BY PASTOR T. O. BANSO
The word Christmas is not in the Bible, but the truth of the event being celebrated at Christmas canât be denied. Thereâs nowhere in the Bible the celebration of Christmas is stated or recommended, but thereâs equally nowhere itâs prohibited! What is important is not the origin of the celebration, but the person being celebrated, Jesus Christ.
Thereâs no sin in celebrating the birth of Jesus which Christmas is all about. However, we must not miss its significant lessons. Thatâs what I want to highlight in this message.
The 11 Significant Lessons
Of all the Gospels â Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John â only two (Matthew and Luke) record the story of the birth of Jesus foretold in the Old Testament.
From the account of the events around the birth of Jesus in Matthew and Luke (Matthew 1:18-25, 2:1-23; Luke 2:1-20), I have, by the help of the Holy Spirit, identified the following lessons:
1.Only Jesus can deliver anyone from sin. No religion or self-righteousness can save anyone from the power of sin. Matthew 1:21 clearly states that Jesus shall âsave his people from their sinsâ (NKJV). That includes you. No one can bypass Jesus and be saved. Jesus is the panacea for manâs sin. Anyone who fails to accept Jesus as LORD and Saviour, and is celebrating a Christless Christmas, will spend his eternity in hell-fire.
Peter, addressing the Sanhedrin, was categorical about it. He said, âThere is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be savedâ (Acts 4:12 NLT). Nothing else can save anyone; only Jesus saves (John 3:16-17).
Are you saved? Have you accepted Jesus as your LORD and Saviour? If youâll like to give your life to Jesus, please say the prayer at the end of this message.
2. God has a purpose for everyone to fulfill on earth. The angel of the LORD communicated the purpose of the birth of Jesus to Joseph. We read earlier that Jesus would save His people from their sins. He came so that the entire world would not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).
In the case of Samson, the angel told the mother, and confirmed it to Manoah, the father, that Samson would be a Nazirite and a deliverer (Judges 13:2-13).
God has a purpose for every child that is born, even if the child is born out of wedlock or out of an adulterous relationship (and this is not to encourage sexual immorality). Human beings canât, on their own, produce a child; they can only have sexual relations. It takes Godâs approval for such to become a human being.
God, in His sovereignty, can still use a child thatâs a product of an immoral relationship though He does not approve of the immoral act. That was why God could work through Solomon notwithstanding how King David, his father, married his mother.
That was why God could use Jephthah to deliver Israel despite the fact that his mother was a prostitute (Judges 11:1, 32-33). Verse 32 says, âJephthah led his army against the Ammonites, and the LORD gave him victory.â God used the son of a prostitute because he was also His creature; and He had a purpose for him, despite the circumstances of his birth. That wasnât Jephthahâs fault.
Just as God had a purpose for Jeremiah before he was conceived in his motherâs womb (Jeremiah 1:5), He has for you, too. This season, you must prayerfully find out that purpose if you havenât yet. If you have, devote yourself to the fulfillment of it above all. Jesus lived, very conscious of the purpose of God upon his life (John 12:27, 18:37).
3. Godâs Word shall come to pass, no matter how long. The birth of Jesus was a fulfillment of prophecies of several years, right from the book of Genesis. âAnd I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heelâ (Genesis 3:15 NLT). The devil fought against the prophecy from generation to generation but failed. He didnât know how the Word God had spoken would come to pass. âBut Godâs Word must produce fruit and accomplish all He wants it to, and prosper everywhere He sends itâ (Isaiah 55:11).
Matthew 1:22-23 says, âAll of this happened to fulfill the LORD’s message through his prophet:Â ‘Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and he will be called Immanuelâ (NLT). Over 700 years before Jesus was born, Prophet Isaiah had prophesied his birth: âAll right then, the LORD himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means âGod is with usâ)â (Isaiah 7:14 NLT). A virgin shall conceive a child! How? The prophet might have looked like a fool.
