Responses:

Melvine plans to attend a Wedding Ceremony on Saturday
What an amazing testimony!

Joyce McKay
+++++
​Advent Devotional Week 1: Victory in Jesus

Sounds wonderful. Thank you.
Darlene Riley 
+++

Brother Hugh and Sister Melvine, Merry Christmas and a very happy and peaceful Advent seasons and a happy New Year! Jean and I think of you all (Greg, too) often . . . you are in our prayers!

Elwood Long
+++++
I love reading about your testimony of God's coming into your home, healing Melvine and blessing you this Christmas. Much love from Don and Rose Keep up the good work. Fight the good fight. Eternity awaits us. Praise His Holy Name. Merry Christmas!

Rose Gentilini 

Matthew 1:18-25 How the birth of Jesus Christ came about

18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the Name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins." 

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 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." 

24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a Son. And he gave Him the Name Jesus. 
NIV

As cop is issuing a ticket to the teenage smart-aleck boy, the kid says, "Do you know who my father is?"

The cop without missing a beat says, "Perhaps you should start by asking your mom."

Thank you for being amazing subscribers/readers of Hugh's News

It is by God's Grace Hugh's News continues to Publish News.
 
It is through the grace of God and the generous support of our subscribers and readers that Hugh's News has continued to be a viable non-profit newsletter for 22 years. In January 2020, we will begin our 23rd year of publishing the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and news you enjoy getting.

Thank you for generously supporting Hugh's News, Inc.

Your faithful prayers and giving have helped sustain this ministry. As you begin thinking about the year ahead, we’re asking if you’ll prayerfully consider one of the most impactful ways to partner with Hugh's News all year long.

We are grateful for our monthly givers. However, we need more to step up to the plate and give on a monthly basis.

Will you consider becoming a monthly Hugh's News supporter? With an automatic, recurring gift, you’ll be engaged in one of the most exciting adventures of your life as you assist me in carrying on this ministry of Hugh's News.

Here's how you can give to Hugh's News:

Please Click Here to find out how you can be a partner in giving.

This Thanksgiving Season is a good time to show your gratitude for this ministry that is serving IPHC ministries and the body of Christ worldwide.

May I encourage you to invite a friend or family member to subscribe to Hugh's News. Each person has to do so for himself. Have them go to our website: www.hughsnews.com. We ask only two questions: your name and email address. Each person will be sent an email immediately to which he or she must respond to to complete the subscription. Let's make 2020 a banner year for new subscribers and greater coverage of IPHC news and inspirational messages. 

With God nothing is impossible.​

Only God could have arranged it. We know He brought us together in 1957 at a revival service in Appomattox, VA. It was during a snowstorm, but she and her neighbors came from Draper, NC that evening to hear our quartet from Holmes Bible College sing and preach. 

The quartet was composed of Roland Harrell, Eddie Woods, Willard Wagner, and Hugh Morgan.

Daneel le Roux, a school teacher, was filling the pulpit for this local Pentecostal Holiness Church to help the Conference Superintendent, The Rev. Mr. Dewey Yeatts, provide leadership for this country church. When it was my turn to play a trombone solo "Overshadowed" I saw Melvine sitting in the congregation. It was love at first sight, and I said to myself, "I am going to marry that beautiful woman."

After almost three years of courtship, Melvine and I were married on Saturday, August 13, 1960.

It so happens that my birthday is December 15, 1932. I was born in Birmingham, Alabama. Melvine was born on December 16, 1934, in Leaksville, North Carolina.  I will be 87 years old, and Melvine will be 85 years old.

We were both blessed to be born in Christian homes and our parents members of the Pentecostal Holiness Church.

If you wish to send Birthday Cards you may write us at this mailing address:

Hugh & Melvine Morgan
17 Sweet Apple Lane
Winder, GA 30680

Thank you for standing with us through Melvine's bout with ovarian cancer. God is healing her. It is amazing what is happening. She was given five months to live in August of 2019.  This is the fifth month. Although Melvine is on Hospice Home Care, God is doing a creative work of healing Melvine of all cancer cells from the inside of her abdomen. Doctors are pondering her miraculous recovering and healing. The day will come when the oncologist will have to announce Melvine is cancer free. 

Whatever happens, we will continue to praise the Lord of Glory, the King of kings, the Lamb of God, and Emmanuel, God with us. Jesus is His Name. Without Him we would be nothing. All things are possible to those who believe in Him and His Word that will never lose it's power to be fulfilled. He is the Living Logos.  John in His Gospel wrote, the the Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood" (John 1:14). May the Word (Jesus Christ of Nazareth) move into all of our neighborhoods.

Melvine and I believe that Jesus still makes house calls. He has come to our home to touch Melvine and heal her.

