In the News ... "Emergency Comfort"

Dominic Genetti
Staff Writer
Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - They don’t have guns, they don’t have handcuffs, but what these officers do have is the hardest job of all; telling someone their loved-one is dead.

"I’ve been on calls where the emotional reaction is very intense," Roy Jones, a minister at West University Church of Christ, said.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the OA story.

In the News ... "'Miracle' Christmas Dinner"

Shelly Childers
Reporter
KOSA-TV

MIDLAND, TEXAS - It wasn't quite the miracle on 42nd street we've seen on TV, but the Christmas supper being handed out [Christmas Day] on Tyler Street, some would say was better. 'Miracle on Tyler Street' helped feed hundreds in need.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the KOSA story.

Word from Uganda: "Christmas Festivities"

Missionary teacher Natalie Rolfe writes, "'When He calls me, I will answer ... I'll be somewhere working for my Lord.' My call was Mbale, Uganda and that is where I have returned to serve for another year. Specifically, I am teaching phonics at Lulwanda Children's Home, an orphanage and school for 90 kids." Natalie also keeps an online journal of her service at the weblog, When He calls me, I will answer ...

Christmas Festivities
"There have been a lot of fun Christmas festivities this month. I have appreciated the old and new friends that God has given me here.”

CLICK HERE to read the rest of Natalie's post

_____________________

If you are interested in supporting LCH by sponsoring one of the 90 children, go to www.ugandaorphans.org If you are interested in financially supporting Natalie in her mission, you can send checks (with "Natalie Rolfe" in memo) to: Midland Bible Church, 2800 North A Street, Midland, TX 79705

In the News ... "Pastor Leaving"

Roy Waggoner
Staff Writer
Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - The Rev. Don Fankhauser spent much of his adult life at Antioch Christian Church, and the attachment is evident even as he prepares to leave to start work at a new church in Missouri, January 1.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the OA story.

Midland group's president comments on U.S. State Department's "Pragmatic Policy" on human rights

The China Aid Association is a non-profit Christian organization - based in Midland, Texas - with a mission to uncover and reveal the truth about religious persecution in China, focusing especially on the unofficial church. They do this, they explain in their website, by exposing the abuses, encouraging the abused and equipping the saints to advance the kingdom of God throughout China.

Midland group's president comments on U.S. State Department's "Pragmatic Policy" on human rights

Released by ChinaAid, December, 2009 ...

"WASHINGTON, D.C. – After side-stepping human rights concerns in China earlier this year, U.S. Secretary of State Clinton firmly outlined the current U.S. diplomatic position on international human rights in her statement delivered at Georgetown University on Monday, December 14th. Confronting the issue head on, she underscored the State Department's commitment to human rights with a "pragmatic stance," asserting that U.S. human rights policy toward political and economic giants like Russia and China is often best conducted behind closed doors."
Read the Rest of the Report from ChinaAid

In the News ... "Golf Course Road Church of Christ to host free Matthew West concert"

By Kathleen Thurber
Reporter

Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - Contemporary Christian artist Matthew West will be in Midland for a free show January 3 that will aim to help the community and the congregation of Golf Course Road Church of Christ pursue God’s presence in their lives.

“That’s kind of been our church prayer: Seek God immeasurably more,” said Golf Course Road’s Worship Minister Kent Rogers.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the MRT story

More Burying Than Blogging, Lately

I have been more than a little slack in my blogging in recent weeks. But, sometimes, the actual world will do that ... make demands upon the time you would normally spend in the virtual world.

Such was the case with me for the better part of two weeks this month. Sure, at times, it was tiring and annoying ... but it was also educating and inspiring ... and it reminded me that the best way to shut out the hectic hustle of the holiday season might not be shutting one's self into a darkened and sound-proofed room but, instead, to go out into the world to serve, to accept added tasks and responsibilities.

That's what happened to me in early December when I got a Saturday afternoon phone call letting me know that a member of Midland's Burmese community was in the hospital. The doctor had diagnosed cancer, in an advanced state, and suggested the patient did not have long to live. Could I help with preparations and arrangements, I was asked ... well ... sure, I guess ... I mean, I had helped move furniture, buy school supplies, gather donated goods and and things like that. But this was something decidedly different, decidedly more serious ... but I said "yes, of course" nonetheless.

I have written before about the Chin, an ethnic, Christian minority from the southeast Asian nation of Myanmar/Burma. An oppressed people and an oppressed church, some have fled their homeland and now make their homes in villages and refugee camps in neighboring nations such as India, Malaysia and Thailand. Many of those apply for refugee status, and a chance to emigrate to the west ... and such is the case with the Chin who received permission to enter the United States, and now make their homes in Chicago, Houston, San Diego, Grand Rapids ... and Midland, Texas.

They are a good and gracious, hard-working people ... and I am the better for knowing them, working with them, celebrating with them and worshiping with them - and helping them make "arrangements."

First, there was the matter of hospice care ... a concept with which they were unfamiliar - a non-profit organization that provides care and support for the terminally-ill and their families. We visited with a case worker for Hospice of Midland, and it was agreed to transfer our friend right away to the hospital's hospice unit. From that point, there were two sets of arrangements to make. If his condition should improve, we would need to move him to a nursing home. If not, we needed to prepare for his funeral and interment ...

... at three o'clock, Monday morning, it became just one set of arrangements that needed to be made ... and that's when the REAL challenges arose. As I said, the Chin were not familiar with the idea of hospice care ... and they weren't prepared - any more than I was - for the procedural and legal hurdles that needed to be cleared before we could bury our friend. What followed was a week-and-half of local meetings and international phone calls, advances and setbacks, affidavits and inquests.

