Better is the end of a thing than its beginning. Ecclesiastes 7:8

Merry Christmas 2023 to you all! Woke up his morning thinking about the birth of the Lord Jesus.

We can and should all be thankful for the first Christmas (the birth of the Lord) but even more important is His death on Calvary's cross as God's perfect Son. He came to be the sacrifice for our sins, by suffering the judgment of God in our place. You see, the beginning (His birth) is wonderful but without the end (His death) there is no salvation for us.

Then my mind remembered the repentant criminal who died on the cross beside the Lord Jesus Christ. We read in the Gospel of Luke 23:42 that the Lord told him before dying: "Today you will be with Me in paradise." Can you understand this? A criminal went to heaven? How come? Perhaps you thought only good people go straight to Heaven! Dear friend, there is none good, no not one the Bible tells us in Romans chapter 3. 

The Lord came and preached the Gospel, He told the people who He was. But many rejected Him and His teaching, even religious people. The Lord said harlots (obvious sinners) will be in heaven before religious people (Matthew 21:31). Why? Because those 'obvious sinners' know who they are, just like that criminal on the cross, and they are ready to repent and trust the Saviour when they hear the message.  Don't let your 'good life' prevent you from seeing who you really are before a Holy God ... a sinner in need of God's mercy.

Knowing Jesus came, knowing He was perfect, knowing He died for our sins, knowing He rose from the dead to offer eternal life, is all great but unless you repent you shall perish.

Jesus said: "Repent and believe the Gospel." Mark 1:15

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May your Christmas be merry and bright!  

Claudine