This Week's 66/40 Radio Broadcast

Articles and Commentary

• It Ain't Just Cold in Fargo - (Read)
• Epiphany and the Twelve Days After Christmas - (Read)
• Iran's Ayatollah Storing Up His Treasures - (Read)

Important News Headlines

Memory Verse of the Week

IT AIN'T JUST COLD IN FARGO - (Print)

The weather outside has certainly been frightful around the world. With snow falling in record amounts from New England to the Korean peninsula and icy cold threatening Florida's orange crops, the winter is off to a chilling start. And while Britain may be facing its coldest winter in 100 years, hundreds of people in Tajikistan face the bitter cold having recently lost their homes in an earthquake.

The UK:
Natural gas prices leaped in Britain as temperatures dropped into the teens, with temperatures as low as 14 F (-10 C) in Scotland and northern England. Hundreds of schools have closed and train lines have shut down due to the cold and snow, and major arteries are clogged with slow-moving cars and accidents. Forecasters are predicting the worst winter in 100 years for Britain.

The United Kingdom is at a fairly high northern latitude (London 51°30'N, Glasgow 55°51'N), but as the Gulf Stream sweeps up from the Gulf of Mexico toward Norway, it keeps the British Isles relatively warm and temperate. The average January temperature in Glasgow is 38°F (3°C), much different than the frigid 2°F (-16.4°C) average in Labrador across the North Atlantic to the west. This year, the ice and snow from a cold arctic front promise to continue to bottle up highways and keep people in their thermal underwear.

The US:
Of course, 14°F is nothing in North Dakota. Fargo's Hector International Airport (46°52'N) took a record temperature reading of -33°F (-36°C) on January 3, beating the previous record of -32°F set back in 1885, before North Dakota was a state.

Even Houston, Texas (29°45'N) is watching the temperature drop into the 20s and upper teens.

Florida orange growers have gone to work overtime to save their citrus crops (which ripen in December and January). Crops typically get damaged if exposed to temperatures below 28°F for more than 4 hours. If the temperatures do not drop below the critical point, though, the cool weather could be good for fruit quality.

SE ASIA:
Seoul (37°34′08″N) received more than 11 inches of snow on Monday, the worst snowfall since Korea started measuring those sorts of things in 1937. When northern Idaho receives a simple 11 inch snowfall, the snowplows bust out and clear the roads. For a city like Seoul which rarely sees snow, 11 inches can be absolutely paralyzing. Hundreds of flights from Seoul were cancelled Monday as were flights from Beijing and the main airport on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido.

Not everybody is complaining about the snow, though. "It's something unique in Seoul," Kang Kyung-hye, a 58-year-old housewife, said while she took pictures.

TAJIKISTAN:
When a 5.3 earthquake hit Tajikistan on Saturday, the situation became far more serious for hundreds of people. Nearly 100 homes were destroyed and another 900 were damaged in the quake which hit this poor mountainous nation. Nearly 600 people have been forced to hunt for shelter with neighbors or relatives or find some other way to survive in the freezing cold. Tajikistan's Rapid Emergency Assessment and Coordination Team (REACT) is taking charge of getting winter tents, blankets and hygiene kits to the affected area, which is well over 100 miles through the mountains from the capital of Dushanbe.

The cold weather is an inconvenience for most people. It means higher heating costs and having to leave a trickle of water running in the sinks so that the pipes don't freeze. It's a time when homeless shelters fill up and when folks pull out an extra quilt or two for the bed. It can be a time of roaring fires and movies in the den.

As we snuggle up with slippers and hot cocoa, though, we need to remember our brothers and sisters who are suffering with inadequate heat for their homes, and perhaps no homes at all. Even if we aren't sure how else to help the people in Tajikistan, we can always pray for them and the ministries that are reaching out to them.  We can also support our local Salvation Army or other homeless ministry, whether through prayer or donations.  We might help buy propane for the lady with the five children who lives next door.  Whatever we choose to do, let's not forget our neighbors around the world during this icy cold January.

