Knock, Knock

‘Who’s there?’ is how most of us answer the question. However, the famous painting where Jesus is knocking at the door has no doorknob on his side of the door. We have to open the door and let him in. In Revelation 3:20(NIV), it says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” You see, Jesus wants to share a meal with you; he wants to share his life with you. The only way that can happen is if you listen to his voice and his knock and open the door of your heart and let him in. Believe it or not, when you let him in, it frees you up from all the garbage in your life. How? Jesus will help to get rid of the garbage and help you to live a life free of hurt, pain, and guilt, and fill you with love and confidence. Need a friend to dine with? Listen for the knock! Blessings

Article from Fillmore church of the Nazarene, Pastor Karl Mason

Thanksgiving is about over, Christmas is upon us. We are seeing lights and decorations going up all over the community; but what is next. Far too many people celebrate Christmas but do not believe in Jesus, they do not know who Jesus is. Yes it’s a feel good story, a baby in a manger, animals all around and wise men bringing gifts. But what is next? God told us in John 3:16-17 that he sent His son so we could be saved, not to condemn the world but save the world through Him. Jesus’ coming and mission was foretold many years before He came. Many people were anticipating His coming which is where we get the Advent season. I would challenge you if you do not know Jesus to visit a local church during the Advent season to see what Jesus and the true story of His coming on Christmas was all about. You see He came to help the hurting, the sick, and the broken relationships to be restored not only to Him but to others. What is next, Hope!

If you have a pre-school child at home at least three years of age, check out the Friday Morning Storytime at Bardsdale United Methodist each Friday morning from 10 am until 11:30. Children hear stories and participate in other learning activities, enjoy a snack and have free play at no cost to their parent or grandparents who are invited to join the fun. Call Grandma Sharon at 524-0587 or the church at 524-2070 for more information. The church is located at 1498 Bardsdale Avenue, Fillmore.

The Bardsdale United Methodist Women will host their annual Veteran’s Day Luncheon on Friday, November
11, at 12 noon in LeBard Hall at the historic Bardsdale Church. The cost is $20 per person and children, 12 years
and under, are free. Tickets can be purchased at the door. As always, it will be a Thanksgiving feast with turkey,
dressing, sweet and mashed potatoes, green beans and pumpkin pie. Take outs will be available but it is highly
recommended that you call the church office before the event at 524-2070 if you are desiring take-out. This
yearly event salutes all men and women who have or are serving in the armed forces of our country. Their
service will never be forgotten. The church is located at 1498 Bardsdale Avenue.

The Bardsdale United Methodist Women are announcing that their semiannual yard sale will be on Saturday, October 1, from 8 a.m. till noon.

As always, great bargains can be found in a wide variety of pre-owned and gently used household treasures.

Maybe you have items lying around your home that you don’t need anymore and would like to donate, please call the church at 524-2070 or Marcia at 524-3674. For more information about the sale or Bardsdale United Methodist Church, go to bardsdaleumc.org or check out our Facebook page.

A new release of State Department documents to government watchdog Judicial Watch bring new information about Hillary Clinton's role in the deadly attack on the US consulate in Benghazi. Judicial Watch, which forced the State Department to release the papers through the Freedom of Information Act, says the documents actually reveal two scandals, "The first is Hillary Clinton telling different stories to different foreign leaders about the Benghazi attack - including an admission that it was a terrorist attack. The second is the State Department's cover-up of these documents." Let us remember that Clinton and the White House had stated that an anti-Islam film had caused a spontaneous attack on the compound. A blatant lie.

Judicial Watch reports that the documents confirm that on September 12, 2012, Clinton informed Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Kandil that the attack "had nothing to do with the film." Judicial Watch reports that Clinton issued an official State Department press statement, approved by the White House, placing the blame for the attack on an Internet video: She said, "Some have sought to justify this vicious behavior as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet. The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. Our commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation. But let me be clear: There is never any justification for violent acts of this kind."

Judicial Watch reveals that on September 12, Clinton told Kandil, "We know the attack in Libya had nothing to do with the film. It was a planned attack - not a protest." Kandil responded, "You're not kidding. Based on the information we saw today we believe that group that claimed responsibility for this is affiliated with al-Qaeda." Two days later, at the ceremony when the bodies of the four Americans who were killed arrived in the US, Clinton again left the implication that it was all due to the video: "We've seen the heavy assault on our post in Benghazi that took the lives of those brave men. We've seen rage and violence directed at American embassies over an awful Internet video that we had nothing to do with."

It was only after State Department officials leaked to the public that the White House story was a fabrication that Clinton admitted "that information has changed...that's not surprising. That always happens." When pressed for more information at a Congressional hearing, Clinton responded: "What difference at this point does it make?" A Congressional report from five House committees said that Clinton and the White House "perpetuated a deliberately misleading and incomplete narrative..." In other words, they lied. 2 Timothy 3:13 says, "But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived." That Clinton is not in jail, but instead running for the highest political office in the land is a travesty.

Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!
Bill Wilson
www.dailyjot.com

Written by Bill Wilson
www.dailyjot.com

On March 8, 2007, The Daily Jot stated: Communism is on the rise in America and seeks to take over the nation without a single revolutionary shot fired. Communism is found in the public school system. Communism is found in the political system. Communism is found in the federal government. But Communism went out with Gorbechev, right?--The tearing down of the Berlin wall; the fall of the Soviet Union. Wrong. Communism is alive and well. Its just not called communism anymore. It is reshaped into a form more acceptable to the American people. It is disguised and is infiltrating every aspect of American society, especially religious circles. And once the pulpit falls, so will the nation.

Communism is a religion that seeks to replace God with the state. Communist strategists realized that America as a godly nation would never fall into their hands. So a change in strategy had to be employed. The strategy was three-fold: 1) appeal to Americans' sense of justice by creating victim classes such as women, homosexuals, the environment, and skin color; 2) convince godly people to believe that communist values are the same as Christian values; and 3) continue teaching secular humanism as aggressively as possible. It fits with the Communist Manifesto calling for the abolition of religion, morals, property ownership, and even marriage. Yes, the Manifesto refers to marriage as a form of prostitution.

The victim classes already have been established. With women it is the sexual revolution and feminism-the breakdown of society by breaking down the traditional family structure. With homosexuals it is the tolerance and homosexual equality movement-the continued breakdown of the institution of marriage. Communism has sought to divide humans by skin color and to inflame animosity between them. And many have been influenced by the "green revolution" of radical environmentalism, such as the flawed science of global warming or climate change, that seeks to redistribute wealth to pay for the damage humanity has done to God's creation.

Not many people will admit they are communists. Progressive is a word used to describe today's communists. A politician can be a member of the Democratic or Republican party and still be a ideological communist. A pastor can be a leader of a conservative church, but be an ideological communist. Its not about what you say, its about what you do and what you support. Communism is the antithesis of God and it is seeking to destroy our nation through its "Critical Thinking" doctrine. Jesus said in Matthew 24:24, "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." Beware of the new communism.

Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!
Bill Wilson
www.dailyjot.com

It's Spring and that means it's time for the Bardsdale Church Spring Yard Sale hosted by the Bardsdale United Methodist Women. Saturday, April 9th, is the day and 8 am till noon is the time to find great bargains.

LeBard Hall and the parking lot will be full of gently used treasures that will entice both savvy and casual shoppers alike.

If you have items you would like to donate, call Marcia at 524-3674 or the church office at 524-2070. The church is located at 1498 Bardsdale Avenue, two and a half miles south of Fillmore.

Congratulations to 9 year old Natalia Velasco for winning the Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship and moving on to the State finals.
Enlarge Photo

The Knights of Columbus held the Regional finals for their annual Free throw Championship on Sunday February 28th in Moorpark with 6 Fillmore Boys and Girls participating. Participants came as far as Santa Maria to participate.
Congratulations to 9 year old Natalia Velasco for winning and moving on to the State finals that will be held Saturday March 19th and 11:00am at Rancho San Antonio Boys home at 21000 Plummer St Chatsworth Ca. 91311
There will be a total of 9 contestants for each age group in Boys and Girls divisions. Each contestant shoots 25 consectutive shots and if there is a tie they have a shootoff of 5 shots each until a winner is determined
Once again we would like to Congratulate Natalie and wish you Good Luck in the Finals.

We’ve all heard that the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa bakery have been persecuted by the state of Oregon for not baking a cake for a same-sex wedding because of their Christian convictions. And their penalty for adhering to their faith ended up totaling $136,927.07, which they paid in its entirety on December 28th, 2015. Merry Christmas to them!

But as The Blaze reported a day later, that wasn’t the end of the sad tale. The owners of the bakery, Melissa and Aaron Klein, had three separate bank accounts, a checking and savings account and a separate one marked solely for contribution to their church.

Evidently... http://godfatherpolitics.com/27769/obama-ignores-worldwide-christian-per...

Written by Michael Ware

We live in a world that neither believes the truth nor want to hear the truth. There was a time that people could give facts and not fear reprisal, but that day has passed. We live in an age where all we do is good and right. Nothing you wish to do is wrong as long as you do not hurt someone else. Well, unless you want to smoke crack, Marijuana, or tobacco. These things doctors and scientists have determined are harmful to your health.

This is the reason that the government has outlawed... http://freedomforce.com/8499/boston-doctor-dismissed-for-stating-medical...

By Archbishop JOSÉ H. GOMEZ

On Sunday, Dec. 13 I had the privilege to open the holy doors of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels to mark the start of this Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy.

A door that is open is a sign of welcome and hospitality. And in this Year of Mercy, God is opening wide the door to salvation, welcoming everyone into his house, his family, the Church.

Every one of us needs to pass through this door of mercy. This Year of Mercy is a new time for all of us to seek and rediscover the mercy of God.

Our Christian life is meant to be a life of continuing conversion to God — every day, year after year, growing deeper in our love for God and our commitment to being his disciples. And conversion always begins — and always begins anew — when we become aware of God’s mercy and love in our lives.

