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Temple of Spirit & Truth Ministries
A.R.Smith Sermons International
http://www.ourchurch.com/member/a/arsmithsermons/

God, gave us our life,

and our path to choose.

By our choices each day,

we either live or lose.

Isaac and Ishmael,

of the same paternal line;

Emanations of different mothers,

yet both sons of the Divine.

It seems our present conflicts,

find their origins here.

For both men fathered nations,

founded in jealousy and fear.

We worship the same God,

at least that’s what we claim.

And our tribes trace their source,

to the iconoclast, Abraham.

From our faithful Father,

should we not take our lead,

And shatter our idols,

of mistrust and greed?

For the ancient war continues,

and we are all at fault.

Intolerance and hate have chained us,

to a final, fatal result

Our teachers tell us to,

“Love God and one another,

As we would do for ourselves,

Let us do for our brother”.

Let our kind not die,

bearing the Mark of Cain!

Let us forgive and bless and,

break this age-old chain!

The choices we make,

determine the lives we lead.

Let us forget the past,

and from its curse, be freed.

We are together on Earth,

for so short a time.

God made us all different,

His Will …….. Sublime!

Written in January 2002 four months after nine/eleven. Inspired by a debate between Jews, Christians and Muslims on C-SPAN by Jim Stratemeyer.

Editor of the HCCJM Newsletter (Harford County Christian Jail Ministry). The HCCJM is a non-denominational, all volunteer, prison outreach. I am in training to teach the Overcomers In Christ program in jails & Prisons. I have written short stories, poems, commentary and feature articles.

THE CHRISTMAS VICTORY

A logical and practical interpretation of Is.7:14 in the light of context and language.

As you celebrate Christmas, sending out cards, putting up the tree with bright lights and decorations and getting caught up in the hustle and bustle of gift-buying, do you stop to ask yourself what is the real meaning of Christmas? If you do, what is your answer? Simply that a babe was born in a manger 2000 years ago?

But then, do ask how does it apply to me? I’m sure some of you would say that of course the babe was our Savior, who would later die for our sins. True, but even this doesn’t go quite far enough. In fact, it makes Christmas seem somewhat subordinate to Good Friday, which, according to some, should be the major holiday we celebrate and not Christmas. I believe however that if we would realize the full intent of His coming as given by God in the Holy Scriptures, we would see that we have good reason for making Christmas the major holiday it is and for celebrating to the hilt.

What, you ask, is the full intent of His coming? It is not
simply that without his birth there would not have been His
death, but rather that His birth was, in itself, a sign and
guarantee both of this death and of the salvation it would bring in all it’s fullness. This fullness includes not only a future eternity, but also a present victory and freedom from fear in our everyday lives.
In Matthew 1:20-21, Joseph is told by the angel not to be afraid to take Mary for his wife because “that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost, and she shall bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for it is he who will save his people from their sins.” The very name “Jesus” means “Savior,” or more literally, “Deliverer.” It is the transliteration of the Old Testament name, “Joshua.” Just as Joshua led his people into victory in the land of Canaan, so Jesus leads us to victory in the land of our Spiritual heritage.

Then in verse 21, Matthew explains “Now All this took place that what is spoken by the LORD through the prophet might be
fulfilled, saying, “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL, WHICH TRANSLATED MEANS ‘GOD WITH US.’ Before we look at the quote, we must notice the word “fulfilled.” In the original Greek, its literal meaning is “filled up” or “completed” or “completely filled.” Also let me mention at this point, to avoid misunderstanding later, that the word for “virgin” in Matthew allows for NO other translation. Verse 23 is a direct quote from
the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures) of Is.7:14, which uses the Greek word specifically indicating one who is a virgin.