​Have you heard what happened recently in a Texas courtroom?

Author: Chuck Swindoll

Insight for Living Ministries

Dear Hugh:

Not long ago, something happened here in Texas that made waves around the nation. It occurred during the trial of a former police officer who claimed to have entered the wrong apartment after returning home from work. According to her testimony, she opened the door, saw the apartment’s rightful resident, believed he was an intruder, and shot and killed him. After hearing her case, the jury found her guilty of murder.

Then something amazing happened in that courtroom.

The victim’s 18-year-old brother took the stand to give an impact statement. On earth, this young man will never see his older brother again, never hear his voice or receive his advice or laugh with him. Their family will never again celebrate Christmas together.

Yet, face-to-face with the woman who took his brother’s life, this young man said these remarkable words:

I don’t want to say twice or for the one-hundredth time . . . how much you’ve taken from us. I think you know that . . . If you truly are sorry . . . I forgive you. And I know if you go to God and ask Him, He will forgive you . . . I love you just like anyone else. And I’m not gonna say I hope you rot and die, just like my brother did . . . I don’t even want you to go to jail. I want the best for you . . . And the best would be, give your life to Christ.
When he finished, he asked the judge if he could hug his brother’s murderer. The judge said, “Yes.” The former officer ran into the young man’s embrace with tears streaming down her face.

WOW.

This astounding expression of grace can only happen through the power of the Holy Spirit. Watching it took me back to that first time I ran into the arms of the Lord Jesus Christ to accept God’s forgiveness, fully aware that I didn’t deserve it and could never have earned it. It spurs me on in our mission at Insight for Living Ministries to proclaim God’s grace in all 195 nations and 6,875 languages.

[Editor's Comment: What a compelling story of God's amazing grace and forgiveness that can be given when we have been severely injured and left without a loved one. Chuck Swindoll and I are both veteran Marines and we are about the same age. I will be 87 years old on December 15, 2019. I was born in Birmingham, Alabama on December 15, 1932. Chuck and I desire to see people saved and brought into the Kingdom of God.]

​Retiring NAE head Leith Anderson: Evangelicals not just white or political

Leith Anderson has president of the National Association of Evangelicals since 2006. RNS photo by Adelle M. Banks

Author: Adelle M. Banks

WASHINGTON (RNS) —  Leith Anderson is a fan of the word "evangelical" and the Christians who claim that name. 

But he knows the term may have outlived its usefulness in a polarized country where evangelical has often become a synonym for conservative Republican.

“I like the word ‘evangelical.’ I would like it to stand for what I think it has always stood for,” the retiring president of the National Association of Evangelicals said in a recent (Nov. 19) interview. “But if people want to abandon the term, let them abandon the term. That's really not what matters. What really matters is their faith and their practice.”

Anderson, who has been NAE president since 2006, has worked to help people understand the diversity of what and who evangelicals are. He's done so in the face of public polls showing that “white evangelicals” are among the most ardent supporters of President Donald Trump and his policies.

RELATED: National Association of Evangelicals names new president, diverse leadership

The longtime pastor wants evangelicals to be defined by their faith — not their politics.

“I want the standard to be what the Bible teaches, not what the polls report,” he said.

John Fea, professor of history at Messiah College, said Anderson has successfully balanced the NAE’s stances — advocating for comprehensive immigration reform, welcoming refugees and opposing racism while supporting traditional marriage and opposing abortion.

But Anderson, whom Fea called a “quiet spokesman” with a pastoral heart, has been overshadowed by fellow evangelicals Franklin Graham and Jerry Falwell Jr.  Those two are often seen as public faces of evangelicals and more likely to be quoted in the media.

“It’s a very awkward place,” said Fea, author of “Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump.” “It doesn’t fit well in talk radio or the talking heads screaming at each other on cable news.”

Under Anderson’s leadership, NAE worked with LifeWay Research to develop a statistical understanding of the diversity among U.S. evangelicals and found that 44% of African Americans, 30% of Hispanic Americans and 29% of whites can be defined as evangelical.

“So the reality is, in absolute numbers there are a lot more white evangelicals, but in terms of if you meet somebody in the street, an African American Christian is much more likely to be an evangelical,” he said.

Anderson is part of a long history — 75 years as of 2018 — in which the evangelical organization has sought to be a centrist voice between more liberal and more fundamentalist Protestants. The organization currently has 40 member denominations along with a wide array of member organizations, from Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church to the missions network Missio Nexus.

During his tenure as president, Anderson, 75, has continued to press for more diversity in the NAE, which has been a long-term concern for the organization. Billy Graham acknowledged the need for greater attention to racial justice in a 1960s speech at an annual NAE meeting, and three decades later then-NAE President Donald Argue said the membership was “too old, too male, and too white.”

