All of us at K-House want to wish you and yours a most blessed and joyous holiday season. Christmas is often a very emotional and sensitive time of year (and this Christmas will be no exception), especially for those of us who have lost loved ones, those who are struggling with financial burdens and those who are facing difficult horizons ahead.

What would you say has affected your life more than anything else as a Christian? What has made the greatest impact on your walk with the Lord?

Matthew, being a Levite, emphasizes Jesus as the Messiah, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Each of the subtleties of his design supports this primary theme. His genealogy begins with the "first Jew," Abraham, and continues through David and the royal line to the legal father of Jesus, Joseph.

The Ark of the Covenant, a prominent fixture in the narratives of the Old Testament, certainly seems to have disappeared from view after the Babylonian captivity, which began in 606 B.C. There are many theories as to what happened to the Ark of the Covenant. This issue was, of course, popularized in the well-attended fantasy movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The fact is, no matter how righteous we may be, and no matter how strong our faith is, all these frightful uncertainties coming to pass cannot help but affect our human emotions. It's all very scary. But, for the overcoming Christian whose sins are covered by the blood of Jesus, there is very good news. We have access to the Father and we can draw near to Him.

In July we wrote an article, "The Oklahoma City Bombing: A Past and Future History", documenting how the tragic bombing of the Murrah Office Building in Oklahoma City was a watershed event that scuttled the Religious Right and short-circuited efforts to bring an ever-expanding and frequently abusive government back to its constitutional guidelines.

Hate brings together a diverse group of people: an imprisoned pastor in Sweden, the Boy Scouts, people who violate their country's hate speech laws, gays and anti-gays, not to mention a whole herd of shouting, virulently angry, but of course, "tolerant" people at the third UN Conference on Racism in Durban, South Africa, last month.

Some call the Book of Zechariah, "The Apocalypse of the Old Testament." The book is particularly timely today as it focuses on the siege of Jerusalem by the collective Gentile powers on Planet Earth - a circumstance that is shaping up as you are reading this article! (It also seems to suggest the use of neutron bombs and gives us the only physical description of the Antichrist found in Scripture.)

Even now, none of us have recovered from the shocks of September 11, 2001. We cannot resist noting the following Scripture:

After over two years of sharing the series, Faith in the Night Seasons, this will be my final article on this critical subject. I have been so blessed by your wonderful letters saying how much the articles have helped you weather your own night seasons. And for that, I praise God!

Last month we shared the background of our beloved "James," who runs the audio department here at K-House. James grew up without the love of a father, and thus, the desire for a father's love consumed him throughout his whole life.

As kids around the world anxiously await the fall opening of Warner Bros.' film "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," an occult expert has released a documentary video, "Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged, Making Evil Look Innocent," claiming the Harry Potter phenomenon is incompatibile with Christianity.

Even before the events of September 11th, there has been an increasing interest in Bible prophecy. There are probably few evidences more powerful for the supernatural origin of the Bible than its unparalleled track record with regards to prophetic predictions throughout history - and especially regarding the unique events of our own day.

Kaboom! A rousing first shot across the bow had been fired. Humanists declared their intention of transforming western culture and moving it from its Christian base into the enlightened religion of humanism. In 1933, when Humanist Manifesto I appeared, its co-author John Dewey was made honorary president of the National Education Association (US).

In our next two articles, we will be wrapping up our series on Faith in the Night Seasons. I pray this series has been a blessing and has helped you understand a little more clearly some of God's ways. Even though an intimate relationship with the Lord often comes through trials and brokenness, nothing in all the earth compares to it.

One of the most strategic locations in the Roman world was the isthmus of Corinth. This narrow neck of land between the Corinthian Gulf and the Saronic Gulf guaranteed its continued commercial prosperity. The transit across this isthmus avoided the long, risky voyage around the rocky, storm-tossed capes at the south of the Peloponnesus.

President Bush's recent decision regarding federal funding of embryonic stem cell research has charged a national debate on the practical and moral implications of such research. The stem cell issue is so complex that it is difficult for the average person to fully grasp all of the details, but the debate over stem cells will have implications reaching far beyond the obvious.

Working at K-House, it's easy to get caught up in the "busyness of ministry" and not take time to know what's going on in the lives of the people we work with. So, when I can, I make time to go around and fellowship. In one of my wanderings, I ran into our beloved James, who edits and produces all the tapes for K-House.

In our series called Faith in the Night Seasons, we've been talking about intimacy with Godwhat intimacy is, how we get it and what we must do to maintain it.

Nothing is more hurtful than to have Christian brothers and sisters turn against us. Matthew 24:12, however, tells us that in the "end times" this is exactly what is going to happen, "the Love (Agape) of many will grow (wax) cold."