line of OFFENCE. And LOVE must be our HIGHEST GOAL. If we will follow his lead He will be faithful and we can be assured that SAVING AMERICA will be an achievable task. The enemy will try to overwhelm us with fear and will try to make us cower at the size of the task, but our God is LOVE and HIS PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT ALL FEAR!

“LET NO CRISIS GO TO WASTE” says one of the leaders of the Progressive movement. This is exactly what is taking place concerning the horrific murders of innocent children and those entrusted with their care. The Progressives who are completely responsible for the state of America’s cultural decline are now the ones who say law abiding citizens should be punished for the illegal actions of a single individual.

  It was and is the Progressives/Democrats who have lead the fight to bring the doctrines of tolerance and acceptance of  ideologies that would have had most of our grandparents out raged and those trying to introduce the perversions would have been “TARED and FEATHERED” and run out of town on a rail!

   Progressive have promoted the idea that children should not be spanked as punishment because it may harm their psychological development, that they need to learn that there are no winners or losers, that they are what really matters and they deserve everything the world has to offer. They are taught that evil, as described by the beliefs of their grandparents, is an outdated concept and anything that is desirable is acceptable and no one has the right to infringe on your rights.

 This same ideology has been responsible for the destruction of every society in history and if America does not wake up and see the real enemies are actually the people we have been electing to public office we will soon find ourselves suffering the same fate as the supporters of tolerance have throughout history. The devaluing of human life and desensitizing of society to the dangers of collectivism is leading to a totalitarian rule that will start with the real goal being revealed only after they are able to disarm the average citizen.

  You will, and indeed have already heard the illogical rants from the elite that we need to make more regulations that will make guns less prevalent in society. These outspoken anti-violence elitist are largely the Hollywood types who glorify gratuitous violence and promote anti-moral or amoral life styles for their own wealth and fame, who for the most part all have armed security to protect them. For some reason it is fine for them to hire someone to protect them with a gun but it is not ok for the average citizen to protect themselves. The propaganda we are about to be assailed with is going to be vicious and with few people knowing how to use critical thinking we may well lose this fight which could lead to armed conflict on our own soil.

   It will be critical in the coming weeks and months to be able to respond quickly, logically, factually and boldly to the plays on emotion that will come. Progressives know how to twist their argument to sound compassionate and concerned for the “safety of OUR CHILDREN” while burying the statistical facts. Any simple minded person could, but nearly none will, read for themselves the facts that are available for all to see.

  The states and cities nationwide that have the strictest anti-gun laws are the states and cities with the highest violent crime rates. Chicago Illinois, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles California are among the strictest in America and hold the dubious honor of being the most dangerous cities in America. D.C. and Chicago have been called the murder capitols of America. While states like Arizona and Texas have very limited gun laws they also have the lowest gun related crime rates. Logic and facts from the federal government prove beyond any doubt that gun laws are not the problem. 

  The problem is a persistent, calculated and systematic attack on the moral standards of the American people. There are a number of factors that have been employed to destroy the fabric of our society among which are attacks on family values and elimination of Biblical principles from society.

  The foundation of Planned Parenthood by the noted and highly acclaimed by Progressives, Margret Sanger, is responsible for the devaluing of human life. Planned Parenthood is described as being pro-choice when in reality it is pro-infanticide as described by its founder Ms. Sanger. It was founded to eliminate the undesirable elements of society: Blacks and so-called handicapped persons. The idea that Planned Parenthood is pro-choice is ludicrous; the only choice acceptable to the organization is one which is in agreement with their philosophy of life.

   Few, if any, who support this organization, question their propaganda terminology. They call a baby in the womb a fetus to eliminate any guilt associated with the elimination of it. The truth is ‘fetus’ is the Latin word for baby and no matter how one tries to spin the facts, every abortion is the aborting of a human life in the form of a child!

 The corruption that abounds throughout this organization is well documented and well ignored by public officials who fund it with the hard earned tax dollars of American workers. Every attempt to shed light on the ideology behind the systematic destruction of life by P.P. is met by the progressives with outrage directed at those who would, in their words, send women back to the ally with a clothes hanger and remove a woman’s basic human rights. There is never a mention of the people who are alive and are healthy after having survived an abortion attempt.

  Another aspect of the Progressive agenda is the complete removal of any reference to Biblical values and the very mention of God. Anyone who would dispute this fact need only view the outrage at the Democratic National Convention concerning the insertion of the word “God” to their platform.

  Progressives are leading the assault on traditional America with things like calling Christmas related activities and symbols with the term “holiday”. Again revealing themselves as the most intolerant and non-inclusive detrimental aspects of society. Their obvious goal, and one which they are willing to pursue by any means, is total control of the lives of people they deem inferior to themselves. They are indeed a danger to the core of society and to the guaranteed rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

  They know their goal is unachievable as long as there are armed patriots who believe in the ideology that has for nearly 300 years made America the greatest nation in the history of the world.

  If there were teachers or administrators who were armed in the school in Conn. or in the mall last week or the Sheik temple or any of the other crime scenes where a gunman killed innocent people the death toll would have been much less and possibly none would have been killed.

  In nations like Israel where they take threats seriously, not from a politically correct position, where profiling is the norm they openly show a force of arms in schools and malls and hotels and virtually everywhere in the public sector. Israel is a nation surrounded by nations with the stated goal of death to all Jews and they are living within their borders, yet there are few attacks such as we have seen in America. I contend that the reason for the lack of brazen firearm attacks on the Israeli society is solely because of the show of arms publically.