Please keep the meaning of these three Greek
words in mind as we continue. “Jesus” = Deliverer,” “fulfilled”
= “completely filled up,” and “virgin” = “virgin.”
Yes, there is no question that in Matthew the word “virgin” can only mean “virgin.” When we come to original Hebrew Is.7:14,
however, the case is different. The Hebrew language, being much broader in its word usage than Greek, allows for several related meanings to be attached to one word within a general context or circle of meaning. For example, the word “shalom” not only means “peace,” but also “welfare,” “blessing,” “hello,” and “goodbye,”
among other things. The same sort of thing is true of the Hebrew word “alma,” which was translated as “virgin” by the King James translators in Is.7:14 The word has a broad meaning of “a young woman of marriageable age, one of whose characteristics may or may not be that she is a virgin.” (See I Chr.15:20, Ps.68:25, Prov.30:19, Song 1:3 & 6::8) Thus, the translators of the RSV
translated it as “young woman.” They were roundly criticized, although this is a perfectly allowable translation, and one that fits more readily into the context as we shall see.

One of the main principles of interpretation is to check the
context. In this case the immediate context would be the 7th and 8th chapters. Forget for a moment the prophetic nature of verse 14 and try to picture yourself back in the time of Ahaz and
Isaiah. In the beginning of Chapter 7, we see that we are
involved with a situation of actual physical warfare. Ahaz, king of Judah is facing two enemies, Rezin, king of Syria and Pekah,
king of Israel, and he’s scared to death. Thus, the LORD sent Isaiah to tell Ahaz not to fear, because these two kings would be
defeated. Sensing Ahaz’s doubt, the LORD asked Ahaz to as Him
for a sign, but Ahaz, in a false piety, refused. So the LORD
said that He would give Ahaz a sign. Thus, we come to verse 14.
The fact that the message is addressed to the “house of David”
does not negate its being intended for Ahaz, as he was the ruler,
and thus the representative of the nation. If we translate
“alma” as “young woman” and continue reading through verse 16, we
see clearly what the sign to Ahaz was. The LORD is saying that a
child will be born, and before the child is of age, the land
whose two kings Ahaz dreads will be forsaken. If we continue on
into Chapter 8, we see that a child is indeed born. Isaiah had a son, whose name means “hast-ye-haste-ye-to-the-spoil,” and a
similar statement is made in verse 4 to that of 7:16, tying
Isaiah’s son in with the prophecy of physical victory made to
Ahaz. The child is even called “Emmanuel” in verse 8.
Now you have a clear picture of what verse 14 meant to Ahaz.

“But,” you ask, “How does all of this relate to Matthew’s
quotation of verse 14, and the use by Matthew of a word which
could only mean ‘virgin’?” I believe the answer lies in
typological interpretation. Do you remember the other word used
in Matthew, which is translated “fulfilled”? Remember we said
that it literally means “completely filled up.” The prophecy was
only partially fulfilled in Ahaz’s time. The complete
fulfillment would come later on. Thus, Isaiah’s son, whose very
name has the ring of victory in it, was BOTH A SIGN TO AHAZ AND A
TYPE OF THE ONE TO COME, WHO WOULD BE TO US A SIGN OF SPIRITUAL
VICTORY. In 8:18, Isaiah says that he and his children are for
signs and wonders in Israel, and the word used here for “sign” is
also translated as “type.” (A type is a real person place thing
or event in the Old Testament, which also represents, by way of
looking forward to, a corresponding Spiritual reality, [called
the "antitype"] in the New Testament.)

This typological interpretation allows for the full meaning of
“alma” to come into play. Ahaz heard it as “young woman” and saw
it fulfilled as such in his time with the birth of Isaiah’s son.
But, looking back, we can see that this was not all that God
intended. God had more in mind than the birth of Isaiah’s son.
He was also looking down the corridors of time to when He would
send His son, through a virgin. Thus the prophecy was completely
filled up by the birth of the antitype, Jesus, as recorded in
Matthew. Hopefully, we can now see more of the reason that Jesus
came and why we can celebrate his birth to the full. Ahaz feared
two enemies. We also have two enemies, which we need now no
longer fear. I mentioned Is.8:18. This verse is quoted in the
New Testament in Hebrews.2:13 in reference to the incarnation of
Christ, and in verse 14 & 15, we see that he came to set us free
from the fear of death. Paul also speaks of this in
Icor.15:55-57. The second enemy that Jesus came to defeat is the
enemy of sin, mentioned by Paul in Romans 6, saying in verse 14
that it shall not have dominion over us. He combines these two
enemies in Romans 8:2, saying that Christ has set us free, or
“delivered” us from them. Thus, as He tried to tell Ahaz, we
need no longer fear them.

