The True Spirit of Christmas

Long ago, there ruled in Persia a wise and good king. He loved his people. He wanted to know how they lived. He wanted to know about their hardships. Often he dressed in the clothes of a working man or a beggar, and went to the homes of the poor. No one whom he visited thought that he was their ruler. One time he visited a very poor man who lived in a cellar. He ate the coarse food the poor man ate. He spoke cheerful, kind words to him. Then he left. Later he visited the poor man again and disclosed his identity by saying, "I am your king!" The king thought the man would surely ask for some gift or favor, but he didn't. Instead he said, "You left your palace and your glory to visit me in this dark, dreary place. You ate the course food I ate. You brought gladness to my heart! To others you have given your rich gifts. To me you have given yourself!" The King of glory, the Lord Jesus Christ, gave himself to you and me. The Bible calls Him, "the unspeakable gift!"

The above story clearly illustrates the love of God, and the need of mankind for a Savior who would save us from all the sin and evil. Christmas is all about love. We can demonstrate this by unconditionally loving others in spite of their mistakes and short comings. It gives me great pleasure to share with you the joy of Christmas. The unspeakable joy that so clearly illustrates the birth of Christ in our hearts now, as it was then, when He was born in a manger 2000 years ago in the town of Bethlehem. Centuries have gone by, but the message remains the same. It is the greatest love story in the history of mankind that an all-powerful God humbled Himself to be born in this world as a Human being, to save us from sin and to give us a new life by shedding His blood on the cross. Yes, Jesus loves everybody irrespective of religion, status, and any other barriers that man has brought about.

The world needs Christ today than ever before as we struggle in the grip of hatred, jealousy, hypocrisy, lust, pride and all the other evil which so freely exists everywhere. There are so many people in the world who are really ashamed of their inner life, as it is polluted beyond cleansing. People project to be brave and self-confident outside, but internally they long for love and security. There are others who mask their lives with wealth, fame and so many other glittering things, but none of these could give the peace that they long after.

Blaise Pascal, the great French mathematician said “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.”

Yes, that is the essence of Christmas. God made Himself known to unworthy people like us, through Jesus Christ. The Bible says that, Christ became “Sin” for us. All our sins (past, present and future) were laid on Him, as He suffered those grueling hours on the cross. He was thinking about each one of us when He laid His precious life.

Dear Friend, if this message has touched you, and you long for security, identity and peace, I invite you to come to Christ today. It is very simple, and the biggest step has already been taken by God by sending Jesus Christ and sacrificing His life for us. God also brought about a new life for us, by raising Christ from death. Do you want this brand new life in Jesus?

It doesn’t end there. He is going to come back again, not as a baby in the manger which He did 2000 years ago, but as the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords. The world would shake at His coming, and every creation would kneel before Him. He is surely coming soon with all the Power and Glory. He is going to take us with Him and keep us there for eternity. This is very real.

God expects you to do the easier part. It is as simple as “believing that Jesus died on the Cross for your sins, and rose again by the power of God, and is now with God speaking on behalf each of you”.

Christianity is not a religion. It is a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Nothing is theoretical in it, as the Bible says “Taste and see that the Lord is good”. Oh, it is a great challenge to try Jesus, and I bet you won’t lose this challenge as the victory is already sealed by God for all those who would try Jesus by inviting to come into their lives, and make Him to live through them.

If you are really convinced that you want to try Jesus, would you pray the following prayer with me?

"Dear Lord, I am a sinner, I confess all my sin and believe that Jesus Christ died for all my sins once forever. I accept Him as my Lord and Savior, and want to live according to His plan and purpose. I commit myself into His care. I ask this in Jesus name, Amen."

Friend, if you had uttered this prayer from the bottom of your heart, then you can be sure that Jesus has come into your heart now. From now on, He will take care of you, provided you give Him the central place in your life.

The true celebration of Christmas is not Santa, or the Christmas parties or all the sales that go on and on. It is Christ coming to stay in our lives, and transforming us into new creations.

The parable of the sower

In the 4th chapter of Mark, We read about a very important parable that Jesus used to demonstrate the importance of proclaiming the gospel, and how it would help to produce good fruits in a believer's life. In short the parable goes like this. "A farmer sowed the seed, and it fell on different parts of the field as follows

1. On the way, where the birds picked them up
2. On the shallow soil with rock bed underneath
3. Amongst the thorns and thistles
4. On the good ground.

Now let us analyze this parable, and learn the essence of Jesus's message from this. First of all, the farmer went to sow the seed. It illustrates that we should be ready to take efforts to proclaim the gospel. The seeds that fell on the way were eaten up by the birds, and this illustrates that there are some people for whom the word of God wont make any sense, because Satan has blindfolded them. Their hearts are unreceptive to the gospel, and all their focus will be on the world. They pay no attention to the call of God. Sadly, these people end up unsaved and they die with the world.

