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Wednesday, December 31, 2014

New Year, New Life

Scripture: By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.” 2 Peter 1:3
What is the worst sin you can imagine? Whatever your sin, God has proved He is willing to forgive even the worst sin as long as you repent (agree that your sin is wrong and ask forgiveness) and start following the Lord. By doing this, God can make you a new person in the new year!

The “Worst Sinner Of All”

The man who became known as the Apostle Paul was born as “Saul,” a well-connected, educated man who was a Roman citizen. He oversaw and supported the persecution of some of the first believers in Jesus Christ. Yet God chose to work in his life. Paul wrote that God gave him “strength to do His work, even though I used to blaspheme the Name of Christ and persecuted His people” (I Timothy 1:12-13).
Because of God’s mercy and grace, God turned Saul’s life around. Paul called himself “a prime example of [God’s] great patience with even the worst sinners” (I Timothy 1:16). Even if you feel like you are the worst sinner of all, God can renew you in the same way he renewed Paul. Learn how to repent and ask God to change your life by clicking here. This new year, God can can make you a new person!

A New Life Has Begun

Have you ever heard the phrase “New Year, New You”? God offers you a new life and a new you. When“you have been born again” (I Peter 1:23), you have a new life in Jesus Christ. Paul wrote “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17) God helps you grow through His Word, the local church, and other Believers. He’ll guide you into a new life and never leave your side.

Take Your Next Step

God surrounded Paul with Christians who helped him learn more about following Jesus Christ. How can God help you learn more? One way to grow your faith is to take our 30-Day Challenge! Start your New Year off right by clicking here and downloading the Next Steps app. This devotional guide is filled with daily lessons and videos to help you grow closer to God. Don’t wait. Take your next step today!

Monday, December 22, 2014

Jesus: A Story of Sacrifice

Scripture: “[Jesus] Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Philippians 2:6-8
Before Jesus came to Earth, he lived in Heaven. In Heaven there is no sin and angels praised Him all day. Because Jesus loves us, He willingly gave this up and set aside His power to become a tiny, helpless human baby. This is where the story of sacrifice begins.

A Life Without Comfort

It would have been easy for Jesus to be born into a wealthy, comfortable family. Instead, His father was a carpenter and his mother was a woman who was pregnant before she was married. Jesus was born in a stable and spent His first nights in a manger. He left the comfort of Heaven for a place made for animals. He lived a life without comfort just for you.

A Life Battling Evil

After Jesus was born, King Herod wanted to kill him. Joseph and Mary had to run away to Egypt just to keep Jesus safe. When they eventually returned home, it was in a far away town in a bad area. A future apostle asked, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46) Jesus didn’t come from a good place with a good name, but He willingly came to Earth to battle evil...just for you.

A Life Without Acceptance

Later on, Jesus began his public ministry. His family members had doubts and people in his hometown certainly didn’t believe He was special (Matthew 13:54-58). He wasn’t always accepted. But many decided to follow Jesus and believe in Him, especially when He fed them and healed their diseases.
Once, a parade was thrown for Jesus as He entered Jerusalem. But days later, people were trying to have him killed. He had the power to overcome and escape His enemies, but He didn’t even defend himself when He was accused. Jesus submitted to the cruelest torture leading up to His execution...just for us.

A New Life for Us

Jesus’ sacrifice took away our guilt and shame so we could be forgiven. We have the chance to be pure in God’s sight. His sacrifice gave a new life for us.
This Christmas, when you look at images of the manger scene, think about the sacrifice Jesus made when he came to Earth and accept His free gift of salvation. Then, like the shepherds and wise men, bow down and worship Him, and thank Him with all your heart for a gift unlike any other.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Is Christmas Christian?


Whether they call themselves "Christians" or not, most people who celebrate Christmas and exchange presents on that day think the day honors the birth of Jesus Christ and the giving of gifts to the Christ child by the three wise men. They think the holiday originates in the Bible and is taken directly from the scriptures. Many of us were reared with that belief, but some people might be quite surprised to find out the real truth of the matter.