Isaiah prophesied again Jesusâ birth in Isaiah 9:6-7. The magi were the ones that came to create the awareness of his birth in Jerusalem, asking where the newborn king of the Jews was. Herod then asked the leading priests and teachers of religious law for confirmation (Matthew 2:4-6).Â
In Luke 1:67-79, Zechariah, in his prophecy, also referred to prophecies long before then about the birth of Jesus. Not only was Jesusâ birth a fulfilment of prophecy, certain events in his life like being carried to Egypt and back to Nazareth and his eventual death and resurrection were all fulfillment of prophecies.
What God has said about you shall come to pass. Perhaps youâre discouraged because youâve waited for long. The Word of the LORD concerning your life shall find fulfillment soon. God has not changed His mind about what He said He would do for you. It is impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:18). Balaam declared, âGod is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?â (Numbers 23:19 NLT)
If God wonât do it, He wouldnât have said it. Therefore, hold on to His Word. âBut these things I plan to do wonât happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!â (Habakkuk 2:3 TLB).
Christmas tells us that the Word of God shall come to pass. Very soon, you shall experience your own âthat it may be fulfilled that which was said by the mouth of the LORD.â Amen!
4. Nothing is impossible with God. Who would have thought that a virgin would give birth to a child? Nevertheless, it happened so that what God had said might be fulfilled. Mary herself was surprised that, as a virgin, she would conceive and have a child. She asked the angel, âBut how can this happen? I am a virginâ (Luke 1:34 NLT).
It was a justifiable question because it had never happened before. She must have heard about 90-year old Sarah giving birth â at least her husband slept with her. However, how can a virgin become pregnant without a sexual relationship with any man? Only God could have done that! The angel told Mary that her conception would be by the Holy Spirit, for nothing is impossible with God (verse 37).
Mary responded in faith: âI am the LORD’s servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants. May everything you have said come trueââ (verse 38 NLT). That should be your attitude. Mary might not have understood everything the angel said! However, she chose to believe the Word of God by the angel. Sometimes we may not fully understand what God has promised to do! Trying to reason out how it shall happen is a waste of time. Just believe and say as Mary said. You donât have to understand God; just believe Him. The Bible says Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness (Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23). It wasnât that he understood God.
The Bible says it was by faith that Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise (Hebrews 11:11). God did (Genesis 21:1-2).
Nothing is final until God has spoken! Donât join people to say what God says Heâll do is impossible. Do you remember the story of that personal assistant to the king who dismissed as impossible what Prophet Elisha said would happen? He saw it come to pass but he died as the prophet had said (2 Kings 7:1-2, 16-20).
Never doubt the Word of God. If it is the Word of God, it shall surely come to pass. Jesus told the Sadducees, the religious leaders, arguing with him about the resurrection: âYour mistake is that you donât know the Scriptures, and you donât know the power of Godâ (Matthew 22:29 NLT). Never make that mistake. Always make an allowance for the power of God. Nothing is impossible for God to do.
Jesus conveys this truth but, in a different context, in Matthew 19:26: âHumanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possibleââ (NLT). Luke 18:27 also records the words of Jesus: âWhat is impossible from a human perspective is possible with Godâ (NLT).
On another occasion, Jesus told His disciples, ââIf you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, âMove from here to there,â and it would move. Nothing would be impossibleââ (Matthew 17:20 NLT). Nothing is impossible for God, and nothing is impossible for a man with faith in God.
Is it healing, deliverance, provision, or help you need? Whatever it is, Godâs power is able to do it in your life. God can do all things. His name is âI AM WHO I AM and WHAT I AM and I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BEâ (Exodus 3:14 AMP). Heâll be whatever you need Him to be.
Donât give up; trust in God. If itâs possible for a virgin no man slept with to become pregnant and have a child, why do you think God wonât give you, a married woman, your own child? He answered Hannah, and Heâll answer you. He remembered Elizabeth, and Heâll remember you. God opened the womb of Rachael, and Godâs power will open your womb also. Youâll be fruitful this season in the name of Jesus. This time next year, youâll dance with your baby. This time next year, youâll celebrate Christmas with your miracle in the name of Jesus.  Amen!
