Daniel Chapter 8-Mark McMillion
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Why a Brisk Walk Is Better
By Gretchen Reynolds, NY Times, December 4, 2013
Walking, fast or slow, is wonderful exercise. But now a first-of-its-kind study shows that to get the most health benefits from walking, many of us need to pick up the pace.
The findings stem from a new analysis of the National Walkers’ Health Study, a large database of information maintained at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory about thousands of middle-age men and women who walk regularly for exercise. Recruited beginning in 1998 at walking events and from lists of subscribers to walking-related publications, these volunteers filled out a lengthy survey about their typical walking distance and pace, as well as their health history and habits.
As most of us would likely guess, walking is the most popular physical activity in America. But people who walk for exercise do so at wildly varying speeds and intensities. Some stroll at a leisurely 2 miles per hour, which is low-intensity exercise. Others zip along at twice that pace or better, resulting in a sweatier workout.
Exercise guidelines generally suggest that for health purposes, people should engage in 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity most days of the week. For walkers, a moderately intense pace would probably be about 15 or 16 minutes per mile.
It has generally been assumed that if people walk more slowly but expend the same total energy as brisk walkers—meaning that they spend more time walking—they should gain the same health benefits. But few large-scale studies have directly compared the impact of moderate- and light-intensity walking, especially in terms of longevity.
To do so, Paul T. Williams, a statistician at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, gathered data about 7,374 male and 31,607 female participants from the walkers’ health study, who represented almost every speed of fitness walker, from sluggish to swift. His findings were published online this month in PLoS One.
Dr. Williams divided participants into four numerically equal categories, based on their normal pace. Those in Category 1, the fleetest, averaged less than 13.5 minutes per mile, putting them on the cusp of jogging, while those in Category 4, the slowest, strolled at a relatively dilatory 17 minutes or more per mile. The majority of the walkers in this group in fact required at least 20 minutes to complete a mile, and many had a pace of 25 minutes or more per mile. (Interestingly, on average, female walkers were faster than men in all of the categories.)
Next, Dr. Williams cross-referenced his data against that in the essential if somewhat ghoulish National Death Index to determine which of the almost 39,000 walkers had died in the decade or so since they had joined the survey and from what.
It turned out that nearly 2,000 of the walkers had died. More telling, these deaths disproportionately were clustered among the slowest walkers. Those in Category 4 were about 18 percent more likely to have died from any cause than those in the other three categories and were particularly vulnerable to deaths from heart disease and dementia.
Unexpectedly, the death rate remained high among the slowest walkers, even if they met or exceeded the standard exercise guidelines and expended as much energy per day as someone walking briskly for 30 minutes. This effect was most pronounced among the slowest of the slow walkers, whose pace was 24 minutes per mile or higher. They were 44 percent more likely to have died than walkers who moved faster, even if they met the exercise guidelines.
One important inference of these statistics is that intensity matters, if you are walking for health. “Our results do suggest that there is a significant health benefit to pursuing a faster pace,” Dr. Williams said. Pushing your body, he said, appears to cause favorable physiological changes that milder exercise doesn’t replicate.
But there are nuances and caveats to that conclusion. The slowest walkers may have harbored underlying health conditions that predisposed them to both a tentative walking pace and early death. But that possibility underscores a subtle takeaway of the new study, Dr. Williams said. Measuring your walking speed, he pointed out, could provide a barometer of your health status.
So check yours, your spouse’s or perhaps your parents’ pace. The process is easy. Simply find a 400-meter track and, using a stopwatch, have everyone walk at his or her normal speed. If a circuit of the track takes someone 6 minutes or more, that person’s pace is 24 minutes per mile or slower, and he or she might consider consulting a doctor about possible health issues, Dr. Williams said.
Then, with medical clearance, the slow walkers probably should try ramping up their speed, gradually.
The most encouraging news embedded in the new study is that longevity rises with small improvements in pace. The walkers in Category 3, for instance, moved at a speed only a minute or so faster per mile than some of those in the slowest group, but they enjoyed a significant reduction in their risk of dying prematurely.
Friday, December 6, 2013
The Human Brain Is Too Weak for Gossip
By Neil Bearden, HBR, December 2, 2013
William Shakespeare, speaking through one of his characters in The Comedy of Errors, articulated a very important psychological insight: “Ill deeds are doubled with an evil word.” Words act as multipliers—they’re powerful. And if the Bard had wanted to give management advice, he’d certainly have warned us about the pernicious impacts of gossip in the workplace.
