Five Christmas Thoughts During Christmas Eve

During this Christmas Eve, I am sharing with you 5 wonderful thoughts about the birth of Jesus, our Lord. They are:

1. It’s through His birth as a baby that Jesus revealed God in human form.
Till then, God was someone who was up there. But now, He became someone you can touch!

2. Jesus is not a mythical figure. His birth is recorded in history.
If someone tries to take Jesus out of history, the only way is to destroy history.

3. Birth of Jesus was a miracle. Mary didn’t know how it would happen.
Joseph just obeyed the angel. God loves doing miracles in our lives.

4. Joseph and Mary were channels that God used to accomplish His work.
They weren’t special. They weren’t perfect. They were willing.
God wants us to be willing channels for accomplishing His plans.

5. Jesus’ birth was joyful news to people of different cultures and classes.
He wasn’t restricted to a select few. His salvation is available to all people.

On this Christmas Eve, what else comes to your mind about Jesus’ birth? Share your thoughts in the comments section here.

- – - written by Joe Abraham from www.joeandancy.com

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Walking On Impossibilities

“He said, Come! So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water…” (Matthew 14:29)

This is one of my favourite verses in the Scriptures. I like it because it contains an essential truth, which when applied, can help you overcome impossibilities.

Peter was a veteran fisherman. He knew how to stay in the boat during turbulent weather. It may be an impossible task for you but not for Peter. However to walk on water was an impossible task for Peter. He has never heard about such a thing!

But all that changed when Peter found Jesus walking on water. He extended Jesus a rather amusing request: “…Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water” (Matthew 14:28)

Why did Peter ask Jesus to ‘command’ him to walk on the water? The root word used here for ‘command’ is ‘keleuson’ (Greek term). It means to ‘give an order’ or ‘incite by word’.

Peter had a revelation of the power vested in the command given by Jesus. He knew if he ever wanted to walk on water, he needed an ‘order’, a ‘command’, a ‘word’ from Jesus. And once he got it, He began to walk on it!

You see, to the natural eye, Peter was walking on the water. But the truth is, he was walking on the ‘command’ or the ‘word’ of Jesus. It’s his trust and dependence on that word that made him walk on the water.

That’s the key to overcoming your impossibilities. What are you facing today? Debt, loneliness, joblessness, sickness, failure, addiction? Whatever that be, do what Peter did. Ask Jesus to give you a word. Spend time in the Scriptures. And when you sense His ‘command’, take it by faith.

Hold on to that word. Confess that word. Walk on that word.

Then watch and see how your impossibilities become marvellous sights of God’s power and grace!

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The Problem With Faith

 

What is the problem with faith? Why Christ kept on asking before healing somebody – “Do you believe in me?”

Faith in a person, including Jesus Christ, comes from trust. When we trust a person, we are entrusting our thoughts, our hopes and our doubts, to that person. In other words, we are giving up our self-reliance, and are putting our hope in the integrity of the other person’s character.

There is a risk in believing. When the level of our trust is great, the level of our dependence on the other person will also be high. We are playing with our own security, and are depending on the character integrity and dependability of another person.

We are shaped by our experiences. We see politicians who lie. We hear about pastors and priests, who fall in their walk with God. We hear about parents who do not care. We see collapse of financial institutions due to lack of accountability. We see unfaithful spouses. We live in the midst of a corrupted society, where we cannot trust the person next to us. We see religious people who are hypocrites. We are risking ourselves when we trust and believe in some one. Suspicion about another person’s intent is sometimes a protective instinct, particularly in our society. ‘

Jesus Christ is coming with a revolutionary proposition.“Trust in me”, he says. Trust in me, in spite of what you see around you. Trust in me, even when your life experiences have taught you to be careful in trusting another person. Trust in me, even when you do not see me. This call to believe in Jesus is a bold one. It is like swimming against a water current. People will think that you are naïve or foolish when you dare to trust in an unseen God.

I know a man who told me not to dare, when I jumped into the band wagon of Jesus. His argument was simple “when you risk too much your fall will be a big one. If you risk less, your fall will be a small one?” He is still comfortable. I am not comfortable in a material sense, but I dared to risk. Who has not paid a price for his belief? What is life with out belief? We will live in constant paranoia and fear, when we refuse to trust in God.

Look at the pages of history. You will see the story of many dictators, who killed thousands, because of their own fear. You will conquer fear, when you trust and believe in God. It may not be wise in the eyes of the world, but it will liberate your mind and soul from fear. Yes, you will pay a price. Yes, men of God will let you down, but the God of men will never let you down

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Are demons fallen angels?

Answer: When exactly God created angels is open for debate, but what is known for sure is that God created everything good because God, in His holiness, cannot create something sinful. So when Satan, who was once the angel Lucifer, rebelled against God and fell from heaven (Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28), one third of the angelic host joined his insurrection (Revelation 12:3-4,9). There is no doubt these fallen angels are now known as the demons.

We know that hell was prepared for the devil and his angels, according to Matthew 25:41: “Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’” Jesus, by using the possessive word his makes it clear that these angels belong to Satan. Revelation 12:7-9 describes an end-times angelic battle between Michael and "his angels" and the devil and "his angels." From these and similar verses, it is clear that demons and fallen angels are synonymous.

