"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." Luke 2:11
What does Christmas mean ?
Christmas means worshipping Christ.
Christ refers to Jesus Christ. Mas(Mass) means gathering.
But in 'Christ mass' nowadays 'Christ' is missing.
What is the reason?
The 'Christmas' nowadays, It has become like "Star on the house top, bar in the house."
Today's Christmas
1) Household Christmas
Cleaning our houses
2) Bodily Christmas
Dressing up well in new clothes
3) Teeth/Tongue's Christmas
Cooking and eating
This is what today's Christmas is limited to.
Instead of worshipping Christ, Has somehow turned into Christmas celebrations. And the dancing in these celebrations are no less than dancing in the movies. If we ask them 'What's this?'
They justify by saying 'Didn't David worship God with dancing?'
David danced in a completely different but not like movie stars by forming groups.
But why did Christmas has turn so ugly?
Because of only one reason
Even if it has been 2000 years since Christ was born, He never born in our hearts.
Some say Christmas shouldn't be celebrated.
*Christmas* (PART ONE)
Some say Christmas is a must
But remember one thing!
Do anything that makes you closer to God. But never do anything that takes you far away from God.
Is this Christmas taking you closer to God? Or far from Him?
Many Christmases might have gone past by in your life, can you truly worship God in this Christmas?
Let's welcome our beloved savior into our hearts today!
Let's enjoy the peace and contentment brought by Christmas!
Let us prepare ourselves in such a way !
May the Lord bless us with such a grace and thankfulness. Amen! Amen! Amen!
*Christmas* (PART TWO)
"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." Luke 2:11
What does Christmas mean?
Business with God's name?
That's how it is in the world, isn't it?
*In the world history, most business is done during the Christmas season.
*Most of the alcohol is sold during this festive season.
*Clubs, pubs and restaurants are crowdie during the Christmas season.
In Christmas' name, instead of worshipping Christ, we are selling Him.
Judas Iscariot sold Jesus for 30 silver coins, but we, on the other hand, would sell Christ for 3 coins.
Christmas is just a namesake but we are worshipping ourselves. We are using Christmas as a platform to showcase our own skills and talents. We have fallen down to such a horrible extent that we even dance to the songs of films and movies on the day of Christmas.
In a nutshell,
In Christmas, we are not even giving priority to Christ but we are giving to the Christmas tree and Santa Claus. We are forgetting the God whom we are supposed to worship. For this reason have we named it Christmas ?
If we don't have a heart to worship? If u cannot worship? Then it's better to calm down yourself. But, Don't try to ridicule His wonderful sacrifice among the gentiles and the worldly
That's why He says, “God's name is blasphemed among the gentiles because of you.” Romans 2:24
Yes!
Our worship should not bring blasphemy to His name. Instead, it must glorify His name and should guide the gentiles towards the salvation.
When it's possible ? Only when He is born in your heart.
Is your heart still far away from him? Let Jesus enter into your heart today.
Let's change and our lives likewise. Let's enjoy the peace and contentment brought by Christmas!
Let us prepare and correct ourselves in such a way! May the Lord bless us with such grace and thankfulness. Amen! Amen! Amen!
CHRISTMAS (PART THREE)
And asked “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:2
Star : Produces it's own light
There are many stars in this world.
*Megastar
*Superstar
*Terastar
*There are lots of people who follow these stars.
*These stars can take only from light to darkness, but not take you from darkness to the light.
But there is a bright star. It
*glower brightly
*gave extreme happiness
*shown us the way
*lead to the destination
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” Revelation 22:16
THAT STAR IS OUR BELOVED SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST
The five ends of this star, Represent the five qualities of our beloved savior
Wonderful Counselor
Mighty God
Everlasting father
Prince of Peace
What’s your destination so far?
Which star are you following?
*You will never get an appointment to meet the stars in this world. But, this star descended from heaven to earth to meet you.
*The stars of this world will let you down
But this star was bruised for you.
If you follow the star that descended from heaven to earth?
* You will experience miracles in your life.
* You will find the thoughts to change your every situation.
*He will be your strength when you are weak.
*He will always be your everlasting Father.
*Your whole life will be peaceful
When it's possible?
*Only when He is born in your heart.
*Only when you follow that star.
*Is your heart still away from Him?
Welcome Him today itself.
Let us prepare ourselves in such a manner!
May the Lord bless us with such grace and thankfulness.
Amen! Amen! Amen!
*Christmas* (PART FOUR) SANTA CLAUS
I’m not sure whether Christmas has Christ or not, but If there's no Christmas without Santa Claus.
Santa Claus has become more important than Christ in Christmas.
Christmas is often called as x-mas. It feels us true too.
A mathematics teacher
Asks you to find the value of X (“something we don’t know”)
At the end, the value of X will be found.
x-mas
“x” indicates that we don’t know “mas (mass)” means gathering
In the name of x-mas, we are worshipping what we don’t know. We still can’t find out what that “X” means.
