Tag Archives: Top 10 List

Top 10, no Top 5 Favorite Hymns

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I was a bit surprised when I started looking through the archives to see that I have never posted on my top 10 favorite hymns of all time. I have posted on praise bands and the world’s dumbest hymn, but never those which are my favorite. This list is composed of my favorite hymns. I’m not saying that these hymns should be your favorite hymns, but you might agree that there are some good ones. I don’t include praise songs since there are only a few of them that I like and I believe they should stand the test of time before we move them into the “favorite hymn” list. A good hymn should be at least older than I am.

Also, I don’t include Christmas hymns. That is a list unto it’s self, coming to a blog site near you, around Christmas time.

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Top 5 Abused Bible Verses

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In working on my sermon this week, I’ve come across one of the most abused verses in Scripture. It’s not as abused today as it was some 70 years ago, but it is still one of the most abused passages of Scripture. The passage is John 8:31-32  “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Only in it’s abuse, those using it only quote verse 32, without the first part of the conditional clause.

A conditional clause means that there is a condition to knowing the truth. Knowing the truth means that we are His disciples. Being His disciples mean that we follow Him and His word. Yet countless people use the old King James Version, Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free, in a manner to indicate that the truth is just floating about for anyone to find it. It is not, for truth to be know, we must know it in the light of Christ.

I’m reminded of my childhood growing up in the cult of Christian Science and see that portion of the passage on the inside cover to Mary Baker Eddy’s Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (Please note: she has no keys to Scripture. Her book is filled with senseless drivel. She doesn’t know Christ, God or the truth). The passage is used in such a way that it suggests that objective truth is just floating about and all we need to do is look for it. It’s not. The only true way to know real Truth is to know Christ and be known by Him (Matthew 7:21ff). Truth is not disconnected from Christ.

We also see this passage on the building of countless universities across the land. There too, it’s put forth as if truth is out there for anyone looking for it apart from Christ. I know the arch-rival of my own university, texas university, has the scripture emblazoned on one of the buildings. However I don’t think that school, or any other state-run school that has the passage emblazoned on campus is advocating their students become disciples and followers of Christ.

The point is that when Christ uttered those words, He was in a heated debate with the Jews about His identity and their need to be freed from sin. He wasn’t throwing up the idea that truth was to be known apart from Him. Knowing the truth means we must be “in Christ,” and by being “in Christ” we will know truth about who He is and who we are. We are sinners in need of a Savior, and the Truth is that He is that Savior. Being in Him means we are freed from one of our greatest foes: sin. We cannot be truly free unless sin is dealt with, and only through Christ is that sin dealt with. Otherwise we will die in our sins, as Jesus warned the Jews (John 8:21).

This is why this verse makes my Top 5 list of the most abused passages in history. People have abused it in an attempt to make themselves seem erudite in the pursuit of truth. Yet, truth pursued apart from Christ does us no good at all.

4. Number 4 on the list is Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. The reason this one makes the list is that far too many people use it as a quick fix to someone else’s problems. Your cousin just died in a car wreck? Romans 8:28. You have cancer? Romans 8:28. You just lost your home to foreclosure? Romans 8:28. Your cat had puppies? Romans 8:28.

It is abused because of the way that it is used in Christian circles. People use it in an attempt to belittle the struggles of others and this is unconscionable. It is thoughtless, and mean. Paul writes that we are to weep with those who weep in Romans 12:15, not throw Romans 8:28 in their faces.

To abuse this passage is to ignore the fact that Christians have been called to suffer just as Christ suffered. I know, suffering is one of those things that polite Christians do not talk about. But it is a reality of the Christian life. To deny it, is to deny the calling every Christian has in life. So when someone suffers, don’t throw up a quick passage so you can sooth your conscience and be on your way. Sit down with them, and be with them and weep with them.

3. Number 3 on the list is Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. This verse is abused because it is ripped out of context. The context is that Paul is saying he has learned to be content whether he has plenty or he is abased, both to abound and suffer need. He does not say that he can conquer the world because he has Philippians 4:13.

