National Day of Prayer ~ Still Vital to Our Nation

Today is the National Day of Prayer. How fortunate we are to live in a nation that realizes that we are dependent on the Almighty for all our blessings and for our freedom.

This year the celebrations in the White House are notably absent. Now, to be fair, President Bush was the first to make it a true annual priority.. but, this year Pres. Obama has chosen not to have any event.

Despite that... and perhaps because of that... it is so important that we spend our day in prayer for our nation. Please, consider taking time to pray for our nation.... that we may cling to the Lord God Almighty. That as a nation we would turn away from our sins and turn toward the Lord. "..if my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." Pray for our leaders that they seek Your Will for this nation, that godly counsel be given and heard. Pray for the safety of our troops. Pray for covering for this nation. Pray. Pray. Pray. It has never been more important.

Here is the prayer, issued by Beth Moore, honorary chair for this year's day of prayer:

We lift our eyes toward Your Throne, where You reign in righteousness.
Your Word assures us that when Your people cry out in sincerity and humility, You will never turn a deaf ear to us.
We call upon You now, seeking Your forgiveness and favor.
Look over this fevered landscape and heal us, Lord.
Drop knees to the floor and raise eyes to the sky, for we know where our help comes from.
Unite these States again in devotion to You, and blur every dividing line.
Do not give us over to our sins. Give us, instead, over to passionate prayer that moves Your heart.
“May Your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in You.”
In the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ
Amen

As of yet, there is no proclamation on the White House site, although as it is required by law, I am sure it will be here sometime today, somewhere. As I do not have that, I have instead chosen to post a past proclamation of the national day of prayer, from 2002. May you be blessed by it.

National Day of Prayer Proclamation
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation

Since our Nation's founding, Americans have turned to prayer for inspiration, strength, and guidance. In times of trial, we ask God for wisdom, courage, direction, and comfort. We offer thanks for the countless blessings God has provided. And we thank God for sanctifying every human life by creating each of us in His image. As we observe this National Day of Prayer, we call upon the Almighty to continue to bless America and her people.

Especially since September 11, millions of Americans have been led to prayer. They have prayed for comfort in a time of grief, for understanding in a time of anger, and for protection in a time of uncertainty. We have all seen God's great faithfulness to our country. America's enemies sought to weaken and destroy us through acts of terror. None of us would ever wish on anyone what happened on September 11th. Yet tragedy and sorrow none of us would choose have brought forth wisdom, courage, and generosity. In the face of terrorist attacks, prayer provided Americans with hope and strength for the journey ahead.

God has blessed our Nation beyond measure. We give thanks for our families and loved ones, for the abundance of our land and the fruits of labor, for our inalienable rights and liberties, and for a great Nation that leads the world in efforts to preserve those rights and liberties. We give thanks for all those across the world who have joined with America in the fight against terrorism. We give thanks for the men and women of our military, who are fighting to defend our Nation and the future of civilization.

We continue to remember those who are suffering and face hardships. We pray for peace throughout the world.

On this National Day of Prayer, I encourage Americans to remember the words of St. Paul: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." The Congress, by Public Law 100-307, as amended, has called on our citizens to reaffirm the role of prayer in our society and to honor the religious diversity our freedom permits by recognizing annually a "National Day of Prayer."

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 2, 2002, as a National Day of Prayer. I ask Americans to pray for God's protection, to express gratitude for our blessings, and to seek moral and spiritual renewal. I urge all our citizens to join in observing this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-sixth.

GEORGE W. BUSH

Pope Warns of a Desert of Godlessness

In Pope Benedict's Good Friday sermon he gave an important message for our age. While so much of the world seeks to create a secular world that abandons God, while world leaders including our own president seek to reduce the role of Christianity and Christ in the world, there are yet voices calling out for the Lord in this world. Although I am not Catholic, nor agree with all their doctrines, I am so thankful for the strength of the Catholic leadership as they stand for Christ and for life in a world of encroaching darkness. Enough of my babbling... here is the article covering his sermon.

Pope warns of 'a desert of godlessness in good Friday address"

Pope Benedict XVI last night attacked the rise of aggressive secularism in Western societies, warning them that they risked drifting into a 'desert of godlessness'.

