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What is Christmas?
People famously do not get it – what Christmas is all about. Many just celebrate gifts and giving – and Santa Claus with jingle bells. However, the Bible teaches about a holy God, not a Santa Claus god.
Excerpt from A God Damn
The Santa Claus god
However, many today want a belly laughing “ho ho ho”, roly-poly Santa Claus god. This modern day god:
has no predilections, no predispositions, and never gets upset with anything we do or ask for. This god goes with the flow. This god of ours accepts it all, whatever we want.
He has no bias, no prejudice against anything. He has no fixed, predetermined intolerances. What you are, whatever – he’s down with that! This “Claus God” has been created for our convenience.
We fool ourselves so easily. Anything we kind of like, or really like, or really really are into… is fine with our “Claus God”. It’s easy to follow this “god”. Claus has no limits on us!
The message of a truly Gospel-centric Christmas, however, is that the Savior, Jesus the Messiah, came down to earth to provide salvation for souls lost in sin. Writing about actor Kevin Costner, reporter Leah MarieAnn Klett says Costner was reminded of our “need for a Savior”. That is what Christmas is all about.
The Bible teaches about a holy God, not a Santa Claus god. Not a fabricated, conjured-up imaginary figure we might want to relate to on our own terms – but the real, actual Holy God of the Heavens, the One and Only Creator God who made all that exists anywhere — He who still is in control.
– Source: A God Damn
“Reflecting on what the message of Christmas means to him now, after spending hours immersed in the story of Jesus’ birth, Costner said he’s reminded, more than ever, of human frailty and need for a Savior.”
– Source: Reporter Leah MarieAnn Klett, (leah.klett@christianpost.com) in a ChristianPost.com article titled, Kevin Costner says acting career began in church as he hosts Gospel-centric ‘First Christmas’ special; on F.
We all need Jesus because God cannot accept our sin-stained souls. Human frailty is the reality of our temporary world. My frailty always reminds me of our temp situation here on earth. We will never pass this way again Seals & Crofts lyrics. It’s a temp world.
But we are more than frail. A frail soul would not have required God to sacrifice Himself. Our reality is we are all lost for eternity because of sin. That required a perfect sacrifice.
Christmas is a time to refocus, recalibrate, take stock “of the people who matter to us”. This is the phrase from actor Kevin Costner in the christianpost.com article titled, Kevin Costner says acting career began in church as he hosts Gospel-centric ‘First Christmas’ special.
Leah MarieAnn Klett said this from Kevin Costner about Christmas
“For Christians, it centers on the birth of this child, the promise that He was coming, and the message He would bring of peace, of how you treat your neighbor, and how you live morally under very tough conditions,” Costner said. “It’s a chance to refocus, to recalibrate, to take stock of the people who matter to us.”
Christmas, Costner said,
“…centers on
the birth of this child,
the promise
that He was coming,
and the message
He would bring….”
Understanding the Savior
Understanding Jesus is key to understanding God’s message of “salvation” and the Savior who was born and died to save us. Christmas celebrates the actual historical event: The Messiah has come to earth!
Rejoice because He paid the price for our redemption. The debt is paid. In fact – Jesus paid it all. Have you taken the time to personally receive His gift?
Jesus said, “I give them eternal life” John 10:27-30. We only find eternal life through Jesus the Messiah. There is no other saving Gospel.
Salvation in Christ: We could never earn it, never pay for it, never be good enough for it. We just simply repent of our sin, accept it from Him, and follow Him daily. God is offering us His free gift. That is what Christians celebrate on Christmas.
FOR MORE:
Christmas is special. It’s a time to remember what Jesus our Savior has done for us. Refocus, recalibrate, take stock. This year make merry! Celebrate with a truly Gospel-centric Christmas. He is the reason for the season.
_________
A truly Gospel-centric Christmas
Blessed by forgiveness by The Hand of God our Savior
Long before His birth prophets spoke of Jesus the Messiah…predicted long before
The Wonder of the Birth of God…God came down to earth
Why we all need Jeus…we all need salvation in Christ. He is the One to provide salvation
Why we should fear God Almighty…souls lost in sin will be lost forever
Holy Father, Lord of All Excerpt: Sitting here before you Lord, my Holy Father, Lord of All, I’m so aware that I’m not holy….
