There’s a lot of speculation floating around the news and social media about how a certain group of people mainly from other countries come to other christian nations for sole purpose of globalizing their religion. They believe that this is the goal given by their prophet. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to share a belief with others, but when you do it in a way where your religious book tells you to kills others that don’t submit, then that becomes a problem.
Typically, people turn to religion thinking that it will make them a better person or for community, but for the sake of overtaking by violence, fear and dictatorship…that becomes an issue. This is an idea that very controversial to the teachings of the bible. In the new testament, written during and after the death of Christ, letters to the church from the apostles, encourage others to set an example for people to see the love of God through Christ, no where does it say to kill someone if they don’t submit.
The idea of forcing someone to convert out of fear, clearly, does not display the character of God written in the bible. The early beginnings of the United States and the writings of the constitution followed the ideas of God granting freedoms to all humanity, that we were born with unalienable rights. The ideas that follow the character of God in the bible granting us the freedom to choose.
Some wonder why God would allow bad fruit to be present in the garden amongst Adam and Eve. God told Adam not to eat of the fruit in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil even if God could’ve just eliminated the tree. Without the tree being in the garden, there would be no choice. It gives all of us an opportunity to obey God or not to obey. We have freewill to do what we want on this earth and we suffer bad consequences or if we choose a good path, we reap the blessings. If you love someone and that person tells you, don’t do that because it will grieve me, you have a choice whether you want to hurt that person or not. Choosing not to hurt him or her is a show of love. It’s a show that you are choosing to love and not hurt.
The freewill to choose is a freedom in itself. The need to be free to choose is embedded into us. God’s character in the bible shows that He’s patient and allows people time to repent from their wrongdoings. He is the Father of all and as a Father who disciplines His children that get out of line, only to bring back to the straight path. He allows us to choose to listen to Him or ignore what He is tells us to do or not to do.
When these principles of freedom and unalienable rights are within the governing body of a country, people from other countries where those freedoms are not given, want to escape and come to a land where they feel free. Our U.S. Constitution protects some of these unalienable rights, such as the 1st Amendment, which protects our freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly and petition and the 2nd Amendment, which protects our right to bear arms.
To force someone into submission is not God’s ways so for a certain religious group of people that’s slaughtering Christians if they don’t convert, that’s not the ways of God. They are misled, not knowing the true God of all humanity, the God that gave Adam a choice. When Adam made a bad decision, to disobey the one who created him, Adam died on the inside by feeling separated from God, but redemption was there. Through the blood of Christ, there’s redemption for our sins. Those are acts of love, mercy and grace. God never forces anyone into submission. It’s a choice and when we choose Him, blessings come. It’s not rocket science to know that God is not a controlling God, just think about the things that are required for humanity to thrive, for fulfillment, peace, joy and happiness.
There’s a deception about having power. Those that are involved with some time of rituals, spells, fortune telling, etc, think that they have some type of power that other don’t have, but ultimately, they don’t have any power at all. It’s just a demonic spirit working through them, deceiving them, making them believe they have power, but they’re ultimately just being used to further an agenda of an evil spirit.
Our power as humans are within our creation, gifts, talents. Maybe some are intelligent, persuasive, caring, sympathetic or other humanly traits that’s innately in some of us. For some, our humanity is not enough. The Fourth Industrial Revolution includes the creation of super-humans that have nanotechnology inside their body that helps them heal and live for a thousand years, as well as, integrated technology that can make us think rapidly, like A.I. , the more technology, the less human we would become.
Thirsting for power or to become like a god is nothing new. It was written about in Genesis when Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil when the serpent said that she would become like god. From the beginning the serpent has been a deceiver and as humans that believe we can be like gods, we are deceiving ourselves.
God uses some people in powerful ways, but it’s not the power that some think about like, controlling the world or having everything desired come to you. God’s ways are different from the views of the world. His agenda is different from the serpent. God will use people in ways to further the gospel, the message that conveys His love for all humanity, that He came down to earth in human flesh to take the punishment for all of our sins as in John 3:16.