Gossip is evaluative talk among familiars about a third party who is not present. Surely it is a bit of stretch to characterize gossip as “evil.” Yet a number of the world’s most prominent religions and philosophies explicitly have dissuaded their adherents from engaging in the activity—sometimes even characterizing it as sinful. In Leviticus, one finds, “Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people.”
Similar remarks are found the Koran. Confucius, in The Analects, is reported to have said, “To engage in gossip and spreading of rumors is to abandon virtue.” The same sentiment appears in the writings of ancient Stoic philosophers and in modern-day self-help books. The thought is everywhere—and for good reason.
The old philosophers and sages understood instinctively what contemporary psychology is more formally demonstrating: our beliefs are not always established and maintained in the most rational ways. To begin with, when we encounter new information, there is good evidence that our mind’s default mode is first to assume it is true. Only when the receiver has sufficient motivation and time to reflect on the information, will it potentially be tagged in the memory as false. Until then it’s stored as if it were true. With gossip, that’s clearly dangerous.
Gossip becomes even more worrisome when one starts to appreciate other ways in which our mind is fallible. For instance, we sometimes mistake the source of our memories and the context in which they were encoded.
I recently told a class about my vivid recollection of the day the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded. I vividly remember my elementary school gym teacher gently breaking the news to my fellow six-year-old classmates and me. After I recounted this story, one student commented that I looked rather old for my age. It turns out that the Challenger exploded in 1986 when I was twelve years old and in middle school. (It took a bit of Googling to convince me that my memory was mistaken.) You could just as easily “remember” something you overheard from the office’s arch-gossiper as coming from a truly credible source.
The multiplying effect of gossip gets more troubling when beliefs formed through it shape subsequent perceptions. Our minds attend selectively to information that supports already existing beliefs, and to discount information that goes against our beliefs. That phenomenon—confirmation bias—has been documented in countless psychological studies. (Mind you, anyone who’s witnessed discussions around contentious political issues—e.g., gun control or Obamacare—should have more than enough data to conclude that people selectively choose their “facts.”) By implanting beliefs, therefore, gossip can dangerously shape subsequent perceptions.
Gossip may provide momentary entertainment to some people. That part is clear. What is less apparent to them, I suspect, is that it also can alter their minds and hence their realities. Gossip can blow up start-ups and corrode morale in large companies. It is, as Shakespeare might say, a most calamitous evil.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Jewish activists want to pray on Jerusalem's Temple Mount, raising alarm in Muslim world
By William Booth and Ruth Eglash, Washington Post, December 2, 2013
JERUSALEM—A small but growing movement by Jewish activists demanding the right to pray at the site of their destroyed temple, in the heart of this disputed capital’s Old City, is creating a potentially explosive clash with the Muslim world, which considers the spot holy and bans Jews from public worship there.
Each week, hundreds of Jews ascend the creaky wooden ramp built above the Western Wall and enter what is often called the most contested real estate on Earth. Many then embark upon a game of hide-and-seek with their police escorts—whispering forbidden prayers while pretending to talk into cellphones, and getting in quick but banned bows by dropping coins and then bending to pick them up.
Their proposals, long dismissed as extremist, are now being debated in the Israeli parliament and embraced by an expansionist wing in the ruling coalition government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
These political leaders, many in Netanyahu’s party, want Israel to assert more, not less, control over the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Old City, including the place known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, or the Noble Sanctuary.
"We’re looking for it to be divided between Jews and Muslims," said Aviad Visoli, chairman of the Temple Mount Organizations, which claims 27 groups under its umbrella. "Today, Jews realize the Western Wall is not enough. They want to go to the real thing."
Two millenniums ago, this place was the site of the Jews’ Second Temple, destroyed in A.D. 70 by Roman legions under Titus, who cast the Jews into exile. The Western Wall, visited by 10 million people a year, is part of the remaining rampart built around the raised temple complex. Together, the wall and the site of the destroyed temple are the holiest landmarks in Judaism.
The same courtyard is home to al-Aqsa mosque, one of the oldest in Islam, and the Dome of the Rock, the golden landmark where tradition says the prophet Mohammad made his night journey to heaven.
For Palestinians and much of the Muslim world, any mention of changing the status quo at the site, the third-holiest in Islam, is incendiary. Protecting al-Aqsa has been a rallying cry for generations.
"This place belongs to the Muslim people, and no others have the right to pray here," said Sheik Azzam al-Khatib, director of the Waqf, the Islamic trust that administers the site. Khatib said the mosque is a unifying symbol for the world’s 1.2 billion Muslims.