In the 4th century, there was a man named Nicholas (Santa Claus) in Turkey. He was born in a wealthy family and lost his parents in his childhood. He was very kind hearted. He used to enquire others’ needs and put some money secretly in their homes.
The same happened with the kids too. And the kids used to believe that on the night of every December 24, Santa used to come and give gifts and greetings.
History says that he was called as a saint and even worked as a bishop later in his life.
Christmas is considered a festival of gifts. It is believed by many that Jesus Christ was gifted to the world, and people give gifts and greetings to each other on this day. And with the advent of Facebook and what’sapp, this has become countless.
People have interwined Santa Claus into Christmas saying that Santa Claus too used to give such gifts.
This has gone to such an extent that Kids might not know Jesus, but they know Santa Claus.
Businesses are making in crores with Santa Claus costumes and merchandise.
Is there any relation between Christ’s birth and Santa Claus? No. Not at all. Because of these traditions, we are unable to worship God. Instead of glorifying God, we're glorifying other things.
Isn’t this “Forgetting the creator and worshipping the creation”?
Isn’t it called idolatry if something else takes God’s place?
What if we teach our kids how to worship the true savior instead of encouraging such things just for the sake of temporary happiness? Won’t their lives be full of happiness?
Why don’t we try to do so in this Christmas? Let us prepare ourselves in such a way!
May the Lord bless us with such grace and thankfulness. Amen! Amen! Amen!
*Christmas - Part 5*
Christmas Tree�
Whether kids or elders, the Christmas tree gets noticed by Everyone. The Christmas tree is a special attraction on Christmas.
In reality, there is nowhere mentioned in the Bible that, Christmas is celebrated or has to be celebrated, or these things have to be done in Christmas.
All these are man made customs. Though the centuries are passing by, we still keep following them. But we don't follow "The bread and wine" as told by Jesus Christ.
Opinions may vary on "Why all keep Christmas Tree, on Christmas?"
Some say it's the tree of Life. Some say it's the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. And some says the 'Greenery' represents His Righteousness, Eternity and Life. Everyone will have their own opinions and views but Bible doesn't mention anything about this.
Christmas tree looks so mesmerizing because of the dazzling lights on it.
Let me tell you a fictional story to learn a spiritual lesson.
Once upon a time, there was a tree crying. It said, " My flowers have no fragrance. My fruits are not edible. No one cares for me."
Seeing it's plight, a few stars descended from sky saying, "Don't cry, we'll be there with you", and sat on it. And now this tree got the prominence and glory that no tree ever had.
*That tree wasn't glorified because of itself. Its because of those stars on top of it.
*The donkey wasn't glorified because of itself. It's because Jesus who sat on it.
The honour and credit you have isn't because if yourself. It's because of JESUS who descended to sacrifice His life for you.
*He who knew no sin, was willing to be cursed for you.
*He left His throne behind for you. That's how much He humbled himself.
May it reminds you whenever you'll see a Christmas tree, you would worship Christ, the one behind true Christmas.
Let us prepare ourselves in such a way!
May the Lord Bless us with such grace and thankfulness.
Amen! Amen! Amen!
*Christmas - Part 6*
Angels - Their hymns
There were three archangels in the heaven.
1)Lucifer
(To worship God. But he turned against God because of his pride and got thrown out of heaven )
2) Michael
(To fight behalf of God)
3) Gabriel
(A messenger who carries God's message to the people)
There angels are of various kinds
1) Cherubs
2)Seraphs
And a few more...
Some angels have two wings, some have four and some have six.
Never use feminine gender when referring to the angels. Masculine gender has to be used. And the same has to be done while talking about the Holy Spirit too.
Angels singing :
The Bible tells us a about two scenarios where the angels were singing.
1) When He laid the cornerstone for the world.
On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?
Job 38:6-7
What does a morning star mean?
It comes before the sun rise indicating that the sun is about to rise .
The Bible says that God laid the cornerstone for the world alongside when the angels were singing songs of praise along with this morning star.
2)When our beloved savior was born in this world.
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.”
Luke 2:13-14
Even reading this verse makes me thrill. Imagine how wonderful it would have been when the angels were singing it.
I have a question for you.
It has been 2000 years since the angel had announced this contentment. Do you have this contentment in your life?
If you don't, surrender the burden of your sins to Him, today itself you get that contentment.
Let us prepare ourselves in such a way!
May the Lord bless you with such grace and thankfulness.
Amen! Amen! Amen!
*Christmas - Part 7* Angels Singing
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angels, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Luke 2:13-14
This is how the choir of angels/ angels praised our beloved saviour when He was born.
Even while reading this verse rides me thrill. Imagine how wonderful it would had been when the angels were singing it.
No music of this world, could ever be compared to it.
The birth of Christ Jesus
*Glorified our heavenly Father ¡
That's why we call Him, "Lord Jesus".