Whether it’s God or the serpent, if there is some type of supernatural power, moving through us, it doesn’t belong to us and it never was or will be. If you’re tampering with anything that you feel gives you power, ask yourself, where exactly is it coming from? Make sure you’re operating under a power that will not want to dispose you at the end once done. If you are at a point where you want to get out of it, only Jesus can save you and pull you out of the darkness, there’s no greater power, but the Lord Jesus. Everything else is deception. Call out to Him and surrender everything to the Lord. It’s better to be on the side where the light of God is present, that way darkness will not be present.
There’s a deception with witchcraft and or other like ancient pagan rituals that some humans may believe give them power, but power never stemmed from humans. If you get your future read by someone, it’s not human abilities that convey, but the channeling of dark spirits with nothing but an agenda to deceive. Those that tamper with that type of stuff think they’re powerful, but they’re just being used by dark spirits to carry an agenda, which in the end, will not benefit the one being used to channel, but ultimately, will be brought to ruins once all is said and done. Some are even deceived by yoga, thinking that will give you peace, but it’s deceptive. Philippians 4:7 says, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” If anxiety keeps knocking at your door, call on the name of the Lord and seek peace with others. Don’t keep enemies, there will be unrest in your soul. Ask God to help you forgive and let go. The ultimate peace for the soul is found in Christ, open up your heart and cry out to God.
On the bright side, when God uses someone, their life is blessed and at the same time, they experience many trials. The enemy doesn’t want God’s will to pass, so he tries to stop all of it, sometimes bringing an emotional tornado with him. There are ways to endure. The bible talks about humbling yourself before the Lord. Sometimes the enemy will bring about pride, deceit, confusion, physical ailments, or other. When the one being used by God endures all, it’s a test of faith. Our love for God gets us through the trials. When we pledge our lives to God, we choose His will in our lives before all other, that no matter how bad our situation becomes, we trust that He will bring us through turbulent times. For the purpose of our love and allegiance to Him, but also to help others by leading them to God’s gift of salvation so they can be set free from bondage and find God’s unconditional love, peace, grace and mercy in their lives and freedom in their souls.
Without that love for God and foundation from placing our trust in God’s solid ground, there’s nothing to keep us grounded when a storm comes, like a tree with weak roots, it is uprooted, falls over and dies.
Imagine living for a hundred years with the same beliefs, some given by others and the rest, superstitions or ideologies that we’ve made up. To avoid rehearing the pain of the past, our unconscious mind can take us on vacation where we escape from reality. If we come to the right stop, we can finally get back to the right path, if not, we can live a lifetime in confusion, fear and denial.
When truth is unknown, masked, hidden, astray, we are in darkness. Some may live through life never discovering truth, but if discovered, it’s like the sun coming out and revealing the most picturesque landscape that had been hidden by dark clouds, finally feeling warmth after being in the cold.
What lies in life keep us from moving forward or what truth do shun away from facing, only to find ourselves ten years later, turning the same wheel that’s prevented us from moving forward? What are those lies that we hold on to and what is it that’s keeping us from letting go of a plastic shield that’s been withering away, only to one day, leave our pain exposed?
There are many lies that leave us blind and sometimes it’s easier to believe the lie, than to turn and face the truth. Other times, the lie is so embedded into our lives from childhood that we wouldn’t be able to discern truth unless it hit us in the face.
There’s the big lie that seems, a majority of humanity on earth hold true, at least those that have it and are not bound by it, which is money will bring us happiness. Look at some rich people out there that are miserable, never satisfied, always wanting more. Then look at the children in impoverished communities, so happy, smiling, laughing, knowing that they’re loved. We can love money, but it can never love us back and we can never take it with us when we leave this earth.
Many people go to places like India to find spirituality or soulful fulfillment via yoga, spiritual guru, maharishi, meditation and the like. Stretching is good for the health. Finding people with the same goals to meditate with and escape the hustle and bustle of work can be refreshing, but it doesn’t quite get lead to the finish line, the experience that impacts our world forever. In these places, there’s usually a statue and offerings of fruit, flowers and incense as if the statue is alive, but if God created the whole universe and us humans, why would He live in a scary looking statue? I have seen people bow down to statues on one knee or aerate on the floor face down, but how do we know how God wants us to worship Him. The bible says, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John 4:24 It also doesn’t say anything about chanting, something spiritual, in fact, it discourages repetition. “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.” Matthew 6:7 There’s a few factors keep forever, God made man in His image; God created us; sin separates us from God, Jesus is the bridge back to God as His blood on the cross paid for our sins so we can be reconnected to our creator. Who knows us better than He who created us? If we’re confused about ourselves, seek the one who knows us best.