"If they try to take over the mosque, this will be the end of time," Khatib warned. "This will create rage and anger not only in the West Bank but all over the Islamic world—and only God knows what will happen."
The site, like all of Jerusalem’s Old City, was under Jordanian control until 1967, when it was captured by Israel during the Six-Day War. The Waqf administers and protects the site. Israeli police also patrol the area and accompany Jewish visitors while they visit.
Non-Muslim tourists are welcome to wander freely around the grounds. But non-Muslim prayer is forbidden. Jews in religious garb are taken aside at the entrance by Israeli security officers, screened more closely and sternly warned not to pray, bow, sing, tear their clothes in mourning or display any religious items.
Israel’s Chief Rabbinate has ruled that Jews should not enter the Temple Mount esplanade, for fear they will accidentally walk upon ground that is part of the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctum of the temple, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept and only the high priest was permitted to enter.
But political leaders are urging that this stance be reexamined. Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan, deputy minister of religious affairs, has proposed giving Jews an hour a day to pray there.
Today, as yet another round of U.S.-brokered Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are underway, Khatib and other Islamic clerics warn that proposals to grant “time and space” to Jews looking to pray on the Temple Mount could ignite a holy war.
The clerics say they have pleaded with Israeli police to limit the number of Jews allowed to visit the site and warned that Jewish extremists are trying to change a delicate status quo and create new facts on the ground.
Uri Ariel, Israel’s minister of construction and housing, told reporters after a recent visit: “The Temple Mount is ours, and it cannot be argued about or negotiated. … It must be open for prayer at every hour, to every Jew.”
The Israeli Supreme Court has ruled that Jews are allowed to pray at the Temple Mount, but the court also grants the Israeli police power to curtail any activities that would create “a disturbance to the public order.”
Jews who sing the national anthem or religious songs, and who pray, are regularly detained and escorted away.
A frequent visitor to the site is Rabbi Chaim Richman, a director of the Temple Institute, whose mission is to prepare for the building of the Third Temple where the Dome of the Rock now stands.
He says he envisions a new temple rising toward the clouds, with underground parking, Internet connectivity, radiant heating for the sanctified floors (the priests, in accordance with Jewish law, will be barefoot), and a return of burnt offerings and animal sacrifice.
In April, Richman’s Temple Institute moved to a large, renovated space in the Old City’s Jewish Quarter, overlooking the Western Wall. The project was funded by Henry Swieca, the billionaire American investor, and his wife, Estee.
Inside, researchers and artisans have created silver trumpets, wooden lyres and three-pronged forks that would turn over burnt offerings. They sewed a priest’s robe with a breastplate of golden thread and 12 precious stones, as described in the Bible and representing the 12 tribes of Israel. There is a golden menorah and an ark for the covenants. And there are architectural plans. Evidence, Muslim leaders say, that proves that the Jews have literal designs on the mount.
"This is not incitement," Richman said. "Our mission is to kindle the spark of desire for the time when Jews are a light unto the world, and Muslims will agree it is time to rebuild, and all nations of the world will come to the Jews and ask them to rebuild."
JERUSALEM—A small but growing movement by Jewish activists demanding the right to pray at the site of their destroyed temple, in the heart of this disputed capital’s Old City, is creating a potentially explosive clash with the Muslim world, which considers the spot holy and bans Jews from public worship there.
Each week, hundreds of Jews ascend the creaky wooden ramp built above the Western Wall and enter what is often called the most contested real estate on Earth. Many then embark upon a game of hide-and-seek with their police escorts—whispering forbidden prayers while pretending to talk into cellphones, and getting in quick but banned bows by dropping coins and then bending to pick them up.
Their proposals, long dismissed as extremist, are now being debated in the Israeli parliament and embraced by an expansionist wing in the ruling coalition government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
These political leaders, many in Netanyahu’s party, want Israel to assert more, not less, control over the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Old City, including the place known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, or the Noble Sanctuary.
"We’re looking for it to be divided between Jews and Muslims," said Aviad Visoli, chairman of the Temple Mount Organizations, which claims 27 groups under its umbrella. "Today, Jews realize the Western Wall is not enough. They want to go to the real thing."
Two millenniums ago, this place was the site of the Jews’ Second Temple, destroyed in A.D. 70 by Roman legions under Titus, who cast the Jews into exile. The Western Wall, visited by 10 million people a year, is part of the remaining rampart built around the raised temple complex. Together, the wall and the site of the destroyed temple are the holiest landmarks in Judaism.