There may be people in America's larger cities with expertise in these matters ... but not in Midland, Texas ... at least, not until now. In America and other western nations, we have become used to almost-instant access with almost everybody, and the ability to speak with people, transmit information and forms to-and-from our offices, our homes, our portable phones. This man had family ... but we couldn't reach them ... his wife might be in Myanmar/Burma, or she may have moved across the border to a village in India ... his son might be in Myanmar/Burma, or he may have made his way to a refugee camp in Malaysia. He had information on their full, correct names, and how to get messages to them for arranging phone contact ... but he took that information with him. We needed to find a way, within the guidelines set by the Texas Funeral Service Commission, to get permission to bury this man.

That we eventually gathered for a memorial service at a local funeral home, followed by a graveside service at a local cemetery, is a tribute to the way so many people stepped-in and stepped-up to do something, anything to help. One volunteer worked with other members of the Chin community to try to identify numbers on the phone of the deceased phone, trying to identify those that would connect them to family members on the far side of the world, then making those calls ... others attended meetings the Chin had with funeral directors and cemetery managers to make arrangements and draft contracts ... another visited all of the campuses where Chin kids attended school, to advise principals that the kids would need time-off to attend a funeral ... others came forward and contributed money to help defray funeral costs ... a judge called me at home one night to advise on what I needed to do in order to clear the legal hurdles ... an attorney cleared space on her calendar to help me draft an affidavit - and did it again, two days later, to draft a second affidavit ... a justice of the peace cleared space on his calendar to hold an inquest and prepare an order allowing me to sign-off on the interment - and did it again, two days later, to prepare a second order allowing me to sign-off on funerary arrangements ... pastors and church organists contributed words and music to the services ... and so many others offered their prayers and their words of encouragement.

One of the pastors presiding over the memorial service reminded us that, just as it takes a village to raise a child, so it also took a village to lay this man to rest. He was right ... and I am grateful for what everyone did ... and will continue to do ... our experience of this past month already has us planning what we will do in the months ahead to prepare for another such occasion.

But, for me ... I'm done with burying, for now ... and more-than-ready to get back to blogging.

From Partners: "Give the Gift of Life This Christmas"

Steve and Oddny Gumaer started Partners Relief & Development in response to the needs of refugees and displaced people from Burma. This blog is meant to be a more personal stream of conversation than newsletters allow for. The opinions expressed here may not be those of Partners Relief & Development.

Dear Friend,

We all have our own wish lists for Christmas. You may want a new iPod or some new boots. I want a hand-knitted sweater from my wife. But imagine for a moment if your top gift was food. That is the case for thousands of people in Burma right now. Will you join me and make this Christmas about giving life to war-impacted children and families? When you purchase one of our gifts, you are literally helping save lives. You also show God's love.

Here's how it works ...
1. Review the options below.
2. To purchase gifts, click the Buy Now button. You will be taken to the Partners online store. At the store, select your specific gifts. You can choose as many gifts as you'd like.
3. Check out and purchase your gifts. Your order will be sent to us immediately.
4. We will mail you a Greeting Card for each item you select. If you purchase 3 Important pigs and 2 Cleans, you'll receive 5 Greeting Cards. You can then give the Greeting Cards to your loved ones at that perfect moment.

It's so easy to do ...

$20 / Learn For Life - The Burma government provides $0 for schools in the conflict areas. Your gift buys pencils, books and sports equipment for ten children.

$33 / Important Pig - Protein is critical for child development. Your donation purchases a pig for a family. A pig helps creates more pigs and provides nourishment.

$40 / The Simple Grain - The government burns ethnic rice barns and destroys their fields. Your help provides ten displaced people with their staple food.

$60 / Clean - Good hygiene prevents disease. Your gift keeps 6 children healthy by providing them shampoo, a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap and other important supplies.

$140 / Lifesaving Medicine - 1 in 5 children die in the conflict areas before their 5th birthday, mostly from preventable illnesses. Your contribution provides vital medicine and training for 100 displaced people.

Thank you in advance for making a life-saving difference this Christmas.

For God's children,

Steve Gumaer

Word from Uganda: "And the Winner is ..."

Missionary teacher Natalie Rolfe writes, "'When He calls me, I will answer ... I'll be somewhere working for my Lord.' My call was Mbale, Uganda and that is where I have returned to serve for another year. Specifically, I am teaching phonics at Lulwanda Children's Home, an orphanage and school for 90 kids." Natalie also keeps an online journal of her service at the weblog, When He calls me, I will answer ...

And the Winner is ...
"That's right. LCH Nursery School placed #1, again. This time it was at the district level. So spirits were very high today and things look promising for next year when the competition will go all the way to nationals.”

CLICK HERE to read the rest of Natalie's post

_____________________

If you are interested in supporting LCH by sponsoring one of the 90 children, go to www.ugandaorphans.org If you are interested in financially supporting Natalie in her mission, you can send checks (with "Natalie Rolfe" in memo) to: Midland Bible Church, 2800 North A Street, Midland, TX 79705

NightLight Blog (Annie's Journal): "Divine Connections, Pt. 3"

Annie Dieselberg heads the staff at NightLight, a ministry in urban Bangkok, Thailand, that reaches out to women and children working in the bar areas of the Nana-Sukhumvit district. Located in a neighborhood with a growing sex trade, Nightlight’s vision is to share the Light of the world in both word and deed to those who live in darkness, and to combat the sexual exploitation of women and children, both Thai and foreign.

