Magyar Egyház, 1995 (74. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
1995 / 4. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 9. oldal that He had been with God since the beginning and that His purpose of coming to us was to bring God’s message to men. He said that to believe in Him meant to have life abundant, and to refuse to believe in Him meant to miss all what life was about. These are fantastic claims my friends. And the most incredible thing in all of this is, that He not only said these words, but He also backed up these claims with His own life. He lived a life that proved once and for all that He was not only man but also God. For none can say things and fulfill it in His own life as He did. His life and His teachings has changed the world. And when He died, He died with such power that the men on the Cross crucified next to Him said: “Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” The Roman soldier who was ordered to guard the Cross came to the confession which since then reverberates around the world as a witness of his faith and changed life: “Surely, this man must be the Son of God”. And what do you, what do we say about Him, as we make our journey to another celebration of His birth? For this is the most significant question because the answer to this question will determine our eternal destiny. We all have two options! We can accept Him for being of who He said He is and we can say: “I believe Jesus is the most unique man who ever walked the face of the earth, and I believe that He is the Messiah, the Son of God, and accept Him to be my Lord and my Savior. Or we can reject Him and all that He stood for, all that He taught, all that He died for and with it lose our own soul. We can reject Him as the biggest liar in the history of mankind and the greatest farce. No other alternative is open to any of us. It is my hope and prayer, that on this coming Christmas you and I and all of us together with the whole world will come to term with this Jesus, for by doing so, will determine the destiny of our life, and the coming birthday celebration will grant us the understanding that Christ is the reason for the reason. S.T. GOD WHISPERS IN ADVENT I believe each of us have heard this statement in the course of a conversation; “Where has the time gone?” I always say, there is the same amount of hours today as there was before. The sun does not move any faster now as when God first made it. The only thing moving faster is us! One day runs into the next and Sunday becomes just another work or shopping day. Our local merchants and employers have made sure of that, cost of living forces both parents to work, and day care centers are raising our children. Our spouse working two jobs is not unusual, so no wonder time seems to be moving faster, it is because we have fallen victim to this fast food, fast pace society. You probably have already said, “I can’t believe Christmas is already here? I have not paid last year’s Christmas debt yet!” Is this how Christ wants us to remember His birth? As trying to please our kids with too many toys and trying to figure a way to pay for them a year later? A song writer wrote: stop the world I want to get off! What can we do to change this picture, in the book of Psalm 46 :10., “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The purpose of Advent is to remind us of this fact. God wants to be exalted in our lives, but we must first be still and know that He is God! That is the problem how can we be still in a hurry up society? Look closely at this scripture, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth...but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven...for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Jesus saw our day when He said this in Matthew 6:19-21. We have been so conditioned surrounding ourselves with earthly things, that we forgot what is most important of all, a Saviour. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). If we cannot make time to meditate on God’s holy scriptures and exalt Him, not only in Advent but all year long, then we are truly in danger of losing heaven itself, because our priorities are out of order. With all the noise and commotion around you, remember Psalm 23:2-3. “He makes me to lie down in green pastures.- He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul:” Does your soul need restored today? Let us leave the babbling brook for some still waters. Let us stop racing against the clock, instead, may we lie down in God’s green pastures. You probably never noticed them before. It is time we reclaim this holiday season with a different attitude towards Christmas, our Lord’s birth, and begin to understand God’s grand design for you and me and our families in Advent. God spoke to Elijah with a still small voice, it was a quiet whisper (1 Kings 19:11-13). If Ellijah wasn’t being still, and waiting before God, he never would have heard it. When was the last time you heard His voice? Pastor Ken Sausman American Hungarian Reformed Church Youngstown, Ohio