The same courtyard is home to al-Aqsa mosque, one of the oldest in Islam, and the Dome of the Rock, the golden landmark where tradition says the prophet Mohammad made his night journey to heaven.
For Palestinians and much of the Muslim world, any mention of changing the status quo at the site, the third-holiest in Islam, is incendiary. Protecting al-Aqsa has been a rallying cry for generations.
"This place belongs to the Muslim people, and no others have the right to pray here," said Sheik Azzam al-Khatib, director of the Waqf, the Islamic trust that administers the site. Khatib said the mosque is a unifying symbol for the world’s 1.2 billion Muslims.
"If they try to take over the mosque, this will be the end of time," Khatib warned. "This will create rage and anger not only in the West Bank but all over the Islamic world—and only God knows what will happen."
The site, like all of Jerusalem’s Old City, was under Jordanian control until 1967, when it was captured by Israel during the Six-Day War. The Waqf administers and protects the site. Israeli police also patrol the area and accompany Jewish visitors while they visit.
Non-Muslim tourists are welcome to wander freely around the grounds. But non-Muslim prayer is forbidden. Jews in religious garb are taken aside at the entrance by Israeli security officers, screened more closely and sternly warned not to pray, bow, sing, tear their clothes in mourning or display any religious items.
Israel’s Chief Rabbinate has ruled that Jews should not enter the Temple Mount esplanade, for fear they will accidentally walk upon ground that is part of the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctum of the temple, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept and only the high priest was permitted to enter.
But political leaders are urging that this stance be reexamined. Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan, deputy minister of religious affairs, has proposed giving Jews an hour a day to pray there.
Today, as yet another round of U.S.-brokered Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are underway, Khatib and other Islamic clerics warn that proposals to grant “time and space” to Jews looking to pray on the Temple Mount could ignite a holy war.
The clerics say they have pleaded with Israeli police to limit the number of Jews allowed to visit the site and warned that Jewish extremists are trying to change a delicate status quo and create new facts on the ground.
Uri Ariel, Israel’s minister of construction and housing, told reporters after a recent visit: “The Temple Mount is ours, and it cannot be argued about or negotiated. … It must be open for prayer at every hour, to every Jew.”
The Israeli Supreme Court has ruled that Jews are allowed to pray at the Temple Mount, but the court also grants the Israeli police power to curtail any activities that would create “a disturbance to the public order.”
Jews who sing the national anthem or religious songs, and who pray, are regularly detained and escorted away.
A frequent visitor to the site is Rabbi Chaim Richman, a director of the Temple Institute, whose mission is to prepare for the building of the Third Temple where the Dome of the Rock now stands.
He says he envisions a new temple rising toward the clouds, with underground parking, Internet connectivity, radiant heating for the sanctified floors (the priests, in accordance with Jewish law, will be barefoot), and a return of burnt offerings and animal sacrifice.
In April, Richman’s Temple Institute moved to a large, renovated space in the Old City’s Jewish Quarter, overlooking the Western Wall. The project was funded by Henry Swieca, the billionaire American investor, and his wife, Estee.
Inside, researchers and artisans have created silver trumpets, wooden lyres and three-pronged forks that would turn over burnt offerings. They sewed a priest’s robe with a breastplate of golden thread and 12 precious stones, as described in the Bible and representing the 12 tribes of Israel. There is a golden menorah and an ark for the covenants. And there are architectural plans. Evidence, Muslim leaders say, that proves that the Jews have literal designs on the mount.
"This is not incitement," Richman said. "Our mission is to kindle the spark of desire for the time when Jews are a light unto the world, and Muslims will agree it is time to rebuild, and all nations of the world will come to the Jews and ask them to rebuild."
Are You Santa Claus?
By Peter Amsterdam
Audio length: 7:26
Download Audio (6.8MB)
It’s Christmastime—such a wonderful time of year! I love it when it comes around every year, because as Christmas approaches, people tend to appreciate others more. They’re more aware of the importance of family and friends, and they’re often more giving and willing to help the poor and needy. Generally speaking, there’s more love in the air during the Christmas season. I just love that!
Something in particular that I love about this time of year is that people seem more receptive to hearing about Jesus as Christmas approaches. That’s a wonderful thing, as it gives us greater opportunities to share Him with others.
Over these last few days I’ve been meditating on the significance of Christmas and what a wonderful day it is. Christmas celebrates the most important birth in human history, when God the Son physically entered into the world as both God and man in Jesus. Never before or since has such a unique and important person been born.
