Thursday, December 31, 2020
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
Sunday, December 27, 2020
Friday, December 25, 2020
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
Another subtle attach on our Religious Freedom
This morning as I was reading my daily emails, this email from the Christian Headlines, written by John Paluska, and the article's title was "School District to Pay $187,000 to the Atheist Group over Praying, Singing Hymns during Graduation Ceremony." The American Humanist Association brought the lawsuit against the Greenville School District to allow prayer and singing of hymns during the graduation ceremony.
These questions came to
mind, is this another attack on our religious freedom? What happened to our
First Amendment rights that give us the freedom of expression and worship? Who
is this group, and what right do they have to say when, where, and how we
worship God? There is a God regardless of what this or any other group
believes, and all who believe in Him have a right to worship Him whenever,
wherever, and however we please.
The church must step
forward and tell this group, any other atheists, and the courts that freedom of
worship will stand, and all non-believers have no right to say otherwise. The
church must not make the same mistake it did when it sat quietly and allowed
one atheist to take prayer out of our schools. When God and prayer left in
walked the Devil.
In all fairness to the
judge who presided over the case left some central parts of our freedom of
speech in his ruling. However, in my humble opinion, this group won by the mere
fact that there is a monetary settlement in the case and with this part of the
judge's ruling on the case; "The district also shall not include an
obviously religious piece of music as part of the official program for a
graduation ceremony," wrote District Court Judge Bruce Hendricks.
"The district and/or school officials shall not encourage, promote,
advance, endorse, or participate in causing prayers during any graduation
ceremony."
I am not asking anyone
to agree with me; I express my opinion and observe as I remember how prayer was
taken out of the schools. Since then, we have had nothing but troubles in our
schools and society overall. There have been mass shootings in our schools and
communities, families against one another, and evilness of all kinds. There was
a time when the church, school, and home were on the same teaching Christ in
one format. There was devotion in my school every morning, and it didn't
infringe upon my First Amendment right to participate or not to participate.
When are we going to
put Christ back at the forefront of our lives?
Sunday, December 20, 2020
Friday, December 18, 2020
My love for Jesus: 1 John 4:19; Ephesians 2:8
We love him, because he first loved us. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
Today’s message is written in the first-person encouraging
readers to make this personal between them and God.
If the question was
raised, why do I love Jesus? The answer is because He first loved me when I
didn’t love Him. Accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, I am saved and
have received salvation, which is the gift of God the Father. The gift of
salvation makes me an adopted child of God, a member of His holy family nation
who sees and does things according to His laws and statues (1 Peter 2:9).
I love Jesus because He
left His home in heaven disrobed of His glory became humanity for the sole
purpose of atoning my sins, which is paying a sin-debt that He did not owe.
Jesus paying my sin-debt is reason enough for me to sing praises to His holy
name with shouts of joy to a Savior who loved me enough that He sacrificed His
life to save mine.
Lastly, Jesus is my high
priest making continuous intercessions for me. Yes, I love Jesus because He
first loved me.
Comments are welcome.
Author’s contacts:
https://willie-writing.blotspot.com
http://theshepherdministries.org
www.goodshepherdwritingandpublishing.com
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUya5OrWPvzru4dpaTF80KQ
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©All Rights Reserved December 18, 2020
Rev. Dr. Willie B. White
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Remembering Christmas
This being the Christmas season, I began to reflect on my childhood Christmas; what came to mind was my mother would start her baking at least one week before Christmas. There would be cakes of all kinds; chocolate, pineapple, jelly, and Carmel cakes. The pies were sweet potato, lemon meringue, and sometimes coconut pie.
Mother
always had to make two extra sweet potato pies for daddy to eat before
Christmas, and he would tell me, "come eat some pie with me." I would
tell him, I will eat the crust, and you can eat the pie. He once told me,
"you must not be my child." My response was, "I don't know about
that, but I don't want the pie."
I
remember very vividly daddy going into the woods to get the tree because we
lived on the farm in the country. Sometimes he would take me with him, and at
other times he didn't, but he would always come back with a beautiful tree for
Christmas. Sometimes he would help my mother decorate the tree. When the
decorating was complete, it would be the most beautiful tree there was, to me.
I would get great joy out of just watching the light flickering and the
different colored blubs adding to the tree's beauty. The garland gave the tree
an extra added glow with an angel atop the tree.
