What is the true meaning of Christmas? I believe it has little or nothing to do with my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The beautiful lights, presents under the tree, Santa, Rudolph, family gatherings and other celebrations at this time of year bring many lots of joy. They don't do much for the lonely, depressed, and poor though. Santa brings the best toys to the rich and no toys for the poor. Good old St. Nick. I always look forward to spending time with family and friends and I enjoy buying a few gifts but for me, I am more comfortable leaving the name of Jesus out of the true meaning of Christmas.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the famous English preacher of the last century, said, "We have no superstitious regard for times and seasons. Certainly we do not believe in the present ecclesiastical arrangement called Christmas ... we find no scriptural word whatever for observing any day as the birthday of the Saviour; and consequently, its observance is a superstition, because (it's) not of divine authority ... probably the fact is that the 'holy days' (were) arranged to fit in with the heathen festivals ... how absurd to think we could do it in the spirit of the
world, with a Jack Frost clown, a deceptive worldly Santa Claus, and a mixed program of sacred truth with fun, deception, and fiction." (Quoted from Metropolitan Pulpit Series, Pilgrim Publications: Pasadena, Texas, 1871, p. 1026).
For more insight into the history of Christmas check out this link.
http://www.toolong.com/pages/christmas.htm
May you experience the love of Jesus in 2009
Andrew Youxuan Porter
May 2008 3yrs (be sure to click on older posts at the bottom of each page to view all pictures)
Friday, December 26, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Happy 17th Birthday Stephen!
It is hard to believe but on December 13, 2008 Stephen will be 17 years old. Stephen you are a pleasure to have around. Thank you. We are proud to be your parents. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May His face shine upon you!
The following facts about the number 17 were sent to us by Stephen's Uncle Matt:
Here are a few random facts about 17 for the birthday boy:17 is a prime number. There are exactly 17 ways to express 17 as the sum of 1 or more primes [2+2+13, 2+3+5+7, etc.]. This is the only integer that is equal to the number of prime partitions of itself.There are 17 muscles in the human tongue.17 is the smallest number that can be written as A2 + B3 in two different ways: 17 = 32 + 23 = 42 + 13. The ancient Greeks had 17 consonants in their alphabet.An ancient guy named Jâbir Ibn Hayyân really dug the number 17. He wrote "All, in the universe, is governed by the number 17 - the metals for example have 17 'power'" and the form of any thing in the world is 17." No, I don't know what that means either.King Tutankhamen was wrapped in 17 cloths. Japanese haiku have exactly 17 syllables: 3 lines with 5, 7, and 5 syllables each. For example:
My nephew StephenIs seventeen years old now,So is he a man?
In the Bible,- the flood began on the 17th day of the 2nd month and the ark rested on the 17th day of the 7th month- 17 nationalities, or languages, are mentioned in the account of Pentecost in Acts 2- there are 17 things that cannot separate us from the love of Christ mentioned in Romans 8- sheep are mentioned 17 times in John 10- 17 "works of the flesh" are specifically mentioned in Galatians 5:19-21, unless you count "and such like", which is the 18th listed.
17 years old is the final year of minor, or childhood, status in the United States and some other nations.In the movies, Number 17 by Alfred Hitchcock and Stalag 17 are considered classics. A movie 17 Again, about a man given a chance to do his life over, will come out in 2009.In song, Janis Ian had the melancholy hit, At 17.===================
Speaking of music, the day Stephen was born, the number one song on the charts was Black or White by Michael Jackson. In it, he sang "It makes no difference if you're black or white", which is quite ironic coming from him.
Stephen Porters in the world include a metal sculptor (www.stephenporterstudio.com), an Associate Professor of Research and Evaluation Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (nice job title), a pediatric emergency medical specialist, a Senior Counsel appointed to the National Council on the Arts by President Bush, the director of the 1991 Broadway play The Miser, the Director of CIEL's Climate Change Program (see picture at http://www.ciel.org/Staff/porter.html), a concert pianist (www.stephenporterpiano.com), and the coauthor of a book about evolution, entitled The Quaternary Period in the United States. (I figured you'd like that last one).
Happy birthday, Stephen
(Thanks Uncle Matt!)
The following facts about the number 17 were sent to us by Stephen's Uncle Matt:
Here are a few random facts about 17 for the birthday boy:17 is a prime number. There are exactly 17 ways to express 17 as the sum of 1 or more primes [2+2+13, 2+3+5+7, etc.]. This is the only integer that is equal to the number of prime partitions of itself.There are 17 muscles in the human tongue.17 is the smallest number that can be written as A2 + B3 in two different ways: 17 = 32 + 23 = 42 + 13. The ancient Greeks had 17 consonants in their alphabet.An ancient guy named Jâbir Ibn Hayyân really dug the number 17. He wrote "All, in the universe, is governed by the number 17 - the metals for example have 17 'power'" and the form of any thing in the world is 17." No, I don't know what that means either.King Tutankhamen was wrapped in 17 cloths. Japanese haiku have exactly 17 syllables: 3 lines with 5, 7, and 5 syllables each. For example:
My nephew StephenIs seventeen years old now,So is he a man?
In the Bible,- the flood began on the 17th day of the 2nd month and the ark rested on the 17th day of the 7th month- 17 nationalities, or languages, are mentioned in the account of Pentecost in Acts 2- there are 17 things that cannot separate us from the love of Christ mentioned in Romans 8- sheep are mentioned 17 times in John 10- 17 "works of the flesh" are specifically mentioned in Galatians 5:19-21, unless you count "and such like", which is the 18th listed.
17 years old is the final year of minor, or childhood, status in the United States and some other nations.In the movies, Number 17 by Alfred Hitchcock and Stalag 17 are considered classics. A movie 17 Again, about a man given a chance to do his life over, will come out in 2009.In song, Janis Ian had the melancholy hit, At 17.===================
Speaking of music, the day Stephen was born, the number one song on the charts was Black or White by Michael Jackson. In it, he sang "It makes no difference if you're black or white", which is quite ironic coming from him.
Stephen Porters in the world include a metal sculptor (www.stephenporterstudio.com), an Associate Professor of Research and Evaluation Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (nice job title), a pediatric emergency medical specialist, a Senior Counsel appointed to the National Council on the Arts by President Bush, the director of the 1991 Broadway play The Miser, the Director of CIEL's Climate Change Program (see picture at http://www.ciel.org/Staff/porter.html), a concert pianist (www.stephenporterpiano.com), and the coauthor of a book about evolution, entitled The Quaternary Period in the United States. (I figured you'd like that last one).
Happy birthday, Stephen
(Thanks Uncle Matt!)
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Tom & Heather have been married for 22 years
Pictures from our 2nd honeymoon in Shanghai China a few days before we met up with Andrew. Where does the time go? Let us see what the Bible says about time.
Jam 4:14
How do you know what will happen tomorrow? For your life is like the morning fog--it's here a little while, then it's gone. NLT
2Cr 6:2
For God says, "At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you."Indeed, God is ready to help you right now. Today is the day of salvation. NLT
Today is the day of your salvation. Please do not wait! Check our links if you have questions about salvation.
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