On that momentous day an angel appeared to announce His birth to the shepherds who were watching their sheep at night. When he did, the glory of the Lord shone around the shepherds. They were afraid. The angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”1 After he announced the birth of the Savior, suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”2
As I was thinking about what the angel announced, I was reminded of another event that had to do with Jesus’ birth. Since Jesus was Mary’s first child, according to the Mosaic Law He was to be presented in the temple for purification. When Joseph and Mary brought him to the temple for this purpose, there was an old man there named Simeon to whom the Holy Ghost had revealed “that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, ‘Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.’”3
These two proclamations—one by the angel who stated, “I am bringing good news of great joy that will be for all people,” and one through Simeon, who said, “my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles”—express the significance of, as well as the purpose for, the birth of the Son of God. Both proclamations tell us that Jesus came to earth for the sake of the salvation of all who would believe in Him, Jew or gentile.4 Salvation, they proclaimed, is available to everyone through Jesus.
Jesus’ birth, His coming to earth, His becoming human, was all about the salvation of humankind. His birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven were all about salvation—yours, mine, and everyone else’s.
The message of Christmas is the message of John 3:16, and I would add verse 17 as well: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (ESV).
Whoever believes.—That the world might be saved through Him. Salvation is available to all. It’s God’s gift to us in Jesus—God’s Christmas gift to mankind.
While God has given the gift, our commission as Christians is to help deliver it. In Christmastime parlance, we would be looked on like Santa Claus—the person who delivers the gift. It reminds me of something the apostle Paul said. “For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?”5
How will they know of the life-changing Christmas gift that’s available to them? How will they hear about it? Who will tell them? Who can be Santa Claus, bringing the most valuable gift ever offered, everlasting life? The answer is all of us Christians. We are those preachers, we are those witnesses, we are those messengers, and at Christmastime we are those Santa Clauses who help deliver the gift.
He left the glory of heaven to come to earth to make salvation available to all. He paid the price so that we could freely receive His gift, and we have received it. We have the riches of everlasting life. There are those who don’t. The joy of it is that we have the privilege of giving those same riches to others, of passing out the best gift ever given. Of course, it costs us to do so. It takes time, and we have to make the effort to strike up that conversation with a stranger, or to get deeper with some of our friends or co-workers, or to request contributions or collect food or toys or other items for distribution to the needy.
The reason we make these efforts is so that we can offer the gift, because the one whois the gift asks it of us. We love Him. We serve Him. We follow Him. He came for the salvation of the world, and as His disciples we play a role in making Him known to others. We not only have the joy of our own salvation, but we have the extra joy of participating in the salvation of others. I love that we all get to be Santa Claus at this time of year.
Every effort, small or great, to share God’s greatest gift—Jesus—with others is important, because every effort makes it possible for someone to know Him. It’s a beautiful thing to share this gift with others. “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!”6
Originally published December 2010. Excerpted and republished December 2013. Read by Peter Amsterdam.
1 Luke 2:10–11 ESV.
2 Luke 2:13–14 NKJV.
3 Luke 2:26–32 ESV.
4 A gentile was anyone who was not a Jew. During the time of Jesus, salvation was available to the Jews, because of their belief in the One True God, the God of Israel, and their adherence to the Laws of Moses. The gentiles, generally speaking, couldn't receive salvation unless they converted to Judaism. Everyone who wasn't Jewish born, and had not converted to Judaism, was called a gentile. Jesus’ death made salvation available to everyone.
5 Romans 10:13–14 NKJV.
6 Romans 10:15 NKJV.
Você É Papai Noel?
De Peter Amsterdam
Natal… Que época maravilhosa do ano! Sempre me deixa muito feliz, porque conforme o Natal se aproxima, as pessoas tendem a valorizar mais as outras. Ficam mais atentas à importância da famÃlia, dos amigos, costumam ser mais generosas, dispostas a ajudar os pobres e os necessitados. Em geral, prevalece uma atmosfera de amor nessa época do ano e eu adoro isso!
Uma coisa em particular que me atrai nesse perÃodo é que as pessoas parecem mais receptivas para ouvir sobre Jesus. Isso é maravilhoso, pois nos dá maiores oportunidades para falar com os demais sobre Seu amor e Sua mensagem.
Nos últimos dias, tenho meditado na importância do Natal e na maravilha que é esse dia. Celebra o nascimento mais importante na história da humanidade, quando, por intermédio de Jesus, o Deus Filho entrou fisicamente no mundo como Deus e homem. Em nenhum outro momento da história nasceu alguém de tal forma singular.
