Sold Out Live

This holiday season is probably one of the coldest Christmas seasons I’ve experienced in our country. Being in the city, it sometimes is difficult to find fresh, cold air, even living in the suburbs.  Not that it has become so cold that it snowed or that I needed a heated blanket to sleep, it’s just the type of cooling that is comfortable and conducive for the season.  I thank God for the wonderful climate here in our country.

Matthew 2:2 “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

Usually during Christmas gifts are opened, parties, celebration and gatherings of families are held, special food is prepared and everything is expected to be fun. But, is this what Christmas is about? I don’t mean to say that these are wrong, but if Christmas is just about these then they are wrong indeed. The heart of Christmas is Christ and we can see from the above passage how the wise men, people who were seeking the King, searched and traveled far away to pay their respects - what a great example of sacrificial worship.

This Christmas day, may we never forget to worship Jesus and make that the center of our celebration and fun. Merry Christmas to all!

Another gift suggestion for your boss are golf clubs. With these, it doesn’t matter if your boss doesn’t know how to play golf, he can learn it and mingle with other managers and supervisors. There are many sources of these golf clubs and you can also find them online. One source is TheWorldOfGOlf.com. Visit this web site and see how affordable golf clubs can be.

Matthew 1:23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”

This was quoted by Matthew from a passage in Isaiah during King Ahaz’s time. God was telling King Ahaz not to worry because He will keep His promise to establish David’s kingdom - so King Ahaz need not ally with other kings to protect the kingdom of Israel. What Isaiah is saying to him is God has promised not to forsake His people. No one will be allowed to destroy the people of God and no one will be allowed to destroy David’s royal line.

And He kept His promise when Jesus came. What a great reminder for us, that God will never forsake us - even in our unfaithfulness God will remain faithful, just like in King Ahaz’s case. Thank God for His faithfulness!

The year is about to close and another year will begin. Have you evaluated how you have handled things in your life this past year? Have you looked into the different aspects of your life like your relationships, personal budget, spiritual and physical health?

Well, if you have not, there is still time. And if you are having a hard time planning for the financial aspect of your life, I can recommend a budget software to you. This will surely help you get to a point in your life where you are free from debt and enjoy financial peace. If this past year, you have felt that you did not have control over your finances, or felt that your finances was the one controllling you, then you should try this software from YouNeedABudget.com.

The principles that you can learn from this budget software are so rich and so applicable to all kinds of people that college students, newly weds, single professionals or big families can benefit from this. This web site also can provide you with a free budgeting course so you can gain control over your money. Remember, it is important to take control of your money, or else, it will control you.

Psalm 103:12 “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgression from us.”

Through Jesus’ death on the cross, He took the sins of all of us on Himself and died our death as a blood sacrifice for our sins and then carried them away an infinite distance from where they will never return again. The Bible describes this distance as, “as far as the east from the west.” The east and the west, unlike the north and south pole, don’t have fixed reference points. A direction becomes east or west depending on which direction is being taken. And as you go one direction you never get near the other. So they are both infinitely far from each other. That’s how far God has removed our sins from us once He forgives us. Isn’t that great?

Before the Israelites crossed over the Jordan River to the other side of its Outer Banks and eventually to Jericho, right after the death of the generation that disobeyed God in the wilderness, Joshua made plans on how to conquer the promised land and prepared the provisions they needed for the campaign.

There is much wisdom in this and applying it during this time of the year is very timely. It will help to write out goals and some plans to reach those goals for the coming year. Set some SMART goals:
S – specific
M – measurable
A – attainanble
R – realistic
T – time-bound

Continuing education has become more popular and in demand nowadays, not just for fresh graduates but for professionals as well. The interest and desire for growth has just become greater because of the need to adapt to the financial needs that increase.

Many people pursuing higher education or more specialized fields like nursing, medical transcription, xray technology, culinary arts, forensic science, fashion design, interior decorating, and skill based careers look for opportunities in the international community to seek higher pay and a better standard of living.

This trend is indeed seen among third world countries, causing separation of family members, mostly parents from their growing children. This pattern has also led to rebellion of some teenagers, mainly because of the loss of a sense of closeness with their parents, or sometimes because of not being able to build a relationship that is nurturing.

Churches in third world countries try their best to guide the children and the young people who are left with their grandparents or with single parents so that they would be properly supported emotionally as they go through their teenage years. Parents abroad also seek counsel of church friends and pastors as they struggle with the effects of being away.

Let us pray for families in this kind of situation that they would be protected from the schemes of the enemy that purpose to destroy families.

Luke 1:46-47 “And Mary said: ‘My soul glorifies the Lord 47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…’”

From this first two verses of what is more popularly known as ‘The Magnificat’, Mary exemplifies what true worship is. She shows that true worship is internal. By using synonymous terms such as ’soul’ and ’spirit’ she expresses what is in the totality of her inner being.

True worship is not about the religious practices and the other external things. It is about what happens in our minds, hearts and will as we express our love to God. So let us not be carreless and superficial as we go about the things that a Christian must do. Remember, God sees what is in our hearts and that’s what matters the most.

I have read somewhere that in the year 2007, advertisers paid a total of $259 billion to advertise in the internet. Advertising is really a big business and there are many ways to advertise online. Some advertisers use ad services, sharing revenue with them through pay-per-click or pay-per-action schemes. Other advertisers go direct to web site owners, making their proposal and hoping that their target web site accepts their offer.

But a more aggressive method of advertising in the internet is through blog advertising. Advertisers advertise on blogs because they understand that search engines give more weight to links in blog posts than those on the footer or sidebar. Blog advertising is also utilized by publishers in search engine optimization.

There are many services online that specialize in blog advertising. One of them is PayingPost.com. This web site is a blog advertising service for advertisers an also plays the role of a paid-to-blog service for bloggers. Their web site is like a melting pot for advertisers and bloggers because in their network, these two parties are brought and paired together with both of the party’s mutual agreement.

This fresh and innovative service for bloggers and advertisers provide great contribution and help to both parties - increasing the financial gains of both. They are so sincerely concerned for both parties that they provide helpful articles about the benefits of blog advertising. I have mentioned just a few of them above but you can learn more from their articles on advetising products, services or any information on advertising on blogs.

I encourage you to pay a visit to PayingPost.com. If you see or read something you like I would further exhort you to register, either as an advertiser to find assistance in promoting your site, or as a blogger, to learn to make money by writing reviews. Go ahead, visit them now.