The seeds that fell on the shallow soil sprouted fast, but since it didn't have deep roots, it withered away. This represents people who gladly hear the word of God, but never take it to their heart. They are stimulated by a song, or a message but lose their interest when they were pressed by persecutions and other problems in their life. They like to have a relationship with God, but it remains superficial. These people have some hope than the people of the first category as, if they persevere in seeking God, eventually they will find Him.

The seeds that fell among the thorns and thistles started sprouting, but the surrounding thorns and weeds just choked them, and eventually were destroyed. This illustrates people who try to serve two masters, World and God. Their condition is to be pitied very much as they never try to wholeheartedly follow God. They take some efforts towards a relationship with God, but get drifted by the passions and fantasies of the world. The glamour and interests of the world had a great hold on their life than the passion for God.

The seeds that fell on the good ground produced a great harvest, and I believe the reason the farmer sowed the seed is to harvest them after they grow. These are the people who have a conditioned heart, and they are not only receptive to the word of God, but they obey it, and put it into action. None of the happenings in the world could divert their attention on God. They wither all the storms of life through the help of God, and finish the race with great joy. They are warriors for Christ. Satan would tremble to come near them. They would be welcomed by God when they enter His Kingdom with the words "Well done, my faithful and good servant".

When Christ comes back, He would be interested only in the people who are like the seeds that fell on the good ground. All others would be thrown into hell fire. The choice would be very limited then. The Bible says that God will sift and separate the wheat from the chaff. Do you want to be a wheat or chaff?. Do you want to be in heaven or hell?. Time is running out, and the coming of our Lord is near. Let us take some time to analyze our lives and ask God to transform all of us into people who would resemble the seeds that fell on the good ground. Amen!

The Beatitude series - Part 3 (Power of meekness)

In the earlier posts in this series, We have seen that the rules of Kingdom of Heaven are totally different from that of this world, and that we can belong to God's Kingdom only through the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This means that we cannot adhere to the rules of the Kingdom by any of our best efforts. We will keep failing again and again, if we try to follow it on our own and it doesn't matter how much ever self-control and self-confidence we may have. It is only through the pouring down of Grace, that we are set right with God.

In this post, I want to take you through one quality that is very important in the Kingdom of God. According to Matthew 5:5 "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth". Yes, meekness is one of the important qualities which God desires and it is one of the least sought after in this world. One definition of Meekness goes like this "the feeling of patient, submissive humbleness". In contrast to the worldly view of meekness, the Biblical view of meekness in any way doesn't refer to weakness. Jesus Christ was meek, but He was brave enough to uphold the traits which God expects.

In what ways we can be meek in our day to day lives?

1. We can be meek when we serve others
2. We can be meek when we put others interest over ours
3. We can be meek when we forgive others
4. We can be meek when we resist the urge to take revenge
5. We can be meek when we give up fighting
6. We can be meek when we treat others with courtesy and respect
7. We can be meek when we considers others better than ourselves
8. We can be meek when we share our things with others

There can be lot of items added to the above list. In short, when we put the interests of others over our self, we can be meek. Jesus Christ demonstrated this when He surrendered Himself to the Roman authorities. Why did He surrender?. In order to save you and me. That was His important goal, and he didn't mind all the insults that He suffered at the hands of those people who sought to kill Him.

Let us start practicing this quality in our lives from today. If we sincerely ask God to impart this quality on us, He will truly make us meek. What we achieve by being meek?. The incredible promise of inheriting the entire earth. If we are meek, all the people in the world will look at us and start following Jesus. This is true Christianity, and may the Lord help us to be meek. Let me close this post with the following verse

You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:25-28)

 

The Beatitude series - Part 2 (The mourning over sin)

The Part 1 of this series was an introduction into the Kingdom of Heaven, which Jesus emphasizes in the sermon, and only by a complete dependence on God, We can be part of that Kingdom, and no human efforts or influence will take us near to it.

The setup of God's Kingdom is completely different from that of what we see on this world. It is exactly the opposite. The standard of the Heavenly Kingdom is completely different from that of the world, and if you and I have to be part of that, We have to undergo a complete transition in our spirits.

We start our journey in God's Kingdom when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. This is the first step. It doesn't end there, but just a start. The remaining part of the journey is authored by the Holy Spirit who lives inside us when we allow Him to rule us. Jesus is giving a detailed account of the rules of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the Holy Spirit will empower us to be partakers of this Kingdom.

