Last days’ lessons from first Christmas
December 22, 2022
By Editorial Team
Mary and Jesus searching for an inn. Courtesy ChurchofJesusChrist.org
But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard.” Luke 1: 13
"Behold, he is coming on the clouds; and every eye shall see him, even the ones that pierced him: and all the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Come Lord Jesus. Amen" Rev 1:7
Blessed Christmas and Happy New Year to you and families
Friends we are in the last days. Ever since the nation of Israel was established in 1948, (Luke 21:29,20) we are in the last leg of the last days. So here are some relevant points for us living in these times before Jesus Returns.
- Pray personal prayers to be involved with the Lord’s Return: 2000 years ago, the air was buzzing with expectation that the Messiah would come. So every devout Jewish girl would pray that the Lord would be born to her. And Mary’s Holy spirit pregnancy was an answer to that. Joseph too would have prayed to be involved in the Messiah’s life. Zechariah clearly prayed to be involved in the Messiah and ushering his Kingdom, and he got the answer in the form of his son, John. So were the shepherds wanting the Messiah badly, “for unto YOU is born, a Saviour” (Luke 2:11)
Churches have many programs, seminars and Bible studies these days. Come out of all things where the Holy Spirit is not nudging you to. Get involved in only those things and intercession where he wants your time and involvement. As we draw closer to Jesus' Return, pray to be involved in bringing him back to the earth. Pray that as a family you would be involved. And as Pastor S.R.Manohar told us many times, then this time the Lord will return in the line of your family.
- Obey the Holy Spirit promptly: Time and again we see in the Bible that people who obeyed the Holy Spirit brought forth His Kingdom and Mercy to a hurting world. Time would fail me to speak of Samuel, David, Joshua, Peter and the disciples etc. And many times obedience to the Holy Spirit means coming out of your comfort zones and breaking patterns. Mary was ready to the bear the stigma of being an unwed mother. Joseph was ok to go through a difficult engagement, with angels talking to his wife and God being born to her etc. And the Lord spoke to him too. Joseph had to move cities overnight many times to escape death to his child. Take the little risks, it will be worth it. There’s safety in obeying the Holy Spirit. It's much better than the natural safety, I affirm it from personal experience. Even if you lose your life, you will gain it back.
- Pray till you get an answer: That what Paul says in 1 Thess 5:17 when he told the Church, Pray without ceasing. Jesus told us crisply, Men always ought to pray and not to faint. Old Simeon and Anna prayed till they held the Christ child in their hands. Only then their life attained its full meaning. Daniel prayed for almost 50+ years since he was taken captive, till he saw the Captivity returned under Cyrus. Joshua and Caleb prayed for 40 years and more till they entered the Promised land and possessed the cities promised to their families. Not one word of that the Lord promised has failed, but all has come to pass (Joshua 21:45).
- Be a Bible-reading people: A cursory look at Mary’s prophecy at the visitation, and Zechariah’s prophecy at John’s dedication shows the depth of their familiarity with scriptures. What Zechariah spoke at his child’s dedication, actually became scripture. Unless you read the Bible cover to cover a few times, you cannot speak the words of God in that manner. So be filled with the Word. Read 5-6 chapters a day, make a plan to read the whole Bible in an year etc. We have a few aids on this website for this. Today’s Christians do everything but that. Many believers haven’t read the whole Bible, some have read it once or twice. It’s a tragedy, now is the time to set it right. Reading the Bible is nothing but spending time with Jesus.
- In closing, Christmas is all about answered prayers. So, continue praying, even if the answers are little and scattered. Take courage my friend, God is at work for you. He is a faithful God and will not leave you in sorrow for long. Or you may be in a deep heart’s sorrow, crying out like David. "Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I" (Psalm 61:1,2). The God who wiped away David’s tears, may He do so for you and me too this season
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