Some of the notes are taken from, “One Hundred Bible Lessons” by Alban Douglas.

AT THE BEACH

Today we received a Christmas card. The card was posted on the 18th of December 1980 in Whangaparaoa north of Auckland. Yes, and 1980 is not a printing error.

“THE BLESSINGS OF CHRISTMAS ARE MANY –

MAY YOU ENJOY ALL OF THEM,”

is written inside the card, and I am immediately interested in the many blessings of Christmas.

What are they?

CHRISTMAS is all about the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Virgin Birth, I should rather say.

The purpose of the Virgin Birth is to reveal God, the Father (John 1:18), bridge the gap between God, the Father and man (First Timothy 2:5), and rescue the whole of creation (Romans 8:19-22).

But the basic purpose is to save us. What does it say in Hebrews 2:14 and 16? “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death – that is the devil – ”

There is a close link between Salvation and the doctrine of the Virgin Birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. All of us would still be lost sinners if the Lord Jesus Christ would have not been born by a virgin.

Salvation has many lessons. Some of them are The New Birth, Forgiveness, Faith, Repentance  and more.

It is true, “the Blessings of Christmas are many,” and here are some of the blessings:

a.  Ephesians 2:18 teaches that we have access to the grace of God.

b.  We are also rich, because we have an inheritance. Find that in Acts 26:18.

c.  We are children of God. Read that in John 1:12 and First John 3:1.

d.  We are indwelt by the Lord Jesus Christ. It says so in John 14:23 and Revelation 3:20.

e.  We are the possessors of Eternal Life. First John 5:13. And how I love that verse!

f. We have Peace and more.

Are you enjoying all those blessings?

Tell me, if I am wrong, but I think the journey of the CHRISTMAS CARD  lasted for more than 35 Years.

“The Cross of Trouble”

“‘The people

Second Samuel 17:29

Intr.:

have become

A.  hungry and

B.  tired and

C.  thirsty

End:

in the desert.'”

Used to be the Kaitaia town clock

DAYLIGHT SAVING ENDS COMING SUNDAY AND THE CLOCKS GOING BACK AN HOUR.

A beautiful Flower

“I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.” – Psalm 34:4

“‘They will return to it

Ezekiel 11:18-20; 36:26

Intr.:

and remove all its vile images and detestable idols.

“‘HEART OF STONE'”

A.  I will give them an undivided heart and

B.  put a new spirit in them;

C.  I will remove from them their heart of STONE and

D.  give them a heart of flesh.

End:

Then they will follow my decrees …'”

“Protect Your Memories”

“Protect Your Memories,” encouraged me an advertisement quite some time ago on Commerce Street here in Kaitaia.

“Special memories,” it says at the top of one of the pages at the beginning of the Life Application Study Bible I bought second-hand from a bookstall at the beach in Ahipara for about NZ $1.00 not long ago.

At the end of the page I find Psalm 118:29 where it says: “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.”

In the middle of the page is room to record four special memories. There is place to record the events, the places of the events and the dates of the events.

And here is one of my special memories. It is standing out.

The EVENT

I was on my first journey to Thailand, where I worked as a missionary for 13 years. It was a journey by boat from Marseille in France to Bangkok in Thailand.

The PLACE

The place I will never forget is the Suez Canal and the passage through the Canal.

The DATE

I arrived in Thailand  just before Christmas 1966. That was just before the Suez canal was closed in 1967.

Psalm 118:29 reminds us to “give thanks to the LORD” for guiding us, for his goodness and for his love.

“Protect your memories.”

No, I did not protect my memories; I don’t even remember if I took photos of the voyage from Marseille to Bangkok. After all the cruise happened almost 50 years ago!