The Night Before Jesus Came
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
T'was the night before Jesus and all through the house,
Not a creature was praying, not one in the house.
Their Bibles were lain on the shelf without care,
In hopes that Jesus would not stop by there.

The children were dressing to crawl into bed,
Not one ever kneeling, or bowing a head.
And Mom in her rocker with a babe on her lap,
Was watching the Late Show while I took a nap.

When out of the East there arose such a clatter,
I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash!

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But angels proclaiming that Jesus was here.
With a light like the sun sending forth a bright ray,
I knew in a moment this must be THE DAY!

The light of His face made me cover my head.
It was Jesus! Returning just like He said.
And though I possessed worldly wisdom and wealth,
I cried when I saw Him in spite of myself.

In the Book of Life which He held in His hand,
Was written the name of every saved man.
He spoke not a word as He searched for my name;
When He said, "It's not here" . . my head hung in shame.

The people whose names had been written with love,
He gathered to take to His Father above.
With those who were ready, He rose without sound,
While all the rest were left standing around.

I fell to my knees, but it was too late;
I had waited too long and thus sealed my fate.
I stood and I cried as they rose out of sight;
Oh, if only we had been prepared for this night.

In the words of this poem the meaning is clear;
The time for His coming is drawing near.
There's only one life and when comes the last call.
We'll find what He told us was true after all.

Author Unknown

AMEN  Thats very well said[^] I'm passing it on to others.

Amen!

Eric The(Amen!Again)Hun[>]:)]

[size=4]Jesus: Reason for the season[/size=4]

Through A Glass Darkly, by John Myers

Since Sept. 11, perhaps the most repeated phrases I've heard are "nothing is the same anymore" or "this changes everything."

Surely, we shall never feel as safe here in America as we did prior to the terrorist attacks on that day, and I seriously doubt we've seen the last of them. Even when we get Osama bin Laden and his band of bloody men -- and we will get them, sooner or later -- the world will remain a dangerous place for all of us.

With the threat of weapons of mass destruction hanging over us, nuclear, chemical, biological or whatever new horror the future may bring, we shall never feel truly safe in America again.

I fully support President Bush's plans to upgrade our military and our nation's defenses, including a "Star Wars" missile defense, but even the best our military and defense industries can do will never take all the threats of harm away from us.

There is only one kind of peace that is truly available today, and it is not the peace the world gives, therefore the world cannot take it away. It is the peace that comes from above, not below, the peace that was born on earth some 2,000 years ago.

Something happened in that little town of Bethlehem on that first Christmas morning that truly did change everything forever. God became flesh and dwelt among us, born as a helpless baby, Jesus, the son of Mary and Joseph of Nazareth.

But, of course, He was not really the son of Joseph. He was and is the Son of God, the first and only virgin birth in this world.

"That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins," the angel told Joseph about Mary in Matthew 1:20-21.

I went to Israel in 1979 and visited Bethlehem. It's a little town, about the size of Norman or my hometown Candor, what we would call a one-stoplight town. It was probably no bigger in Jesus' day, for the prophet Nahum said it was "least among the rulers of Judah." But God seems to specialize in the "least."

Bethlehem was certainly the least improbable place in all of Israel for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords to be born, and of all places, not the best accommodations available, but the worst.

"And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn," Luke 2:7 tells us of his birth.

The manger, of course, was an animal's feedbin in a stable, and the "swaddling cloths" were whatever rags were available.

In Bethlehem today, the Church of the Nativity is built over what is believed to be the birth site of Jesus. From steps behind the altar, you descend into a dark cave which was the stable.

It was cold and dark there when I visited it, and I imagine it was cold and dark the night Jesus was born there. What an improbable advent for the Man who truly is "King of the World."

"For God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty," Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:27.

As you celebrate this Christmas, don't forget the reason for the season. It's Jesus, first, last and always. If He had not come, we would have no hope. But because He did, we need not fear.

Eric The(Thankful)Hun[>]:)]

Amen

Cowboys say "YeeHaww!"

I thought CONSUMERISM was the reason for the season.

Not at all!

I think you're just confusing 'their' holiday with 'our' holiday!

Eric The(Our'sCameFirst,ItWillBeLast)Hun[>]:)]

Hmmmmm, no controversy yet eh?
Maybe the post is a little too direct?

Sweet!

Well, if you're lookin for someone to stir the stuff...

The reason for the season?

Christian leaders in 336 A.D. set the date to December 25 in an attempt to eclipse a popular pagan holiday in Rome (Saturnalia) that celebrated the winter solstice.

But the poem still gets an Amen. [;D]

Damn it, I thought I had a bite!!!   [:D]

Very well put, Eric[>]:)]!
...and a bing AMEN to both!
[<|:d>]

I got yelled at for bringing up Christmas in the chat room and they destroyed by belief system.

The post office says he is real...I believe...I believe...I believe...

Back up fer the night crew.....

You gotta love when you're out shopping and you see menorahs and those ridiculous kwfuckinza trees with fruit, but christmas is depicted by a flaming red fat man over a 3 wise men scene or something RELIGIOUS.  

Oh yeah, Christianity isn't PC, it imposes itself on others.  That's also why the tv networks say "Happy Holidays" on Christmas, but say Happy Chanakkah or Kwanzfuckingza on their respective days.  Amazing the animousity towards the founding father's religion.

LETS BREAK OUT THE KWANZFUCKINGZA WREATHS!!  WOO HOO!

Christmas? LUPERCALIA!!! [:D] (I know, not the same day or anything. Oh well.)

Well, I like the poem.  Amen!

edit:  oops!  And the letter.

Amen

And the animosity to the Founding Fathers themselves, what with all the wonderful new laws passed to "protect" us.

Thanks for that liberty, and for btt-ing it for us night folks.  I get off work at 11:30, and of course I'm here first thing[:)].  

I know it says author unknown, but is there any type of copyright on this from your source?  Would like to print (quite) a few of these out.

To be perfectly honest, I rather dislike the "Christmas season" because it appears that all most people are concerned with, or thinking about, is what they are going to [b]GET[/b] for Christmas. [b]IT AIN'T ABOUT "GETTING" ANYTHING.[/b] Not to me, anyway.

Inspiring.

The poem too.

Thanks [b]liberty86[/b].


BTW, I just gotta say you're the most challenging member on this board. You CONSTANTLY challenge me to think and rethink.

Thanks.

It was passed to me as it is, no copyright that I know of, I'm sure the author wouldn't mind wide dissemination.......

Thanks Mac......

I'm surprised our resident atheists haven't joined in.