5. You canât query Godâs choice. Why was Mary the woman that the angel visited with the assignment to give birth to Jesus? Was she the only virgin? You canât query Godâs choice. It wasnât Maryâs fault! She was Godâs choice.
There is something about divine choice. Once God chooses someone for something, He has chosen the person, and thatâs final. People may complain that itâs not fair. However, we fight against Godâs choice at our own peril. It is only wise to agree with Godâs choice.
Mary, most probably, wasnât the only virgin at that time, and even in her family, but God chose her. When God chooses someone for visitation, to change his story, nobody can stop Him. People may think the person is not qualified, but God does not wait for peopleâs opinions before He chooses to bless or promote a person. He chose Rahab the harlot to be an ancestress of our Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5). He chose the Samaritan woman who had been married to five men (and wasnât married to the man she was living with then) to open the door of the Samaritan village, Sychar, to Jesus for the whole village to believe (John 4).
You canât query Godâs choice. God often uses the most unexpected people. To announce the birth of Jesus to others, God used the shepherds who were taking care of their sheep in the night. The angels came to inform them about the birth of Jesus. They went to Bethlehem, found Mary and Joseph, and saw the baby, lying in a manger. They announced it to everyone (Luke 2:8-18).
Why did God have to send such an important message through shepherds who, according to some Bible scholars, had no credibility with the people in the Jewish society at that time? These scholars said the once noble shepherding profession had so degenerated at that time among the Jews that they would not believe shepherds unless there were other persons who could confirm their words.
According to them, they were not even admitted in courts as witnesses because they were considered as dishonest! They were despised. If what these scholars said was truly the case, it means God sent an important message through messengers that the Jewish people were not likely to believe. But they were Godâs choice. The people might have despised the shepherds, but Jesus didnât. He chose later in his ministry to call himself the good shepherd (John 10:11, 14).
God has already chosen you for an assignment. There is a destiny that only you have been chosen and designed to fulfill. People may be aware of your shortcomings and weaknesses and may feel youâre not the right candidate for such an assignment. What a pity! It is too late! Itâs useless for anybody to complain about your choice by God. God doesnât need anybodyâs intelligence report! He didnât make a mistake choosing you. He knows youâre not perfect. All you need to do is cooperate with His shaping hands; submit yourself to Godâs process.
(i) Being Godâs choice brings Godâs favour. The angel told Mary âRejoice, highly favored one (Luke 1:28a NKJV), and again in verse 30, said, âYou have found favor with Godâ (NKJV). When God chooses you, youâre favoured. Men donât have an option; they must favour you. I say to you, âYou are highly favoured.â This season and always, youâll experience high favour! The favour of God upon someone canât be divorced from divine choice. When God favours someone, no one can disfavour the person. Favour is crucial to success in life. No one can make it in life with disfavor!
All through the Bible, we read about those who found favour with God and with human beings. People like Joseph, Samuel, Jesus, etc. Jesus had favour with God and with men (Luke 2:52). The Bible talks of Naphtali satisfied with favour and full of the blessing of the LORD (Deuteronomy 33:23). That will be your own experience henceforth in Jesusâ name. Youâll enjoy divine favour as from today. Youâll experience uncommon favour. God and men will be favourably disposed towards you. Your life shall be perfumed with favour in Jesusâ name.
(ii) Being Godâs choice brings Godâs blessing. The angel told Mary, âBlessed are you among women!â (Luke 1:28b NKJV). God singled her out among women to bless her. Her sister, Elizabeth, also reiterated the angelâs words though she was not there when the angel spoke to Mary. She said, âBlessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!â (Luke 1:42 NKJV)
Mary confessed she was blessed when she said in verse 48, âFor behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessedâ (NKJV). All this was because God had chosen her. I pray that God will single you out for blessing anywhere you go. Youâll enjoy divine blessing in Jesusâ name.
