So, When Do We Talk About Christ?
C-Suite for Christ
Covering the World in Christ. Unapologetically praising the Lord and bringing faith into the workplace. How's your soul?
By Paul M. Neuberger, Founder & CEO, C-Suite for Christ
“For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” – 1 Corinthians 9:16
With Christmas fast approaching, could you consider a follow-up question: Will you talk about faith during the holiday?
Christmas would seem to be the equivalent of low-hanging fruit for sharing the Gospel. It celebrates the birth of Christ! Could there be a more appropriate occasion to talk about Him?
One would think so. The first six letters of “Christmas” will always be “Christ.”
The elephant in the room is that while nearly everyone understands that Christmas is rooted in faith, few seem to acknowledge it anymore.
Christmas has shifted to a focus on gathering families, exchanging gifts, and breaking bread. Christ has taken a back seat … if He’s even allowed along for the ride.
Perhaps Christians fear “offending” others by raising the topic of faith … at a holiday with an undeniably religious origin. Or maybe it’s just not hip.
From a historical perspective, Jesus is widely viewed as an important, world-altering figure. Many say He was a great moral teacher. Even atheists admit He existed and claimed to be the Son of God.
So, we can discuss why Christ is famous … but not acknowledge His birthday. What’s wrong with this picture?
”For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.” – John 4:44
Opinions about who Jesus was run the gamut. Most scholars admit that His impact was as significant, or more so, than any other historical figure.
Still, other observers label Him a liar or lunatic, a fraud who’s somehow managed to pull the wool over the eyes of countless millions for 2,000 years. Are they sure He’s not a magician, too?
The Bible—perhaps the most thoroughly studied historical document?ever—offers ample support for Jesus's pure divinity.
Fully 27 percent of the Bible – more than 8,000 passages – is prophetic. Of these, more than 300 share details about a coming messiah's birth, life, and death.
Daniel 9:24-26, for example, predicts the dire fate of Jerusalem after an Anointed One arrives and is put to death. The New Testament recounting of Palm Sunday fulfills the prophecy.
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In Luke 18:31, Jesus tells his disciples, before entering Jerusalem, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written of the Son of man by the prophets will be accomplished.”
He later weeps over the city (Luke 19:41), saying that its enemies would “dash you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another in you; because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
The Bible abounds with uncannily accurate predictions about Christ. Yet, these writers lived centuries before Jesus was born. It’s as if several royal flushes were dealt in the same poker game – even though the chances of a single dealing are 650,000 to 1!
What are the odds? How could these prophets have gotten these details correct … unless God inspired them?
”We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the end.” – Hebrews 3:14
Perhaps these prophets were labeled as crackpots in their time. Still, they were ultimately proven correct.
In the words of 1 Corinthians 1:27, written much later: “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”
Many others have gone before us, risking their lives and reputations to carry the cross. As disciples, our duty is to keep moving forward.
So, have confidence in your faith. Be unafraid to share it - at holidays or any time.
Make it easy on yourself by asking others a simple query: “What do you think about Jesus?” Even if they aren’t sure, it’s an innocuous enough question.
From there, only Christ has the answers.
To contact Paul M. Neuberger, please email him at [email protected].
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Creator of Helping Angels random acts of kindness nonprofit organization that believes in sharing Acts of Kindness in hopes for humanity all over the world!
1 个月We talk about Christ the way he gives us love and mercy “All The Time”!!!
Driven by Faith | Following God’s Word in Uniting Communities | Fulfilling God’s Purpose Through Service and Outreach | Servant
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1 个月If you're going to talk about christmas... then know its origin please. This is very frustrating for us non christians. The core of Christian doctrine is based on mythic themes of earlier religions such as virgin births that coincide with winter solstice ( at that time - Dec 25th) , resurrections coinciding with the spring equinoxes, miracles, baptisms and the Sun Christianity is a parody of the worship of the sun… in which they put a man called “Christ” in the place of the sun.. and pay him adoration that was originally paid to the sun… And this dying and resurrecting godman is seen in other cultures throughout the world that predate jesus Earlier Egyptian religions are the primary foundational basis for later judeo Christian theology? CHRIST is not why Chrstmas originated.? The birth of the 'sun' in the winter was when the ancients knew the sun was lowest in the sky - this signaled to them that the days would be getting longer and the 'resurrection' would occur in the spring.. that “life” would be reborn? This was extremely important and something to celebrate if you were an agrarian society
Part Specialist at Honda of America Mfg., Inc.
1 个月Amen !!!!!