This is a good read.

You can find this article here

December 19, 2005
Helping North Koreans Defect Is Easy Part, Missionaries Find
By NORIMITSU ONISHI
SEOUL, South Korea - In from the freezing cold on a recent Sunday morning, sitting on the heated floor of a cozy apartment in northeast Seoul, the North Korean defector seldom looked up at the South Korean missionary who had been trying, for the last year, to convert him to the Christian faith.

The North Korean mechanically checked the messages on his Samsung cellphone and restrained his two daughters from using hymn sheets as telescopes to peer at the half-dozen North Koreans in the home church.

When the South Korean started strumming his guitar and led his congregation in a hymn, the North Korean’s lips barely moved, even as a young man next to him raised his hands, palms up, and intoned, “Can’t replace the Lord with anything!”
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I wish more Christians would stand up for what the Gospel calls us to do. You see very little political activism in the NT. You do see people helping people. Though I am disinterested in the personalities here, I am interested in Christians calling out the people who claim to represent us.

December 18, 2005
Op-Ed Columnist
A Challenge for Bill O’Reilly

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Let us all pray for Bill O’Reilly.

Let us pray that Mr. O’Reilly will understand that the Christmas spirit isn’t about hectoring people to say “Merry Christmas,” rather than “Happy Holidays,” but about helping the needy.

Let us pray that Mr. O’Reilly will use his huge audience and considerable media savvy to save lives and fight genocide, instead of to vilify those he disagrees with. Let him find inspiration in Jesus, rather than in the Assyrians.

Finally, let’s pray that Mr. O’Reilly and other money-changers in the temple will donate the funds they raise exploiting Christmas - covering the nonexistent “War on Christmas” rakes in viewers and advertising - to feed the hungry and house the homeless.

Amen.

Alas, not all prayers can be answered. Fox News Channel’s crusade against infidels who prefer generic expressions like “Happy Holidays” included 58 separate segments in just a five-day period.

After I suggested in last Sunday’s column that a better way to honor the season might be to stand up to genocide in Darfur (a calamity that Mr. O’Reilly has ignored), Mr. O’Reilly denounced me on his show as a “left-wing ideologue.” Bless you, Mr. O’Reilly, and Merry Christmas to you, too!

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Day 13 Psalm 13 Proverb 13 Acts 13
(Psalm 13) Even though David cried out because he did not see God working in his life he was able to say that He had dealt bountifully with him. Bountifully is an odd term to describe the grace of God. David received the fullness of God’s grace. That is the bountiful blessing of God. The overflow. The more than enough. The El Shadai.
(Proverb 13) There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; and one who makes himself poor yet has great riches. This is the death that Jesus said we are to die. This is the first death here on earth. Whoever will give up all for the gospel’s sake will receive here and in eternity. The wicked eat and are never full. It is good to be wanting in the natural. It is good to be wanting in the flesh. I am better off because of my lack in the natural. I am better off because of where I am. Praise be to God that he should find us worthy to be trained by Him.
(Acts 13) This is so opposite of what we see in the church today. So often we hear the man made steps to ministry. Never have I heard this preached. The prophets and teachers fasted and prayed and the Holy Spirit said to sanctify the men for the work of the ministry. Then after more prayer and fasting, they laid hands on them and sent them out. No manipulation to do worthy works. Just men serving the Lord and elders who were willing to fast and pray to hear Him.

December 25 Psalm 19, Proverbs 19, Acts 19
(Psalm 19) The heavens show the goodness of God. This is so true. I often walk outside and see God’s creation and raise my hands in praise because they testify to the goodness of God. The very earth shows how great he is. And this is the root of evolution. To rob God from His glory. Beyond reason is the unknown, and that is God. He transcends our knowledge and understanding. Not one thing He has done is in contradiction with it. But He dictates its terms.
(Proverbs 19) He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord. This is the greatest scripture that I have never heard used at an offering. That’s not true, I used it at an offering. And it was anointed. The greater message here is not to give so that we can be blessed. I give because it pleases God. And I want to live a life that pleases God. It is so much better than living under the shame of sin.
(Acts 19) Into what were you baptized? I want to ask people this all the time. You wonder what Paul saw when he looked at these people. We know he was in Ephesus and that he invested a lot of time and effort there. But what would cause him to ask the question. I sometimes see Christians so carnal I wonder if they have been baptized into anything other than the world. I see Christians so out of order I want to ask if they were baptized at Babylon. There is a spiritual baptism into certain sins that I have seen. When a person first tries drugs and starts with a binge that s a type of baptism. Boot camp is a type of baptism. You can tell when someone has been to boot camp. You can tell when someone has been binge drinking. You can likewise tell when someone has been baptized into Jesus Christ. When they are now one. You don’t have to ask, unless you yourself have not.

Day 12 Psalm 12, Proverbs 12, Acts 12
(Psalm 12) God equates the oppression of the poor with all other scourges men commit against his fellow man. It warms my heart to see that much of this free market Christianity is not godly. For years I have believed that the tying of self help with the church is little more than a swlfish ruse. We need to remember that Jesus was pro-welfare.
(Proverbs 12) People who do not receive instruction are not godly. Jesus is looking for a teachable spirit to work with. He has no use for a man so set in his ways.
(Acts 12) We really see the serious side of God in this chapter. First Peter is released from jail, but the guards that were watching him were killed. Then, the king allowed people to worship him as a god and he was killed. This is no joke. So many people are always taking about the love of God and the forgiveness of God and the righteousness of God but rarely do they celebrate the judgment of God. This is why David was able to say that God’s judgments are good and rejoice. This is God also, and it is to be celebrated. He condemns unrighteousness. Those who imprison a righteous man will come under the judgment of God. Those who try to steal the glory of God open a door for themselves that they do not want open. God is not mocked.

Day 11 Psalm 11, Proverbs 11, Acts11
(Psalm 11) In this Psalm it sounds like David is getting the victory. This really spoke to me about how God loves the righteous. And all who have received Jesus are the righteous. If God is for me, who can be against me? The enemy wants me to run for cover but God is on my side. I can stand firmly knowing that He is for me and is working in my situation. I do not need to fear those who come against me because the Lord is my shield.
(Proverbs 11) A ruthless man retains riches. He who trusts in riches will fail. Money has never been there for me. Wealth has never comforted me in the midnight hour. God really is pleased by those who give. He loves a cheerful giver. I please God when I trust him enough to give of what I got. I gain favor with God when I take care of the needy, trusting that I will receive from Him.
(Acts 11) God is constantly stretching the minds of people who follow them. Even though the early disciples had their entire faith system rocked by the revelation that Jesus was the Messiah and that He was not going to set up an earthly kingdom, they still tried to minister this new covenant through the lens of the old. Men are constantly looking for reasons that God is not moving in places that He is. They are constantly looking for rules to govern how God can move when He does not intend to keep these rules. These early disciples were men of faith to be able to move like this.

(Psalm 10) The wicked look to the needy as an opportunity for gain. It is amazing how many Christians think this way. They do not look at how they can be a blessing; instead they look how they can be blessed. The Word calls this wicked. They think that God will not mind this behavior but the scriptures show that this will not go inpunished.

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