Divine Connections, Pt. 3

“After two divine encounters, the night was still young and we headed to a show bar. This bar is a hard one to visit because of all the nudity and sex shows taking place through the night," Dieselberg writes in this latest post at NightLight Blog. "Last visit we met a woman who was new and unhappy and we were drawn to return to her. Fortunately, we found the woman we knew fairly quickly and got caught up in a conversation. When we focus on the women in conversation, the background fades and is less daunting."
_________

Right now, the greatest need at NightLight is to sell more jewelry. NightLight Design Co., Ltd. is a registered jewellery business which employs women coming out of prostitution or having been at risk of prostitution and/or trafficking. If you are interested in hosting a jewelry party please write to Charity at charity@nightlightusa.org . Charity will assist you in setting that up. Remember the beautiful jewelry is also available on-line at http://www.nightlightbangkok.com/ . "God is going before us to the bars preparing the way. He is sending us to receive the women and give hope," Annie writes. "We ask you to join us in this adventure. Thank you to those of you who already do. You are saving lives!"

Midland group reports Beijing continues relentless crackdown on Shouwang Church

The China Aid Association is a non-profit Christian organization - based in Midland, Texas - with a mission to uncover and reveal the truth about religious persecution in China, focusing especially on the unofficial church. They do this, they explain in their website, by exposing the abuses, encouraging the abused and equipping the saints to advance the kingdom of God throughout China.

Midland group reports Beijing continues relentless crackdown on Shouwang Church

Released by ChinaAid, December, 2009 ...

"BEIJING, CHINA – Since the secret directive to dismantle Beijing house churches was issued in August, 2009, Beijing security officials have maintained their relentless campaign against house churches. On Sunday, November 8, Shouwang church members were forced for a second week to meet outside the frozen East Gate of Haidian Park Watch the video from November 1, 2009 - Shouwang Church members singing in the snow
Read the Rest of the Report from ChinaAid

Advent Reflections: December 12

Revelation 3:1-6 BibleGateway.com

Two of the most irritating words in all the English language are: “Wake up!” Just hearing the words brings back memories of my dad’s early morning ritual of waking my brother and me for school. On mornings when we were difficult to rouse, and we rolled over and went back to sleep, our drowsy recalcitrance elicited my dad’s fury. Now that I’m a parent of two young children, I commiserate with my dad’s impatience.

In Revelation 3:2, the Risen Christ says these exact words to the believers at Sardis: “Wake up!” People who are asleep generally want to remain that way, and trying to stir exhausted, cranky people is unpleasant. The situation at Sardis, however, is even more dire, for what Christ describes is not just spiritual drowsiness but a problem of false veneers and fatal lethargy.

“You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead!”

All believers wrestle with the ideal Christian self we want to be and the self we really are. That tension can be so exhausting that we all experience spiritual fatigue and pretense and often do not realize it until something divine intrudes upon our world to wake us up. The Good News of Advent is that God entered human history in the form of a baby — the Christ Child — and there’s nothing in all the world like the arrival of a baby to keep us awake!

Prayer: Lord, living the faithful Christian life is exhausting. Forgive us when we doze off now and then, and quicken our ears to your voice that we might remain awake with you.
Amen

David Lee Jones
Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary

CLICK HERE to listen to each day's devotional.

______________________________

For the glory of God and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a seminary in the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition whose mission is to educate and equip individuals for the ordained Christian ministry and other forms of Christian service and leadership; to employ its resources in the service of the church; to promote and engage in critical theological thought and research; and to be a winsome and exemplary community of God's people.
CLICK HERE to learn how you can support the mission of Austin Seminary

From Partners: "Give the Gift of Life This Christmas"

Steve and Oddny Gumaer started Partners Relief & Development in response to the needs of refugees and displaced people from Burma. This blog is meant to be a more personal stream of conversation than newsletters allow for. The opinions expressed here may not be those of Partners Relief & Development.

Dear Friend,

We all have our own wish lists for Christmas. You may want a new iPod or some new boots. I want a hand-knitted sweater from my wife. But imagine for a moment if your top gift was food. That is the case for thousands of people in Burma right now. Will you join me and make this Christmas about giving life to war-impacted children and families? When you purchase one of our gifts, you are literally helping save lives. You also show God's love.

Here's how it works ...
1. Review the options below.
2. To purchase gifts, click the Buy Now button. You will be taken to the Partners online store. At the store, select your specific gifts. You can choose as many gifts as you'd like.
3. Check out and purchase your gifts. Your order will be sent to us immediately.
4. We will mail you a Greeting Card for each item you select. If you purchase 3 Important pigs and 2 Cleans, you'll receive 5 Greeting Cards. You can then give the Greeting Cards to your loved ones at that perfect moment.

It's so easy to do ...

$20 / Learn For Life - The Burma government provides $0 for schools in the conflict areas. Your gift buys pencils, books and sports equipment for ten children.

$33 / Important Pig - Protein is critical for child development. Your donation purchases a pig for a family. A pig helps creates more pigs and provides nourishment.

$40 / The Simple Grain - The government burns ethnic rice barns and destroys their fields. Your help provides ten displaced people with their staple food.

$60 / Clean - Good hygiene prevents disease. Your gift keeps 6 children healthy by providing them shampoo, a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap and other important supplies.

