Christmas 2022 Outreach
Join me, let’s make this Christmas truly MERRY for someone.
Tag: Christmas
Merry Christmas
That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
Luke 2:8-11 NLT
3 Growth Dimensions of Child Jesus Every Believer Can Experience
Jesus enjoyed Favor with God and Man. He had unreserved access to the Father and the men that needed to favor Him and move Him towards His destiny were in His corner. When you have Jesus, you already have Favor with God, you can approach God anytime. You can ask and receive anything in the name of Jesus. You are loved with an everlasting love.
And The Word Became Flesh..
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
I AM liGHT
Which is how even I (Grace) became light. I am light. And you too are light (having been born of God). A city set on a hill. That brings illumination to the world around. A light that cannot be hidden, put under a basket or extinguished by darkness (John 1:5, Luke 11:33). We bring hope to our environment and beyond. We are embodiment of knowledge, wisdom, counsel, might, and understanding. We have the Spirit of God, imputed and imparted in us by the life of light.
The Secret of The Manger
When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. ….they fell down and worshiped Him. Then, after opening their chests, they presented to Him gifts. ……And having been warned (by God) in a dream not to go back to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way
Matthew 2:10-12.
Faithful but barren
A priest, God’s servant, described as Righteous, blameless and a keeper of all God’s commandments. One who faithfully served The Lord day in, day out. One who dedicatedly administered sacrifices and offered prayers for multitudes, having the very rare privilege of burning incense at the Lord’s temple. He was careful, meticulous and cautious, making sure laid down guidelines were followed.
Alas! Zacharias was Barren! ‘Barren’ for a man, you ask? Alright, Zacharias was advanced in age and yet childless.
Luke boasts to have given an orderly account of events; probably subconsciously attempting to arrive at a logical end, something similar to a diagnosis. The picture his orderly account in Luke chapter 1 paints of Zacharias, God’s own priest, suggests a sad, near-disgruntled, unsatisfied yet faithful servant of God, with an unmet need (a child; just a child).
Questions: Why did it take God so long to send Gabriel to Zacharias? Was it fair for Gabriel to have made Zacharias dumb and mute considering his period of wait? How many times had Zacharias prayed for a child, waited expectantly for a manifestation and yet experienced nothing? How many times had he trusted and believed for the miracle of a child and yet got no obvious response? Has Zacharias been truly doubtful as he served or was Gabriel’s observation a one-off? Or had constant waiting and believing without seeing an expected corresponding response eroded his faith and patience?
Too many questions…and yet more questions…
The Lord did not forget Zacharias. He did not forget his servant’s devotion and commitment. He remembered his labour of love, overlooked his doubtful and imperfect nature (if truly) and honored him. In the end Zacharias didn’t just get a child, he got the ‘premessiah’, the forerunner to the Christ.
Be encouraged today as you serve. He will not forget your labor of love. If He said ‘ a labourer is worthy of good wages’, then rest assured that He knows exactly what to do for you. The miracle you expect will not come in the way you’ve envisioned it, no! It’ll be bigger, greater, wider, exceeding your best imaginations.
Keep serving and loving The Lord. Any other options are unattractive and devilish ?
Compliments of the season.
MARY, the WORD, the FLESH & the SPIRIT-God’s Timeless Mystery: blogpost 3
The FLESH & the SPIRIT.
“And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word…and Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judea…”
Luke 1:38-41
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1: 14
Part 2 of this blogpost series, pretty much slides us into this concluding part.
Mary’s baby was God Himself in human form. Baby Jesus then grew in stature and wisdom. Lived on earth as a man and worked as a Carpenter alongside His father Joseph. Jesus was as much flesh as any other human being. Only this ‘Flesh’ was of a different kind. This was a ‘flesh’ without the contamination of sin and death. The sin and death which Adam erroneously introduced into the world through disobedience (Genesis 2;17. Genesis 3. Romans 5: 14).
Jesus came down to mankind God as a FREE GIFT without offense from God the Father(Romans 5: 15). Without the offense of sin, death and condemnation, having being born by divine conception by the Holy Ghost.