This verse should not be the foundation of every motivational speaker to come down the pike. That is not what Paul is saying. In fact, he would probably be aghast at the idea that so many are using this passage in such a manner, given that Jesus Christ conquers the world and our worlds, we do not. We are mere servants, not tiny gods out to conquer all that is before us.

2. Matthew 7:1 “Judge not, that you be not judged.” This passage is abused among the haters of Christianity. It’s not used to teach us to guard against being hypocritical, as Jesus intended it to be used, but used to silence anyone who would espouse any godly standard above that of being a dog. Jesus isn’t giving a blanket statement for not judging, but given a lesson on how to judge rightly.

I like what Paul Washer is reported to have said concerning this verse: “People always tell me, ‘Judge not, lest ye be judged.’ I reply, ‘Twist not Scripture, lest ye be like Satan.’”

1. John 3:16 For God so loved the world… You know my hatred of the abuse of this passage. Far too many use it to justify their ungodly behavior and lack of holiness because of God’s love. In other words, “For God so love the world, I can live and believe as I please, and Jesus is there to take care of everything for me.”

This passage is also the foundation of so much bad theology that I think we should stop quoting it, and quote all of John 3 to bring it back into light. Anything less than this is to abuse the fulness of what Christ was saying in John 3.

There you have it, my Top-5 abused passages of Scripture. What are yours?

Top 10 Posts of 2012

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It is that time again, the time that we look back and reflect upon our accomplishments. It’s a time when we go the stats page and see what people have been reading. It’s a time to think about how I’m making an impact for the Kingdom of God. So, without further wordiness, here are the Top 10 Posts of 2012. Please note, some of these posts may not have been posted in 2012, but were the most read in 2012.

Number One — Blue Bell Ice Cream: Top 10 Flavors — Yes, coming in at number one, making an impact for the Kingdom of God, is this little ditty that I posted back on July 5, 2011, and comes it an number one with 9,394 hits. Apparently the post got snatched up by Google and every time someone Googles Blue Bell Ice Cream, my post come up. It’s amazing how many people are interested in Blue Bell Ice Cream. This is a good way to increase stats. Take something very popular, and write about it. I did the same thing with Oreo Cookies, but it didn’t make the Top 10 list for the year.

Number Two — Mike Sherman Shows His True Character – This one was simply a repost of Mike Sherman’s letter to high school coaches in several newspapers across the state of Texas. It comes in at number two with with 6,352 hits, but is remarkable because it holds the number one post of all time hits in a single day. I got 2,610 hits the day I posted it, showing that what he wrote at the time was really of interest to people. I posted it because it showed that Sherman truly is a man of character. I was completely surprised by how many read it.

Number Three — The Dreaded Brown Recluse Widow Tarantula — A humorous piece that pokes fun and our fear of spiders, this one actually started gaining traction long after I posted it on April 29, 2011. It falls into this position with 1,119 hits for the year.

Number Four — Cremation or Burial: A Biblical Perspective — Finally, we get to something of significance, something that deals with our views of life, something that has eternal ramifications. However… this is one of the pieces that I wish were NOT in the Top 10. After reading it over and giving it some thought, I feel the piece is full of holes and leaps in logic and therefore, really not well argued. So please, don’t read it.

Number Five — Top 10 Most Noble Jobs in the World — The premise is that since these are jobs that no one longs to do, they are noble because they are so necessary to our lives. It comes in at number five with 995 hits, and is the first one that drops below 1,000 hits.

Number Six — Top 10 Reasons I Love Christmas — This one came on with a surge as the year came to a close and finished with 978 hits.

Number Seven — Neil Boortz: Excellent Commencement Speech — This is a speech that was never given, but what Neil would say if given the opportunity. This post received 909 hits.

Number Eight — We Cry Abba/Father, Not Daddy — Finally, one that is theological that I actually like. I’m making the point that Abba does not equate to Daddy as some have tried to say. It makes the list with 873 hits.

