Today we are to be thinking about the past year. All of it’s good and bad. Yet my mind goes back further than that. I see the past as yesterday. And I see the future as a reflection of the past. The only thing that is different is today. Then it will pass just like yesterday. My life seems to make a circle. I am moving at a breakneck speed to get to the end. But the end is just like the beginning. I came from God and I will return to God. You see this life is temporary. We are walking through a land to get to the other side. When we arrive on the other side, it is where we began. But there is a reason why we are here. God placed us here to prove what we believe and trust in. We have a choice to make. We can choose God and His plan or not. God didn’t make it difficult for us. There are only 2 choices. With all the shouting, fussing and cussing man does, it doesn’t make any difference at all. We have to choose one way or the other. Even if we don’t choose, we have chosen. And you can’t blame it on any body else. What you do is your choice. When we stand before God, we will have to give an account of our life on this earth. And there will be no excuses. You have today to make up your mind what you are going to do. You see, God only guarantees that you will live today. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. So, choose wisely.

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Your heart is a peculiar thing.  It can beat a million times and just keeps on going. If it is interrupted, you can die. It seems to last forever but doesn’t. It controls the rest of the body. Without it you are dead. And it is the most neglected part of our body. It causes more diseases than anything else. So why don’t you protect it more? Most people relate your human heart to your spiritual one. As if they are interchangeable. I’ll tell you a truth, they are related to each other. What happens to your spiritual heart does affect your human heart. Have you ever lost a true love? The pain in your heart is spiritual but your human heart hurts like hell. They are tied together just like your body and your spirit. Your spirit is who you are. Your mind, will and your intellect are spiritual. This is what is the image and likeness of God. Your body is made from the dust of the earth. Remember, dust to dust, ashes to ashes, is how your body will go. Most games and TV shows have killing and violence. It always shows the people not being affected by all of it. This is a lie out of the pits of hell. There is nothing that we do that doesn’t affect our lives. And in turn affects our heart. So how can you stop the pain? You can’t but you can slow it down. Because of sin in this world there is pain. That will never change until the very end when Jesus arrives to reign and rule over this earth. But what you can do is to give your spiritual heart to Him. And allow God to take you on this journey that He plan for you in the first place. There are ways to protect yourself and Jesus is His name.

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I can remember when I was young how our family gathers at our home or our aunt’s. My grandmother, mom and her 2 sisters would gather the family together for Thanks giving, Christmas and Easter. It was always a big production. The women of the family cooked before each holiday. Then they would bring the food and family together. Sometimes it was a lot of fun. We were nine 1^st cousins, all boys. We were about the same age. We were within 5 years altogether. We lived near each other. We played on the same football, baseball and basketball teams in elementary school. But in high school, we were on different teams. It was a wonderful time for us. This last year we buried our last aunt. Then we buried my younger brother. We always talked about the older generation. Now we are the older generation. We all gather together at my son’s house this year for Christmas. My older brother lives in another state. We wished him a Merry Christmas. But it is not the same. Most of our family was missing. Either they are dead and no longer here or they live elsewhere. I know I can’t go back to that time again. But I miss my parents and my younger brother. Sometimes it is very hard to go on when so much is missing in my life. My family was sometimes the most irritating people on earth. But I wouldn’t trade them for anything. What I wouldn’t do to have them back again. That is why this is a lonely season for me. Cherish your family because God has given you so little time with them. Don’t waste it on nonsense. Let you family know that you care about them. God gave us a family to make us whole. Then it won’t be a lonely season.

