Charisma Magazine

Millions of people around the world will celebrate the birth of Christ on December 25. They will exchange gifts, fellowship together over dinner and keep other traditions passed down to them through the years. According to theologians, Jesus did not celebrate His own birthday. But did He participate in the Jewish holiday called Hanukkah? To discover the Bible's answer to this question, watch video below.

You’ve seen her—the veiled, dark-robed woman in the checkout line at Wal-Mart or Target. She’s Muslim, you think to yourself, probably from the Middle East or Asia.

But on closer inspection, you discover that she has blue eyes. A few strands of sandy blond hair peek out from her head veil. Or perhaps she’s black and speaks with a distinctly American accent.

She’s not from the Middle East, you realize, but from your own backyard! In fact, she could be someone you went to high school with.

Christian Leaders for a Nuclear-Free Iran (CLNFI) sent a letter to Congress today urging lawmakers to place sanctions on Iran to prevent the Middle East country from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Representing millions of evangelicals, Roman Catholics and other Christians, CLNFI told Congress the time has come to "act."

"Now that super-majorities in the house and senate have made their support for sanctions known, and now that the Iranian regime has made its increasing defiance clear to the world, the time for Congress to act has arrived," said Richard Land of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.

One of the characteristics of prophetic revelation is that it is sometimes allegorical or symbolic, and it is fully understood only after future events have taken place. From the Old Testament perspective, it was not altogether clear what the Messiah would look like.







The prophets foretold the coming of both a kingly Messiah and a suffering servant, but no one even remotely considered that both were the same person.

What a blessing it is to be grandparents. Psalm 128: 1-6 promises the children of Israel that they will see their children's children. "Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table" (v. 3, KJV). "Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and peace upon Israel" (v. 6, KJV).

We are so grateful for the fruitfulness of God in our lives. We are going to have to expand our dining table because the olive plants are already crowding the table. The Father loves to be surrounded by many children.