Commentary

You really could call them a “professor,” not a “possessor.”

Yes, that’s probably be the best way ( Biblically) to describe someone who’s “Christian In Name Only” (C.I.N.O.). And, increasingly, nowadays there are more and more who claim to be a born-again believer, but act more like the devil than Christ during the week.

“That’s a pretty harsh, judgmental statement,” a reader says, “because Jesus said we’re not to judge each other.”

Well, that’s true to a point; however, He also said “By their fruits you shall know them” (Matthew 7:16, 20). Thus, if a person’s “fruits” more resemble Galatians 5:19-21 than they do vv.22-23, then the Bible’s the one that’s judging, not me.

Vanilla

If you’re like me, you may already be wondering what kind of handmade gifts you can be working on for this Christmas. For me, it means making a batch of Vanilla Extract. And now is the time to make it, as it needs to steep for several months before it’s ready to use.

But before I go any further, the initial expense of this is high, depending on the amount you want to make and the quality of the finished product. I use a lot of vanilla extract, and I know a lot of people who love to bake, so I make a huge batch of it.

Yes, we should let those names ( and the faces that accompanied them) al-ways be indelibly etched within our mind and memory: for this mother (Shiri) and her two sons—Ariel, age 4, and Kfir, aged nine months—were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and then later brutally murdered by strangulation the next month.

Then, when Hamas finally released their bodies two weeks ago, Israel discovered that Shiri’s body had been replaced with an unknown wo-man’s body. Thankfully, 24 hours later Hamas finally released her body to her husband, Yar-den— who’d also been taken hostage on Oct. 7, but separated from them during those almost 500 days and didn’t know they were dead until he returned to Israel.

“Peace At Any Price??”

It’s more than a battle between ideologies and religions.

It’s a battle against evil.

Such is definitely what’s going on ( and been going on) in the Middle East and other war-torn countries around the world. And, in reality, it’s been going on ever since Adam and Eve’s Fall in the Garden of Eden.

Yes, their sin of unbelief and disobedience against God (Genesis 2:8-9, 16-17; 3:1-7) opened the proverbial “Pandora’s Box” of evil: resulting in disease, decay, deformity, division, destruction and death.

“Fearfully and Wonderfully Made”

We’re truly one-of-a-kind.

Yes, Psalm 139:14-18 clearly tells us this, as do our fingerprints, DNA, retina scan, etc. And, that’s why we should live our lives for God’s Glory and others’ good: for that’s why He created us on purpose with a Purpose.

Like Adam and Eve, we’re all created “in God’s Image” (Genesis 1:27), which means we alone ( of all creation) have the ability to think, reason, feel and willingly choose to love Him or not.

King David, who wrote Ps. 139, didn’t have a college or seminary degree; neither could he write a dissertation on systematic theology, creation science, the cell’s genome or genetic code, etc. But, He did know God’s all-seeing Eye knows everything about us from the wombto- the-tomb.

Zuckerberg Promises to End the Censorship He Denied was Occurring Only time will tell if this is a true ‘Come to Jesus’ moment or a selfserving change in Facebook’s business model.

“The truth will out!” William Shakespeare tells us, and it has.

Certainly since at least 2020, millions of us have believed that speech—primarily conservative speech—has been suppressed and censored by the huge social media platforms, prominently including Facebook/Meta. Under the guise of so-called “fact checking” the huge platform tweaked its complex algorithms in such a way as to tamp down and de-emphasize the speech valued and sought by so many of us.

Welcome to 2025! The train is heating up, ready to leave the station, and it’s time to get on board. The journey towards the days ahead can fill us with excitement, anticipation, and a bit of curiosity wondering where our travels will take us.

As with any journey, there are preparations we need to make beforehand. For the journey of a new year, it helps to get some of the small things out of the way as soon as possible, in order to free us up to enjoy our journey.

One of the biggest setbacks we have to starting a new year is dealing with is just getting the new year prepped (look at it as putting the train in gear before it leaves the station). In order to put the engine on the right track, it helps to get some preliminary work done. That way, you’ll have the rest of the year to work on your goals, dreams, and personal growth, and still have some time for fun.

“For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, Who is Christ, the Lord.”

The stars were shining brightly that Night, When the angel of God did appear; He told the shepherds that something had happened And they should go and draw near.

Yes, the night sky suddenly began to glow With light from Heaven above: And the angel told them what God had done, That would show His Power and great Love.

“For unto you is born this Night, “In that City called ‘House of Bread:’ “A Savior has been sent to redeem you “Just as the prophets foretold and said.

“He’ll be the One to save you “And the Christ Who’ll set you free; “So go now into Bethlehem and see Him, “As you bow down on bended knee.

“You’ll find Him in a manger, “That’s filled with freshly cut hay; “Yes, you’ll find Him sleeping so sweetly, “Who’ll one day turn darkness into Day.

There is a lot to consider about the broad presidential pardon granted to Hunter Biden this past week but virtually all of it involves lies and hypocrisy.

First, President Biden lied, yet again, when asked if he would pardon Hunter for his crimes. He flatly said “no” and that he would “abide by the jury’s decision.” However, millions of us believe he said that only to keep the prospect of a family pardon from becoming an election issue. However, it’s not the pardoning of his son, in and of itself, that offends.

It’s the fact that in his pardon message Biden states he sought to correct a “miscarriage of justice” and blamed his socalled “political opponents” in Congress for Hunter’s problems. That is just laughable! We may forgive a father for protecting a son—particularly one who has struggled with addiction and other personal problems as his son has—but Hunter’s problems were caused by Hunter! He is a criminal.

“Why Christmas?”

There’s nothing wrong with questioning traditions; the key is continuing them if they’re based in Truth.

Yes, why do we celebrate this annual holiday— which basically is part of Christianity and nowadays (to so many)

is little more than a time for shopping and the giving-and-receiving of gifts.

For sure, it’s become quite commercialized and one of retailers’ biggest times of the year; in fact, it’s estimated that shoppers will spend over $1.2 trillion this year—with an average of $1,632 being spent/person on gifts, entertainment and travel.

You’ve probably noticed that Christmas decorations are already being put up in stores by/before Halloween. And, Christmas music is already being played in stores by/before Thanksgiving, in addition to Christmas ads being shown on television by Turkey Day.

So, the question of

“Why Christmas?”