Christmas is your birthday

Christmas is a celebration that Jesus, who was God, became flesh like us.
“In the beginning was the Word,… and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Jn. 1:1,14

When He became flesh, he took all humans past and future in himself, just as all humans were in Adam when he was created. As the second Adam, all humans were objectively born again in Jesus when he was born of the virgin Mary. (Yes, a man can enter the womb and be born again-we all did when Jesus was in the virgin womb, and we were with him when he went into the virgin tomb.)

So, when Jesus was born, we were born with him, when he lived, we lived with him, when he died, we died with him, when he rose, we rose with him, when he ascended to the Father we ascended with him and are now seated in heavenly places.
“Or are you ignorant that all who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death.” (Rom. 6:3,4)

“We being dead in trangression, He made us alive together with Christ (by grace you are being saved), and raised us up together and seated us together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:5, 6)

“For you died, and your life has been hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3).

We share in the life of Jesus, his mission, his suffering, his glory, and his Triune life with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is what the angel announced when he said: “For, behold, I proclaim good news to you, a great joy, which will be to all people, because today a Savior, who is Christ the Lord was born…” (Lk. 2:10,11)

What good news! Share it! Tweet it! BBM it! MixIt!

The Silent Killer

What do you think is the biggest killer of all time? Is it wars? Is it the bubonic plague?

Is it HIV/AIDS? Or malaria? Is it earthquakes? Is it heart attacks? You will be surprised. Usually, what kills us is the effect of something else.

The biggest killer of all time is lack of self-control! Yes, Self-control. “What?” I hear you say. Self-control is simply the ability to resist. You probably have heard it many times: “I just couldn’t resist”. Well, our ancestral mother and father, Adam and Eve could not resist at the garden of Eden.

When the serpent approached Eve with a fruit she knew she was not supposed to eat, she could not resist. When she took a piece of the forbidden fruit to her husband Adam, he too could not resist. And so death entered the human existence. The Creator had warned, if you eat of that fruit, you shall surely die. In one sense, then, it was that lack of self-control by our ancestors that brought death.

Things have not changed since then. A relative of mine could not resist “one more drink for the road”, and he crashed to death in a vehicle accident. He left his children orphans. If only he resisted that extra drink and remained of a sober mind, he could be alive today.

Across Africa, there are many children who are orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Take the case of Sibongile. Her father, David, was a successful professional with a well paying job. One day at a work function, out of town, drinks started flowing, and David joined in “the fun”. Although David was not really a drinker, he could not resist when his colleague kept topping up his glass with some nice, dry, red wine. By the end of the evening, David, due to his lack of self-control, lost control.

He started flirting with one of the female colleagues, who also had taken one glass too many. Well, the next morning, David and his female colleague woke up in the same hotel bed. Sadly, a few months later, David discovered that he was HIV positive. He died a few years later of TB, which was brought on by his HIV status.

David did not plan for an early death. When he died, there was not much left for his wife and children, except the debt of his top class German car. You see, David could not resist buying that expensive car even though it meant he could not invest in a family home for his family.

They had rented a house in an expensive surburb, and had to vacate the house after David’s death. Sibongile’s mother could not cope on her own. Eventually Sibongile dropped out of school, pregnant and destitute. She gave birth to a baby girl who looked just like her. She named her Hope.

Her boyfriend disappeared soon after he found out that she was pregnant. He had introduced her to drugs. One morning she overdosed on drugs and her body was carried away by the police in a body bag. You see, if you look at it carefully, Sibongile’s father, David, killed her the night he lost self-control and drank too much, and ended up sleeping with his colleague. When he died, Sibongile’s death began. And now for Hope, what’s ahead for her? If only her grandfather had self control… If only her mother had self-control… If only…

Our Father in Heaven knows our predicament. He knows most of us are not that different from Adam and Eve, from David and Sibongile. We too can’t resist. He made a plan for us though. He sent Jesus Christ to become a human like us, so that we can share in His divine nature.

Peter puts it this way, “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life… These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.” (2 Pet. 1:3-4). Christians receive the Holy Spirit by grace. And the Spirit helps Christians to share in God’s divine nature.

It is that divine nature which helps them to “escape… the corruption caused by human desires”. Jesus, being “led by the Spirit” (Matt. 4:1) was able to resist “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 Jn. 2:16). The same Spirit that led Christ, leads us. “God did not give us a spirit that makes us afraid but a spirit of power and love and self-control.” (2 Tim. 1:7 CEV)

Peter continues, “In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, ⁷ and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. (2 Pet. 1:5-6).

The Holy Spirit, who is God, gives us this divine nature. He helps us to exercise self-control. Not for God’s sake, but for our own sake. Paul tells us the fruit of the Holy Spirit is self-control (Gal. 5:23). Unfortunately most of us don’t like it when we are told that we must exercise more self-control.

One day when Paul was presenting his defense to Governor Felix and his wife, the governor did not like hearing the truth about his condition. “As he reasoned with them about righteousness and self-control and the coming day of judgment, Felix became frightened. “Go away for now,” he replied. “When it is more convenient, I’ll call for you again.” (Acts 24:25) Self-control is at the centre of our lives.

Don’t be like Governor Felix. You can listen to advice about self-control today, and save yourself and loved ones a lot of pain, …and death. For those like Sibongile, the Holy Spirit gives Comfort and hope. If you are led by the Spirit, you follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of your life. (Gal. 5:25) “The Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires”(Gal. 5:17) You CAN resist!

From the Virgin Womb to the Virgin Tomb

From the virgin womb to the virgin tomb, we see the Spirit bringing forth life. The womb symbolizes the beginning, and the tomb symbolizes the end. In Rev 22:13 Jesus declares himself to be the "Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end".