Last month (October), with Anderson’s encouragement, the NAE board transformed the look of his organization’s future leadership. The Rev. Walter Kim, an Asian American theologian, will succeed Anderson as president on Jan. 1. John Jenkins, the African American leader of a Maryland megachurch, and former Wesleyan Church General Superintendent Jo Anne Lyon will start as chair and vice chair, respectively, on March 5.

Kim, an NAE board member since 2013, said Anderson has helped the organization determine what it can say jointly about issues such as immigration reform and creation care by “being able to figure out what is the central shared biblical concern and to focus in on that and to develop a consensus.”

That has not always been easy.

As president, Anderson defended Richard Cizik when a group of non-NAE members urged the board to ask Cizik, who was NAE's vice president of governmental affairs at the time, to tone down his environmental activism or resign.

Eventually, Cizik lost his job after stating his support for civil unions in an NPR interview.

Cizik told Religion News Service that he considers Anderson someone who would take a few steps back from any line that might cause difficulty if the NAE crossed it.

“He was averse personally, and I think professionally, to controversy,” said Cizik, who worked at NAE for 28 years. “And in my case, Richard represented controversy and controversy represents a threat to survival.”

Cizik, along with Fea, said he wished that Anderson, as NAE’s leader, would speak out about other matters, including “Trump’s violations of Biblical morality” such as telling untruths.
​
“We speak for our constituency,” Anderson said. “Our constituency has a range of political views."

Anderson did acknowledge that the NAE lost a few denominational members when it took its stance on immigration.

Jenkins, the incoming chair, said the NAE’s immigration position is probably “a lot more compassionate” than Trump’s policies. But, he added, the organization has never been one to fight politicians.

“I don’t think they’ve ever been hostile or against political leaders,” said Jenkins, an NAE board member since 2008. “They try to influence them, is what they try to do or what we try to do, as opposed to fighting them or making ourselves their enemy.”

Anderson has been willing to collaborate with those who share common causes with the NAE. That includes serving on then-President Barack Obama’s advisory council on faith-based programs.

“The primary emphasis of that advisory council was human trafficking,” Anderson said of the group that included representatives of Jewish and Mormon faiths as well as the predominantly gay Metropolitan Community Churches. “We all care about stopping human trafficking.”

Joshua DuBois, executive director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships when Anderson served as a presidential adviser, recalled how the evangelical leader also worked with the administration to address issues such as immigration reform.

Anderson appeared as a front-row personal guest when Obama addressed the topic at a 2010 speech at American University.

RELATED: Evangelical leader to retire from Minn. pulpit

“That was just a major show of support,” recalled DuBois, now CEO of a consulting firm and a market research firm. “No one would ever say that Leith compromised his faith and his pastoral and organizational leadership to work with us — he certainly did not — but he was willing to show up and be there in support of a Democratic president on an issue that impacts a lot of people.”

Shirley Hoogstra, president of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, said she’s appreciated Anderson’s inclusive approach within his own organization.

“He’s created that big tent by giving a voice and representation that is marked by civility, honesty and respect,” she said. “For instance, he has been particularly conscious of making sure that not only are churches represented but organizations are represented and persons of color and women and men.”

Anderson's aversion to taking sides on political issues dates back to his time as pastor of the 5,000-member Wooddale Church outside Minneapolis. He led that congregation for 35 years before retiring in 2011. Some of his time in the pastorate overlapped with his work as NAE president.

“I don't recall Leith ever directly addressing political or policy issues from the pulpit,” former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said in an email message. “My sense is he viewed his role in that regard as staying focused on teaching Scripture.”

As pastor of Wooddale, a church affiliated with the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference, Anderson helped start nine other churches of various denominations. He and his wife, Charleen, now attend one of those churches, which was founded in 2003 after the couple bought a cabin in north central Minnesota and met their next-door neighbors.

“We started a Bible study on Memorial Day weekend and another couple was invited — there were six of us,” Anderson said of Timberwood Church. “By Labor Day weekend there were 127 in the Bible study. We continued through the school year, changed it into a church at Easter, and now they have a thousand people every weekend in a town of 1900.”

As he looks toward retirement, he’ll be leaving behind his practice of bringing NAE board meetings to order by reciting a Shakespearean soliloquy or a portion of the Gettysburg Address. He plans to lecture and continue serving on boards of evangelical groups such as the relief organization World Vision and the mentoring ministry Navigators.

“I'm pleased with the best of strong evangelicalism in America and around the world,” he said, pointing to the example of evangelical medical doctors who stayed put when Ebola was discovered in West Africa. “I don't claim to have done that but I take delight in that. And I guess if I have a regret, it's that evangelicalism is too often not known for that, but too often known for political and other identifications.”

