Challenge #4 – Celebrate JESUS, God’s Gift to You

Passages of Scripture (KJV): Matthew 1:18, 21, and 23; Romans 6:23

Matthew 1:18: Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

Matthew 1:21: And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Matthew 1:23: Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Challenge:

It is very easy to drown in todays fast pace of life, especially this time of the year, called “Holidays Season” to the majority, including many Christians. People all over the planet spend a lot of time, energy, and money simply to buy the best material gifts money can buy for their loveones, families, relatives, and friends. When you look around, you will see that only a handful of Christians celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, whom God sent to save us from the wages of sin, called “death.” The Bible makes this very clear in Matthew 1:21 and Romans 6:23.

Every Christmas time, many people in the world celebrate the season as holidays, not as Christmas. They celebrate the holidays with festivities and gifts, but not the birth of Christ. Even in many workplaces, people couldn’t even say “Merry Christmas” for they are afraid that they may be fired for saying such. As an example, a young man came to see me in my office the other day. He said he just wanted to greet me a generic “Happy Holidays.” I said to him (in a bolder tone), “What’s the matter with you? You couldn’t say “Merry Christmas”? Christmas is for Christ, you know. You shouldn’t be ashamed, especially if you claim to be a Christian.” And he was blushing as he looked around outside my office, so afraid that others may have heard me saying the word “Christmas” inside the workplace and that both of us would be fired. It is a shame that many people in the world are like that young man, too afraid of saying the word “Christmas,” as if Christ is a very dangerous name to say. Our corporate world is full of this kind of people, using the generic greeting, instead of “Merry Christmas”—a total disgrace to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Well, one may say, “but the holidays include not just Christmas but also New Years day.” To me, it doesn’t matter. Jesus should always be #1 in people’s list, and everything about Him should be the biggest celebration of all Christians throughout the year. Jesus was brought to mankind, and died on the Cross because of our sins, for one and only one purpose: for the Salvation of those who shall call upon His Name. The Bible says in Romans 10:13: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

This time of the year should be a celebration of Jesus Christ, our Lord. The Bible says in Romans 6:23 that “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Keep in mind and heart that Jesus is God’s best gift to those who accept Him as their Lord and Saviour. Thus, telling someone about Christ could also be your best gift to that person this Christmas. My questions to you are these: Have you accepted Christ (the Gift of God)? Has your family? If you have not, NOW is the time. Then, you can share the Gift of God to others. Christ is the best Gift any one can have.

Now, one may ask, “How could I celebrate the birth of Jesus, and not the holidays?” This question could only be answered by your heart and your heart alone. The first question to ask your self actually is: “Do I really know Jesus, or Do I care for His birth?” It is only when you answer YES to either of these questions that you may have the desire to celebrate His birth. Thinking about the Lord Jesus Christ during the Christmas time starts from your heart. I dare you to check your heart right now. As you think of Him, you are (in fact) already celebrating His birth in your heart. The way to do a much bigger celebration of Jesus is to spread the Word about Him and the reason why He was born in the first place. The above passages from the Scripture could help.

As you spend your time, effort and money in buying gifts for people within your friend or family circle, I urge that you think of Jesus. Spend time with Him; make extra effort to spread the Word and share the Gift of God; and, give a few pennies to those who are in need. And if you give, just keep it between you and Jesus. Do not tell the world that you give. These are just basic examples of how you could celebrate Jesus this Christmas time. Again, it starts from your heart. Do you have a heart for Jesus?

Christmas without Christ is only a typical holiday – a worldly festivity! A gift without Christ is only a material gift that fades away after a few days! Christ is eternal. Christ is, indeed, God’s best gift!

Be blessed, and be a blessing to many this Christmas. Spread the SPIRIT of CHRISTMAS.

I wish you a very Merry Christmas, and a very Blessed 2008!

Challenge #3 - Get to Know Jesus Christ!

Passages of Scripture (KJV): Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:21; John 1:1; 1:14

Isaiah 9:6: For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Matthew 1:21: And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

John 1:1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

2 Corinthians 5:19: To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Challenge:

Do you know who Jesus Christ is? If so, how much do you know Him? Do you know Him by heart? Or by name only? Do you know why was He sent to us? Do you have any personal relationship with Him?

To many: Jesus did not and does not exist. He was a myth, a fiction. To others: Jesus is a subject of late night humor. To non-Christians: Jesus was a Teacher, a Prophet.

To the Roman Catholic believers, you may be like me before I got saved in August 25, 1996. I was born and raised in the Roman Catholic background. Many times in my childhood, I heard the name Jesus inside and outside the church. From time to time, I even mentioned the name Jesus as if I really knew Him. The fact of the matter was that I only knew Him by Name in a ritualistic way, not by heart. I really didn’t know Him personally. It took me 40 years before I truly understood who He is, why He came to this world, and what He is to me. Now I can very proudly say that Jesus Christ is not only my Creator and my Father, but also my Friend, my Teacher, and most especially – my Lord and Saviour. Through Him, now I am very certain that I am going to Heaven when I die, because I am saved.

