PastorBlastor

As Silent Nights Go By Pastor Lee Hemen December 19, 2020 As silent nights go, it was nothing new; Only noted by a chosen few. The evening breeze blew soft that night, And stars twinkled in heavenly delight.      Shepherds watched their flocks in fields, Covered themselves from the cold to shield. While in a little town in a manger lay, A small baby boy tucked in soft brown hay. Near his crude crib his father knelt, His young mother in wonder felt; Her son so tiny chosen to be, The one who’d come to set captives free. Back in the fields angels sing, Hallelujahs to the Godly king! Born that day in the tiny town, A baby wears a heavenly crown. The shepherds rush to the manger scene, To tell the parents of what they’d seen. The mother wonders at what it meant, About her son that God has sent. How could it be that one so small, Born in a simple manger stall, Could be the savior of all mankind That even wise men would seek to find? And yet the carols we still sing, Of the baby born a heaven

Ramblings from Retirement: Language Is More than Words! By Lee Hemen (retired pastor) December 7, 2020 People sure are loose with their language in our day. Not just with the foul-mouthed verbiage they use but with the excuses they make in order to justify their ungodly actions. It reminds me of King Saul and how he tried to use excuses and words to justify his own rebellion to God. He was told by Samuel, God’s spokesman (prophet), to “attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.” Now to our “sensitive” ears that may sound harsh, judgmental, and unjustified but it wasn't. We often try to judge history with our own preconceived notions of what is justified today but to do so is to error big time. We dare not judge people in history by today’s standards and especially God. He had pretty good reasons for why he wanted the Amalekites destroyed. God kn