Posts Tagged ‘Christian Basics’

25 Dec

CHRISTMAS AND NOT XMAS OR HOLIDAY

Posted by AgapeFocus in Uncategorized. Tagged: .

It is Christmas once again. Different Christian traditions celebrate Christmas at slightly different times of the year. It is not so much for the accuracy of the timings of the celebrations as for the celebration itself. In all of these the historical fact of the birth of Jesus Christ cannot be denied. As at today, the historical dating of BC refers to years before Christ was born into this world, while AD refers to the years after his death and resurrection.  JESUS IS AT THE CENTRE OF HUMAN HISTORY. Many celebrate Christmas by excluding Christ from the celebrations. The word Christmas is written as ‘Xmas’. The word Christ is crossed out. So Christ is practically crossed out from the lives of many. Some elites and influential persons or political leaders even refer to Christmas as Holiday. Christmas is more than a holiday. What does Christmas mean to you? In this short message, I would make use of the words man, mankind, human beings and humankind to mean one and the same. Please bear with me. Man is representative of human beings because he is the first of the human race or specie (Homo sapiens). Because mankind offended God through deliberate disobedience, humankind became corrupted with the bad nature of Satan, whom they chose to obey instead of God. When you obey a person, you tend to become gradually like that person, especially if you keep doing whatever he tells you to do. Satan, in the similitude of a snake, tricked Eve to eat the fruit forbidden by God. That made Eve to fail the test of obedience given by God. Adam soon followed suit by accepting the fruit from her. Thus mankind failed before God and became slaves of Satan. The man Adam and his wife Eve became upset, afraid, sad and insecure. They went into hiding and could not face God, who usually visited with them daily for fellowship. Such was the state of human beings inside the beautiful Garden of Eden, before they were driven out of it by God. God had to quickly send mankind packing out of Eden in order to prevent a more calamitous experience for us all. If mankind had been allowed to stay on in the Garden of Eden in that disobedient, rebellious and fallen state, it would have meant that mankind would continue forever in rebellion against God. The love which God had and still has for mankind would not let him abandon man, already in such a bad state, to such a fate. God in his power, love and knowledge of the past, present and future planned for the redemption of mankind. He sent messengers and prophets to many nations and persons in all generations about his love and the need for man to repent and turn back to his Maker. Finally, God Almighty decided to send his Son on a rescue mission to this earth. Though the female of the human specie was the loophole for Satan’s temptation through which mankind fell, God, in fulfillment of his word, decided to send his Son via a virgin (Genesis 3:15). God sent the Archangel Gabriel to a virgin called Mary. Mary had been promised to be given in marriage to a man called Joseph. God said through the Archangel that she would be with child through the power of the Holy Spirit and give birth to a son whose name shall be called JESUS. The angel also spoke of the child’s greatness, his link to the lineage of King David and the restoration of the Davidic kingdom to him. In short the child would be the promised and long awaited Messiah of Israel and Saviour of the world.  This future kingdom would be everlasting! That was very big and amazing to the young unknown virgin. Mary was so troubled that she asked how that could happen without knowing a man in sexual intimacy. To her question the angel replied that she should not fear because God had favoured her and with God nothing shall be impossible. When Mary heard the message, she submitted herself to the will and plan of God. In her submission she said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word(Luke1:26-38). At that she became the bearer of the pregnancy of Jesus. It happened exactly as the angel said (Luke 2:1-21). Joseph, also duly informed by God, was very humble, cooperative and obedient in continuing the relationship with Mary, his espoused wife. The birth of Jesus was not mere coincidence, but planned by God. Because of Jesus, a new day has dawned in the annals of human history since over 2000 years ago, bringing love, joy, peace, healing, forgiveness and salvation to all mankind. Through Jesus, the love of God came at the first Christmas in the small town of Bethlehem, in a manger, because there was no room for Mary and Joseph to have their first child in the customary inn. Through Jesus, what the prophets in many generations foretold came to be because he was not only born in a manger, but born in Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth of Galilee. Through the same child born on the first Christmas, the price for mankind’s salvation was paid 2000 years ago, when he died by crucifixion on an old rugged cross, between two thieves. Because Jesus submitted himself to the will of God, his Father, prior to his cricifixion, he was beaten whilst tied to the whipping post. By his stripes on that whipping post he took upon himself our weaknesses and diseases. His blood was shed on that cross. That blood shed was and is for yours and my deliverance from sin, sickness, and everlasting death. Because of what Jesus, did any person can be set free now. The price for our freedom has been paid 2000 years ago. The gift of salvation is offered freely to ALL! God gave us his Son JESUS at Christmas, but the giving was completed when Jesus died on the cross at Calvary Hill, outside the city wall, in the days of Caiaphas as Jewish High Priest and Pontius Pilate as Roman governor. The good news is that Jesus died on that cross, but rose from the dead on the third day. HIS TOMB IS THE ONLY TRULY EMPTY TOMB. He is alive forever. He was seen first in different places by his close disciples and believers and later by over 500 eyewitnesses at the same time, after he arose. He was raised from the dead because his work of substitutionary death for each human being that ever lived and that would ever live, pleased God. Now he sits  in heaven at the right hand of the Majesty on High. Another good news is that JESUS CHRIST is coming back into this world again. This next time, he is not coming as a baby to be born in a manger. He is not coming to be ridiculed and crucified again. Jesus is coming back as King of kings and Lord of lords. His coming back is very imminent; therefore it is very important to get ready for his return. PLEASE TAKE NOTE: Jesus Christ cannot be ignored. Every person who has ever lived in this world would meet him as FRIEND, BROTHER, SAVIOUR, MASTER, LORD, ENEMY OR JUDGE. Each person’s choice is inevitable. Where do you stand? God said: Look unto me , and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else (Isaiah 45:22).  Jesus said: For God so loved the world , that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved (John 3:16-17).                                                           THERE WAS NO ROOM FOR JESUS TO BE BORN IN THE INN. IT IS VITAL TO MAKE ROOM FOR JESUS IN YOUR LIFE. May you have a Merry Christmas with a great difference and a prosperous New Year.