​Talk Yourself into It

Author: Bob Shafer

Today’s Scripture:

“You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you; and light will shine on your ways.”
JOB 22:28 NASB

In Genesis 17, when Sarah first heard the news that she was going to have a baby, the Scripture says it was so far out she began to laugh. She was in her nineties, so it seemed impossible from every angle. You can just hear her saying, “Abraham, a baby? Are you kidding? I’ve gone through the change of life. That defies the laws of nature.” She was saying, “I’m at a disadvantage. I don’t have what it takes.” She was belittling herself, discounting herself. She was burying the promise deep within her.

When you think about it, it’s just as easy to talk yourself into something as it is to talk yourself out of it. Instead of thinking of all the reasons why you can’t get well, why you can’t accomplish a dream, why your marriage is not going to last, and talking yourself out of it, start talking yourself into it! “I can do all things through Christ. God is making a way even though I don’t see a way. I’m anointed, equipped, talented, more than a conqueror.”

The more you speak God’s Word, the more you believe it. When you believe God’s Word, it comes to pass in your life. Start today by declaring His promises. Feed your faith and move forward into the victory and blessing He has in store for you!

A Prayer for Today
Father, thank You for Your continued faithfulness in my life. I choose to believe Your promises over the negative words and circumstances. You are a God who cannot lie. Even when it seems impossible, I know all things are possible with You. I choose to declare Your truth and talk myself into believing You instead of doubting. I declare I am anointed, equipped, talented, and more than a conqueror in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Wake-Up Thought
It’s a simple truth that you cannot give birth to something you have not first conceived. You must conceive it on the inside through your eyes of faith before it will come to pass on the outside. We need to quit allowing our imaginations to keep us beaten down to where we don’t think we can do anything. Instead, let’s start allowing God to use our imaginations to build us up, to help us accomplish our dreams.

[Editor's Comment: Bob Shafer is a friend of mine. He has ministered to my family and me. He took time out of his busy schedule to fly to Atlanta, rent a car, and drive to our home in Winder, GA in a time of great need. He loves to invest in others, and God uses him in special ways to minister to people of all ages, church backgrounds, and various occupations or professional careers. He always lifts up Jesus, and His love for our Lord is his motivating source in touching the lives of others. He is known for his laughter. Everytime I talk with Bob it isn't long before I will be laughing with him. Laughter is a good thing. It is like medicine to the soul and spirit.]

​Walk Through This Open Door and Unleash Holy Spirit Power

Author: Mikel French 

While flying today, I heard someone wish another passenger a merry Christmas for the first time this year, and it lit up my spirit like the tree at Rockefeller Center. Two thousand years have passed since the miraculous birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and Christmas is still—and always will be—the season of Holy Spirit opportunity.

Of course, Christmas is when we celebrate that Jesus was born to a virgin to give every person on Earth the opportunity to receive eternal, abundant life. But before Jesus was ever born, God invited Mary to choose to believe the words spoken to her by an angel. He beckoned Joseph to believe that what was happening in Mary's body was of the Holy Spirit.

God gave Mary and Joseph these opportunities, these choices, to believe, and once they accepted, no one could derail the plan God had for them. As He did for Mary and Joseph, God has set before you opportunities of significance with powerful consequences that will impact generations for His kingdom.

The power of the Holy Spirit has led many men and women of God to stand on this extraordinary verse of Scripture written to the church of Philadelphia: "I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it" (Rev. 3:8). The term "open door" in this passage is connected to the word opportunity. If you will accept God's invitation and if you will choose to believe, it will unleash miraculous, Holy Spirit power in your life and ministry.

This season, I encourage you to ask yourself:

—What opportunities has God set before me?

—Have I walked through all those open doors, or have I been hesitating?

—From which Holy Spirit invitations have I been withholding my RSVP, and why?

And then:

Related Articles
Why the Enemy Has No Chance Against This Powerful Holy Spirit Weapon
This Simple Act Can Lead You to Supernatural, Holy Spirit-Inspired Faith

—Am I ready to trust the Spirit of God and step through the doors He has opened for me, knowing He will empower me for all good works, comfort my heart when I am afraid and guide me every step of the way?

—If not, what will I do in the coming weeks so that I can confidently say yes to that question?

As Paul so eloquently wrote, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit" (Rom. 8:1). If you know there are callings and opportunities you have been avoiding, don't wallow in regret, shame or fear. Remember that the Holy Spirit is always there to lift you out of despair and strengthen your heart. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you stand and walk through the open door in front of you, and you can trust that He will never leave your side.

God is doing something profound and powerful by His Holy Spirit, and He wants you to join Him. It's time to get ready to step through the open door!

You're beautiful. I see Jesus in you. Have a great week! 

