Each of us is an Innkeeper, who decides if there is room for Jesus in our heart and life. [Spirituality & Religion]
Jesus’s message came from His desire to save people and prepare them for eternity. They expected a Messiah who was like themselves: passing out rules, but unwilling to help others (Luke 11:46); glorifying their own morality while treating others with contempt (Luke 18:9–14). But Jesus was interested in forgiveness, healing the sick, and lifting up those who were failing (Mark 2:5; John 3:16–18; Mark 2:17).
Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, and He claimed to be God (John 1:1–3; John 8:58). He backed up that claim by rising from the dead after three days in the tomb, and appearing to a crowd of witnesses and disciples (Luke 24:1–12; 36–49).
Jesus was the Creator God and displayed all of the same character traits as God Himself (Hebrews 1:3). He came to forgive the sins of men, so they could have fellowship with their Heavenly Father in heaven, forever; He came because "it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick" and He came "not to call the righteous, but sinners" (Mark 2:17). What this means is that if you need salvation, Jesus saves.
The fact remains that every person needs Him, whether they will admit it or not. We are all prone to mistakes, to addictions, to choosing the wrong path. We are all sinners (Romans 3:23) who have fallen short of God's standard (Romans 6:23). We are all less than perfect. And we all feel the moral burden. That is why religion (man made philosophy) exists —— Satan uses it to give us the illusion of control, and to avoid the nagging feeling that we are not measuring up to what God wants. "If we just follow these few rules," we think, "God will be pleased and accept me." But it is not possible to do everything that God requires, because we are human and perfection is not possible for us. That is why we don’t need religion. What we really need is a personal relationship with Jesus. Religion did not die on the cross for your sins. Jesus did.
God did not set us up for failure. Jesus saves! That is the best news in all the world, because if Jesus has not been born, we would have been forever separated by our sins from Our Heavenly Father, for eternity. That’s why the birth of Jesus is so special, and why we celebrate it.
God sent Jesus for this very purpose—to put all the punishment for sin on Him, so that we would not have to bear it (Isaiah 53:5). Now that this free gift is available to us, the only way we can forfeit that gift of salvation, is if we actively choose NOT to take it. Jesus saves anyone and everyone who wants to be saved, but many of us say "no thanks" and cling stubbornly to religion, or to the delusion that we can somehow save ourselves, or that we don't need saving, or even that God doesn't exist. Denying His existence is just another way of avoiding the big issue: Jesus saves, and we need to be saved.
We would do well, to take the advice of the writer of Hebrews, who said: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts" (Hebrews 3:15).
Will you ignore His free gift, or adore Him for it? The choice is up to you. I hope you won’t leave “Christ” out of Christmas this year. After all, He’s the reason for the season. [/b][/c]
