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I love this poem by C. S. Lewis:

Among the oxen (like an ox I’m slow)
I see a glory in the stable grow
Which, with the ox’s dullness might at length
Give me an ox’s strength.

Among the asses (stubborn I as they)
I see my Savior where I looked for hay;
So may my beastlike folly learn at least
The patience of a beast.

Among the sheep (I like a sheep have strayed)
I watch the manger where my Lord is laid;
Oh that my baa-ing nature would win thence
Some woolly innocence!

Click here for more Christmas posts.

Recommended Gifts and Resources for Christmas:
     

For those of you who have been praying for the Newtown community in the wake of Friday’s shooting, I recommend this first-hand account from Pastor Joey Newton, pastor-teacher of Newtown Bible Church in Newtown, Connecticut.

Weeping with those who weep–a first-hand response from Newtown:

The church I pastor is three miles from the site of Friday’s slaughter, where 26 people were murdered. Certainly this event will in some way define and shape the spiritual life of the community for decades to come. I know it will profoundly affect my family; many of those killed were the same age as one of my three daughters.

I spent last Friday in the counseling center the town set up, where families had gathered waiting to hear the names of their child, or to see if any new information came out. (Click here to read the full article.)

We are all grieving over the shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT this morning. My sister Sharon, who is the USA National Director at Moms in Prayer International, sent out the following prayer suggestions which I recommend to you as you pray for those affected by this terrible tragedy.

Please pray for:

• The families of those who lost their lives.
• The family of the troubled soul who did this.
• The students, faculty, and administration of Sandy Hook Elementary School as they cope with what happened.
• All our schools and communities across the USA especially during this time of year.
• Revival among our young people, that every student will have an opportunity to hear of the mercy and grace afforded us through Jesus Christ.

This is my last week working for Cellular Sales/Verizon before returning to pastoring. I have had many opportunities to share my faith while at Cellular Sales, but I wanted to find a fun way to share my faith with all my fellow reps before leaving. So, I present to you below: “The Gospel for Cell Phone Reps.” (If you’re not a cell phone rep, you probably won’t get the inside jokes, but I do hope you get the gospel!) All the best to my hard-working friends at Cellular Sales. You guys are the best!

THE GOSPEL FOR CELL PHONE REPS

1) God offers a new activation and a fresh start to everyone who comes to him.

“If anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Jesus said, “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” (John 6:37)

2) None of us passes God’s credit check on our own. We have all broken God’s laws, and we owe a debt we cannot pay.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

“For the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23)

3) God loves you so much that he sent his Son, Jesus, to die for your sins so that you could be restored to a right relationship with God.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that God loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:10)

4) God’s commissions are based on faith, not performance.

“Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.” (Romans 4:4-5)

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

5) When you put your faith in Christ, you won’t need to wait twenty months for your next upgrade. God gives you spiritual upgrades on a regular basis.

“Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” (1 Peter 2:2-3)

6) It’s good to take spiritual inventory every day.

“Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

7) Don’t forget Church Protect®!

Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18)

“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25)

I just started a Twitter account @RayFowler for those of you who may be interested. The purpose is to share encouraging thoughts or links and fun stuff as it happens. Here is the link if you want to follow along: https://twitter.com/RayFowler. Also hoping to get this blog jump-started again. If you have any Twitter advice for me, please chime in. I’m an old hand at blogging, but Twitter is something new for me.

Our church is sponsoring a great program to help those in need this Thanksgiving season. For just a $20 donation, Live, Love and Give will provide $40 worth of food items (including rice, pasta, canned goods, etc.) to someone in need.

If you would like to participate, click here to visit the website and make an online donation: Live, Love and Give

After three years back in the business world, I am now heading back into pastoral ministry. On Sunday October 7th Plantation Community Church voted to call me as their next Senior Pastor starting December 1st. I served on staff at PCC from 1994-2004, so we have many dear friends and memories at this church. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers as I prepare to transition out of Verizon and back into the ministry.

As someone who sells a lot of cellphones, I found this pretty funny. Enjoy!

Starting this Thursday over at Tim Challies’ blog, we will be reading David MacIntyre’s The Hidden Life of Prayer as part of Tim’s Reading Classics Together program. This is one of my favorite books on prayer, and I encourage you to grab a copy and read along. The chapters are short but focused and full of great teaching and reflections on prayer.

I like this book so much that back in fall of 2010 I created Kindle and ePub editions with fully-linked footnotes and table of contents. If you need a good ebook edition, you can order it through Amazon or Barnes & Noble through one of the links below:

    ● The Hidden Life of Prayer – Kindle edition at Amazon.com
    ● The Hidden Life of Prayer – Paperback edition at Amazon.com
    ● The Hidden life of Prayer – Epub edition at Barnes & Noble

And don’t forget to visit Tim’s blog on Thursday for the first round of discussion on chapter one.

Note: You don’t need a Kindle to read Kindle books. Click here for a free e-reader.

My son Sam just graduated from high school. Here is his subliminal graduation announcement:

Sam is donE Now with his high school stuDies.

MOm aNd dad arE verY proud.

I’m here at the 2012 Ligonier National Conference in Orlando Thursday through Saturday.  If you’re reading this and you are here too, call or text me at 954-809-8536.  I would love to meet you in person and say hi.

This little series on Lent still gets a lot of traction after all these years. If you’ve never read it, feel free to click through the series of posts. And feel free to pass it on to others, too.

Lenten Series:
    1. What is Lent?
    2. Should Christians Celebrate Lent?
    3. Should I Give Something Up for Lent?
    4. What is Ash Wednesday?
    5. What is Maundy Thursday?
    6. What is Good Friday?
    7. What is Easter?