We were talking about the "star". If a normal star was over Bethlehem, how did the wise men know which house? Because the Bible says that the "star" stopped over the house where Jesus was.
If it was a normal star, as we know stars, and it stopped over a city, no one would be able to tell which house it was over. But it was a moving star that stopped right over the house where Jesus was.
The wise men had seen the "star" in the East. Then when they got to Bethlehem it appeared to them again and for some reason they were filled with great joy.
We figured that when they saw the "star" in the East it was either the day Jesus was born or maybe the day Mary conceived.
King Herod did find out from the wise men when the star first appeared (Mt. 2:8). But we are not privy to this information . . . so the fact that King Herod found out does not help us at all.
We had different opinions about where the wise men came from. Iraq, Iran, India, and China. And, of course, the Bible does not say there were three of them! Some folks try to identify the country by the items the wise men brought: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
No matter where they came from it took a long, long time to get to Israel. And when they arrived in Jerusalem it caused such a stir that "the whole city" knew about it.
By the time they arrived in Bethlehem Jesus was in a "house" not in a barn out back. And Jesus could have been almost two years old because Herod had all the children killed under two years of age.
We ended up agreeing that the "star" had to be very low in order for it to lead the wise men to the exact house. We pretty much agreed that it was something very supernatural, somewhat like the "cloud" that received Jesus when He ascended in Acts chapter one.
When all that was over and Joseph and Mary were quite wealthy from all the gifts, then an angel told Joseph to move to Egypt, which he did. Would you walk 300 miles with a wife and new-born if God told you to do it?
We started talking about where they went in Egypt. Did they rent an apartment, purchase a house, or did someone take them in. Maybe that person "knew" they were coming and who they were?
Anyway, they stayed in Egypt until God spoke to them again and told them to return to Israel. As we all know, they moved back to Nazareth where Jesus was raised.
The Christmas story never grows old!
A virgin has a baby! Blows everyone's mind. Had to be supernatural! God did it! The Holy Ghost "came upon Mary". Whatever that means?
A God/Man was born! The result: His shed blood on the cross had the power to cleanse all of us of our sins! Power! Power! Power! We cannot even imagine it.
And why does the spirit world demand a blood sacrifice? We will never know the answers to most of our questions. And when we get to heaven we probably won't bother asking things like this. We'll be too busy worshiping the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
We all concluded that we should be so thankful that God sent Jesus to die for us. Thankful! Thankful! Thankful!
Think of it: A FREE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE.
This is what Christmas means to us.
I hope you enjoyed being invited to our get-together today.
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P.S. Obama did not bother to go to church this Christmas!
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Compare this wonderful story with the story of Muslims from a Jewish point of view:
An Urgent Report.
An Urgent Report.
12-27-2013
Could you imagine for a moment being born into an Islamic Muslim family? From childhood you are told that if you do this, or that, they will hold you down on a bench and give you 30, 40 or more lashes with a whip, but if you do this, or that, they will cut your hands or feet off. But if you do this, or that, we will bury you up to your head in the ground and stone you to death – starting with small stones and then larger ones. But if you do this, or that, we will cut your head off. And if you ever renounce Islam we will hunt you down and kill you. That is just a small look at Sharia Law. It is really much worse. From childhood you are taught that killing Jews will get you into heaven. Or to die killing any non-Muslim in Jihad will get you into Paradise to be with Allah. And if you give your life as a suicide bomber you are guaranteed to be in Paradise with Allah.
These are the people that Obama and Kerry are trying to force Israel to give up more land to. Knowing it will bring about the end of the Jewish state of Israel. These are also the same people that Obama is moving into positions in the US Government and around the country to begin an Islamic revolution along with nationwide race riots in order to allow the introduction of Martial law.
Obama’s support for the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood should be more than enough proof even for the most liberal American. Yet it seems there is a spiritual blindness that has kept them from seeing the truth. Today, Egypt is turning to Russia for military support. Even allowing Russia to build a sea port on the Egyptian shores of the Mediterranean. This will give Russia a port to our north in Syria and now one just to our south on the Egyptian coast. When you consider the kind of missiles these Russian warships carry it is scary to say the least.
Hamas in Gaza was created and supported by the Muslim Brotherhood out of Egypt. This means Hamas now find themselves in a very bad position as Egypt is closing down their supply tunnels into Gaza and the border crossing. Declaring the Muslim Brotherhood a Terrorist Organization.
With life becoming harder every day in Gaza, the Hamas know they have to do something, and within the Arab world that ‘something’ is always the same; start killing. The enemy if possible – if not, just start killing someone, anyone. It is the Islamic Muslim way.
And here in Israel we are beginning to see that sick Islamic philosophy begin to play out. As missiles once again are being fired out of Gaza into our civilian population – with of course no condemnation from the UN, or the rest of the world. It is a war crime and a crime against humanity – Yet no one seems to want to call it that. After all, they are only killing Jews.
Over the past few weeks we have seen an escalation in bombings, stabbings and shootings. Many have been hurt and even killed by rock throwing at our cars on the highways and roads by “Palestinian youth”. It looks like the beginning of the third “Intifada”. Another Arab word that justifies the killing of innocent people that they call “Infidels”.
In the meantime Islam is moving at a very rapid pace throughout Europe. Large numbers of French Jewry are now leaving in fear for their lives and because they now no longer see a future in that country for their children.
