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Gap is kicking out "Christmas" this year - like many other retailers have done - in favor of "holidays". This means that no Gap employee will wish you a "Merry Christmas", nor will you find any mention of the word in Gap advertisements or displays. Old Navy, Banana Republic, Forth & Towne and Piperlime will also be loudly "Christmas" free, because they are owned by Gap. On the other hand, Wal-Mart has responded to pro-Christmas protests and boycotts and will permit its employees to be "Christmas" friendly.

Other stores - like Target, Dillard's and J.C. Penny - are warming back up to Christmas as well. These have Christmas products and Christmas sales as opposed to generic "holiday" sales, and their employees may wish shoppers "Merry Christmas."

Christ warned us that he would cause controversy and division. But, while retailers may or may not choose to celebrate the "reason for the season", you and I are still free to express our joy to the world. There are a variety of things that Christians can do to make sure Christ is not forgotten in the flurry of gift buying and cookie baking:

1. Wish people a "Merry Christmas". Whether you are in the shoe aisle or the checkout line, you can put Christmas back in stores where it has been censored. It's simple, but it's friendly and cheerful, and is far less politically correct than "happy holidays".
   
2. Be Christ to people. Is there a single mother on your street? She could use help getting her children presents. What about your neighbor who just got divorced? Bring her cookies or, better yet, ask her to come bake cookies with you. Does your neighbor leave his sidewalk unshoveled? Cheerfully offer to do it for him. Open your doors to people in unconditionallove.Let them know they have value. (Christmas is not the only time fordemonstrating Christ's love, of course,butpeople are often more open to itduring Christmas than they are during other times of year.)
   
3. Invite people to church. There are still scores of people in America who have no clue why Jesus came to earth. They don't understand why we sing "Oh come let us adore him", and Christmas might be the only time they are willing to enter the doors of a church. Many churches put on pageants or have Christmas Eve services that minister to believers and unbelievers alike.
   
4. Be of good cheer. Go out of your way to be kind and patient - even in hectic department stores or the mall parking lot. Depression sets in for many people during the Christmas season, and the world has a great need to know the reality of Christ's love. Simple things can bring cheer and hope to a discouraged person's otherwise unhappy day.
   
5. Go caroling. Sing praises to God all throughout your neighborhood. Not only is caroling a fun activity for your whole family, but it's a ministry. Christmas is a time of year when singing songs about Christ can bring smiles to the faces of even nonbelievers. In fact, you can invite non-Christians to go caroling with you and have hot cider at your house afterwards. Bring song sheets if you need to.
   
6. Decorate your house to glorify Christ. A Dutch woman I visited in Coeur D'Alene several years agohad built a manger scene that took up one side of her living room. It was fantastic. The stable itself stood only about six inches high - she had built the entire thing up on a table. But, she had crafted the land of Judea around it, with shepherds and sheep on the hills. She'd created a trail of sand, lined with miniature trees and bushes, for the wise men to travel down. The scene was creative and impressive in its attention to detail, and it told the Christmas story. Something like that would be great for children to create, whether on a small scale inside or a large scale outside.Families could start small, and every year add more to it.
7. Write a letter to a missionary.About.com's Mary Fairchild writes: "This idea is dear to my heart because I spent four years on the mission field. Receiving a letter always felt like opening a priceless gift on Christmas morning. Many missionaries are unable to travel home for the holidays, so it can be a very lonely time for them. Write a special Christmas letter to a missionary of your choice, thanking them for giving their life in service to the Lord. Trust me -- it will mean more than you can imagine!"

Jesus may not have been born on December 25, but the Christmas seasonis the time of year when most Americans celebrate his birth. EveryDecember, therefore,offersa great opportunity to minister to our neighbors and to introduce them to Christ himself. He gave us the greatest Christmas gift of all. Himself.

Have a Merry Christmas!

In recent months we have witnessed the reemergence of the Russian nationalist movement. Yet even as Russia's political climate cools towards outsiders, the Muslim population in the former Soviet Union is growing by leaps and bounds. Rising immigration and low birthrates among ethnic Russians have contributed to this trend. Russia's Muslim population has increased by 40 percent since 1989, to about 25 million. By 2015, Muslims will make up a majority of Russia's conscript army, and by 2020 they will constitute one-fifth of the population. Fifteen years ago, Russia had about 300 mosques, today there are approximately 8,000. Experts say that if current trends continue, nearly one third of Russia's population will be Muslim by the mid-century.

