Reflecting on the True Meaning of Christmas

This Christmas!

As we gather to celebrate the Christmas season at Tcvfm Christian Radio, it’s vital to remember the profound significance of this time. While Christmas is widely recognized as the celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth, it’s important to note that, in our understanding, Jesus was not actually born on December 25th. This date is symbolic, a time chosen to honor and remember His birth, rather than a historical anniversary.

The essence of Christmas goes beyond specific dates. It’s a season filled with deeper spiritual meaning, focusing on the values of love, hope, and redemption that Jesus Christ embodies. His birth, regardless of the exact day, signifies a monumental moment in history – God’s gift of His Son to humanity, a gift that speaks of unconditional love and the promise of salvation.

At Tcvfm Christian Radio, we use this season not just to celebrate but to reflect on the true message of Christmas. It’s a time to contemplate the humility and simplicity of Jesus’ birth, and how His life’s mission was to bring light, love, and redemption to a world in need. This reflection helps us to focus on the spiritual aspects of the season, rather than the commercial.

This Christmas, let us embrace the real reason for the season: Jesus Christ and His message of hope and salvation. We invite our community to join in this celebration of faith, love, and the promise of redemption, remembering that the true spirit of Christmas lies in the values Jesus taught us.

May this season be a reminder of God’s love, and may it inspire us to live according to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas to all, and may your hearts be filled with the true joy and peace that comes from understanding the real significance of this blessed season.

Discovering the Bible

Omar Newell

Discovering the Bible: A Guide to Study and Teach the Bible is a comprehensive yet accessible resource designed to help individuals deepen their understanding of the Bible and effectively teach its timeless truths. Aimed at laypersons, new Bible study leaders, or anyone looking to enrich their personal journey with God’s Word, this guide offers a clear and engaging roadmap for navigating the complexities and beauty of Scripture.

The book outlines each book of the old testament, providing a brief overview, essential themes, and practical teaching ideas to make the Scriptures come alive in a relatable and engaging way. The primary goal is to equip readers with the tools and insights necessary to lead transformative Bible studies that inspire and challenge both the leader and the participants.

By demystifying the process of leading Bible studies, Discovering the Bible aims to empower believers to embrace their calling as teachers of God’s Word. Through this guide, readers will develop a more profound love for Scripture, a stronger faith, and the confidence to share the life-changing message of the Bible with others. Ultimately, this book serves as a helpful companion for anyone seeking to grow in their knowledge of God’s Word and develop their skills as Bible study leaders.

Christians in Lawenforcement

Some do believe that Christians should not be soldiers or policemen. The apostle Paul said, “Rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil” (see Romans 13:2-5). The purpose of this minister of God is to restrain evil. The police, as God’s ministers, provide an essential service to society. As long as there are sinful people, we will need policemen. As long as men and women will not submit voluntarily to the righteous commands of God, force will be necessary to keep them from murdering, raping, kidnapping, stealing—from victimizing innocent people. Thus, it is proper for a Christian to be involved in police work or in military service. There has to be law and order, for no one is safe when there is anarchy

In both ancient and modern times, governments have been taken over by selfish, dictatorial people who have used police power to oppress the innocent. Christians never have a God-given duty to serve oppressors. A corrupt government cannot be in alliance with God.

On the international scene, given the sin of mankind, there must be armed forces. Unless there are strong, righteous nations to restrain the adventurism of a Hitler, a Stalin, or a Mao Tse-tung, then all freedoms of all people everywhere will be compromised. There will be nothing but conformity to the will of the dictator, and many innocent people will be killed as that dictator takes power. So it is necessary for the family of nations to raise up an international police force to restrain evil.

There are those who, because of sincere religious beliefs, feel that they could never kill another human being, even in war. Society must accommodate the views of such people. During World War II, for instance, conscientious objectors were given the job of fighting forest fires in the Pacific Northwest by parachuting into remote areas. They performed a very useful duty in a dangerous, quasi-military environment. However, they were doing what they considered to be good for mankind instead of evil. I must reiterate that when Jesus Christ establishes His reign on earth, there will be no more war and killing. The Bible says that men will not even study war anymore (see Isaiah 2:4, Micah 4:3). The great military establishment that has been built up at such an incredible price is going to be dismantled. We should all work toward this end, but it will never happen until Satan is bound and all men acknowledge God’s reign in their lives.

 

But in the present time, with aggressors such as the Soviet Union, Cuba, North Vietnam, and other bellicose powers that are anxious to subjugate their neighbors, Christians cannot sit idly by and say, “Well, we don’t believe in war. We will disarm and let those people take over the world.” Doing so would be foolish and unbiblical.

