Snapshots and Synapses

So what is Christmas all about? We know it's not about Santa, Die Hard or Christmas RomCom movies, and we can sometimes reflect on how Christ came to save us from the consequences of our wrong-doings (aka - "sin"). Theologically, this means Christ came to atone for our sins, meaning He took away our sins and chose to take the punishment on our behalf. This is all true, but is this why Christ came to earth?  Yes, He came to atone for our sins. Colosians 1:13-14 says: God has rescued us from the power of darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of his Son, whom he loves. His Son paid the price to free us, which means that our sins are forgiven. But more than that, He came to end the rebellion of Man (see Daniel 9:21-24 ) and to bring the reconciliation described in  Colossians 1:21-22 : Once you were separated from God. The evil things you did showed your hostile attitude. But now Christ has brought you back to God by dying in his physical body. He did this so that you...

“Hello Hello! Thank you for making the time to meet with me!” said the host as he opened the door. “Of course! I will almost always say yes to a free dinner.” the old man replied, his eyes smiling as he took a deep breath. “And it smells delicious, my friend! But why would you go to all this bother for me? I have nothing to offer you… not that I want you to turn me away now. My stomach would never forgive me.” “It’s just a small sign of my appreciation for being able to hear your story directly from you. I’ll just say that our mutual friend, Eleazar, was quite insistent that I add your story to the account I’ve been writing. He is literally a different person because of you.” “Doctor, you…” “Please, call me Luke.” “Yes. Luke. Thank you. Please promise me this first: If I share my story, do not use my name. I’ll give you names of other shepherds who were there that night, but I’m just an unworthy servant. It is only important that the One Who has written my name in the Book of Life know...

Published in paperback on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Shepherds-Letter-Mitchell-Malloy/dp/1973415933/ Copyright © 2007 Mitchell Malloy All rights reserved. ISBN: 9781973415930 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS All our talents come as a gift from above, and all we do is to imitate the Great Giver with gifts of our own. Soli Deo Gloria!

  " Nevertheless, each one of you must also love [ agape ] his own wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect [ phobeo ] her husband ."  Ephesians 5:33 It is not our nature to live in the way this verse describes. The Greek words describe a sacrificial and intentional love for wives as well as a reverent and fearful respect that defers to the authority of husbands.  But we are naturally selfish and rebellious. We can often rightly point out that our wives and children don't treat us with respect. As men we need to feel respected, admired, within our homes, even more than our need to feel loved. Nonetheless, we are called to lead our households. We can be good leaders or bad leaders, but either way we are leaders of our families.  So turning our thoughts away from how our needs as men are often not met, consider this:  ~ Are you living a life that is worthy of respect?  ~ Do you understand who you are called to be by God as the leader of ...