Cronulla Rugby League Football club has been fined a million dollars without a player, official or club having done anything wrong. The fine is apparently to cover up Jason Clare's jaw which claimed that Australian sport was addicted to performance enhancing drugs. Cronulla had administrative problems at the time and so it is apparent ASADA has exploited this to smear them. Had a competent MD been in charge of the club, the claims would probably not have been inflated to this competition changing fine. Will Cronulla, which is not a rich club, move to another site? Queensland needs Sharks ..
CIA involved with AGW alarmism? Or Walter Mitty? ACT game claims seem inflated. Brazil takes heavy burden of feeding plants around the world. McTernan, if you are reading this, you are not invited to lunch with me. Also, if you are not reading this. Daily Telegraph excels at cricket reporting without bias.
Bolt is going on holidays, but this column will continue daily. Human rights commissioner will speak out for freedom. At last.
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Hatches Happy birthday and many happy returns Geoff Brown, Evelyn Agripa, Joshua Cole and Kenny Tran. Born on the same day, across the years, along with
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CLIMATE FAKER BUSTED
Tim Blair – Tuesday, December 17, 2013 (1:12pm)
Big-dollar shenanigans at the US Environmental Protection Agency, a global hub of the climate change industry:
The EPA’s highest-paid employee and a leading expert on climate change deserves to go to prison for at least 30 months for lying to his bosses and saying he was a CIA spy working in Pakistan so he could avoid doing his real job, say federal prosecutors.John C. Beale, who pled guilty in September to bilking the government out of nearly $1 million in salary and other benefits over a decade, will be sentenced in a Washington, D.C., federal court on Wednesday. In a newly filed sentencing memo, prosecutors said that his lies were a “crime of massive proportion” that were “offensive” to those who actually do dangerous work for the CIA.Beale’s lawyer, while acknowledging his guilt, has asked for leniency and offered a psychological explanation for the climate expert’s bizarre tales.
As opposed to the usual stories we hear from climate experts. Ahem. Like most high-profile warmies, Beale has a fondness for travel:
Beale took 33 airplane trips between 2003 and 2011, costing the government $266,190. On 70 percent of those, he travelled first class and stayed at high end hotels, charging more than twice the government’s allowed per diem limit. But his expense vouchers were routinely approved by another EPA official, a colleague of Beale’s, whose conduct is now being reviewed by the inspector general, according to congressional investigators briefed on the report.Beale was caught when he “retired” very publicly but kept drawing his large salary for another year and a half.
These people are worse than the Romans. According to EPA Assistant Inspector General Patrick Sullivan: “There’s a certain culture here at the EPA where the mission is the most important thing. They don’t think like criminal investigators. They tend to be very trusting and accepting.”
(Via Adam I)
STRAIGHT TO JAZZ
Tim Blair – Tuesday, December 17, 2013 (5:37am)
Thrilling chance cards from the timeless 1970s board game Canberra Visitor ("a game about our national capital"):
• A friendly student invites you to a jazz concert at the A.N.U. Union. Go straight there.• Most unusually it starts to rain. Shelter for a while. Miss one turn.• Your transport breaks down but a friendly Canberran gives you a lift.
Not available from the game’s options: “You are in Canberra. Kill yourself.” Readers are invited to update Canberra Visitor’s chance cards for 2013.
GOAL!
Tim Blair – Tuesday, December 17, 2013 (5:34am)
Labor’s $6 billion carbon tax reduced Australia’s carbon dioxide emissions by just 300,000 tonnes over 12 months. Next year’s soccer World Cup will generate nine times that amount:
FIFA says the 2014 tournament, which will require huge amounts of air travel to venues across Brazil, will produce the equivalent of 2.72 million metric tons of carbon dioxide …
The World Cup runs for only one month.
FUTURE IS PAST
Tim Blair – Tuesday, December 17, 2013 (4:50am)
This might be Fairfax’s best anti-Abbott headline yet:
Unless Tony Abbott has somehow generated $400 million in debt every single day since becoming Prime Minister, it’s difficult to imagine how he might be to blame for the forecast deficit. Peter Costello looks at another case of leftoid revisionism:
Unless Tony Abbott has somehow generated $400 million in debt every single day since becoming Prime Minister, it’s difficult to imagine how he might be to blame for the forecast deficit. Peter Costello looks at another case of leftoid revisionism:
When Holden announced last week it was leaving Australia one of the principle reasons it cited was the high value of the Australian dollar. Labor vented its outrage and blamed the Abbott government.Later in the week Labor had a little party to congratulate itself on the decision to float the dollar about 30 years ago.Apparently it dawned on no one that there could be any connection. Or, if it did, no one was saying.
Do read on. Costello isn’t opposed to Labor’s economically sensible floating of the dollar and tariff reductions. He merely notes Labor’s narrow consideration of consequences.
RIVER TO MY PEOPLE
Tim Blair – Tuesday, December 17, 2013 (4:11am)
Mumbrella‘s Nic Christensen – former colleague, nice guy – notices a traffic spike:
Can’t have been me. Everybody knows I’m largely unread. Speaking of Mike Carlton, here’s his current opinion of ex-Gillard advisor John McTernan:
Can’t have been me. Everybody knows I’m largely unread. Speaking of Mike Carlton, here’s his current opinion of ex-Gillard advisor John McTernan:
That dill McTernan. Never understood why anyone took him seriously in Canberra. He was a nonentity in the UK … he was also just not very bright.
But earlier this year, Mike admitted seeking contact with Labor’s not very bright nonentity dill:
I emailed McTernan last Christmas suggesting a drink or lunch …
In a counterintuitive example of good judgment, McTernan didn’t reply.