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All my life I wanted to express myself in some form or fashion. I wanted to be able to tell people something worthwhile. I didn’t want to tell a joke or antidote. Although I have developed a very dry sense of humor. Of which not everyone appreciates. But I have lived with people not getting me or understanding what I was saying. At first I thought it was because of the dyslexia I had. Words would get jumbled in my head and wouldn’t come out right in my mouth. But soon saw that it wasn’t the case. I was never loud or forceful. What I had to say was quiet but important. So when I arrived at college I figured that communication would be a good field for to go into. So I did, but became distracted with all the activities of college, especially fraternities. I didn’t stick to my plan and flunked out of school. I still wanted to communicate with people. I have never lost the desire to speak or write or teach. I went back years later but it wasn’t the same. I had developed the story telling ability in me. I can spin a good yarn or tale. I can transform people to different places with my stories. What developed was children’s stories. I work in radio and wrote a radio show for children. I still have the original recording with all the sound effects. And I worked in television. But this wasn’t the forum for me. I wanted to write. I can express myself anyway I want when I write. Writing seems to be a dying art form. I have always like to read. I used to get Time magazine. I would read it from front to back. It was interesting me about the world and its antics. I read all the time. It is the best way to learn things. As the bible says, for in a multitude of counselors there is much safety.

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What do you call a person that gives their lives to a cause? What do you think about this person? As you look around this world you find all kinds of people who have done this very thing. Some call them fanatics, zealots or just plain crazy. But there is something about them that is fascinating. Some are amazing at the amount of work that they have accomplished. Some have never been recognized as actually doing the work. Yet there are many people today that are willing to give their lives in causes. I have known many people just like this all through my life. They have inspired me into action. One person was Corrie Ten Boom. She was from the Netherlands. She was sent to the concentration camp because she hid Jewish people from the Germans. She survived a German concentration camp in WWII. Another person was T.L. Osborn. He went to the Far East and Africa after WWII. David Wilkerson, who started Teen Challenge in New York City in the 1950’s. Hubert Linsey, who was the very 1^st Alfalfa in the Our Gang series. His preaching exploits are legendary. Bernard Johnson who went to Brazil when no one else would. At the time he went there were estimated 16 million abandon children on the streets in Brazil. He began to work with children. I didn’t know this man but Horatio Spafford , business man in the 19^th century, helped rebuild Chicago after it burned down. Then went to Jerusalem and opened a medical clinic in the Arab section. And it is still open today. There are many people that you just hear about who have given their lives for the betterment of man. God has these people to do the work on this earth. If you ever meet them, stop and talk to them. Let their lives inspire you to work for the Lord.

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Everybody has seen or read the book “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. Dickens was writing about the social morays of the 19^th century. As bad as it had become in England, he knew that it could change for the better. So Dickens wrote his book. How would you like to see this on reality TV? Where the Spirit of Christmas visits people to see what they would do. I know a few people that need it right now. Bah-Humbug. Fear will make people do all kinds of things. But it is never a good way to change people’s hearts. To start with people have to want to change. I was watching a national news broadcast. Between wanting to throw-up and saying bah-humbug, I found that it was more a big joke being played on the American people. The insincerity of the commentators was sickening. They didn’t have anything good to say. Even the feel good segment was sickening. You know what is funny is that it really hasn’t change since the 19^th century. What Dickens saw is still here. That is why we need that reality show today. There has been for several years people who hunt spirts. It is almost as ignorant as the commentators. There are a handful of show I would even watch. It is so bad that other cable channels are trying to imitate the worst cable channels. Bah-Humbug. They all need a reality check. What did Scrooge say? Let them all die and reduce the surplus population of cable channels. Charles Dickens was trying to show that Christmas is a wonderful time of year. Whether you have money or not. When you share of yourself, people will be blessed. So everybody needs to hold down on the Bah-Humbugs and bless the people around you. And the Spirit of Christmas won’t come a calling on you. I want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.

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Today is Christmas Day. This year has been different for me. I have been more reflective about my life. I am entering a time that I had never been before. I have been thinking about my relationship with God. I am wanting to be more productive in my spiritual and physical life. Since I have accumulated knowledge of a lifetime. But so far, it has alluded me. It seems that I am not relevant for today. My morays are considered old fashion. My ideas are just as old. It is funny, but this tells me that I am needed more than ever. Even if no one will listen to me, what I have to say is as important as the day I learned it. I believe in one God, the Godhead. The Godhead is the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. I believe that God sent His Son to earth to be born as a man. Jesus came to teach us how to enter heaven and to die for our sins. I believe that Jesus was crucified and on the third day rose from the died. He ascended into heaven as Lord of lords and King of kings. Anyone who believes, and trust in Jesus will enter the kingdom of heaven. This is what it means to be a Christian. And now the answer to the riddle.