The whole story

We need to ask ourselves what December 25 really pictures. Is it truly the anniversary of the birth of Christ as the world supposes or does it picture something else? Let’s go to God’s word to hear the truth. In order to understand the full story though, we need to go back to a time more than a year before Jesus’ birth as shown in the first chapter of the book of Luke.
We read, “There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth” (Luke:1:5).
Zacharias was of the priestly line of the sons of Aaron. As a priest, he served in the temple during the year. There were so many priests, however, that there were too many to serve in the temple all the time. Because of that, King David split the priestly service assignments were into 24 groups or divisions (1 Chronicles:24:3-4).
The actual choosing of the divisions was made through an appeal to God by casting lots with the eighth lot assigned to Abijah (1 Chronicles:24:51 Chronicles:24:10).
During the year, the priests comprising each division served in the temple for a period of two weeks: one week in the first half of the year and one week in the second half of the year. In addition, all priests served for one week at each of the three holy day times throughout the year.
While Zacharias was doing his priestly duties in the temple, he was visited by an angel with a message. In Luke:1:11-13, we read “Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.’”
Skipping down to Luke:1:23-24: “So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months…”  
If you were to count off the weeks, you would find that there were three divisions of the sons of Aaron who served as priests during the three weeks of the first month, Abib; then there were four more who served during the second month, Iyar; then the eighth division of Abijah served during the first week of the third month of Sivan, which equates to our late May and June. So Zacharias would have returned to his home in probably early to mid-June and Elizabeth would have become pregnant shortly thereafter.
We saw that for five months Elizabeth hid herself. That would bring us up to about mid-November. The account continues in the next verse and tells us that in Elizabeth’s sixth month, or probably about early December, the angel Gabriel brought news. We read, “Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!’ But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.…Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.’…Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit….And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house (Luke:1:26-33Luke:1:36Luke:1:39Luke:1:56).

The birth of Christ

As we follow the clear chronology specified in the scriptures, it is very easy to see that John the Baptist was, most likely, born about the time of Passover in mid- to late March. We also read that Mary had stayed with Elizabeth for three months from the time of Gabriel's announcement of Mary's conception of Jesus. Therefore, if Mary had about six months left to go in her pregnancy, it’s reasonable to conclude that Jesus was born roughly six months after John the Baptist.
Admittedly, we’ve made some assumptions in our chronology and might be off by a week or two but we cannot be off by much. It’s clear to see from the sequence of events that Jesus was not born in late December. But that is not the only evidence from scripture.
Let’s continue reading in the second chapter of Luke, “And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the entire world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night” (Luke:2:1-8).
The Book of Ezra gives us a report on what the weather was like in Israel in the ninth month, Chislev, which equates to late November/early December: “But there are many people; it is the season for heavy rain, and we are not able to stand outside…” (Ezra:10:13).
Even current weather data show that the month of December in Israel is during the rainy or even snowy season with average nighttime temperatures slightly below freezing. Remember that the emperor in Rome had called for a census to be taken of "the entire world" (which means throughout his whole empire) as we read in verse one. Remember also that the Roman Empire reached all the way from the British Isles in the west to Persia in the east and from northern Africa in the south to almost Germany in the north. It was an empire that went from sea level of the Mediterranean to the snow-capped mountains of northern Italy and France. Surely, if it was cold and rainy or possibly snowy in December in Bethlehem, there would be many parts of the empire where it would have been colder and snowier with travel even more impassable. Does it make sense that the emperor would call for an empire-wide census at a time of year when travel was so difficult? Don’t forget, Christ’s birth was at a time of year when the shepherds were still in the fields keeping watch over their sheep at night.
As we can see all the pieces to the puzzle don’t fit for a December birth of Christ? Let’s see what other authorities have to say on the subject. In Adam Clarke’s Commentary, we can read "as these shepherds had not yet brought home their flocks, it is a presumptive argument that October had not yet commenced, and that, consequently, our Lord was not born on the 25th of December, when no flocks were out in the fields; nor could He have been born later than September, as the flocks were still in the fields by night. On this very ground the nativity in December should be given up” ( Adam Clarke’s Commentary , note on Luke:2:8).
Yet, despite acknowledging that Christ was not born in December, some still see keeping Christmas as a way to celebrate His birth even if it wasn’t on that day. I encourage you to look into the pagan origins of December 25 as a holiday by requesting our free study aidHolidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Observe?