ONE BALL BETTER
Tim Blair – Tuesday, December 17, 2013 (3:27am)
Fairfax’s Greg Baum reviews two deliveries from yesterday’s Third Test:
Consider these consecutive balls at the WACA Ground on Monday and the way they represent a microcosm of what has become of this Test match and series.The first was from Jimmy Anderson, an England fast bowling great, to George Bailey, an Australian neophyte, who blithely drove it back over Anderson’s head for the third six of an over in which Bailey took Anderson for 28, equal to the most in Test history. It completed, to Michael Clarke’s satisfaction, Australia’s innings and Anderson’s humiliation.The next ball was from Ryan Harris to Alastair Cook, renowned player of long innings, prodigious maker of Test centuries, and England’s captain. It swung, straightened and hit that grail of all seam bowlers, the top of off stump.
The Daily Telegraph‘s editorial (not yet online) reviews three deliveries from yesterday’s Third Test:
Three consecutive deliveries yesterday summed up the entire Ashes series between Australia and England.The first two were bowled by England champion James Anderson to Australian Ashes debutant George Bailey. Both were sent back over Anderson’s head and the boundary for six.With those gigantic shots Bailey brought up 28 runs for the over and took the Australian lead to beyond 500, prompting Aussie captain Michael Clarke to declare.The next delivery in this brilliant match came from Australian fast bowler Ryan Harris to England captain Alastair Cook. For the first time in his long and impressive career, Cook was dismissed – clean bowled – by the first ball he faced.
The Telegraph totally wins.
Merry Christmas
Andrew Bolt December 17 2013 (9:04am)
Trying to have a break
and blog at the same time isn’t working. I just wind up feeling guilty
for not having blogged more - especially given the tsunami of
anti-Abbott vitriol coming from Fairfax and, to a lesser extent, the
ABC.
So that’s it until next year - unless there’s something truly compelling and satisfying to blog on.
Have a great Christmas and to all blog readers I say thanks. Your support has been marvellous.
===So that’s it until next year - unless there’s something truly compelling and satisfying to blog on.
Have a great Christmas and to all blog readers I say thanks. Your support has been marvellous.
Peter Wertheim’s council can fight this on its own
Andrew Bolt December 17 2013 (7:40am)
I’d normally say plenty in support of this article from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, but any body that backs the law
- and verdict - that bans my articles must learn to get along without
my voice. It wouldn’t want the support of a person deemed too nasty to
speak anyway.
And to be honest, I’m a bit uneasy about the company that council head Peter Wertheim now keeps in his jihad against free speech.
UPDATE
I am worried that appointing a “freedom commissioner” to the Human Rights Commission is just adding to the number of bureaucrats whose power lies in making people do other than would wish - which is why any such Human Rights Council inevitably proves to be a danger to the rights it claims to protect. Notice how you are now actually less free to say what you wish, do as you please, hire whom you like and work as best suits?
So the Abbott Government should not try to “reform” the Human Rights Commission but scrap it.
Still, if you had to appoint a freedom commissioner, I can think of no better person than Tim Wilson - so sound that even I might come to think a Privacy Commissioner is a good idea in practice, if not in principle:
===And to be honest, I’m a bit uneasy about the company that council head Peter Wertheim now keeps in his jihad against free speech.
UPDATE
I am worried that appointing a “freedom commissioner” to the Human Rights Commission is just adding to the number of bureaucrats whose power lies in making people do other than would wish - which is why any such Human Rights Council inevitably proves to be a danger to the rights it claims to protect. Notice how you are now actually less free to say what you wish, do as you please, hire whom you like and work as best suits?
So the Abbott Government should not try to “reform” the Human Rights Commission but scrap it.
Still, if you had to appoint a freedom commissioner, I can think of no better person than Tim Wilson - so sound that even I might come to think a Privacy Commissioner is a good idea in practice, if not in principle:
NEW Human Rights Commissioner Tim Wilson has pledged to put freedom on the offensive.
Attorney-General George Brandis announced the appointment of the high profile public policy analyst and commentator to the role today.
Mr Wilson has spent seven years with the Institute of Public Affairs think-tank, where he has headed up its climate change policy and intellectual property and free trade unit.
‘’Human rights are important, consistent and universal and provide the foundations for a free society,’’ Mr Wilson told The Australian. He nominated free speech and media freedom as his two key priorities, saying both had come under attack under the last government.
‘’Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are essential for a free society,’’ Mr Wilson said.
‘’A free media is a direct extension of the importance of free speech and are one and the same in importance.
‘’We need to remove the restrictions that have stopped people saying what they think and believe.
‘’Only through a contest of ideas will our society flourish,’’ he continued, condemning the proposals by the last government to change anti-discrimination laws to ban conduct that ‘’offends or insults’’.
Paid activists can now do it on their own dime
Andrew Bolt December 17 2013 (7:24am)
Any race-based aid is
an insult to our common humanity. But even more insulting is that we pay
the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services to
help poor Aborigines get legal help, but find we get paid activists writing windy reports on everything from the UN torture convention to disability rights:
===So excuse me if I don’t join in this wailing:
THE Abbott government will strip funding from the peak Aboriginal legal aid organisation and policy positions in its state affiliates, but has moderated the extent of cuts to at-the-coalface services following an outcry from the indigenous community.
The Coalition today will announce the defunding of the peak National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services and all law reform and policy officer positions within each state and territory affiliate, saving $9 million over three years.
Brazil 9, Australia own goal
Andrew Bolt December 17 2013 (6:55am)
Brazil’s World Cup will in one month increase carbon emissions by nine times what it took Labor’s $6 billion carbon tax a whole year to cut.
===http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/the_two_tims_why_the_abbott_government_cannot_compromise_with_those_now_sav/
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www.theaustralian.com.au
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/researchers-discover-small-dog-syndrome/story-fn3dxiwe-1226785180157===
www.theage.com.au
http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/coalition-appoints-sophie-mirabella-to-board-of-governmentowned-shipbuilding-firm-20131217-2zj2n.html===
Fashion?
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4 her
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Ashley, 24, and Dean, 50, say most of their five-year relationship has been volatile, and as a result, they’ve both served time in jail for domestic assault. What’s driving their anger? And, can they stop the violence for the sake of their 3-year-old daughter?
http://bit.ly/DRP121613 #DrPhil
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Eric Abetz
Today I will be announcing that the Liberals will commence the Tasmanian Jobs Package early from 1 January 2014. More information: employment.gov.au
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Warren Truss
The Liberal and National Parties will again take the measures that are necessary to clean up Labor's financial mess.