I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. John 17:4
The birth of Jesus Christ
*Brought contentment to us, the people of earth.
It has been 2000 years since He was born and this contentment was brought. Yet, we aren't able to get this contentment.
*What's the reason?
"peace to those on whom his favor rests".
But we are still not able to enjoy that Contentment. Maybe that means His favour is not upon us?
*On whom does His favour rests?
*How will we get this Contentment?
His favour rests on whoever accepts Jesus as his/her saviour and be set free from sins. Only the one who get Repentance and Accept and Living according to His Will can get this Contentment.
*What sin is chasing after you?
*What sin has kept you captive ?
The desires of the eyes?
The desires of the flesh?
The pride of life?
Whatever it maybe!
*Leave it at the feet of the Lord Today, and have that Contentment which He gives.
Let us prepare ourselves in such a way.
May the Lord Bless us with such grace and thankfulness.
Amen! Amen! Amen!
Christmas - Part 8 Shepherds
*They are the most uncivilized.
But are so blessed to be the first ones to see the savior.
*They are first evangelists to preach Him after the angels.
*They didn't have worldly knowledge.
(Shepherds in those days are being referred. Not shepherds of these days. Today Shepherds are having full of knowledge)
*Their flock are their everything.
*How to feed them?
*How to guard them?
*What are the problems does the flock have?
Apart from the detailed knowledge in this, they did not have any other worldly knowledge.
*Their lives begin and end with the flock.
*They used to play, sing, share their sorrows and happiness with their flock.
*They don't have any connection with other people. You know why? Because they spend their whole time with the flock only.
*Even though there are a lot of scholars, kings and wise men, the birth of the savior was informed to these people. But, not every shepherd in Israel was informed about this. But only to the few.
Their reaction when the angel told them good news about the birth of Christ, teaches a spiritual lesson to our stone hearts.
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
Luke 2:15
*They didn't think that they were told just because the angels saw them while they are passing by. They believed that the Lord himself sent this message to them.
That message, being brought to you, indicates that the Lord has sent you this message and not because He had no other work. You should realize that you are in His plan.
Your heart will never respond if you don't have such realization
We are so negligent to God's word that We reply to text messages within a second and keep chatting for hours, but our hands get bothered to reply an 'Amen' when someone texts God's word.
Why is it so?
Because of our negligence towards God and His word.
Saying 'Amen' means wishing that the message brought to you happens in your life.
*The response of those uncivilized shepherds, is a wake-up call to you and me.
Let us respond to His word!
Let us come together and worship Him!
May the Lord bless you with such grace and thankfulness.
Amen! Amen! Amen!
_Christmas - Part 9_ The shepherds :
The shepherds' reaction when the angel told them the good news about the birth of Christ, teaches a spiritual lesson to our stone hearts.
“Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” Luke 2:15
We have learnt countless fables and lessons saying "Unity is strength". Grass strands, when put together, have the strength to bind an elephant. A colony of black ants, when together, can kill a poison snake. The shepherds might be weak in the society. But their strength lies in their unity.
Among those shepherds, we can't find anyone who has opposed the idea of going to Bethlehem and seeing the savior. They are all on the same page.
And that is why they were able to receive the contentment announced by the angels. The city of Shomron was seized by enemies. And because of this, there was a famine so bad that the people had to cook their own children and eat.
When the four lepers were discussing about battling against Syria, none of them has opposed. All of them were in agreement about the battalion and were under the motto "If they let us live, let's live. If they kill us, let's die". This unity of these four lepers was able to feed Samaria abundantly.
*Our lives lack situations like these. Everyone wants situations and things to happen as they wish. We are not able to agree with others.
*And this is why our families and communities are being torn apart by satan.*
*Why are his acts still going on?*
*Because we lack unity.*
*We lack contentment because we lack unity.*
No more!
Let's understand each other.
Let's agree with one another. Let's live for God together.
Let's enjoy His contentment.
May we be blessed with such grace and thankfulness. Amen! Amen! Amen!
_Christmas - Part 10_ The shepherds :
The shepherds' reaction when the angel told them the good news about the birth of Christ, teaches a spiritual lesson to our stone hearts.
*"So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger."*
Luke 2:16
The shepherds, instead of acting on "Slow and steady wins the race", Acted on "First come, first served".
They have responded the very moment they heard the news. But what about their beloved herds? Whom did they handover their herds to ? Maybe they didn't think of their herds when the Lamb Who carries the sin of the world has descended.
*Maybe they are preoccupied with the thoughts of the True Shepherd and Chief Shepherd that they forgot about their beloved herds.
*Maybe they wanted to be the first ones to worship Him, and not the other way around.
They have left everything as it is and rushed to see Him. What's the reason ? Their desire to see God. To worship God.
The lives of these shepherds are a great spiritual lesson to our hearts.