Naquele grande dia, um anjo surgiu para anunciar Seu nascimento aos pastores que cuidavam das ovelhas à noite. Naquele momento, a glória do Senhor brilhou em volta daqueles homens, que, assustados, foram consolados pelo ser angélico, que lhes disse: “Não temais. Eu vos trago novas de grande alegria, que o será para todo o povo. Na cidade de Davi vos nasceu hoje o Salvador, que é Cristo, o Senhor.”[1] Depois de comunicar o nascimento do Salvador, surgiu subitamente uma hoste celestial que, louvando a Deus, dizia: “Glória a Deus nas maiores alturas, paz na terra entre os homens, a quem Ele quer bem!”[2]
Pensava nas palavras do anjo, quando me lembrei de outro acontecimento, também relacionado ao nascimento de Jesus. Como Ele era o primeiro filho de Maria, deveria, conforme determinava a Lei Mosaica, ser apresentado para purificação. Quando José e Maria O levaram ao templo para esse propósito, estava ali um homem já idoso, chamado Simeão. “Fora-lhe revelado pelo EspÃrito Santo que ele não morreria antes de ver o Cristo do Senhor. Movido pelo EspÃrito foi ao templo. Quando os pais trouxeram o menino Jesus para com Ele procederem segundo o que a Lei ordenava, ele O tomou nos braços, e louvou a Deus, dizendo: ‘Agora, Senhor, despede em paz o Teu servo, segundo a Tua palavra, pois os meus olhos já viram a Tua salvação, a qual preparaste perante a face de todos os povos, luz para iluminar os gentios, e para glória do Teu povo Israel.’”[3]
Foram duas proclamações. Uma foi feita pelo anjo: “Trago novas de grande alegria, que o será para todo o povo”; e a outra por Simeão: “Meus olhos já viram a Tua salvação, a qual preparaste perante a face de todos os povos”. Ambas expressam a importância e o propósito do nascimento do Filho de Deus. Os dois anúncios nos dizem que Jesus veio à Terra para a salvação de todos que nEle crerem, judeus ou gentios..[4] A salvação, ambos apregoaram, é disponibilizada a todos por intermédio de Jesus.
O nascimento de Jesus, Sua vinda à Terra, Ele se tornar humano, tudo estava relacionado à salvação da humanidade. Seu nascimento, vida, morte, ressurreição e ascensão estavam relacionados à salvação — à sua, à minha e à de todos.
A mensagem do Natal é a de João 3:16, e eu acrescentaria o versÃculo 17: “Porque Deus amou o mundo de tal maneira que deu o Seu Filho unigênito, para que todo aquele que nEle crê não pereça, mas tenha a vida eterna. Porque Deus enviou o Seu Filho ao mundo, não para que condenasse o mundo, mas para que o mundo fosse salvo por Ele”.
Todo aquele que crê. —Para que o mundo fosse salvo por Ele. A salvação está disponÃvel a todos. É da dádiva que em Jesus Deus oferece a todos nós — é o presente de Natal de Deus para a humanidade.
Deus concedeu essa dádiva e é nossa incumbência, enquanto cristãos, ajudar a entregá-la. Usando a terminologia natalina, serÃamos um tipo de Papai Noel — alguém que entrega o presente. Isso me lembra do que disse o apóstolo Paulo: “Porque ‘todo aquele que invocar o nome do Senhor será salvo.’ Como, pois, invocarão aquele em Quem não creram? E como crerão nAquele de quem não ouviram? E como ouvirão, se não há quem pregue?”[5]
Como ficarão sabendo do presente de Natal que tudo transforma e lhes está disponÃvel? Como ouvirão a seu respeito? Quem lhes falará? Quem será o Papai Noel, que lhes dará a dádiva mais valiosa já oferecida, a vida eterna? A resposta é, todos nós, cristãos. Somos os pregadores, os mensageiros e, no Natal, temos a função de Papai Noel, distribuindo presentes.
Ele deixou a glória do Céu para vir para a Terra com o propósito de tornar a salvação disponÃvel para todos. Pagou o preço para que pudéssemos livremente receber Sua dádiva e, de fato, a recebemos. Temos as riquezas da vida eterna. Há os que não as têm. É uma alegria ter o privilégio de distribuir essas riquezas, a melhor dádiva que existe. Sem dúvida, isso tem um preço. Consome tempo. Exige esforço puxar conversa com um estranho, ser mais profundo com os amigos ou colegas de trabalho, associar-se a outros membros para ensaiar, preparar uma apresentação de Natal, participar de algum evento de testificação, solicitar contribuições, arrecadar alimentos, brinquedos ou outros itens para os necessitados.