(iii) Being Godâs choice brings divine presence. Still on Luke 1:28. The angel told Mary, âThe LORD is with you.â The presence of the LORD in oneâs life will make all the difference. David said, âI know the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside meâ (Psalm 16:8 NLT). In Psalm 59:10, which David wrote when Saul sent soldiers to watch his house in order to kill him, he said, âIn his unfailing love, my God will stand with me. He will let me look down in triumph on all my enemiesâ (NLT). The presence of God, especially in difficult times, is invaluable.
If God is with or for you, it doesnât make any difference who is not currently with you or for you. When youâre succeeding without them, theyâll come back to you! God was with Mary, and He was enough for her! Joseph was already thinking of how to divorce her secretly before he realized that God was on Maryâs side. âSo, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose?â (Romans 8:31 TM) With God on your side, you can never lose.
You can read in the Bible about different people who enjoyed the presence of God, even in the most hostile environment. Look at Joseph, for example. God was with him in Potipharâs house and even in the prison. The impact of the presence of the LORD with him made his life enviable. Mary enjoyed the presence of the LORD by divine choice and divine favour. You, also, shall enjoy divine presence, just as God promised Moses. âThe LORD replied, âI will personally go with you, Moses, and I will give you restâeverything will be fine for youââ (Exodus 33:14 NLT). God will personally go with you and it shall be well with you in Jesusâ name.
6. There is safety in listening to divine leading. I wonder what would have happened if Joseph had not been sensitive to divine leading. The Bible shows us four occasions when the angel guided Joseph in a dream, and on all the occasions, he followed divine guidance.
In Matthew 1:24, the Bible says, âWhen Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the LORD commanded. He brought Mary home to be his wifeâ (NLT). That followed the angelâs appearance to him in a dream, telling him not to divorce Mary as he had planned, explaining to him the source of the pregnancy.
The second time was the angelâs guidance he received to escape with Jesus to Egypt. His obedience preserved the life of Jesus (Matthew 2:13-15). Herod, in anger, got children from two years old and under killed, hoping that Jesus would have been killed along with others. However, Jesus had escaped!
The third time was after the death of Herod. He was led in a dream to return to the land of Israel from Egypt because those who sought to kill the child were dead (Matthew 2:19-21).
The fourth time the Bible tells us he followed divine leading was after he had returned to the land of Israel, and he was led to live in the town of Nazareth (Matthew 2:22-23). Jesus was preserved because Joseph obeyed divine leading. Some people would have received the same leading but fail to obey.
Some could have said since Jesus was the Son of God, no Herod could harm Him! That would have been presumptuous. How many Christians have fallen victim to danger because, rather than obey divine leading, they acted presumptuously? There is safety in obeying divine leading.
7. There is an appointed time for everything. Ecclesiastes 3 tells us about different times for different things. There is a time for everything. There are specific times that God has appointed for different things to happen. If we force them to happen prematurely, they, like preterm babies, will be expensive to maintain. Luke 2:6 says, âAnd while they were there, the time came for her baby to be bornâ (NLT). Be patient. The time will come for that thing that God has promised to be born in your life. The Bible says to follow with faith and patience those that inherit the promises (Hebrews 6:12).
The LORD told Abraham that at the appointed time, he shall visit Sarah and she shall have a son (Genesis 18:13-14). The King James Version uses the phrase âat the appointed time.â The New Living Translation renders the phrase âthis time next year.â
God can do all things, but there is an appointed time. Our ignorance of the appointed time, sometimes makes us come under pressure and we want our miracles at our own time, not Godâs time.
Sometimes we think that through prayer and fasting or by using more faith we can make God do things earlier than the time He has set for them! By doing that, weâre only wearing out ourselves. We need to believe God and stop being anxious. We need to trust in Him to do things in His own way and in His time. âHe hath made everything beautiful in his timeâŠâ (Ecclesiastes 3:11 KJV). Iâm not ignorant of the fact that sometimes there is demonic delay or resistance, which we have to fight spiritually for our miracles to manifest.