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Sorry?
Sorry means you did something that you should not have, and are offering to remedy it, recognising that the remedy won't be perfect. Otherwise you are excusing poor behaviour because of hubris .. saying that an apology means nothing other than to confuse the upset .. ed===
Michelle Malkin
‘Drunk tweeting again’? Katie Couric sends pic from Mayor-elect de Blasio’s bed ==>http://twitchy.com/2013/
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www.youtube.com
===I got the one thing they want. Me. - ed
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C. H. Spurgeon
Let each one find out what God wants him to do, and then let him do it, or die in the attempt.
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Find out the 3 things you DON’T have to do this holiday season.
http://bit.ly/
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Don't let your health worry you - it will go away eventually.
If I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all. - ed
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Michelle Malkin
US embassy in London unveils huge tapestry of Obama, gushes over his ‘warm smile’ [pics] ==>http://twitchy.com/2013/
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‘Nailed this one!’ Martha MacCallum slams Obama, funeral selfie with crushing quote ==>http://twitchy.com/2013/
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There are known unknowns, and unknown unknowns. Don't ask me what they are, or give examples. I asked my wife. She said I didn't know. I asked if she meant she didn't know. She laughed. - ed===
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http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/tim-wilson-to-head-freedom-campaign-as-human-rights-commissioner/story-fn59niix-1226784792400
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Cutest gingerbread house. Ever.
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This is certainly eye-catching. It's the snow forecast off the morning European model run. It's but a preliminary forecast and it's important to note a consensus forecast has yet to emerge. The models have been "back and forth" on this system. Still, it's worth flagging the fact that one of our most reputable models is suggesting a weekend storm system is being monitoring. This panel is off the Weather Bell data base.
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- 497 BC – The temple to the Roman godSaturn was dedicated in the Roman Forum; its anniversary was celebrated asSaturnalia.
- 1583 – Cologne War: Forces under Ernest of Bavaria defeated the troops under Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg at the Siege of Godesberg.
- 1926 – A coup d'état by the Lithuanian military replaced the democratically elected President Kazys Grinius withAntanas Smetona (pictured).
- 1960 – A US Air Force Convair C-131 Samaritan crashedshortly after take-off into downtown Munich due to fuel contamination, killing all 20 people on board as well as 32 more on the ground.
- 1983 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated a car bomb just outside Harrods Department Store in London, killing six people and injuring about 90 others.
Events[edit]
- 497 BC – The first Saturnalia festival was celebrated in ancient Rome.
- 546 – Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoths under king Totila plunder the city, by bribing the Byzantine garrison.
- 920 – Romanos I Lekapenos is crowned co-emperor of the underage Constantine VII.
- 942 – Assassination of William I of Normandy.
- 1398 – Sultan Nasir-u Din Mehmud's armies in Delhi are defeated by Timur.
- 1538 – Pope Paul III excommunicates Henry VIII of England.
- 1577 – Francis Drake sails from Plymouth, England, on a secret mission to explore the Pacific coast of the Americas for Queen Elizabeth I of England.
- 1583 – Cologne War: Forces under Ernest of Bavaria defeat troops under Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg at the Siege of Godesberg.
- 1586 – Go-Yōzei becomes Emperor of Japan.
- 1600 – Marriage of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici.
- 1718 – War of the Quadruple Alliance: Great Britain declares war on Spain.
- 1777 – American Revolution: France formally recognizes the United States.
- 1790 – Discovery of the Aztec calendar stone.
- 1807 – Napoleonic Wars: France issues the Milan Decree, which confirms the Continental System.
- 1812 – War of 1812: U.S. forces attack a friendly Lenape village in the Battle of the Mississinewa.
- 1819 – Simón Bolívar declares the independence of Gran Colombia in Angostura (now Ciudad Bolívar in Venezuela).
- 1835 – Great Fire of New York: Fire levels lower Manhattan.
- 1837 – A fire in the Winter Palace of Saint Petersburg kills 30 guards.
- 1862 – American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant issues General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky.
- 1865 – First performance of the Unfinished Symphony by Franz Schubert.
- 1892 – First issue of Vogue is published
- 1896 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Schenley Park Casino, which was the first multi-purpose arena with the technology to create an artificial ice surface in North America, is destroyed in a fire.
- 1903 – The Wright brothers make their first powered, heavier-than-air flight in the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
- 1907 – Ugyen Wangchuck is crowned first King of Bhutan
- 1918 – Darwin Rebellion: Up to 1,000 demonstrators march on Government House in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.
- 1919 – Uruguay becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
- 1926 – Antanas Smetona assumes power in Lithuania as the 1926 coup d'état is successful.
- 1927 – Indian revolutionary Rajendra Lahiri is hanged in Gonda jail, Uttar Pradesh, India, two days before the scheduled date.
- 1928 – Indian revolutionaries Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru assassinate British police officer James Saunders inLahore, Punjab, to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai at the hands of the police. The three were executed in 1931.
- 1935 – First flight of the Douglas DC-3.
- 1938 – Otto Hahn discovers the nuclear fission of the heavy element uranium, the scientific and technological basis of nuclear energy.
- 1939 – World War II: Battle of the River Plate – The Admiral Graf Spee is scuttled by Captain Hans Langsdorff outside Montevideo.
- 1941 – World War II: Japanese forces land in Northern Borneo.
- 1944 – World War II: Battle of the Bulge – Malmedy massacre – American 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion POWs are shot byWaffen-SS Kampfgruppe Peiper.
- 1947 – First flight of the Boeing B-47 Stratojet strategic bomber.
- 1950 – The F-86 Sabre's first mission over Korea.
- 1951 – The American Civil Rights Congress delivers "We Charge Genocide" to the United Nations.
