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History's Miraculous Birth
One day, over two thousand years ago, God's great messenger, angel Gabriel, visited a home in the city of Nazareth, where Mary, who was a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, lived.
The angel greeted her and announced, "Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." (Luke 1:30-33)
Imagine Mary's shock when the great angel gave her such a startling news: that she would conceive as a virgin, for the Holy Spirit would come upon her, and that "the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God"! (Luke 1:35)
Truly, she must have been an exceedingly virtuous woman to have the highest honor to carry the Son of God in her womb and give birth to the world's light!
Exactly, why did Jesus come? What is the importance of his coming, and what did the angel mean when he mentioned "his kingdom there shall be no end"?
Last month, I spoke of the Kingdom of God, which is Jehovah's fulfilled paradise for His creations. Hence, it is this Kingdom to which the angel referred. It is the Kingdom that Jehovah will entrust to Jesus as a righteous Ruler.
Can everyone on Earth enter this Kingdom? No, not absolutely everyone, unless...
*Unless people repent and turn to a virtuous way of living, they will not have the honor to live there
*Unless their sins are washed away, they cannot enter
This is where Jesus comes in...
Jehovah sacrificed His only beloved Son in order to clean our sins using Jesus' blood.
Jesus' Great Sacrifice
How could Jesus's blood wash away our sins? To understand this, we need to know how God's system of the sacrifice worked. The Books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy in the Bible extensively talk about sacrificing livestock, such as cattle and sheep, to clean the sins of people, and have God forgive them for their sins. Every animal for sacrifice must be without any defects, and priests must perform specific steps to sacrifice it, including pouring out the blood upon the alter.
Why is the pouring out the blood important? What is important about blood? Blood is the life, so when you pour out the life of a perfect sacrifice, you clean your own life.
Hence, in order to wash away the sins of a great multitude, God chose His Son, who is absolutely flawless; no other man who has ever lived can be perfect enough for the job. This was why Jehovah chose Jesus, for we humans have all inherited a sinful nature from our first ancestors, Adam and Eve, who purposefully disobeyed God. Living as a perfect Spirit Being in the heaven prior to his miraculous birth on Earth, Jesus, who is Jehovah's very first creation, His "only begotten Son," did not inherit such flaws.
Ultimately, the life, which is in Jesus' blood, was poured out as a ransom to redeem our own blood.
Jesus was willing to let his Father sacrifice him in ransom for our sins. Imagine a purely innocent being suffering for our wickedness! What unconditional love Father and son showed: the love Jehovah showed for us, and the love Jesus showed for his dear Father: "That the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do." (John 14:31) Try to find a better love story!
This is why Jesus is called Christ, or the Messiah, which means the Anointed One. "Jesus" in Hebrew means "Jehovah Is Salvation." Indeed, Jehovah has assigned His dear Son as our Savior to save us from sins and death!
But was Jesus' sacrifice sufficient? Does it mean that we can continue to be sinful since he had already washed away our sins? Is his death an excuse for us to continue to do wrong?
Jesus' Other Important Reasons for Coming
While preaching, Jesus' main focus was spreading the good news of Jehovah's forthcoming Kingdom, and how people should live in order that they could be a part of this wonderful future.
This is just a part of what Jesus taught:
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
(Matthew 5:3-10)
Hence, his great sacrifice is not enough. We still need to listen to Jehovah on embracing a good way of living. Yet some people have said, "Jesus died for us, so that's enough. We can go on sinning and still be washed clean!"
Granted, no human can be 100% virtuous (that's why Jesus died for us), but if you truly yearn to be good, we can ask for God's strength to help us do so to our best ability.
What else has Jesus' coming to Earth accomplished?
Jesus lived a perfect life, obeying Jehovah's commands to his very death. Did obeying his Father's wishes make him unhappy, like some people think that being completely virtuous can take happiness and freedom from you?
No, Jesus was quite a social, happy, and loving person who was never gloomy. If he had been miserable, he would have given up being so righteous long before his execution. And he would not have allowed people to crucify him if he had not thought it worthy to die for Jehovah and for us.
Hence, his good way of living shows us the truth that being under Jehovah's rulership and listening to His commands will not take away happiness, but only will add to our happiness, the kind of happiness that will truly last, not like the passing happiness the world brings.
Jesus shows us that by returning Jehovah's love can create happiness. Truly loving someone makes the lover glad; selfish love may make the lover glad for a little while, but then it will no longer be fruitful. Yes, Jesus loves his dear Father to no bound.
Jesus' Future
It is only a matter of time when Jehovah fulfills His promised paradise as His Kingdom. When that day comes, humankind will be eternally ruled by Him and His Son, who will play the role as a righteous judge.
Right now, Jesus is the King in their Heavenly Kingdom. Both Father and Son are keeping a close eye on us down here, noting who are good and who are evil. And when the final day of our world comes, each one of us, including the dead, will be judged each according to our own deeds done throughout our lifetime. Rest assured that we will each receive the most fair judgment.
How can we survive the pending Judgment Day? Jesus completed his great mission, and now we must complete ours: to have faith in Jehovah and Jesus.
So the next question arises: exactly, how should we embrace Jesus and his Father? Is believing in them all we need to do? What does "believing" actually imply? Stay tuned to the first issue of 2009 to find out! Until then, I wish you a joyous month, and have a very happy New Year 2009!
Shirley's Corner
Today, December 1, I will be appearing live at 3:00 p.m. ET on the Talking Information Center radio program. TIC can be heard on the following radio stations:
WVBF 1530 AM Middleboro
WUML 91.5 FM Lowell
WBIM 91.5 FM Bridgewater
WDJM 91.3 FM Framingham
WRRS 104.3 LP-FM Pittsfield
It can also be heard online at www.ticnetwork.com
Tomorrow, December 2 at 4:30 p.m. ET, I will be a guest on Conscious Choices radio show hosted by Jeff Cadwell, which can be heard online at www.consciouschoicesradioshow.com
Before I end the last issue of 2008, I would like to ask: how should we remember Jesus? Should we think of him just as a helpless baby, or the most wonderful man who will change our lives forever (and I do mean forever)? It is good to commemorate his birth, though we do not know his birth date (Christmas is not Jesus's birthday, for the Bible specifically tells of sheep flocking outside; December 25 would have been too cold for that, so Jesus was born earlier in the year). Even still, we must focus on Jesus' great mission and what it means for our everlasting future: eternal life, or eternal death. The choices are up to you. Make it your New Year's resolution to embrace Jesus' messages and teaching and apply them to your daily living!
Take great care!
*Any Bible quotations are from the American Standard Version of 1901, a Public Domain Bible.
Content Copyright by Shirley Cheng; All rights reserved
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Best regards,
Shirley Cheng
Award-Winning Author
Miracle survivor, inspiring author and contributing author of 23 books by age 25, poet, motivational speaker, self-empowerment expert, advocate, and a co-author in the bestselling Wake Up...Live the Life You Love book series
Board member of World Positive Thinkers Club
http://www.shirleycheng.com
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