 

23 Nov

CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE

Posted by AgapeFocus in Marriage and Family. Tagged: , .

Marriage was established by God for the sustenance and well being of human beings. After the creation of the earth, plants and the lower animals, man was made  to take charge of the earth as the ruler. God Almighty, the Creator, gave man the unique priviledge to name all the creatures he had created. The man called Adam, was the only one of his own kind, whereas the other creatures were in twos; male and female. God saw that it was not good for the man to be alone, so he produced a female of the human species by taking part of Adam; the male of the man specie. The female man was named Eve by Adam.Genesis 1.26;2.20; 2.21-25.                                                                                                               Christian marriage is possible between a man and a woman only. Modern society has created deviations from the normal. This has sent confusing signals to many children and the youths. Worse still,some individuals exercised their human rights by undergoing transexual changes in the theatre. some of these have had to change again back into their previous sex. This indicates a state of apparent confusion,because such individuals do not even know what they need or want. What God did at the begining was perfect and needs no manipulations. When the iPad was made, many followed after it. So it was for the various brands of smart phones. Each producer had a manual which needed to be followed in order to enjoy the product. In like manner, God inspired the production of the best Manual. It is called the Bible. Different writers, living over many centuries, wrote under the same inspiration, producing a smooth flow of life-enhancing messages. The marriage institution occupies a significant place in all these messages. As a result of the undiminished impact of inspiration and its sequential message, the stage was set for the restoration of the human race from muddy, messy pit, back into glory, God had clearly shown his undiminished love and regard for the human race despite human rebellion and disobedience. Human beings had a relational breakdown, creating a vacuum.Only God could adequately fill that vacuum. So many scriptural illustrations portray the matrimonial setting, embracing the negative and positive aspects of the human experience in relationships. In the Divine relationship with mankind, God exhibits magnanimity, compassion and forgiveness through grace, climaxed in the final redemptive initiative of the Almighty God. This was effected through Jesus Christ. Between the time when our initial forebears disobeyed God and fell into deliberately chosen mess and the divine initiative, there were persistent efforts by God to link the human race with himself, without success. God was preparing the stage for the ultimate deliverance. God finally sent Jesus out on the greatest of all rescue missions. Mankind was delivered from the chains of Satan, sin plus its after-effects;  and both spiritual and physical death. Jesus had to taste death for every human being ever born and ever to be born into this world! He died for our sins as our individual and collective substitute. He was buried, but he arose on the third day as the Scriptures foretold. This same Jesus is alive today and he is eager, willing and able to help anyone in every aspect of life. He is ready to help bring joy, peace, purpose and fulfilment into your relationships and marriage. All a person needs to do is to involve Jesus by delibrately inviting him in by prayer. Christian marriage is compared to the perfect relationship modelled betwen Christ and the Church(This is made up of all those who have surrenderred their lives into the guidance and leadership of Jesus Christ). This model of a marriage is established and sustained by covenant relationship. It is characterized by selfless love, forgiveness, positive communication, provision, guidance, protection,prunning, reciprocal or responsive, obedient love and fruitfulness.                     At the human level, marriage was made for companionship Ephesians5:21-33. It was made for helpfulness and care in prosperity and in adversity. Genesis 2:18. It was made for the fulfilment of the natural instincts, emotionally and sexually. 1Corinthians7:2-5;Genesis2:24-25. It was made for the increase of mankind, through production of children brought up in love, unity and discipline, in the will of God.Genesis1:28;Ge nesis4:1-2;Proverbs22:6;Colossians 3:20-21. Follow us on this and many subsequent posts by your comments or questions. God bless you.