 Progressives are going to begin to demand that gun ownership be severely curtailed and eventually be eliminated for all except the elite. They must be confronted at every opportunity with facts and there must be a full frontal assault in defense of the second amendment. People must be made aware of the agenda of the Progressives and their ties to the U.N. agenda of global disarmament in order to implement global governance. If we allow the opposition to win the second amendment fight we will also lose our first amendment right because the second amendment is what protects the first and all subsequent liberties guaranteed under our Constitution. The war we are in is about to ramp up in severity and America as we know it is at risk of becoming part of a failed ideology called Progressivism.

 Never before has SAVING AMERICA been more important for the future of our children and the world. It is getting close to a time to take up arms and protect our liberties. Though we have not yet reached that time we must be prepared and make it known to the powers that are attempting to destroy our God-given rights, that all options are on the table and we believe America is worth fighting for and worth sacrificing our lives for.  

 Our first and most important weapon in this battle is that of prayer and we must fully employ this weapon individually and collectively. God must be our first resort and He will deliver us if we humble ourselves, confess our sins, repent from our rejection of Him and follow His lead. He will be our forward shield and our rear guard if we must take up arms and if we don’t. Where ever these battles take us we must be certain that we stand with Him and not just assume He is on our side. With firm reliance on Divine protection and Divine direction we will, by the word of our testimony, the Blood of The Lamb and the willingness to give our own lives overcome the enemy.

 I am concerned by a lot of anti-local church talk in the country today. Few people who have made the decision to stop fellowshipping with the body have read and understood what scripture has to say about the church. There has always been a lot wrong with churches, even among the remaining 11 disciples there were a lot of problems. Peter and Paul wrote nearly all of their letters to churches that had every kind of corruption including political correctness in them but never once did they tell a single believer to leave fellowship. In fact the writer of Hebrews said DO NOT FORSAKE the fellowship aspect of church as you see the end approach.

  Most people have the belief that going to church is supposed to be for them to get something and rarely if ever go with the intention of giving something other than their tithe. The idea that we should go to the church of our choice is a lie from the pit of hell! We should all go to the church of HIS CHOICE for us! We should be going to worship Him not to "GET ANYTHING" but to give to Him period! There is a church somewhere near every believer that needs them, and if not, it is the responsibility of the believer to begin one!

  The infiltration of the so-called social gospel into the Church has made many, not all but many, Churches little more than social gatherings where if we are not the center of attention or the “service” did not touch me personally then the pastor failed and did not feed the flock. If the music is too loud or too contemporary or too traditional it was inferior “worship” and there was no anointing on it.

  For the Church to fulfill its’ purpose in the world, those to whom the gospel was given must understand the purpose that God has placed them here for. The purpose has been hi-jacked by the same spirit that has taken most of the rest of the world, greed. Everything has to benefit me or mine or it is wrong.

  One of the biggest problems with the Church is tradition. Many traditions are little more than ruts, “graves with the ends kicked out”, used by Satan to keep people from thinking. Don’t get me wrong there is a place for tradition; it is tradition that has kept many truths alive and passed down to succeeding generations and should continue to do so.

 The traditional church “service” is not found in scripture anywhere. It is wrongly believed to be the way church has always been. The best description of a ‘Biblical church service’ is found in Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth chapter 14. I can honestly say that I have never attended a Church where I didn’t have that portion of scripture come to mind and want to see it manifest. However only on a few occasions was the opportunity given to exercise the right to do so because it would interrupt the way things are done and cause confusion, and as we all know confusion is not from God!

  Those who would criticize the Church in an attempt to justify not attending one, do so to their own detriment and have no knowledge of what Church is. Church is to be a place where ministry to God takes place. There is no formula or criteria laid out in scripture that would support any other conclusion. During the acts of worship and praise God then begins to minister to His people either directly through His Spirit or through His people. Scripture says that God inhabits the praises of His people and I believe it is during the time He is inhabiting our praise that we receive true ministry.

  If believers would only realize that we have a mandate from God to make disciples of all men and that our God given purpose is to go into all the world to do so, our nation would not be in the shape it is. Being distracted and entertained by the social gospel has cost the present and future of America. The restoration of the nation falls squarely on the backs of Christians and more precisely on the backs of those who are called to be Church leaders.

  America has been lost by the church and can only be won back by her. Those who have left fellowship and turned away from the body must return to a local Church. The Devil has deceived these people into believing they do not need fellowship because they can ‘worship’ Him anywhere at any time. I have had this conversation with many who claim to be believers and have asked them if they actually do make time for worshipping Him and none, not one, has been able to look me in the eye and say they were doing fine with God and were confident that He was happy with their decision leave the body. No one ever told me that they actually used their ability to worship where ever and whenever to actually spend time worshipping Him. They are all deceived and must return to fellowship with the bride or risk the fate of the 5 virgins that were left unprepared.

 The Church needs to get back to the place she was at the founding of America, not only involved in but actually running the country. There is no excuse for our current state and we must repent and cry out to God to restore our first love. We have to stop letting the world dictate our morals and return to Biblical standards of living and governing.

   SAVING AMERICA depends on individual believers actually doing the work of evangelists and that means making the sacrifices necessary to make this a reality. Political correctness kills and divides while helping to confuse issues paramount to the restoration of the republic. We must not be afraid to confront the wrongs within the body and those within our society for fear of offending the elite or those deceived by them!