Daily Word & Christian Living

Bishop Keith Butler

Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel. Joshua 14:14 (KJV) It’s never too late to overcome any problem in your life. God has tremendous blessings for all those that follow Him. That includes the young, the old, and the in-between. Some people grow old and set in their ways, but not all. There are some that can out run a young man. There are some that are more innovative than you think. I met a 93 year old man once when I was 17, starting out in the ministry. He was fitter than I was. He looked better than I did. He was more physically fit than I was. The man had chiseled features. To top it off he was anointed. He walked across South America preaching the gospel. I asked him how did you do it. He said, “I spend time with God seriously every day.” He was moving on with God. That is the way Joshua and Caleb were. In the book of Joshua, we see that Joshua is the new leader. He and Caleb are now very old and it’s time to go into the promised land. I can imagine Caleb is walking along with Joshua, and seeing a huge mountain, and saying, “That’s the one I’m taking,” even in his old age. Joshua turns to him and says, that’s a huge mountain. Can you take this mountain? And Caleb says, “I am well able to overcome it.” I don’t care how old you are or how big your mountain is. If you enter into the rest of God, you will find victory. The mountain may look forbidding but you can say what Caleb said: “I’m well able to overcome the mountain. I’m well able to get over the top of the mountain. I’m well able to speak to the mountain and tell it to move in Jesus’ name.” The ones with the evil report died without ever seeing the promised land. Joshua and Caleb entered into the promised land. They had the rest of God. I don’t care how big your mountain is. God is bigger. They used to say in the church that I came from, “He’s so high, you can’t go over Him. He’s so low you can’t go under Him. He’s so wide you can’t go around Him.” That’s the God you serve. But He’s looking for you to do what’s required to enter into His rest just as Jesus did.

Scripture Reference: Hebrews 4:8-16

By MATT RICHTEL

Published: July 29, 2009

States that do not ban texting by drivers could forfeit hundreds of millions of dollars in federal highway funds under legislation introduced Wednesday in the Senate.

Under the measure, states would have two years to outlaw the sending of text and e-mail messages by drivers or lose 25 percent of their highway money each year until the money was depleted.

“Studies show this is far more dangerous than talking on a phone while driving or driving while drunk, which is astounding,” said Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, one of four Democratic senators to introduce the proposal.

Mr. Schumer said the authors were responding to recent studies that have begun to quantify the risks of texting while driving. One study released this week from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that truck drivers face a 23 times greater risk of crash or near crash when texting than when not doing so.

Research from the University of Utah, which used a driving simulator to study the ability of motorists to multitask, found an eightfold greater risk of crashing when texting. By comparison, Utah researchers showed that drivers using a cellphone to talk face a four times greater risk of crashing, about equal to someone with a 0.08 blood alcohol level, generally the legal limit for intoxication.

Currently, texting while driving is banned in 14 states, including Alaska, California and New Jersey, as well as the District of Columbia. The legislature in New York recently passed such a measure and sent it to the governor for a signature.

Regulation of the roadways generally happens at the state level. But the federal government has exerted pressure on the states based on the threat of withholding federal highway funds, as Congress did in 1984 to pressure states to raise the minimum drinking age to 21 years.

Mr. Schumer said that the legislation was essentially based on the drinking age law.

The Governors Highway Safety Association, a group that represents state highway safety agencies in every state, opposes texting while driving but does not support the proposed legislation.

“We oppose sanctioning states since there is not yet a proven effective method for enforcing a texting or cellphone ban,” an association spokesman, Jonathan Adkins, said.

Safety advocates said that such concerns about enforcement were raised about seat belt laws but argued that the value of such laws — even if they could not be enforced all the time — created awareness about the issue and set societal guidelines for the behavior.

The other sponsors of the Senate measure include Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana, Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Kay R. Hagan of North Carolina.

source:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/30/technology/30distracted.html

Here are some fun activities to help put Christ back into CHRISTmas!

1.  Put up a manger scene, but save putting baby Jesus in the manger until Christmas morning.  (If you want, you can also have the wise men far away at first, but get closer and closer as Christmas approaches.)  On Christmas morning, light a candle, and sing Happy Birthday, Jesus!

