Christmas

Jesus Christ:


Came through the seed of a woman.

1. Genesis 3.15, “And I (God the Father) will put enmity between you (satan-the serpent) and the woman (Eve), and between your seed (those who would reject Christ) and her seed (Jesus Christ); He (Jesus Christ) will crush your head (the defeat of sin/satan at the Cross) and you (Satan) will bruise His heel (the suffering and physical death of Jesus Christ).
This passage is a promise of two things:
A. Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity would at some future date take on the form of a man and be born as a baby.
B. Satan would be defeated by way of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.


He will be a descendant of Abraham.

2. Genesis 18.18, “Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed”
a. Abraham is the father of the Jews. From Abraham came the nation of Israel.
b. Abraham became a blessing to all nations because His offspring would ultimately be Jesus Christ born through Mary. And Jesus Christ blessed all nations because through Him, all men have the option of eternal life, not eternal separation from God.

He will be a descendant of Isaac, Abraham’s son.

3. Genesis 17.19, “But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him”
a. Abraham’s son by way of Sarah will be Isaac. Through Isaac will come Jesus Christ.
b. Only through Christ can an everlasting covenant be established.

He will be a descendant of Jacob the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham.

4. Numbers 24.17, “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; a star shall come forth from Jacob, a scepter shall rise from Israel, and shall crush through the forehead of Moab, and tear down all the sons of Sheth”
a. At a future date, a star will come forth from Jacob and a scepter shall rise in Israel. The star and the scepter in this passage is a reference to Jesus Christ.
b. Through Jesus Christ, all the enemies of Israel will one day be defeated.

He will descend from the tribe of Judah. Judah was one of the twelve sons of Jacob.

5. Genesis 49.10, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the rulers staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples”
a. Shiloh means literally, “to him to whom it belongs, tranquility”. This is a reference to Jesus Christ for only He can bring about tranquility and only He is worth to carry the rulers staff and scepter.
b. The obedience of the peoples will come about at the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ to the earth.

He will be born of a virgin.

6. Isaiah 7.14, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign; Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel”
a. Jesus would be born by way of a woman, and she will be a virgin. The sin of Adam passes down through the man, yet Jesus will not have a human father.
b. Immanuel means, “God with us”. For Jesus will be completely God and completely man in one unique person.

He will be a child who will one day rule the world from the throne of David as the unique God-man.

7. Isaiah 9.6-7, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be wonderful counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of Peace on the throne of David and over His kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this”
a. The child born was Jesus Christ.
b. He will not govern the nations until He returns the second time at the end of the tribulation.
c. At that time, He will re-establish peace on earth for He is the only one who can make it happen.
d. This same one who was born a little tiny baby; He will be known as “the wonderful counselor”, the Mighty God, Eternal Father, and the Prince of Peace.
e. He will rule the earth from Jerusalem on the ancient throne of King David. He who was the ancestor of David will be the King of David.
f. Psalms 110.1, “The Lord (God the Father) says to my (David) Lord (God the Son) Sit at my (God the Father) right hand until I (God the Father) make Your (God the Son) enemies a footstool for Your (God the Son) feet”

The place of His birth.

8. Micah 5.2, “But as for you Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One (God the Son) will go forth for Me (God the Father) to be ruler in Israel His (God the Son) goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity”
a. Jesus was born in Bethlehem
b. He is recognized in the passage as the eternal Son whose goings forth have been since eternity past. Why? Because He is God who will be revealed in the flesh.

Every one of these prophecies came true to the last detail. They were written 1500 to 700 years before Christ was born.

If you are still breathing then it is not to late to become a believer in Him. Faith alone in Christ alone.

Citizen Soldiers

"People sleep peacefully at night only because rough men stand ready to violence on their behalf"

-Orson Wells.

I heard a new song last night at the movies by the band "3 doors down". It is called "citizen soldiers" and can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJRthpxDM10. It is a tribute to our national guard, who, in normal life are ordinary citizens with regualr jobs; but who are also members of our armed forces ready to go to war when needed. Many of the forces presently fighting in Iraq are members of national guard units across the country. They have taken leave from civilian life to fight for our country.

In WWII, most of the fighting force in Europe were "citizen soldiers" hence, the title. They dropped everything, left the life they were used to and went to war against the Nazi war machine. Thousands died, thousands more were wounded and maimed, and all of them did not see family members for years. The Germans were defeated due mainly to the efforts of the common man willing to give all for a cause.

There is a line from the song by "3 doors down" that says, "the strongest among us may not wear a crown". And that, my friends, is it in a nutshell. Heros, real heros are normal people willing to give all in the name of freedom.

You never know when your time will come.