This special birth was necessary because; “death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression.” (Romans 5:14)- a spiritual death streaming down from Adam to all mankind.
And here we find another Mystery of God. How God created an avenue for a spiritual rebirth through Jesus Christ, possible when; “you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead..” (Romans 10: 9). So that by this simple act of believing and confessing, we who were spiritually dead and condemned because of the sin of Adam, become transformed into ‘spiritually alive creations’, and “..through one Man’s righteous act, the free gift came to All men, resulting in justification of life.” (Romans 5:18b). Because “..if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation..” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
This is why we celebrate Christmas!
God gave Himself as a free gift to mankind, received and conceived by Mary as the Word which became the Child Jesus. Who lived on earth like any other human, only this Man was without the sin and death passed down to all generations from Adam. He was killed for the remission of sin, but resurrected from the dead by the Father. And as many that receive Him as Lord and Savior, receive His nature- sinless, blameless, without condemnation and a brand new spirit.
Thank You Faithful father!
Father of All Wisdom.
I Am LiGHT
Did you know that in early modern Germany, candles were the first form of lights used for decorating homes during the annual celebration of Christmas?
Now, fairy lights (Christmas lights) and Christmas decorations on Christmas trees have become quite customary decoration trends in most Christian homes at Christmas.
At Christmas, holiday lights are used to beautifully adorn homes, Christmas trees, commercial buildings, playgrounds, etc, and don’t they just come in different dazzling combinations, configurations and colors?
Everyone gets excited and awed by the ornate display of the twinkling Christmas lights. If you ask me why this is so, I believe it’s connected to the nature of light coupled with its attractive and colorful arrays on Christmas trees.
As perplexing a phenomenon as light has been to scientists, its key characteristics that have been unraveled are that; light stimulates the sight and makes things visible. Light illuminates; bringing radiance, brilliance, glow and a glaring dazzle. Light dissipates darkness and ushers in daylight (hope). These, and maybe a few more characteristics of light are irrefutable as we can attest to them from our daily living.
But nowhere in my little literature review and internet search did I see ‘light’ described as human! Yet a man came into the world so many years ago and described Himself as; “the light of the world“, who has “the light of life.”
“….I am the light of the world, he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12
John the Baptist attested to this light…
“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” John 1:4
Little wonder then the world didn’t like Him. He spoke with an irritating audacity and with an infuriating pomposity. How dare He claim to be light? Light is pure, light shows direction, light is knowledge, light illuminates and is incomprehensible by darkness. How dare anyone claim to be light?
Some months ago, my understanding of what Jesus Christ meant in Matthew 5: 19 broadened a bit and I too, just like Jesus Christ, realized that ‘I am light’. This became my mantra. I said it, I muttered it and I knew it!
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden”.
At about Christmas 2016, The Holy Spirit exploded it in my spirit that ‘I am light’. Halleluyah!
As light, I am a city set on a hill. I bring illumination to the world around me. I cannot be hidden. I cannot be put in a secret place or under a basket (Luke 11:33). I cannot be successfully intimidated, suppressed or oppressed. I bring hope to my environment and beyond. I am an embodiment of knowledge, wisdom, counsel, might, and understanding. I have the Spirit of God and it is a spirit of excellence. I have the light of life in me!
Dearly beloved in Christ Jesus, as we celebrate this Christmas Season, we must remember and maintain our statuses as lights for as long as we live in this world. And because Christ is alive in us, our lightness will bring direction, meaning and hope to the world around us.
Jesus Christ was born to bring light to a dark world. Jesus Christ, before ascending to Heaven deposited his Light in you and I so that the world will continue to have light.
Hope you have a very memorable and light-filled Christmas this year and join in my quest; to make this Christmas memorable also for some Lazarus’ at my gate :). Hoping you locate your Lazarus this Season if you haven’t already. Christmas offers another opportunity to feed, soothe and/or heal your Lazarus.
My love always…
Grace Obomanu.
Except otherwise stated, all Bible quotations are from the New King James Version.