Some reject the idea that the demons are the fallen angels due to the fact that Jude verse 6 declares the angels who sinned to be "bound with everlasting chains." However, it is clear that not all of the angels who sinned are "bound," as Satan is still free (1 Peter 5:8). Why would God imprison the rest of the fallen angels, but allow the leader of the rebellion to remain free? It seems that Jude verse 6 is referring to God confining the fallen angels who rebelled in an additional way, likely the "sons of God" incident in Genesis chapter 6.

The most common alternate explanation for the origin of the demons is that when the Nephilim of Genesis 6 were destroyed in the Flood, their disembodied souls became the demons. While the Bible does not specifically say what happened to the souls of the Nephilim when they were killed, it is unlikely that God would destroy the Nephilim in the Flood only to allow their souls to cause even greater evil as the demons. The most biblically consistent explanation for the origin of the demons is that they are the fallen angels, the angels who rebelled against God with Satan.

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How To Become Spiritually Strong

If we could reflect a bit, we could be a little better in our spiritual life.

Spiritual life is always at risk unless we take much care of it. It is almost same as physical health as far as the care and concern is needed for its sustenance. All of us find challenges and downfalls in our spiritual journey. But how often we recover and go forward?

Suppose we find one of our vehicles suddenly broke down on the way during the journey. Before calling a mechanic for help, we will surely check whether there is enough fuel. If we are sure that the fuel is over, then we would never call for help. Apply this to spiritual life too.

Prayer is the fuel of spiritual life. If we are sure that our spiritual life is broken down due to lack of prayer, then there is no use in getting advice from anyone regarding its recovery. If prayer life is sound and good then we may look for other options.

In physical life if we have gone through some serious illness, we need enough time for recovery. Just after being healed we would never take up hard works. It would make us sick again. After an illness what is required of us is the recovery of health. Sin makes us spiritually sick. But through the sacrament of confession, we would have been healed. Do not right away go to undertake heavy spiritual loads. First and foremost recover our health through prayer and being in the presence of the Lord.

Another challenge in our spiritual journey is the problem of bad habits. St. Augustine would say, ‘evil is the privation of goodness.’ Suppose there is a hole on the floor, we can never remove it by taking it away. If we try to do so, the hole will become even bigger. We should fill it with something else. We are trying for years and years, to take away our sinful dispositions and bad habits. It is as trying to take away a hole. Every sin and drawback is a privation; fill it with the power of the Holy Spirit.

Invite the Holy Spirit to help you and make you stronger in that area. We can’t take away darkness as such, without bringing light to the dark place to make it bright. The problem is that darkness is not an entity in itself, but a privation of light. We can become spiritually strong, by filling ourselves with the power of the Holy Spirit.

Many a time we think that God has punished us because we have sinned. We tend to think as this one of the reasons of our spiritual fall. God never punishes anyone who repents over the sins committed. He is mercy and love.

Suppose someone drinks acid; should anyone come to him and burn him? No. Why? Acid by nature is burning. By the very fact a person has drunk acid, he is allowing himself to be burned. As such sin carries with it the punishment too. No sin is good for human body or soul.

So one who sins is supposed to bear the evil consequences of sin. Therefore we must be very vigilant in our spiritual life, for keeping the holiness of our body and mind.

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Trapped in Shyness

Do you know what's your greatest personal stumbling block is? your nature? no!! your personality? no!! your attitude? not at all!! Its nothing but you shyness itself. Do you know that your shyness can trap your talents inside the unknown dark chamber? The most curious offspring of shame is shyness. If you take your time to find a suitable definition for shyness from the dictionary then here it is, it says shyness is father of easily frightened, mother of being timid, brother of reserved and sister of bashful. So if you own such troops with you, then I want you to see, read and learn what the living word of God speaks on this issue. If you say that you are the shyest human ever invented, but you are a lion inside, that doesn't make any sense unless you bring out the lion outside.

Bible says  “For the Holy Spirit, God’s gift, does not want you to be afraid of people, but to be wise and strong, and to love them and enjoy being with them. (Timothy 1:7). So the verdict is when you rely on Holy Spirit, your shyness will flee. The source code to overcome shyness is getting yourself under the command of Holy Spirit and submitting yourself under his mighty hands. The fear of man brings a snare: but whosoever puts his trust in the Lord shall be safe. (Proverbs 29:25). Fear can cause oneself to wear the garment of shyness. Fear comes by thinking of what people will think of you or concerned about the reviews of other men. Tear the shyness with the weapon of faith and confidence in Jesus Christ, that he is able to deliver you. Learning to be under the control of Holy Spirit is the key factor, it will help you in reducing your fear and shy with love and faith in Jesus Christ. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:4). Shyness is limited to us, but our genuine breath and life is in Jesus Christ who is our life.

The flower that smells the sweetest is shy and lowly. If you want to bloom in the desert of shyness, who have to survive and face others while relying on God to provide the strength. Shyness can take you miles away from your talents that are God gifted, make it an instrument of God. Learn to multiply your talents, rather digging a pit of shyness and hiding it with complains. When you're worried, tell yourself the truth that Shyness is a strength to build on, not a character flaw to be stamped out. Shyness draws us away from reaching others, while we have a freedom and love for others in Jesus Christ. Pray and have faith, by his grace jump over the wall of shyness and with your gifted talents contribute for God's kingdom...

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