*We lack such interest towards God, His words and His church, right ?*
*For some reason, we are not able to respond fast when it comes to God, right?*
What might be the reason ?
Didn't we understand the greatness of our beloved savior yet?
Has His sacrifice become so depriciated and belittled ?
When Judas Iscariot was coming along with the Roman army to capture Christ, Jesus Christ said, *"Judas, go quickly and do what you have to do".*
What does that mean?
Jesus Christ is hurrying to sacrifice His life for us. But we, on the other hand, are not able to even respond to Him fast.
Let us correct and prepare ourselves in such way.
May the Lord bless us with such grace and thankfulness.
Amen! Amen! Amen!
May God Bless You�
_Christmas -Part 11_
*_The_ _Shepherds_*
*The Shepherds are the utmost uncivilized people. Yet they are the first ones to see the saviour.
*They are the first ones to preach about -"Jesus" after angels*
The Shepherds' reaction when the angels told them the good news of the birth of Christ, teaches us a spiritual lesson to our stone hearts.
*When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,* Luke 2:17
*_The shepherds have become Evangelists_*
Which Bible College did they get their training from?
Forget about Bible Colleges. The Bible hasn't been compiled yet back then.
Do they have any experience talking in courthouses ? No, not at all.
They couldn't keep themselves from preaching because of the peace and contentment they have received.
*They have started preaching about what the angel told them and what they saw.*
But we, on the other hand, speak a lot about everything, apart from *Christ* .
*_We make a lot of excuses saying,
"I don't know how to deliver a message",
"I don't know how to sing in a song well".
We consider only the people who do this as Evangelists._*
�But let's remember one thing!
_You, who forwards this message to your friends, are also an Evangelist._
*There are a lot of preachers and singers. They only sing and preach, but don't follow it.*
_Your life(works) should deliver a message better than your verbal messages or songs._
An evangelist D.L.Moody once said,
�" If one person in a hundred reads a Bible, the remaining 99 will read that person who reads Bible."
�That means your life itself has to become a Bible. If you read it daily and follow according to that, *your life should speak about Jesus.*
There are many people who don't know the name "Christ".
�You have the responsibility to preach to them.
�If you can't go, pray for those who go. Help those who go and preach.
�Let us prepare ourselves in such manner.
May the Lord bless us with such Gracerace and Thankfulness.
Amen! Amen! Amen!
May God Bless You All
_Christmas Part 12_ The Shepherds
*The Shepherds are the utmost uncivilized people. Yet they are the first ones to see the savior.
*They are the first ones to preach Jesus after angels*
The Shepherds' reaction when the angels told them the good news of the birth of Christ :
1). They had faith that God sent the good news through the angel.
2) They discussed among themselves to go and see Him.
3) They had gone without any delay.
4) They had seen Him, and preached Him.
5) They had worshipped and glorified Him.
*The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.*
Luke 2:20
*What does the Worship mean?*
*It means to thank Him for the good things He has done for us, is called worshipping.*
*Who can worship Him?*
*Only the one whose heart is full of satisfaction and contentment can worship Him.*
*But what did the newborn do to get worshipped?*
*Jesus Christ left His throne to save them from their sins and descended empty handed from the heaven.*
*Did Jesus came to this world just for the shepherds ?*
*No not at all. He has come for you, me and the whole mankind.*
However, we aren't able to worship Him the way those shepherds did. We don't have the thankfulness they do.
*We have been the ones to constantly beg him for this and that; but we never thank Him for what He had done for us.*
Lived filled with contentment can't keep themselves from worshipping Him. Maybe we aren't able to worship Him because we lack contentment.
*Why do we lack contentment?*
*Because the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ hasn't been born in our hearts yet*
Many Christmases have passed by and we heard countless messages. Yet we lack contentment. This message has been brought to you by the angel once more, on this day.
� What if we respond like the shepherds did?
We too will get the thankfulness, contentment and happiness the shepherds got.
Let us prepare ourselves in such manner.
May the Lord bless us with such Grace and Thankfulness. Amen! Amen! Amen!
May God Bless You All
_Christmas Part 13_
*Candle Light service*
This is one of the most attractive services in Christmas. Everyone lights up a candle when they are in darkness. But we, on the other hand, turn of the lights, create darkness and then light up the candles.
It is such a wonderful sight to hold candles and sing melodious songs.
But does this glorify Him, or bless us?
What's the inner meaning of this?
*"One match stick can burn an entire forest."*.
*One glowing candle is enough to light up the world.*
*JESUS melted like a candle for Us, and gave us light*
In a candle service, one candle gets lighted up and this in turn lights up the other; thereby the whole church gets lighted up in a few minutes. �This means that :
*You who are lighted up - have to light others up.*
*You who are saved - have to save others.*
*You who are content - must share the contentment with others.*
If this really happens,
*Would darkness still be there in this world?
*Would people still be unsaved?
*Would we still lack contentment?
