CHANGE

It was December 5th, George and I were in the car on our way from my brother-in-law’s house where I did laundry, to the church, which is now our residence. I said to George “We don’t have a December newsletter yet.” He said, “I have written two letters, and I don’t like either of them. What kind of Christmas message can I write that isn’t already done? Christmas messages end up all being the same. What can I say?” George sounded a bit like Charlie Brown in the Christmas special on TV, when Charlie says, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?! ” I told George, “In the past I have normally written the December newsletter, but I have not felt the Lord prompting me with any ideas.”  

The next morning, I started thinking about our newsletter dilemma and I felt the Lord nudging me. So, I told George that I would start writing the newsletter and see what the Lord tells me.  

So here it is.

Do you want to change?

Do you want Christmas to change you this year?

Nothing changes a person’s life more dramatically than the birth of a baby. A baby comes into your life and your whole world changes, and it is never the same as it was before the birth of that child.  At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus. “He has come! Our long expectant Savior who will deliver us has come!”  

When Jesus came into the world it changed everything for all mankind. Why shouldn’t it change you today?

Why shouldn’t you expect to change at Christmas?

Or maybe it is easier not to deal with any change?  Maybe you feel you don’t have time. There is money to be made, a house to clean, family to take care of. You hardly have time to think.

Life is busy. Most people do the same things every year at Christmas time. We have Christmas traditions. We give gifts to the same people and prepare the same meal year after year. Do we change spiritually as a result of Christmas? Or do we just collect more things and get a little fatter?   

Every year at Christmas the Lord gives us an opportunity to receive. Receive what? (You can’t see me as I am writing this, but I am grinning.)  To receive the opportunity to be changed, to have your heart changed, to have your spiritual walk changed, to change the capacity of your “grace” tank for others and yourself. The list is endless. These changes are not just for Christmas but to walk out for the rest of our lives.  

Christmas is like God giving us an open door. You can walk through the door and receive the mystery of God He has for you or you can choose to do Christmas as usual and remain the same.

If you are not willing to change you may not be ready for the new season God has for you and your family. The New Year is coming.

The Lord is inviting you to be changed. I pray you say yes to Him and accept the gift.

George’s Thoughts

The Holy Spirit leads us if we are sensitive to his voice. When I attempted to write the December newsletter, the Lord spoke the subject to me: CHANGE. Then in the process of writing, I kind of got off into “rabbit trails” and I didn’t like what I wrote. Lorraine asked about the letter and I told her I had tried twice and didn’t like what I wrote. She said she could give it a whirl and I said, “Go for it.” She wrote about change, even though I hadn’t told her “change” was what God gave to me as the subject for December.

As Lorraine wrote, change is so important. If we don’t change, then one has to wonder if we are being effective in our Christian witness. Each year we should overcome some of our shortcomings, shouldn’t we?

Just for instance, we all have opportunities to speak up for the Gospel, yet sometimes we just stand there . . . afraid. I want to challenge you to speak up when you have a chance to give a reason for the hope that lies within you. Your words may change the course of an unbeliever’s life.

If you are afraid to speak up, you are not unique. The apostle Paul was afraid. He said, “I came to you with fear and trembling.” He also asked for prayer that he might speak out with boldness.

Don’t give in to your fear. Speak up! When you open your mouth, you might be amazed at what comes out, because God promised us he would “give us what to speak in that hour.”

Once in a taxi in Washington D.C. the driver opened the subject of Christianity with a question. I knew I had about seven minutes to explain the Gospel, so I just opened my mouth and launched out. Much to my surprise, that conversation culminated in his praying to receive Christ as his Savior.

Determine to change this year. Ask God to help you. Speak out for Him. JUST DO IT!

National Radio Broadcast

Those Who Have Gone Before will now be a national broadcast, launching January 5th.  We have expanded from Your QFM in Bemidji, Minnesota and Grand Forks, North Dakota to eight additional stations around the country:

WMUZ FM – Detroit, Michigan

KCIS AM – Seattle, Washington

WAKU FM – Tallahassee, Florida

WFST FM – Caribou, Maine

WVRS FM – Gore, West Virginia

WXML FM – Sandusky, Ohio

Two stations in California (don’t yet have the call letters)

Lancaster, California

Bishop, California

We have been on Your Q FM out of Bemidji, Minnesota and Grand Forks, North Dakota for about 14 weeks, which makes nine stations in all.

People often ask me, “Do the stations pay you?”

“No, they do not.”

The culture in America for Christian Radio is that they are given all the programming they want free . . . so why would they pay for it?

Rather, it is a wide-open door to minister the Gospel, and teach large blocks of Christians what Christian heroes have done throughout history to preserve and advance our faith. Most Christians in the United States, perhaps as many as 95 percent, are totally unaware of the heroic lives of great Christians from our past, like Charles Finney, Oswald Chambers, Charles Spurgeon, Nancy Hanks, Rees Howells, John Newton, George Muller, Frances and Edith Schaeffer . . . the list goes on and on.

In a nutshell, Those Who Have Gone Before will inspire listeners, to reach higher, go further, and dream bigger in their Christian walk. In a Church that is largely of a spectator mindset in America, this catalyst is BIG.

How many will we reach? With the nine stations we start broadcasting on January 5th, our audience could be a half million to a million . . . five days a week.

Please help us reach this audience with motivating and inspiring programming.

With the expansion of this radio ministry, we need additional support. The bill from AMB-OS to manage and distribute the spots to the stations is $195 per month. That does not cover our travel expenses to Minneapolis to record the spots.

Lorraine and I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

In His Service,

George and Lorraine Halama

Photography designed and taken by Lorraine