Of course, Rezin and Pekah may also represent your own personal
foe or foes. Whatever your Rezin & Pekah are (the multiple of
things the Devil may use to get you down), do not fear, but know
that Jesus came to deliver you.

This is the real meaning of Christmasthat Jesus came to be our
sign of victoryto show us that we need no longer fear the
multiple forces that may be arrayed against us in the Spiritual
realm. It is evident as well in Chapter 9 of Isaiah, where the
specific promise of the birth of Christthe son to be given in
verse 6is couched in the language of warfare and victory (vs.4 &
5). It is further confirmed by the prophecy of the angel to Mary
in Luke 1:33, and in the Magnificant of Mary and the Benidictus
of Zacharias (Luke 1:46-55 & a68-79), especially vs.69, 71,
&74-75. These especially present the idea that Jesus delivers us
for fear-free service to God. Read these wonderful portions of
scripture and rejoice in the fact that victory can be yours
through faith in Jesus, whose birth we celebrate at this time of
year. May the bright lights beautiful decorations, and fancily
wrapped gifts we see this season serve to remind us of the
glorious victory which can be ours through the one whose birthday
we are celebrating.

Rev. James M. Becher, M.Div., Bible teacher, Publisher of the “Inspirational Succcess Tips” E-zine (to subscribe, send a blank email to:
inspirationlsuccesstips@Freeautobot.com), author of the novel, “OF SUCH IS THE KINGDOM, A Novel of Biblical times,”
(visit http://www.publishedauthors.net/jamesmbecher/index.html

As Edward Everett said, education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army. A Catholic community is one of the (relatively) few places in the world where young people experience faith-centric education. However, with the steep dive in the number of students enrolling in Catholic schools in the United States in recent years, a lot of Catholic learning institutions have been forced to close down and shut their operations. There are concerned parties who have noticed this dismal trend though, and they have been far from being apathetic about the whole picture.

Tomorrow’s Hope Foundation strongly supports Catholic education for children and is doing a lot of reaching out to prevent the total shutdown of Catholic schools in the United States. Just recently, the foundation has helped in providing scholarships and other forms of financial aid to families so they could keep sending their children to Catholic schools, particularly in the Long Island area.

Most Catholic-school alumni maintain that Catholic faith-centric education promotes the holistic spiritual development of an individual. Although the observation is very much debatable, in the end, what really matters is how a person uses all the things he learned in life, whether it came from within the four walls of a classroom or on the streets.

Check out the Forbes profile of Courtney Ross.

Courtney Ross has been an innovative leader in the field of education for over 16 years.

Learn more about Courtney Ross on Institutions of Philanthropy.

In the 4th Century, the Axum dynasty spread Christianity throughout Ethiopia. This remained Ethiopia’s main religion until the 7th Century, when Islam became the more dominant religion. This also separated Ethiopia from the other Christian nations of Africa.

Ethiopian Jews, or Beta Israel, had a certain independence until the 13th century under the Solomonic Empire. There would be fighting for the next centuries between Beta Israel and other tribes.

Beta Israel’s last battle was fought in 1624 against Portuguese-backed Ethiopians. They were defending their freedom. The Ethiopian Jewish men and women fought to the death. It is said they would have rather died then been taken prisoner. Beta Israel was unsuccessful in this battle. Their enemies took all surviving Jews and forced them into slavery, baptism, and denied them the right to own land. Their enemies also burned any and every form of Beta Israel literature in an attempt to completely erase their existence from Ethiopia.

Ethiopian Jews would not be heard from again until 1769 when a Scottish explorer, James Bruce, came upon them near the Nile River. Bruce estimated there were about 100,000 of them at the time.

In 1947, Ethiopia did not take part of the United Nations Partition Plan. In 1955, the non-governmental Jewish Agency of Israel began building schools and a teacher’s seminary for the Beta Israel in Ethiopia.
Then in 1956, Ethiopia and Israel established a consular relationship and in 1961, the two establish full diplomatic ties. The situation was positive between the two nations until 1973 when Ethiopia along with several other African nations violated the diplomatic relations with Israel under the threat of an Arab oil embargo.