âAnd while they were there, the time came for her baby to be bornâ (Luke 2: 6 NLT). The baby, Jesus, was born when the appointed time had come â when Mary was there; when she was ready. When the time for what God had appointed for you to be born comes, it shall be born. Donât pressure yourself or allow anyone to pressure you. Your time shall surely come. God knows when youâre there â when youâre in the right position for your delivery!
8. If a manger is all thatâs available to you, use it. Most times in life, you wonât have the perfect condition to do what you want to do. If you canât find a cradle (a babyâs bed), use the manger that God has given you. âFarmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvestâ (Ecclesiastes 11:4 NLT).
Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but the Bible doesnât state the exact place. The traditional belief is that He was born in a stable. However, the Bible only states that after Jesus was born, Mary laid him in a manger. âShe gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for themâ (Luke 2:7 NLT). Instead of the word lodging, the New King James Version and some translations use the word inn (Greek: Kataluma) â a lodging place or a guest room as the same Greek word used in Luke 22:11 is translated.
Different interpretations have been given to the meaning of an inn with no room and a manger (Greek: Phatne). There are also diverse suggestions about where Joseph and Mary found shelter and Jesus was eventually born. However, Jesusâ first bed was a manger â âa feeding-trough, crib, or open box in a stable designed to hold fodder for livestockâ (Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary). The lowly manger underscored his humility.
Sometimes youâve got to use what is available for a start. Donât insist on a cradle when what God wants you to have is a manger. Jesus started His life in an animal feeding trough as his cradle! God knew that Jesus, His son, would be born, yet He didnât provide room in an inn (a lodging place) or a cradle. It wasnât an accident or an oversight.
The Son of God was born and laid in a manger, and no one was aware of it except the angels and the shepherds. The sign the angel gave the shepherds was a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger (Luke 2:12), and they found it so. The magi only saw His star and located Him to worship him. There are times God makes you start something in a place where youâre kept away from public attention; He wants you, at such a time, to be in obscurity.
Donât try to expose yourself when God still wants you to be in obscurity to develop you. He knows the right time for your manifestation, so stay there, until God changes the season. There is a difference between premature exposure and divine manifestation.
Jesus Christ did not start his public ministry until He was 30 years old. Before then, the last we heard of Him was when He was 12 years old and was sitting in the midst of the religious teachers in the temple in Jerusalem, listening to them and asking them questions (Luke 2:42-51).
He did not start His ministry until He had received power after praying and fasting for 40 days and 40 nights (Matthew 4:1-2). After He had overcome Satanâs temptations, the Bible says, âThen Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spiritâs power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyoneâ (Luke 4:14-15 NLT).
The time of Jesusâ preparation was in obscurity. Many people today desire premature limelight; they donât know that the preparatory years are usually in obscurity. Wait until God is ready to release you to the public.
Jesus was born and laid in a manger. Donât despise your manger â your small beginnings (Zechariah 4:10a). Thatâs not your end; itâs just your beginning. âThough your beginning was small, yet your latter end would increase abundantlyâ (Job 8:7 NKJV). The New Living Translation renders it thus: âAnd though you started with little, you will end with much.â
Where you start is not as important as where you finish. âBetter is the end of a thing than the beginning thereofâ (Ecclesiastes 7:8a KJV). The New Living Translation says, âFinishing is better than startingâŠâ
9. Some things must first happen before some things will happen. This is related to the last lesson. Unless the things that are supposed to happen before something have happened, those things that are supposed to happen after wonât happen.
The birth of Jesus must be preceded by the birth of John; hence, Elizabeth must be pregnant before Mary. At the time the angel visited Mary, Elizabeth was already six months pregnant (Luke 1:35-36). Because of the role John the Baptizer would play in the ministry of Jesus Christ, God scheduled him to be born before Jesus.