$140 / Lifesaving Medicine - 1 in 5 children die in the conflict areas before their 5th birthday, mostly from preventable illnesses. Your contribution provides vital medicine and training for 100 displaced people.

Thank you in advance for making a life-saving difference this Christmas.

For God's children,

Steve Gumaer

In the News ... "Grief Holidays"

Roy Waggoner
Staff Writer
Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - The holidays bring up visions of candy, turkey and family. Meant to be a time for joy, some instead suffer through a period of grief and sadness, either because of the loss of a loved one or some other traumatic experience.

Grief author Harold Ivan Smith recently spoke to a group of grieving people at CrossRoads Fellowship about how to get through the holidays even when dealing with the loss of a loved one.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the OA story.

Advent Reflections: December 11

Haggai 1:1-15 BibleGateway.com

As I write this, the news is all about volatile town meetings and a certain representative who called the president a liar. We are, many of us, shocked at the level of incivility in our land. Weighty issues call for calm, reason, and thoughtfulness.

Advent stuff. Is not Advent in the spirit of Mary “pondering these things in her heart”? Is not Advent a season of winter hush, of dark waiting into the light and the not-yet alleluias of Christmas?

Haggai has not heard that message. He hears, rather, the growl of God: “You people!!” The people have stuffed themselves to surfeit—but not satisfaction. They have busied themselves with their own estates and ignored the House of the Lord. Haggai, and Zerubbabel and Joshua as well, are charged with the pronouncement of the Word of the Lord. This Word is not something to be pondered in the heart. This is the lash of command, the goad to get going; it is divine incivility.

Such untoward language occasionally comes from the lips of Jesus. He once called Peter “Satan” and the Pharisees “white-washed tombs” and “brood of vipers.” Not the gentle language expected of a Prince of Peace.

Advent is not a season of still-lying Bethlehems and cooing turtledoves. It is the time for building the House of The Lord, a house where all are sheltered and nourished and all are healed. This is no public option. This is theWord-of-The-Lord: “You People!!” God has an advent Word for you.

Prayer: Houseless God, we dread thy word to us as we yearn for thy wordless breath of comfort. Your Prophets repeat demanding words we dull with repetition, and your House of universal welcome lies incomplete, windows empty, doors shut. Open them. Open us.
Amen

Whit Bodman
Associate Professor of Comparative Religion
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary

CLICK HERE to listen to each day's devotional.

______________________________

For the glory of God and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a seminary in the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition whose mission is to educate and equip individuals for the ordained Christian ministry and other forms of Christian service and leadership; to employ its resources in the service of the church; to promote and engage in critical theological thought and research; and to be a winsome and exemplary community of God's people.
CLICK HERE to learn how you can support the mission of Austin Seminary

Word from Uganda: "Nursery School Competition"

Missionary teacher Natalie Rolfe writes, "'When He calls me, I will answer ... I'll be somewhere working for my Lord.' My call was Mbale, Uganda and that is where I have returned to serve for another year. Specifically, I am teaching phonics at Lulwanda Children's Home, an orphanage and school for 90 kids." Natalie also keeps an online journal of her service at the weblog, When He calls me, I will answer ...

Nursery School Competition
"I love the little kids. They are so funny. And even more funny when there are all sorts of kids from many different villages trying to do skits, songs, and dances. Last week our LCH Nursery School participated in the first EVER Nursery Music, Dance, Drama competition.”

CLICK HERE to read the rest of Natalie's post

If you are interested in supporting LCH by sponsoring one of the 90 children, go to www.ugandaorphans.org If you are interested in financially supporting Natalie in her mission, you can send checks (with "Natalie Rolfe" in memo) to: Midland Bible Church, 2800 North A Street, Midland, TX 79705

Advent Reflections: December 10

Psalm 62 BibleGateway.com

“He alone is my rock and my salvation...”

I was in my teens the first time I heard of it. I had been practicing the classical Japanese martial arts since I was five and had been gradually introduced to aspects of Japanese culture: Kendo (fencing), Judo, Karate, Jujutsu, Bonsai. But I had never heard of Suiseki. When I did, I didn’t quite get it. Rocks? Stones? What’s the point?

Stones and rocks have been admired and collected by humans since time immemorial. Cultures around the globe have developed unique names, disciplines, and guidelines for their particular art form. In Japan we have “Suiseki,” in China “Scholar’s Rocks,” in Korea “Suseok” or “Gongshi.” The Japanese Suiseki is the delicate and traditional art form that recognizes the complexity of this art—it is a process, a feeling, a relationship between the object and the viewer.

Note that the psalmist here does not say, “God is a rock” but rather “He alone is my Rock … My God and my salvation.” This, too, represents a process, a feeling, but more importantly, a relationship between the psalmist and his God.

The relationship that concerns us is between the Jesus who came and the Christ who is to come; the Christ whom we await to be born in us (as he was born in history) and in our relationship with others. How do we see our connection with Jesus the Rock who saves us this Advent? Is it a process, a feeling … or is it a relationship?

Prayer: Lord we welcome you as the Word of God, the Rock of Ages; help us to welcome you in spirit and in truth, in a loving and faith-filled relationship with you, the Living Christ our Rock, who saves us. Let us never be shaken from that faith which is your gift to us.
Amen

Rev. Gerald J. Mendoza, OP,
DMin candidate from Austin, Texas
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary

CLICK HERE to listen to each day's devotional.