The Answer to the Christmas Riddle.

What remains the same and is constantly changing? and Why?

The answer is Man. The constant or the same is change. Eccl.1:9 “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be, and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.”

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What do you see as your future? Do you have a future? With the way the world is going, what chance does anyone have? I hate to even to look at the evening news. It is all death and destruction. In the middle of the most joyous season of the year, people are miserable. If it isn’t the weather, which has been rotten. It is the unemployment. Who has money to spend on Christmas?  There are more homeless people than ever before. It seems that everyone is fighting each other. And the message of peace on earth is loss in translation. People seem to think that weapons are the cause of all their troubles. And if we get rid of all the weapons the world would be a better place. All you have to do is look at Mexico and figure out it don’t work. Everybody wants to blame everybody else and anything that can cause pain. It is a delusion and people are sleepwalking. Your future has always been in your hands. What you do determines what happens to you. It isn’t because of your mother, brother, sister, aunt, uncle or your dad. It is you period. If you don’t wake up, you will lose your life. And that is a tragedy. When Jesus was born, He came into a world ruled by an occupying army. That army didn’t go anywhere. It didn’t make any difference in His life or how He conducted Himself. Jesus went about doing the work of the Father. He built the church, died for the sins of man and rose on the 3^rd day. You can change the world around you and the world around you can change for the better. All it will take is that you believe and trust in God. Then you can watch as everything changes. The future is in your hands for good or bad. I want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.

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I went to college and studied Communications. I picked that particular subject because I was a shy lad. I couldn’t really hold a conversation with anyone. I found that I could make speeches. It became easy for me to stand up and speechify. It drew attention to myself that I hadn’t had before. It helped me in business. Customer service became my specialty. I married and we had 4 sons. My wife has a younger brother but she really didn’t have to deal with 4 boys at 1 time. I have 3 brothers and it was a piece of cake. My dad had a thick black belt. This belt would come off his pants any time 1 of us or all of us would start something. When we were children, mom and dad took us all over the country. We traveled to all most every state. So I tried to do the same for my sons. Traveling gives you an education that you can’t get in a school. 2 of my sons graduated from college. 3 of my 4 sons served in the Military. The other 2 sons have some college. They grew up in front of me, with their own ideas and opinions. When they were little and visited other people’s homes, the people would come back and say how nice my sons were. I asked them who they were talking about. My wife and I raised them to have manners and to be compassionate. My sons are what God says, if you raise a child in the way he should, when he is old, he shall not depart from it. I was 18 years old just yesterday. And today time has gone so fast. My wife and I have been shopping. We bought toys for our 1^st grandchild. My dad bought a red stuffed bulldog, 3 times bigger than his 1^st grandchild. Do you know what gifts God gave me? My 4 sons. I want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.

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When I was a small boy, we lived in a 2 bedroom starter home. Dad bought this home brand new. It was the first house he ever bought. He had returned for WWII and married my mom. My dad owned a 1951 pink 2 door Studebaker Champion. When we were little, all 6 of us fit into the car. Back then you didn’t have to put car seats for children. As we got older, dad bought a 1954 4 door Dodge sedan. We traveled all over the country in that car. My older brother always got carsick. So we would stop for him to empty his stomach. There was a 55 gallon drum on the side of the our garage. I would take it out each evening and walk on it. I became so good that I could run that barrel all over the yard. We lived so far south in America, that I can only remember 1 winter that it snowed and stayed. In the winter of 1957, it snowed and stayed for 3 days. That year Hurricane Audrey came through and wiped out several cities near the Gulf of Mexico. Mom would make us go to all the family reunions. We would go kicking and screaming. But I tell a truth, I am glad my mother did that. I got to know my family on all sides. My great grand aunt carried me piggyback when she was 75 years old. She lived until she was 94 years old. I can trace my family for 500 years all the way back to France. They never thought they were doing anything extraordinary when they came to America. Their whole world changed and the whole world changed with them. Each person is unique and special to God. And as you go about your life, your world changes. And guess what the world changes because of you. You are important in God’s plan. This is why He came to this earth. I want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.

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