[Mikel French has challenged spiritual awakening all across America, where many celebrations extended into multiple weeks, and has conducted celebrations in France, Sweden, Russia, Romania, Poland, Ukraine, Moldova, Serbia, Germany, South Africa, Malawi, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Haiti, Japan, Singapore, India and Thailand. He conducted an outreach celebration in Manila, Philippines, reaching 200,000 teenagers with the book of hope. Through the generous support of partners, he has presented the message of Jesus Christ to millions of people in the nation of Russia through televised citywide soul-winning celebrations. Mikel considers it an honor to assist in conducting the annual pastor's conference, where thousands of pastors from Russia's 11 time zones come for training, teaching and equipping. Mikel and his wife, Marsha, reside in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

10 Common Reasons People Stop Going to Church as Often
Author: Chuck Lawless 

Over my years as a pastor, I notice when faithful church members begin to "fade away" from their consistent involvement and faithfulness.

When I've followed up with them, I've discovered multiple causes for their changed attendance patterns. Here are 10 that I've most commonly heard:

1. "I'm having some physical problems." Illness can be debilitating—and some folks are so private that they'd rather avoid people than talk about what they're facing.
2. "I'm taking care of my ailing loved one." This cause may be as common as the first one, especially when the ailing family member is a parent, a spouse or a child.
3. "I'm mad at [church member], and I don't want to run into them at church." I'm amazed that some people make this call to avoid church altogether, but I've seen it happen when the conflict is hot.
4. "The pastor hurt me." As a pastor, I know I haven't always ministered well. It hasn't happened often, but I still grieve losing church members I unintentionally (and sometimes unknowingly) hurt.
5. "We're having a lot of problems at home." Sometimes, only God knows what's going on behind the closed doors of church members whose homes seem almost perfect in public. Struggling marriages and wayward children can keep people from church at times.
6. "I've changed jobs" or "I've had to pick up a second job to help pay our bills." My experience is that it's the latter one that most people don't talk about. Few people want to admit financial struggles, so they choose to bear the burden without a church family.
7. "I'm really angry at God." I've seen this emotion when a marriage has broken up, a child is terminally ill or prayers go unanswered. People angry at God don't usually want to come to church to worship Him.
8. "We're traveling a lot." Perhaps it's vacation, work or youth sports that require the time away from church. Whatever it is, I suspect it's happening in many, many churches.
9. "I'm not sure I believe the Bible anymore." I'm hearing from more and more young people—including many who've been raised in church—who feel this way. Attending church no longer matters to these folks.
10. "We're looking for a new church." We usually learn this information after a family is already looking for a new congregation. Any of these above reasons, however, can contribute to this one.

What other reasons might you add to this list? 

[Chuck Lawless is dean of doctoral studies and vice president of spiritual formation and ministry centers at Southeastern Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, where he also serves as professor of evangelism and missions. In addition, he is team leader for theological education strategists for the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.]

Related Articles
7 Key Reasons Your Church Attendance May Be Declining
Why Most Churches Don’t Exceed 350 in Average Attendance

For the original article, visit chucklawless.com.

​Grandpa was telling his young grandson what life was like when he was a boy.

"In the winter we’d ice skate on our pond. In the summer we could swim in the pond, and pick berries in the woods. We’d swing on an old tire my dad hung from a tree on a rope. And we had a pony we rode all over the farm."

The little boy was amazed, and sat silently for a minute.

Finally he said, "Granddad, I wish I'd gotten to know you a lot sooner!"

Melvine's improvement is being talked about with doctors in Athens. God has given Melvine a testimony of her faith in God Who fulfills His promises. She is claiming the promises of God recorded in the Bible. God is honoring His Word and He is healing Melvine of all cancer. 

God is a Good God. We believe it is God's Will to heal everyone. Peter tells us that with the stripes of Jesus we have been healed. The work of Jesus Christ has been completed and God's healing virtue is now available to heal everyone.

I love the hymn that says,

Trust and obey
For there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus.
​but to trust and obey.

Thank you for being amazing subscribers/readers of Hugh's News

It is by God's Grace Hugh's News continues to Publish News.
 
It is through the grace of God and the generous support of our subscribers and readers that Hugh's News has continued to be a viable non-profit newsletter for 22 years. In January 2020, we will begin our 23rd year of publishing the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and news you enjoy getting.

Thank you for generously supporting Hugh's News, Inc.

Your faithful prayers and giving have helped sustain this ministry. As you begin thinking about the year ahead, we’re asking if you’ll prayerfully consider one of the most impactful ways to partner with Hugh's News all year long.

We are grateful for our monthly givers. However, we need more to step up to the plate and give on a monthly basis.

Will you consider becoming a monthly Hugh's News supporter? With an automatic, recurring gift, you’ll be engaged in one of the most exciting adventures of your life as you assist me in carrying on this ministry of Hugh's News.

