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The Review On reviewing 2021,  famous celebrities, many which you can name have passed on, but nearer to home I realise that I am somewhat sad remembering losing some very dear family members and friends. In contrast to this loss I am also happy to have gained another two gorgeous grandchildren. Life is so "sweet and sour."  My abiding memory of my eulogy for my lovely big sister Ann, was centred around "the dash" of our lives - that short timeline, on many a gravestone recording our time on earth...you know, the time between hatching and dispatching, between our birth and our death. Life is so brief.  The Optimiser Today I was today deleting photos on my smartphone, as too many were clogging the phones memory. It was then I remembered "the optimiser app" which cleans up unused apps and maximises the phones performance. Life is like that. We need to optimise our daily performance. The good book says " teach us to number our days and inclin

Some churches, on Christmas or the Sunday after Christmas, will remove the other candles and leave a white candle, known as " the Christ candle ."  Often, churches will make the Christ candle larger than the rest to show that Christ is the reason for the hope, the peace, the joy, and the love that we have. Jesus is the reason for the season. The white coloured candle tends to symbolize Christ’s purity, showing Christ’s sinlessness.  The greatest gift of all came that first Christmas. It wasn’t wrapped in a beautiful package and set under a decorated tree. The greatest gift came wrapped in the flesh of baby Jesus and laid in the rough wood of a manger.  Jesus brought light into the world through his arrival on earth as a baby. Christmas celebrates Christ stepping down into darkness to light the world (John 8:12).  Why Does This Matter? We cannot be Christians without Christ and without love. Otherwise, our works and our purpose on earth are for nothing. We need Chr

  Passages :   And everyone who calls on the  name  of the Lord will be saved (Acts 2:21) Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other  name  under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12) 18  Then Jesus came close to them and said,  “All the authority of the universe has been given to me.   19  Now go in my authority and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.   20  And teach them to faithfully follow all that I have commanded you. And never forget that I am with you every day, even to the completion of this age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)   Ponder: The sequel to the book of Luke, (one of the two Gospels that covers Jesus' incarnation), is the book of Acts. In Dr. Luke’s day, the name of a person was given intentionally, often saying something about the person’s character, matching their personalities or station in life. Matt 1:21 says “She will bring forth a Son, and yo

  Passage :  53  1 Who believes what we’ve heard and seen? Who would have thought  God ’s saving power would look like this? 2-6  The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling, a scrubby plant in a parched field. There was nothing attractive about him, nothing to cause us to take a second look. He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain first-hand. One look at him and people turned away. We looked down on him, thought he was scum. But the fact is, it was  our  pains he carried - our  disfigurements, all the things wrong with  us. We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures. But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him— our sins ! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his bruises we get healed. We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost. We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way. And  God  has piled all our sins, everything we’ve don

  Passages :  The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned… 6  For to us a child is born , to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7  Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and for ever. The zeal of the  Lord  Almighty will accomplish this (Isaiah 9:2,3,6,7 NIVUK)   Ponder : It would be remiss of me, if I didn’t also look at what also happened with the first coming of Jesus. Notice the verses above, that the child born would be a prince …would reign …be on a throne ….over his Kingdom . The Lord’s prayer says it well when we pray thy kingdom come . Jesus coming ushered in a kingdom of love, joy, peace and jus

  Passages : They Return to Nazareth 19  After Herod died, the angel of the Lord appeared again to Joseph in a dream while he was still in Egypt,  20  saying, “Go back to the land of Israel and take the child and his mother with you, for those who sought to kill the child are dead.” 21  So he awoke and took Jesus and Mary and returned to the land of Israel.  22  But when he heard that Archelaus, Herod’s son, had succeeded him as ruler over all of the territory of Judah, he was afraid to go back. Then he had another dream from God, warning him to avoid that region and instructing him instead to go to the province of Galilee.  23  So he settled his family in the village of Nazareth , fulfilling the prophecy that he would be known as the “Branch ” (Matthew 2:19-23). The Branch prophecy : In that day the  Branch  of the  Lord  will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel… A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; f

  Passages : They Escape to Egypt 13  After they had gone, Joseph had another dream. An angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Get up now and flee to Egypt. Take Mary and the little child and stay there until I tell you to leave, for Herod intends to search for the child to kill him.” 14  So that very night he got up and took Jesus and his mother and made their escape to Egypt   15  and remained there until Herod died. All of this fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through his prophet: I summon my Son out of Egypt. 16  When Herod realized that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated. So, he sent soldiers with orders to slaughter every baby boy two years old and younger in Bethlehem and throughout the surrounding countryside, based on the time frame he was given from interrogating the wise men.  17  This fulfilled the words of the prophet Jeremiah: 18  I hear the screams of anguish, weeping, and wailing in Ramah. Rachel is weeping uncontrollably f