He used his Good Friday meditations to compare deliberate attempts to remove religion from public life to the mockery of Jesus Christ by the mob as he was led out to be crucified.

'Religious sentiments' were increasingly ranked among the 'unwelcome leftovers of antiquity' and 'held up to scorn and ridicule', he added.

'We are shocked to see to what levels of brutality human beings can sink,' said the Pope at an evening ceremony at the Coliseum in Rome.

'Jesus is humiliated in new ways even today when things that are most holy and profound in the faith are being trivialised, the sense of the sacred is allowed to erode.

'Values and norms that held societies together and drew people to higher ideals are laughed at and thrown overboard. Jesus continues to be ridiculed.'

The German-born Pope, who turns 82 later this month, prayed Christians would respond by growing in faith.

'May we never question or mock serious things in life like a cynic,' he added. He also condemned the oppression of women, saying there were 'many societies in the world where women fail to receive a fair deal.'

'Christ must be weeping for them,' he said.

The Decline and Fall of Christian America???

It seems our President and Newsweek share the same view on this matter. I found it insulting that Newsweek, which has been showing its ideology so clearly this year, chose this week to put out this headline and to do it in the shape of the Cross, but Newsweek is just a liberal magazine that masquerades as a news magazine, (evidenced by many of its covers such as one saying we are all socialists now.)

When our President takes the same position, I am struck deeply.

It is my opinion that this nation IS still a christian nation. And I am disgusted by the ideology of our President when he made that statement. He is our President.. our leader.. He pledged to uphold the Constitution and it is my opinion that in this statement he shows that he is undermining it at its very foundation.

Even so, I disagree with their entire premise. America is not and never has been a theocracy... so that in some ways we have never been a Christian Nation... BUT... at the same time.. we have been and still most certainly are a nation founded on Christianity and Judeo-Christian values and ideals. Our founding fathers knew this. Our Constitution and Declaration of Independence were written with that in mind. So I contend that we were founded as a Christian nation and continue to be one today. Despite their opinions. It just so happens the majority of America agrees with me.

Let us look at some quotes...

At a press conference in Turkey, President Obama casually stated: "One of the great strengths of the United States," the President said, "is ... we have a very large Christian population -- we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values." (I can not help but contrast to the middle east. Can you imagine the Saudi King coming to the US and stating that his nation is not a muslim nation? Hardly!)

For a contrasting view, we need only look to our founding documents. I have also find worth noting the quotes of our Founders:

John Adams and John Hancock: "We Recognize No Sovereign but God, and no King but Jesus!" [April 18, 1775]

Patrick Henry:“It cannot be emphasized too clearly and too often that this nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason, peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.” [May 1765 Speech to the House of Burgesses]

John Quincy Adams:“Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's mission upon earth? That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity?"
--1837, at the age of 69, when he delivered a Fourth of July speech at Newburyport, Massachusetts.

Benjamin Franklin: “God governs in the affairs of man. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. I also believe that, without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel” –Constitutional Convention of 1787 | original manuscript of this speech

“In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered… do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?” [Constitutional Convention, Thursday June 28, 1787]

Thomas Jefferson: "God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift from God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice cannot sleep forever.”

James Madison: “We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We’ve staked the future of all our political institutions upon our capacity…to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.” [1778 to the General Assembly of the State of Virginia]

George Washington: “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and Bible.”

As for a decline and fall? As I have laid out I think it is indisputable that our founders intended that this be a christian nation.. and our Constitution and Declaration of Independence are still our nations ruling documents. To evaluate the idea that it is no longer a christian nation... well let us look at trends. On one hand we see a total moral decay and the collapse of the family unit, but on the other hand... we see a growth in other areas. 43 states have passed laws to protect marriage. The christian music and literature markets have exploded in the last 2 decades. There are movements throughout this nation to take back this nation and to halt moral decline. And conservative and evangelical and pentacostal church attendance is on the rise.