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EPIPHANY AND THE TWELVE DAYS AFTER CHRISTMAS - (Print)

The beginning of the new year is not the end of the holiday season in Sweden. No, the Swedes also get to take off work on Epiphany – January 6 - just a few short days after the end of the Christmas break. Lucky Scandinavians. Some secular Swedes want to throw off their Christian heritage, though, and are urging the government to do away with this celebration as a paid public holiday. Sweden is one of the very few countries that gives public honor to Epiphany, and many Christians these days don't even know what this holiday - celebrated 12 days after Christmas - is all about.

Almega, a Swedish employer's organization, wants the government to quit forcing employers to pay their employees for taking off work on Epiphany.  Almega isn't really picking on Epiphany, though. The group wants to do away with all religiously-based public holidays in Sweden. "That means that employers and their employees can reach an agreement about which days will be considered a paid holiday," Almega negotiator Gunnar Järsjö told the TT news agency.

Not everybody agrees with Almega, and the issue has raised public debate in Sweden. "It's a time to focus on the guiding star and the three men who out of curiosity followed the star to Jesus," Martin Modeús of the Church of Sweden told TT.

While Sweden fusses over the relevance of Epiphany, a dwindling number of Christians know what the day is about.  Even Modeús is missing the significance of the holiday. Epiphany celebrates the arrival of the Magi who traveled across the known world to pay homage to the young King of the Jews. They came out of more than mere curiosity. While we don't know the exact date of their arrival, their journey must have begun months, perhaps years before they reached Mary and Joseph's new home in Bethlehem. They also brought with them gifts that bore powerful prophetic significance; gold reflected the kingship of Jesus the Messiah; frankincense was a spice used in the priestly duties; and myrrh was an embalming ointment that signified Jesus' death. 

The Magi also hold the honor of being the first gentiles known to have come to worship Jesus.  The Messiah was born in Bethlehem to the Jewish people, but He came to be the Savior and Lord of all nations.

The 12 Days of Christmas:
Straight No Chaser, the men's acapella group at Indiana University, does a unique and entertaining version of The 12 Days of Christmas that has been all the rage on Youtube for a couple of years now. We know the song better than we might want to.  What many people don't realize is that the 12 Days of Christmas actually begin at Christmas. During centuries past, these were 12 days of celebration that were filled with feasting and gift-giving until the Twelfth Night – the evening of January 5th - the day before Epiphany.

There is an urban legend that religious symbolism is actually tucked away in the gifts named in the popular 12 Days of Christmas song. It is questionable whether there is any actual historical importance in the song, but it's interesting to take note of the symbolism that some people have placed on the gifts:

A Partridge in a Pear Tree - Jesus Christ
Two Turtle Doves - The Old and New Testaments
Three French Hens - Faith, Hope and Charity
Four Colly Birds - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
Five Golden Rings – The five books of Moses
Six Geese-a-Laying – The six days of creation before God rested
Seven Swans-a-Swimming – The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit
Eight Maids-a-Milking – The eight Beatitudes
Nine Ladies Dancing – The nine fruits of the Holy Spirit
Ten Lords-a-Leaping - Ten Commandments
Eleven Pipers Piping - Eleven faithful disciples
Twelve Drummers Drumming -Twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed

Theophany:
Orthodox Christians celebrate Epiphany with another focus; Christ's baptism by John the Baptist. Epiphany, which means "to manifest" or "to show" in Greek, is often also called Theophany by the Eastern Church, because it is Christ's presentation to the world as the Son of God.

As John the Baptist said:
"He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God." -John 1:33-34

All these traditions and celebrations point to a very important truth - that the Son of God came to Earth. The Wise Men and the meek of the earth recognized and worshiped Him. May we continue to worship and serve Him every day of this new year and present to the world the reality of His Life through our own.

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IRAN'S AYATOLLAH STORING UP HIS TREASURES - (Print)

The Ayatollah Khamenei is not an especially revered person in Iranian politics these days. The controversial reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June began a wave of protest and unrest that never really went away, and the government responded harshly to recent demonstrations on the Shia Muslim festival of Ashura. Hundreds of demonstrators remain detained, and even university professors are criticizing the current government for its violence and weakness.

The supreme leader of Iran, Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is supposed to be the holy spiritual leader of a devout Islamic nation. Regardless of the man's private or public devotional life, we do know that he lives in opulence with the ridiculous amount of wealth he's siphoned off the Iranian people. According to Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf, not only does Khamenei own eight planes, five helicopters and over 1200 cars and $40 million in horses, but the supreme leader has built up million-dollar collections of odd things like tobacco pipes and antique jewel-encrusted walking canes.

