Welcome!
Friday, December 24, 2010
Today: Celebrating the “wrong Jesus”!
Passage: Daniel 5
4 As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone. 5 Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. 6 His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking. (Daniel 5:4-6, NIV-emphasis added)
Belshazzar, who was in charge of Babylon for a short period of time around 550 BC, had a great feast once
They were drinking wine in the vessels brought from the house of God!
All of a sudden, there appeared a writing on the wall
Daniel was brought-in to read the writing because no one else could understand what was written
Everybody cannot understand God’s writing; you need someone with the spirit of God to understand God’s writing
There are lots of people who read the Bible, but do not understand what is written therein
We are not exemptions; do we really understand all that we read in the Bible?
Before that, let us ask ourselves: “How much do I read the Bible?”
Christmas is a time of celebration; but, celebrating what?
The gospel, which is good news, is about Jesus Christ who came to suffer and save you and me
It is not this same Jesus whom 90% of the people are celebrating during Christmas, worldwide
Why am I saying that?
Because if you ask these people who celebrate Jesus drinking and dancing, they don’t know the Jesus of the Bible; they may know the historic Jesus whom everybody knows
The writing on the wall is against those who celebrate the wrong Jesus
It is not that their celebration of Jesus is wrong, but that they are celebrating the wrong Jesus
Jesus is “out” in most of these celebrations
Belshazzar used vessels from God’s temple to drink wine and enjoy in the wrong way
If you are saved by the blood of Jesus, you, your body is God’s temple
When we use that body for things against God’s will, the writing on the wall will say, “He has weighed you on His scale and found you far below his standards”
What sense does it make to celebrate God when you are “out” of God’s list?
There are millions who celebrate the birth of the savior these days, but do not know the savior personally
So, there is still room for God and the gospel; when others celebrate, we got work to do. True celebration happens in heaven, when a sinner repents and becomes a saint, through Jesus Christ
This Christmas, can we share the good news to somebody and see the savior taking birth in the manger of their heart?
God bless you; let the writing on the wall be in favor of us
Wish you and your family a meaningful Christmas!
BG
Dhanyavad Yeshu-Marathi Song on You tube (click here)
Prayer: Father God, as many are celebrating the birth of Jesus and pile up their sins this season, help me to be a channel of light to someone to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.