I hope you had an awesome Christmas and are looking forward to starting 2018 with a focus on new life through the Resurrection . . .
Don’t worry! I haven’t forgotten that April is four months away! It’s just hard for me to separate my second most favorite time of year—celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, from my favorite celebration of the year—the Resurrection of Jesus Christ! It’s impossible to grasp the significance of one without the other. Christianity must have both in order to be the only true path to a relationship with the supernatural Creator of the universe! Unlike any other world religion, these holy moments amazingly fulfilled hundreds of prophecies about the Creator and Savior of mankind.
The humble cradle and the humiliating cross fulfilled many prophecies, but if even ONE prophesy about Jesus Christ proved false, He could not have been the promised Messiah. But guess what? We find Jesus fulfilled every prophecy, in every detail with perfect accuracy!
In fact, throughout the Old and New Testaments over 300 specific details were prophesied hundreds, sometimes thousands of years before Jesus fulfilled them. For example, His virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14), His birth in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), His heritage from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:8-12), His lineage from King David (Isaiah 9:7), His sinless life (Hebrew 4:15; 2 Corinthians 5:21), His atoning work for the sins of His people (Isaiah 59:5-9), His death on a cross with criminals (Isaiah 53:9), His burial with the rich (Isaiah 53:9), His Resurrection on the third day (Matthew 12:40), just to name a few reasons we know Christianity is the only religion validated with true historical facts!
Miraculous! Every aspect of Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection proved Him to be THE Messiah who had been prophesied to come long before the events ever unfolded in the timeline of human history. No wonder Jesus said to the pious, religious Jewish leaders of His day, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” (John 5:39).
The important journey from the cradle to the cross, from the lowly stable to the empty tomb remains paramount to Christianity. All efforts to eternally impact Christianity, Children, Churches, Communities, Continents and Culture become worthless without fully presenting the scarlet thread weaving CHRIST throughout Scripture from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation.
The great Evangelist Charles H. Spurgeon put it this way:
“I was surprised to find that I had not been copying the apostolic fashion half as nearly as I might have done. The apostles when they preached always testified concerning the resurrection of Jesus, and the consequent resurrection of the dead. It appears that the Alpha and the Omega of their gospel was the testimony that Jesus Christ died and rose again from the dead according to the Scriptures.”
Spurgeon revolutionized his preaching realizing the importance of authenticating the Resurrection and Christians today need this revival, too. Embracing the literal text of Genesis which firmly establishes the foundation for why we need a Savior, and being able to evidence the Resurrection with historical, prophetic, and scientific accuracy will empower your 2018!
If you have never done a thorough study of the Resurrection learning answers for the skeptic’s questions, you are missing out on a part of glorious rejoicing of both Christmas and Easter. As you begin 2018, how about planning to study the connection between Christmas and Easter in a new way?
A mere 13 weeks separate Christmas and Easter making the 12-week study, Risen Without a Doubt, perfectly fit your 2018 calendar. You’ll be surprised! Going through the videos and study guide will enable you to greet someone on Christmas and Easter with renewed jubilation and authority. “Merry CHRISTmas!” brings heightened joy when you can confidently declare, “He is risen! He is risen indeed!”