A short time later, Ethiopia’s new Emperor, Mariam, began a Marxist-Leninist dictatorship and over the next several weeks, 2,500 Ethiopian Jews were killed and 7,000 were left homeless. Mariam’s reign was a huge threat to Beta Israel and anti-Semitism was spreading throughout the land.

In 1977, Israel’s Prime Minister, with the permission Mariam, began to send for Ethiopian Jews to come to Israel. This was the beginning of the emigrations of Ethiopians Jews to Israel. Between 1977 and 1984, more than 8,000 Ethiopian Jews moved to Israel. In the early 1980’s, the practice of Judaism and teaching Hebrew became forbidden in Ethiopia. On November 18th, 1984, Operation Moses began and over the next six weeks, nearly 8,000 more Ethiopian Jews were brought over to Israel. In 1985, President Bush and CIA began Operation Joshua, which brought another 800 Ethiopian Jews to Israel, this time from Sudan.

Even though these operations brought Beta Israel to Israel, there were still conflicts. One of the biggest problems was separation. Many families were being separated and left behind. The move to Israel was bittersweet for several families who were afraid of never seeing their loved ones again, and many committed suicide as a result of separation anxiety. Many children were in danger of growing up without their parents.

However, in 1990, came Operation Solomon. Operation Solomon, also called The Fulfillment of a Dream, began after an agreement was reached between Ethiopia and Israel. Operation Solomon sought to not only bring more of Beta Israel to Israel but to reunite families. Operation Solomon, named after King Solomon from biblical times, brought more Ethiopian Jews than Operation Moses and Operation Joshua, and in less time.

Today, there are approximately 36,000 Ethiopian Jews residing in Israel and efforts are currently underway to bring over the remaining 2,100 Jews that wish to move to Israel.

Source: Righteous Jews Honored by Falasha Supporters, AAEJ Press Release, 1981

Source: Israel Association for Ethiopian Jews (IAEJ). Written by the staff of PRIMER – Promoting Research in the Middle East Region. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/ejhist.html#top

Mia Pleasant is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/
which is a site for Creative Writing.

Christians need to wake up and begin to be that salt. Why do we see such junk on television and in the movies? Why do we hear words that are rude, immoral, blasphemous, and not fit for use in music, television and movies? Why are there so much poverty, homelessness and suffering in world? Why can’t we pray in schools? Why are we killing thousands of innocent babies each year? Why is so much money being spent on lottery tickets? It is because Christians and the Church have lost their direction and God’s mandate.

We claim to be a Christian nation. If you ask most Americans if they are Christian they will say yes. If that is true then our society should have a whole different complexion. The truth is if they are Christian they are not living their life according to God’s word. If we were the Hollywood crowd would either change the movies or go broke. Lotteries would not exist. People would be fed and housed.

When you look at the early church they took care of the needs of each other. They sent out missionaries to tell others about Jesus. They were the salt and light of the earth. They lived and taught the word of God. They changed this world forever by following Jesus’ commands.

What happened? Christians have fallen asleep and need a wake up call. We are warned to redeem the time. Jesus could return at any time. He certainly will not find many Christians about his business when he does.

How would the world you live in be like if every Christian was just like you? Do you live your life by Spiritual guidelines or by the world standards? Have you compromised with the world without even realizing it?

Stop and take a look at your life. How important is it to you to know and live the life God wants you to? Where are you in your growth to be like Jesus? Do you give any time to the study of God’s word?

Let us wake up and begin to be the salt we are supposed to be. Let us make a change in the world. Let us hear Jesus say “well done good and faithful servant” when he returns.

Are you doing all you can do? Use what God has blessed you with to grow spiritually and financially to meet the needs of others.
Preparing for the soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Warren Adams is a bi-vocational preacher. With a burden for the lost and the sleeping Christians. Believing the world would be a much better place if each one lived the life God wants. Go to http://www.ItsOkToBeRich.com.