We satisfy ourselves somehow for 10 minutes in this candle light service, but we don't really grasp the essence of it and follow it.
Don't you agree?
This reminds of a thing happened last year. Some of our people had gone to Bethlehem last year, and were waiting in a queue, holding candles.
*Why were they standing? They have no idea. They're doing it because everyone else is doing it.*
*If the same thing is done by our Hindu brothers, we call it idolatry and worshipping candles. Then what if we are doing the same thing?*
It would be justified if you light up a candle and show the way to someone in darkness. But, can this be done to the light of the world: the One Who is brighter than crores of suns put together? Is there any idolatry beyond this?
Let us correct ourselves and worship Him the right way. May the Lord bless us with such grace and thankfulness. Amen! Amen! Amen!
May Lord of Heaven and Earth Bless you all Immensely
_Christmas Part 14_ *OBEDIENCE*
�One of the most important aspects of Christmas is obedience.
*Christmas is the obedience of two youngsters.
*You cannot worship God on a Christmas without obedience.
Mary :
#She is a virgin. She is a virgin.
Luke 1:27
_*She is a saint who managed to stay without any impurities._
_*There is no doubt in that_
We must respect that women as a saint. Our lives must look up to her life as a role model.
_**But we must not worship her**_
_**The reason behind it?*
No man or angel is worthy enough to be worshipped. God alone is worthy enough to be worshipped**_
*Even the three wise men worshipped Jesus. Not Mary or Joseph.
*How did Mary become worthy enough to mother Jesus Christ ?
*Mary was having a conflict in her heart.
*On one hand, she can become the mother of the savior.
*On the other hand, she is worried that she is going to become a mother without getting married.
*How is she going live then?
But, at last, she made up her mind. She decided to face the insults and blames for the sake of the message given by God, delivered by the angel.
She became obedient.
*Things happened just the way she thought.
�
*People started making fun and insulting her.
*The world was passing comments about Mary's purity saying her purity is now revealed.
*At last, she had to leave her own home because of some issues
*She has tolerated everything.
*And the finally became the mother of Christ.
*The shepherds were obedient to God's word
*Mary was obedient to God's word
*But what about us?
Are we still living as rebels?
Are we still disobedient?
*How long ?
Do we still see Him as an infant in a stable?
Do we still him as a sheep ?
No more!
He is coming back like this a roaring lion. We can't escape if we still keep being disobedient.
Let's be obedient
Let us inherit His eternal Kingdom.
Let us prepare ourselves in such manner.
May the Lord bless us with such grace and thankfulness. Amen! Amen! Amen!
May God Bless you Abundantly
_Christmas Part 15_
*Obedience*
*One of the most important aspects of Christmas is "obedience".*
*Christmas is the obedience of two youngsters.
*You cannot worship God on a Christmas without obedience.
��Joseph :
�He was righteous.
Matthew 1:19
�Joseph is one of those people who was deemed righteous by the Holy Bible.
*What does righteousness mean?
Believing Him is righteousness.
*Who is a righteousness person?
The one who believes in Him is a righteousness person.
*What is the characteristic of a righteousness person?
The one who do not insult others.
*That is the reason why Joseph took a resolution to not insult Mary and secretly leave her.
*Everyone in the town knew that Mary, who was engaged to Joseph, has become pregnant before marriage. This was a great insult to Joseph.
Yet, he chose to tolerate all the insults by himself and to not insult others.
The angel brought a message to Joseph telling him that Mary has become pregnant because of the Holy Spirit and to not step back in marrying her.
He was obedient to God's word.
He married Mary.
Will the society accept if a man marries a pregnant woman?
He tolerated everything.
That's why he has been called the father of the Savior.
*The shepherds were obedient to God's word.
*Mary was obedient to God's word.
*Joseph was obedient to God's word.
*What about us?
*Are we still living as rebels?
�*Joseph was obedient.
*Are we still being disobedient?
*How long ?
Do we still see Him as an infant in a stable?
Do we still him as a sheep ?
No more!
He is coming back like this a roaring lion. We can't escape if we still keep being disobedient.
Let's be obedient
Let us inherit His eternal Kingdom.
�Let us prepare ourselves in such manner.
May the Lord bless us with such Grace and Thankfulness.
Amen! Amen! Amen!
May God Bless you Abundantly
_Christmas Part 16_
*The wise men*
They are from the Eastern countries.
- How many were they in number?
- What countries do they belonged to?
�Even though opinions differ on this topic, Bible doesn't mention much about it.
