WIN 100
Beyond any human opinions or arguments, Jesus Christ is coming back for His Church “…in peace, without spot, and blameless” (2 Peter 3:14). The unfinished story of Christmas is that Jesus is coming again. When Jesus came the first Christmas, He came to die in the sinner’s place. There was no room for Him in the inn. The second time, He will come to receive the sinner to Himself. You can preach, sing Carol, read the Creed and still miss the Second Coming of Christ, but if you are born again by receiving Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, you will not miss Christ’s Second Coming.
The missional reality of Christmas is the Coming of our Saviour, not Santa’s. It is either Christmas changes our world in anticipation of the Coming Christ again, or our world changes the Christmas, hence the Christmas shift. Christmas shift, a celebration in conformity to the pattern of this world, points to a doctrinal danger that substitutes the temporal for the eternal. The missional reality of Christmas as preparation for the coming Christ calls for personal transformation that keeps seeking the things above, where Christ is… (Col 3:1-2). Just as Christmas shifts impress and not imparting the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others, we spend more than we have or earn. Christmas shift shaped by the manoeuvres of the world system creates a false sense of theology, excitement, love and celebration.
Christmas shift is the loss of the substance of Jesus Christ in the shadows of all the Christmas celebrations in a broken world. Christmas shift through the distraction of decoration and feasting warns us to consider the reality of sin to repent and remember why we need a Saviour, now and in eternity. Christmas shift, a representation and expression of the real meaning of Christmas in seductive and attractive stories, points to a lifestyle in a fallen world. Christmas shift is an expression of something broken, wrong in the cosmos, a ‘severance between God and humankind … that overflowed into a brokenness in the systems we have built, in the governments we run, in the businesses we lead, and in the families, we grow.’ Christmas shift is a denial and departure from the redeeming reality of the Second Coming of Christ. At a time when the world system is failing and crumbling, Christmas warns against hiding from the missional reality of the eternal Christian hope, peace, love and joy (Jn 3:16). Christmas shift is the devil’s ploys and lies that make us to deny the Second Coming of Christ and thereby ruin the people, church, and nations.
It may be hard to truly comprehend a threat from the unseen and false reality of classic movies. However, God warns us that the threat of spiritual warfare is very real and to arm ourselves with the promise of the Second Coming of Christ. The topic of the Second Coming of Christ is one that some Christians find difficult to consider, courtesy of a real enemy, Satan, who comes to ‘steal, kill, and destroy.’ To experience the true essence of the birth of Jesus Christ and Who will come again, we must overcome the battle of commercialism and consumerism.
As said in Ephesians 6:12, our struggle is ultimately against “spiritual forces of evil,” meaning the real battle is the spiritual warfare of good versus evil. There is a spiritual war ongoing for the hearts of man, family, church, and nations as the forces of evil are turning people, churches, and nations away from God and separating us from Him. A war, even within the church beyond Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Palestine, is waging against Christmas, a battle for our hearts, our hope, peace, love, and joy.
Christmas celebration is a warning and assurance that Jesus Christ, born 2000 years ago, is the world’s hope, peace, love, and joy and is coming back as the Judge. The end-time signs are already appearing, and we should consider ourselves warned. The trajectories of world events – war, economic hardship, mortal decadence – are signs that the end is near.
The family and Christian marriage are not only under attack and redefinition, but the church is also under serious moral and leadership decadence and attacks beyond the physical attack of terrorism, a hurricane, or a forest fire. The ongoing attacks are much more subtle, seductive, and attractive but infinitely more dangerous.
Christmas shifts beyond celebrating Jesus, who comes as a baby in a manger to inaugurate His kingdom, warns and calls us to prepare for Jesus’ return to consummate His kingdom, face to face (Rev 19:15-16, Jn 14:1-3). The Coming Christ, our Saviour, will come again to judge the living and the dead, and this is a warning to the people, the church, and its leadership not to compromise the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Jn 10:14-18). The missional reality of the Coming Christ summons us to “Behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2); “Now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now, our salvation is nearer than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11).
Christmas is the time to honestly examine ourselves. Beloved, are you prepared to meet your Savior? Have you given Him your life? The missional reality of the Coming Christ urges us to make this passage our daily prayer: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23, 24).
Join me to sing one of Charles Wesley’s hymns prayerfully:
1 Lo! He comes, with clouds descending,
once for favored sinners slain;
thousand thousand saints attending
swell the triumph of His train:
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
God appears on earth to reign.
2 Every eye shall now behold Him,
robed in dreadful majesty;
those who set at naught and sold Him,
pierced, and nailed Him to the tree,
deeply wailing, deeply wailing, deeply
wailing,
shall the true Messiah see.
3 Every island, sea, and mountain,
heav’n and earth, shall flee away;
all who hate Him must, confounded,
hear the trump proclaim the day:
Come to judgment! Come to judgment! Come to judgment!
Come to judgment, come away!
4 Now redemption, long expected,
see in solemn pomp appear!
And His saints, by men rejected,
coming with Him in the air.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
See the day of God appear!