Matthew 5:4 says "God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.". What is the mourning that Jesus talks about here?. It is mourning about our sins. When we really feel sorry for our sins and seek repentance, God comforts us. To put simply, when we are burdened by sin, we are encouraged to fall back on the Holy Spirit to lift us up, comfort us and set us on the track again. The trouble is when we don't realize this, and go on brooding over the sin and lie fallen. As children of God we have to consciously remember that, till we live in this world we are prone to fall, and the Holy Spirit gives us the power to get up and keep going.

As we can see, we are called to mourn when we sin. This is strikingly different from the world's point of view, as the worldly people are not conscious about sin. They keep going without even realizing it because they are not under the authority of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the Holy Spirit is not at work in them. The Kingdom of world belongs to the devil. But, God has given us the privilege to belong to another Kingdom while we live in this world, and we have to always depend on Him to be ruled by Him.

My dear friend, It is not easy to belong to the Kingdom of God. We have to give up many things to be part of this wonderful Kingdom. The world may look very impressive for a while, It may offer many interesting things, but the end will be painful. The Kingdom of God is only for the privileged, whom God hand picks. As Christians, we are offered this privilege and we should never mess this up. I encourage you to pray and meditate over the word of God, and God would definitely lead us when we look up to Him.

The Beatitude series - Part 1 (Realizing the need of God)

The entire juice of Christianity can be found in the beatitudes, or the sermon on the mount. It is a very common passage in the Bible, and so many of us would have read and heard about it numerous times. The question is whether we have taken it into our lives or just left it there. Let the Holy Spirit of God unlock our minds to a complete understanding and application of these priceless pearls of wisdom which our Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed to His disciples.

I welcome each of you who join with me on this journey in pursuit of the treasure of wisdom found in each of this verses. I would request you to read this with prayer, and I want to also acknowledge that only the Spirit of God can open our eyes and hearts to understand these wonderful truths. Let us begin the journey.....

First of all, the setup of the sermon venue is very striking. Jesus chose a very calm and natural place amidst the mountains to emphasize that if we want to listen to God's voice, then we must be separated from the hustles and bustles of the world. God can work only on individuals who consciously choose to honor Him, and take timeouts to be in His presence. Friend, if you are so busy doing many things in the world, even if it is ministry, I encourage you to take some time and be alone with God. This is the best refreshment that you can get.

Alright, let us get straight and hit the nail. Matthew 5: 3 says "God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs." (NLT)

Jesus starts the entire sermon with this beautiful verse. In this world, we have a great division between the rich and poor. But, from the perspective of God, you are rich if you are in Him, and poor without Him. It is as simple as that. Worldly riches and fame are nothing when compared with the greatness of an awesome God.

I feel so good when I realize that Christian life is very simple. But, we are trying to complicate it too much by bringing our own assumptions and ideologies into the equation. When we learn to take God's word at its face value, then we get the right perspective. Even if you own everything in this world, and yet if you don't know God, you are the poorest person in this world. The Bible says in Mark 8:36  that "What shall it benefit a man if he gains the whole world, yet loses his own soul"

It is true that we try to accomplish so many things in this world. All these are just for identity and security. I want to tell you that none of the worldly accomplishments would give us neither identity nor security. These can never be sourced from tangible things. Our true identity and security can only be found in an omnipresent, omnipotent and all powerful God. It is only when we realize this great secret, our priorities will fall in place.

This is what Christ says in the opening verse of the sermon on mount. To put it in very simple terms, I would attempt like this " You and I can enter the Kingdom of God only if we choose to rely on God for our identity and security by realizing and acknowledging our bankruptcy and nothingness".

Accepting differences

The world would be very much better if people learn to accept the differences in one another. Everyone of us want to impose our views and thoughts on others, but not willing to give room to other's opinions and views. This, I feel is the major reason for all the problems in our family and professional lives.

We know that God has created each person unique. Each of us have a certain liking, mindset, habits etc...that exist from our birth or acquired during the course of life. This is extremely normal. But, when we live in a community or family, We are not alone, but have to interact and with others. This is where, it is extremely important to behave properly, adjusting and making us flexible enough so that life becomes interesting.

There are so many people who are very frustrated, because of the inability to live together in a society. They want to impose their ideologies and thoughts on others, and they want everybody to adjust and dance to their tunes. This is highly unlikely to happen, and the basic expectation itself is wrong. Friction starts to develop in the relationships and in due course of time, everything comes to a bitter end.

Some of the common places where we see these kinds of problems today are

1. On the roads, where one driver wants to dominate the other
2. In families, where each spouse wants to control the other
3. In workplaces, where each colleague wants to impose their ideas on others

I am not saying that we need to live without any ideologies of principles, it is very much important to have those, but all these ideologies and principles should result in uplifting our society, and make us to live in peace. This, then is what the very famous phrase "Unity in Diversity" teaches us. It is just that we have heard it many times, yet have not followed it.
 