Another lie, particularly in the community of females. Believing that the word pro-choice is a benefactor for women. The term pro-choice is there to keep abortion industries in business. The idea that women are empowered when given a choice whether to have a doctor kill the life inside of them or not, is deception. Deep down inside, we all know the truth, choosing to put oneself aside for 9 months for the sake of saving the precious life inside, is powerful. Choosing the right path even-though it may be tough, scary and full of unknowns is heroic and courageous. There’s nothing womanly nor powerful about choosing to take an unborn life. There are organizations out there that can support the 9 month journey. We should protect life, not destroy it.
Another huge lie, is that we can achieve perfection or that we can make ourselves holy before God if we do certain things. The bible says,“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9 One of the worst lies that some of us humans believe is that we can be our own gods. Eve was alone in the garden and the serpent lied to her, enticing her to believe that knowing everything was something desirable and that she can be like God. There are fraternities that believe that human’s can be their own god, completely devoid of understanding the character and purpose of God’s creation. In fact, it’s the complete opposite. Walking before God should involve selflessness, trust, dependency and humility, knowing that we are not gods, we can never be god, there’s only one God and we are here on earth to do His will, which is in His word, also known as, the bible.
Another lie is the idea that we can save our selves from our own sin. Pharaoh, the monarch of Egypt thought he could pardon Moses from his sin of killing a man, yet Moses had an encounter with the Lord in his dreams, which led him to question himself. He knew that Pharaoh was just a man, not a god and that only God can forgive sins.
One of the biggest lies ever is what atheists believe, that there is no God and we evolved from from monkeys. Who created life? Having studied design, there’s a purpose for the way elements are put together. Spaces are set up to function a specific way, to cause people to interact, flow and move through a space as designed, but that’s nothing compared to the way God designed everything. It would be too much to dissect everything from biology, to DNA, to life underneath the sea.
One of the biggest lies that can hurt our lives is the fact that we are too broken for God to fix or that we are not worthy to be loved by God or can never be forgiven. There is one grave sin that the bible, in several scriptures mentions, is the blaspheming again the holy spirit. It is the unpardonable sin according to Mark 3:28-29, Matthew 12:31-32, Luke 12:10, Hebrews 6:4-6 and 1 John 5:16. Other than that, I don’t recall the bible stating something in addition to. To go through life believing a lie that God can never forgive us will hinder blessings to flow into our lives. If you feel that you can never escape from your sin, that it has a hold on you, that you are a slave to it and don’t have the strength to break free it could be a demonic stronghold. These strongholds enter at times of trauma, rejection and or abandonment often requiring spiritual deliverance, therapy or an encountering the love of God. It’s never too late to turn. There’s hope in Christ. You are loved by God, your creator. You are never too broken to fix. God knows your past. Jesus hung on the cross with two criminals. One of them did not know Christ and challenged Him to come down from the cross if He is the Son of God, but the criminal on the other side, knew who Jesus was and told him, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom. And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” Luke 23:42-43. In the criminal’s last hour of death, he accepted and believe in Christ, the Lord, the Son of God, God in Him. Just believing and knowing is all it took. Jesus forgave him in an instant. The criminal on the cross next to Jesus got saved at his hour of death. God knows all the crazy you’ve done, just believe and accept Him into your heart.
Prayer for the reader: Lord, I pray for those that need this word to find it and be set free. Change their life around and bring others into their life to lead them in the right path. In Jesus name.
If light equals the truth, when there’s no truth, one can’t see a thing. Then how does one know which direction to go without hitting a wall. If you can’t see your hand in front of your face, how do you know what you are doing? How can you do anything at all. Although many decisions are black or white, no gray areas, which can make decisions easy, but in the gray areas, confusion can arise. Some decisions in life can impact the next day, week, month or year and the the choices that have the most impact are probably the most important ones. Without seeing the light of truth, we can think we are in the right place, smiling, yet disaster and devastation lurks around us.
Without clarity as to what’s really happening or the truth of the situation, it can be hard to make the right decision. When not knowing what you’re really dealing with, it’s hard to know if the result from one decision will go south. The choices we make at an early age or even later on in life, like what and who to get involved with can set one up for a hard habit to break, possibly even falling into a pit we’ve made for ourselves.
