When I was an atheist, I thought Christmas was safely pleasant. Baby born in a manger tells us to be kind.
Yawn and pass the fudge.
Christmas is anything but safe. It's crushing and wondrous. When understood, it will change your life.
If that's confusing, let me explain…
Yawn and pass the fudge.
Christmas is anything but safe. It's crushing and wondrous. When understood, it will change your life.
If that's confusing, let me explain…
https://twitter.com/BrentBeshore/status/1342470804974481411
The Christmas story is either true or false. It describes God becoming human to rescue his beloved people, including you, or it’s the greatest hoax of all time. You must choose.
Jesus leaves no room to be merely a good teacher, or your occasional helper. He is nothing or God.
Jesus leaves no room to be merely a good teacher, or your occasional helper. He is nothing or God.
Jesus repeatedly and continually claimed to be God and the king of the universe, the incarnation of Yahweh, the God of the Jews and the God described in what Christians now call the “Old Testament.”
Jesus said he was the fulfillment of God’s promises and prophecies.
Jesus said he was the fulfillment of God’s promises and prophecies.
Jesus was a radical, who turned the world upside down.
He believed in the inherent value of all human life, which provided the basis for modern human rights, including women and children.
He defended the poor and oppressed, condemning only the self-righteous religious elites.
He believed in the inherent value of all human life, which provided the basis for modern human rights, including women and children.
He defended the poor and oppressed, condemning only the self-righteous religious elites.
Jesus’s family thought he was crazy and asked him to stop saying absurd things.
Huge crowds of followers of Jesus were often repelled by the implausibility of his claims, returning to their previous lives. Even Jesus’s closest friends and disciples abandoned him.
Huge crowds of followers of Jesus were often repelled by the implausibility of his claims, returning to their previous lives. Even Jesus’s closest friends and disciples abandoned him.
Jesus was crucified, the most brutal punishment available, reserved for the worst crimes and the worst criminals. He died with one possession, a cloak, which was gambled away as he hung on the cross.
All this is historically verifiable. Don't believe me? Do your own research.
All this is historically verifiable. Don't believe me? Do your own research.
Jesus’s character was remarkable. Tim Keller explains:
Simply put, Jesus is the only person in the history of the world to have claimed to be God, lived a life of enduring admiration, and changed the world.
Plenty of people claim to be God and were laughed at, ridiculed, and quickly forgotten.
Plenty of people claim to be God and were laughed at, ridiculed, and quickly forgotten.
Plenty of people, like Muhammed or Buddha or Confucius or Plato, lived lives of great admiration and changed the world.
But there is only one person in the middle of that Venn diagram.
Muhammed never claimed to be Allah. Buddha said he was not a god.
But there is only one person in the middle of that Venn diagram.
Muhammed never claimed to be Allah. Buddha said he was not a god.
In the history of the world, only Jesus claimed to be God and had large numbers of people believe him.
Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
He called himself the “living water.”
Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
He called himself the “living water.”
The story of Christmas has no marks of believable fiction.
It starts in the Middle-Eastern sticks, where a vulnerable baby was born to a poor family who would soon become refugees. This baby would grow up in obscurity, preach for a short time, then die a disgraceful death.
It starts in the Middle-Eastern sticks, where a vulnerable baby was born to a poor family who would soon become refugees. This baby would grow up in obscurity, preach for a short time, then die a disgraceful death.
And this poor outcast would change everything. Jesus would split time, conquer the greatest of world powers, and transform what we thought it meant to be human.
Jesus changed me. I hope he changes you.
Jesus changed me. I hope he changes you.
Merry Christmas my friends!
Today I celebrate the birth of Jesus, the man I once dismissed with sneering condescension, but who I now follow.
I pray for God's transformative presence and peace is with you and your family.
Today I celebrate the birth of Jesus, the man I once dismissed with sneering condescension, but who I now follow.
I pray for God's transformative presence and peace is with you and your family.
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