- 1957 – The United States successfully launches the first Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
- 1960 – Troops loyal to Haile Selassie I in Ethiopia crush the coup that began December 13, returning power to their leader upon his return from Brazil. Haile Selassie absolves his son of any guilt.
- 1960 – 1960 Munich Convair 340 crash: 20 passengers and crew on board as well as 32 people on the ground are killed.
- 1961 – Niterói circus fire: Fire breaks out during a performance by the Gran Circus Norte-Americano in the city of Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, killing more than 500.
- 1967 – Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt disappears while swimming near Portsea, Victoria, and is presumed drowned.
- 1969 – The SALT I talks begin.
- 1969 – Project Blue Book: The United States Air Force closes its study of UFOs.
- 1970 – Polish 1970 protests: In Gdynia, soldiers fire at workers emerging from trains, killing dozens.
- 1973 – Thirty passengers are killed in an attack by Palestinian terrorists on Rome's Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport.
- 1981 – American Brigadier General James L. Dozier is abducted by the Red Brigades in Verona, Italy.
- 1983 – Provisional IRA members detonate a car bomb at Harrods Department Store in London, England, United Kingdom. Three police officers and three civilians are killed.
- 1989 – The first episode of television series The Simpsons, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", airs in the United States.
- 1989 – Romanian Revolution: Protests continue in Timișoara, Romania, with rioters breaking into the Romanian Communist Party's District Committee building and attempting to set it on fire.
- 1989 – Fernando Collor de Mello defeats Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the second round of the Brazilian presidential election, becoming the first democratically elected President in almost 30 years.
- 1997 – The British Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997 comes into force, banning all handguns with the exception of antique and show weapons.
- 2002 – Second Congo War: The Congolese parties of the Inter Congolese Dialogue sign a peace accord which makes provision fortransitional governance and legislative and presidential elections within two years.
- 2003 – The Soham murder trial ends at the Old Bailey in London, England, with Ian Huntley found guilty of two counts of murder. His girlfriend Maxine Carr is found guilty of perverting the course of justice.
- 2003 – SpaceShipOne, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes its first supersonic flight.
- 2005 – Anti-World Trade Organization protesters riot in Wan Chai, Hong Kong.
- 2005 – Jigme Singye Wangchuck abdicates the throne as King of Bhutan.
- 2009 – MV Danny F II sinks off the coast of Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of 44 people and over 28,000 animals.
- 2010 – Mohamed Bouazizi sets himself on fire. This act became the catalyst for the Tunisian revolution and the wider Arab Spring.
Births[edit]
- 1239 – Kujō Yoritsugu, Japanese shogun (d. 1256)
- 1267 – Emperor Go-Uda of Japan (d. 1324)
- 1556 – Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana, Indian poet (d. 1627)
- 1619 – Prince Rupert of the Rhine, German-English soldier, privateer and scientist (d. 1682)
- 1632 – Anthony Wood, English antiquarian (d. 1695)
- 1685 – Thomas Tickell, English poet (d. 1740)
- 1699 – Charles-Louis Mion, French composer (d. 1775)
- 1706 – Émilie du Châtelet, French mathematician and physicist (d. 1749)
- 1734 – Maria I of Portugal (d. 1816)
- 1749 – Domenico Cimarosa, Italian composer (d. 1801)
- 1778 – Humphry Davy, English chemist and physicist (d. 1829)
- 1796 – Thomas Chandler Haliburton, Nova Scotian politician and author (d. 1865)
- 1797 – Joseph Henry, American physicist (d. 1878)
- 1807 – John Greenleaf Whittier, American poet and activist (d. 1892)
- 1827 – Alexander Wassilko von Serecki, Austro-Hungarian lawyer and politician (d. 1893)
- 1830 – Jules de Goncourt, French author (d. 1870)
- 1835 – Alexander Emanuel Agassiz, Swiss-American scientist and engineer (d. 1910)
- 1842 – Sophus Lie, Norwegian mathematician (d. 1899)
- 1847 – Émile Faguet, French author and critic (d. 1916)
- 1853 – Pierre Paul Émile Roux, French physician, co-founded the Pasteur Institute (d. 1933)
- 1859 – Paul César Helleu, French painter (d. 1927)
- 1866 – Konrad Stäheli, Swiss target shooter (d. 1931)
- 1873 – Ford Madox Ford, English author (d. 1939)
- 1874 – William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canadian politician, 10th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1950)
- 1881 – Aubrey Faulkner, South African cricketer (d. 1930)
- 1887 – Josef Lada, Czech painter (d. 1957)
- 1887 – Hermine Reuss of Greiz, German wife of Wilhelm II, German Emperor (d. 1947)
- 1892 – Sam Barry, American sports coach (d. 1950)
- 1893 – Erwin Piscator, German director (d. 1966)
- 1894 – Arthur Fiedler, American conductor (d. 1979)
- 1894 – Wim Schermerhorn, Dutch politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 1977)
- 1895 – Nils Asheim, Norwegian politician (d. 1966)
- 1900 – Mary Cartwright, English mathematician (d. 1998)
- 1900 – Katina Paxinou, Greek actress (d. 1973)
- 1903 – Erskine Caldwell, American author (d. 1987)
- 1903 – Ray Noble, English bandleader, composer, and actor (d. 1978)
- 1904 – Paul Cadmus, American painter (d. 1999)
- 1905 – Simo Häyhä, Finnish sniper (d. 2002)
- 1905 – Mohammad Hidayatullah, Indian judge, 11th Chief Justice of India (d. 1992)
- 1905 – Erico Verissimo, Brazilian writer (d. 1975)
