Is the ‘Commercial Nativity Scene’ Correct?

We see it everywhere at Christmas time, on cards, decorations and displays.  A crude stable; Jesus in a manger, Mary and Joseph, various farm animals, a few shepherds and the three wise men bearing gifts.  The ’star of Bethlehem’ may make an appearance as well.

The question is, is this what the bible shows to be the scenario?  The record we have of the event of Jesus ‘lowly birth’ can be found in Matthew and Luke.  In Luke 2:10-12 we see that the angel of the Lord spoke to the shepherds and said:

10″… Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

So the shepherds knew that his birth is taking place that very day, and sought Him out.  So far, so good ~ they arrive at the stable, which we see in our ‘commercial nativity’

However…

When you look in Matthew and read of the wise men coming to worship Jesus and present him with gifts, we find they were not present at the stable.  Why is that? well..

We read in Matt 2:8 that King Herod asks the wise men to “Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.”  Herod knew that Jesus would be a young child, as he ‘enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared’ (verse seven).  So before the wise men leave Herod, we know that Jesus is no longer an infant.

We read in Matt 2:11: “11And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.”

So is the ‘commercial nativity’ correct?  I am afraid not.  The only account in the bible of the ‘three wise men’ we see in the traditional nativity, that come to worship and bear gifts  of gold, and frankincense and myrrh, clearly shows that they found Jesus as a young child in the house, as opposed to a ‘babe’ or ‘infant’ in a manger.

Interesting, right?  Well, I thought so, and I just think of what other things society accepted as ‘biblical’ without finding it out for themselves…?
Take care, God bless you

What is Sin??

Many people think they know what ’sin’ is.  One might answer that sin is going against the Ten Commandments, or ‘fornication’, perhaps ‘envy’… the thing is that these are examples of sin, but they don’t define what the root of sin is.   The thing is, man has a definition of what sin is, ‘religious’ folks have one and the Most High God has His.

My Pastor preached a message on this, called “The Concept of Sin”, and I would like to share with you part of the definition he gave.

Reading from Rom 14:22 (KJV) says:
22Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.
23And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

The sames verses in the CEV are:
22What you believe about these things should be kept between you and God. You are fortunate, if your actions don’t make you have doubts.
23But if you do have doubts about what you eat, you are going against your beliefs. And you know that is wrong, because anything you do against your beliefs is sin.

So anything you do, that is not of faith (which works by love ~ Gal 5:6) is sin. Sin is going against what you believe to be alright and true. That is the root of sin, from the bible. We can say that fornication is a sin, envy is a sin, etc etc, but one should understand why it is a sin.  We can read examples and analogies that describe it, but I believe this is the clearest definition.

But halelujah, there is now no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus!

God bless you all mightily…

Soulwinning: By Strategy or Spirit?

We know that as Chrisitians, we have been charged with winning souls for God, as directed by Jesus: “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15)

However, what is the best way to fulfil the calling God placed on our life?  Some believe evangelism should be totally led by the Spirit of God, other’s think that plans and strategies are the only way to go.  First  let’s look at these two different avenues in place…

1. Led by the Spirit:  One sees a man down at the convenience store.  The Holy Spirit guides the person to approach this man, strike up a conversation and lead it to the Gospel.  He is/is not receptive to what the evangelist has to say, either way they part ways.

This evangelist does not target any person, catergory or type of people, but approach only as they feel led to.

2. Plans, plans, plans:  The soulwinner has a strict strategy on who they will approach, what demographic, status or area they will target, and how they will do it.  They have a spiel prepared, and know how they will counter any comments or complaints.

** Please note that these are only brief generalisations, and are not intended to say that the scope is contained within those short paragraphs**

The call to preach to all nations is not just for the leaders and Pastors, but for EVERY believer.  Are both of these methods extremely effective by themselves?  I don’t believe so.  Both groups are evangelizing (to be commended), but on the other hand, both groups are missing out on preaching to ALL nations (peoples). 

So, my thoughts?? I guess that’s why you’re here~!

A combination of both a well thought out plan, and heeding the guidance of the Holy Spirit in both preparing your plan(s) and executing them, is what I feel we are meant to do.

We read in Acts 5:42 that “… daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ”.  They preached the Gospel in EVERY house; not some, or a few (or even ‘many’) but EVERY house.  Daily they taught in the temple.

