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“God is creating a new humanity and something incredibly beautiful... Reach out and see the possibility of an amazing future.”

Background to the nativity story. A Christmas meditation.

If in reading the history of the first Christian centuries you are asked to point out the men to be envied for their joy, you would point to the believers in Jesus. There is a room in Rome that is filled with the busts of the emperors. They look like a collection of prizefighters and murderers, and scarcely…

Can a Christian greatly rejoice while he is in distress? Yes, most assuredly he can. Mariners tell us that there are some parts of the sea where there is a strong current upon the surface going one way, but that down in the depths there is a strong current running the other way. Two seas do not meet…

There may be such a thing as a dumb joy, but I hardly think that it can keep dumb long. Joy! Joy! Why, it speaks for itself! It is like a candle lighted in a dark chamber; you need not sound a trumpet and say, “Now light has come.” The candle proclaims itself by its own brilliance. When joy comes into…

Some of you spend Christmas day surrounded by your families. Possibly you have a large family—ten or twelve are at home on that day, with a grandchild or two. I will tell you what your greatest joy is on that day: it is to see the happiness of your children and to mark how they enjoy what you provide…

Suppose that one of the Queen’s enemies, who has sought her life and has always spoken against her, were to say, “I mean to be one of her servants; I will go into her palace and I will serve her,” having all the while in his heart a rebellious, proud spirit. His service could not be tolerated—it would…

I never wonder when I hear of some professing Christians giving up Christianity, for they have never experienced the joy of it. It was only a burden to them. When a poor fellow has a load on his back that does not belong to him and does not yield him any comfort but only galls his shoulders, you are…

In some of the houses not far from here, I noticed some linnets in cages, in which there were tufts of grass or small branches of trees as perches for the poor prisoners; yet they were singing away right merrily. I suppose that grass and those fragments of trees were meant to remind them, in this great,…

When a house is finished there still goes on a measure of settlement, and you are glad if it settles all in a piece together. Every day the stone is brought by its own weight a little closer to the foundation; may every day’s pressure bring you and me closer to Christ. Oh, that the pressure of our joys…

I remember hearing of a pious minister who was asked to speak one day upon the subject of joy in God. He stood up and said, “I am sorry that I have been requested to speak upon this topic; for the fact is, I am not walking in the light, but I am crying, ‘Restore to me the joy of your salvation’ (Psa…

The Hittites were a culture that ruled much of modern Turkey during Biblical times. They were fierce warriors, known for their skill with war chariots. A new discovery may show another side to these people. Archeologists recently found and restored a 3,700 year old piece of ceramic that has what is believed…

You have heard the saying, “as exciting as watching paint dry.” Well, scientists from the University of Surrey have been watching paint dry for years. They are looking for ways to improve paint by watching the way it dries. “Despite the apparent boredom, the researchers say their work has not been in…

Film star Pierce Brosnan has experienced loss that has shaped his life, according to Alex Bhattacharji in Esquire. His first wife, Cassandra, died from ovarian cancer in 1991 and their daughter, Charlotte, to the same disease in 2013. A year ago, ovarian cancer also claimed the life of his producing…

A group of friends hoping to cheer up a friend with cancer was disappointed when the Bible they had been sending around the country got lost in the mail. Friends of Jill Yeager purchased a pink Bible and sent it to friends around the country, asking them to pray for Jill and write an encouraging note…

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic say they have cracked the code to being happy. They have been studying this for decades, working with tens of thousands of patients. Now they think they have found it. They key parts of the code are 1) focus on the right things. 2) Learn to compartmentalize your life and…

“I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.” –Jim Carrey With a net worth in the vicinity of 150 million dollars, the funny man actor finds that fame and fortune is not the answer to life’s ills. A believer would agree…

Wendy Birmingham, lead author of a new study out of Utah on marriage, said the study said they found a quarter of the couples in the research were genuinely happy, but the rest fell into the ambivalent category. Couples in what the researchers termed “ambivalent marriages,” those that not bad enough…

A study published in the journal, Computers in Human Behavior says watching videos of cats on the Internet has a positive effect on people. The researchers studied 7,000 people via social media about viewing the videos and how it affects their mood. 36% of participants described themselves as a “cat…

In 2009, Cassandra Phillips launched a one-day conference celebrating failure in high tech world of Silicon Valley. The conference was successful for four years, and now Phillips says her conference isn’t needed any more because failure has become so common in high-tech ventures. In fact, according to…