Fazemos esses esforços para podermos oferecer o presente, porque Ele, que é O Presente, nos pede. Nós O amamos. Nós O servimos. Nós O seguimos. Ele veio para a salvação do mundo e, por sermos Seus discÃpulos, temos parte em divulgar isso aos demais. Não apenas temos a alegria da salvação, mas temos a satisfação adicional de participar da salvação dos outros. Essa é a bênção do discipulado. Gosto muito que nessa época do ano temos a oportunidade de nos fazer de Papai Noel.
Todo esforço, pequeno ou grande, para dividir com as pessoas o maior presente de Deus —Jesus— é importante, porque torna possÃvel que alguém O conheça. É algo lindo compartilhar essa dádiva com os outros. “Quão formosos são os pés dos que anunciam a paz, dos que anunciam coisas boas!”[6]
Publicado originalmente em dezembro de 2010. Editado e republicado em dezembro de 2013. Tradução Hebe Rondon Flandoli e Denise Oliveira. Revisão Hebe Rondon Flandoli.
[1] Lucas 2:10–11.
[2] Lucas 2:13–14.
[3] Lucas 2:26–32.
[4] Gentio é qualquer um que não seja judeu. Nos tempos de Jesus, a salvação estava disponÃvel somente para os judeus, por causa da crença destes no único Deus verdadeiro, o Deus de Israel, e à observância à s Leis de Moisés. Os gentios, de uma maneira geral, não podiam ser salvos a menos que se convertessem ao judaÃsmo. Todos que não eram judeus eram chamados gentios. A morte de Jesus tornou a salvação possÃvel para todos.
[5] Romanos 10:13–14.
[6] Romans 10:15 NKJV.
Natal… Que época maravilhosa do ano! Sempre me deixa muito feliz, porque conforme o Natal se aproxima, as pessoas tendem a valorizar mais as outras. Ficam mais atentas à importância da famÃlia, dos amigos, costumam ser mais generosas, dispostas a ajudar os pobres e os necessitados. Em geral, prevalece uma atmosfera de amor nessa época do ano e eu adoro isso!
Uma coisa em particular que me atrai nesse perÃodo é que as pessoas parecem mais receptivas para ouvir sobre Jesus. Isso é maravilhoso, pois nos dá maiores oportunidades para falar com os demais sobre Seu amor e Sua mensagem.
Nos últimos dias, tenho meditado na importância do Natal e na maravilha que é esse dia. Celebra o nascimento mais importante na história da humanidade, quando, por intermédio de Jesus, o Deus Filho entrou fisicamente no mundo como Deus e homem. Em nenhum outro momento da história nasceu alguém de tal forma singular.
Naquele grande dia, um anjo surgiu para anunciar Seu nascimento aos pastores que cuidavam das ovelhas à noite. Naquele momento, a glória do Senhor brilhou em volta daqueles homens, que, assustados, foram consolados pelo ser angélico, que lhes disse: “Não temais. Eu vos trago novas de grande alegria, que o será para todo o povo. Na cidade de Davi vos nasceu hoje o Salvador, que é Cristo, o Senhor.”[1] Depois de comunicar o nascimento do Salvador, surgiu subitamente uma hoste celestial que, louvando a Deus, dizia: “Glória a Deus nas maiores alturas, paz na terra entre os homens, a quem Ele quer bem!”[2]
Pensava nas palavras do anjo, quando me lembrei de outro acontecimento, também relacionado ao nascimento de Jesus. Como Ele era o primeiro filho de Maria, deveria, conforme determinava a Lei Mosaica, ser apresentado para purificação. Quando José e Maria O levaram ao templo para esse propósito, estava ali um homem já idoso, chamado Simeão. “Fora-lhe revelado pelo EspÃrito Santo que ele não morreria antes de ver o Cristo do Senhor. Movido pelo EspÃrito foi ao templo. Quando os pais trouxeram o menino Jesus para com Ele procederem segundo o que a Lei ordenava, ele O tomou nos braços, e louvou a Deus, dizendo: ‘Agora, Senhor, despede em paz o Teu servo, segundo a Tua palavra, pois os meus olhos já viram a Tua salvação, a qual preparaste perante a face de todos os povos, luz para iluminar os gentios, e para glória do Teu povo Israel.’”[3]
Foram duas proclamações. Uma foi feita pelo anjo: “Trago novas de grande alegria, que o será para todo o povo”; e a outra por Simeão: “Meus olhos já viram a Tua salvação, a qual preparaste perante a face de todos os povos”. Ambas expressam a importância e o propósito do nascimento do Filho de Deus. Os dois anúncios nos dizem que Jesus veio à Terra para a salvação de todos que nEle crerem, judeus ou gentios..[4] A salvação, ambos apregoaram, é disponibilizada a todos por intermédio de Jesus.