Here's how you can give to Hugh's News:

Please Click Here to find out how you can be a partner in giving.

This Thanksgiving Season is a good time to show your gratitude for this ministry that is serving IPHC ministries and the body of Christ worldwide.

May I encourage you to invite a friend or family member to subscribe to Hugh's News. Each person has to do so for himself. Have them go to our website: www.hughsnews.com. We ask only two questions: your name and email address. Each person will be sent an email immediately to which he or she must respond to to complete the subscription. Let's make 2020 a banner year for new subscribers and greater coverage of IPHC news and inspirational messages. 

With God nothing is impossible.​

One Life

​Author: Anne Graham Lotz

"If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9, NKJ).
​
Today, in a world where the role models are entertainers, athletes and politicians, many of whom lack morals, integrity and even common decency . . . in a world where no one seems to stand for anything unless it is to stand for selfish, self-serving rights . . . in a world where anything is compromised if it impedes success . . . in a world where pleasure takes priority over principles . . . in a world where we care more about public opinion than about what God thinks . . . in a world where there are no absolutes, where what is right is what works or what feels good . . . in a world where character no longer seems to count . . . In such a world, the testimony of one life lived for Christ is powerful! One life cleansed through faith in the blood of Jesus. One life that confesses, “Jesus is Lord.” One life that has the courage to stand for godly convictions in the midst of moral compromise. One life that tells the truth. One life that lives the truth. One life that lifts high the Light!

You can be that one life!

Anne Graham Lotz

Copyright © 2014 Anne Graham Lotz (AnGeL Ministries) Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved www.annegrahamlotz.org.

​​Faith to Believe

​Bishop Doug Beacham's message for Advent series for week two.
​Please Click Here to see and hear Bishop Beacham Message for this second week in Advent.

This is one we need to hear so when we believe God's Word and proclaim it, God will fulfill it in our lives.

Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:13, 14).

Isaiah told Ahaz in Isaiah 7:9, “If you will not believe, Surely you shall not be established.” God wants us to say, “Yes, I believe your word.” If we say yes, God will “Amen” us; He will establish His word in our lives.

Just as Ahaz believed the foretelling of Christ’s birth, let us stand in faith that His word will be established in our lives this Christmas.

video image
Advent 2019 Week Two

​Freshen Up Your Attitude

Author: Bob Shafer

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 4
"And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude]…"
Ephesians 4:23 AMP

Sometimes your body will not get well until your mind tells it to get well. You won’t accomplish your dreams by thinking, “I never get any good breaks. I don’t know the right people. I don’t have the funds or the education.” You have to give yourself permission to accomplish your dreams, permission to get out of debt, and permission to overcome the obstacle. Your better days begin in your thinking.

Studies show that when you are negative and think sad, discouraging thoughts, your serotonin level goes down, and that causes you to feel sad. It’s not just in your head. It affects your moods. But when you get up each day in a positive frame of mind, feeling hopeful and expecting good things, endorphins are released that make you feel happy. You will have more energy, because being positive puts a spring in your step.

If you go around with negative thoughts, they will drain you of your energy and zeal. It’s like a big vacuum pulling out all the good things that God put in you. You’d be amazed at how much better you’d feel and how much more you’d accomplish if you’d just switch over to this positive mind-set. You have to think positive thoughts on purpose. “This is going to be a great day. This is my year. I’m expecting an abundance of favor.”

The Scripture says, “Put on a fresh new attitude.” I’ve found yesterday’s attitude is not good enough for today. Every morning you have to consciously adopt a fresh attitude by thinking things like: “I’m going to be happy today. I’m going to be good to people. I’m going to go with the flow and not get upset. God is in control. He’s directing my steps. No obstacle is too big. I am well able to do what I’m called to do.”

That fresh new attitude will put you in God’s jet stream. You will accomplish things that you could not accomplish on your own. You’ll be more productive. You’ll have more wisdom, creativity, and good ideas. You will overcome obstacles that were bigger, stronger, and more powerful.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, thank You that I can enter into the flow of positive, faith-filled thoughts of victory. I choose to start seeing the best in situations. I believe that as I dwell on Your Word that my mind will be renewed and my life will be transformed. Amen.

TODAY’S THOUGHT
When you put on a fresh new attitude of faith, you are opening the door for God to work in your situation. You may not see anything happening with your natural eyes, but in the spiritual world, God is at work. And if you’ll do your part and keep believing, at the right time, God will bring you out with the victory.

When a Jew-Bashing Christian Leader Makes Jesus Look Bad
Author: Michael Brown

On Nov. 26, an Orthodox Jewish news outlet ran this attention-grabbing headline: "WATCH THIS SHOCKING HATE: Christian TV Host Rick Wiles Calls Impeachment A 'JEW-COUP.'"