*If the Bible doesn't talk about it, then there is no point in we talking about it too.*
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”_
Matthew 2:1-2
*It is said that the wise men of the East, have come to Jerusalem.*
_*What's the reason for their arrival?_
_*They have seen a star._
_*That star is unlike any other star they have ever seen._
_*When they have gone through the scriptures, they understood that a King was born._
_*They have followed that star and reached Herod's home._
_*That star hasn't stopped there. These wise men stopped there._*
The lesson we have to learn today from these wise men is :
**They haven't thought "We will only worship Him if He is born in our Eastern country.*
**They haven't thought of Him as a foreign God because He was born in Israel.*
_*At times, we come across a few posts in Facebook saying that Jesus is a foreign God, and let's not worship Him.*_
_*But let's think for a moment_
_*Who is the creator of Facebook?_
_*Who invented the mobile phone_
_Can we survive for even a single day if we refrain from all the foreign inventions?_
You don't bring up nationality regarding human inventions. How come you bring up nationality when it comes to God Who sacrificed His life for you?
The wise men haven't thought of nationality.
Why? Because they are wise.
If you think about the nationality of God, what does that make you ?
(I'll leave it for you to answer)
Not anymore!
Let's change our thoughts and the way we think!
Let's welcome Him into our hearts!
Let's worship the true Christ for this Christmas!
Let us prepare ourselves in such manner.
May the Lord bless us with such Grace and Thankfulness. Amen! Amen! Amen!
May God Bless you Abundantly
_Christmas Part 17_
*The wise men:*
They were from the Eastern country.
*After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”*
Matthew 2:1-2
�Our thoughts aren't wise. The wise men are a good example for this.
�The wise men who started from the Eastern country were traveling following the star.
�_They have come across deserts, hills, shallow regions and rough paths._
�_Days and weeks are passing by, and they have no idea how long and how far they still have to travel._
�Meanwhile they have reached Jerusalem.
�They have seen a huge royal palace and their happiness had no bounds.
What was the reason?
�As per the worldly knowledge, kings are born only in a king's family.
*They have ignored the star that showed them the way so far, and made a decision on their own to enter the palace.*
And what were the consequences of this decision?
�*Every male infant below two years of age have been killed by Herod's orders.*
� Any decision we make ignoring God's way will make us, our families and our society pay a heavy price._
�Even though the wise men were misled, they had managed to reach their destination by following the star again.
�Where are we mislead in our lives?
�To what have we been attracted that made us distant from God?
Let us observe ourselves for once in these Christmas days. Let us examine ourselves and press towards to the Eternal Kingdom, our Final destination to see and meet our Heavenly Father.
May the lord bless us with such Grace and Thankfulness!
Amen! Amen! Amen!
God Bless You Abundantly
_Christmas Part 18_
*The
wise men*
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
Matthew 2:1-2
The wise men of the Eastern country were travelling by following the star. They had come across deserts, hills, shallows and rough paths.
Days and weeks were passing by, and they had no idea how long and how far they still had to travel.
�What is their quest for?
They wanted to see the king of jews.
�Why they wanted to see Him?
Is to boast to the world that they havd seen the Saviour of the world? No, not at all.
*They wanted to meet Him to worship and offers gift to him.*
That's the reason they were being straightforward when asking the king "Where is the king of jews who was born? We have come to worship Him."
*The wise men were able to realise that there are so many kings in this world but this newborn king is unlike any other king.*
There are many gods in this world. Here, We need to understand the fact that they hadn't sacrificed their lives for us.
�They did not created us.
�We created them.
That's the reason the wise men were travelling following the star.
�But let's remember one thing!!!
If you have the heart toworship Him, You don't have to go searching for Him.
�What's the reason behind this?
�He came searching for you. �He is knocking the doors of your heart.
�Inviting Him into your heart is enough.
�Shall we invite and worship Him atleast today?
May the Lord bless us with such Grace and Thankfulness.
Amen! Amen! Amen!
May God Bless you Abundantly
" The Three Wise men �♂ � ��
By reaching to the house, where they saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then, they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Matthew 2:11 NIV
The wise men, have seen Mary and the child when they reached the stable.
They have stretched out or flatten themselves on the floor and worshipped Jesus alone, and not Mary.
�Even any groan you let out, is worshipping God when your heart is filled with Him.
*But the meaning of worship has changed in these days.*
*We have lost the heart to worship Him.*
*We mix up a lot of songs, blasting the sounds and music, dance to it, and call it 'worship' . When this music stops, the worship stops too.*
�Worship is not confined to a short period of time. *It's a constant process.*
_And what about this dancing? Every time they bring up David's name as an excuse. They speak of David dancing but don't have even a small bit of repentance David has._
The famous and wise men did not have any thoughts questioning why they should worship Him. Why? Because they were able to understand Who He is.
Exalting Him for who He is, is the true worship.
A lot of years are passing by in our lives and maybe we haven't experienced it yet. Let's prepare our hearts to worship Him the right way from these Christmas days atleast.
May the Lord bless us with such Grace and Thankfulness. Amen! Amen! Amen!
May God Bless you Abundantly
_Christmas Part 19_
Christmas Part 20_
*Gifts by Wise men*
*On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.*
Matthew 2:11
�The wise men opened up their boxes and presented their gifts.