______________________________

For the glory of God and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a seminary in the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition whose mission is to educate and equip individuals for the ordained Christian ministry and other forms of Christian service and leadership; to employ its resources in the service of the church; to promote and engage in critical theological thought and research; and to be a winsome and exemplary community of God's people.
CLICK HERE to learn how you can support the mission of Austin Seminary

NightLight Blog (Annie's Journal): "Divine Connections, Pt. 2"

Annie Dieselberg heads the staff at NightLight, a ministry in urban Bangkok, Thailand, that reaches out to women and children working in the bar areas of the Nana-Sukhumvit district. Located in a neighborhood with a growing sex trade, Nightlight’s vision is to share the Light of the world in both word and deed to those who live in darkness, and to combat the sexual exploitation of women and children, both Thai and foreign.

Divine Connections, Pt. 2
“Waiting for God’s prompting we passed one bar after another. “C” bar came my mind. As we went through the curtain I looked up and saw ladyboys dancing. The bar had just been changed to an all ladyboys bar. I must have been mistaken and heard God wrong," Dieselberg writes in this latest post at NightLight Blog. "As we turned and walked out, I stared with disapproval at the policeman sitting comfortably at the entrance in his usual position."

_________

Right now, the greatest need at NightLight is to sell more jewelry. NightLight Design Co., Ltd. is a registered jewellery business which employs women coming out of prostitution or having been at risk of prostitution and/or trafficking. If you are interested in hosting a jewelry party please write to Charity at charity@nightlightusa.org . Charity will assist you in setting that up. Remember the beautiful jewelry is also available on-line at http://www.nightlightbangkok.com/ . "God is going before us to the bars preparing the way. He is sending us to receive the women and give hope," Annie writes. "We ask you to join us in this adventure. Thank you to those of you who already do. You are saving lives!"

In the News ... "Serving Practical Needs"

Roy Waggoner
Staff Writer
Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - Oleeis Vazquez is glad his mother is taking English classes at Belmont Baptist Church. "It helps her out so she can speak better English to people, and I don’t have to translate," he said.

Belmont has had English as a Second Language and citizenship classes for the past 10 years, and Dolores Vazquez takes a weekly class both at Belmont and another course at Odessa College to learn English.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the OA story.

Advent Reflections: December 9

Revelation 1:17-2:7 BibleGateway.com

I see it in the tired faces of my students, struggling to finish the semester. I see it in the overworked faces of pastors, trying to survive the extra demands of Advent. I see it in the resigned faces of parishioners, who keep coming to worship — week after week — even when they wonder why. And sometimes I see it in my own face, when I pause long enough before the mirror to examine my soul.

We have abandoned that first love we had for Christ.

Remember first love? The talking all night, the laughing and crying together, the belief that nothing else matters — and that everything, simultaneously, does — because that which matters most has been taken care of? Somebody knows us completely, and loves us unconditionally.We cannot help but revel in such love.

We have abandoned that first love we had for Christ.

I guess we all have to grow up, sometime—don’t we? How long can first love last? Isn’t it a mark of maturity to realize that those long, beautiful nights can’t last forever? If we are keeping up with our commitments, what more can be expected?

“More,” insists the One who places his right hand on us, who reassuringly touches our faces. “I want more than good works, more than high energy, more than faultless allegiance. I want relationship. I want fellowship. I want you to love me, again.”

We have abandoned that first love we had for Christ.

But Christ, our Lover, waits for us. Will this be the day we repent, and return?

Prayer: Gracious God, restore in us the first love we had for Christ, that our perfect abiding in him might displace even our very best efforts. Guide us into that repentance which brings life. Bless us and keep us, that all our good works might be born of love, and love alone.
Amen

Cynthia Rigby
TheW.C. Brown Professor of Theology
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary

CLICK HERE to listen to each day's devotional.

______________________________

For the glory of God and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a seminary in the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition whose mission is to educate and equip individuals for the ordained Christian ministry and other forms of Christian service and leadership; to employ its resources in the service of the church; to promote and engage in critical theological thought and research; and to be a winsome and exemplary community of God's people.
CLICK HERE to learn how you can support the mission of Austin Seminary

In the News ... "Greater Ideal Family Life Center Kicks-Off Christmas Outreach"

By Kathleen Thurber
Reporter

Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS -
With the tree officially lit, the star hung in its place and the village crafted in the parking lot on Tyler Street open for visitors Tuesday, organizers of Greater Ideal Family Life Center's second annual Christmas outreach said they're hoping to provide a blessing.

Through the next few weeks Bell along with staff and volunteers will continue collecting monetary donations, toys, Mp3 players and food to hand out to the community during the December 19 Miracle on Tyler Street event.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the MRT story

Advent Reflections: December 8

Amos 7:10-17 BibleGateway.com

This confrontation between Amos, not a professional religious sort but a dresser of sycamore trees, and Amaziah, the priest of King Jeroboam, hardly fits as a text for the Advent season. It’s a hard text because Amos renders a harsh word to and for the king. Why? Because the sanctuary he has built at Bethel, the same place where Jacob had dreamt of a ladder reaching into heaven, had been built to serve the king. Idols and cultic symbols abounded.

The king and his priest don’t want to hear this word. They urge Amos to go away. But Amos, who speaks of justice and righteousness (5:24), insists that this is not his word, but God’s word.

Wouldn’t it be easier if Amos left well enough alone? Live and let live.What harm is there, letting the king live in his illusory world? Why point out the sharp edges of God’s word? Let’s smooth them out. It would be more comfortable for everyone, right?