Salvation in Christ is beyond huge
When a sinner repents…repent of our sin
Accepting all that Jesus Christ is and does…repent of our sin and accept it from Him
Specific salvation parameters to get saved
Receiving the forgiveness of God through Jesus the Messiah
The Godman Jesus Said “Follow Me”
“I give them eternal life” – John 10:27-30
Legally Damned, Legally Forgiven
A roly-poly Santa Clause…replacing God Almighty
One thing you lack Excerpt: Jesus is inviting you to come into His Kingdom. Forever! Imagine how exotic and opulent – His Place? Is that exciting – or what!? I’m looking for that! Have you visited Jesus, like the rich young ruler, and blindly held-on to your ways in the midst of all your religiosities? It is a fearful thing to consider being rejected by a damning God. How far would you go to NOT be God-damned?
A God Damn Excerpt: …many today want a belly laughing “ho ho ho”, roly-poly Santa Claus god. This modern day god has
no predilections, no predispositions, and never gets upset with anything we do or ask for. This god goes with the flow. This god of ours accepts it all, whatever we want. He has no bias, no prejudice against anything. He has no fixed, predetermined intolerances. What you are, whatever – he’s down with that! This “Claus God” has been created for our convenience.
We fool ourselves so easily. Anything we kind of like, or really like, or really really are into… is fine with our “Claus God”. It’s easy to follow this “god”. Claus has no limits on us!
The Bible teaches about a holy God, not a Santa Claus god.
Being God Damned…lost for eternity because of sin – – without God… without…without… without…..
Understanding Jesus Excerpt: Are you waddling around in your own cultural pool, oblivious? If you want to understand Jesus we must read the Bible from the perspective of the writers, from the context of that day – not now! Read to understand it – as it was written.
Jesus Was The Christ, The Messiah Sent From God
The Inclusive Yet Exclusive Salvation of Jesus…our Savior
Who is this Jesus, anyway? Excerpt: Really now – who is this Jesus of Nazareth? Many folk tragically follow countless Jesus men who are not really God, just fakers who cannot save them whatsoever — misRepresentations, little “antichrists”.
So, who was the real Jesus Christ anyway, the One they called Jesus the Messiah? The One who really can save us from our sin? Who is He? I want to follow THAT Jesus!
Jesus saves us from our sin…He is the One who really can save us
Will you be turned away by Jesus?
What was it like – your confession to Jesus?…Did He accept you?
Praise God – from whom all blessings flow (lyrics)
Did Jesus not love you enough? Excerpt: What kind of God comes to earth to die? Why did He do that!? He died for you! (John 3:16) Is that not enough love for you to accept Him?
So, God sent His Son into the world. Do you know why?
You’ve got mail! A message from God the Father…His righteousness is imputed upon us
The “you will never enter” warning passages in Scripture Excerpt:
God is love. Most definitely. Why else would He have come down to earth to be hung on a cruel cross in order to save us? He did not have to come here. But love….
God came here in love to warn us to follow Him only. In fact, He loved us so much John 3:13-18 that He wrote (as in: divinely inspired His writers) dire warnings about His coming judgement, and warned several times why it is “you will never enter“.
The Death of God…a perfect sacrifice
God forgives all wrongdoings of all repentant sinners, no exception…Understanding Wrong
Why we should fear God Almighty…souls lost in sin Excerpt:
Have you fully grasped the future reality of “forever“?
The faith you place in Jesus to accept His salvation — is not just a one-and-done thing which you do on one especially spiritual day for your “religion”. That doesn’t work with God.
True conversion is a first step you take — into a forever relationship with a personal God who relates to you daily. But you must take that step on His terms. Your thinking can’t even come close to what God thinks.
That moment of IF when you choose your own thinking…Big mistake:Your thinking can’t even come close to what God thinks.
Why we all need Jeus…we all need salvation in Christ
Flesh and blood absolutely cannot inherit the Kingdom of God
THE USE OF Nephesh IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, from The Berean Expositor in levendwater.org. Nephesh is translated “soul“.
The Companion Bible, by E.W. Bullinger. See here Robinson’s Morphological Analysis Codes
The Self-banished Why? Ephesians 4:18 – willful ignorance, spiritual blindness,hardness of heart, and insensitivity of their heart
18 for their [moral] understanding is darkened and their reasoning is clouded; [they are] alienated and self-banished from the life of God [with no share in it; this is] because of the [willful] ignorance and spiritual blindness that is [deep-seated] within them, because of the hardness and insensitivity of their heart.
– Ephesians 4:18
Walking the way everlasting…the life of God
Living the good life – with courage and confident hope
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