- 1906 – Fernando Lopes-Graça, Portuguese composer and conductor (d. 1994)
- 1906 – Russell C. Newhouse, American aeronautical engineer (d. 1998)
- 1908 – Willard Libby, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1980)
- 1910 – Eknath Easwaran, Indian-American spiritual teacher and author (d. 1999)
- 1910 – Sy Oliver, American singer-songwriter and trumpet player (d. 1988)
- 1912 – Edward Short, Baron Glenamara, English politician (d. 2012)
- 1913 – Burt Baskin, American businessman, co-founded Baskin-Robbins (d. 1967)
- 1914 – Fernando Alonso, Cuban ballet dancer (d. 2013)
- 1914 – Raymond Fernandez, American murderer (d. 1951)
- 1915 – André Claveau, French singer (d. 2003)
- 1916 – Penelope Fitzgerald, English author and poet (d. 2000)
- 1917 – Kenneth Dike, Nigerian historian (d. 1983)
- 1920 – Kenneth E. Iverson, Canadian computer scientist, developed the APL programming language (d. 2004)
- 1921 – Lore Berger, Swiss author (d. 1943)
- 1922 – Alan Voorhees, American transportation engineer (d. 2005)
- 1923 – Jaroslav Pelikan, American historian and scholar (d. 2006)
- 1924 – Gopalan Kasturi, Indian journalist (d. 2012)
- 1926 – Ray Jablonski, American baseball player (d. 1985)
- 1927 – Ivar Ivask, Estonian poet and literary scholar (d. 1992)
- 1927 – Richard Long, American actor (d. 1974)
- 1927 – Edward Meneeley, American painter and sculptor (d. 2012)
- 1928 – Doyle Conner, American politician (d. 2012)
- 1928 – George Lindsey, American actor (d. 2012)
- 1929 – Jacqueline Hill, English actress (d. 1993)
- 1929 – William Safire, American journalist, author and speechwriter (d. 2009)
- 1930 – Bob Guccione, American publisher, founded Penthouse (d. 2010)
- 1930 – Armin Mueller-Stahl, German actor
- 1931 – Gerald Finnerman, American cinematographer (d. 2011)
- 1931 – Dave Madden, Canadian-American actor
- 1931 – James McGaugh, American neurobiologist
- 1932 – John Bond, English footballer and manager (d. 2012)
- 1932 – Jorma Kortelainen, Finnish skier (d. 2012)
- 1934 – Ray Wilson, English footballer
- 1935 – Brian Langford, English cricketer (d. 2013)
- 1935 – Cal Ripken, Sr., American baseball coach and manager (d. 1999)
- 1936 – Pope Francis
- 1936 – Tommy Steele, English singer, guitarist, and actor
- 1937 – Art Neville, American singer and keyboard player (The Neville Brothers and The Meters)
- 1937 – Kerry Packer, Australian businessman, founded World Series Cricket (d. 2005)
- 1937 – John Kennedy Toole, American author (d. 1969)
- 1937 – Calvin Waller, American general (d. 1996)
- 1938 – Carlo Little, English drummer (Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages and All-Stars) (d. 2005)
- 1938 – Peter Snell, New Zealand runner
- 1939 – James Booker, American pianist (d. 1983)
- 1939 – Eddie Kendricks, American singer-songwriter (The Temptations) (d. 1992)
- 1940 – Kåre Valebrokk, Norwegian journalist (d. 2013)
- 1941 – Stan Mudenge, Zimbabwean politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2012)
- 1942 – Muhammadu Buhari, Nigerian general and politician, 7th Head of State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
- 1942 – Paul Butterfield, American singer and harmonica player (d. 1987)
- 1943 – Mary Brunner, American criminal
- 1943 – Ron Geesin, Scottish pianist and composer
- 1944 – Jack L. Chalker, American author (d. 2005)
- 1944 – Carlo M. Croce, Italian-American oncologist
- 1944 – Bernard Hill, English actor
- 1944 – Timo K. Mukka, Swedish-Finnish author (d. 1973)
- 1945 – Ernie Hudson, American actor
- 1945 – Chris Matthews, American journalist
- 1945 – Jüri Talvet, Estonian poet, translator and literary critic
- 1945 – Jacqueline Wilson, English author
- 1945 – Cees de Wolf, Dutch footballer (d. 2011)
- 1946 – Eugene Levy, Canadian actor
- 1947 – Wes Studi, American actor
- 1949 – Sotiris Kaiafas, Cypriot footballer
- 1949 – Paul Rodgers, English singer-songwriter and musician (Free, Bad Company, The Firm, and The Law)
- 1950 – Laurence F. Johnson, American educator and author
- 1951 – Ken Hitchcock, Canadian ice hockey coach
- 1951 – Tatyana Kazankina, Russian runner
- 1953 – Samuel Hadida, Moroccan film producer
- 1953 – Barry Livingston, American actor
- 1953 – Sally Menke, American film editor (d. 2010)
- 1953 – Bill Pullman, American actor
- 1954 – Sergėjus Jovaiša, Soviet-Lithuanian basketball player
- 1955 – Brad Davis, American basketball player
- 1956 – Peter Farrelly, American director
- 1957 – Earl Hudson, American drummer (Bad Brains)
- 1957 – Bob Ojeda, American baseball player
- 1958 – Boy Abunda, Filipino television host
- 1958 – Mike Mills, American musician, composer and producer (R.E.M., Hindu Love Gods, and Automatic Baby)
- 1959 – Albert King, American basketball player
- 1960 – Moreno Argentin, Italian cyclist
- 1961 – Mansoor Al-Jamri, Bahraini journalist and author
- 1961 – Sara Dallin, English singer and bass player (Bananarama)
- 1961 – Marek Kaleta, Soviet-Estonian javelin thrower
- 1962 – Paul Dobson, English footballer
- 1962 – Richard Jewell, American police officer (d. 2007)
- 1962 – Rocco Mediate, American golfer
- 1964 – Ginger, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Wildhearts, Ginger & The Sonic Circus, and Silver Ginger 5)
- 1964 – Frank Musil, Czech ice hockey player
- 1964 – Michele Tafoya, American sportscaster
- 1964 – Joe Wolf, American basketball player
- 1965 – Craig Berube, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1966 – Tracy Byrd, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1966 – Valeri Liukin, Soviet gymnast
- 1966 – Kristiina Ojuland, Estonian politician, 23rd Minister of Foreign Affairs for Estonia