The harm is that it’s not the truth. And while the truth can be painful, God’s truth, God’s word of judgment, is also a word of grace. When the idols that we build for ourselves are stripped away, when the smoke and mirrors we use to avoid dealing with the truth of our own sinfulness are exposed, we are left empty-handed before the God of truth and grace. And what we find is not a God of wrath shaming us, but a God of grace and forgiveness coming to us, as a babe in a cattle stall.

Prayer: Dear God, may this Advent season be one in which we discover, once again, “love so amazing, so divine” that we, freely and joyfully give our all to you whose truth sets us free to serve you and each other.
Amen

James Currie
(MDiv ’79, ThM ’89)
Associate Dean for the Houston Extension Program
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary

CLICK HERE to listen to each day's devotional.

______________________________

For the glory of God and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a seminary in the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition whose mission is to educate and equip individuals for the ordained Christian ministry and other forms of Christian service and leadership; to employ its resources in the service of the church; to promote and engage in critical theological thought and research; and to be a winsome and exemplary community of God's people.
CLICK HERE to learn how you can support the mission of Austin Seminary

Midland group reports Christian church members hunted, interrogated, threatened after stand-off with Shanghai PSB

The China Aid Association is a non-profit Christian organization - based in Midland, Texas - with a mission to uncover and reveal the truth about religious persecution in China, focusing especially on the unofficial church. They do this, they explain in their website, by exposing the abuses, encouraging the abused and equipping the saints to advance the kingdom of God throughout China.

Midland group reports Christian church members hunted, interrogated, threatened after stand-off with Shanghai PSB

Released by ChinaAid, November, 2009 ...

"SHANGHAI, CHINA – Tensions reached a high when Public Security officials sealed off the doors and locked down Wanbang Missionary Church the evening of Thursday, November 12. Church members banded together at the doors as officials barred the entrance to protect the associate pastor as he tried to leave the premises. PSB officials blocked their way, creating a standoff until church members agreed to leave after meeting for a short prayer service. Under the protection of the crowd, the associate pastor of Wanbang Church was able to escape."
Read the Rest of the Report from ChinaAid

In the News ... "Midland Salvation Army Asking For Help After Jump in Angel Tree Children"

Wyatt Goolsby
Anchor/Reporter
KWES-TV

MIDLAND, TEXAS - Midlanders will soon start seeing more Angel Trees around town. It's the Salvation Army's way of letting you give to children in need this Christmas. However, this year the number of kids are way up. How much? Try 400.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the KWES story.

Advent Reflections: December 7

Psalm 145 BibleGateway.com

The Advent season allows us much needed time to prepare our heart and mind for the coming of Jesus into this world. And most of these days are spent either in hearing the texts that foretell of Jesus’ coming or in acknowledging our sins and the reason Jesus had to come.

But today’s scripture is a little different. Psalm 145 invites us to meditate on God’s glories and to praise God for all the reasons God is worthy to be praised. It reminds us of God’s eternal nature, of God’s glorious kingdom, and of the wondrous things that God is and does for us. This is a day we can set aside to praise God—to give thanks to God for all that God is, and for all that God has given to us in our lives.

We who are finite and mere mortals, we have been created lovingly by this infinite and Holy One, the One who gives every aspect of Godself to us, the God whose Word became flesh. As we prepare our heart and mind this Advent season, let us do so with a repentant heart, yes, but let us also do so joyously, celebrating not our own works, but God’s wonder and God’s holiness. For this is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Prayer: Merciful and Gracious God, without you I am nothing. You are slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. For this and all things I give you thanks. Please help me this day to remember your greatness, your love, your Spirit. For you are more than worthy of my praise, and so I praise you, Lord, this and every day.
Amen

Carrie Finch
(MDiv ’09)
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary

CLICK HERE to listen to each day's devotional.

______________________________

For the glory of God and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a seminary in the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition whose mission is to educate and equip individuals for the ordained Christian ministry and other forms of Christian service and leadership; to employ its resources in the service of the church; to promote and engage in critical theological thought and research; and to be a winsome and exemplary community of God's people.
CLICK HERE to learn how you can support the mission of Austin Seminary

Conspiracy Continued at Midland Church ...

... though it's not the kind of conspiracy you'd find in a Dan Brown novel. Advent Conspiracy is an international movement restoring the scandal of Christmas by substituting compassion for consumption - a movement of Christ-followers who want to ...

● Worship Fully,
● Give More,
● Spend Less, and
● Love All.

It's a conspiracy without a hidden agenda ... every Sunday from November 29 through December 20, First Presbyterian Church-Midland is hosting classes devoted to Advent Conspiracy. The classes meet from 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. in Lynn Fellowship Hall. The classes aree preceded and followed by fellowship, with coffee, juice and a variety of brunch snacks.

Today's lesson included a video featuring featuring Reverend Chris McKinley of Portland, Oregon, talking about two very different Christmas stories.

Advent Reflections: December 6

Luke 3:1-6 BibleGateway.com

Most of us focus on the last three verses of this passage from Luke, the message of hope that transforms all flesh and changes the face of the earth. Thanks to Handel, many of us know these words by heart and can even sing them!