Tragically, once again, in the eyes of religious Jews, the word "Christian" is associated with the word "hate." And once again, the name of Jesus has been dishonored by one of His bigoted followers. What a terrible shame.

Of course, this story is not new. Rather, it has been repeated time and again for more than 1,500 years, to this very day. A Christian leader bashes the Jewish people, or, worse still, commits acts of discrimination or violence against them, as a result of which Jesus Himself looks ugly in the eyes of the Jewish people.

In the words of Nicolai Berdyaev, "Christians set themselves between the Messiah and the Jews, hiding from the latter the authentic image of the Savior."

And that's why Jewish philosopher Eliezer Berkovits, writing several decades after the Holocuast, spoke of the "the moral bankruptcy of Christian civilization and the spiritual bankruptcy of Christian religion," charges that are highly exaggerated yet seem accurate in the eyes of many Jews.

Of course, anyone familiar with church history can point to an endless chain of positive, world-improving actions of Christians throughout the ages, including extraordinary acts of compassion and self-sacrifice.

To this moment, Christians around the world lead the way in doing good, building hospitals, caring for orphans, feeding the poor and launching education programs, just to mention a few. And some of the saintliest people on the planet are committed Christians, people who recoil at the hateful words of people like Rick Wiles.

But church history is also littered with sinful acts against Jews, from demonizing them in sermons to herding them into ghettos and from offering them baptism or death to working hand in hand with the Nazis. And it is that part of church history many Jews know by heart.

What is especially grievous to me, as a Jewish follower of Jesus since 1971, is that a few bad apples make the rest of us look bad. And in this case, the anti-Semitic rants of Rick Wiles and TruNews, an evangelical, online news network, might make more of an impression than the loving words and deeds of millions of other Christians.

I have been sounding the alarm about TruNews all this year (see here and here), trying to engage them in private or public dialogue or debate, to no avail. Now all that is left to do is rebuke them publicly for their dangerous rhetoric.

Earlier this year, Wiles claimed that "the Jews" owned Donald Trump and the White House, while also claiming that "the Jews" owned the evangelical Christian leaders who had surrounded Trump.

Now, Wiles claims that "the Jews ... are deceivers, they plot, they lie, they do whatever they have to do to accomplish their political agenda. This 'impeach Trump' effort is a Jew coup and the American people better wake up to it really fast because this thing is moving now toward a vote in the House and then a trial in the Senate. We could have a trial before Christmas."

Oh, those evil Jews! It appears they can't even make up their own minds. First, they own Trump, who is really controlled by his Jewish son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Now, they want to get rid of Trump.

That's why the aforementioned religious Jewish news outlet noted, "Someone should remind this neo-Nazi that Orthodox Jews just donated millions to Trump's reelection campaign in an event attended by hundreds of Yarmulka-wearing Jews."

So, which is it? Jews are supporting Trump or Jews are trying to oust Trump?

As I penned this article, I received an email from my friend Rabbi Shmuley Boteach linked to this Breitbart headline: "Rabbi Shmuley: Jews Are Thankful that Trump Recognized Our Biblical Connection to Judea and Samaria."

It looks like a whole bunch of Jews are glad to have Trump in the White House (including a higher percentage of Israeli Jews than American Jews). But TruNews cannot be bothered by facts. Whatever the Jews do is evil, and they must be demonized as a group.

Wiles then sounds this ominous alarm: "This country could be in civil war at Christmastime. Members of the U.S. military are going to have to take a stand just like they did in the 1860s with the Civil War. They are going to have to decide: are you fighting for the North or the South? People are going to be forced, possibly by this Christmas, to take a stand because of this Jew coup in the United States."

And yet there is more, as Wiles closes with this fear-inducing warning that could easily lead unstable people to commit acts of violence against their evil enemies, the Jews. He said, "This is a coup led by Jews to overthrow the constitutionally elected president of the United States and it's beyond removing Donald Trump, it's removing you and me. That's what's at the heart of it. You have been taken over by a Jewish cabal.

"The church of Jesus Christ, you're next. Get it through your head! They're coming for you. There will be a purge. That's the next thing that happens when Jews take over a country, they kill millions."

What absolute rubbish. And what dangerous rubbish at that. May these words find their way into the trash heap of ideas, and may they be forgotten as quickly as they were spoken.

I encourage every Christian reader to tell your Jewish friends that Rick Wiles does not speak for you. That you utterly repudiate such words. That you recognize this as a dangerous example of modern-day anti-Semitism. And that this spirit is the opposite of the spirit of Jesus and the New Testament.

And while we pray that God would grant Rick Wiles and his team true repentance, we should shun him and his network until that time comes.