Today, allow me to discuss briefly with you who Jesus Christ truly is. If you don’t know Him, perhaps this is the time that you will get to know Him. If you are a religious person (whatever your religion is), you may think that you already know Him, but I challenge you to spend the next three minutes to look deeper into your heart and sincerely ask yourself (with your utmost honesty) the questions you see above.

Who is Jesus Christ?

In Roger Carswell’s book, titled Questions & Answers from the Bible – It is quoted that “The Bible makes it very clear that there is only one God. This one God is in three persons: God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God clothed Himself in humanity in the person of Jesus Christ. God became man and dwelt among us.” Mr. Carswell referred to the following verses of Scripture: Isaiah 9:6, John 1:1, John 1:14, and 2 Corinthians 5:19.

In the same book, Mr. Carswell also quoted the following:

“Jesus came into the world to save His people from their sins. Because He cared He gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the dumb, strength to the lame, cleansing to the leprous, life to the dead, food to the hungry, peace to the troubled, comfort to the grieving and forgiveness to the guilty.

He had come to die. In dying He was bearing in His own body the sin of the world. In rising from the dead He conquered the great conqueror, death. He came from God that He might bring us to God. Christ is not only the greatest human who ever lived, who gave to the world the greatest teaching ever given, but He is the Creator, stepping into the areas of human history to rescue men and women from sin and bring them back to God.”

I couldn’t agree more with Mr. Carswell’s crystal-clear explanation of who Christ is. His explanation is much clearer and more straightforward than the way I could have written it.

In addition, Jesus is not only the proof of God (the Father)’s immeasurable love toward us (John 3:16), but also His sacrificial Lamb for the Salvation of those, who shall call His name (Matthew 1:21).

The Bible is, indeed, very clear – Salvation, which leads to an everlasting life in Heaven, could only be found by accepting Christ in your heart as your Lord and Saviour. Get to know Christ now, and be saved!

Challenge #2 -- Study the WORD

Passage of Scripture (KJV): 2 Timothy 2:15

2 Timothy 2:15: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Challenge:

Everyday we spend most of our time working (if we work for a living), studying for school (if we are a full-time student), and sleeping. The rest of our daily time are spent to our own self, whether it is resting, working out, watching television, or hanging out with friends. We spend very little time (or no time at all) praying to God, reading the Bible, or even studying the WORD of God. Occasionally, we read and/or study the Bible but we spend more time studying other things (such as those related to school activities, curricular activities, hobbies, business, or self-improvement) than studying the WORD. The biggest question we need to ask our self is, WHY? Do we ever wonder why? I do, but what about you? We ought to seek for an answer.

To some of us, yes, we find time to study the WORD of God: Some study too deep; some not deep enough; some not to deep; some just to know enough; some take formal schooling to study; some do self-study; but some simply listen to a preacher without doing their own studies of what is being preached, not realizing that not every preacher is preaching the right doctrine.

As an example, in one occasion, I confronted a preacher a couple of weeks after he preached (one Sunday morning) a doctrinal heresy that "a saved person will be left behind when the rapture comes, simply because that person is not a member of a local church." The preacher even used (as an analogy) the story of Noah, his family, their wives, and the ark explaining that the ark is like a local church in which eight people entered and were saved, equating it to the Rapture theology. This kind of interpretation has no sense at all. There is no verse in the Holy Bible that could justify the validity of this distorted doctrine of Biblical theology. Other Christians (some of them preachers) I consulted with to validate my stand on the topic had raised eyebrows out of shock as they could not believe such a heretical interpretation of the clear doctrines of Salvation and Rapture. The pulpit should not be used to spread heresy, lest the church wouldn’t grow. For anyone who is simply a hearer of the WORD, and does not spend time to study – that person could easily be fooled by a wrong interpretation of God’s doctrine.

Let’s keep in mind that God’s doctrine of Salvation is based on His unconditional redemption of our sin, through His Son Jesus Christ. It is also based on God’s unconditional Salvation to those who believes and accepts His Son Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. This was indeed very clearly explained in the Scripture. While on the cross, Jesus did not tell the criminal (or malefactor) next to him, who said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom (Luke 23:42), to join the local church first before he can get saved. Instead, Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:43) – plain and simple, no condition of any form.

The Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:16 that, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” This clearly means that the interpretation of the WORD of God must be handled very delicately, lest we make a fool of our own self and commit sin to God when out of ignorance we preach the wrong message. Let us always remember Psalms 12:6, which says, “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.”

Based on our Passage of Scripture (i.e., 2 Timothy 2:15) – we need to show our self approved to God without being ashamed. Thus, we really need to study the WORD, especially if we want to preach. Once we have studied the WORD and understood the TRUTH, then we can APPLY it to our life, and then we can PREACH the WORD.