This month we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ! What does this event mean to you? Gifts, shopping, food and family; or, worship, praise and thanksgiving for all that He has done for you personally?

We have just returned from our latest Issachar Tour to Israel, where we were briefed by many senior officials of the Israel Defense Force and others from the intelligence community.

Why is Jesus Christ so special? Why do billions of people celebrate his birth? Why do we believe that Jesus was the Messiah? What if he was just a man? Does it really make a difference? If you have ever asked yourself these same questions, be assured that the Bible does have the answers.

Learning how to make “faith choices” to follow God’s leading, regardless of how we feel, what we think or what the circumstances are, is the key to our entire Christian walk.

Each year as we approach the holiday season, our preparations for Christmas include revisiting the events surrounding the birth of Our Lord. Bethlehem,1 the shepherds, and the angels are all familiar to us. But not much is generally known about the mysterious “Magi” who came to worship the infant Jesus.

Later this month, hordes of costumed children will be hitting the streets in search of candy and other treats. Yet, Halloween is not just “trick or treat” and “fun and games.” Halloween practices can open the door to the occult and can introduce forces into people’s lives that they are not equipped to combat.

For the last several months, we have been viewing a series of charts on Solomon’s Temple as a model or blueprint of the architecture of man. I would really recommend that you review those previous articles, if you haven’t already seen them, because this issue will build upon them.

The traditional American Dream, especially for those of us who grew up in families that survived the depression of the 1930s, was to have a home “free and clear” of any mortgages. The security of a debt-free home was the goal of every family in the 20th-century United States. However, we are now in the next century and the horizon is changing in many ways.

Last month we continued our series on Reflecting His Image by showing a series of charts on Solomon’s Temple as a model or floor plan of the architecture of man. Our motive was to visibly show what a “spiritual” Christian looks like when walking by the Spirit; and, what a “carnal” believer looks like when he chooses to follow the flesh. In review:

Answer A: In political terms, the Justice and Development (AK) party, which won 47 percent of the votes in Turkey’s July 22 elections and will have almost two-thirds of the parliament seats, is a pragmatic, conservative, business-oriented moderate party despite its roots as an Islamic-oriented one.

Last month we reviewed the increasingly difficult predicament we face in attempting to position ourselves-and our families-in this volatile world. In addition to the terrorist threats and other geopolitical tensions, the mismanagement of our own national financial scene appears increasingly problematic.

The Koinonia Institute recently went over the one thousand mark threshold as it has mailed out 1,193 certificates of completion to 438 different students in recognition of their success in completing individual online study courses.

Are you dissatisfied with the present course of your life? Do you feel a drawing away from your present commitments and a yearning for a greater relevance in your life? Is it possible that God may be calling you into a new phase of your life?

Events over the past few years have caused many informed observers to be concerned over the increased precariousness of our strategic horizon. In addition to natural disasters-such as Hurricane Katrina-and the continuing terrorist threats promising a major sequel to “9/11,” and the probability of rogue nuclear attacks of various kinds, anyone who is relying on smooth waters over the next 12-18 months is simply among the ranks of the under-informed.

Next month, our Jewish friends will celebrate the Fall Feasts of Israel, which take place during the first 15 days of Tishri on the Jewish calendar. This year, they all occur in the month of September.

If our purpose as Christians is to reflect Christ, how does this visibly play out?

On our annual celebration of the birth of our once-proud republic, it is also fitting to pause for a nostalgic moment in recalling the celebrated document that created our nation’s freedoms and protections.

What is your purpose as a Christian?

The most-often quoted reference in the New Testament is the Book of Psalms. The psalms are not only unexcelled for being inspirational and comforting, they are also among the richest sources of prophetic insights in the entire Bible.

It is difficult to value something when its worth is unknown. The adage of one child being given a toy only to leave it out in the rain to rust, never understanding the toy’s worth, while another child-made to earn the same toy-is found to take care of it, valuing its worth, is a fitting analogy. This basic truth applies to our American heritage and the continued welfare of our nation.