Number Nine — Top 10 Reasons Christianity is Far Superior to Any Other Religion – This one is getting a lot of play because of those opposed to the faith more than those who are for it. Those of us “in Christ” know the real reason Christianity is superior is because of Christ and all that comes with being “in Christ.”

Number Ten — The About Page — guess people were trying to figure out who I am. The next was the page on Calvinism, followed by Against the Cults page.

BTW, the overall readership of my page is up over the past year. For instance, the number one post for 2011 was The Godfather which had 4,292 hits for 2011, while this year’s number one post more than doubles that hit count. This shows that if you just stay at it, you will build up readership.

Top Ten Songs from Hell

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I got this idea for this Top-10 List from from Comedian Tim Hawkins who posted on his Facebook page that the NAPA Knowhow song just broke into Hell’s Top 10 playlist. He has a point. That song is about as irritating as it can get. Most songs from radio commercials are irritating on one level or another. I believe that is because there is a course in advertising school that teaches people that if you cannot come up with a catchy, good tune or song for your commercial, then you should make it as irritating as possible. Since that is so much easier, it happens all the time.

For instance I can sing the song for Heritage for the Blind. It’s about donating your old junked up car so they can sell it and help the blind. The song is so terrible, so off key, so through the nose of the guy singing, that it’s unforgettable. You know it’s bad when I can discern that the song is flat, off-key and through the vocalist’s nose.

But I digress. This is about pop-culture songs that are straight from hell or about hell, or both. A song qualifies if it gets stuck in your head and… you hate it. A song also qualifies if it is about hell, or the devil or it’s so bad, it makes you want to go there to get away from the song. Therefore…

10. Bat Out of Hell — Meatloaf. Come on, it’s by a guy named Meatloaf! It has to make the list! Plus, I was introduced to this over-dramatic song by a teacher in high school while we were on a One-Act play trip to some place in central Texas. She kept playing it over and over again and I really wanted to send that bat right back to hell.

9. Call Me Maybe — This one qualifies because I’ve only heard it maybe five times, but it’s played inside the recesses of my brain at least a billion times. It went from being a cute song, to… a hellish song. I’ve only seen the artist who sings it in a video once. The other times had the US Olympic Swim team singing it and a bunch of Republicans from Chicago singing it (should we not consider the phrase Chicago Republicans a contradiction in terms?)

8. Sympathy for the Devil — by the Rolling Stones. This song has always given me the creeps and I can only attribute that to the fact that the Rolling Stones capture one aspect of Satan so well. Some writers have even suggested that this song inspired many other entertainers to try and entertain us about hell/Satan, etc. I just have one question for Mick Jaegger and the boys: “with a song like this, exactly where do you plan on spending eternity?”

7. Stairway to Heaven — I know, this seems like it should appear in the Top-Ten Songs for Heaven, but it actually is about a woman trying to buy a stairway to heaven all the while wearing a bustle in her hedgerow. Or something like that. I never have been able to discern much of what Robert Plant is actually saying in the songs he sings. Since this song actually opposes the gospel, it’s actually about getting into hell, in the sense that someone thinks they can buy their way into heaven. But that is probably far too deep for the average listener of Led Zepplin, even though many believe that Led Zepplin is actually really deep. How could one possibly know? You can’t understand half of what Robert Plant is actually saying.

BTW, I don’t believe that if you play Led Zepplin songs backwards, that you can hear Satan’s voice chanting some dirge to delude the people. I do believe you can hear Tiny Tim’s voice as he sings Tiptoe Through the Tulips… our number six enter.

6. Tiptoe Through the Tulips — by Tiny Tim. O what an abuse of the name Tim! Someone please hide the ukuleles.

5. Highway to Hell — AC/DC’s contribution to the list. Given that the lead singer of the band that sang this song died from choking on his own vomit, makes one wonder if he made his destination.

4. Running With the Devil — Van Halen’s contribution to the list.

3. Hotel California — this one rates at number three because it has caused countless millions to sing along without realizing they are singing about hell. The song comes from the apostate Don Henly. It is not really about hell, but about the “high-life” of LA… wait, isn’t that the same thing?