Who is speaking into your life and will you keep believing the words of that person? Will we keep believing what society brings to our view, that our value is based on our net worth, what brand we wear, what car we drive, what job title we have. When we’re stripped of everything, what are we left with? Take someone with very little in his or her pocket, making it to the top, being stripped of everything, yet being able to do it all over again.
We all have great value, which starts from the fact that we were born winners, we out swam millions to get to an egg and we won. Then we were formed before we birthed into this world.
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:13-16
We are God’s creation, all with a purpose, all fearfully and wonderfully made. God created us and said,”it is good.”
“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.” Genesis 1:31
Not only did God create us, but when we fell into sin, He sent His Son to die for our sins so that we can be free and reconnected in fellowship with our Creator/God. God loves us and values us so much that He brought us into this world and died for us when we were captivated by sin.
“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” 1 John 4:9
Our creator loves us. We are deceived to think that we are worthless, of no value or have no purpose to live. It’s a lie to believe all that. The word of God, aka, the bible reveals the truth about who we are to His who created us. The one who created the universe loves us. Hard to fathom, but faith is believing without seeing. Where truth is found, there is not room for doubt. The truth is that God loves us, we are valuable and the words of others, do not matter. Embrace the truth.
“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.” John 3:16
If you don’t feel loved or feel that you don’t have a purpose, remember these words from the bible (God’s love letter to His creation). Memories these words from the bible and don’t let the whispering words from the devil tell you otherwise. Break out of deception and embrace the truth of God’s love, written in the bible. He loves us all.
PRAYER for reader: “Lord, I don’t know who I am or my purpose. I know you brought me into this world for a reason, please show me your love for me, show me your purpose for me life, break off the many lies that the devil has bombarded my mind with and let your light and truth shine in my soul. Jesus come into my life, help me to know you more and this love that you have for me. Lead me into the right path, the truth, your light and a life full of blessings, surrounded by love..in Jesus name I pray. Amen!”
In the Persian Gulf, on Saadiyat Island of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, a center of worship for three different religions: Christianity, Judaism and Islam is being built, to be completed this year. There are three buildings, one for each religion and at the center, an educational center for all. This complex of buildings is called the Abrahamic Family House, designed by architect, David Adjaye , set to be completed this year.
You’ve probably seen the co-exist bumper sticker that spells out co-exist with symbols that represent different faiths. The Abrahamic House has a similar logo, only leaving out some faiths and enclosing it with a roof with chimney.
The idea that religions can co-exist is nothing new at all in America since it’s something that’s been happening for so many years. We have buildings for all faiths where people from different religions come to worship their god and we’ve allowed it. This religious right is protected under the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the freedom for one to exercise his or her religion.
This is one of the things I love about the United States of America, our freedoms. Although my faith is in the salvation of Jesus dying on the cross for my sins, which I can never save myself from, I still hold strongly to the belief that people should freely practice their own religions. This might sound a bit crazy, but I believe that the God I worship, would want people to be able to choose their own religious path. If you read the Genesis 2: 15-17 in the bible. God tells Adam not to eat from the knowledge of good and evil. It wasn’t an apple tree, which most believe. It doesn’t say even say fruit, it just says tree and if you eat from it, you will die. God was not speaking of a physical death, but a spiritual death. The death that one feels inside due to sin, guilt, shame and most of all, separation from God. This sin that has the potential to lead one to eternal damnation.
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
Even though God told Adam not to eat from the tree, he still did and he also blamed Eve for it. After Adam and Eve ate from the tree, they realized that they were naked and hid from God. However, God already knew they disobeyed, yet He still went looking for them. He still wanted to connect with them. One may ask, if God did not want them to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, then why did he allow it to stay in the garden in the first place? Adam and Eve had the freedom to choose to obey or disobey. God knows the way we are wired, He created us. He knows what will bring us joy and what will bring us to emptiness and devastation. When we don’t listen to His commands, we hurt our-self. Sometimes when things are used for the wrong purpose, they can break.