But the door for them to leave on flights to Israel will close very soon and they will be left trying to find other means to leave and come to Israel. The only route available will be by sea. My worst nightmare is that there will not be enough vessels with the capacity needed to accommodate the large numbers whose lives will depend on the boats being available. I have said this before, and I will say it again. The thought of having to tell a family with kids that there is no more room on the boat, thus leaving them to what will most likely be their death, is a dream I’ve had far too many times.
This ministry is small in comparison to what will be needed, and I have known for a long time we will not be able to do everything for everyone who will need our help. God has now shown me that we must also start preparing a food bank for when we arrive here. Things in Israel will be in chaos and food must be ready for them. So I have started storing large Mylar bags filled with beans, rice, and many other items. It is obvious to us that much more is needed and we will continue to do what we can, when we can. We are also getting started in Aquaponics as a food supply.
My greatest desire is to have a larger boat to save many more than we will be able to with the 3 boats we now have. They are small in comparison to what we really need. What we have been looking at is a Turkish Gullet around 40 meters capable of carrying a couple of hundred at a time. The bottom line cost for a seaworthy pre-owned one runs from $400,000 up to over a million. That sounds like a lot of money. To some people Jewish life may be cheap but it is not cheap to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
If there was ever a time when we need supporters of this ministry to really give a sacrificial gift, it is now.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, for our son Joel and all the IDF soldiers. Pray for this ministry and your part in it.
Shalom, Jerry Golden
12-27-2013
Could you imagine for a moment being born into an Islamic Muslim family? From childhood you are told that if you do this, or that, they will hold you down on a bench and give you 30, 40 or more lashes with a whip, but if you do this, or that, they will cut your hands or feet off. But if you do this, or that, we will bury you up to your head in the ground and stone you to death – starting with small stones and then larger ones. But if you do this, or that, we will cut your head off. And if you ever renounce Islam we will hunt you down and kill you. That is just a small look at Sharia Law. It is really much worse. From childhood you are taught that killing Jews will get you into heaven. Or to die killing any non-Muslim in Jihad will get you into Paradise to be with Allah. And if you give your life as a suicide bomber you are guaranteed to be in Paradise with Allah.
These are the people that Obama and Kerry are trying to force Israel to give up more land to. Knowing it will bring about the end of the Jewish state of Israel. These are also the same people that Obama is moving into positions in the US Government and around the country to begin an Islamic revolution along with nationwide race riots in order to allow the introduction of Martial law.
Obama’s support for the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood should be more than enough proof even for the most liberal American. Yet it seems there is a spiritual blindness that has kept them from seeing the truth. Today, Egypt is turning to Russia for military support. Even allowing Russia to build a sea port on the Egyptian shores of the Mediterranean. This will give Russia a port to our north in Syria and now one just to our south on the Egyptian coast. When you consider the kind of missiles these Russian warships carry it is scary to say the least.
Hamas in Gaza was created and supported by the Muslim Brotherhood out of Egypt. This means Hamas now find themselves in a very bad position as Egypt is closing down their supply tunnels into Gaza and the border crossing. Declaring the Muslim Brotherhood a Terrorist Organization.
With life becoming harder every day in Gaza, the Hamas know they have to do something, and within the Arab world that ‘something’ is always the same; start killing. The enemy if possible – if not, just start killing someone, anyone. It is the Islamic Muslim way.
And here in Israel we are beginning to see that sick Islamic philosophy begin to play out. As missiles once again are being fired out of Gaza into our civilian population – with of course no condemnation from the UN, or the rest of the world. It is a war crime and a crime against humanity – Yet no one seems to want to call it that. After all, they are only killing Jews.
Over the past few weeks we have seen an escalation in bombings, stabbings and shootings. Many have been hurt and even killed by rock throwing at our cars on the highways and roads by “Palestinian youth”. It looks like the beginning of the third “Intifada”. Another Arab word that justifies the killing of innocent people that they call “Infidels”.
In the meantime Islam is moving at a very rapid pace throughout Europe. Large numbers of French Jewry are now leaving in fear for their lives and because they now no longer see a future in that country for their children.
But the door for them to leave on flights to Israel will close very soon and they will be left trying to find other means to leave and come to Israel. The only route available will be by sea. My worst nightmare is that there will not be enough vessels with the capacity needed to accommodate the large numbers whose lives will depend on the boats being available. I have said this before, and I will say it again. The thought of having to tell a family with kids that there is no more room on the boat, thus leaving them to what will most likely be their death, is a dream I’ve had far too many times.
This ministry is small in comparison to what will be needed, and I have known for a long time we will not be able to do everything for everyone who will need our help. God has now shown me that we must also start preparing a food bank for when we arrive here. Things in Israel will be in chaos and food must be ready for them. So I have started storing large Mylar bags filled with beans, rice, and many other items. It is obvious to us that much more is needed and we will continue to do what we can, when we can. We are also getting started in Aquaponics as a food supply.
My greatest desire is to have a larger boat to save many more than we will be able to with the 3 boats we now have. They are small in comparison to what we really need. What we have been looking at is a Turkish Gullet around 40 meters capable of carrying a couple of hundred at a time. The bottom line cost for a seaworthy pre-owned one runs from $400,000 up to over a million. That sounds like a lot of money. To some people Jewish life may be cheap but it is not cheap to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
If there was ever a time when we need supporters of this ministry to really give a sacrificial gift, it is now.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, for our son Joel and all the IDF soldiers. Pray for this ministry and your part in it.
Shalom, Jerry Golden
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