3 Jun

THE BLOOD AND THE NAME OF JESUS

Posted by AgapeFocus in SERMONS. Tagged: , .

There is power in both the name and the blood of Jesus.Some people have wondered and asked questions about these two aspects of Jesus. Both are part and parcel of Jesus Christ. You cannot separate the power in the blood of Jesus from the power in his name! I watched the film ‘The Passion of the Christ’ again just after Easter. Mel Gibson and the rest of the cast did a great job on the film. I do believe that half of the suffering of Christ was not told in that film! Jesus was tied to the whipping post and beaten, reducing his body almost to a pulp, before walking all the way to Calvary Hill, where he was crucified. Those Jewish religious leaders and the crack Roman soldiers were fierce and cruel! Prophet Isaiah said these about Jesus, hundreds of years before he was born: ” Surely He has borne our griefs(sicknesses, weaknesses and diseases) and carried our sorrows and pains (of punishment), yet we (ignorantly) considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God (as if with leprosy) Isaiah 53.4 Amplified Bible. It was Blood, blood, blood all the way, as Jesus willingly allowed his own blood to be shed in order to pay the price for our sins.For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord(Romans 6.23). The life of any person is in his blood. By the shedding of the blood of Jesus, his life was poured out unto death to serve as a ransom(he stood in our places) in due punishment for our sin and at the same time serve as a sacrifice to make peace between us and the Holy, Almighty God, whom we all have offended. The good news is that Jesus died for our sins, he was buried and on the third day, he rose up from the grave and took over the keys of death and Hades from the devil, setting free all dead, but faithful, God-fearing people who came before his first coming and every other person ever to be born in human history. All that Isaiah said were fulfilled.As a result of being at peace with God, mankind individually (by faith in the shed blood of Jesus, and by faith in calling upon the name of Jesus, who died and rose again) can be saved from sin, sickness, diseases of the body, mind and spirit. There is power in the blood and in the name of Jesus! We have redemption in Jesus through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins (Colossians1.14).Jesus made peace through the blood of his cross. On February 20, 2011, we posted an article on ‘The blood of Jesus:The Greatest and Only Panacea’ Because of the blood of Jesus, our past failures are forgiven, our present walk and fellowship with God as his children are enhanced and our future status and victory are assured. We have been rescued from the powers of the devil and set free to serve the Living God.(1John1.6-7; Romans5.6-11; Ephesians 1:3-12).We lay claim to this blessing, privilege and status by faith in the powerful blood of Jesus, shed on the cross and faith in his powerful name! When Jesus arose from the grave, he took his own blood to his Father God in Heaven, where the blood was permanently placed. There the blood of Jesus speaks by pleading for mercy for anyone who has faith in the shed blood of Jesus and anyone who calls upon the name of Jesus in prayers asking for the salvation of his soul, the healing of his body, or for any problem confronting him/ her! There is power in the blood and the name of Jesus! There is life in looking up by faith to the blood shed on the cross of Jesus Christ! There is life now for you! There is deliverance from your sins and bad habits. There is no sin that cannot be washed in the blood of Jesus. The blood of Jesus is greater than all detergents! The blood of Jesus is greater than all vaccines! Jesus Christ obeyed his Father totally, even to the point of death for the sin which he did not commit! As a result of this great obedience by Jesus, GOD ALMIGHTY decided to honour Jesus by giving to him the greatest name in Heaven,on Earth, and under the Earth (Underworld). That at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2.10-11). By the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, the writer of Hebrews stated: It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:(Hebrews 10.23-24) Christ entered into the real heaven, not with the blood of animals(as the priests of the Old Testament did), but with his own blood. The blood of Jesus Christ was used to sprinkle heaven at the real mercy-seat. There forever, the blood of Jesus Christ speaks, pleading for mercy for you and for me when we call upon his name and when we exercise faith in his shed blood! The writer of Hebrews states: And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel (Hebrews 12.24). Because of the blood of Jesus shed, greatness was conferred upon his name! That is to say, by his achievement, greatness came upon the name of Jesus Christ. Because of the total obedience and humility of Jesus, he was highly exalted and given a name greater than all other names!(Philippians 2.5-11) That is to say greatness was conferred upon Jesus Christ. Because as the Word of God, from the bosom of the Father as Creator with his Father, Jesus Christ already had a great name before he was born as a baby in the manger! That is to say, Jesus Christ was born great!Jesus Christ was born great.He achieved greatness.He also had greatness conferred upon him! The Overwhelming Authority(SPIRITUAL POWER);Unlimited Ability (DYNAMIC,KINETIC and INTELLECTUAL POWER);Creative,Restorative and Corrective Ability (MIRACULOUS POWER),are all invested into the name of JESUS CHRIST!What Jesus said before his crucifixion is as valid today as it was when he first said it: “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full”(John 16.24).There is power in the name of Jesus Christ! Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10.13). Amen.

