******* REVIVAL FIRE!!! *******
copyright 2008 by Greg Nichols
This article went out to the White Fields Ezine Group, my mailing list, a mixed worldwide group of Christian and non Christians and other religions. I have included it here for Revival Fire, I hope it can be helpful to someone who may read it who is struggling with forgiving or loving someone!
Greg Nichols
The holiday season is upon us, and people are getting excited again for the warmth and memories this time of year brings. Jesus definitely leaves an imprint and a residue on anything He is involved in, as billions of unbelievers who don't know Christ hustle and bustle about spreading good cheer, singing, listening to songs, being charitable, buying people gifts and giving of themselves, and creating as much harmony as possible. What unbelievers fail to realize is that this list I just described is a definition of the true Christian life all year long, 24/7, 365 days. But do all of us believers understand that? I'd like to discuss here a scriptural view of Christmas and its far reaching implications. Some of it might be controversial or hard for some to hear. My goal is to help people breakthrough from traditional forms to pure love and Holy Spirit anointing during the holidays and afterwards also.
Christmas is full of symbolism and very joyous, for Jesus left a love atmosphere on this time of year, because God is love. The bottom line of Christmas is love, pure and simple. When people are born again to new life in Christ, they are born again as love-beings. I cannot understand a gossipy or sharp embittered tongued Christian, and that is rather an oxy moron phrase, because a Christian like that is living far below their potential. Why? Because they have the eternal and infinite Creator dwelling on the inside of them, and any lack of love or devilish activity they are involved in, they expose God to it. Paul asked the Corinthian church if anyone wanted to join what belongs to Christ to a harlot? (1 Corinthians 6:15) You could add any sin in that spot. Would we want to join what belongs to Christ to gossip, vile speech, drunkenness, po*r/n, adultery, theft or any such sin? Jesus lives inside any person on Earth who has received him as Lord and Savior. "To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:27 Christ is in us. He lives in us. He is Lord over us, and He brings His abilities to us, they emanate from within us, and flow out of us. Divine love is one of those abilities.
We were created in love, we are redeemed in love, and we are sustained in His Holy love. Love rules the New Covenant believer. The warm and fuzzy Christmas feelings pale in comparison to the love that flows out of us as God's sons and daughters. We have been given so much love that God removed the commandments from us, He blotted them out and took them out of our way, (Colossians 2;14) so that we could have the wonderful opportunity to sow love to God and our fellow man instead of sinning against God or man. It is a Divine and quite genius strategy by God to produce righteousness in us by faith and love instead of by regulations. The angels in heaven cannot love like we sons and daughters can. Gabriel and Michael, the mightiest angels, archangels, look at us believers with admiration for the sheer power of love that we possess. The love and faith of the believers actually steer the destinies of God's Holy angels.
Oh I do not want to minimize Christmas, for so many love the time of year, as I do also. But the presence of God will stand out over a holiday, any day of the week. And God wants to be just as present in our lives in January as in December. In one sense, I have an issue with this season as it seems to allow unbelievers to get the God thing observed and their consciences cleansed a little bit, and then they shelve Christmas and live like the devil for the rest of the year. The world also has certainly has tried to pervert the holiday to bring us anything but Christ who it is all about. We see Santa, a Christ imitator, who loves all the children and gives them gifts, and requires that we believe in him. He pops in at the time we observe the gift of Christ from Father God. But oh the love of Christ, the true person of Christmas, who doesn't keep lists that differentiate the naughty from the nice, but loves all people the same. Christ came for all, each of us, and He will quickly forgive you so He may fellowship with you. Have you been not nice but naughty? It is reparable with Christ. He will not mark you off His list. Ask for His forgiveness. As I make comments about Santa, I do so guardedly as I fear some readers will go on a Santa hunt and try to tear him out of people's Christmases. Jesus wouldn't do that, He would just love people and let them enjoy their icons. Do not be legalistic this year. My wife and I have already watched two Christmas movies with Santa in them this year that made my wife cry. But when the movie is over, we still have God's presence. He never leaves us. Santa will go away a whole year, but Jesus stays with us always.
"Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moons, or of the Sabbath days; Colossians 2:16, (KJV)
Paul warned believers about over emphasizing holidays. Note that the word holyday has been changed in modern times to "holiday" but means the same. Based on Paul's comments, I have come to see Christmas as more cultural and inspiring than spiritual, and something to enjoy in the soul realm. That is not evil, we are three part beings, spirit, soul and body. Our souls need a little entertainment and rest routinely. I observe Christ each and every day of the year, I am thankful for Him all year long, so when Christmas time comes, I am all caught up on the spiritual, which allows me to just enjoy it as fun.
To understand how Christians have highly over spiritualized Christmas, it helps to understand how they have done the same with Sunday, observing it as a Sabbath which is not scriptural. Paul indicated above that no man was to tell you any day you needed to respect more, be they holidays or Sabbath days. That is because those items are under the law, and God has removed the law from His church, or Christians. He replaced it with love. Is Paul the one we must thank for this revelation? No, Jesus is, the Lord of all, the Captain of our salvation, the Lord Advocate General, the Commander in Chief of the Church, the first born of many brethren, the Counselor, Mighty God and Everlasting Father.