In comparison to the glorious strains of “Messiah,” the list of rulers and religious figures found in the first three verses seems drab, merely preparatory details for the “real” message of Advent. Yet these details are important: Luke takes time to describe John the Baptist’s context. Luke tells us that attention to people, places, and current events is critical if we are to hear the good news. The word of God does not hover above the ground but sinks an anchor into the earth, claiming that earth as God’s own. The word of God comes to John, the son of Zechariah, at a time when an emperor is reigning over much of the known world, when other political and religious figures are vying for power and influence. Most of the people mentioned in this list are not paragons of faith or virtue: many become implicated in Jesus’ death as recorded later in the gospel. But God’s word comes to contexts like this and to people like these: to contexts like ours, to people like us. In the midst of hopelessness comes the hope of the world. The way has already been prepared.

Prayer: Prepare us the way, O Lord, for your coming: out of discord bring harmony; out of war bring peace; out of hatred bring love. Prepare the way so that all may see, taste, and hear your Word.
Amen

David H. Jensen
Professor of Constructive Theology
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary

CLICK HERE to listen to each day's devotional.

______________________________

For the glory of God and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a seminary in the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition whose mission is to educate and equip individuals for the ordained Christian ministry and other forms of Christian service and leadership; to employ its resources in the service of the church; to promote and engage in critical theological thought and research; and to be a winsome and exemplary community of God's people.
CLICK HERE to learn how you can support the mission of Austin Seminary

Advent Reflections: December 5

Jude 17-25 BibleGateway.com

Just 25 miles from Ft. Defiance, Virginia, where I served in my first pastorate, was the Synod’s conference center, Massanetta Springs. A two-week Bible conference, held there each August, offered great preaching and teaching from the masters of their craft. In 1964, the crowd was overflowing as the great Scot pulpiteer James Stewart began to preach. His text that first night was today’s passage: “To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you without fault.”

In that masterful sermon, Stewart stressed that the trumpet note of triumph in the New Testament was never “we are able,” but, always turning from self, the authors proclaim, “He is able”: He is able to “help those being tempted” (Heb 2:18); “save completely” (Heb 7:25); “keep you from failing” (Jude 24); “bring every thing under His control” (Phil 3:21); “guard what has been committed to Him” (II Timothy 1:12); “do immeasurably more than all we ask or think” (Eph 3:20).

Advent preparation means recalling that the One whose birth we celebrate is the One who breaks forever our human habit of translating into a vague future tense what He came to offer us now. Advent reminds us that when He comes there is no such thing as irrevocable defeat, no tangle He cannot straighten out, no wounds that do not yield to His healing, no lonely outcast not welcomed, no tongue that does not at last confirm Him “Lord of all.”

Thanks be for the Advent reminder that He, born in Bethlehem, is the One who is able.

Prayer: Even so come Lord Jesus, in this glad season. Come with your mighty ability, and bring faith for fear, courage for cowardice, strength for weakness, victory for defeat. Burnish our ideals that the fingers of the world have tarnished. And grant us peace and joy in our believing.
Amen

Louis Zbinden
Trustee Emeritus
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary

CLICK HERE to listen to each day's devotional.

______________________________

For the glory of God and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a seminary in the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition whose mission is to educate and equip individuals for the ordained Christian ministry and other forms of Christian service and leadership; to employ its resources in the service of the church; to promote and engage in critical theological thought and research; and to be a winsome and exemplary community of God's people.
CLICK HERE to learn how you can support the mission of Austin Seminary

From Partners: "Give the Gift of Life This Christmas"

Steve and Oddny Gumaer started Partners Relief & Development in response to the needs of refugees and displaced people from Burma. This blog is meant to be a more personal stream of conversation than newsletters allow for. The opinions expressed here may not be those of Partners Relief & Development.

Dear Friend,

We all have our own wish lists for Christmas. You may want a new iPod or some new boots. I want a hand-knitted sweater from my wife. But imagine for a moment if your top gift was food. That is the case for thousands of people in Burma right now. Will you join me and make this Christmas about giving life to war-impacted children and families? When you purchase one of our gifts, you are literally helping save lives. You also show God's love.

Here's how it works ...
1. Review the options below.
2. To purchase gifts, click the Buy Now button. You will be taken to the Partners online store. At the store, select your specific gifts. You can choose as many gifts as you'd like.
3. Check out and purchase your gifts. Your order will be sent to us immediately.
4. We will mail you a Greeting Card for each item you select. If you purchase 3 Important pigs and 2 Cleans, you'll receive 5 Greeting Cards. You can then give the Greeting Cards to your loved ones at that perfect moment.

It's so easy to do ...

$20 / Learn For Life - The Burma government provides $0 for schools in the conflict areas. Your gift buys pencils, books and sports equipment for ten children.

$33 / Important Pig - Protein is critical for child development. Your donation purchases a pig for a family. A pig helps creates more pigs and provides nourishment.

$40 / The Simple Grain - The government burns ethnic rice barns and destroys their fields. Your help provides ten displaced people with their staple food.

$60 / Clean - Good hygiene prevents disease. Your gift keeps 6 children healthy by providing them shampoo, a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap and other important supplies.

$140 / Lifesaving Medicine - 1 in 5 children die in the conflict areas before their 5th birthday, mostly from preventable illnesses. Your contribution provides vital medicine and training for 100 displaced people.

Thank you in advance for making a life-saving difference this Christmas.

For God's children,

Steve Gumaer

In the News ... "Live Nativity at Odessa Church"

Roy Waggoner
Staff Writer
Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - Sherwood Baptist Church has scheduled at walk-through live Nativity from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, December 4, and Saturday, December 5, but it’s not an ordinary live Nativity.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the OA story.

