For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder,
And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end,
Upon the throne of David, and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. Isaiah 9:6 - 7 NKJV
Christmas essentially means "Christ's mass" (mass is the ceremony in Catholic and Orthodox churches based on Christ's last supper on Earth when his disciples partook of bread and wine, symbolically representing Christ's body and blood to remember him). In the beginning of the fourth century, Christians in Rome began to celebrate the birth of Christ.
During the meal, Jesus took and blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it to his disciples:
Take, eat. This is my body.
Taking the cup and thanking God, he gave it to them:
Drink this, all of you. This is my blood,
God's new covenant poured out for many people for the forgiveness of sins. I'll not be drinking wine from this cup again until that new day when I'll drink with you in the kingdom of my Father." Matthew 26: 26 - 29 The Message
"Until that new day when I'll drink with you in the kingdom of my Father" - this is Jesus' promise to everyone who believes in him. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 1 John 4: 15 NKJV. And when we die, we will exchange the presence of Jesus in our hearts for the eternal reality in His holy presence.
Not too long ago, my nephew Caleb came into my room when I was reading. Spread across the bed along with the Bible was a book titled, "3:16".
So he asked, "Yi Yi, is that 'three sixteen'? ". I said, "Yes, baby. That's right". "And what it is referring to is the gospel of John, chapter three, verse sixteen".
As he snuggled up beside me, I flipped the Bible to John 3:16. He may be only five but this five year old is sure perceptive.
As I pointed the verse out to him (by golly in the New Kings James Version!), he read it aloud.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
I asked him if he had understood what he had just read. And he did the next best thing, he read it again. This time for all that it is worth.
Then he turned around and looked at me (with the expectation of me to complete his understanding). So I read John 3:16 aloud, pausing at words which I thought he could use further explanation. It's strange how we read something a million times and it is only at the million and one time, that the verse jumps out at us. Having explained the verse to the best of my theological understanding, I gave the five year old the truth like it is.
"One day Yi Yi will die. When that happens, you won't be able to see Yi Yi anymore. Yi Yi's body will be burnt to ashes. But because Yi Yi believes in Jesus, so after the first death when the body is gone, Yi Yi's spirit (spirit is like the invisible version of Yi Yi) will return to Jesus and be with him forever. That's what "should not perish but have everlasting life" means. He had a serene smile on his face. Following the nudging in my heart, I asked him if he would like to invite Jesus into his heart. His smile broadened.
At that moment, I felt that that was the best gift that I could have shared with him as an aunt. So we prayed, thanking Jesus for dying on the cross for our sins, and inviting him into our hearts to be our God and Saviour. Thereafter I asked him, "Do you know where Jesus is, baby?" He smiled broadly yet with a tinge of shyness, tapping on his chest where his heart is, he said, "Jesus is in my heart."
"That's right", I said tapping on his chest. "Jesus is in your heart. You will never be alone. He will always be with you. Whenever you are afraid or think of anything, you can always talk to God like you talk to Yi Yi. Even if you don't say it out loud, God knows what you are thinking of and He understands. He will be your Helper and your Teacher all the days of your life." I gave him a sturdy bear hug and tapped on his chest before he left for home. He was so pumped up with joy from receiving the gift of love, Jesus.
Now that's what John 3:16 does to us if we receive Jesus with the simplicity of a child. That night, as I laid on my bed, I prayed for my nephew.
I thank God for Caleb's decision to receive Jesus as his God and Saviour. I prayed fiercely that he will grow up possessing the spirit of Caleb (a courageous man of God in the Bible who possessed an audacious faith and trusted in God completely). I prayed that he will grow up to be a man after God's own heart and live out the nature of that very heart.
Sv ",+
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