[Dr. Michael Brown (www.askdrbrown.org) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program. His latest book is Jezebel 's War With America: The Plot to Destroy Our Country and What We Can Do to Turn the Tide. Connect with him on Facebook or Twitter, or YouTube.

The Most Purposeful Birth in History
The baby in the manger was God Himself

Author: Alex McFarland   
   
One of our favorite Christmas rituals is the setting out of a manger scene that has been in our family for generations. All of the children in our extended family are eager to help arrange the manger’s many pieces. It’s a joy to see those little fingers meticulously work on the placement of every angel and shepherd and watch as they repeatedly step back and evaluate their work.

Our manger scene tradition seems to always prompt questions. “Did the baby Jesus get cold in the manger?” “Did Mary and Joseph have a blanket to cover Him, or were the swaddling clothes warm enough?” One recent Christmas one of my nieces asked the most profound question yet: “Uncle Alex, why did Jesus come?”

“That’s a great question,” I said. “A really great question.” Because when you think about the reasons Jesus came, Christmas becomes all the more meaningful. A number of important realities converged in Christ’s arrival on earth.

Prophecy was fulfilled. The Messiah’s coming had been promised by God through the Jewish Scriptures, and was a hope cherished by humanity for centuries. The first chapter of Matthew includes a lengthy list of Jesus’ ancestors. Their miraculous lives were meticulously recorded to verify that Jesus had the proper family pedigree to claim the messianic title Son of David. Verse 22 explains that “all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet.” Jesus taught that His life was the theme and fulfillment of the Old Testament Scriptures (Luke 24:27; John 5:39).

The Person of God was displayed. A man was asked by Jesus, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” The man answered as millions would respond today: “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”(John 9:35-36). Jesus said to the man, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you” (John 9:37, NIV). The man then offered a response that God alone is worthy to receive. He worshiped Jesus, and Jesus received the worship. Jesus assured us that “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). 

Payment for sin was made. Jesus was born to die. He was designated to be the perfect sacrificial Lamb who would go to the altar for all of humanity. First Peter 1:19 says that Jesus was “a lamb without blemish and without spot.” Jesus came to atone and pay for my sin and for yours (see also Isaiah 53:5-6; John 1:29; and Revelation 5:6).

Victory over death occurred. All the way back in the garden, God had warned Adam and Eve that their disobedience would yield a bitter outcome—death (Genesis 2:17). The fruit of sin—death—is seen in Scripture, throughout history and in today’s headlines. But Jesus came to give life and to destroy death (see John 10:10; Romans 5:12-21; and 1 Corinthians 15:22, 26). Jesus alone could conquer sin and its results. 

Satan was defeated. It is no wonder that Satan worked through human operatives in a futile ploy to destroy the infant Jesus (see Matthew 2:16-18). At least to some degree, Satan knew that Jesus’ birth signaled his ultimate destruction. First John 3:8 says, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (NIV).

History was ushered along. No one knows exactly when Jesus will return. But, obviously, His Second Coming must be preceded by a first. We may not be able to read the clock of history with dogmatic precision, but Hebrews 1:2 speaks of the life of Jesus as part of the “last days.” This verse uses the word from which we get the term eschatology, meaning “last things.” Christ’s coming was a key development in the unfolding of historical events. With an interesting choice of words, 1 Corinthians 10:11 calls the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the fulfillment of the ages.

Clearly, Jesus came for a lot of reasons, not the least of which was to show love to you and to me. In entering this world (through a rough stable, no less), God thoroughly identified with humanity. Hebrews reminds us that Jesus, our High Priest, was put through more temptations, agonies and challenges than any of us will ever face, yet He never sinned (see Hebrews 4:14-16). We can never say, “Jesus doesn’t understand what I’m going through.” In living here, suffering and rising from death, Jesus felt all of our pains and more. 

Christmas is about an individual and an event—Jesus, the Christ, and His entrance into history. Scripture teaches that the manger held not just another baby, but God Himself, clothed in human flesh. A real Messiah entered actual time and space to resolve a real condition. The condition is sin; the prescribed remedy is found in the One whom Scripture calls “Savior,” Jesus Christ.

It has been said, “Many men have sought to be God, but only one God sought to be man.” Much of the world now opts for an undefined observance called “the holidays,” rather than commemorating Jesus and the reasons for which He came. 

But Christians celebrate Christ—a specific Person who was born for a definite purpose.  ©2018 Alex McFarland


Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version. The verses marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Alex McFarland is a speaker, writer and advocate for Christian apologetics. he will be speaking on Biblical prophecy July 27-31, 2020, at The Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove. Alex’s website is: truthforanewgeneration.com.

Isaiah 7:13-15  Prophecy concerning the virgin birth of Jesus and His Name, Immanuel!

13 Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.  
NIV