�We too have to open the boxes i.e. our hearts and Surrender and present at His feet.
*The first gift presented by the wise men is Gold.*
Pigeon in birds,
Sheep in animals,
White in colours and Gold in metals represent *Holiness.*
By presenting Him gold, the wise men are indicating that He is holy, and He must be *worshipped with holiness.*
�If so, then how holy are our Christmas celebrations?
*Even the people who don't drink at all too drink on the day of Christmas atleast for once.*
_
*And when it comes to dressing it's better to not talk about it at all( I'm not talking about everyone, but only those people with bad dressing who influence others as well)*
�And most people don't understand the songs and hymns we sing.
�The reason is music beyond limits.
�This lacks holiness too.
�These musical instruments which have no live can't praise or worship the Lord.
�Any worship has to be done by you who has life. Your music composition should be worshipping God and not show case your skills or bother others.
We are living for namesake, like as if we have no life inside us.
�And there's no need of even talking about the dancing on Christmas. I wonder what message we deliver to the society by dancing.
�The Bible doesn't mention anyone dancing when Christ was born.
�Is this the 'Golden present' we gift on the name of Christmas worship?
�No, not at all ! Just the way he is Holy, we too have to be holy and worship Him with holiness.
� _Let us prepare ourselves in such manner._
May the Lord bless us with such Grace and Thankfulness.
Amen! Amen! Amen!
May God Bless you Abundantly
_Christmas Part 21_
*On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.*
Matthew 2:11
*The first gift presented by the wise men is Gold.*
By presenting Him gold, the wise men are indicating that He, is Holy and He must be worshipped with holiness.
Gold indicates sovereignty. Hence kings used to carry gold as a present while visiting other kings.
The queen of Sheba did the same thing too while visiting Solomon.
The wise men gifted Him gold. This means they have recognized Him as a king.
Hence they have gone to Herod and undoubtedly asked him the whereabouts of the king of Jews.
�We lack such experiences in our lives.
�We call Him king, but just for namesake.
�We aren't able to accept Him as the ruler of our hearts.
�We want to be the king of our own lives but we aren't able to accept Him as the king of our lives.
�How long is it going to be this way ?
_If He is not the King of your life,_ _then your life lacks efficacy._
Let us, who are suffocating in satan's chains, make Jesus the king of our lives atleast now. Let us live as princes and princesses of His kingdom.
Let us prepare ourselves in such manner.
May the Lord bless us with such Gracerace and Thankfulness.
Amen! Amen! Amen!
May God Bless you Abundantly
_Christmas Part 22_
*On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.*
Matthew 2:11
The first gift presented by the wise men is Gold. By presenting gold, the wise men re- indicating that He is Holy and He must be worshipped with holiness.
_*Gold represents sovereignty. It tells us that He is king, and we have to be in His kingdom._
_*We can understand how amazing God's plans for us through the wise men's gift to God._
Herod will try to kill Jesus. So Joseph, along with his family, will move to Egypt and live there for a while.
What about their livelihood when they are in Egypt?
�The gift of Gold presented by the wise men was used to manage their expenses.
�Yes! Sometimes, He gives you the solution even before you encounter the problem. And sometimes, he gives you the solution when you are going through the problem.
Nothing is impossible for Him. Everything is possible.
But when is this possible?
�Only when you accept Him and welcom Him into your life, and let Him take control over your life.
�The wise men might have gone searching for Him, but He came searching for you.
_*He is waiting and knocking the door of your heart. He is a respectful person. He doesn't push His was inside._
_*Try to hear His calm voice.
_*Prepare yourself to hear His calm voice with a pleasant heart._
You have only few days to cross this year. Atleast try to welcome Him into your heart today!
Let us prepare ourselves in such manner.
May the Lord bless us with such Grace and Thankfulness.
Amen! Amen! Amen!
May God Bless you Abundantly
_Christmas Part 23_
GIFT of FRANKINCENSE
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Matthew 2:11
*The second gift presented by the wise men is Frankincense.*
Frankincense, when put in fire, it gives mesmerizing fragrance.
Similarly, He sacrificed Himself on the cross for us, so that He could be such a fragrance for us.
*and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.*
Ephesians 5:2
Frankincense symbolizes His *'humanity'.*
He descended from His throne to the Cross as a bodily deity so that, He could offer Himself as a Living Sacrifice.
� Can't he do that as a God?
No. It's not possible. God is a spiritual diety. He doesn't have flesh and blood. And our sins can't be compensated unless the blood of the Holy One is shed. Hence, He descended as a human, *even though He is God.*
�During the times of the Old Testament, there was a rule saying that frankincense is a must during a sacrifice.
�Frankincense represents worship too.
�That means, by offering frankincense, the wise men were preached to the world that He was born as human, and that I e. *He is worthy of worship.*
If He is worthy of worship, then He must be a God. Because no human or angel is worthy of worship. Yes! *He is worthy of worship.*
*God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”*
John 4:24 It doesn't matter how you worshipped Him till now.