I
remember daddy bringing in the fruits, some of which made stocking stuffers
that consisted of oranges, apples, tangerines, nuts (walnuts, pecans, brazil
nuts) peppermint candy. The stockings would sometimes be underneath the tree
and at other times hanging across the fireplace.
I
remember writing a letter to Santa Claus and my mother telling me to put the
letter in daddy's pocket so when he went to downtown Montgomery, he would mail
it to Santa. Not knowing at that time, daddy played the part of Santa. For the
most part, whatever was on my list, I received at Christmas.
On
Christmas Eve, I can remember my mother telling me, "you better go to bed
early because Santa Claus would be here soon."
Most
of the traditions that I was raised with have been passed on to my children,
except maybe the different homemade cakes and the other pies. Still, the one
tradition that is carried on today is having a fruitcake for Christmas, the
beautifully decorated Christmas tree, the large Christmas dinner of turkey and
dressing, ham, greens, or some other green vegetables starchy sides.
Christmas
was and still is a joyous time of the year; Christmas carols being sung,
decorations all aglow, and gifts being exchanged.
There
is joy in celebrating Christmas; we are celebrating the birth of our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ.
Comments are welcome.
Author’s contacts:
https://willie-writing.blotspot.com
http://theshepherdministries.org
www.goodshepherdwritingandpublishing.com
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUya5OrWPvzru4dpaTF80KQ
Donate here: https://giv.li/xve1t6
Monday, December 14, 2020
Friday, December 11, 2020
Thursday, December 10, 2020
The Birth of Christ: Luke 2:7
And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
During this Christmas
season, where shopping is taking place, decorations are all aglow; these
questions came to mind, what does Christmas mean to you, or what is your
understanding of Christ?
We are celebrating the
birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who was prophesied years before His
birth fulfilled the promise that God the Father made with His people. We are
celebrating Christmas in honor of Christ's birth because there would be no Christmas
to celebrate without Christ's birth. We celebrate Christ as a way of saying
thank You, God, the Father, for giving Your only begotten Son to redeem
humanity (me) from my sins and to provide me with a new life, one of
righteousness; I am no longer a slave to sin and Satan and his unrighteous
living (John 3:16).
In our gift-giving, we
emulate the gifts that the wise men brought to Jesus in their worship of Him.
Each of these gifts has a significant meaning, and they are: gold represents
His kingship, Frankincense was a valuable perfume and is a symbol of Jesus'
priestly role (His deity). He is God in the second person. Myrrh is a precious
ointment that was often used in the burial process (an embalming oil). Myrrh
was a prefiguration of Jesus' death. It is noteworthy to say that Jesus came to
earth in human form for the sole purpose of going to the cross, atoning the
sins of the world. The gifts brought were a form of honor for Jesus because He
is God's Son and was brought as a spiritual symbolism about Jesus Himself.
Let us ponder these
questions knowing that without Christ, there is no Christmas; what will you
give Jesus this Christmas; how will you honor Him? Let us take time out of our
busy schedules to tell God, thank You for sending Your Son to die for my sins,
and Thank You, Jesus, for Your willingness to die for my sins so that I can
live in eternity with us You. Let us take time to honor Jesus with our sincere
worship of Him, for He is worthy.
Without Christ's
birth, there would be no Christmas.
Comments are welcomed.
White3285@sbcglobal.net
http://theshepherdministries.org
www.goodshepherdwritingandpublishing.com
https://willie-writing.blogspot.com
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUya5OrWPvzru4dpaTF80KQ
Tuesday, December 8, 2020
Saturday, December 5, 2020
Friday, December 4, 2020
Tuesday, December 1, 2020
Jesus is His Name: Isaiah 9:6
For to us, a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Approaching
the Christmas season, where we celebrate the birth of Christ, I felt led by the
Holy Spirit to provide some uplifting insights on our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ.
From our scripture text, several names are associated
with Jesus Christ; whether He is referred to as the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty
God, Everlasting Father, our Prince of Peace, they all mean Jesus Christ our
Lord and Savior.
In the name of Jesus, men are saved; in the name of
Jesus, we have peace that the world cannot give; neither can it understand. In
the name of Jesus, we have a Wonderful Counselor who will fight our battles and
plead our legal cases before God the Father. He is the mighty God who came to
earth in human form to set men free from their sin. Jesus is His name.
Comments
are welcome.
White3285@sbcglobal.net
http://theshepherdministries.org
www.goodshepherdwritingandpublishing.com
https://willie-writing.blogspot.com
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUya5OrWPvzru4dpaTF80KQ
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