O nascimento de Jesus, Sua vinda à Terra, Ele se tornar humano, tudo estava relacionado à salvação da humanidade. Seu nascimento, vida, morte, ressurreição e ascensão estavam relacionados à salvação — à sua, à minha e à de todos.
A mensagem do Natal é a de João 3:16, e eu acrescentaria o versÃculo 17: “Porque Deus amou o mundo de tal maneira que deu o Seu Filho unigênito, para que todo aquele que nEle crê não pereça, mas tenha a vida eterna. Porque Deus enviou o Seu Filho ao mundo, não para que condenasse o mundo, mas para que o mundo fosse salvo por Ele”.
Todo aquele que crê. —Para que o mundo fosse salvo por Ele. A salvação está disponÃvel a todos. É da dádiva que em Jesus Deus oferece a todos nós — é o presente de Natal de Deus para a humanidade.
Deus concedeu essa dádiva e é nossa incumbência, enquanto cristãos, ajudar a entregá-la. Usando a terminologia natalina, serÃamos um tipo de Papai Noel — alguém que entrega o presente. Isso me lembra do que disse o apóstolo Paulo: “Porque ‘todo aquele que invocar o nome do Senhor será salvo.’ Como, pois, invocarão aquele em Quem não creram? E como crerão nAquele de quem não ouviram? E como ouvirão, se não há quem pregue?”[5]
Como ficarão sabendo do presente de Natal que tudo transforma e lhes está disponÃvel? Como ouvirão a seu respeito? Quem lhes falará? Quem será o Papai Noel, que lhes dará a dádiva mais valiosa já oferecida, a vida eterna? A resposta é, todos nós, cristãos. Somos os pregadores, os mensageiros e, no Natal, temos a função de Papai Noel, distribuindo presentes.
Ele deixou a glória do Céu para vir para a Terra com o propósito de tornar a salvação disponÃvel para todos. Pagou o preço para que pudéssemos livremente receber Sua dádiva e, de fato, a recebemos. Temos as riquezas da vida eterna. Há os que não as têm. É uma alegria ter o privilégio de distribuir essas riquezas, a melhor dádiva que existe. Sem dúvida, isso tem um preço. Consome tempo. Exige esforço puxar conversa com um estranho, ser mais profundo com os amigos ou colegas de trabalho, associar-se a outros membros para ensaiar, preparar uma apresentação de Natal, participar de algum evento de testificação, solicitar contribuições, arrecadar alimentos, brinquedos ou outros itens para os necessitados.
Fazemos esses esforços para podermos oferecer o presente, porque Ele, que é O Presente, nos pede. Nós O amamos. Nós O servimos. Nós O seguimos. Ele veio para a salvação do mundo e, por sermos Seus discÃpulos, temos parte em divulgar isso aos demais. Não apenas temos a alegria da salvação, mas temos a satisfação adicional de participar da salvação dos outros. Essa é a bênção do discipulado. Gosto muito que nessa época do ano temos a oportunidade de nos fazer de Papai Noel.
Todo esforço, pequeno ou grande, para dividir com as pessoas o maior presente de Deus —Jesus— é importante, porque torna possÃvel que alguém O conheça. É algo lindo compartilhar essa dádiva com os outros. “Quão formosos são os pés dos que anunciam a paz, dos que anunciam coisas boas!”[6]
Publicado originalmente em dezembro de 2010. Editado e republicado em dezembro de 2013. Tradução Hebe Rondon Flandoli e Denise Oliveira. Revisão Hebe Rondon Flandoli.
[1] Lucas 2:10–11.
[2] Lucas 2:13–14.
[3] Lucas 2:26–32.
[4] Gentio é qualquer um que não seja judeu. Nos tempos de Jesus, a salvação estava disponÃvel somente para os judeus, por causa da crença destes no único Deus verdadeiro, o Deus de Israel, e à observância à s Leis de Moisés. Os gentios, de uma maneira geral, não podiam ser salvos a menos que se convertessem ao judaÃsmo. Todos que não eram judeus eram chamados gentios. A morte de Jesus tornou a salvação possÃvel para todos.
[5] Romanos 10:13–14.
[6] Romans 10:15 NKJV.