- 1967 – Gigi D'Agostino, Italian DJ and producer
- 1967 – Vincent Damphousse, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1967 – Karsten Neitzel, German footballer
- 1968 – Andrey Golovatiuk, Russian politician
- 1968 – Claudio Suárez, Mexican footballer
- 1968 – Paul Tracy, Canadian race car driver
- 1969 – Chuck Liddell, American mixed martial artist
- 1969 – Chris Mason, English darts player
- 1969 – Mick Quinn, English singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer (Supergrass)
- 1969 – Michael V., Filipino comedian, actor and singer
- 1970 – Sean Patrick Thomas, American actor
- 1971 – Sinan Akkuş, Turkish-German actor and director
- 1971 – Alan Khan, South African radio host
- 1971 – Antoine Rigaudeau, French basketball player
- 1972 – John Abraham, Indian actor
- 1972 – Laurie Holden, American actress
- 1973 – Konstadinos Gatsioudis, Greek javelin thrower
- 1973 – Rian Johnson, American screenwriter, director and producer
- 1973 – Paula Radcliffe, English runner
- 1973 – Codrin Ţapu, Romanian psychologist
- 1973 – Hasan Vural, Turkish footballer
- 1974 – Duff Goldman, American chef and television personality
- 1974 – Charl Langeveldt, South African cricketer
- 1974 – Sarah Paulson, American actress
- 1974 – Ian Petrella, American actor
- 1974 – Giovanni Ribisi, American actor
- 1974 – Marissa Ribisi, American actress
- 1975 – Mayuko Aoki, Japanese voice actress
- 1975 – Nick Dinsmore, American wrestler
- 1975 – Milla Jovovich, Ukrainian-American actress and singer
- 1975 – Bree Sharp, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1976 – Éric Bédard, Canadian speed skater
- 1976 – Nir Davidovich, Israeli footballer
- 1976 – Patrick Müller, Swiss footballer
- 1976 – Andrew Simpson, English sailor (d. 2013)
- 1976 – Takeo Spikes, American football player
- 1977 – Arnaud Clément, French tennis player
- 1977 – Samuel Påhlsson, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1977 – Katheryn Winnick, Canadian actress
- 1977 – Oxana Fedorova, Russian model, actress, and singer, Miss Universe 2002
- 1978 – Alex Cintrón, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1978 – Riteish Deshmukh, Indian actor
- 1978 – Manny Pacquiao, Filipino boxer and politician
- 1978 – Neil Sanderson, Canadian drummer and songwriter (Three Days Grace and Thousand Foot Krutch)
- 1978 – Chase Utley, American baseball player
- 1979 – Jaimee Foxworth, American actress
- 1979 – Ryan Key, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Yellowcard and Craig's Brother)
- 1979 – Matt Murley, American ice hockey player
- 1980 – Stella, Singaporean singer and actress
- 1980 – Ryan Hunter-Reay, American race car driver
- 1980 – Alexandra Papageorgiou, Greek hammer thrower
- 1980 – Eli Pariser, American Internet activist and author
- 1981 – Jerry Hsu, American skateboarder
- 1981 – Rena Takeshita, Japanese model and actress
- 1981 – Tim Wiese, German footballer
- 1982 – Josh Barfield, American baseball player
- 1982 – Lorenzo Cittadini, Italian rugby player
- 1982 – Benjamin Goldwasser, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (MGMT)
- 1982 – Craig Kielburger, Canadian children's rights activist, co-founded Free the Children and Me to We
- 1982 – Stephane Lasme, Gabonese basketball player
- 1982 – Ryan Moats, American football player
- 1982 – Dynamo, English illusionist
- 1983 – Erik Christensen, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1983 – Bryan Jurynec, American ice hockey player
- 1983 – Kosuke Saito, Japanese DJ and composer
- 1984 – Luis Maria Alfageme, Argentine footballer
- 1984 – Sahara Davenport, American drag queen performer (d. 2012)
- 1984 – Andrew Davies, English footballer
- 1985 – Ryuichi Ogata, Japanese singer and dancer (W-inds)
- 1985 – Katie Kox, American porn actress
- 1986 – Emma Bell, American actress
- 1986 – Vanessa Zima, American actress
- 1987 – Bo Guagua, Chinese son of Bo Xilai
- 1987 – Chelsea Manning, American soldier and convict
- 1988 – Grethe Grünberg, Estonian ice dancer
- 1988 – Kris Joseph, Canadian basketball player
- 1988 – Rin Takanashi, Japanese actress
- 1989 – Taylor York, American guitarist and songwriter (Paramore)
- 1990 – Henri Anier, Estonian footballer
- 1990 – Ashley Edner, American actress
- 1991 – Nadech Kugimiya, Thai actor
- 1993 – Patricia Kú Flores, Peruvian tennis player
- 1994 – Nat Wolff, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player and actor (Nat & Alex Wolff)
- 2007 – James, Viscount Severn, British prince, son of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
Deaths[edit]
- 942 – William I of Normandy (b. c. 900)
- 1187 – Pope Gregory VIII (b. c. 1100/1105)
- 1195 – Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut (b. 1150)
- 1273 – Rumi, Persian jurist, theologian, and poet (b. 1207)
- 1663 – Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba (b. c. 1583)
- 1721 – Richard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarbrough, English solder and politician (b. 1640)
- 1830 – Simón Bolívar, Venezuelan military leader and politician, 2nd President of Venezuela (b. 1783)
- 1833 – Kaspar Hauser, German claimed feral child (b. c. 1812)
- 1847 – Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma, Austrian wife of Napoleon (b. 1791)
- 1860 – Désirée Clary, French wife of Charles XIV John of Sweden (b. 1777)
- 1907 – William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, Irish-British physicist (b. 1824)
- 1909 – Leopold II of Belgium (b. 1835)
- 1917 – Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, English physician and feminist (b. 1836)
- 1925 – George Gibb, Scottish transport administrator (b. 1850)
- 1927 – Rajendra Lahiri, Indian revolutionary (b. 1892)
