Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from December, 2008

Celebrating Christmas with Real Meaning

"The angel said unto them, Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people" Luke 2:10 I am finding it very meaningful and renewing to remind my self of what Christmas actually means to me and to the whole world. Traditional and false understanding of the Bible takes away the power from the word of God. It always helps to take a fresh look at what the Bible has to say about the birth of Jesus. Here is another verse from the Bible which gives real meaning of Christmas - Birth of Jesus, the Christ: Christmas is good news Christmas news is of great joy Christmas is for everyone What makes this news so special? It's because Jesus (Greek word Jesus means Savior) is born. Jesus is the Christ - the anointed one, separated one for the purpose of saving people from the bondage of sin. "For to you is born this day in the town of David a Savior, Who is Christ (the Messiah) the Lord!" Luke 2:11 To understand the value of free

Ask the Readers: Why was the news of Jesus' birth first revealed to Shepherds?

As I was going through the Christmas story from the book of Luke, chapter 2, I observed that the news of Jesus' birth was made known to Shepherds first. "And there were shepherds in the same country abiding in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. And an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid." Luke 2:8,9 I am wondering why the news went to Shepherds first and not to others? I am sure there were many prophets, wise men and serious synagogue goers who were waiting for the news. What made these shepherds so special to receive the greatest news of the world first? Here is what came to my mind - At the time of Jesus birth, these were the people awake, keeping watch over their flock. Shepherds were poor people and they need God's favor most. God was going to reveal Himself as good shepherd, so shepherds will be able to carry out this news to others with lot of passion. I am not sure i

Understanding Christmas

We have been halfway through the Christmas season. Many of us must have gone through lot of Christmas seasons and I am sure we all have enjoyed them with our families and friends. Over the years, I realized that I can really enjoy Christmas when I understand the true meaning of Christmas. This year, I started digging deeper into the Bible to understand the real meaning of Christmas. Reference from the Bible: Luke 1:67-79 This was the prophecy by Zachariah after the birth of his child John the Baptist. He was prophesying about the salvation that is going to be made available through the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas is nothing but God implementing His plan of salvation for the world. At this point of time in history, the people of Israel were under the bondage politically, in darkness as there was no revelation (word) from the God for a period of 400 years, they were going through shadow of death spiritually. Under this background came this prophecy as rain in the desert. Christmas g

A life that lost it's focus

"Saul died for his trespass against the Lord [in sparing Amalek], for his unfaithfulness in not keeping God's word, and also for consulting [a medium with] a spirit of the dead to inquire pleadingly of it, And inquired not so of the Lord [in earnest penitence] ..." 1 Chronicles 10:13,14 Saul, the first king of Israel, began his walk very well. It was the ideal start any one could look for - with all the favor from God and Prophet Samuel, being the tallest one among the people, being the first king of Israel. But along the way, he lost the focus and the end was a miserable and sad one. I am sure you will agree with me that it is how you finish, is more important than how you start . It is definitely an advantage to start well, but finishing is more crucial. The above verse made me think on why Saul's end was a sad one? What are the lessons that I could learn from him? He disobeyed the specific command to destroy the Amalekites Not keeping God's word - In general