A Wonderful Woman

At times I’ll look back and asked God what have I done to deserve someone like you; a beautiful wife, a friend, a soul mate. Today is your birthday and I’m so grateful to have you in my life. God has given me a treasure and I will cherish you for as long as I shall live.  Over these years I have simply seen what an amazing woman you are. You have nurtured our family and taken such good care of our home. I cannot imagine anyone does it the way you do. I can’t help but reflect back on our wedding day. I felt a void in my life fill up. It was filled with unending love for you. Believe me, that day I knew my angel was here.

Sometimes when I’m feeling a little overwhelmed by the pressures of life, your hugs, and your warmth would always make me feel relaxed. Whenever I’m happy you are the first person I think of. It doesn’t matter how I feel, I know that you are always there to understand me. Knowing you were the best thing that ever happened to me. Today is your birthday, and I pray that God may continue to bless you, as you continue to serve in every aspect of your life. Happy birthday, babes, I will always love you.

The People God uses

Think of a time when you were asked to handle a particular task at church but felt you didn’t have enough education, experience, or ability to do it. We all tend to feel like this on occasion and may even offer God excuses why we couldn’t possibly be the one to take on the project. But the Lord doesn’t always use strong, influential, or accomplished people to do His work.

In fact, God often chooses to have His work done through those whom the world regards as foolish, weak, unimpressive, or ordinary. He has two main purposes for doing this. First of all, by accomplishing great things through unexceptional people, He proves that the world’s wisdom is foolishness. And second, God’s people don’t have any reason to boast: They have no power to save themselves and no ability to serve Him apart from His strength and wisdom.

God isn’t interested in impressive human talent and natural ability. He’s looking for humble people who are totally dependent upon Him and willing to make themselves available for whatever He calls them to do. Moses didn’t feel the Lord could use him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt because he wasn’t eloquent, but he became one of the greatest leaders in Jewish history. David was young and had no experience as a warrior, but the Spirit of God empowered him to kill a giant with one small stone.

If you’re a believer, it doesn’t matter how young or old you are or how qualified you feel. If you’ll simply depend on Christ, make yourself available, and obey Him, He’ll use you for His glory.

Make yourself available.

Please Wait!

Psalm 27:7-14

There are many lessons for us to learn in the Christian life, and one of the hardest involves patience. When we have a problem, we want an immediate solution, but that’s not always God’s will for us. He wants us to trust Him and leave the timing in His hands.

As you read today’s passage from Psalm 27, notice that David coupled the admonition to wait upon God with encouragement to be strong and courageous (Psalm 27:14). In our culture, people are quick to act because they’re afraid of missing out on something; it takes courage to go against this trend and be still while the world rushes past. There are even many believers who have bought into that attitude. Instead of waiting for God’s timing, they make a move and ask God to bless it.  

Are you asking the Lord for guidance or provision but hear only His silence? Jesus addressed this issue when He said that if we seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness, then whatever we need will be provided (Matt. 6:33). As you wait, ask the Lord for His peace and patience. Then trust Him to take care of any remaining needs in His perfect time.

So Much To Do – No Time To Do It

Have you ever been paralyzed by your to-do list?

I remember a time early in my career when I essentially had two different types of jobs to do. I would literally finish one set of tasks and then move to a different desk to complete the other half of my responsibilities. At one point I became so overwhelmed that I couldn’t get anything done. My worry caused me to flit from one task to another until I had everything half-finished but nothing complete.

My manager sat me down and asked me why I wasn’t finishing my projects. After I explained the mental meltdown I was experiencing, he realized I needed help prioritizing my tasks. He sat me down and said, “Do this first. Then do this. Then do that.” He helped me focus on one thing at a time and shared his confidence in my ability to complete the tasks.

When we trust God to guide us, He, too, can diffuse our anxieties by giving us clear guidance. Problems can so overwhelm us that we feel insignificant and incapable of doing anything about them. But Jesus advises us to “look at the birds” (Matt. 6:26). They seem so small and inconsequential, yet God takes upon Himself the responsibility to feed them. If God cares so much for them, we can be certain that He will be faithful to meet our needs as well.

Our attempt to change things we cannot control. Jesus reminds us that many situations are beyond our ability to alter. “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?” (Matt. 6:27). Whenever we encounter circumstances that we cannot change, the only wise option is to turn them over to the only one who can handle them—God.