- 1929 – Manuel de Oliveira Gomes da Costa, Portuguese politician, 10th President of Portugal (b. 1863)
- 1930 – Peter Warlock, Welsh composer (b. 1894)
- 1932 – Charles Winckler, Danish tug of war competitor (b. 1867)
- 1933 – Thubten Gyatso, 13th Dalai Lama (b. 1876)
- 1940 – Alicia Boole Stott, Irish mathematician (b. 1860)
- 1947 – Christos Tsigiridis, Greek engineer (b. 1877)
- 1957 – Dorothy L. Sayers, English author (b. 1893)
- 1962 – Thomas Mitchell, American actor (b. 1892)
- 1964 – Victor Francis Hess, Austrian-American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1883)
- 1967 – Harold Holt, Australian politician, 17th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1908)
- 1967 – Jack Perrin, American actor (b. 1896)
- 1970 – Oliver Waterman Larkin, American art historian (d. 1970)
- 1978 – Don Ellis, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (b. 1934)
- 1981 – Antiochos Evangelatos, Greek composer and conductor (b. 1903)
- 1981 – Ada Kramm, Norwegian actress (b. 1899)
- 1982 – Homer S. Ferguson, American politician, Senator from Michigan (b. 1889)
- 1986 – Guillermo Cano Isaza, Colombian journalist (b. 1925)
- 1987 – Linda Wong, American porn actress (b. 1951)
- 1987 – Marguerite Yourcenar, Belgian author (b. 1903)
- 1992 – Günther Anders, German philosopher (b. 1902)
- 1992 – Dana Andrews, American actor (b. 1909)
- 1998 – Allan D'Arcangelo, American painter (b. 1930)
- 1999 – Rex Allen, American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1920)
- 1999 – Grover Washington, Jr., American singer-songwriter and saxophonist (b. 1943)
- 1999 – C. Vann Woodward, American historian (b. 1908)
- 2002 – K. W. Devanayagam, Sri Lankan Tamil politician, MP for Kalkudah (b. 1910)
- 2002 – James Hazeldine, English actor (b. 1947)
- 2003 – Ed Devereaux, Australian actor (b. 1925)
- 2003 – Otto Graham, American football player (b. 1921)
- 2004 – Tom Wesselmann, American painter and sculptor (b. 1931)
- 2005 – Jack Anderson, American journalist (b. 1922)
- 2005 – Marc Favreau, Canadian actor and poet (b. 1929)
- 2005 – Haljand Udam, Estonian Orientalist and translator (d. 1936)
- 2006 – Larry Sherry, American baseball player (b. 1935)
- 2008 – Sammy Baugh, American football player (b. 1914)
- 2008 – Freddy Breck, German singer-songwriter, producer, and journalist (b. 1942)
- 2008 – Dave Smith, American baseball player (b. 1955)
- 2009 – Chris Henry, American football player (b. 1983)
- 2009 – Jennifer Jones, American actress (b. 1919)
- 2009 – Dan O'Bannon, American actor, screenwriter, and director (b. 1943)
- 2010 – Captain Beefheart, American singer-songwriter and artist (b. 1941)
- 2010 – Walt Dropo, American baseball player (b. 1923)
- 2011 – Eva Ekvall, Venezuelan journalist and author, Miss Venezuela 2000 (b. 1983)
- 2011 – Cesária Évora, Cape Verdean singer (b. 1941)
- 2011 – Kim Jong-il, North Korean politician, 2nd Supreme Leader of North Korea (b. 1941)
- 2012 – Charlie Adam, Scottish footballer (b. 1962)
- 2012 – Richard Adams, Filipino-American gay rights activist (b. 1947)
- 2012 – Tony Charlton, Australian sportscaster (b. 1929)
- 2012 – Jesse Hill, Jr., American businessman and civil rights leader (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Daniel Inouye, American politician, Senator from Hawaii (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Laurier LaPierre, Canadian journalist and politician, Senator from Ontario (b. 1929)
- 2012 – Dina Manfredini, Italian-American super-centenarian (b. 1897)
- 2012 – Arnaldo Mesa, Cuban boxer (b. 1967)
- 2012 – Frank Pastore, American radio personality and baseball player (b. 1957)
Holidays and observances[edit]
- Christian Feast Day:
- Daniel the Prophet
- Lazarus of Bethany (local commemoration in Cuba)
- O antiphon (Catholic Church)
- December 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch (commemoration), (Anglicanism)
- International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers (United States)
- National Day (Bhutan)
- Saturnalia, in honor of Saturn (Roman festivals)
- Wright Brothers Day, a United States federal observance by Presidential Proclamation
“And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name.”Luke 1:46-47, 49 NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
Morning
"Come unto me."
Matthew 11:28
Matthew 11:28
The cry of the Christian religion is the gentle word, "Come." The Jewish law harshly said, "Go, take heed unto thy steps as to the path in which thou shalt walk. Break the commandments, and thou shalt perish; keep them, and thou shalt live." The law was a dispensation of terror, which drove men before it as with a scourge; the gospel draws with bands of love. Jesus is the good Shepherd going before his sheep, bidding them follow him, and ever leading them onwards with the sweet word, "Come." The law repels, the gospel attracts. The law shows the distance which there is between God and man; the gospel bridges that awful chasm, and brings the sinner across it.
From the first moment of your spiritual life until you are ushered into glory, the language of Christ to you will be, "Come, come unto me." As a mother puts out her finger to her little child and woos it to walk by saying, "Come," even so does Jesus. He will always be ahead of you, bidding you follow him as the soldier follows his captain. He will always go before you to pave your way, and clear your path, and you shall hear his animating voice calling you after him all through life; while in the solemn hour of death, his sweet words with which he shall usher you into the heavenly world shall be--"Come, ye blessed of my Father."