2. House of the Rising Sun — listen to this one too much and you get put on suicide watch. This folk song was popularized by the Animals back in 1964. It’s not just that the song is so utterly depressing, as Blues tends to be, but misguided Christians keep trying to co-opt the tune and put the words of Amazing Grace to it. This shows the unheavenly nature of the song and causes it to rise to such a high level of disdain.

1. Red Solo Cup — Straight from the Department of Monotony, this one is not only mind numblingly repetitive, but there is so little substance to it that it has become the national anthem for every frat boy in the country. Musically this song only rises to the level of the gutter vomit that it leads to in countless frat houses. May it depart from the recesses of my brain as quickly as the word “moderation” does at a keg party.

OK, you probably have your own list. Let me know in the comments section.

Ten Things Pastors Don’t Like About Pastoring

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This Top-10 List is from Thom S. Rainer, who is the CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. He conducted an informal survey of pastors about what they didn’t like about the ministry and came up with the following ten items. I agree with some of them, and disagree with others of them. Out of a selfish sense of preservation, I will not comment on any of them or let you know which ones I agree with. However, if you come across one of the 10 that angers you, I don’t agree with that one.

10. Dealing with budgets and finance. “I have a pastor friend who has a finance major. He was in business before he went to seminary and he loves working with numbers. Not me. I get nauseas at the thought of working on the church budget.”

9. Weddings. “Emotions are usually high at weddings. Some people are difficult to handle. Plus the rehearsal, ceremony, and reception take away my whole weekend. I wish we could pass a law that no weddings can take place during college football season.”

8. Announcements in the worship service. “This past Sunday I was asked to announce that one of the older Sunday school classes was having a garage sale to raise money to repair the pipe organ. Their hearts were right, but I had to talk about a garage sale and a pipe organ right before I preached.”

7. Persistent critics. “You have to deal with critics if you are a pastor. I just struggle with those who are always on me about something. They never let up. It can be demoralizing.”

6. Anonymous critics. “I shouldn’t even let anonymous critics bother me. If they don’t have the courage to use their name, I have no reason to dwell on it. But, I’ve got to admit, it really bugs me. I find myself wondering throughout the day who it might be.”

5. Counseling. “I really envy those pastors who are counselors. They get energized by listening to people at their points of need and hurt. I have to admit that my mind wanders and I watch the clock. I don’t think I really help anybody when I counsel.”

4. Treating spouses like they are paid staff members. “I really hurt for my wife because we have one church member that expects her to put in the same amount of hours at church as I do. My wife is taking care of our three preschool children at home, but she feels guilty every time the church member talks to her.”

3. Supporters who don’t support pastors publicly. “One guy was ripping into me at our last business meeting. But he didn’t bother me as much as my so-called supporters who remained silent the whole time. They’ve told me that they are behind me, but they weren’t there for me when I needed them the most.”

2. Funerals of non-Christians. “I’ve been a pastor for nearly thirty years, and I still struggle when I’m asked to do the funeral of someone who never professed Christ. Most of the time my funeral message is directed at the family, and how God will comfort them. It’s still not easy.”

1. Business meetings. “Let me know if you come across a pastor that actually likes church business meetings. I want to find the secret to his moments of delusion.”

Oreo Cookies: Top 10, 11, 12 … 25 ways to eat them…

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I have a confession to make. I love Oreo cookies. Of all store bought cookies, Oreos are at the top of the list. In fact, if they are store bought, more than likely I won’t like them. I will eat them because they are cookies, but I would rather have Oreos than say… Chips Ahoy!, or… Pepperidge Farms. I admit that Pepperidge Farms are better than Chips Ahoy!. But if given the choice, I would rather take Oreo cookies, especially since the people at Nabisco have done such a great job of keeping the product fresh and new.

I must not be the only who feels this way since Oreos are celebrating their 100th Anniversary this year! That is a lot of cookies over the past 100 years, and I’ve done everything I could to eat my share over the past 50 years!

Since this is a Top 10 list, let me start with ways to eat the cookies, followed by the different Oreos that are provided by Nabisco.