According the CIA World Factbook, Russia's overall population is dropping at a rate of 700,000 people a year, largely because of the short life spans and low birthrates of ethnic Russians. The national fertility rate is only about 1.2 children per woman. Russia's Muslims, however, are bucking that trend. The fertility rate for Muslims ranges from 6 to 10 children per woman. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of Muslims immigrants have been flocking to Russia in search of work.

Russia has experienced difficulty integrating its growing Muslim population. Growing ethnic tensions in Russia have begun to mirror those of its European neighbors. Much like Russia, Islam has become significant part of the cultural and political landscape of Europe. There are between 9 and 15 million Muslims living throughout Europe today, and Islam has become the largest religious minority. Considering current population trends, it is likely that the number of Muslims in Europe will continue to grow exponentially.

The Muslim population in Europe has expanded so rapidly that Europe is experiencing growing pains. However the problem is not overcrowding, it is increased cultural tensions and the failure of devout Muslims to integrate into European society. The problem became the focus of world wide attention last November, when widespread rioting broke out in France. The violence stemmed from feelings of alienation and frustration among France's Muslim immigrant population. During the rioting more than 7,000 vehicles were torched, buildings were destroyed, several people were killed, and more than 2,000 people were arrested.

Islam is becoming an increasingly volatile catalyst in today's international scene. Islam is the worlds fastest growing religion, and it is second in size only to Christianity. The truth about Islam is exactly the opposite of what you will hear on the news. Many Americans believe that Islam is a religion of peace and that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. In public schools we teach our children a doctrine of tolerance, and in some schools students are even required to memorize passages of the Koran. While in comparison Islamic children are taught that America is the Infidel. We are the enemy. When the towers came crashing down on September 11, 2001 and thousands of innocent people were killed, Muslims all over the world danced in the streets and praised the hijackers. Islamic terrorists are referred to in the West as radicals and extremists, while in the Middle East they are heralded by fundamentalists as martyrs and heroes, and the families of suicide bombers are rewarded monetary pensions. The disparity between the two perspectives is staggering, yet Americans do not seem understand the truth about Islam.

If you want more information on the origin and nature of Islam we have a number of resources available, such as The Sword of Allah. See the links below for more information.

On Sunday, Venezuelans reelected President Hugo Chavez, an avowed socialist, who grabbed headlines recently when he referred to President Bush as "the devil" in front of the United Nations General Assembly. Chavez won 61 percent of the vote - extending his time in office for six more years.

However it appears that six more years is not enough for Chavez. In a speech on Tuesday, he announced plans for a constitutional amendment that would allow him to hold office indefinitely. "I feel obligated to push forward with this project of socialism," Chavez said in his speech, "Venezuelans, yes, 63 percent of Venezuelans voted for a shift toward socialism. And I have to make that wish true."

Since taking office, Chavez has lead Venezuela in what he calls a "Bolivarian Revolution" - his goal being to transforming Venezuela from a free democracy to socialistic regime. While in office Chavez has consolidated power, changed the constitution, and aggressively pushed various other socialist reforms. Earlier this year Hugo Chavez appointed 17 new judges to the Venezuelan Supreme Court, one of whom has publicly expressed a desire to see Chavez become "president for life."

Despite growing inflation, unemployment, poverty, and crime in Venezuela, Hugo Chavez has retained a measured amount of popularity. Chavez has managed to survive several efforts to remove him from office, including an attempted coup and a national referendum. He has held on to power in large part because of an aggressive propaganda campaign that has shifted the blame for the people's problems on everyone from the nation's bureaucrats to the tyrannical empire that is the United States.

When Chavez first came to power he immediately embraced Cuba's communist leader, Fidel Castro, as Venezuela's chief ally. He also called Iraq's Saddam Hussein his "brother" and aligned himself with Libya's Moammar Qadaffi. Chavez then formed alliances with North Korea's Kim Yong-Il and then Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

For the past seven years, Hugo Chavez, with the help of Cuba's Fidel Castro, has been cultivating his supporters in South America. Chavez has expanded his influence in Latin America and the Caribbean. This year, Venezuela has bought several hundred million dollars of Argentine bonds and offered similar financial support to Ecuador. Chavez also provides cheap oil to Cuba and several other countries, including Jamaica and some smaller Caribbean islands. Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Bolivia all have leftist governments, and in July, Mexico came very close to electing a Communist president.

When the Berlin Wall fell, the Soviet Union collapsed, and China pursued broad economic reform, many foresaw the end of the threat once posed by the spread of communism. But while America has focused its attention elsewhere, socialism is on the move in South America.