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December 18, 1999
An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
- Luke 2:9-14 (NIV)
It seems like every year that as I was a paramedic, I can recall going into some of the nicest areas of the city and working on assault victims on the floor next to a bunch of wrapped Christmas presents. There were lots of gifts and lots of lights. Then, an hour later, we would be in a government housing project on a suicide call. You know what we found there? Yep. Gifts and lights. Sure, there were fewer of each than the previous run.
This time of year invokes alot of emotion... alot of memories. For far too many, those memories are of darkness and lost hope.
Friends, I am here to tell you that it most definitely shouldn't be that way. In this week's verse study, we are reading from the book of Luke of the greatest gift ever given... Jesus. Doctor Luke (did you know he was a physician???) describes how even the angels kept reminding us "do not be afraid."
Stop now and ask God for the greatest gift you could ever receive... HIS SON. Doing so will provide you with many years of great memories and a time for rejoicing at Christmas time. And, like the last verse says, you will have "peace on earth."
MAY EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS. I THANK GOD FOR PUBLIC SERVANTS WHO GIVE THE GIFT OF HELPING ALL YEAR LONG. TELL YOUR PARTNER "THANKS." TELL YOUR FAMILY YOU LOVE THEM. THEN, THANK GOD FOR SENDING HIS ONLY SON AS OUR PERFECT GIFT.
Cindy, Brandon and Megan
December 11, 1999
Jesus said these words : "I demand that you love each other as much as I love you. And, here is how to measure it -- the greatest love is shown when a person lays down his life for his friends."
- John 15:12-13 (TLB)
This past week has been, in our profession, one of the toughest I can recall. The bravest Worcester, Massachusetts fire department had to offer paid the ultimate sacrifice.
In this week's verse, Jesus Himself tells us that these brave six firefighters, Lt. Thomas E. Spencer, Firefighter Timothy P. Jackson, Firefighter James F. Lyons, Firefighter Joseph T. McGuirk, Firefighter Paul A. Brotherton and Firefighter Jeremiah M. Lucey displayed the greatest love of all... they laid down their lives for their comrades. As I sit here on Saturday morning, December 11th, still only four (4) of the bodies of these brave men have been recovered.
Normally, my little website attracts an average of 32 people per day. During the last week, I have seen that figure almost triple! An average of 91 hits per day (with a high of 114) were recorded. Over 50,000 attended the Memorial Service last Thursday. Why? I think because when something of this magnitude occurs, everyone starts searching for answers. Especially to the BIG question... "what if it had been me?"
Gentlemen, ladies... PLEASE don't put off asking Jesus Christ into your life. Don't think "I'll have time later." YOUR warehouse fire could come at any time. You may not have the chance to call out for Him. We are not guaranteed another second.
Christ paid the ultimate sacrifice. He went to the cross willingly to die for you and me. That sacrifice was truly the greatest Love of all... God (our REAL Chief) sent His ONLY Son to die for us.
December 4, 1999
"Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later"
- Romans 8:18 (TLB)
I recall the one of runs I made as a paramedic when conditions were less-than-favorable. An ice storm had blanketed the city for two solid days. It was about one o'clock in the morning (so you know every drunk in the city is on the road). We get a call of a major accident in a freeway mixmaster. Upon arrival, we find a station wagon had left the upper ramp, compliments of a 3" sheet of ice, and ended up in the gully below on its' roof. After negotiating our way down below, we found two teenage girls trapped. We called for a jaws unit and began treating our patients. Oh, by the way, did I mention it was about 22 degrees and sleeting? Needless to say, it took about two hours to extricate the pair from the car. And, the whole time we were in mud, blood, antifreeze, sleet and bone-chilling wind. We were all wet and cold. But, guess what? The girls did fine.
In this week's verse, Paul says that any suffering we go through now will be nothing when our Heavenly Father tells us "Well done, my good and faithful servant." Sure, you and I suffer a little stress in the performance of our jobs. But, take a look at what Paul went through. In his own words (in his second letter to the Corinthians) he said;
Five different times the Jews gave me their terrible thirty-nine lashes
Three times I was beaten with rods
Once I was stoned
Three times I was shipwrecked
Once I was in the open sea all night and the whole next day
I have been in great danger from:
flooded rivers
robbers
the Jews
the Gentiles
mobs in the cities
death in the deserts and in the stormy seas
men who claim to be brothers in Christ but are not
I have lived with weariness and pain and sleepless nights
Often I have been hungry and thirsty and have gone without food
often I have shivered with cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm
Then, besides all this, I have the constant worry of how the churches are getting along.
And we have stress? You see, Paul knew that as he suffered, it was nothing compared to what Christ suffered. And, it was nothing compared to gaining eternal life with Christ.
I'll gladly take a little stress today and be comforted by Christ's promises.
It is my prayer that the verses we discuss help each of you as it has helped me deal with the amount of stress we are all faced to deal with.
If you are not yet saved, I have Good News for you. Jesus loves you very much and His Holy Spirit is drawing you to Him. To learn more, click here.