2.  Gather the family around the nativity scene and read the Christmas story from the Bible.  Luke, chapter 2.  As the story is read, members of the family can add figures to the scene.

3.  Have a birthday cake for dessert for your Christmas dinner. Sing Happy Birthday, Jesus.

4.  Make a huge birthday card for Jesus as a decoration.

5.  Have each member of the family write what they are thankful for on slips of paper, and put them on the Christmas tree, or in a special jar or stocking.  Read them aloud on Christmas Day.

6. Sing Christmas carols like Silent Night, Joy to the World, and Hark the Herald Angels Sing, and think about the words you are singing!  You can find some some good ones here:
Christmas Songs

7.  Give food or clothing to the poor, or toys to a needy child. Visit a nursing home- bring cookies, and sing songs.  “Whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me.”  Matthew 25:40)

8. Make a gift for Jesus.  Wrap an empty box, and put a slit in the top.  Whenever anyone does anything nice for someone else, they can write it on a slip of paper, and put it into the box for Jesus.  These can be shared on Christmas Day.

source: http://www.bethanyroberts.com/ReasonfortheSeason.htm

The Capitol Christmas tree in Washington, D.C., is decorated with 3,000 ornaments that are the handiwork of U.S. schoolchildren. Encircling evergreens in the ‘Pathway of Peace’ represent the 50 U.S. states.

Before the ball drops in Times Square, the Big Apple turns on its holiday charm with the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center.

The world’s largest Christmas tree display rises up the slopes of Monte Ingino outside of Gubbio, in Italy’s Umbria region. Composed of about 500 lights connected by 40,000 feet of wire, the ‘tree’ is a modern marvel for an ancient city.

A Christmas tree befitting Tokyo’s nighttime neon display is projected onto the exterior of the Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka.

Illuminating the Gothic facades of Prague’s Old Town Square, and casting its glow over the manger display of the famous Christmas market, is a grand tree cut in the Sumava Mountains in the southern Czech Republic.

Venice’s Murano Island renowned throughout the world for its quality glasswork is home to the tallest glass tree in the world. Sculpted by master glass blower Simone Cenedese, the artistic Christmas tree is a modern reflection of the holiday season.

Moscow celebrates Christmas according to the Russian Orthodox calendar on Jan. 7. For weeks beforehand, the city is alive with festivities in anticipation of Father Frost’s arrival on his magical troika with the Snow Maiden. He and his helper deliver gifts under the New Year tree, or yolka, which is traditionally a fir.

The largest Christmas tree in Europe (more than 230 feet tall) can be found in the Praça do Comércio in Lisbon, Portugal. Thousands of lights adorn the tree, adding to the special enchantment of the city during the holiday season.

‘Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree’: Even in its humblest attire, aglow beside a tiny chapel in Germany’s Karwendel mountains, a Christmas tree is a wondrous sight.

Ooh la la Galeries Lafayette! In Paris, even the Christmas trees are chic. With its monumental, baroque dome, plus 10 stories of lights and high fashion, it’s no surprise this show-stopping department store draws more visitors than the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower.

In addition to the Vatican’s heavenly evergreen, St. Peter’s Square in Rome hosts a larger-than-life nativity scene in front of the obelisk.

The Christmas tree that greets revelers at the Puerta del Sol is dressed for a party. Madrid’s two-week celebration makes millionaires along with merrymakers. On Dec. 22, a lucky citizen will win El Gordo (the fat one), the world’s biggest lottery.

A token of gratitude for Britain ’s aid during World War II, the Christmas tree in London ’s Trafalgar Square has been the annual gift of the people of Norway since 1947.

Drink a glass of gluhwein from the holiday market at the Romer Frankfurt’s city hall since 1405 and enjoy a taste of Christmas past.