The very poll that Newsweek used to make this declaration is amusing. Yes, since George Bush's presidency the number of people in the poll who said America is a christian nation is down a bit... though still a majority... but the numbers are in fact up from the first time they took the poll, in 1996. Perhaps, Newsweek is not about writing the news, but instead writing their ideology. Sadly I believe that President Obama is doing the same thing... revealing his own ideology and intent.

Babylon Being Rebuilt ~ Obama Helps With Funding

Well, I don't think I need to explain the massive significance of this. I will just say, it is time for us to be prepared and to spend time in the Word and in prayer.

U.S. To Help Rebuild City Of Babylon In Iraq

By Joel C. Rosenberg

Largely overlooked by the Western news media over the past few weeks was an enormously significant story. The government of Iraq is moving forward with plans to protect the archaeological remains of the ancient City of Babylon, in preparation for building a modern city of Babylon. The project, originally started by the late Saddam Hussein, is aimed eventually at attracting scores of "cultural tourists" from all over the world to see the glories of Mesopotamia's most famous city. What's more, the Obama Administration is contributing $700,000 towards "The Future of Babylon Project," through the State Department's budget.

"Officials hope Babylon can be revived and made ready for a rich future of tourism, with help from experts at the World Monuments Fund (WMF) and the U.S. embassy," reports the Reuters news agency. "'The Future of Babylon' project launched last month seeks to 'map the current conditions of Babylon and develop a master plan for its conservation, study and tourism,' the WMF says. 'We don't know how long it will take to reopen to tourists,' said Mariam Omran Musa, head of a government inspection team based at the site. 'It depends on funds. I hope that Babylon can be reborn in a better image.'"

In my non-fiction book, Epicenter 2.0, I wrote about the Bible prophecies in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Revelation that indicate the ancient city of Babylon in Iraq will, in fact, be rebuilt in the "last days" of history and become the wealthiest and most powerful city on the face of the planet. I also cited my interview with Iraqi Finance Minister Ali Abdul Ameer Allawi who told me in 2006 at the peak of the insurgency,

"Cultural, religious, archaeological, and biblical tourism is a big opportunity for Iraq. I think rebuilding Babylon is a wonderful idea, as long as it is not done at the expense of the antiquities themselves."

For many, I know the rebuilding of Babylon seemed like a far-fetched idea in the Bible. For many more, it seemed like a far-fetched idea in 2006, as well. But skeptics and cynics take note: now that the insurgency is dying down, the Shia-led government of Iraq is actually moving forward with this historic and prophetic project. They say Babylon will be "reborn." And they're right. It will be. Stay tuned.

John Piper ~ It's A Baby ~ The Magnificance of the Human Being

John Piper's Message to Barrack Obama

Word-filled Wednesday

We serve an awesome God. The Creator God. God of all the Earth, of all the Universe. He speaks! Our God is not silent, nor distant. And He calls ME. He will call and the earth and everything in it responds.... and one day ALL will bow before Him, in His time. I respond now. For I am so very grateful... and I am in awe of our Mighty God. My Lord. So powerful. And yet, My Redeemer.


Find others who are celebrating God's Word at Word-filled Wednesdays.

A Moving Video ~ Barabbas ~ A Story of Grace

From Caleb&Sol's Debut Album "Afloat" - Written and spoken by Sol Rexius, "Barabbas" is a unique and powerful deliverance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Video Production by Caleb Rexius. Audio Production by Jesiah

Word-filled Wednesday

This verse, John 10: 27-28, gives me peace today. It would be easy for me to be emotionally wrapped up in the world and politics. I admit that I do not agree with Pres. Obama on most of the issues he supports, but he is now my president. But, I do not need to worry or have fear... I am a lamb of His flock. I need to look to my Shepherd, and listen to His voice, and follow Him. And my loving and tender Shepherd will protect me, and give me life. No one and nothing can snatch me from His Hand. Hallelujah!

Find others who are celebrating God's Word at Word-filled Wednesdays.

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for the gift of time with family. As my husband is a teacher, he has had Wednesday and Thursday off from school this week for snow days and the brutal cold. This has given us extra time together... a gift I treasure.