  1. For instance, we all know the best way to eat Oreo cookies is by dipping them in milk. I love to let them soak in the milk to the point that they are about to fall apart. This gives maximum saturation of the milk and just as the structural intergrity of the cookie is about to break down, I take it out and eat it.
  2. Soaking them in hot coffee is almost as good. I learned this one from a former elder who boasted that he ate 4 Oreo cookies with his coffee for breakfast every morning. To me, it was a revelation! Oreos are breakfast food!
  3. Who can deny tearing apart the cookies, eating the cream in the middle and then finishing off the cookie. This is Joey’s favorite way to eat cookies, and he learned it all on his own.
  4. Grinding up the cookies and putting them in ice cream.
  5. Number four leads to number five and six, which was accomplished by the good folks at Dairy Queen. The best is the Blizzard with mint ice cream and Oreo cookies. Ninety percent of the time when I visit DQ for a Blizzard and I don’t get the French Chocolate Blizzard, I get this one. It is also why the Oreo cookies with mint cream are at the top of the list for the ways that Oreos are made.
  6. The other great Dairy Queen Blizzard is the one with vanilla ice cream and Oreo cookies.
  7. Covering the cookies with my wife’s fudge, letting them cool and then eating them.
  8. Let them sit in the car in the hot summer sun so that the cream filling is all gooey. This was one of my favorite things about going to the beach when I was younger. The cookies made lunch on the hot-Texas beaches perfect.
  9. I think the cake is called something like Mud Pie, but it is basically a cake with crushed up Oreos and Gummy Bear’s inside of it, along with cool whip and chocolate pudding. I love the cake, but not the Gummy Bear’s.
  10. Oreos and bananas. My mother taught me this one. For some reason, both the bananas and the Oreos are much better together than eaten separately.
  11. Oreos and potato chips. Needless to say, I don’t do this one much any more for health reasons, but if you are into the ultimate in junk food, Lay’s Potato chips and Oreo cookies are great to eat together. It has something to do with the salt and sugar working together.

Now the follow part of the list was what made it so hard to do list in the first place. There are ways to eat Oreo cookies, and there are ways that Nabisco has taken it upon themselves to make Oreo cookies. The following list are my favorite ways they make them, so that I can eat them in the ways described above.

  1. Oreo Double Stuff Cookies. They got it right when someone noticed that since the cream is the best part of the Oreo cookie, then doubling the cream made the cookie that much better.
  2. Cool Mint Cream Oreo cookies. This should become a must for those who celebrate St. Patrick’s Day since the cream is that color of green. I love these so much that Elisa recently asked me not to buy them for a while. She wanted something other than mint-green Oreo cookies. Fortunately, they make them in so many ways….
  3. Oreo Double Stuff Chocolate Cream– the filling is chocolate AND doubled.
  4. Oreo Triple Cream Chocolate — half the filling is normal cream, the other is fudge!
  5. Oreo Fudge Covered — They cover the cookie with chocolate fudge.
  6. Pure White Fudge Covered — They cover the Oreo with white fudge. This is one my favorites at Christmas time… I think it’s seasonal.
  7. Oreo Fudge Creams — same as fudge covered only it is minus one of the cookies.
  8. Golden Originals — same cream, vanilla cookies.
  9. Regular Oreos — can’t forget this one, it’s a staple and what got it all started.
  10. Chocolate Berry Burst Ice Cream — strawberry cream filling.

Well, I hope you enjoyed thinking about all these Oreo cookies. There is a reason the product has been around for 100 years. We have eaten so many Oreo cookies over the years, it has become a part of our culture.