Our failure to trust God to provide our needs. After explaining how the Lord clothes the lilies of the field with more glory than even Solomon had, Jesus exhorts us not to worry about clothing because He will provide whatever we need (Matt. 6:28-30). When we worry that our needs won’t be met, we demonstrate a lack of faith in God. Part of our problem is that we don’t know what our needs truly are. Sometimes the situation may look like the Lord has let us down, but in reality, He’s supplying for a need that we may not even know we have.

Misplaced priorities. Instead of focusing on obtaining the necessities of life, Jesus tells us to “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matt. 6:33). When we make it our top priority to acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and Savior, seeking to walk obediently in His ways, God promises to supply whatever else we need.

Trying to live tomorrow today. Planning ahead is good, but sometimes our overloaded calendars lead to an overwhelming sense of time pressure. If we’ll wake up each morning with our thoughts on the Lord, committing ourselves to do whatever He says, we’ll be able to go through the day with peace and joy as we watch Him work out everything.

Do you need help making sense of the chaos in your life? Slow down and take one moment at a time, realize that God’s grace is sufficient, and trust Him to care for you.

Is Sin the cause of Guilt?

 

Why do we feel guilty at times? Sometimes the feeling of guilt will cause us to stop and look at a particular situation, which may be a good thing or a bad thing depends on how one may look at it. However, feeling guilty is not always bad or caused by a sinful act. let me ask you this.

True or False? All guilty feelings are due to sin. The answer is FALSE. We can experience a sense of guilt for reasons other than our sin—for example, a wrong view of God. We feel guilty when we imagine the Lord is noticing our mistakes, pointing His finger at us, and pronouncing judgment. Other times we feel guilty and do not know why. Romans 8:1 proclaims the truth that “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” The Bible also teaches that the Spirit-filled life is designed to be one of joy and peace.

lets not for once believe that because we feel guilt the cause had to be sinful. No, let’s use guilt to point us in the right direction; just like those who were feeling this way during the time of Jesus. Look at the love and compassion Jesus had for the crowds that followed Him (Matthew 14:14), the widow (Luke 7:13), the leper (Mark 1:40-42), and the tax collector (Matthew 9:9-12). Accept the truth that God loves you, and allow any false guilt to melt away.

O Newell

Peace Over Panic

I am, by nature, optimistic. Ask the people who know me best, and they’d all agree I tend to find the sunniest take on nearly everything, almost to the point of annoyance. But in this strange, uncertain season we are experiencing as the coronavirus ravages our communities and countries, I have been gripped, at various times, by palpable terror.

One night in particular, I read a dire, worst-case scenario projection right before I went to bed and found I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned and prayed all night, unable to find peace.

Academically, I know all the reassurances I’ve often given people in times like these. I can quote the psalms and other passages that speak of the goodness of God, His sovereignty, His power over creation. Still, fear sits in the doorway of my heart like an uninvited guest, refusing to grant peace entrance.

On some level, this is a perfectly natural response. A worldwide unstoppable pandemic is the kind of thing humans have feared since the beginning. In the Scriptures, plagues are often a part of God’s package of judgments against heathen nations or ways of chastening His own people. Faithful Bible students today avoid making those direct connections to what is happening now, but plagues are among the most severe kind of natural occurrences. And throughout history, we’ve read where pestilences wiped out entire civilizations. There is a reason we say “avoid it like the plague” about activities we hate. The dread of pandemics is a real and important fear.

And yet, there is a kind of catechesis going on—a way of teaching our hearts and minds—that is unhealthy. It’s a catechesis of calamity, where the constant input of bad news and negative updates slowly erodes our faith and trust in God. So how do we open our hearts again to faith in a time of uncertainty?

1. BACK AWAY FROM THE BAD NEWS.

How do we open our hearts again to faith in a time of uncertainty?

I don’t think we should bury our heads in the sand and ignore the news. We need to be vigilant to keep up with the latest restrictions in our communities, and to be clear-eyed about decisions we must make as a family and as Christians. And yet if we are honest, much of our engagement with the news is driven by an inability to tear ourselves away. Several times in the last few weeks, my wife has told me, “You need to put that phone down. You are embedding unhealthy fear in your heart.” And she’s right. The truth is, while we are basically quarantined in our home, having our basic needs met and meaningful work to do, there is nothing we will miss by spending a few hours (or more) away from the news cycle. Vigilance doesn’t require hearing every press conference and reading up on every new development.

