CHRISTIAN LITERATURE
& LIVING

CONTENTS

WISH YOU MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Tidal waves killed many thousands of people in Asia and caused damage to property. In this dark hour, we pray that the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all those who survived and their families. May the love of Jesus be shown and practically extended to all expeditiously.

• ROYALTY CLOTHED IN PEASANTRY by ... Bill Kish
  Under the cover of darkness, the king left the palace grounds unnoticed and wandered down the paths that led to the city and the bazaars below. Veiled in common attire, he entered into a chaay Khana. Already late, he ordered a pot of tea and, hoping to spend the night, asked for some bedding.
• PHILIPPIANS 2 : 9-13
  Live With Heaven in Mind by ...
  Pastor Dave Strem with James W. Skeen
  When it looks like the curtain has come down on a tragedy and tears are running down your face because you do not like what is happening, I want you to know that instead of the lights going out, God raises the curtain again because it is not over. ... As we look around our problem infested world, it may look like death and evil win, but there is more to the story. And if you miss it, you miss the purpose, direction, and hope that God wants to give your life. Not just at the end, but through each and every day as you walk toward that end.
• ISSUES IN MISSIONARY TRAINING - AS THE FATHER HAS SENT ME by ... Alec Brooks
  There is a real danger, I believe, in having a missionary Training Center, a place where there is a great deal of emphasis on missions. There is also danger in having Missionary Conferences. The danger, I think, is that as we become aware of needs and opportunities in the world, we develop a sense of responsibility that may become the primary reason for our being involved in missions. ... I have never met anyone who left the mission field because there was a lack of opportunity to serve God.
• THE RETAIL CHURCH by ... Chris Thron
  Modern suburban American churches are based on what might be called, the "department store" model. Like retail stores, churches cut costs and expand their facilities by moving out of neighborhoods and drawing on a larger "customer base". Also like department stores, each church has its own distinctives (denominational, musical, racial, or political) which appeal to a particular "market".
• ABRAHAM'S, DANIEL'S & NOAH'S SECRET by ... Harold Brokke
  Righteousness must be established if God's rule and power is to be experienced, and the righteousness that means anything to God only comes when repentant men and women believe from their hearts in the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ. ... What is it to be righteous before God? ... Now his righteousness before God is not proved by the fact that he preaches or has a public ministry. No, his righteousness is seen by God. God sees his heart and sees that his aim is to love God and to trust His Son Jesus Christ.
• WILLIAM TYNDALE - THE WORD OF GOD IN EVERY TONGUE by ... Steven Wakeman
  "I wish that the Scriptures might be translated into all languages, so that not only the Scots and the Irish but also the Turk and the Saracen might read and understand them. I long that the farm-laborer might sing them as he follows his plow, the weaver hum them to the tune of his shuttle, the traveler beguile the weariness of his journey with their stories." "Tyndale was writing for ordinary men and women reading the Greek New Testament in English to themselves, and to each other, round the table, in the parlor, under the hedges, in the fields; not for those obediently sitting in rows in stone churches being done good to by the squire at the lectern"
• THE STORY OF A STORY TELLER - George Macdonald's Ministry of Stories by ... Mary Reeder
  If I were to say, "George Macdonald was an amazing man ..." most Christians today would just give me a blank stare. For your average Christian, this name means nothing, and to me that is a profound sadness. You see George Macdonald truly was an amazing man, and he had more impact on today's Christian world than most people realize. He touched the world of his day intensely, and in so doing crossed the barriers of time to touch our world as well.
• SEE YOU SMILING AT ME FROM THE RAINBOW by ... Swarna Thirumalai
  Then will my mourning turn to joy, my feet begin dancing, my Christ
  My apathy fade, as I call you Abba again without hindrance
  I'll lift my heart and hands to worship you, my sweet Lord
  Can I one day love you with the same passion you have loved me with?
• I STOOD AT THE MANGER by ... Ken Reedy
  In thought I stood at the manger today,
  I saw God's Son asleep on the hay;
  Tears in my eyes, what could I say?
  I saw the inn and keeper who turned Him away.

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