In this brutal cold I am ever so thankful for the blessings of His care... that we have food and heat and provisions in this deep winter cold. We are able therefore to just snuggle in and enjoy.

I am thankful for the reminder of us being washed white as snow. The world around is covered in a blanket of glistening pure white. All the mud, and dead stuff, and ugly stuff is all covered and so beautiful. The hard edges are smoothed over. And everything is new and clean and almost blindingly white.

And I praise God that this is the gift He gives us. He makes us new. He wraps us in His robes of righteousness. We are washed white as snow.... beautiful, beautiful pure white snow.


Join in at Thankful Thursday.

FOCA ~ A Time to Pray

The Freedom of Choice Act will be voted on in just more than a week... so that Obama can do as he promised, and make signing the Freedom of Choice Act his first act as president. Do you know what FOCA is?

FOCA would repeal all limits on abortion currently in place. It would repeal the ban on partial birth abortions. It would remove all parental notification laws. Repeal all waiting periods. Compel all hospitals to do abortions, even Catholic hospitals, which has decided to close all hospitals if necessary rather than to commit abortions.

Across the web, there are hundreds if not thousands of Catholics who will be praying a novena, prayer for 9 days, and even fasting. Praying that FOCA would not be passed. I am not Catholic. But I will be joining in in prayer.

If you have not signed the Fight FOCA petition, please do so. Over 350,000 people have so far. And please contact your Congressmen or women. You can find their contact information in the sidebar. Now is the time to act.

We say things are a matter of life or death all the time... well this time it is.


You can find out more at wikipedia, here. Even more details can be found here.


.

Then Sings My Soul Saturday ~ Give me Your Eyes

With the new year, came all sorts of commitments that I decided to make.. for my spiritual growth in reading the Word every day, praying with the my children more, and for my physical health, losing weight and exercise, and for my family, to be more present in my time with them. Somehow in the mix, I did not look outside my circle. It is not that we don't do anything... we give to charities and volunteer, but no where in my thought process did I think what else I could do outside my family.

Then I heard this song by Brandon Heath. And God turned on my ears. And I really heard this song. The song asked, "Why have I never cared?" How often do I walk through the world intent on my own life and business and so disconnected from those around me? And now my heart cries out to God, help me to see the world with your eyes. Give me your heart. Here are the lyrics of the chorus:

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the brokenhearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see

To hear other songs that speak to the the soul visit Then Sings My Soul Saturday.

Thankful Thursday ~ Life Abundant

"I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly." (John 10:10)

Isn't that wonderful??? What a glorious gift!

This week I am thankful for all God has given me. So rich are my blessings. This year I have made the decision to put reading God's Word first each day. I put the Bible in a Year links in my sidebar and it is the first thing I do each morning. And this is a rich blessing. God speaks so clearly to me right where I am in at least a few sections of each reading. It is a good way to start the day, with my Lord, getting to know Him, to rest in Him, and learn what He has for me each day.

I am also thankful for my prayer time with my children. I have changed things up a bit. Instead of just having them pray in turn I am doing some more guided praying. For example Monday we prayed first going around in praise of God. This was such a sweet thing with children. Then we prayed in thanksgiving. Then in supplication for someone else. And finally asking something for themselves. Their prayers were so much deeper than I have generally seen from them. I think that starting out with them praising God is a good thing. It is a beautiful gift to pray with my children.

Another blessing this week is that I am back on track with working on losing weight and getting in shape. I have a very long way to go. But in the 18th months since miscarrying and then injuring my foot, I have been down and gained all I lost before then and then some. I have a long way to go, but God is so awesome. He has been with me each step. He has surrounded me with support. And I am doing very well. It feels good to be taking a step to bring these areas of my life into line with what God wants for me and to repent of my sins in these areas. He is such a merciful God.

Each of these steps... spending more time in God's Word, praying more deeply with my children, and living my life in a healthy way to God's glory... are all ways that God is giving me to live life abundantly in Him and for Him.

Join in at Thankful Thursday.

Word-filled Wednesday

Last week I was looking at images of space... and found the most gorgeous pictures. And I could not help but be in awe of our awesome Creator. Last week I made a Word-filled Wednesday also even though it was a week off.

