� Christmas is a Life in the Spirit Experience --------------------------------------------
� � �There was a famous man in Syria. He was the Commander in chief of the army of Syria.� His name was Naaman and he was afflicted with leprosy.� Naaman went to Elisha the prophet, expecting a cure for his illness.� Elisha prescribed the healing medicine and that was to dip himself in the muddy water of the River Jordan. He was healed of leprosy. The cleansing effect of the River Jordan brings home to us the Baptism that John administered. He even baptized Jesus. Baptism was to cleanse the sinners of their sinfulness and to fill them with the Holy Spirit.� Every healing is associated with Forgiveness and inner healing. Th! e cleansing action in river Jordan is associated with the outpouri9ng of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus emerged from the River, the Holy Spirit came and rested on him (Luke 3:22). � Coming to Naaman the Syrian, as he discovered the healing in his body. Naaman was filled with gratitude. He thought that it was the prophet who healed him. So Naaman offered gifts to the prophet but the prophet Elisha said �I will not accept any gift� 2Kings5: 16. When Elisha didn�t accept gifts, his servant by the name Gehazi felt bad. He knew that the prophet had very little to survive on. That was a problem for him too. Gehazi was was fired up to pursue the case. Mr. Gehazi considered this as a gold mine. As Naaman and party left the house of the Prophet Elisha, Gehazi followed the troops and Naaman alighted from his chariot as he saw someone was following the caravan. � Gehazi� inflicted with Leprosy ============================== � Gehazi, Elisha�s servant said to Naaman, � My master send me to tell you that just now two members of the prophets in the hill country of Ephraim has arrived and he would like to give them three thousand pieces of silver and two changes of fine clothes� 2 kings 5:22 � Naaman showed his gratitude by offering� six thousand pieces of silver and Gehazi hid them in the house of the prophet. Elisha asked him � Where have you been� and Gehazi his servant answered the usual way � Oh nowhere sir� But the Spirit of the Lord assisted Elisha and to say to Gehazi his servant,� Wasn�t I there in spirit when the man got out of his chariot to meet you. This is not the time to accept gifts� 2 Kings 5:26. As a punishment Elisha said, � Now Naaman�s illness will fall upon you and your descendants� 2 Kings 5: 27.� The curse became a reality in the life of Gehazi. Gehazi left the house of Elisha with his skin as white as snow. This is a clear proof for the Israelites that Leprosy was associated with sinfulness. � = Annanias and Sapphira lied to God and died ========================================== � The Acts of the Apostles mentions about a certain Ananias and Sapphira who joined the Christians but hid part of their wealth and lied to Peter.� Since the husband and wife decided to lie to the Spirit, Peter said to the husband �You haven�t lied to men. You have lied to God� As soon as Annanias heard this he fell down dead� Acts 5:4-5. Much the same thing had happened to his wife. Being unfaithful to God is deadly.� � Incurable Diseases as Punishment ================================ � There is also a mention in the Bible, of incurable diseases as a form of punishment from God � if you refuse to obey my law I will punish you. Incurable disease and fevers that will make you blind and cause your life to waste away� Leviticus 26:16. God said that the punishment would inflict the Israelites in a different form. God said,�I will turn against you so that you will be defeated� Leviticus 26:17.� God has� yet another form of punishment for us sinners.� When God turns against us, we will be terrified.� Having god against us, we feel frightened� to fear even our own shadows. God said that explicitly in the Book of Leviticus � You will be so terrified that you will run when no one is chasing you� Lev.26.17b. I think this is a kind of fear from which God alone could give emancipation. Sin is so deadly that it could! inflict the people in varied forms and with deadly impact. �The Lord will make you lose your mind� Deu.28.28. Sin is capable of exterminating the people. � He will send disease after disease on you until there is none of you left in the land� Deut. 28.21. � The Holy Book has numerous quotes about the sinfulness of mankind. When you read this mail, you may wonder, then who can be saved?� Our doubts reiterate the same question paused by the disciples of Jesus. They asked Jesus � Then who can be saved?�� I would say anyone who looks at Jesus and believes that he is the Messiah will find life worth living and will be saved. In this statement I do not mean that we have to disown or disobey the teachings of the Church and the traditions. We need to look at the hands and feet of Jesus and we need to stop doubting and we need to believe� (Ref. John 20:27). In the Acts of the Apostles we hear Paul�s answer to the Jailer. The jailer fell trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas and asked � Sirs what must I do to be saved?� Paul an! d Silas gave him the short cut to salvation.� They told him�� �Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you and your family will be saved� Acts.16: 31. � I am the Way, Truth and Salvation ================================= � Jesus alone is the way to salvation. Jesus said to Thomas his disciple very emphatically. � I am the way the truth and the salvation. No one goes to the Father except through me� John 14:6. Paul has strong words about faith and salvation. He confessed to the Romans his complete confidence in the Gospel. It is God�s power to save all who believe. Paul said to the Romans � as the Scripture, says, � The person who is put right with God through faith shall live� Romans 1:17. Being put right with God through Jesus Christ means that Jesus has brought us by faith into this experience of God�s grace. We have are not disgraced before God. We found favor with God. We are acceptable to God. � Sons and daughters of the Living God ==================================== � God is not only a punishing God. God is a saving loving Father. We as Christians are to love one another with the same love of the living God. In the book of Hosea, God�s love towards His people that is us, is reflected in the following, � The people who were not mine, I will call my people, the nation that I didn�t love, I will call my beloved� (Hosea 2.23). St. Paul says that these people whom God disliked because of their sinfulness will be loved by God and they will have a different name, rights and existence. � And the very same place where they were told, �You are not my people, there they will be called the sons of the Living God� (Hosea 1.10). God has called you and me as His Sons and daughters. We could rejoice because we are the sons and daughters of the Living God. I think this is the best Christmas consciousness, the appropriate Christmas gift for us. ! This is also a way for us to say thank you Lord for the Blessings in our lives.� To cap this qualification as the children of the living God, I like to quote St Paul as he talks about the Life in the Spirit. � Those who are led by the Spirit are God�s sons� and Daughters. (Romans 8:14). � As Christmas is a Life in the Spirit experience, may we continue the same Spirit through out our lives. � God Bless Fr Thomas Mathew Dec.28th 2001 California � ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: Click Here **************************************************************** This mail is generated from JOYnet, a Jesus Youth mailing list. 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