When the angels announced the birth of Jesus, they said to the shepherds, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord... Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." See Luke 2. This would indicate Jesus came into this world to bring God's peace to us. Read John 1:1-14 to get a better understanding of God's plan for sinful man. Read John 3:1-21 to learn more.
When a person becomes a Christian, that person takes on the nature of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The life of Jesus is given in the first four Books of the New Testament Bible. We call these "The Gospels." These biographies of Jesus reveal Him from 4 different angles. They are actually one Gospel.
After a person becomes a Christian, that person must make a decision. How much of himself or herself will be given to God in loving service for God and others? God will give just as much of Himself to us as we are willing to give to Him. If we give Him everything, He will destroy the carnal spirit and fill us to overflowing with His Holy Spirit. When this happens we are able to love (self-giving love) God with all our heart, mind, soul and spirit without conservation or reservation. This enables us to love (self-giving love) our neighbor as ourselves. The evidence of this love is shown by its fruit. The fruit of a Christian is self-sacrificing love revealed in 8 different flavors. See Galatians 5:22-26.
A real Christian is the most loving, caring, sharing, giving person in the world. They will tell you the truth, even though it would be much easier to let you go on believing the lie. They will go out of their way to make your life more enjoyable. They are good parents, faithful spouses, loving neighbors, a real friend when you are in need, and so on. You will never find them living a perverted lifestyle. They are righteous people working behind the scenes, praying and longing for what brings you the greatest happiness. You will not find them in bars, reading filthy literature, acting like the devil, doing any of the works of the flesh, or ripping pages out of The Bible.
What the world needs now is:
love rather than hate;
peacemakers rather than piece makers;
joy rather than sorrow;
a helping hand rather than a kicking foot;
a faithful friend rather than a hypocritical enemy;
a lively hope rather than a helpless despair.
All of this is given through Christians giving of their time, treasures, and talents to bring the love of Jesus to your sin-sick world.
When you see a real Christian in your nation, your church or in your neighborhood, you can be assured they are out to bless you. They will never curse you to your face, or to your back.
As I stated in my last article, "Christians! Put Up or Shut Up," we Christians have put up with way too much and shut up for way to long. WILL THE REAL CHRISTIAN PLEASE STAND UP!
Christians are different. Christians commit themselves to a life of productive serve for God and others. Howard E. Wright's book, Fourteen Facets of Jesus' True Church, gives 14 different ways Christians relate with Jesus. If you are ready for the truth as it is in Christ Jesus that will give you a richer, fuller life, this book and others in his "God's Treasure Chest of Biblical Truth" series is for you.
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