Advent Reflections: December 4

Amos 5:1-17 BibleGateway.com

In this season we set aside the grinding normalcy of our lives to muster cheer and warm fellow-feeling through our celebrations, gifts, and religious devotion. Yet even as guests depart, well fed and cheered, we are haunted by a vague, gnawing emptiness. “This year just didn’t feel like Christmas” we confide to our closest friends—feelings made more poignant as we recall Christmases of Dickensian fiction or childhood anticipation of the day. But we are not now Victorians or children, and the symbols and rituals of this season do not touch us the same: They do not rally the same romantic feelings.

Today’s readings do nothing to help us reclaim the romance. In fact, this text reads like a funeral dirge. Amos warns that Israel’s military strength will be wrecked and her soldiers slaughtered, and that Yahweh has no interest in her ritual pilgrimages to Bethel, Gilgal, and Beersheba. Israel’s problem was not that she lacked a certain experience or emotion. She was happy with Yahweh, she liked Yahweh. But she no longer saw that her salvation, expected from Yahweh, was thoroughly entwined with her practice of justice as revealed in the covenant and law.

The hope of Advent is not for salvation through rituals or feelings, but through One who came among us, living in peace, sharing his goods, and healing in word and deed. To Him Christmas bears witness: An alternative to a society based on violence is made possible by the life, death, resurrection, and teachings of Jesus. In this Way there is Joy indeed.

Prayer: Gracious God, as we celebrate your coming, forgive us for piling between us rituals to muster cheer instead of the courage for justice and repentance. By our longing for warm feelings, turn us to the least among us—those broken by war, sickness, and injustice. Move us toward them so that your joy may be complete.
Amen

David White
C. Ellis and Nancy Gribble Nelson Associate Professor of Christian Education
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary

CLICK HERE to listen to each day's devotional.

______________________________

For the glory of God and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a seminary in the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition whose mission is to educate and equip individuals for the ordained Christian ministry and other forms of Christian service and leadership; to employ its resources in the service of the church; to promote and engage in critical theological thought and research; and to be a winsome and exemplary community of God's people.
CLICK HERE to learn how you can support the mission of Austin Seminary

Word from Uganda: "The unordinary common life ..."

Missionary teacher Natalie Rolfe writes, "'When He calls me, I will answer ... I'll be somewhere working for my Lord.' My call was Mbale, Uganda and that is where I have returned to serve for another year. Specifically, I am teaching phonics at Lulwanda Children's Home, an orphanage and school for 90 kids." Natalie also keeps an online journal of her service at the weblog, When He calls me, I will answer ...

The unordinary common life ...
"So, I have realized that after 2+ years in Uganda, there are things that have become very common and routine to me that to the outside world are very unordinary. I am sure this list will continue to grow, but here is what I have collected so far ...”

CLICK HERE to read the rest of Natalie's post

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If you are interested in supporting LCH by sponsoring one of the 90 children, go to www.ugandaorphans.org If you are interested in financially supporting Natalie in her mission, you can send checks (with "Natalie Rolfe" in memo) to: Midland Bible Church, 2800 North A Street, Midland, TX 79705

In the News ... "Area Missions Outreach Services Low On Donated Items"

Diane Tuazon
Reporter
KWES-TV

MIDLAND, TEXAS - In the past year, the Area Missions Outreach Services (AMOS) has had plenty of warm clothes and food to offer to those in need, but lately that hasn't been the case.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the KWES story.

In the News ... "Piano show will kick off holiday season at Odessa church"

Dominic Genetti
Reporter
Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - The joyful tunes of the Christmas season will fill the sanctuary of Immanuel Baptist Church to kick off this holiday season, but only one instrument will be played.

A total of five grand pianos are taking center stage at the University Boulevard church for a Christmas show like none other. This show features traditional and well-known holiday songs arranged for several pianos playing in unison.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the OA story.

Advent Reflections: December 3

2 Peter 3:11-18 BibleGateway.com

These verses from 2 Peter are part of the daily-appointed readings for Advent. This text is normally read on the Friday before the third Sunday of Advent—readings of Isaiah’s blooming desert and Matthew’s John the Baptist. The themes of preparation and waiting are what we live in and move through in this season. But 2 Peter’s waiting has an edge to it.

This book, with its apocalyptic attitudes about this world’s corruption and its warnings about the judgment to come, is not sleep-inducing bedtime reading. Instead, these are words that provoke uncertainty, even anxiety, as we read about “[t]he coming day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire” (v. 12). Many of us resist the theology these verses suggest: The world is corrupt and irredeemable; we can only hope for righteousness and peace in the new heavens and the new earth; we must be watchful lest we be carried away in error. The lectionary system sets these verses next to John the Baptist. John the Baptist is also anxiety producing—announcing the Lord’s winnowing fork and the judgment between wheat and chaff.

At its heart, though, the announcement is still this: The kingdom of heaven has come near. The kingdom of heaven in the person of Jesus Christ comes to the corruption of this world and redeems. Waiting for the day of God, then, is a way of living now according to the reality that God wills for all creation.

Prayer: Stir up the will of all who look to you, Lord God, and strengthen our faith in your coming, that, transformed by grace, we may walk in your way; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen

Jennifer Lord
Associate Professor of Homiletics
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary

CLICK HERE to listen to each day's devotional.

______________________________

For the glory of God and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a seminary in the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition whose mission is to educate and equip individuals for the ordained Christian ministry and other forms of Christian service and leadership; to employ its resources in the service of the church; to promote and engage in critical theological thought and research; and to be a winsome and exemplary community of God's people.
CLICK HERE to learn how you can support the mission of Austin Seminary