This was a letter I wrote to my neighbors yesterday but I thought I share this message here as well for all of my online neighbors who aren’t believers yet or who are Christians but who don’t really have a clear understanding of what the gospel is and what Jesus really came to do for us. Please read and be blessed and Merry Christmas to you and yours ❤️🙏🏾
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Hello There,
I hope you are well and that you have the love and comfort of family in this season.
As we draw near to Christmas Day tomorrow, I feel compelled by God to write to you. You see, I’ve probably not been the best neighbor- not only because my natural tendencies are to keep to myself but mainly, to me, because I’ve never reached out to you with the good news of Jesus Christ.
I do have a reason I haven’t done this. I have often looked at my own life and thought, “well, I don’t have it all together. I lost my cool this day or that day and I haven’t exactly been living like a pious Christian as my crazy can tend to come out now and again”, until recently when God started impressing it in my heart that He hasn’t called me to be pious and churchy- that’s being religious and that’s not having a relationship with Him as my father. I don’t need to have it “all together” to tell others about Him and to show them the freedom, peace and joy He has brought me- I just need to do it and also trust that He loves me- with all of my imperfections- and He will gradually chisel away all the rough bits in my soul, my personality etc until I look just like Him, a personality full of Love because God is Love.
I recently read a story of a woman who had a baby and whose extended family threw a celebratory dinner for on behalf of this baby and all of her friends and family came together to dine and wine and exchange gifts and just when they were all about to call it a night, they realised they hadn’t actually even seen the baby for which they celebrated and when they asked after the baby, turned out the baby was in their Grandma’s place, away from the celebration and so they wined and dined and partied and didn’t realise the celebrant wasn’t there!
That is exactly what we do when we make Christmas about spending time with family, sharing presents, being on holidays etc without acknowledging the real reason for Christmas- the gift of Jesus Christ. The birth of Jesus Christ was not simply a virgin birth but was the beginning of God’s plan to reconcile a fallen world through His son Jesus Christ who would die for the sins of the world and through whom anyone who would come to God would have to come through.
Our ancestors, Adam and Eve, sinned against God in the garden of Eden by disobeying God and giving in to the temptation the devil dangled before them. The implication of this singular act was that the power and dominion over the world that God had given to man was transferred to the devil and so the devil really is the god of this world as it is and this is the reason the world is the way it is- full of pain, torment, destruction, disease, oppression and the list goes on.
But God had a plan for redemption and it had to come from the sacrifice of blood- the blood of one who was not born of the seed of man - who was born of the Holy Spirit- hence, Jesus came through a Virgin who had known no man, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit. This was necessary because anyone born through the seed of man is born into sin, into the very lineage of sin- the very lineage of our ancestors that is and has been corrupt from the very fall of man (when Adam and Eve disobeyed God).
But Jesus Christ came to be the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of man and to reconcile us back to God- those who believe in Him and who come to God through Him. Jesus Christ then is the one who saves us from sin, disease, eternal damnation. So when Jesus was crucified and hung on the tree, the blood that was shed was the ultimate sacrifice- in those days, animals needed to be killed and their blood spilled to appease God (and for some others, gods) for sins, infractions, wrongs but, with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we do not need to sacrifice animals for appeasement and we do not have to live as heathens, separated from the Only True God who created the heavens and the earth.
God loves us all so much, everyone of us, and this was why He sent His son Jesus to die and pay the ultimate price to reconcile a fallen world to Him once and for all. The hard bit (Jesus Christ dying) has been done. The easy bit then is, will you accept the Love of God for you and accept Jesus as your Lord and personal saviour? Will you accept this sacrifice of reconciliation done by Jesus for you to give you an eternal Life when we leave this side of life in death? God has created everyone here in this world for a purpose. Some people were born heathens, atheists, etc due to belonging in families like that- but God placed everyone in this world for a purpose and His hope is that they hear the gospel- what I’m telling you now- at some point in their lives and begin to consider it, to question it, to give it thought, to come to a place of conviction and then, to surrender their lives to Him and come on the path of Life. Of Eternal life. Where we do not have to fear the devil, hell, diseases, depression, oppression, etc etc.
Remember when I said that the devil is the god of this world and this is why the world is riddled with disease, darkness, gloom, brokenness, destruction and all kinds of evil? I haven’t just pulled this out of nowhere, the word of God lets us know this-
“If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.”- 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 NLT
But, everyone who has believed in Jesus has also now received back the dominion we once had that was given to the devil during the fall. As many as have received Jesus Christ have now become the sons of God. We now walk in a place and position of dominance over the devil and his works. We have now received the power to live above situations that would have crushed us before now. The bible says we are raised to sit in heavenly places with Christ Jesus, far above principalities and powers- far above the devil, his cohorts and his works. So, really, although the devil is the “god” of this world and he plagues the people in his world, we who have believed in Jesus Christ and have been reconciled to God are translated to another kingdom- even though we are still in this world- and the ruler of this Kingdom is God. And the devil is powerless to us in this Kingdom and he is subject to us. We have the power to loose people who he has kept bound in his kingdom by first preaching the gospel, showing them who they can be through Christ Jesus and bringing them into this new Kingdom where satan has no rule, power, strength, authority.
This is the Kingdom Jesus Christ came to bring to this world and we who dwell in this kingdom enjoy the privileges of this kingdom- even though we are here in this world. The kingdom of God is everywhere we are, sequestering and protecting us from the menace around us. I invite you, today, to consider becoming a part of the Kingdom of Light, the Kingdom of God. And to receive Jesus as your Lord and personal saviour.
If you would like to do this, please say this out with your mouth:
Lord Jesus Christ, I believe that you died for my sins and I believe in my heart that God has raised you from the dead. I ask you to forgive me for all of my sins and I confess that, today, I receive you as my Lord and my Saviour. Please help me to come to a full knowledge of you. Please teach me your ways. Teach me all about you and your Kingdom and fill my heart and my life with your peace. In your name I pray, Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Congratulations! If you have just said this prayer, you have just become Born Again and have been translated into the kingdom of Light! Sure, you’re probably still sat where you are, haha, but, in the Spirit, your Spirit has been translated and regenerated and though it might not feel like it just now, the events that begin to unfold in your life and how your life will go will strengthen your conviction about God, will bring you to a place of trust, of fellowship and will let you know that, truly, you are in God’s hands and He is protecting you divinely.
God bless you, God be with you and have a beautiful Christmas celebration and a happy new year in advance!
Ps- if you have just given your life to Christ and need to have a chat with me, to discuss next steps and discipling, please email me at judgejudyjudy247@gmail.com. Just say “I’ve just been saved”.
P.s2- if you need a copy of the bible book of John - it’s a book that really explains about salvation, please send me an email on the above address saying “I’d like a copy of the book of John”. And I’ll respond to you and we can arrange this.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, God bless you.
God loves you.
Love Always,
Judgejudyjudy.
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