29 Apr

”I WILL” SAID WILLIAM AND KATE

Posted by AgapeFocus in SOLEMN AND REAL. Tagged: .

According to God’s holy law, William and Kate have become husband and wife!Hearty congratulations to the Prince and Princess;Their Royal Highnesses, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge! What an electrifying spectacle it was to behold, even from the limited view of TV in the lounge! How much more spectacular it would have been for on site viewers! It was such a colourful combination of both natural and artificial costumes, and decorations;royal and common. What a good and thoughtful selection of hymns and special renditions by the choir. What a brief but powerful message from the Bishop of London. What a magnificent blend of posh cars and delectable horse-drawn carriages! It was simply ecstatic, more so with the two special kisses from the balcony! What a loving, patient and expectant crowd! What joy and fulfilment! Handsome William, Arthur, Phillip, Louis and his beautiful Catherine Elizabeth pronounced man and wife by the Archbishop of Canterbury, after pledges and giving of ring. Eight years of courtship ended so joyfully. What a reenactment of true love between the Monarchy and the People;what joy and what delight!What therefore God hath joined together,let not man put asunder (Matthew19.6b). Congratulations too to the happy parents of the bride and bridegroom!Congratulations to our Queen,HRM Elizabeth II and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, happy grandparents! Many years ago, a friend advised my wife and I not to listen to the noise of the market crowd, but to face the stall owner from whom we want to buy. When you go to an open market or a super market, you usually hear different voices from different points or stalls. Trying to focus your attention on every sound is an impossible, distractive and harmful task. To the new couple, I relay the same old advice: Please focus more on each other than you have ever done. No room for distractions. As you have fun and laugh, pause to listen,talk and communicate well. Mutual trust, respect, patience, forgiveness, openness and faith in Jesus Christ will give you life-time joy and peace when challenges come, because these constitute LOVE! May you win and have marital bliss! CONGRATULATIONS!

24 Apr

THE TRULY EMPTY TOMB

Posted by AgapeFocus in SERMONS. Tagged: , .

