Religion and Spirituality

‘Tis The Season To Reflect On The Birth Of Jesus

Around 400 BC, the prophet Isaiah prophesied that a virgin would give birth to a male child: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

I imagine many people thought Isaiah was crazy. But four hundred years later, his prophecy fulfilled–the virgin Mary gave birth to baby Jesus, the savior of this sinful world.

The birth of Jesus: (Luke 2:1-14)

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.  (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)  And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,  and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven,and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Are you too proud to admit your faults?

Everyone makes mistakes. But there is an epidemic in the world today of people who can’t admit they did something wrong. God says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9). But first we have to be sorry about what we’ve done.

according to God’s way of doing things, there are three steps to changing our behaviour.

  1. First there is confession, which is admitting what we did.
  2. Next there is repentance, which is being sorry about what we did.
  3. Then there is asking forgiveness which is being cleansed and released from what we did.

The inability or resistance to do any of these three steps is rooted in pride. A man who cannot humble himself to admit he is wrong before God and before man will have problems in his life that will never go away. “Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Proverbs 26:12–NIV).

Too many of us have fallen because of pride and the inability to confess and repent. Unconfessed sin does not just go away. It becomes a cancer that grows and suffocates life. “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsake them will have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). “God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

Are you satisfied with your life?

Sometimes in our lives we all have pains, we all have sorrow. Sometimes our prayers help us to avoid them sometimes not. So, we become miserable and unhappy with our lives–that we start to play the blame game, which if not checked can make things more difficult.

However, most often than not, if we took the time to look around, we’ll see lots of people who are worse off than we are, and to our surprise, they are thankful and happy as a clown.

I have learnt that the happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything. Furthermore, until you make peace with who you are, you’ll never be content with what you have.

The apostle Paul to the Church in Philippi: “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

Are ye doers of God’s Word?

Over half-way...

Image by Brett Jordan via Flickr

The scripture says Christians should be doers of the Word, and not hearers only. Are you a doer of the Word?

What does it profit a man if he hears the Word and do not apply it to his life? Nought.

How can you be a true follower of God, if you do not do what His Word says?  “By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?” No. (Matthew 7:16 NIV).

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.  Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.  Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror” (James 1:19-23).

Fellow believers, the Word of God is not superfluous. It comes to us in the right dosage, and we should apply it to our lives. If we don’t. Luke 12:47 tells us what will happen: “That servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows.”

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Give Jesus the wheel at the start of your journey

Give Jesus the wheel at the start of your journey. He will bring you safely to your destination. Do not wait until you are in difficulty before you surrender to Him. It may be too late.

God wants us to trust Him with the wheel. He said if we trust Him, He will keep us safe. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5-6

When God is in control of the wheel, we have nothing to fear. He knows the road on which we travel. He knows when to stop, when to turn and when to detour from the difficulty which lies ahead. Simply put, God wants us to put Him at the center of our lives. He wants us to use Him as our first choice and not as a last resort, as we so often do.

When God is at the center of our lives, His words challenge the “status quo.” Things are no longer the same, and we find that many of the bad decisions we used to make start to diminish. The scripture says: “Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creäture: old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17, Webster Bible Translation)

Sadly enough, many of us refuse to change. We want to keep “things the way they were,” on one hand, and Jesus on the other. But Scripture says: No one can serve two masters, so we press the pause button, and place God in the back seat, and continue life as usual.

It is only when we are face with great difficulty that we are willing to put God back in charge. And that is usually when we have no other way out, (“The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner” Psalm 118:22, Webster Bible Translation) so we throw our hands in the air and say: “Jesus, take the wheel. Take it from my hands, because I can’t do this on my own.”

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