So we can see they had a plan; go from house to house, reach every one they could possibly reach, regardless of any status, appearance etc.   They knew what they had been guided to do would be effective, and they carried it out.   We can also read in the Word, that their preaching efforts bore fruit in Acts 6:7 “And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.”

Does this mean we disregard the leading of the Holy Ghost?  Defintely not.  We need to yield ourselves to the Spirit in every plan we are making, in the carrying out of every plan and task, and the changes we may need to make by His direction.  Prayer should be a pre-requisite for any big decisions, and should always continue ferverently and effectually.

So here is something for every Christian to consider that they can extend themselves in the area of winning souls.  The Word says “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; he that winneth souls is wise.” (Prov 11:30).  Pray (and fast) for your evangelistic efforts, meditate, fellowship with the Spirit.  Ask for clear direction and strategies, and then use that plan to fulfil God’s call of evangelism on your life.  Remeber that He is your Wonderful Cousellor, and can reveal to you anything you need to know.

I would love to hear any strategies you’ve received for preaching, as well as your results and testimonies.  I’d love to hear from you all!

Take care, God bless you MIGHTILY!

Giving of Yourself

Sunday service, our chapter leader Pastor Carol was ministering to us some of the teachings and revelations from Christ Embassy’s International Pastor’s and Partner’s Conference (Lagos, Nigeria).

Our brother Peter shared a testimony from this awesome conference, that he learned “The more of yourself you give, the more of God you get”.  Now, I really thought about that one… the more I give of myself, my time, my finances, my mind, my life… the more of God I get… the more of His blessings, His grace, His life.  What more could I want in life, than to know God more and more each day??  What more could I want, but to become more like Jesus each and every day??  Some think that by letting go of ‘yourself’ to God, you lose your joy, you lose the enjoyment in life… but that is so far from the truth.

When you accept the Word as Truth, when the Holy Spirit is living in you and He is your Counsellor, your Advocate, your Stand-by… when you live your life by the leading of the Greater One, you experience blessings of peace and joy.  Psalms 16:11 says “Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence there is fullness of joy, at thy right hand there are pleasures forever more”.  So we know that our joy and ‘pleasures’ are in the presence of the Almighty!

 Have you heard of the Mimshach (Mimshak) anointing?  It is the anointing for increase, growth and expansion, from God that works in your life.  It causes you to increase in everything you do, your school, business, job and every area of your life.  We were admonished to walk in the light of the Mimshach anointing that has been released on our lives… and I am taking that word personally!

Another point to think about, is the authority you have as a believer when preaching the Gospel.  If you read in Matt 4:18, we see Jesus tell Simon Peter and Andrew to come and follow Him.  Notice that neither fellow questioned the master, never asked ‘who do you think you are, and why should we follow you?’… the authority that Jesus had, caused them to just ‘up & go’ without hesitation!  Do you know that you have the same authority in your ministry, because we have Christ in us?

Brethren, the time is over for apologies!  This is not an apologetic Gospel, it is not an apologetic message!  There is such urgency in the realm of the Spirit, we need to be at work for the Kingdom, we need to be preaching the Gospel to ALL nations!  We need to manifest the presence of the Spirit of God, we need to take charge of our families, friends and all others in our ’sphere of contact’ through prayer and ministration.  People all around you will perish through the lack of knowledge of what Christ did for them, and we need to give them that knowledge. 

 Some Christians feel that they lack in their lives ‘and if they just had ______ then they could preach effectively’, or ‘they don’t have enough time’…
Well, the Word says that “… they that seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing” (Psalms 34:10), so don’t see with your physical eyes, see with the eyes of your spirit… see the abundance in your life, and use it to further the preaching of the Gospel.

Some feel as though they have no-one to preach to, or not enough time.  If you talk any person, you have an opportunity to tell them the Good News.  No matter how small a window of time you have, be conscious that you can make an impact in their life.  Why not distribute a few copies of our devotional “Rhapsody of Realities” written by Pastors Chris and Anita Oyakhilome?  Pastor Chris is the president and founder of our ministry, and this devotional is CHANGING LIVES!  Visit www.rhapsodyofrealities.org for more information (you’ll be glad you did!)

If you hear someone complain, why not use that as a window to tell them the Gospel?  Tell them the truth; that God does not glory in anyone’s suffering.  Tell them the reality that Christ died so we would be free of sin and suffering that comes with it.  Tell them that when they accept Christ as their Lord and Saviour, they are born of incorruptible seed, and are made more than a victor in every circumstance in their life.

Just tell someone the Good News today: Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever!