Arab Spring - Hope or Concern?

(Written by Edward Wood)
For all those who are feeling elated at the downfall of dictators and what appears to be the spread of democracy across the Middle East, I'll tell you up front that I'm about to rain on your parade. It isn't because I want to, but I feel I need to!

Let's look at some of the facts.
Historically, given a choice Muslim societies tend to choose worse leaders than the ones they previously had. Take a look at Iran, Lebanon and Gaza. Radical Islam took over in the first; Hezbollah is pretty much running the show in the second, and Hamas the third. At this time, Tunisia is choosing a so-called moderate government based on Sharia. We'll see just how moderate they are down the line. In Egypt the only organized faction is the Muslim Brotherhood, so guess where my bets are concerning who runs their next government.

The Last Christmas?

(Written by Jack Kelley)
Whether you’re following commentaries by prophecy scholars on the nearness of the rapture or predictions by financial experts on the nearness of the world’s economic downfall, the message is the same. This could very well be the last time we celebrate Christmas as we’ve come to know it.

And that’s a good thing. Because for most of the world, Christmas has become little more than an annual exercise in spending money we don’t have to buy things they don’t need for the people on our list, some of whom we don’t even like. Add to that the sad fact that millions of American families are doing this from homes they no longer own, adding to a debt load they can hardly carry now, and you can see the level to which the world has sunk. And the saddest fact of all is they aren’t doing this out of any gratitude for what the Lord has given them. They’re doing this because for a brief period of time they can pretend everything’s OK.