God has planned out our lives from eternity past, and He alone knows the sequence of events in our lives. Some things will never happen until some things first happen! We canât speed up those things to happen before the time God has scheduled them; we can only pray that they wonât be delayed.
In Jeremiah 29, God warned the captives not to listen to fake prophets prophesying their release because the appointed time was 70 years in Babylon. Some things must happen before their release would happen. Their release would not come before then, yet some fake prophets were giving them false hope. God told them to continue with their normal life (verses 4-14).
For Jesus to be born in Bethlehem, the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus, must, at that time, decree that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. This would compel Joseph, a descendant of David, to travel to Bethlehem, in Judea, with his wife, and Jesus would be born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:1-7; Matthew 2:2). The emperor didnât know God was using him to fulfil prophecy. Prophet Micah had prophesied that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). Because of Maryâs pregnancy, Joseph might never have travelled to Bethlehem with Mary at the time of Jesusâ birth if not for the census.
Please understand that some things must happen in your life before some things will happen. God has ordered your life and everything in sequence; everything is interwoven and interconnected. All you can do is to pray against satanic delay and evil forces that want to make you stagnant in life.
10. Your destiny will make some people happy and make some people mad. The magi were happy, seeing the star, and traced it from the Far East to the house where Baby Jesus was. They worshipped Him and gave Him gifts (Matthew 2:9-11).
Conversely, Herod was angry and mad! He saw the birth of Jesus as a threat to his throne, not knowing that Jesus was not after his throne. He plotted how to kill Him. After being beaten by the magi to his clandestine plan to kill Jesus, he ordered the killing of babies from two years old and under (Matthew 2:16-18).
Not everybody will be happy about Godâs purpose for your life or your divine assignment. Not everybody will come to celebrate you like the shepherds and the magi celebrated Jesus at His birth. Some people, as Herod did, will plot to kill you. Many others will speak ill of you. Whatever happens, remain focused even if some rejoice with you or rejoice at what God is doing in your life.
11. Sometimes God permits those who want to kill you to die. God has a purpose for your life. Youâll only fulfill that purpose when youâre alive. Thatâs why God will keep you alive. Therefore, you should choose to be alive and not die! Obey Godâs Word and follow His guidance. The psalmist said, âI will not die; instead, I will live to tell what the LORD has doneâ (Psalm 118:17 NLT). Premature death is not your portion. Psalm 91:16 says, âI will satisfy them with a long life and give them my salvationâ (NLT).
You donât have to waste your precious time praying that those who want to kill you should die. If God decides that their death is better, theyâll certainly die that seek your life â if they donât repent. God may also decide to keep them alive, but render them incapable of killing or harming you.
Those who make themselves your enemies, have made themselves Godâs enemies, by virtue of your covenant relationship with God. Godâs wrath is against them because they want to destroy the work of God, which you are. Godâs Word and His pattern of operation confirm this. Psalm 37:20 says, âFor yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, but it shall be no moreâ (NKJV).
Haman already perfected his plot to kill Mordecai, but God cancelled that evil plan. The king ordered Haman killed instead (Esther 7:9-10). He died in place of Mordecai. God may pass the same judgment that those who plan to kill you will die in your place. Theyâll be caught in the trap theyâve set for you and fall into the same pit theyâve dug for you (Psalms 35:8; 57:6).
Herod wanted to eliminate Jesus but Jesus outlived him! Â (Matthew 2:19-20). Youâll outlive all your enemies in Jesusâ name. Their evil expectations shall perish (Proverbs 10:28).
Conclusion: Glory to God for the gift of His Son and the lessons from His birth. The greatest lesson is that only Jesus can save anyone from sin and hell. Therefore, if youâre not born again, invite Jesus into your life today. If youâre born again, depart from iniquity and present your body to God as a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to Him (Romans 12:1). I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life â your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto you today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The LORD be with you.
 
T. O. Banso is the President, Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
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