This week again I came back to these images. The magnitude of Creation and its beauty is beyond human comprehension. The more man studies the more we find. We look at things smaller and smaller and find amazing organization and detail and beauty. We look to the heavens and find such massive scale and such beauty.

Our God is so amazing and yet this powerful God who spoke the stars into being cares for me. How incredible.

Find others who are celebrating God's Word at Word-filled Wednesdays.

Come Follow Me

Matthew 4: 18-22
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him.

Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus is calling. If you listen you can hear Him. He calls me. "Come, follow me." It is Christ's call to us all. And my heart hears the cry and answers yes.

Even as my heart says yes, I know that following Christ has costs; it sometimes involves suffering and deprivation. So, how then can we follow Christ? First, because He has offered us everything. He is the light in the darkness. But also because this same Jesus says to us, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Or to put it like Paul does in Romans 8, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” The gifts that Christ gives us now and has waiting for us in the future far outweigh all the slight momentary afflictions we have to endure as his disciples. But do realize that the life of discipleship will not be easy, that’s what Jesus is telling this first fellow.

Discipleship has its costs--it can bring with it some hardships and it can totally rearrange our priorities. But at the same time, it is completely free because Jesus paid the full price for us with His holy precious blood. It is of infinite worth because He gives us the gifts of life and eternity He purchased for us. Jesus suffered the death we deserve, in order to give us the life that is His. Jesus is the difference between life and death. That makes following Jesus worth any “cost” that discipleship may involve.

In his book, “Follow Me,” Martin Franzmann writes: “To follow him is to leave death behind and to enter upon the realm of life. He brings into the life of the world a distinction as sharp and radical as that between life and death. Christ is the one living Man in all this dying world.”

Growing up I went to Catholic schools, and while studying God's Word today this song came to mind. A song from so long ago, from morning mass, called Be Not Afraid. Come follow me. I hope you enjoy it.

Then Sings My Soul Saturday ~ Breathe

Lord this is my desire... that my desperation for you would grow and grow so that the words of this praise song be completely true for me.

Lord, may my heart be truly desperate for you and you alone. For the song is correct, I am lost without you.

May Your Holy Presence living in me be my everything.
May my daily bread be Your Holy Word spoken to me.

Lord I confess that I have made too much of all the stuff of the world. I have filled my time and my thoughts with the junk of this world, instead of feasting on Your Word and resting in Your presence.

Lord, I need more and more of You and less and less of me. I need to be dependent on you for every step I take, every breath I take, for all the world has and all I have is nothing compared to You. You have offered me everything. Paid the cost for me. You, the Holy God, dwell in me, in this earthly and imperfect temple. All because of love.

Word-filled Wednesdays

For word-filled Wednesday this week, I was thinking on the new year. At first, I considered using the verse, "I know I the plans I have for you..." but then this verse came to mind. With the new year it is natural to think on time and its passage and hope for the future. How delightful that we can know that God will make us beautiful! How amazing that He loves us so dearly.

As we look to the stars we are reminded of the enormity of God and how small man is... and when we think on the concept of eternity our mind reels. Not so with our Almighty God! He is eternal. He spoke this vast universe into being! Look at the beauty of the universe! The picture I chose is of a galaxy. It is stunningly beautiful, isn't it? I don't feel beautiful when I look to that picture. And even so, He loves ME and concerns Himself in the lives of man, in MY life. What an immense blessing! And what a lovely knowledge to know that in this immense world where we are but ants, where we can feel overwhelmed and lost at times, we are tended by the Most High God, and are safe in His care. We are being made beautiful and we are part of His plan from beginning to end.

This year, I will be trying to read through the Bible, and so have included in my sidebar a plan for this goal. I will be reading God's Word first, before doing other things online, because I know that if my heart and mind are filled with God's Word and my eyes are upon Him, I am NOT lost, but instead on solid ground. A good place to start a new year. I will allow God and His Word to work in me, to transform me, to make me new, and beautiful and I will rest in the knowledge that God is in control.

Find others who are celebrating God's Word at Word-filled Wednesdays.