God’s perspective

Is it pleasing to God to have old festivals celebrating worship of pagan gods renamed in honor of God or of His son, Jesus Christ? Jeremiah:10:2-4 shows us just what God thinks when we adopt the ways of the Gentiles in preference to His ways: “Thus says the Lord: ‘Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the Gentiles are dismayed at them. For the customs of the peoples are futile; for one cuts a tree from the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with nails and hammers so that it will not topple.’” 
Remember God’s second commandment and who we really should worship (Exodus:20:4-6). That is our duty – to show God that we love Him by doing His will by keeping His commandments daily.
So, the question for anyone who keeps Christmas is this: By your actions, who do you show God you are really worshipping on December 25?

Monday, December 15, 2014

5 Names of Jesus

Scripture: "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe." (Proverbs 18:10)
As I read through the Bible, my favorite thing to do is look for Jesus. Jesus said the whole Bible is talking about Him (Luke 24:27John 5:39Hebrews 10:7). There are many different names of Him throughout the Bible. Let’s take a look at five of the most common names of Jesus and see what they teach us about who He is.

1. Son of Man

Jesus often called himself the “Son of Man.” This name reminds us that Jesus was human, just like we are. He was able to fully understand us and our suffering when he was born and took on human nature. But inDaniel 7:13, we learn the "Son of Man" is far more than simply human.

2. Son of God

Many times, Christians call Jesus the Son of God. Others sometimes say that Jesus never claimed to be anything other than a man. But the words of Jesus disagree with that statement. "I said, ‘I am the Son of God’" (John 10:36). It’s clear that Jesus stated he was the Son of God, and that’s where this name of Jesus comes from.

3. Lamb of God

Jesus sacrificed His life for us on the cross. The name “Lamb of God” identifies Jesus with the sacrifice He made for all of us. By calling Him that, John the Baptist showed that every sacrifice was meant to represent God’s final sacrifice. (John 1:29Hebrews 10:10-14) From the sacrifice made to cover the sins of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:21 to the sacrifices that still took place on altars in John's time, they all represented Jesus.

4. Word

In John 1, Jesus is called “The Word.” When Jesus became a human and gave His life for us on the cross, God spelled himself out in words we can all understand. Jesus tells us more about God than words ever could because He is God in the flesh. (John 1:1-3, 14, 18)

5. Immanuel

Immanuel means "God with us." The Bible tells us that when Mary named her first-born Son "Jesus," it was the fulfillment of Isaiah's prediction in Isaiah 7:14 that the virgin's son would be called "Immanuel." (Matthew 1:18-25) "How does naming the baby 'Jesus' mean calling Him, 'God with us?' The angel explained that they would give Him the name Jesus "because He will save His people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21)
The name "Jesus" means "Yahweh is Salvation." Jesus is the only name by which we may be saved. (Acts 4:12) Do you know how to ask Jesus to save you? Click here to learn how to call on the name of Jesus and ask Him to save you. Remember, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:13)

Thursday, December 11, 2014

3 Ways the Coming of Jesus was Foretold

Scripture: “For to us a child is born, …. and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.” Isaiah 9:6-7
There are more than 300 prophecies about Jesus (the Messiah) in the Old Testament. Jesus fulfills every prophecy! Since it’s the Christmas season, let’s take a look at 3 ways the coming of Jesus was foretold.

1. The Miracle of His Birth

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). God uses His supernatural power to give us evidence that He, and He alone, is doing something amazing. The foretold virgin birth is only possible by God. It is important that Jesus is called Immanuel, which means “God with us.” Jesus is unique because he is a man, or a “seed of woman” (Genesis 3:15), and the Son of God (Matthew 3:17).

2. The City of His Birth

“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.” (Micah 5:2) Jewish scholars agreed that Jesus would come from the descendants of King David (Isaiah 11:1-2), and be born in Bethlehem.
How amazing that God arranged for a pagan Roman emperor to take a census, causing a pregnant virgin to travel to Bethlehem at just the right time! “And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary and while there, the time came for her baby to be born.” (Luke 2:3-6)

3. The Purpose of His Birth

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5). Jesus had to suffer as the prophets foretold (Luke 24:26-27). He died in our place so we could have peace with God. This is why the Angels sang at His birth: “Glory to God in the Highest! And Peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” (Luke 2:14)
“Without Faith it is impossible to please God.” (Hebrews 11:6) Have you received the peace that Jesus died for you to have? Click here to learn how to please God by having faith in Jesus Christ.