The Scarlet Cord

In the book of Joshua, we read about a very insignificant person with a very bad background. But, she along with her family were the only ones who were saved from the destruction of Jericho. Yes I am talking about the prostitute Rahab.

We read in the book of Joshua second chapter, that two men were sent to spy the city of Jericho before the Israelites could attack and take it. The two men went into the house of Rahab, the prostitute and stayed there. We are not told why they went into her house when there were many other places where they could have got much more information about the city.

I believe it is the soverign plan of God to associate Himself with the downtrodden people of the society which was further confirmed by the action of Jesus who associated Himself with the sinners. Going back to the story, the king of Jericho came to know about the spies staying at Rahab's house and he sent people to search them. By the divine act of God Rahab chose to protect the spies and she hid them in her house and later helped them to escape. We can read a detailed account of this from Joshua chapter 2 onwards.

Now, she was very clever and believed that God had the power to destroy the city of Jericho. She wanted to live a brand new life. She struck a deal with the spies to protect herself and her family when the city was destroyed. This shows that she was selfless and wanted to protect her family also. The men asked her to tie a Scarlet cord in her house and during the time of the destruction, on account of the cord, she and her family would be saved and in fact they were spared from destruction.

This was very similar to the passover during which the Israelites were saved by the blood of the lamb on their door posts. The scarlet cord and blood of the lamb refer to Jesus Christ, who later shed His precious blood on the cross to save you and me who are even worse than Rahab.

Rahab accepted the offer and clung onto the Scarlet cord and was saved. Today, God is offering the same cord through Jesus. All we need to do is to cling on to Him to escape the eternal destruction and inherit eternal life along with our families and friends. Are you ready?.

Challenges and their importance

Challenges are always seen in a negative way by most of the people. On the contrary challenges always helps us in a number of ways. A life without challenges will not be enjoyable but rather boring.

As Christians, we are encouraged to take up challenges in life. In the Bible, all the successful people have taken up many challenges. Take the case of Moses, Abraham, Noah, David, Solomon and Daniel to mention a few. The list does not end there. Refer to Hebrews chapter 11 to see the list of people in the hall of fame.

Apostle Paul was another person who took up many challenges for the cause of Christ. I request you who are reading this to open your Bibles to understand each of these people to see how they used the challenges to benefit the kingdom of God.

Above all, our Lord Jesus was one who was ready to take up the challenges. The very fact that He came into this world to save each one of us by giving up His life and taking it back was the greatest challenge ever taken by someone and it is because He took up that challenge, we are united with God.

In the same way we are expected to take up everything tough situation as a challenge in life and fight it out with the power of the Holy Spirit. If you are struggling with a particular sin, don't get bogged down. Take it as a challenge and overcome with the partnership of God. We are not alone. The most powerful God is with us always. He is true to His promises.

Today, as you are reading this you might be going through some very difficult situation in your life. May be you are going to give up the fight. Don't lose heart. Come to Jesus. He will embrace you and give you the strength to fight and overcome the trials and mould your character. You will become better with every challenge faced. Next time, don't be afraid when you come across a tough situation. Fight it out and be successful.

Be strong and courageous

Joshua 1:9 "This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

As I was meditating over the first chapter of the book of Joshua, this particular phrase caught my attention. I read further about the context of this phrase, since it occurs four times in the first chapter of Joshua. The phrase occurs in verses 6,7,9 where God speaks to Joshua and in verse 18, the people of Israel say the same phrase to Joshua.


The book of Joshua begins with the note about the death of Moses, the man whom God chose to lead the people of Israel from Egypt into the blessed Caanan. Now there was a huge struggle for power as who will lead the people of Israel after Moses. Joshua was the assistant of Moses, but in the eyes of the people of Israel, Moses seemed to be the only leader that they knew. There was a crisis on who would succeed Moses.

It is in this situation, God spoke with Joshua and encouraged him with the phrase "Be strong and courageous!". God told this three times, and I believe it has great importance because of the repetation. God followed this statement with an advice to obey the instructions of Moses. Combining both these together, we can say that God told Joshua that he can be strong and courageous if he followed the instructions of Moses as it was without turning either to the left or right, and he will be successful in whatever he does.

The first chapter of Joshua ends with verse 18 which states that the people of Israel accepted Joshua as their new leader and they encouraged Joshua saying "Be strong and courageous".

This promise still applies to us even today. The instructions of Moses are replaced by the words of our Lord Jesus Christ in the new covenent. Today, the entire world is surrounded by fear and uncertainity. People are so confused and anxious. But, as the children of the most High God, it is none other than the same God who encouraged Joshua still encourages us even today with the phrase "Be strong and courageous". How are we going to be strong and courageous?. It is very simple.Read the word of God every day and pray for the direction of the Holy Spirit. If we do this, we can be very strong and courageous.