These kinds of revelations, which were published on Makhmalbaf's website on December 28, will certainly add to the country's anger toward the government. Some 500 people were detained on December 27 and Iranian police say 300 remain in custody. Eight people were killed during the protest crackdown, including a nephew of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi. General prosecutor Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi said some detainees could be put to death as enemies of Allah for demonstrating against the ruling clerical government.

"After Ashura, anyone who takes part in riots will be considered as 'mohareb' (waging war on God) and an opponent of national security," Najjar said, according the IRNA news agency.

The Iranian establishment has accused foreign enemies of stirring up unrest and supporting troublemakers in their country. Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi accused the foreigners of "leading a psychological war against the system."

Protests have continued despite the threats, however, demonstrating the depth of the unrest within the Iranian populace. Even university professors – men of position (or in exposed positions) – have openly criticized the supreme leader for the government's recent violence. A group of 88 Teheran University professors signed a letter calling the government's harsh response a sign of weakness. The letter read:

"Nighttime attacks on defenseless student dormitories and daytime assaults on students at university campuses, venues of education and learning, is not a sign of strength. ... Nor is beating up students and their mass imprisonment."

Students have been a major source of support for reform candidates and ideas. In the late 1990s students provided a major push for greater freedoms. "The universities are the little engines that make the big engine work," said Mehrzad Boroujerdi, an Iranian affairs expert at Syracuse University. "The students are the brains and the body of the opposition movement."

Whether Iran is in the middle of another revolution is uncertain. Even if it is, Khamenei hasn't got all his walking canes in one basket. He's apparently spread around a significant portion of his $billions in banks far outside of Persia.

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Ice Balls Form on Swedish Coastline - January 05, 2010
Bird watchers walking along the beach on the Baltic island Oland off Sweden's southeastern coast were puzzled by an unusual natural phenomenon recently when they stumbled across dozens of soccer ball sized balls of ice lying on the shore. When they later broke open one of the ice balls, they discovered that it consisted of a 2 to 5 centimeter thick shell of ice, which covered a core of soft, wet snow. (An interesting phenomenon.) The Local

Tsunami Hits Solomon Islands - January 05, 2010
Landslides and a tsunami unleashed by a major earthquake destroyed some 200 houses on one Solomon island, leaving about one-third of the population homeless, a disaster management official said Tuesday. Visual assessments from the air showed extensive damage on a remote western island after a 7.2-magnitude temblor struck near the Pacific Solomon Islands on Monday, AP

Democrats Pushing To Fast Track Health Bill - January 05, 2010
To try to speed final passage and get the bill to President Obama's desk, House and Senate Democrats intend to bypass traditional procedures when they negotiate a final compromise on health care legislation, officials said yesterday, a move that will exclude Republican lawmakers who have vowed to block the bill. Democratic aides said the final compromise talks would essentially be a three-way negotiation involving top Democrats in the House and Senate and the White House, a structure that gives unusual latitude to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California. AP

New Religion Law Threatens Tajikistan Churches - January 05, 2010
Devoted Christians in several areas of Tajikistan faced uncertainty Tuesday, January 5, over the future of their churches after the former Soviet republic introduced a new religion law that the United States has criticized as highly restrictive. The Religion Law, which came into forces on New Year's Day, empowers the government to impose stricter control of religious groups in the former Soviet republic that tolerates only the state-approved version of Islam. BosNewsLife

Biological Mom Loses Legal Custody to Former Lesbian Partner - January 05, 2010
The birth mother of a 7-year-old Virginia girl must transfer custody of the child to the woman's former lesbian partner, a Vermont judge ruled, adding that it seems the woman has "disappeared" with her daughter. Miller and Jenkins were joined in a Vermont civil union in 2000. Isabella was born to Miller through artificial insemination in 2002. The couple broke up in 2003, and Miller moved to Virginia, renounced homosexuality and became an evangelical Christian. Cohen awarded custody of the girl to Jenkins on Nov. 20 after finding Miller in contempt of court for denying Jenkins access to the girl. CNSNews

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
1 Timothy 2:1-3 KJV

"Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32

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