I want to know Him more

This year I am hoping to read through the Bible... and to make it easier for me.. and perhaps for you also, I have included the Bible reading plan in my sidebar. It includes links to all the daily readings.

My goal is to begin each day with reading God's Word here... before I start reading other blogs, the news, or posting myself. To spend time with God before the day gets away from me. To make Him my top priority.

On Sundays, starting next week, I will post a mini devotional, including a Bible verse for me to memorize for the week.. and sometimes a hymn or praise song.

My heart is to know Him more. To that end I will study God's Word regularly, spend more time in prayer, and work on teaching God's Word also to my children. It must be planted into our hearts and minds so that God can do His work in us.

Then Sings My Soul Saturday ~ Let There Be Light

Christmas has come and gone ... and we remember that Jesus came into the world for us. He is the light of the world. In a world filled with darkness, light came into the world. John 8:12 "Once more Jesus addressed the crowd. He said, 'I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the Light which is Life.'"

And now we can shine that light and so we must. To shine our light before men that they might see the great light. Matthew 5:16 "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

Boxing Day, The Feast of St Stephen, Good King Wenceslaus, and what it means Today

Maybe like me as I was just a few days ago, you do not know the history of this day. I have been so moved that I want to share.

What I did know was that on December 26 "Boxing Day" is celebrated in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and is a national holiday for them. This seemed like so little so I went digging. I learned that the name refers to the practice, as legend has it, of nobles "boxing up" and distributing food and gifts to their servants and to the poor on the day after Christmas. Boxing Day was also traditionally when the alms box at every English church was opened and their contents given to the poor. Servants were also given the day off to celebrate Christmas with their families, on the day after Christmas having served their employers on Christmas Day. But I also learned that Boxing Day was celebrated on the Feast of St. Stephen.

Reading this summary and so much more here, I wanted to know more about St Stephen. I remembered the Christmas Carol, Good King Wenceslaus. I had sang it for my whole life. (Although admittedly I did not know who he was or how to spell his name.) That carol says that Good King Wenceslaus went out on the Feast of Stephen although I did not know who he was or why. (Turns out he was a duke of Bohemia who went out to give to the poor.) There it was again. Stephen.

I knew Stephen from the Bible, but the details were fuzzy. So I went to the source.... The Bible, or in this case Acts 6-7.

From Acts 6:1-5...."In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, 'It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.'

This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.."


Acts 6:8-10 "Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke."

Acts 6:12 "So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin."

Acts 6:15"All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel."

In Acts chapter 7 we hear Stephen's speech before the Sanhedrin. He gave the history of God's workings right up through Christ and pulled no punches. He finished saying in 51-53, "You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it."

Not surprisingly at hearing this painful truth that they did not want to face, acknowledge or believe, they became enraged.

Acts 7:55-60 "But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 'Look,' he said, 'I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.'

At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' Then he fell on his knees and cried out, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them.' When he had said this, he fell asleep."



I don't know about you but this day seems different now. OK... maybe it is only tradition that says he was martyred on this day.. it is certainly only tradition that says Christ was born on Christmas day... but I believe there is value in remembering Boxing Day now. And not simply for the day after Christmas sales. For something much more.

After reading all this I find myself wanting to go and give to the poor. I know that is what the early church valued. Do we in our churches look after the widows? Or orphans? Somewhat perhaps. In part, the need has diminished but it is far from gone... and we are clearly instructed to do so. There is much to learn in church history. We have thrown so much out. In part because not all is good... but traditions help us.

Look to the feasts of the Old Testament.... which btw I believe we should probably still be following. They were there because we humans need constant reminders and teaching so that we remember what God has taught us. The traditions of the church can do this also for us. I know that for me, Christmas is a time when I really focus anew on what Christ did for us... coming to Earth from the Heavens for our sake. And that renewed knowledge and appreciation will be carried forward for quite a while now after such intense focus on it for this season.

And now Boxing Day will help me remember Stephen as a Biblical example of what I should be like. Filled with the Holy Spirit and living that way. Speaking boldly for God, living a life of service to help those in need, being willing to pay any price for my Lord, without compromise. Good lessons worth remembering.