Have the Angels Rejoiced Over You?
The Bible tells us that the birth of Jesus was so important, that the Angels celebrated His birth:
In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men
with whom He is pleased."
The birth of Jesus is not the only important birth in Christianity. Read what Jesus said [His words in red]:
Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."
Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?"
Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."
Nicodemus said to Him, "How can these things be?"
Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
NOTE: From this passage we can see that that term "born again" is applied to those who "believe in Jesus".
Jesus also said this:
"Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel [good news] of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
To summarize, a person is "born again" when they "repent" and "believe". Jesus tells us what happens when that happens:
"Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? "When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!'
"In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
So this Christmas, as you consider the birth of Jesus, remember that His birth was so important that the angels rejoiced. And for those of us who are Christians, we can also reflect back on that particular point in time when the angels rejoiced over us.
If you are not a Christian, it is my hope that this Christmas you will consider doing something that would make the angels sing and dance.
Becoming a Christian is easy but hard. It does not cost more than you have, but it costs you everything that you have.
This is the simple transaction. You exchange your sinful life for the new life that Jesus can live through you [born again means being born of the spirit of God - Jesus].
You can begin with a prayer, in the name of Jesus, that includes the following:
1. Admit that you are a sinner and have sinned against God. Tell Him that you are sorry for your sin.
2. Thank Jesus for dying for your sins. Ask God to forgive your sins in the name of Jesus.
3. Commit your life to follow Jesus. Ask God to give you the strength to follow Him. [this is not about you living the Christian life - it's about letting Jesus live the Christian life through you]
4. Read the Bible (read the New Testament particularly) and ask God to teach you about how to serve him.
NOTE: You can change to John chapter 2 by simply replacing the number 1 with 2 at the top of the screen and clicking on "Update". For those who like to do Bible studies, this is a great web site because you can switch between any of many translations.