The past month in Jacksonville has seen two industrial accidents in which people died. The first involved a multi-story concrete garage that collapsed. One man was killed as a result. The second was a fuel tank that blew up killing four people and injuring about 14 more. The tank was located at a fuel additive facility in which chemicals are mixed with fuel to produce the additive. For reasons unknown (at least for now) one of the tanks blew up sending flames 600' into the air. The percussion was felt as much as a mile away; breaking windows and knocking people down. Both of these events were obviously unplanned and unforseen.

None of these people planned to go to work and die. None of them knew that day that it would be the last day on earth and the last day of this life. My prayer is that they all were believers in Jesus Christ. For, if they are, the moment they died, they were immediately face to face with Jesus Christ. That is why it is so very important to, "get your soul straight" as the saying goes. Everyone of us could die at any time. The Bible tells us that we all have an appointed time to live on the earth, and after that, the judgment. The question that must be answered; which judgment will you be a part of? Will it be the Bema seat judgment or will it be the Great white throne judgment.

The Bema seat judgment is for beleivers only and will take place in Heaven during the tribulation. The great white throne judgment is for unbelievers only and will take place at the end of human history.

Salvation is simple. Faith alone in Christ alone. Thats it, nothing more. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

So, be ready. You never know when your time to leave this earth will come.

Justice today vs. yesterday

I had occasion to arrest a juvenile for stealing a car, running from me, resisting me and then, subsequent to arrest, being in possession of marijuana. Do to the fact that he was a juvenile he was released to his parents that same day. He was not placed in secure detention even though he had taken a vehicle that belonged to an elderly woman. He ran from the police and then resisted arrest and then, he had "weed" on his person. Ha, no big deal we will just give you a court date.

That is the state of the current justice system, at least where I live. I would challenge you to go to http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/html_sessions/T18321129.html/ and see for yourself how things used to be. The link is an actual court docket for a given day in England in 1832. We are way to lax on criminals today. Men and women in law enforcement are social workers and psychiatrists and psychologists and counselors and myriads of other things. But most importantly, we enforce the law. And when the justice system does not back us up; well.... it sucks..... Romans 13 makes it clear that our job as police officers is to ENFORCE the law. If you have a hard time with that, get over it and take it up with God. And please, don't start on me with the "bad cop" syndrome. We are FAR harder on ourselves and our co-workers than most corporations. When we arrest someone, we take away their freedom. That is a very big deal...

At least today you don't lose your life for burglary. Hell,,most burglars today are let go in a day or two....... You want less crime? you want to feel safe again? Then tell your local state attorney's office and judges to ENFORCE THE LAW....you would be amazed at what would happen to the crime rate. And by the way, I have no problem with the general public being armed. If the jack man knows that his potential target is armed, he is less likely to try and rob him.

Well, I've said my piece for now.

c u next time.

Israeli vs. Arab..how bout Isaac vs. Ishmael

The Arab Israeli conflict began 4000 years ago with the offspring of Abraham. Abraham had a son by way of Hagar, his hand maiden, named Ishmael. He had a second son by way of Sarah, his wife, named Isaac. God promised Sarah she would have a son. She decided that God was not working by her timetable so she told Abraham to lie with Hagar and have a son through her. He did and therefore disobeyed the Lord. The Bible tells us that the Arab nations came into existence through Ishamael. Israel as we know came into existence through Abraham and subsequently, Isaac. That is why both the Jews and the Arabs recognize Abraham as their father. The Bible also tells us that there would always be enmity between the sons of Isaac and the sons of Ishmael. It will continue until Jesus returns at the end of the tribulation. Trying to establish peace in the middle east is a noble endeavor, however, it will not happen until Jesus makes it happen.

So when you see the talking heads in the media, politicians, and world leaders exahusting themselves trying to establish peace in Israel; remember, what God told Abraham long ago.

Sheep, sheepdogs, and wolves.

Choose this day what you will be, a sheep, a wolf or a sheepdog. The sheep are the weak, the frail, the victims. The wolves are the one's who pray on the sheep and the sheepdogs are the ones who pray on the wolves. It is all in the attitude and the way you carry yourself. The bad guys look for people who appear unsure of themselves. They are opportunistic and always look for the advantage. If you look timid, scared, and nervous you may become a target.

1. Walk with your head up always aware of your surroundings.
2. Walk with confidence.
3. If approached by someone, look them in the eye.
4. Always be aware of escape routes and things (anything) that could be used as a weapon.
5. Avoid dark places.
6. If in unfamiliar surroundings, stay in well lit places where people are.
7. Use common sense.
8. If you have to fight, do whatever it takes to win.
9. Try not to go places all alone unless you have to.
10. Be nice until its time not to be nice and then get really, really, mean and nasty..

These are just suggestions. We live in a fallen sin infested world. There are lots of good people out there but there are also bad ones.