"Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved."
Romans 10:1 (KJV)
I wonder what might your greatest wish be this Christmas? This is the one time of year where we are allowed to indulge in our dreaming, why even our Christmas cartoons tell our children this is the time of year, a special time, where dreams can and do come true. They say that if we can dream it, it can happen. Many of us have spent the last several weeks listening to our children telling us what they wish for this Christmas, I have a long list from my seven year old son, the list from my teenage son is much, much shorter but by no means cheaper! Video games are high on the list as well as a new Apple Ipad, ouch! Of course we cannot and will not grant every wish for our children, to do so would be to spoil them and teach them wrongly. We do believe in raising our children by the guidelines set forth in Scripture.
From the Scripture verse I gave we clearly see what the Apostle Paul desires. His desire is obvious, he "desires they might be saved!" I know what Paul desired, I know what my kids desire, I know what my wife wants, I even know what several family members and friends want, but I do not know what your Christmas desire is? I have no idea!
What is it that you desire? I know not every one is in the same financial position, I am aware of that fact, we cannot give the gifts we wish we could give either, just as you. Inside of your heart there is a wish, a wish you hide from most people, when asked you will tell those who asks a wish other than the one that resides in your heart, you will say something like, "I would love some of your peanut butter cookies that you make every year." or maybe you may say something like, "I have my eye on a new car" and laugh, but this is all smoke and mirrors, what is the one thing you truly desire above all else?
Is it the love of God? Well, if you are regenerated, then you already have that. Is it to be forgiven? Again, done deal there, is it to be adopted into the family of God? Your status as one of His children is solid. So I am getting at something a little deeper, maybe something that grows from the tree of righteousness that is inside of you now that you know Christ. You have been Justified, you are being Sanctified as you read this, you are promised by God to be sealed by His Holy Spirit until the day of your delivery to God's throne, Christ Himself will assure your delivery where you will be Glorified. All this is a done deal, why? Because the Sovereign God of the Universe said so!
Let me ask you another question that pertains to the first, "if you can give one special gift that will do the most good, that will in the long run be most appreciated, that will quickly be used and put into effect, what would it be? This gift will cost you nothing, will not take too much effort but will take tons of love. This gift will not sit in any driveway or under any tree, it will not fit in a stocking, but will be the one gift the person will never forget for as long as they live and then, even longer.
If you are truly one of Christ's sheep and you honestly follow your Shepherd, then your desire will be God's desire. To be Christians is not attending church every Sunday. Being Christian is not owning a Bible. Being Christian is not having a bumper sticker that reads "Got Jesus?," to be a Christian means you love the things God loves and you hate the things that God hates. It means you and God are on the same wave length in thought, word, and deed. To be a Christian means you show Christ to the world, no matter what the consequences, this is what Paul meant in these verses from Romans 10:,- "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Romans 10:9-10 (KJV)
These verses do not mean you stand up in your warm and cozy church and say "I love Jesus So Much." That is not "Confessing the Lord Jesus" confessing Jesus is when you share Him with the lost and you do so despite what may come of it! That knowing before hand if you share Christ with someone that they will most assuredly persecute you for it, and you confess Him as Lord anyway. That my friend, is confessing Christ! Anyone can stand in the friendly confines of their church and confess Jesus, but when their is a AK47 pointing at your head, well, that is a different story. When you know for a fact that once you share Christ with this man or that woman, that they will laugh at you, poke fun at you for months afterwards and they will mock you behind your back to everyone, and you confess Him anyway, now that is confessing Christ!
My desire for this Christmas, my one wish if you will, is that everyone who claims Christ will Confess Christ this Christmas! I do not care about what church you attend, I do not care what denomination you may be, I only wish that you share Christ with as many people as you can. There is no other present you can give to any man, woman or child in this world then to give them the gift of the Gospel. Don't fret that your bank account is low, or you cards are maxed out, you don't need them for this. All you need is a little time, a lot of love for your neighbors and the desire to fulfill your commission handed down to you from Christ Jesus. That is all you need! Find at least one person, it matters not who it is, but find one person and talk to them, it can be a stranger, in fact, maybe it should be a stranger. But find someone and share the Gospel. Tell them about Jesus Christ, tell them about how He washes away all our sins, tell them that only He can bridge the gap that separates them from God. Most people do not know this gap of separation even exists in the first place. That is why the need to share the Good News is so important.
This message, this plea will fall on deaf ears for the most part. Some will say this message is nice, or sweet but it will not encourage them to do anything, they will simply go about life as normal. We have become such a shut in, closed up society. We are friendly and open on the social networks that clog up the internet, but we are introverts in reality. This will remain to be true until you do something about it, until you take it upon yourself, don't wait for someone else to do it, you do it! Go out into the streets, the houses, the places of business and share the Gospel, speak up for crying out loud! What do you fear? Or is it that you just don't want to be bothered? If the later is true, may God have mercy on your soul and I praise God for not letting everyone be the way you are. If every one simply did not want to be bothered, then this world would stink even more than it does now! My Christmas wish, my one desire is to share the Gospel with a lost soul this Christmas time, knowing that no one can be converted without first hearing the Gospel, I understand all to well that someone has to be out there sharing, someone has to stand up for Christ and deliver His Words, someone has to be an ambassador, someone has to be brave, to be bold! Why can't this someone be you also?
Remember the verse I began with, Romans 10:1, Paul tells of his hearts desire, but let me show you what he says in the verses after that....
2 "For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. 5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. 6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) 7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) 8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!"
Romans 10:2-15 (KJV)
Dear Reader, if you are a Christian, then you have been called, you have been sent! There is no room for debate, there is no time for debate on this subject. If you are a Christian, you will bear witness of the glories of God. Give the gift of the Gospel this Christmas. Show your neighbor love. In fact, if you truly love your neighbor, you will give them the news that will give them eternal communion with God, in this life and the one to come. Show Christ how much you love Him for loving you!
Be Holy!
Shane C. Montgomery
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