Love Truth Blog

 I believe this sums up why anyone should think there is anything special about this season or any other season for that matter. Merry Christmas WGN

Just want to wish all a merry Christmas! Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth and good will to all!  Every promise of the Lord comes to realization in the Messiah. ~ WGN

December 8 to December 16, according to Jewish reckoning, marks to eight day timeframe of Hanukkah for the year 2012, which is also called the Feast of Dedication. It is a festival of lights for each day a candle is lit upon a menorah the cleansing of the temple after it had been defiled by Antiochus IV “Epiphanes” in the second century BC. According to Jewish tradition, while the temple was being restored, only a single day’s worth of sacred oil was found to keep the menorah burning, and none would be available for another eight days, but miraculously the sacred oil kept the flames burning for eight days. Hanukkah is above all things a time of remembering Yahweh’s faithfulness to His people. How did all of this come about? Solomon built the first temple to the Lord (1 Kings 6:1-38; 7:13-9:9, the glory of the Lord filled the place (2 Chron. 7:1-3), but in time the people sinned, the glory of the Lord departed (Ezek. 10:1-22), and in 586 BC Solomon’s temple was des...

On the first Christmas, the angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased” (Luke 2:14). I wonder what could have gone on in the minds of those shepherds tending their flocks that night after encountering the angel of the Lord. Fear, wonder, awe, and excitement are a few words that come to mind. Most of all, I think there would have been the joy of receiving Good News to hear the words “today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). The shepherds heard that the long awaited Messiah of their people had been born, and they were witnesses to his birth. Now the Messiah did offer more than what could have ever been expected. Certainly, many people of that day would have yearned to be a nation free of tyranny. The shepherds would have understand the children of Israel were living subjugated by pagan foreigners. Since the time Jerusalem fell in 587 BC, the Jewish people had, for the mos...

Skeptics of Christianity say ad infinitum ad nausea the Jesus of the Bible is one of many other dying and rising gods from paganism. The typical approach is to point out certain Christian beliefs and practices, like Christmas, the star in the East, three kings (magi), twelve disciples, miraculous sings and wonders, the divine titles attributed to Jesus (“Lamb of God,” etc.), Judas’ betrayal, and the crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection on the third day, have roots in paganism. This is then followed by a blitzkrieg a dogmatic assertions of alleged connections between Jesus to pagan gods. Discerning people, however, need to check the facts before signing off on them without some research. When one does look into the pagan religious sources, one finds they just do not pan put. The pagan gods have nothing in common with the Jesus of Christianity. The basic idea of Christianity evolving out of pagan myths originated with the History of Religions School which flourished between 18...

The Charlie Brown Christmas has been one of those television programs that I pretty much expect to see each Christmas holiday. It is a simple yet well built story. Charlie Brown is flustered over the crass materialism associated with the Christmas holiday, his sister Sally simply wants things from Santa, his dog Snoopy enters a contest for the best decorated dog house, his concerns are valid. Nothing about the holiday offers him an answer to the meaning of Christmas. The highpoint of the story is when Linus share about the meaning of the celebration... "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the c...

Many might criticize the Christmas holiday as having been co-opted by crass materialism. Some might even suggest refocusing upon the “reason for the season,” which is remembrance of the birth of Christ, or the First Advent. Why is that so? The exact month and day of Jesus’ birth can only be speculated. The birthday of Jesus was said to be December 25th by Hippolytus (AD 165-235), which was also set by John Chrysostom (AD 345-407), and this is the day Western Christians observe Christmas; however, the Armenian Church observes Christmas on January 6th, and the biblical evidence does not rule out either possibility. 1 Wasn’t Christmas a pagan festival? A major Mithraic festival did occur on December 25th at the time of the winter solstice; but evidence indicates this mystery religion did not become established in Rome until AD 168, which makes its genesis after Christianity. 2 Still, the Romans celebrated the Saturnalia festival at the close of December, but they also observed the pa...

John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, declares, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being…. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1-3, 14). In these few lines, the Gospel writer pronounces the person of Jesus Christ to be both fully divine and fully human and the co-eternal Creator of the universe. The theologically rich language of the fourth Gospel offers truth that can revolutionize lives and offer solutions to the world’s most pressing issues. John understands Jesus to be the Divine Word who incarnated Himself and lived among men. The biblical writer does not believe the material universe is an illusion, so that one must acquire mind over matter psychic techniques to come to realize the pri...

“This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: ‘He shall be called a Nazarene’ ” (Matt. 2:23, NASB) Matthew 2 tells about magi from the East coming to the land of Israel to worship the infant Christ, Herod’s plan to kill the Child by ordering the execution of all male children two years old and under in Bethlehem, and an angel leading Joseph, Mary and the Child to safe haven in Egypt, and then leading them back after the death of Herod, but to avoid any trouble with Herod’s son and successor Archelaus, directing them to settle down in Nazareth. Matthew then declares, “ This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: ‘He shall be called a Nazarene’ ” (v. 19b). Many have difficulty understanding how Matthew connecting Nazareth the Old Testament prophets, particularly because no particular prophet ever says, “He shall be called a Nazarene.” There is no mistake on Matthew’s part. He is not citing a specific Old Testament prophecy. He actually uses of “prophets” i...

Many of us look at things going on in the world and see a lot of things getting out of hand. But tis the season to know that things do not have to be that way. Things can be different. Charles Wesley’s “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus” is a wonderful Advent hymn, which reminds us that a better world is possible. It  goes… Come, thou long-expected Jesus, Born to set thy people free; From our fears and sins release us, Let us find our rest in thee: Israel’s Strength and Consolation, Hope of all the saints thou art; Dear Desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart. Born, thy people to deliver; Born a child, and yet a King! Born to reign in us for ever, Now thy precious kingdom bring: By thine own eternal Spirit, Rule in all our hearts alone; By thine all-suficient merit, Raise us to thy glorious throne. The message of the Old Testament can be summed up in the world “promise,” whereas the New Testament word is “fulfillment,” both point to Jesus Christ. Wha...

“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14, NASB) One of the greatest examples of respect and esteem for humanity is rooted in the Christian doctrine of incarnation. It this divine act within time space, God pouring out His love for the lost, we can understand the true intrinsic worth of mankind. According to the biblical drama, God in the beginning creates the universe, and fashions man—both male and female—in the image of God. Of course, man fell into sin, and separation from God. Yet, God incarnated himself, entering this world through the virgin’s womb, living among us in the person of Jesus Christ, who dies upon the cross, according to the Scripture, to pay the penalty of man’s sin, and He rises again so that man may have eternal life. It is through Christ, that man be reconciled to the Father in Heaven, and be united in a dynamic relationship with God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Good News of Christ gives man both new spiritual life and the hope...