Having being raised catholic, that was my religion. I went to church on Sundays religiously, dressed up and tried my best to pay attention to what the priest was saying. I thought that kissing the feet of a Jesus statue would earn me brownie points with God. I prayed almost every night, the rosary, in repetition or memorized verses, but I didn’t find out until later that God wanted to hear me speak my heart out to Him. I always knew that God existed. I just could not fathom the fact that He actually knows my name and loves me and created me to be loved by Him. It wasn’t that people told me, but I experienced His love through reading the bible that speaks of His love and His voice that spoke to my heart. That inner voice inside that saves you, brings conviction or brings hope, joy and peace is the still voice of God.
The effort of a one world religion is pointless. God is not a religion. Kissing a statue of Jesus is not worshiping God. God does not live in statues nor does he live in a stone. The bible says that God is spirit.
24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
This fraternity of all religions may lead to the compromise of beliefs of each and although it sounds like it would bring unity, which it may, it can evolve into a new religion which combines the beliefs of all faiths into one. The scary part about it, is that if it becomes a one world religion, everyone will be forced to follow it, which negates the whole idea of ones freedom to choose. Although, Jesus in the bible says that there is only one way to God, the Father, we have the freedom to choose whether we want to believe what Jesus said or follow Him.
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
We can choose our own path to finding the truth. With all honestly, after finding God through the bible and a real spiritual life-changing experience of God’s love, I’ve found the truth and there was no reason to look any further. When truth comes, doubt does not exist. God already loves us, His creation and He will never force us to love or follow Him. It is our choice whether we want to receive His love for us and love Him back. It is also our choice whether we want to follow His will and His ways. If God knows what will destroy us and tells us to stay away from it because He know what it will do to us, why not follow His voice?
There’s a man in Australia who claims to be a reincarnate Jesus and calls his girlfriend a reincarnate Mary. However, he’s not the only one who’s claiming to be Jesus. There’s another man in Russia also claiming to be Jesus. The worrisome part is that people believe and follow these guys.
The whole “human being acting as if their god” doesn’t stop there. If it’s not pretending to be Jesus, it may be some man with a long white beard with long white hair wearing an orange robe speaking non-sense to a crowd. Maybe the non-sense sounds philosophical at first, but if you were to record it and go back and listen to it, it makes no sense at all.
Some of these spiritual teachers speak out ideas that sound legitimate, maybe it’s something simple as letting go of greed or not being obsessed with money or materialism or having a balance in life. But it’s very surprising to see so many people following someone who pretends to be a god, meanwhile the guy might be a perv manipulates women into sleeping with him.
I think that the main lesson here is that human beings can never be god. There’s only one God. Remember in the book of Genesis when the serpent in the garden tempted Eve into eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent tempted Eve into eating it by telling her that it would make her like god.
For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Genesis 3:5
Even in heaven, Lucifer was a beautiful angel who lead the choir of angels. Filled up with pride from the praises of others he thought he can take over God’s throne. Lucifer was thrown down to earth. Thereafter, his name changed to Satan and ate dirt. The book of Isiah in the Bible ushers his former name as “Day Star, son of Dawn.”
Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps; maggots are laid as a bed beneath you, and worms are your covers. 12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! 13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.
Isaiah 14:11-15
Secret societies like the Illuminati believe in the illumination of man or the exhalation of, as so do Satanist believe that human beings can be their own god.
Maybe we’re not trying to be gods, but possibly wanting to be worshipped, but sadly, humans worship other human beings. A little admiration shouldn’t do any harm, but when it’s taken to a point of worship or idolatry, it starts to become unhealthy. Maybe idolizing a famous person could still be safe being that they’re far out of reach and it’s admiration from a distance. But if you start trying to follow a famous person who’s life is destructive, you might fall into a pit.
Maybe we don’t idolize a famous athlete, singer or actor, but a person who we may think is a symbol of holiness. Then we assume that person to be perfect and whatever he or she says goes. Take for instance the Pope who’s a symbol of religion and holiness, one that speaks to God on behalf of his followers. We may think that since he’s the Pope he’s perfect and never sins. We would be forgetting the fact that he’s still human, meaning he is still tempted and is still capable of being corrupt.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
Jeremiah 17:19
Even televangelist Pastors can be a disappointment. Some may start out with the right intentions, to serve God and serve others, but after all the praise, fame and prosperity can loose their direction and forget about the original purpose for the church. They are still in human flesh living in a world full of temptation and corruption.