Against a backdrop of tall, shadowy firs, a rainbow trio of Christmas trees lights up the night (location unknown).

article source: www.caseycombden.com/blog

The Twelve Days of Christmas
The Meaning Behind The Song

The twelve days of Christmas are the twelve days between Christmas Day, Dec. 25th, the birth of Jesus, and the Epiphany, Jan. 6th, the day Christians celebrate the arrival of the Magi (Wise Men) and the revelation of Christ as the light of the world.
The Christmas song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” may sound silly and contrived to many of us. But it actually had its origins in religious symbolism – and with a serious purpose.
It dates from a time of religious persecution. The song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” was written as a kind of secret catechism that could sing in public without fear of arrest – a learning or memory aid to Christians in fact.
The song can be taken at two levels of interpretation – the surface meaning, or the hidden meaning known only to the Christians involved. Each element is a code word for a religious truth.
1. The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus.
2. The two turtledoves are the Old and New Testaments.
3. Three French hens stand for faith, hope and love.
4. The four calling birds are the four Gospels.
5. The five gold rings recall the Hebrew Torah (Law), or the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament.
6. The six geese a-laying stand for the six days of creation.
7. The seven swans a-swimming represent the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.
8. The eight maids a-milking are the eight Beatitudes.
9. Nine ladies dancing are the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit.
10. The ten lords a-leaping are the Ten Commandments.
11. Eleven pipers piping represent the eleven faithful Apostles.
12. Twelve drummers drumming symbolize the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostles Creed.

If you think Jesus being symbolized as a partridge in a pear tree sounds blasphemous, remember:
“Jerusalem! Jerusalem! How often would I have sheltered thee under my wings, as a hen does her chicks, but thou wouldst not have it so.” (Luke 13:34 and Matthew 23:34)
The “true love” in the song refers to God Himself.
The “me” receiving the gifts is every Christian.
So that “silly” song we sing at Christmas time has more meaning than we thought.

So many people today are living with less than God’s best because they’ve allowed fear to stop them from pursuing their dreams. We have to remember that fear is not from God. It’s a lie from the enemy to paralyze us and steal our power.

My Bible Promise to You…

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline”
(II Timothy 1:7, NLT)

Friends I’m so sorry I forgot to write on yesterday. Honestly, I got caught up with my holiday decorating – I get totally engrossed! Oh, I’m not done yet – so I gotta go! lol lol

Happy Holidays!

GreGory

A dear friend of mine, Bonnie, went to be with God over the weekend. It’s an absolute shock to me, I just can’t believe it. When I was a little child she sat and read books and played games with my sister and I – she loved us. Wow, I just don’t know what to think right now. I’ll say this, Bonnie taught me a great lesson – never be ashame to praise God.

I Love You Bonnie…

Always Your Little GreGory

Hi Friends,

My advice for this weekend – DON’T SIN.

You think I’m crazy!

GreGory

P.S. I hope you enjoyed Storybook on yesterday.

Picture it, international convention Louisville, Kentucky 1989 – thousands of people and a 12 year old boy (me lol) sitting in the evening service with my 19 year old cousin Carl. The chairs had a big gap between the back and the seat, so much so a baby could easily slip through. Anyway, an usher escorts a couple to the seats directly in front of us – she was wearing all white. The lady sits down and INSTANTLY a gargantuan white marshmellow appears in between the gap of the seat – like a Pop Tart.

I looked at Carl and pointed to her buttocks smothered in white practically squeezing my knees. Given my history of being out-spoken Carl quickly shook his head. I whispered, “I can’t sit like this all night – let’s get out of here.” Carl replied under his breath, “Just sit back and stop, Hezekiah Walker will be singing tonight – we’re staying.” OKAY THEN, leave me sitting in front of the butty all night so you can hear Hezekiah. Now, I’m looking at her behind thinking all kinds of crazy things and snickering – Carl too lol.

I carefully crossed my legs for comfort since I was stuck like Chuck. Anyway, after an hour I forgot Big Butt was there. Hezekiah was singing and the music was the bomb – I jumped up to clap and sing forgetting the woman dressed in all white. I accidentally kicked her anus so hard – she screamed, I screamed, we all screamed. There was a huge footprint left on her marshmellow. Carl grabbed me and we skedaddled! Poor woman, offering was next!

Laugh Friends – Laugh!

GreGory