No Fear Of GOD

"There is no fear of God before his eyes."

Psalm 36:1

Sadly, this phrase has been woven into the very fabric of our society today. When a man has no fear of GOD, he is prepared for any crime. Total depravity is not too strong a term to describe such human wickedness. Evil people who have no fear of GOD, in reality have no affection for others, all they care about is their own satisfaction.

The Last Sacrificial Lamb Is Born In Bethlehem

by Chuck Ness

When you think of the first story of Christmas, it's usually about Mary and Joseph looking down at their new born son in a manger, surrounded by barn animals and maybe a shepherd or two looking on. Angels singing praises of joy to the Lord Most High, and maybe even the star that is guiding the wise men from Babylon to the destination of the Jews Messiah.

We live at a time when children are born in sanitized hospital rooms with the best of care, before and after the mother gives birth. When we hear of stories of women giving birth at home, or alongside the road where the car had to pull over because the child would not wait, we are captivated and amazed of such a thing happening in today's world.

Yet, for the vast majority of man's history, women have given birth in conditions we would not expect our pet animals give birth in. So when you consider what Mary had to endure in her last week leading up the birth of her first child, I want you to consider the following. Then maybe, just maybe, you will look at the story of Christmas a bit differently than you have in the past.

When you consider that Luke was a Doctor, it kind of makes sense that his version of the Gospel is the only one that tells the story of the birth of Christ. It makes even more sense when you consider that Luke was not just a good friend and traveling companion, but he was also the Apostle Paul's Doctor. Another point of consideration is that, in Paul's letter to the Galatians he wrote that he did not receive the Gospel from man, but from Christ Himself. So who better to know the events leading up to the birth of Jesus, than the man He shared it with.

“But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ." Galatians 1:11-12

When Was Jesus Really Born?

Christ's Birthday

I found this in a file on my hard drive. I did not create the whole article, but through the years I have opened it and added some thoughts here and there. To be honest, it has been in my file so long I cannot remember what I added, or what was originally in it when I found it. The original file date says 2004, and the last time I edited it was 2018, so it's been on my hard drive for almost 18 years. My how time can go by. I tried to find out who put the original article together, but all the links are dead. So I'm clueless as to who the original author is. I offer it as food for thought. The more we know, the more we know we don't know. However, with help from God, we can continue to grow in HIS knowledge.

Today, Christians around the world celebrate December 25 as the birth date of Christ. But this is incorrect. The date was chosen to attract the people of the pagan religion, who celebrated the birth date of the sun on that day.

The story of the birth of Christ and John, pinpoints the exact date of his birth. According to Luke, the Angel Gabriel visited Zacharias while he was performing his priestly duties. He announced the birth of his child, John.

Mary & Joseph Travel To Bethlehem To Have A Child

And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the Inn.
Luke 2:7

Adored by Social Misfits

This MP3 audio is the Christmas message I shared with the women of Windchime Retirement
in Center in Chico Ca, back in 2008. The commentary below is based upon this message.

by Chuck Ness

The Gospel of Jesus can be summed up in three statements He made during His ministry. One statement was directed toward the Pharisees who questioned why He hung out with sinners and tax collectors.

"It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mark 2:17)

Another statement was directed towards those who complained when He went into the house of Zaccheus, a chief tax collector in Jericho.

And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19:9-10)

Finally, the last statement I offer for your consideration is

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

These twenty five words convey the Lord's heart, His plan, and His will for our lives. No Scripture defines Christianity better then John 3:16, and it is this passage that makes the first two statements so profound.

Proverbs 21:4 Sometimes God Suspends Freewill

The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD,
Like the rivers of water;
He turns it wherever He wishes.
(Proverbs 21:4)

When you wonder why a World does things that are clearly out of the norm for that individual, sometimes it can be by Devine intervention from God. I'm not saying that the evil things some World leaders have done are by God's will, but the good things that an evil leader may have done that are moral, ethical, and logical can be attributed to God. Mind you, its not because their heart has all of a sudden become pure or they had an Epiphany, but rather it's because God turned them from that which they wanted to do, to doing His will instead. I'm sure that like us, they too wonder why they did those things that are not what they intended.

See, while we do have free will, God does reserve the right to remove our free will from time to time in order to have a good thing accomplished for other reasons. Case in point would be when Balaam was hired by Balak, the King of Moab, to curse the Israelites. Instead he blessed them, because God would not allow him to curse His people. (Numbers 22–24).
Another instance was when Joseph's brothers planned on killing him. God knew they would, long before they were even born. So God arranged for some Ishmaelite traders to come by at that exact location so that Joseph was instead sold to them for twenty shekels of silver. The trader in turn sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard. (Genesis 37:12-36)

See, God needed the get Jacob and his family down to Egypt so they would be isolated from intermarrying with the people of Canaan as Esau had. This way they would grow into a great nation set aside by Him as He promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God knows all, and He knew that the Egyptians would not mix with Shepherds because they considered them to be unclean. (Genesis 46:34) What did Joseph tell his brothers?

“But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. (Genesis 50:20)

Then there's time when God moved the Persian King Cyrus to read the parchments left behind by the prophet isaiah. In them he read that God had spoken to Isaiah in a vision: (Isaiah ch 45)

"My will is, that Cyrus, whom I have appointed to be King over many and great nations, send back my people to their own land, and build my temple."

History is replete with moments of God suspending ones free will in order to accomplish a goal He desires. Many may scoff at this, but look back at history and you will find records of times when very evil men did some quite remarkably good things. Men like Nebuchadnezzar, Hitler, Stalin, Al Capone, and even the serial killer, Ted Bundy, who all did things that only God could have moved them to do. That's why we as Christians are told to pray for His intervention in times of need?

Like when a loved one is injured, or maybe they have been told they have cancer. How about those times we wanted a job, or maybe for Him to give us that extra boost of energy to accomplish a task.  If we believed that God never helped us, then instead we would just allow a Dr to do the best they can, thus leaving our loved ones to suffer in times of tragedy.

No, instead we pray for God to help. Oh I should also remind everyone to always add , " Thy will, not my will." In doing so, we pray that our will and His will are in alignment. Can you think of a time in your life when God suspended your will in order to keep you on the right track. A time your were denied something you dearly desired and thought you deserved. Just to realize that in retrospect, that it was the best thing that could have happened?

The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD,
Like the rivers of water;
He turns it wherever He wishes.
(Proverbs 21:4)

I pray that those who have ears to hear will hear His voice and call upon the name of the lord Jesus Christ. Amen