The Pharisees challenged Jesus about working on the Sabbath day. Jesus knew what the Father was going to do about the law of Moses. He knew that a time was coming to worship in spirit, and in truth, without limit to legalisms, to time, day, or location. He also knew He would come to live inside each believer, and govern from His throne in each heart. That is why He said: "The Son of man is also Lord of the Sabbath." Luke 6:5
What a statement that is! He was about to go back to Heaven. How could He be Lord over the Sabbath which was an Earthly concept, set up for the ancient Israelites? The key is in the statement "Son of man" – He was referring to Himself and His new race of men that would follow Him in the born again experience. That is why He did not say "Son of God" even though He was. We call Him the Son of God, but He called Himself the Son of man, and He identified with us, sons of men. He knew His calling and His job title, to create a whole race of men and women that would destroy the works of the devil. And, all of the race would be Lords of the Sabbath. Paul was only defining the standard set by Jesus. No man could instruct or criticize or influence you to observe a Sabbath or to observe a holiday. If you do, it is because you wish too. There is no bondage either way, and God does not require it. Jesus is about freedom. If you must work on Sunday, there is no bondage. You are more important than a day of the week. This is love's law. If you are married to a soldier who comes home in March, you can celebrate Christmas that month with no bondage, for it is not a spiritual holiday according to the New Testament. We believers just choose to emphasize it and honor God on Christmas because that choice is ours, with no bondage. Sunday is not the Sabbath, we just choose non- legalistically to observe it as a day of rest, and to commemorate Christ and His Resurrection. No where were we commanded to do this. God shows up for our Wednesday service as much as for our Sunday service. We are free in Christ over holidays and Sabbath days. This is of course if you accept Paul's teaching and the teachings of Christ, but if you don't, then you are still under the law with all of its death and consequences and rules and regulations. It is quite our choice. For myself, I am going to accept the gift of love, Christ Jesus, which and Who trumps everything else in Scripture. Let me clarify here that there is a Divine wisdom for believers in resting one day a week, and if you ignore this, you will reap the health and mental consequences. But it is any day that you select to rest, or by circumstances you that have to rest.
My whole point here is not to de-emphasize Christmas. By all means enjoy it and love it with all the trappings. My point is to love every day, and make each day precious, and honor Christ each day, for He lives in you, and makes you the Lord of all days. Days are just units of time created for God's man, which is us. "This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24. A day is just one more created thing in Creation God gave us dominion over.
There is no law to a believer in Christ. Jesus said all the law can be summed up in just two laws: (Matthew 22:35-40) Love God and love your neighbor. That is it. And we don't stress to keep these two love laws, we do it as naturally as birds fly. Why? Because of the following: In Christ, by way of our new births, we have been made that kind of creature with that gifting and talent placed in us at our New Birth. Furthermore, we don't just have a small measure of love, we have all the love of Heaven at our disposal. These human spirits of ours can hold and let flow out the love of God in mass quantities. There is no person you cannot forgive. There is no person you cannot love. I am speaking of the infilling of God's Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Love. He is your empowerment to love as God loves, He is God.
In the Christmas story, Mary was approached by an angel, and told she was to bear a son. After some clarification, Mary said to the angel and to God: "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your Word." Luke 1:38a Let each of us demonstrate the same faith and belief that we receive and possess Christ, as Mary did. The incarnation or virgin birth was to be a re-occurring concept in a spiritual sense. Each one of us would have the Holy Spirit come to us and cleanse us of sin, making us pure and holy, like a virgin, and preparing a home for Christ to live within us. It is a holy incarnation that happens, and we become pregnant spiritually with the Word of God. Then, we go through life serving Him, and giving birth to the promises of the Word of God, and also giving spiritual birth to other believers in Christ. The Christmas story re-happens in Christianity every day of the year many times per day, as Divine love is pouring into people and turning them to virtual sons and daughters of the Creator of the universe. God's kingdom is growing, and Satan's kingdom is shrinking with every new birth in Christ. This is the essence of evangelism, spreading love and the love gift of Christ heralded by angels on the first Christmas night.
Christmas then becomes not an actual place to stop and stay, but more of a sign post on the roadway to Christ and God's love, which is where we find our place in life and our eternal destination. The message of Christmas then changes from an event into a state of being in God for each believer. The Spirit of Christmas beats in my heart all the time, for eternity.
Maybe you have never seen a Christmas teaching like this one. I simply used Christmas like a lever to share some real meat of the Word here. Enjoy this Christmas more than you ever have enjoyed a Christmas before. However, this Christmas, know it does not end for you who loves and who is filled with Divine love, and who walks every day of the year in the love of God and in Christ Jesus His Son. Enjoy the people around you who love Christmas, buy the gifts, watch their faces, laugh and joke, and say "ho, ho, ho" but quietly realize that if all knew about your inner love transformation and what you know inwardly about Jesus your King, and God's greatest gift of love, their days of trouble would be over, and a new dimension of living would open up to them. Then, just love them and let Christ love them right into His arms. You are His working magnet. You are His special emissary.
"Peace on earth, good will towards men!"
Share this writing with any born again person you know who struggles with personal relationships or harbors un-forgiveness or intolerance. I submit to you that they already have the tools in Christ, they just do not know they do.
(If you do not know Christ, today is a good day to open your heart and receive Him. Just ask Him in, and ask Him to change you, and repent of your sins, and let Him love you. Get ready for a great life in Him. Then, go seek out a Christian to pray with you. You can contact me, I'd love to hear how this writing impacted you.)
See other teachings and past teachings and works on healing and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit at this website: http://www.themfngroup.com/christmas_gift.htm
Greg Nichols
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