5 Yea, amen! Let all adore Thee,
high on Thine eternal throne;
Savior, take the pow’r and glory,
claim the kingdom for Thine own;
O come quickly, O come quickly, O come
quickly!
Alleluia! Come, Lord, come!
The missional reality of Christmas is the Coming of our Saviour, not Santa’s. It is either Christmas changes our world in anticipation of the Coming Christ again, or our world changes the Christmas, hence the Christmas shift. Christmas shift, a celebration in conformity to the pattern of this world, points to a doctrinal danger that substitutes the temporal for the eternal. The missional reality of Christmas as preparation for the coming Christ calls for personal transformation that keeps seeking the things above, where Christ is… (Col 3:1-2). Just as Christmas shifts impress and not imparting the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others, we spend more than we have or earn. Christmas shift shaped by the manoeuvres of the world system creates a false sense of theology, excitement, love and celebration.
Christmas shift is the loss of the substance of Jesus Christ in the shadows of all the Christmas celebrations in a broken world. Christmas shift through the distraction of decoration and feasting warns us to consider the reality of sin to repent and remember why we need a Saviour, now and in eternity. Christmas shift, a representation and expression of the real meaning of Christmas in seductive and attractive stories, points to a lifestyle in a fallen world. Christmas shift is an expression of something broken, wrong in the cosmos, a ‘severance between God and humankind … that overflowed into a brokenness in the systems we have built, in the governments we run, in the businesses we lead, and in the families, we grow.’ Christmas shift is a denial and departure from the redeeming reality of the Second Coming of Christ. At a time when the world system is failing and crumbling, Christmas warns against hiding from the missional reality of the eternal Christian hope, peace, love and joy (Jn 3:16). Christmas shift is the devil’s ploys and lies that make us to deny the Second Coming of Christ and thereby ruin the people, church, and nations.
It may be hard to truly comprehend a threat from the unseen and false reality of classic movies. However, God warns us that the threat of spiritual warfare is very real and to arm ourselves with the promise of the Second Coming of Christ. The topic of the Second Coming of Christ is one that some Christians find difficult to consider, courtesy of a real enemy, Satan, who comes to ‘steal, kill, and destroy.’ To experience the true essence of the birth of Jesus Christ and Who will come again, we must overcome the battle of commercialism and consumerism.
As said in Ephesians 6:12, our struggle is ultimately against “spiritual forces of evil,” meaning the real battle is the spiritual warfare of good versus evil. There is a spiritual war ongoing for the hearts of man, family, church, and nations as the forces of evil are turning people, churches, and nations away from God and separating us from Him. A war, even within the church beyond Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Palestine, is waging against Christmas, a battle for our hearts, our hope, peace, love, and joy.
Christmas celebration is a warning and assurance that Jesus Christ, born 2000 years ago, is the world’s hope, peace, love, and joy and is coming back as the Judge. The end-time signs are already appearing, and we should consider ourselves warned. The trajectories of world events – war, economic hardship, mortal decadence – are signs that the end is near.
The family and Christian marriage are not only under attack and redefinition, but the church is also under serious moral and leadership decadence and attacks beyond the physical attack of terrorism, a hurricane, or a forest fire. The ongoing attacks are much more subtle, seductive, and attractive but infinitely more dangerous.
Christmas shifts beyond celebrating Jesus, who comes as a baby in a manger to inaugurate His kingdom, warns and calls us to prepare for Jesus’ return to consummate His kingdom, face to face (Rev 19:15-16, Jn 14:1-3). The Coming Christ, our Saviour, will come again to judge the living and the dead, and this is a warning to the people, the church, and its leadership not to compromise the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Jn 10:14-18). The missional reality of the Coming Christ summons us to “Behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2); “Now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now, our salvation is nearer than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11).
Christmas is the time to honestly examine ourselves. Beloved, are you prepared to meet your Savior? Have you given Him your life? The missional reality of the Coming Christ urges us to make this passage our daily prayer: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23, 24).
Join me to sing one of Charles Wesley’s hymns prayerfully:
1 Lo! He comes, with clouds descending,
once for favored sinners slain;
thousand thousand saints attending
swell the triumph of His train:
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
God appears on earth to reign.
2 Every eye shall now behold Him,
robed in dreadful majesty;
those who set at naught and sold Him,
pierced, and nailed Him to the tree,
deeply wailing, deeply wailing, deeply
wailing,
shall the true Messiah see.
3 Every island, sea, and mountain,
heav’n and earth, shall flee away;
all who hate Him must, confounded,
hear the trump proclaim the day:
Come to judgment! Come to judgment! Come to judgment!
Come to judgment, come away!
4 Now redemption, long expected,
see in solemn pomp appear!
And His saints, by men rejected,
coming with Him in the air.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
See the day of God appear!
5 Yea, amen! Let all adore Thee,
high on Thine eternal throne;
Savior, take the pow’r and glory,
claim the kingdom for Thine own;
O come quickly, O come quickly, O come
quickly!
Alleluia! Come, Lord, come!