When we think or talk of an empty tomb the first consideration may be a Cenotaph, which is an empty tomb used to remember and honour soldiers who laid down their lives during civil, local, regional or global wars, in order that the rest of us might have or enjoy relative peace. Thus we set dates in different countries as ‘Remembrance Day’. Flower wreaths or special poppy wreaths are laid by dignitaries and special representatives on such appointed days. Peoples gather at cenotaph, squares or places of worship to celebrate our fallen heroes of wars. However, there is a more representative and truly empty tomb. Peasants, nobles, kings and queens have their bodies placed in coffins and buried inside tombs of varying qualities and costs. After months and years, these bodies usually decompose, leaving only bones, which are much resistant and slower to decay. Even in cases of strong preservative traditions such as in ancient Egypt, the bodies so preserved are of little or no value, as far as life is concerned.In the whole of human history, there is only one tomb that is truly empty. It is the tomb of Jesus, located in Jerusalem. The tomb inside which Jesus was buried, after he died on the cross, is empty because he rose from the dead on the third day, over 2000 years ago and has been alive ever since! The fact that Jesus arose from the grave is proof that the work of salvation that he carried out was and is forever successful! HALLELUYAH! King David of Israel said about Christ, centuries before Christ came:‘For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption’. Psalms 16.10 That was prophetic and it was literally fulfilled. Several other prophecies concerning his birth, his escape to Egypt, his ministry, his betrayal,his death, the borrowed tomb, his resurrection, his ascension and the descent of the Holy Spirit have all been fulfilled. Jesus Christ is very unique in so many ways. He is very simple, very humble, very loving,very obedient to God, very powerful,true and honest, and very faithful. Not one word of his has ever failed. Jesus Christ is the Way. He is the Truth, the Life, the Door, the trustworthy Friend, more reliable than a brother, sister, father or mother. He is the wisest Counsellor, the most reliable Mentor. He is the Good Shepherd. He is the Ultimate and most desirable Personality. In fact, he is the fairest of ten thousands and totally dependable and all-sufficient. William Shakespeare said: Some are born great,some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them. ALL THREE are true of Jesus Christ! By virtue of his source and union with his Father, the ALMIGHTY GOD, Jesus Christ was and is great.Therefore he was born great. Because of his obedience unto death, Jesus Christ achieved greatness in the salvation he made possible to all mankind. As a result of his humility, Jesus Christ had greatness thrust upon him. For so humbling himself to the lowest possible depth, GOD decided to elevate him to the highest position and gave him the most powerful, most honoured, and most feared name in the three existing domains; namely Heaven, Earth and hell! It is written: Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven,and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father Philippians 2.9-11 After his resurrection and appearances over a period of 40 days at different places to well over 500 persons, Jesus Christ ascended to heaven. There, as part of the promotion given to him, he sits at the right hand of the throne of God, awaiting the subduing of all oppositions. ”Till his enemies are made to become his footstool”. There is no power in any other name.Salvation is possible only through Jesus Christ. Whosoever shall call upon the name of Jesus Christ shall be saved. This same Jesus is coming back again; that has also been prophesied, even before Christ was born. The ball is now in the court of each and every person. Each person is faced with the choice to decide to call upon Jesus and subsequently begin to follow him. It is written: Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved Acts 4.12. You believe with your heart and confess with your mouth. You believe the truth and confess the truth that you believe. Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ shall not be ashamed. Do you? Use the powerful name of Jesus in prayer now. Call upon him. God did not send his Son, Jesus into the world to condemn it, but to save the world through Jesus Christ.Pray in your own words or native language or in the most convenient form that deals with the particular state of your mind and life. For example you may pray in this manner :Almighty God, I thank you that you gave your Son Jesus to the world, including me. I believe that Jesus died on the cross in order to save me from sin. I call upon you Jesus Christ to come into my life now.I believe that you died and rose up from the grave on the third day. I thank you that you have forgiven me all my sin. I surrender my life to you and ask you to help me as I begin to follow you today, even now. Amen. Did you pray? God actually listened to you and your prayer has been answered. Anyone who receives Jesus Christ into his or her life has been given the power to become a child of God by Jesus. God bless you. Get a Bible and start reading from the Gospel of St John. Look for a good Church nearest to you and begin to fellowship and worship God with them there. Please, get in touch with us here at AgapeFocus. You may also get in touch with the person who sent this message to you. May the power of the Most High God uphold you to the end. Grace be with you.

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