This may change your life. I pray that you will finish it to the last word. :)
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It is often said that Christmas is all about giving, sharing what we have to those who are less fortunate, the poor, needy and homeless. I will not argue that this is a noble thing to do. But I will argue on our understanding of the "less fortunate, needy, poor and homeless."
We limit this to the material world, forgetting that when we look at the Bible we are all nothing, poor in spirit, separated from God because of Sin. God said it plain and simple, everyone sinned and so everyone falls short of His glory.
We are deprived of the gift of life, and are bound to an eternity of separation from God in hell because of sin. This is worse than any material inadequacy.
CHRISTmas is a wonderful story of grace. More than what we lack here on earth, God's sending of Jesus filled our spiritual emptiness. Christmas means giving, yes. But it is not us who give. Jesus is the one who gave Himself for our salvation.
We also hear that it is better to give than to receive. But I also challenge this when we talk about the gift of God. In this context, God wants us to receive more than anything. God gives us the free gift of eternal life, made possible by the blood of the one sinless man-God, Jesus. This gift is what God wants us to receive, and it is called salvation.
He wants us to recognize our helplessness because of sin. He is a God who abhors sin. In His justice, we must be punished with eternal spiritual death. For the wages of sin is death. But He is also a God of love, and in His grace and mercy, He takes the punishment upon Himself in Jesus Christ.
He declares us righteous, as if we have never sinned because Jesus took sin, past, present and future, and nailed them with Him on the cross. He died but rose again, giving us the assurance of eternal life. He himself conquered death.
This eternal life is what God is giving us. Salvation is what awaits us if we receive Jesus in our hearts by faith alone. It is so important to stress that the only way to receive Jesus is by faith. We may have grown up thinking that God holds a weighing scale, determining salvation by how much good we have done against the bad things we have committed on earth. But God does not work that way.
The Bible is clear when it says it is not by good works that we are saved. We cannot bribe God to let us enter into heaven because His standard is perfection. This means sinlessness. He can allow us to enter only when we are washed clean from sin. Good works will not do that. The blood of Jesus will.
And by faith we receive this cleansing, by faith we receive Jesus, by faith we have eternal life. Faith is not simply intellectual understanding. It is the full surrender of one's life to the Kingship, Lordship and Salvation of Jesus Christ.
This is not easy because this requires turning away from the old life to a life of holiness and obedience to God. But God does not say that He will give Jesus to us only when we have achieved a state of holiness. No. God already gave Jesus while we were still sinners. Thus, though the struggle of turning from darkness to light is difficult on our own, God's grace makes it much bearable.
Come to think of it, when God has filled the emptiness in your heart, you will never turn back to where you were before. This gift of life is free. If it is genuinely received by faith, it remains there even if you fall to sin and fail Jesus again and again. He will work you out, mold you into Christlikeness until the day He comes again.
What is Christmas? It's really about Jesus coming here on earth, ready to fulfill God's promise of salvation. It's not about us. It is about God calling us to be with Him. He changes people. He convicts the heart. You may not be convinced, but you may pray to God. Ask Him to help you understand. And if you are moved by His Spirit, ask Him in prayer to come into your heart. Receive Him by faith and you will live.
Merry Christmas!
We limit this to the material world, forgetting that when we look at the Bible we are all nothing, poor in spirit, separated from God because of Sin. God said it plain and simple, everyone sinned and so everyone falls short of His glory.
We are deprived of the gift of life, and are bound to an eternity of separation from God in hell because of sin. This is worse than any material inadequacy.
CHRISTmas is a wonderful story of grace. More than what we lack here on earth, God's sending of Jesus filled our spiritual emptiness. Christmas means giving, yes. But it is not us who give. Jesus is the one who gave Himself for our salvation.
We also hear that it is better to give than to receive. But I also challenge this when we talk about the gift of God. In this context, God wants us to receive more than anything. God gives us the free gift of eternal life, made possible by the blood of the one sinless man-God, Jesus. This gift is what God wants us to receive, and it is called salvation.
He wants us to recognize our helplessness because of sin. He is a God who abhors sin. In His justice, we must be punished with eternal spiritual death. For the wages of sin is death. But He is also a God of love, and in His grace and mercy, He takes the punishment upon Himself in Jesus Christ.
He declares us righteous, as if we have never sinned because Jesus took sin, past, present and future, and nailed them with Him on the cross. He died but rose again, giving us the assurance of eternal life. He himself conquered death.
This eternal life is what God is giving us. Salvation is what awaits us if we receive Jesus in our hearts by faith alone. It is so important to stress that the only way to receive Jesus is by faith. We may have grown up thinking that God holds a weighing scale, determining salvation by how much good we have done against the bad things we have committed on earth. But God does not work that way.
The Bible is clear when it says it is not by good works that we are saved. We cannot bribe God to let us enter into heaven because His standard is perfection. This means sinlessness. He can allow us to enter only when we are washed clean from sin. Good works will not do that. The blood of Jesus will.
And by faith we receive this cleansing, by faith we receive Jesus, by faith we have eternal life. Faith is not simply intellectual understanding. It is the full surrender of one's life to the Kingship, Lordship and Salvation of Jesus Christ.
This is not easy because this requires turning away from the old life to a life of holiness and obedience to God. But God does not say that He will give Jesus to us only when we have achieved a state of holiness. No. God already gave Jesus while we were still sinners. Thus, though the struggle of turning from darkness to light is difficult on our own, God's grace makes it much bearable.
Come to think of it, when God has filled the emptiness in your heart, you will never turn back to where you were before. This gift of life is free. If it is genuinely received by faith, it remains there even if you fall to sin and fail Jesus again and again. He will work you out, mold you into Christlikeness until the day He comes again.
What is Christmas? It's really about Jesus coming here on earth, ready to fulfill God's promise of salvation. It's not about us. It is about God calling us to be with Him. He changes people. He convicts the heart. You may not be convinced, but you may pray to God. Ask Him to help you understand. And if you are moved by His Spirit, ask Him in prayer to come into your heart. Receive Him by faith and you will live.
Merry Christmas!
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