Top 5 Bible Verses of 2011

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BibleGateway.com, which has the Bible on line with multiple translations, has compiled a list of the Top 5 Bible verses that were searched on their site for 2011. The list is not that surprising when you look at it. Here it is:

In descending order of popularity, here are the top five Bible passages of 2011:

1. Jeremiah 29:11

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (NIV)

2. John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (KJV)

3. Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (ESV)

4. Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart;
don’t rely on your own intelligence.
Know him in all your paths,
and he will keep your ways straight. (CEB)

5. Romans 8:28

We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose. (HCSB)


They do have a post from the previous year about what is missing from the list. Collin Hansen wrote that the most popular verse that year was John 3:16 and was probably due to Tim Tebow’s use of the verse under his eyes during football games. But what is missing from the Top 25, or almost completely missing are verses about man’s sin. Hansen writes:

Let me mention an omission. Maybe you caught it, too. Knowing the whole Bible and not just the most-searched passages, you realize that the absence is glaring. You won’t learn from this list why God needs to redeem the world he created. You won’t learn why his love is so significant. You won’t find any warning of what’s to come if you don’t believe. In short, you won’t read about our sin and God’s wrath. Actually, you need to follow the list all the way down to #19 and #20 to find sin. At #19, 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” And #20 reads, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

If we neglect sin and the Lord’s righteous wrath, then we haven’t understood even the basics of Scripture and God’s true character. D. A. Carson writes in The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism:

The point that cannot be escaped is that God’s wrath is not some minor and easily dismissed peripheral element to the Bible’s plot-line. Theologically, God’s wrath is not inseparable from what it means to be God. Rather, his wrath is a function of his holiness as he confronts sin. But insofar as holiness is an attribute of God, and sin is the endemic condition of this world, this side of the Fall divine wrath cannot be ignored or evaded. It is not going too far to say that the Bible would not have a plot-line at all if there were no wrath.

The danger of popping into Scripture from Google is that we miss the story for the verses. Each one of these top 10 most-searched Bible verses is a beautiful, moving testament to God’s loving faithfulness. We should memorize them, sing them, copy them, and remind one another of them. But without knowing the whole story, we don’t know why we should care that God loved the world enough to give his one and only Son. Unless we know about our sin, we will surely perish in it.

It seems that people are looking for the comfort found in Scripture, without looking for the cause of the discomfort that is in their lives. We will only know true comfort when we face our sin and repent.

Top 10 Happy New Year Hopes

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Happy New Year to all my readers. I do hope and pray that you are blessed in 2012 in more ways than you were in 2012. However, may those blessings be more of the spiritual nature in Christ than the material blessings we often hope for. In other words, the spiritual blessings which are found in Christ are far more precious than the gold that perishes.

However, this post has things that are not necessarily of the spiritual nature simply because this is what I’m think of right now. Here are my hopes for 2012:

  1. I hope that we elect a truly conservative president, house and senate that will return this country to the Constitution of our country and move us away from the entitlement mentality. This is what is best for the country and will lead to more jobs for those who desire to work.
  2. I hope the new president and Congress will truly free us from foreign oil and start drilling here in the United States. NO, I don’t believe hybrid vehicles are the answer and believer it is foolish to think so. You have to generate that electricity somewhere and most of our electricity comes from coal-powered plants, so you are achieving nothing by driving such vehicles except believing in the lie that you are helping the environment. This too will help the economy by providing more jobs for those who desire to work.
  3. I hope that Texas A&M has a wonderful football season with their new coach Kevin Sumlin. This won’t necessarily help the economy but will be more fun for me. In this, I hope that Coach Sumlin becomes the winningest coach in A&M’s history and the longest tenured coach in A&M’s history, with lots and lots of championships.
  4. I hope and pray that the LORD will truly grow FCC Roswell and help us continue to move towards being a healthy congregation.
  5. I hope that President Obama truly enjoys retirement and takes up playing golf full time. I also hopes that he finds personal peace and can put behind that social bitterness that drives him so much in the way he governs and sees our world.
  6. I hope that the Pro-Life movement continues to make strides in reducing the number of abortions and closing down the murder clinics that are open now. Read how they may strides this year here.
  7. I hope the Texas Rangers return to the World Series again and win it all.
  8. I hope and pray that the drought here in the Southwest, Texas and elsewhere would come to a end.
  9. I hope that liberals in our country would begin to question their own positions and would become more conservative, since this is what is best for the country. Conservatism is not easy, but it is what is best. It’s easy to take other peoples money and create a dependent class as liberals like to do.
  10. I hope that moderates… get a clue, get off the fence and see why Conservatism is much better than trying to be popular.