Nay, further, this is not only Christ's cry to you, but, if you be a believer, this is your cry to Christ--"Come! come!" You will be longing for his second advent; you will be saying, "Come quickly, even so come Lord Jesus." You will be panting for nearer and closer communion with him. As his voice to you is "Come," your response to him will be, "Come, Lord, and abide with me. Come, and occupy alone the throne of my heart; reign there without a rival, and consecrate me entirely to thy service."
Evening
"Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened."
Isaiah 48:8
Isaiah 48:8
It is painful to remember that, in a certain degree, this accusation may be laid at the door of believers, who too often are in a measure spiritually insensible. We may well bewail ourselves that we do not hear the voice of God as we ought, "Yea, thou heardest not." There are gentle motions of the Holy Spirit in the soul which are unheeded by us: there are whisperings of divine command and of heavenly love which are alike unobserved by our leaden intellects. Alas! we have been carelessly ignorant--"Yea, thou knewest not." There are matters within which we ought to have seen, corruptions which have made headway unnoticed; sweet affections which are being blighted like flowers in the frost, untended by us; glimpses of the divine face which might be perceived if we did not wall up the windows of our soul. But we "have not known." As we think of it we are humbled in the deepest self-abasement. How must we adore the grace of God as we learn from the context that all this folly and ignorance, on our part, was foreknown by God, and, notwithstanding that foreknowledge, he yet has been pleased to deal with us in a way of mercy! Admire the marvellous sovereign grace which could have chosen us in the sight of all this! Wonder at the price that was paid for us when Christ knew what we should be! He who hung upon the cross foresaw us as unbelieving, backsliding, cold of heart, indifferent, careless, lax in prayer, and yet he said, "I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour ... Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life!" O redemption, how wondrously resplendent dost thou shine when we think how black we are! O Holy Spirit, give us henceforth the hearing ear, the understanding heart!
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Today's reading: Amos 4-6, Revelation 7 (NIV)
View today's reading on Bible GatewayToday's Old Testament reading: Amos 4-6
Israel Has Not Returned to God
1 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria,
you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy
and say to your husbands, “Bring us some drinks!”
2 The Sovereign LORD has sworn by his holiness:
“The time will surely come
when you will be taken away with hooks,
the last of you with fishhooks.
3 You will each go straight out
through breaches in the wall,
and you will be cast out toward Harmon,” declares the LORD.
4 “Go to Bethel and sin;
go to Gilgal and sin yet more.
Bring your sacrifices every morning,
your tithes every three years.
5 Burn leavened bread as a thank offering
and brag about your freewill offerings—
boast about them, you Israelites,
for this is what you love to do,” declares the Sovereign LORD....
you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy
and say to your husbands, “Bring us some drinks!”
2 The Sovereign LORD has sworn by his holiness:
“The time will surely come
when you will be taken away with hooks,
the last of you with fishhooks.
3 You will each go straight out
through breaches in the wall,
and you will be cast out toward Harmon,” declares the LORD.
4 “Go to Bethel and sin;
go to Gilgal and sin yet more.
Bring your sacrifices every morning,
your tithes every three years.
5 Burn leavened bread as a thank offering
and brag about your freewill offerings—
boast about them, you Israelites,
for this is what you love to do,” declares the Sovereign LORD....
Today's New Testament reading: Revelation 7
144,000 Sealed
1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea:3 “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” 4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.
5 From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,
from the tribe of Gad 12,000,
6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000,
from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,
from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000....
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Eleazar [Ēle ā'zar]—god is helper.
- The third son of Aaron by Elisheba and father of Phinehas (Exod. 6:23, 25). He was consecrated a priest (Exod. 28:1 ) and was chief of the Levites (Num. 3:32).
- A son of Amminadab, set apart to care for the Ark after its return (1 Sam. 7:1).
- A son of Dodo, the Ahohite, one of the three chief captains of David’s army (2 Sam. 23:9; 1 Chron. 11:12).
- A son of Mahli, a Merarite, who had daughters only, who married their cousins (1 Chron. 23:21, 22; 24:28).
- A priest who participated in the dedication of the rebuilt wall (Neh. 12:42).
- A son of Phinehas, a Levite (Ezra 8:33).
- A son of Eliud and an ancestor of Christ (Matt. 1:15).
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MIGHTY GOD
And he will be called...Mighty God. - Isaiah 9:6
In the Old Testament, some of the prophecies about Christ are mysterious statements. They were so bold and so large that they were treasured through the generations, until they were fulfilled and finally understood. Isaiah's oracle about a son who would be born-Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, and all the rest-was one of those landmark prophecies. In that moment of inspiration, Isaiah revealed he would be Mighty God.
After Jesus' life, death, resurrection and ascension, his followers would piece together what he said and did, and conclude that Jesus really was one with God the Father in a way that is appropriate to call him divine. The doctrine of the Trinity would be defined later, but in Isaiah's prophesy about the coming one are the seeds of this truth.
In the Jewish tradition, nothing was more important than belief in the "oneness" of God. Not two gods, not a thousand gods, but one and only one God. So what could happen when, in Bethlehem itself, Magi from the east came bearing gifts fit for a king, but who also worshipped him? Why did Jesus allow fishermen in a boat worship him after he calmed a storm? Or Mary falling at Jesus' feet in worship in the garden after his resurrection? Or the disciple Thomas falling at his feet, saying, "My Lord and my God?"
Nobody at the start of Jesus' life, nor during his adult ministry, even hinted at anything suggesting there is more than one God. But because of who God is; because God is higher than human comprehension; because God said "us" from the very beginning: "Let us make man in our image" (Gen. 1:26); because the coming one would be called Immanuel, "God with us," (Matt. 1:22-23) we can believe that Christmas represents the true entry of God into human affairs. The same God who created humanity, took humanity on himself when it suited his purposes-to save that same humanity. The God who created the world, entered it through a human birth in the town of Bethlehem.
Not any kind of god would do that. Only the one, true, Mighty God.
Prayer for Today:
Lord I believe you are mighty. I believe you can do whatever you wish. I believe you came in the flesh in Jesus.
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