Merry Christmas or Xmas?

A little reflection I heard from a friend on one lenghtly road trip caught my attention since it was somewhat very noteworthy.

Today many people started to use the expression “Merry Xmas”, which might appear completely insignificant, and merely practical or original, however after a closer second look we might find a deeper importance in it, let’s have a look…

Xmas

X – is commonly used as variable, thus it stands for something unknown or uncertain. People who use this expression can possibly apply it because they do not know the true meaning of this holiday and therefore correctly put a variable to define their unawarness. Second part of the word “mas” can then closer specify the actual practice or custom that takes place during this time. In most cases this akronym could stand only for “meat and soup“.

Christmas

Christ – is the very meaning of this event. Such person surrounds everything around His birth, for that is the core idea of this session. Again, second part of the word develops this idea further and could stand for “master and savior“

Note: Any resemblance of thoughts in this post to actual persons and events is purely coincidential.

 

Mission Trip to Latvia

In November (3-10/11/11) we spent one week in Latvia with a group of approx. 15 people driving around and serving on different places. If you would like to know a little bit more about our trip please click here to read a short summary of what we experienced.

 

Sense the nonsense

Emotional Language: Appeal to status

Some kind of respectable status is one of those things nearly everyone strives for. However there are different ways people take to get to this desired position.

In some cases uniqueness is the primary goal and thus anything that can bring it, is highly welcomed. Big names, labels and brands is surely one of the most common ways of doing it. Often people buy special products from largely advertised expensive companies in the warm outlook that this will bring them some sort of similar distinction as it brought to those faces that in fact stand behind them. It is almost staggering how one ball point pen for $150 can make someone feel more important, confident, secure or special. Still, it is gloomy when these feelings are based merely on the type of physical things that these people are surrounded with.

This appeal is well known by above mentioned type of companies which deliberately use slogans that speak about status, such as:”Think different” or “Because you’re worth it“. And out of the experience we can say that it surely works just fine.

At last, I would like to say again that there is nothing wrong with these things alone, for I believe it is positively wonderful to be able to afford not only to pay the regular, but also to choose from the variety of fascinating products market offers us. Yet, there is probably something erroneous if a person refuses to eat your baked chicken with rice and goes afterwards to order - arroz con pollo.

 

The week deal

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“Evangelism is not a professional job for a few trained men, but is instead the unrelenting responsibility of every person who belongs to the company of Jesus.“

Elton Trueblood

“Any method of evangelism will work if God is in it.“

Leonard Ravenhill 

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Is. 6:8; Mark 16:15; 2.Tim 2:15;

 

Look also at a 168 pages long masterpiece written by the pen of Leonard Ravenhill: “Why Revival Tarries“. I would only add a personal review of one of the readers, that I found very apt, to give just a small idea what it is about.

“This book should come with a warning label on it saying: “If you want to destroy your life go ahead and read this book!” This book absolutely destroyed me in every way possible. I remember recieving this book from a friend in Philly and was in a bad season in my life and also remembering being scared to read the book. No wait I wasn’t scared to read it I was absolutely terrified, and my pre-concieved notions were correct. Once I picked up that book I was as good as dead. I began to weep and groan for weeks and weeks. The burning words in those pages completely consumed me and scathed me. I was skinned and hung up for death. Everything in my life was burnt up and left in an ash heap before my feet, so that I had to turn to God and say what now? He replied and said do what I have always wanted you to do, die! Everything changed for me, prayer life, ministry, preaching, relationships, church, conduct, and everything else. I walked away broken, battered, and bruised from this book and have never been the same. So with that read this book unless you want to live in your ‘normal’ Christian life, but if you have enough guts to actually do what the bible says, let Ravenhill expose your fakeness and start all over again from step one!“

 

The Moral Argument

1. If God does not exist, then objective moral values and duties do not exist.

2. Objective values and duties do exist.

3. Therefore, God exists.

   

 Contemporary form of this argument was formulated by William Lane Craig.