[continued from previous message]   
      
   prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings for everyone,   
   2 (Ezr 6:10) for kings and for all who are in authority,   
   that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and honesty,   
   3(1Ti 1:1; Lk 1:47) for this is good   
   and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,   
   4 (Eze 18:23; 18:32)who desires all men to be saved   
   and to come to the knowledge of the truth.   
      
   II) Pray for the churches of the province,   
   that they would be lighthouses   
   beaming forth the illuminating truth of God's Word.   
      
   III) Pray that the Lord would use   
   the Finding the Hope Campaign   
   and booklet to turn many hearts to Jesus   
      
   )   
      
   Advent Day 2   
      
   Phillippians 2:6-7   
      
   6 (Jn 5:18; 10:33) who, being in the form of God,   
   did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.   
   7 (Mt 20:28; Jn 1:14) But He emptied Himself,   
   taking upon Himself the form of a servant,   
   and was made in the likeness of men.   
      
   From C.S. Lewis a Grand Miracle   
      
   "The Eternal Being, who knows everything and who created the whole universe,   
   became mot only a man but (before that) a baby, and before that a fetus inside   
   a Woman's body. If you want to get the hang of it, think how you would like   
   to become a slug or a crab." -C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity p.179   
      
   The Distance He traveled   
      
   My longest trip took me from the Midwestern USA to the Southeast Asian   
   city of Singapore, a distance of 9290 miles as the crow files.   
   Astronauts have traveled almost 250 000 miles , the distance from   
   Earth to the moon. Since 1977, Voyager 2 has traveled to 4 planets   
   and their moons, passing Neptune in 1989 and moving beyond the solar system.   
   Today it is more than 8 000 000 000 miles from the Sun.   
   God traveled even further than that, although we're not measuring   
   the distance in miles. The infinite Creator stepped inside an unborn baby,   
   the weakest of humans. Paul says it this way,   
   "who, being in the form of God,   
   did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.   
   But He emptied Himself," That's a long trip, from majesty to humility,   
   from deity to humanity, from God to God-man.   
   For God to make himself nothing is to travel from the infinite ot the finite.   
   Try as we might, we cannot fully comprehend that distance. The best   
   we can do is to make comparisons. Lewis compares the Incarnation of God   
   to the idea of becoming a slug or a crab. That brings a smile to our faces.   
   That would be a huge distance to travel, a humbling of oneself,   
   changing from human to animal. I can't really imagine it. Can you?   
   What Jesus did is all the more remarkable.   
      
   Jesus, Immanuel, Thank You for going the distance to   
   become one of us, God with us. Amen.   
      
   From Follow the Story by Marva J. Dawn   
      
   FIRST Monday OF ADVENT   
   Credentials   
      
   Luke 1:5-7   
      
   5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest   
   named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And his wife was   
   of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.   
   6 They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments   
   and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly.   
   7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren,   
   and they both were now well advanced in years.   
      
   Luke, the historian, want to inform us that Zechariah was   
   a real man. He places him carefully in the datable reign   
   of King Herald of Judea and in the priestly order of Abijah.   
      
   To add to his credentials, Luke tells us that Zechariah's wife   
   Elizabath was also of the Aaronic priestly order. Not only were   
   they righteous, but they were blameless in following all the   
   Lord's precepts. We know that no one is perfect, for "All have sinned"   
   (Romans 3:23), but they had done their best to keep God's statutes   
   and had come as close to rectitude as possible for human beings.   
      
   So what went wrong? Why is Elizabeth barren and looked down on in   
   and by their culture for being so? Is their goodness not   
   sufficient to merit God's favour? No, and none of ours is.   
   Rather this text and its emphasis on her growing older is   
   setting us up for an extraordinary divine intervention.   
      
   Isn't it arresting that God blows the rules of nature to   
   accomplish his purposes?   
      
   Prayer   
      
   God , thank you for beginning this Advent with you astonishing   
   - and love-inducing- works! Amen.   
      
   The AH-HAs of Advent by Rich Bimler   
      
   Ps 130:5-6   
      
   5 (Ps 42:11; 43:5) I wait for the Lord, with bated breath I wait;   
   I long for His Word!   
   6 (2Sa 17:22; Dt 3:8-9) My soul waits for the Lord,   
   more than watchmen for the morning,   
   more than watchmen for the morning.   
      
   FIRST MONDAY OF ADVENT   
      
   AH-HA! Ambassadors of Health, Hope and ANEW!   
      
   We may find it hard to wait for Christmas to come, especially since   
   we have been hearing Christmas carols in the shopping malls since   
   Labour Day and seeing smiling stuffed Santas on neighbourhood lawns   
   since Halloween! but in a way, that's all right, because it helps us to remind   
   ourselves that the Lord comes to us anew each day,   
   to renew us anew in out Baptism!   
      
   5 (Ps 42:11; 43:5) I wait for the Lord, with bated breath I wait;   
   I long for His Word!   
   6 (2Sa 17:22; Dt 3:8-9) My soul waits for the Lord,   
   more than watchmen for the morning,   
   more than watchmen for the morning.   
      
   Seeing advent anew occurs when we do more watching and waiting for   
   God's presence and promise in and around us and when we do less   
   waiting and worrying about peripheral things. Watch and wait to see how   
   the weighty issues of worries, woes and wars fall into new and refreshing   
   ways of looking at life in the Lord! Advent renews us to remember that   
   Christ came to us in the manger ... that Christ will come again ...   
   and that Christ comes to us each day - in water and Word, in words and   
   wonders, in wows and other winsome ways.   
      
   Prayer   
      
   Lord, thanks for calling us to be your AH-HA people. Thanks for refreshing   
   is anew with your love, your forgiveness and your precious presence among us.   
   It's a new day, Lord, in you.   
   In Jesus' name. Amen ... and AH-HA!   
      
   Conclusion:   
      
   Pray to the Lord and pray to use the Gifts that The Lord has given to you   
   lovingly and and a wise manner before Him.   
      
   Pray to the Lord: "Loving God, please help me find hope in You."   
      
   Pray to the Lord and pray to understand you   
   can approach the Lord who gives you power.   
      
   Pray to the Lord and pray to be trustworthy in small and big responsibilities.   
      
   Pray to the Lord and pray to be of help in the brethren.   
      
   Pray for in Newfoundland and Labrador   
      
   - The true Light of life, Jesus Christ, to be revealed to Muslims   
   in Newfoundland through the word, dreams, visions and answers to prayer.   
   - Christians to be as "wise as serpents and harmless as doves" regarding   
   Islam and reaching out in loving witness to Muslims in St. John's.   
   - for a dedicated, intentional witness to the growing number of Muslim   
   students on the university, college and trade school campuses.   
      
   Pray for Christian workers an organisations focused on seeing effective   
   discipleship movements among Muslim people.   
      
   - Pray for opportunities to show the love of Christ to Muslims around you   
   - Pray for, and offer generous hospitality to, those you know who are serving   
   Christ among Muslim people -   
   Romans 12:13 "contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality."   
   - When you gather with fellow believers, remember to pray for Muslims   
   throughout the year and encourage them to also participate in 30 Days!   
      
   Pray that the Lord will open a door for the message for the Gospel   
   at every level of Canadian Society.   
      
   Pray Jesus, Immanuel, Thank You for going the distance to   
   become one of us, God with us. Amen.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)