This Easter you can make him the beginning of your dead new year resolutions, and the end of your old life of hopelessness, futility, and "foolishness" clothed in "coolness".

The power of the virgin birth was the Spirit, and the power of the resurrection was the Spirit. The same Spirit is available for you. Have a blessed commemoration of the crucifixion and the resurrection of YOU!

Yes, YOU!! YOU have "died with Christ" (Col.2:20); AND "YOU have been raised with Christ" (Col.3:1). The celebrations this weekend include YOU! How much more should you be celebrating? May you now say: "Now I see!"

Stranger than Fiction: A Donkey Tale

Years ago when I was about 9 or 10, my mother used to send me to a shop about 5 km from home. For about 4 km to the shop we walked through a deserted road through the bush. One day as we were walking back from the shop with my cousin, we saw a donkey cart coming from behind us heading to our village, same direction as we were going. Donkey carts were the most common mode of transport for the "middle class" of the village. There was only two men in the whole village who had cars at that time.

My cousin and I got excited when we saw the donkey cart. It was common courtesy that those with donkey carts will give lifts to pedestrians like us when they find them on that stretch of road. As the donkey cart approached we raised our hands to hitch a lift. The man, who was probably in his late 20s or 30s, started hitting the donkeys harder for them to run faster as he approached us. We were devastated when he passed and did not stop.

After passing us, the man stopped hitting the donkeys, so they slowed down and started walking. When they were about 200 metres further down the road, the donkeys actually came to a standstill. The man started hitting them hard again, and the two donkeys would not move. When we about 100 metres from them, the one donkey bent his knees, and then lied on the ground. The other donkey followed suit as he was pulled down by the other one. The man got off the donkey cart and started hitting the donkeys even harder. There is a saying, "As stubborn as a mule", but after what I saw that day, I think the donkeys are more stubborn. As we got to where the man and his donkeys were, he was sweating and angry, and we dared not say anything to him.

As we were passing, he asked us to get on the donkey cart and hold the reins as he continues hitting the donkeys. My cousin and I jumped at the opportunity. As soon as we boarded the cart, the two donkeys got on their feet and started walking! The man jumped onto the donkey cart, and before he hit them again, they started jogging. He never had to hit them again, they jogged all the way to the village, with my cousin and I nicely seated next to the man. We said nothing to each other all the way, and he said nothing either.

When we got to the village he dropped us us next to my home and he proceed to his house further into the village. As we were walking home, we talked about the strange behaviour of the donkeys, and how kind they were to us. It was an incident incident I could not forget.

Years later I read a story in the bible about a man called Balaam and his donkey. When I read it, it sounded so familiar, that I knew why those donkeys behaved that way when I was 10 years old. Here is the story of Balaam and his donkey:

The story is found in the book of Numbers 22:21-33
"21 So the next morning Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and started off with the Moabite officials. 22 But God was angry that Balaam was going, so he sent the angel of the LORD to stand in the road to block his way. As Balaam and two servants were riding along, 23 Balaam’s donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. The donkey bolted off the road into a field, but Balaam beat it and turned it back onto the road. 24 Then the angel of the LORD stood at a place where the road narrowed between two vineyard walls. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, it tried to squeeze by and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall. So Balaam beat the donkey again. 26 Then the angel of the LORD moved farther down the road and stood in a place too narrow for the donkey to get by at all. 27 This time when the donkey saw the angel, it lay down under Balaam. In a fit of rage Balaam beat the animal again with his staff.
28 Then the LORD gave the donkey the ability to speak. “What have I done to you that deserves your beating me three times?” it asked Balaam.
29 “You have made me look like a fool!” Balaam shouted. “If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!”
30 “But I am the same donkey you have ridden all your life,” the donkey answered. “Have I ever done anything like this before?”
“No,” Balaam admitted.
31 Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the roadway with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam bowed his head and fell face down on the ground before him.
32 “Why did you beat your donkey those three times?” the angel of the LORD demanded. “Look, I have come to block your way because you are stubbornly resisting me.”

Recently, I came across another donkey story that reminded me of my donkey story. It goes like this:

A man once left home on a long journey. He took with him a donkey and a mule. He placed all his goods and luggage on the donkey’s back, and though he walked most of the time, he would occasionally ride the mule.
The donkey carried his load easily. He was accustomed to bearing heavy burdens. But when the three travelers began to climb the side of a steep mountain, his load became too heavy to bear.
The donkey, struggling under his load, turned to the mule and asked him to help carry some of the load, explaining that he would gladly take the full burden back again after they had climbed the mountain. But the mule refused to help even a little bit.
Before long, the donkey slowed and collapsed beneath his load. Though the man beat him mercilessly, he was too weak to go any farther.
Not knowing what else to do, the man began unloading the packs from the donkey’s back and placed the entire load on the mule. Then, leaving the donkey where he had fallen, the man and the mule continued the journey.
The mule, groaning beneath his heavy burden, said to himself, “It serves you right. If I had only been willing to help the poor donkey, I would now be bearing half the load I carry, and would have a friend besides.”

The common theme of these donkey stories, two of which are real stories, including mine, is about kindness. I have no doubt that God had pity on me and my cousin that day, and decided to stop those donkeys so that we could get a lift. I don’t know whether that man ever got the message, but I got the message loud and clear. When you have an opportunity to be kind, don’t be like the man from my village, or even the mule. Show some kindness. In fact, you will find that when you are kind, you receive kindness in return. That’s how God’s triune life between Father, Son and Holy Spirit is. That’s the life God wants us to share in, today, tomorrow, and forever into eternity.

Kindness is good for you, not just the person you are being kind to. Patience is good for you, not just for the person you are being patient with. Love is good for you, not just for the person you are loving. “You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” Acts 20:35.