It’s important to take a step back and reevaluate. Sometimes the Lord allows certain events to happen to humble us because as human beings, we are incapable or being in a position of worship and not loosing our minds over it. Pride takes over, then the fall happens, just as what happened to Lucifer.
Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.
Proverbs 16:18
Putting so much faith in a human being to be perfect, good and walk up right, all the time, can lead to major disappointment or straying into the wrong path. Humans make mistakes, no one is perfect, which is one of the reasons why forgiveness is so important.
Worshipping someone or something to a point that it revolves around your life or makes you dependent on it for your identity can be hazardous. Imagine if that one thing or person disappears, like money or an emotional tie to a person leaves you, you might feel left with nothing. You’re identity is stripped away and you might feel like life is no longer worth living.
Giving one human an immense amount of power can be dangerous if their heart is not in the right place, like the dictators of the world that take away the freedom of the people or even their lives due to their religious beliefs.
Only God, Jehovah, meaning, the great “I Am” deserves the worship and praise of His creation. He’s never been a dictator. He allowed the bad tree to be placed in the garden. Without it, there’s no ability to choose between right or wrong. He doesn’t force anyone to change their ways. Every human being has a choice to repent and follow Him or live for Him. We all have a choice to surrender the control of a situation in our lives to Him. His heart is as the love of a Father with nothing but love and good intentions, even during hard times. He never dies so He will never leave you. Worshipping God is like filling the empty tank in your soul, it replenishes and strengthens.
When I was in college, I remember coming home one day and seeing my Mom on the couch in deep thought. She said something to me that day that stuck with me until today. As I sat down on the couch next to her, she began telling me what was on her mind. As she gazed at the fish swimming around in the tank, she brought up an analogy of the fish and God. She pondered, if a human wanted to be able to communicate with the fish, he or she would have to become a fish, just as God, looking down at the earth, would have to become human flesh. According to the Bible, this is what happened. It was prophesied about in the old testament and came to pass as described in the new testament.
Most of the prophesy about Jesus coming into the world in the old testament is in the book of Isaiah, written in the years of 742–701 B.C. It is also found scattered throughout other books in the old testament.
“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.”
The name Immanuel, in Hebrew means, God with us. In the book of Matthew in the new testament, written around 60-70 A.D this prophesy comes to pass. Jesus came down from heaven to earth in human form for a purpose.
“1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3
It is easy to question, why God would want to come down from His throne in heaven, be in the form of weakened flesh subject to suffering, rejection and the pain of being flogged, hung on a cross, nails in his hands and feet, all the while, being mocked by a crowd yelling, “crucify him”. Jesus healed many people, even raised people from the dead, yet He went through with the crucifixion. Even, before Jesus was born, His suffering was prophesied in the old testament in the book of Isaiah.
The book of Genesis reveals the presence of a cunning serpent roaming around in paradise waiting to cause God’s cherished creation to sin. After Adam and Eve sinned they hid from God. That was the start of sin separating humans from God.
“2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.”
Sinfulness continued even after the flood in Noah’s days. In the old testament, people would sacrifice animals as a cleansing for their sins and burning thereafter. Depending on the sin, there were specific animals that needed to be cut for the shedding of blood as an atonement for their sin.
“With the blood of the sin offering of atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations.”
In the new testament, rather than having to shed the blood of an animal for atonement, Jesus became the sacrifice for our sins of the past and the present. He is known as an unblemished lamb, one without sin.
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
“5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”
Jesus lived a short time on earth, but He fulfilled His purpose. He was the Lamb sacrificed on the cross with His blood shed for all mankind.
“28 After this, Jesus,knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” 29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. 30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.”
It was God’s love for all humanity that He purposely brought Jesus into the world to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins so we will no longer be separated from Him and be with Him for all eternity.
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
On Christmas day, God brought into the world a gift of love for all humanity, the one that would reunite us with our Creator; the one that would break darkness off our lives; the one that would take His powerful love to the cross. It was God saying, “yes, I love you this much, you are worth every flogging stripe and every piercing nail, I will carry your sins on the cross so you can be free and we can be together again.”
The little baby Jesus on a manger that Kings bowed down to was a miracle, love manifested that night under the bright star and that same Spirit of God lives today.
“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
vange 
You must be logged in to post a comment.