The birth of our Lord Jesus is the most remarkable event in the history of all mankind. Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus as Christmas day.
Jesus Christ is the only son of God and the second person of the trinity. He took the form of flesh to be born on earth in order to save the whole world.
We choose to celebrate this day, a day set aside to honor our Lord – and that alone is reason to worship Him.
Jesus took His place in a manger so we might have a home in heaven. The birth of Jesus was made possible not just a new way of understanding life but a new way of living it.
Here are some Bible verses on the Birth of Jesus Christ:
1. John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
2. John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
3. Colossians 2:9 “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.”
4. Deuteronomy 17:1 “You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep which has a blemish or any defect, for that is a detestable thing to the Lord your God.”
5. 2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
6. 1 Peter 2:22 “Who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth.”
7. Luke 1:35 “The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”
8. Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”
9. Micah 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for our of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.”
10. Genesis 22:18 “And through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed.”
11. Jeremiah 31:15 “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted because they are no more.”
12. Hosea 11:1 “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
13. Numbers 24:17 “I see him, but not here and now. I perceive him, but far in the distant future. A star will rise from Jacob; a scepter will emerge from Israel. It will crush the heads of Moab’s people, cracking the skulls of the people of Sheth.”
14. Matthew 1:18 “This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.”
15. Luke 2:14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men."
16. Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
17. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
18. Titus 3:4-7 "but when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
19. John 10:27-28 "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me."
20. Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
]]>"I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together." Psalm 34:1-3
Thankfulness in the New Testament comes from 2 Greek words, charizomai, which comes from chairs or "grace." And the second one is homologeo or "to confess. When we are thankful we are acknowledging and appreciating God, His grace, blessings, and work in our lives.
Here are some reasons why we should be thankful to God this year despite the pandemic and losses we experienced.
1. To honor God
By being thankful, we acknowledge God's existence and that He is the source and means of everything we have in life. We admit that we are totally dependent on Him and that all that goes on in our lives is due to His sovereign control, wisdom, grace and purpose 2 Cor. 4:15.
2. The word tells us to be thankful
The Bible tells us to be thankful. We read that in the book of Psalms which are filled with words to praise and give thanks to God. Ps. 100:4 says, "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name."
1 Thessalonians 5:18, "In everything keep on giving thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you".
3. An attitude of thanklessness is dangerous
When we are thanklessness we are dishonoring God and being proud of ourselves and going on a course of self-destruction as in Rom. 1:21. The product of being thankless is bitterness, complaining, and a joyless life (Heb. 12:15).
"Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice." Psalm 105:1-3
Since thankfulness is a response to God's grace, its opposite, bitterness, complaining, and grumbling, are evident in an unthankful heart that doesn't respond to God in faith. Thanklessness leads to selfishness which creates depression and feelings of hopelessness as we are focused on our problems rather than on God.
"Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song." Psalm 95:1-2
When we pray we must be thankful as Thanksgiving turns our eyes from our problems and ourselves to the Lord and His amazing grace. We can see life through God's person, principles, promises, and purposes. Thanksgiving promotes faith and courage when we are in painful situations especially the ones that we all have faced throughout 2020.
]]>Our tongues need to be used helpfully, for the glory of God and for the blessing of others; or they can be misused, which may bring sorrow and tears to others, and may hinder the testimony of the Lord.
James shows us the tongue of a Christian indicates the condition of his spiritual health, we come to know what kind of a Christian we are. Let us understand what power the tongue has over our lives:
1. The tongue can direct
The tongue has been described as the bit and the rudder in this chapter of James, which means it can direct others into the right or the wrong path. Beware of idle words, half-truth, and deliberate lies, these can change the course of a life and lead it to destruction.
But good and right words can remove someone from sin and into salvation.
2 The tongue has the power to destroy
The tongue is a small member of the body, but it can cause great destruction. A tiny spark can set a whole forest on fire, and the tongue is like a small flame.
An evil tongue can also spread poison. On the other hand, a spiritual tongue is medicine. It will heal and not hurt.
3 The tongue can delight
As it is not possible for a spring to produce both fresh and salty water, the tongue too cannot speak blessing and cursing at the same time.
Let us learn the right and wrong uses of the tongue below which is so important for us believers to know:
1. Wrong use of Tongue
1. By blaming God when we are tempted to do wrong (James 1:13-14) because God never tempts us to sin and temptation arises when a man falls prey to his own lust.
2. When we speak hypocritically (James 1:26). This is done by most people and a terrible thing about it is written in Titus 1:16.
3 Speaking discriminatingly between the rich and poor fellow-believers (James 2:1-4). We discriminate when we speak on the basis of people's color, background, and status.
4. Speaking unkindly or unsympathetically about those who are in need (James 2:15-16). as millions live in poverty, we need to be sympathetic and kind to them and not be unsympathetic.
5. When we boast and speak flattering words we cause a destructive fire (James 3:5). One careless word can upset or divide a family or a church; James 3:14.
6. When we grumble with each other (James 4:12; 5:9). Romans 14:12-13 says, "Each of us will have to answer for himself to God, so stop criticizing one another!”
7. When we use swearing or blaspheming words (James 5:12). We as Christians should not be careless with our words and take the name of the Lord in vain like the non-Christians.
2. Right Use of The Tongue
1. To praise God (James 3:9), we use our tongue to praise our Heavenly Father.
2. To pray to God for wisdom (James 1:5-6). For those in trouble (James 5:13-16), for healing (James 5:14-15). To sing to the Lord (James 5:13).
We speak about being the hands and feet of Jesus in this world but what about out tongues? Let us surrender our tongue to the Lord and ask Him to control it today.
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