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A STORY WORTH TELLING

Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11). It seems like Jesus was mistaken. John fit none of the world’s criteria for greatness; he was not talented, attractive, rich, or powerful. Quite the opposite, really. Look at John, dressed in homemade, scratchy, camel-hair garments, with wild hair full of brambles, living out in the wilderness, scavenging for meals of locusts and wild honey. He drove off most of his own followers by sending them to follow Jesus. After a short ministry he ended up in jail, and soon lost his head at the wish of a dancing girl. John sure wasn’t great, according to worldly standards. Yet the words of Jesus still stand: “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.”

A half-dozen lawsuits challenging the 13 approved Texas constitutional amendments appear to be dead in the water, The Dallas Morning News reported. The secretary of state’s office last week declared the propositions approved and now a part of the Texas Constitution, while Gov. Greg Abbott canvassed the election and certified the results. One proposition that would have raised the retirement age of judges was rejected by voters.

At least 74 people have been killed and 189 injured during high-speed car chases near the U.S.-Mexico border since Gov. Greg Abbott launched Operation Lone Star, a multi-billion dollar border security initiative, according to a report published by Human Rights Watch, a nonprofit agency.

It’s been looking more and more like Christmas since October, but we’re just a couple weeks into in Advent. And a good thing, too. The message of Advent is just what we need right now. This time of year especially, we tend to focus our eyes on earthly pursuits and pleasures. Shopping, planning, cooking, baking, having parties – these aren’t inherently sinful, but they can distract us from the things of God.

The Christian church year doesn’t begin on New Year’s Day, as our secular calendar does, but begins on the first Sunday in Advent, which is always the fourth Sunday before Christmas. The word Advent comes from the Latin verb advenire, which means “to come to,” so Advent means “an arrival, a coming to.” In Matthew 21:1-9, when Jesus arrives at Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, it is His “advent,” His “coming to” that city as her King. Once you have come to know the meaning of the word advent, you can understand why the first season of the Christian Church Year is called Advent. If God’s Son had not come to earth and become a Man named Jesus, who God the Father sent to be the Christ (or Messiah) of Israel, then there would be no Christianity.

As time runs out next week on the fourth special session, Gov. Greg Abbott said he will continue to fight for school choice, despite the Texas House once again decisively rejecting it when 21 Republicans largely from rural districts joined Democrats in stripping it from a $7.6 billion education bill. The Austin American-Statesman reported it is unclear what Abbott’s next move will be.

TEXAS PRESS ASSOCIATION

The Texas Legislature, conceived as a part-time body to meet every other year for 140 days, is now in its record fifth session (counting the regular session). When the impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is included, legislators have been in Austin pretty much the entire year, as the Texas Tribune noted. While legislators are paid just $7,200 a year in salary, per diem payments – meant to cover their expenses while in Austin – have mounted. If the fourth special session goes a full 30 days, taxpayers will have spent $4.8 million keeping lawmakers in Austin.

A STORY WORTH TELLING

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