�But from now on, let's worship Him in the Spirit and in truth.
Let us prepare ourselves in such manner.
May the Lord bless us with such Grace and Thankfulness.
Amen! Amen! Amen!
May God Bless you Abundantly
_Christmas Part 24_
GIFT of MYRRH
*On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.*
Matthew 2:11
*The third gift presented by the wise men is myrrh.*
This is a sticky substance obtained from thorny trees. This is bitter to taste and yet fragrant
Myrrh, in our daily language, is called perfume.
*Myrrh is sprayed on clothes for Fragrance.*
�All your robes are fragrant with myrrh.
Psalms 45:8
*It is sprayed on beds to give pleasure with fragrance.*
I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.
Proverbs 7:17
Myrrh is also used as body sprays.
My beloved, is to me a sachet of myrrh resting between my breasts. Song of Songs 1:13
*Myrrh is also used to hinder the rotten smell of dead bodies.*
�He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.
John 19:39-40
The dead bodies preserved with myrrh do not rot for thousands of years.
�Myrrh indicates Jesus Christ's hardships and resurrection.
�That means, the wise men were able to realised that He would struggle, die, defeat the death and rose again for us.
�That is why they worshipped Him.
The gifts presented by the wise men have all this knowledge in them.
They have worshipped Him even before He sacrificed Himself. But we, on the other hand, are unable to worship him in such a way even after 2000 years have passed by.
Atleast from now on, let's worship the one Who is worthy.
�Let us prepare ourselves in such manner.
�May the Lord bless us with such Grace and Thankfulness.
Amen! Amen! Amen!
May God Bless you Abundantly
_Christmas Part 25_
*OBEDIENCE of Wise Men*
*And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.* Matthew 2:12
�Even the wise men's wisdom is far below God's wisdom.
�That is why they thought that the king of Jews will born to a king and went to Herod's house ignoring the star.
�Even if misled, they had followed the star again, reached to Christ and worshipped Him.
�And now there is one more chance that the wise men can make a mistake.
�They might go to Herod with all the information about Christ's birthplace.
Even the wise men can't understand the secrets of the heart. Only God can do it. The wise men have no idea of the ill-intentions of Herod. Hence, they were alerted to not go back to Herod. And obeyed what said to them.
Now there is a conflict and fear in the hearts of the wise men. If they didn't go back to Herod, he might follow them with horses and army to kill them.
Yet, they have learnt who the true King is. So they didn't fear Herod and didn't want to make another mistake.
Though the path they had come on wasn't a straight one, they were obedient to God's word, and corrected their way into a straight one.
�How about are our lives?
�Are we still living without any change in our lives?
�Are we still walking on curved roads?
They were able to correct their ways with just one message.
�How many messages have you heard in your life?
�The count might be more than your mobile number, right?
No! You've wasted enough time already.
*Try to examine and correct your life atleast today and live for Him.*
Let us prepare ourselves in such manner.
May the Lord bless us with such Grace and Thankfulness.
Amen! Amen! Amen!
May God Bless and Lead you in the Path of Righteousness till you reach your destination
_Christmas Part 26_
*Hard Heartened Herod*
*When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.*
Matthew 2:3
�Herod couldn't handle it when the wise men came to Him asking, "Where is the king of Jews? We have come to worship Him."
The birth news of the Savior was disturbing to Herod. The words "King of Jews", made Him relentless.
Actually speaking, there were no need of being so tensed. Because it will take several years for the baby to grow and become the king. Meanwhile he could grow old and die.
If he really thought so, he might have accepted and worshipped Jesus, as his king. His life might have been blessed.
�But, history says that Herod is a person who killed his own sons just because he was afraid that his sons might take his kingdom from him.
�How can such a person can tolerate that someone else is going to be the king of Jews.
�Look at what Herod has done when he came to know that the wise men have gone back through another route.
�He ordered to kill every male infant below two years of age.
�Why did take such a cruel decision?
Because he was not ready to accept any other king above him.
�Are we any different from Herod? Aren't we the same?
We are unable to accept Jesus Christ as our King just because we want our will to be done. Even though we act that we have accepted Him, aren't our hearts still away from Him?
�Even when in reach, Herod couldn't worship Christ and took a bad place in history.
�What about you?
Today is the favorable day. Today is the salvation day. Set up your house when the candle is still burning.
Welcome Jesus into your heart when you still have time.
Let us prepare ourselves in such manner.
May the Lord bless us with such Grace and Thankfulness.
Amen! Amen! Amen!
May God Bless and lead you All in the path of Righteousness till you reach your destination
Have a pleasant and real Christmas in your hearts!
Hope you touched by these messages.
May God Bless You!
Pls pray for me!
Thanks Luke Daniel for Translating to English!
Yours Brother in Christ in His Ministry
Bro. Sudhakar Babu. Kona