So this is an important year for the Church. But it is also an important year for the world.
Nearly a generation ago now, St. John Paul II wrote: “The present-day mentality, more perhaps than that of people in the past, seems opposed to a God of mercy, and in fact tends to exclude from life and to remove from the human heart the very idea of mercy.”

Sadly, I think this is even more true today.

In a world where it seems that war and violence are constant, a world that confronts us daily with the realities of spiritual and material poverty, injustice and human suffering, many find no “evidence” for a God of mercy, no “proof” that creation is being guided by a loving hand.

And as society’s belief in God’s mercy fades, we see that the idea of mercy is declining in our public life. We see it in some of the statements of our politicians and in our media on certain issues — we seem to be getting colder and tougher in our language, more fearful and less forgiving. Are we becoming what St. John Paul suggested, a people with no mercy?

This is one of the core challenges of the new evangelization — to proclaim God’s mercy to a society with no mercy, to hearts that seem to have forgotten the very idea of mercy. As I see it, mercy is the question of our times and it is also the answer. The people of our times want to know if mercy is real and, if it is, they want to know, where can mercy be found? Our Holy Father Pope Francis tells us that the Church must be a “credible witness to mercy.” And he is right. Mercy alone can be credible in a world that is lacking in mercy. That means that God’s mercy in our own lives must become a call for us to practice mercy towards others — to be merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful.

As we believe in his mercy, we need to live by that mercy, and we need to make his mercy real in the lives of others.

Jesus revealed God’s mercy in words of instruction, advice, consolation and comfort; in praying for people and forgiving them and bearing insults and indignities with patience. These are the seven traditional spiritual works of mercy that Jesus calls each of us to practice in our lives. He also calls us to practice the seven corporal works of mercy, as he did — feeding the hungry and giving drink to the thirsty; sheltering the homeless and clothing the naked; visiting those who are sick and those who are in prison; burying the dead.

As the Catechism reminds us, the Church’s traditional works of mercy are all works of “love for the poor.”

And every year at this time, our parishes offer many beautiful expressions of our works of mercy for the poor.

As we begin this Year of Mercy, let us pray for one another. May all of us in the Church rediscover the corporal and spiritual works of mercy and find ways to make mercy the way for our lives — being kind and merciful to our brothers and sisters as God is kind and merciful to us.

Mercy alone is a credible answer to the question of our times.

Let us ask our Blessed Mother Mary to help us to proclaim that God’s mercy is real and to show the people of our times that mercy can be found everywhere there is a Christian.

WELCOME TO SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI
"A Rest Stop for the Soul"

Address: 1048 West Ventura Street, Fillmore, CA 93015

Telephone (805) 524-1306 Fax (805) 524-0784

Our Pastoral Center Office Hours:
Sunday 10AM to 3PM
Monday thru Thursday 10AM to 8PM closed for lunch from 1 to 2PM
Friday: 10AM to 1PM
Saturday: 9:30AM to 12:30PM

Email: stfrancisoffice@sbcglobal.net

Web site http://www.stfrancisfillmore.com/

Photos

Chior

Audence

Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Written By Bill Wilson, www.dailyjot.com

Presidential candidate Donald Trump Monday called "for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on." Trump cited a Pew Research poll in his news release that indicated 25% of the Muslim population agreed that violence against Americans in the US is justified as part of the global jihad and 51% agreed that Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed according to Shariah. Almost immediately, Trump drew criticism from Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio, calling his remarks offensive, reprehensible, outlandish and divisive. But in reality, Trump is in alignment with US immigration law.

The Immigration and Nationality Act. passed June 27, 1952 and became Public Law 414, states in Chapter 2 Section 212 the prohibition of entry to the US if the Alien belongs to an organization seeking to overthrow the government of the United States by "force, violence, or other unconstitutional means." It also prohibits the entry of Aliens who are members of or affiliated with any organization that advocates or teaches, the overthrow by force, violence, or other unconstitutional means of the US or of all forms of law, and Aliens who publish, circulate and distribute materials teaching or advocating the overthrow by force, violence or other unconstitutional means of the US Government or of all forms of law.

This by its very definition would rule out Islamic immigration to the US, but this law is being ignored by the White House and by presidential candidates who think it divisive and reprehensible to ban the entry of those whose ideology is Islamic. All Muslims who attest that the Koran is their life's guiding principal subscribe to submission to Islam and its form of government. This is not religious discrimination because Islam, disguised as a religion, seeks to bring all people under submission to Sharia. It is in their Constitution, the Koran, which commands Islamists to conduct violence against or to kill those who do not submit to allah and the prophet--at least 109 times, in context.

Trump pointed out that Islam's hatred for America is "beyond comprehension." He stated, "Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life." The current "president" has seeded America with hundreds of thousands of such people. Galatians 6:7 says, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap." The crop is growing. When it reaches harvest, America will rue the day it elected this "president" and the politically correct cowards that support his way of thinking. Irrespective of what you think about Trump, he is absolutely in alignment with US law and the right to self defense on this issue.

Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!
Bill Wilson
www.dailyjot.com