We are formed by our rhythms. And unconsciously we may be catechizing our souls toward despair, with the constant scrolling and droning of the news. This is not good for us in any moment, but especially in moments of crisis. Our minds and hearts and souls need to breathe—we were not made for constant negative input. So if you are like me, you need to release yourself from the burden of having to always be in the know and instead actively choose to rest in the all-knowingness of God.

2. LEAN INTO SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES.

If we are not careful, we’ll waste this time in isolation with constant worry, layering over our hearts with unbelief instead of allowing God’s Word to shape us. We can be disciplined by the news cycle, by social media, or by this crisis, rather than being fed by lasting spiritual food. If we really believe what we believe, now is the time to believe and practice it through frequent prayer, silence, and reading the Bible.

Reading the Bible more is especially helpful in times like this. We often pause over passages in Scripture that talk about God’s power and might—about Him being a refuge—and get inspired. But these texts really come alive in the midst of a crisis. This year I’ve been doing a read-thru-the-Bible plan, but it has only been in the last few weeks that the Psalms passages have risen up and given me peace in ways they never have before. The Word of God is water for a parched, weary, scared soul. Times of trial, uncertainty, and fear are not the moments to lean away from God, but the moments to lean toward Him—in every way we can.

3. REACH OUT TOWARD COMMUNITY.

We may be isolated in our homes, but we don’t have to be isolated from our communities. Technological mediums will never replace what we get from face-to-face, embodied fellowship, and we should never consider separation from friends and our local body of believers the norm. And yet, God has graciously allowed us to live in a time of technological advancement, where friends are a text or video call away. I’ve personally found great refreshment in an ongoing group text with four other close friends. What seemed kind of a frivolous luxury when we began four years ago is now a rich and vital blessing.

Times of trial, uncertainty, and fear are not the moments to lean away from God, but the moments to lean toward Him—in every way we can.

We might also use this time to connect with our immediate family. Being locked together in isolation can present its challenges, but it’s an opportunity to work on our most important relationships with greater intention and dependence on the Holy Spirit.

4. REST IN NEW HEALTHY RHYTHMS OF WORK AND PLAY.

One of the perils of being home every day is how it seems to mess up the routines and rhythms that form so much of our daily lives. If you are struggling right now because you’ve lost employment, that can especially be true as you try to navigate both grief and a new way of doing life. And if you’re one of the people fortunate enough to work from home, the challenges of being in one place, day in and out, are often just as pronounced. For one thing, the days sort of bleed into each other—weekdays and weekends become indistinguishable. In our house, we had to homeschool, for now, so we had to adjust our daily system to accommodate. It was I who had to adjust and realize I should still take time off, step away from the laptop, put my phone down.

Crises have a way of convincing us that we aren’t allowed to care for our bodies—that we have to remain glued to the grim unfolding drama outside. But we don’t. It’s important, especially during times like this, to find space to rest, relax, enjoy leisure and, quite simply, breathe.

5. REFOCUS ON WHAT WE CAN CONTROL.

The other day my friend reminded me of a good way to think through a crisis—a principle that’s so basic it’s profound: There are things we can control, and things we cannot. It’s easy, of course, to nod in affirmation at such a familiar idea, but it’s much harder—some of us might say impossible—to live out. Especially when there’s a pandemic lurking in the streets.

It’s important, especially during times like this, to find space to rest, relax, enjoy leisure and, quite simply, breathe.

I can’t control coronavirus—I can’t control where it spreads or who gets it or what policies are being put in place. I’m not a doctor or scientist. I don’t even know what I don’t know. What I can control, however, is what God has put before me: following guidelines for social distancing, shepherding my family in faith, and doing the work I’ve been called to. Similarly, I can’t control the economic situation, but I can make wise choices, and I can give toward those in need.

My default behavior in a crisis is to neglect what’s in front of me in favor of needless worry and fear concerning those things over which I have no jurisdiction. That’s the opposite of faith. To trust God is to release our burdens and walk in obedience to Him. To be still in the places where we are powerless—and faithful where He has given us responsibility.

6. FRESH GRACE FOR THE NEXT DAY

I don’t know how long this crisis will last—no one does. I don’t know when the virus will peak. I don’t have a clue on when we will be able to get back to normal, or what “normal” will mean when all of this is said and done. But I do know what is available to every believer: fresh grace for the day ahead.

I wish I could tell you that I practice these exercises of faith every day, but I often fail. I’m surprised at how fragile my soul can be in the face of crisis, how much I need God. But this—even this—is a good work of the Spirit in my heart. And in yours.