There they are. What are your hopes for the year?

Top 10 Posts for 2011

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Time to take a look at the year in blogging. Since I like to do Top 10 posts, this one is focusing on the Top 10 posts for 2011. The post may not have been written in 2011, but still garnered a lot of attention, as was the case for my post on the Godfather. It is my all-time most read post, with a total views well above 7,000. Since moving from my wordpress url to timothyjhammons.com url, that views have stopped. Somewhere there was a link to this particular post that was generating a lot of views and when I made the change, that link ceased to function.

Yet, here are the Top 10 posts for 2011:

The Godfather More stats 4,292
Blue Bell Ice Cream: Top 10 Flavors More stats 1,647
Rob Bell: False Teacher… Worthless Pastor… Savage Wolf More stats 1,387
Doomsday THIS Saturday! More stats 717
The Dreaded Brown Recluse Widow Tarantula! More stats 561
We Cry Abba/Father, NOT Daddy! More stats 492
Coexist? Update More stats 450
Von Miller’s Aggie Ring and Championship Ring More stats 447
J.C. Ryle Confronts False Teacher Rob Bell More stats 394
BREAKING NEWS: The Real Reasons Glenn Beck Is Leaving Fox News More stats 331

Top 10 Reasons I Love Christmas

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Since my previous post was on the reasons I can’t stand Christmas shopping, I thought I would tell you why I like Christmas in general, even though there is nothing Scripture that tells us to set the day aside as a holiday. In other words, the day itself is purely an invention of men, and has very little to do about Christ and His incarnation.

Given that, here are the reasons I love Christmas:

  1. It gives us a chance to ponder the incarnation of Christ and what that means. This truly is a wonderful event because the Second Person of the Trinity became flesh and dwelt among us. Since this is true, then we must ask “why?” Christ becoming flesh is the best demonstration of God’s love, for He laid aside His glory, in order to redeem His people. In fact, the name Jesus means just that: He will save His people.
  2. I love Christmas trees, lights and decorations. OK, this is hardly theological. But I can’t help it. I love the lights and decorations that go along with Christmas.
  3. I love the food that accompanies Christmas. Everyone knows that the food and sweets are much better around Christmas time because this leads to everyone’s favorite New Year’s resolution: eat less, exercise more, and lose weight, or some variation of that.
  4. I love the great hymns that have been written about Christmas, especially O Holy Night! That is my favorite hymn and why I’ve included it in this post. This one is performed by Josh Groban: 
  5. I love getting surprise gifts. Yes, I know that I said I would prefer a haircut, but I still love receiving gifts from my loved ones, knowing that they were willing to go through the trouble that buying gifts is for me. Elisa always puts a great deal of thought into my gift and I appreciate that about her.
  6. I love preaching sermons about the coming of Christ because it opens the door to grabbing a hold of both covenants, the old and the new, and showing how the two come together in Christ. You can listen to some of my sermons here.
  7. I love the battles that surround Christmas about the displays being put up on the courthouse lawn, and seeing the thousands of Christians standing up for the right to say “Merry Christmas.”
  8. The flip side of this is seeing all the atheists get flummoxed as they try and silence us from exercising our beliefs and rights. No one is forcing atheists to participate in our beliefs. They do not have to participate in the day. In fact, since they are so set against celebrating Christmas and all that it represents, let them show up for work on those days and not take the day off.
  9. I love watching Joey and Andy in all the events. They get so excited over the simplest things and I love seeing them do so. They love the tree that my wife decorated in our living room, and the thought of Christmas gifts that will come to them next Sunday. I love driving around in the car after sunset and looking at all the lights with them.They are really one of the reasons the season is so much fun now. Children help lower the Bah-humbug factor!
  10. Finally, I love that so many are talking about the most historic moment in history when they say Merry Christmas. They may not realize it, but they are. Even this, bring Him glory.

I hope you have reasons to love the season as well. Merry Christmas.