How did Jesus spend his birthday?
Whose birthday is it anyway?
How would Jesus want US to celebrate HIS birthday?
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; |take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
Matthew 25:34-36 New International Version (NIV)
“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine,
you did for me.”
Matthew 25:40 (NIV)
The resources of heaven do not fall from the sky; they are released through God’s people! God creates miracles through the resources that you and I hold in our hands. Moses’ staff [used to part the Red Sea], David’s five smooth stones [used to kill Goliath], the widow’s oil [which lasted much longer than it should have], six water jars at a wedding reception [Jesus turned water into wine], another widow’s two small coins [giving all she had], and a boy’s lunch comprising of five pieces of bread and two small fish [feeding 5000 families] – these are the resources that miracles are made of!
Mike Slaughter, Christmas Is Not Your Birthday
We love to use the word BUT…
It’s time to commit to losing our big buts! After all, Jesus doesn’t save us to get us into heaven but to get heaven into us. Jesus saves us for the purpose of channeling the resources of heaven onto earth. Jesus needs the five loaves and two fish that you have in your hand, not matter how futile your financial situation may seem.
Mike Slaughter, p. 59
Kingdom Economics 101
Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow.
Galatians 6:7 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
God releases the resources of heaven through obedient people. You are created to be the channel through which God’s blessings flow to meet the needs of God’s children. But Jesus needs what you are holding in your hand!
Mike Slaughter, p. 61
Whose birthday is it anyway?