Obviously you came to this website to learn how to make money online, but I’ve got Good News for you!  There’s something much more important that I would like you to think about.

Ever Wondered What Christmas Is All About?

Shopping, gifts, food and family – Christmas is by far my most favorite time of the year. When I was young I loved it because we received lots of presents. As I got older, (and wider) I enjoyed Christmas because of all the great food. Each year, because of various family gatherings we always had somewhere between 3 and 5 turkey dinners which, for an avid eater, makes for a good time!. Of course there’s the music associated with Christmas as well, which I also enjoy, although hearing the same song 9 times per day is a bit annoying.

So it seems that we have a pretty good grasp on what Christmas is all about – family. But, is it possible that there’s more to Christmas than all the festive activities that we enjoy this time of year?

There are two other sides to Christmas that our world seems to be racing to try to forget – the historical and the spiritual. From an historical perspective, we have been taught that Jesus of Nazareth was born to an unmarried virgin, Mary, in a stable or cave in the City of David. From this historical view , it’s very hard to dispute that Jesus of Nazareth lived around 2000 years ago, was a carpenter and had 12 men that followed him closely and also that He died a terrible death, nailed to a cross. These are facts that are known not only from the Bible, but also from historians outside of the Bible and it’s because of Jesus’ birth that we celebrate Christmas. While his birth did not take place on December 25^th,, this is the day that was chosen as the day to celebrate His birth.

So Why Is Jesus So Controversial?

Now comes the controversial part that has been dividing people for over 2000 years. Jesus is said to be the Son of God, who was foretold of in the Hebrew Bible for thousands of years prior. His birth, life and even his death fulfilled many prophecies that had been written down in the Old Testament many years earlier. These prophecies were so specific that it would be impossible for any person to fabricate them into existence. He was a controversial man when he started traveling around to various town, cities and villages at age 30, healing people of serious diseases, associating with people of questionable character, and angering the religious and political powers of His day. Then, for no crime that he committed, Jesus was betrayed by one of His associates, captured and subsequently nailed to a cross and left to die beside two known criminals. It would seem that Jesus was somewhat of a rebel that he was killed because of His radical views and actions.

While on earth Jesus claimed to be the Son of God and the promised Messiah to the Jewish people. One of His most controversial statements was this: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, but by me”. So is He saying that you have to somehow associate with Him to get to His father a.k.a. God? That’s exactly what He was saying and it has angered the religious elite, political rulers and leaders of other religions since it was said long ago. To make the situation even more radical tot he people of that day, He claimed to BE GOD, which was a pretty big claim! He questioned the ideas of the religious people of that day, who believed that if they followed a set of laws, performed animal sacrifices to atone for their sins and living a morally upright life in public, they would earn favor with God and therefore go to heaven when they die.

Have These Idea’s Changed?

As a child many of us were sent to Sunday School where we learned about God, the Golden Rule and many more morally good things. Over the years we attended church on Christmas and Easter, gave a few dollars to the Salvation Army and have tried our best to live a good life. When most of us look at our lives, we could agree that we’re pretty good and we’re sure that when we die, we’re going to heaven. You would likely say that overall, you’re a good person, right?

I’m A Good Person – I Will Go To Heaven

If I were to ask you if you were a good person, I’m almost positive that you would say that you are; Am I right? Since you are a good person, you believe that most likely you will go to heaven when you die.

In order to actually tell if you are good enough to get into heaven, why don’t we take a little test and that way you can be sure. Every test needs to have a basis – a starting point to judge by, so for this purpose we’ll look at the standard that most of our laws are based upon and the same standard that Jesus himself would use – The 10 Commandments. Whether you are religious or not, I think it’s safe to say that it’s a pretty good place to start.

Question #1 – Have You Ever Told A Lie?

I think we can all agree that we have indeed lied. Whether it was a lie to our Mom and Dad, a Spouse, a friend – no matter how big or small, I’m sure you cannot deny that you have told a lie. Unfortunately one of the 10 Commandments is “Thou Shall Not Lie”. Bad news for all of us I’m sure. If I lied to you, you would call me a liar – So…If you have ever told a lie, you’re would also be called a liar. A person who murders one person is a murderer, just the same as a person that lies is a liar.

Question #2 – Have Your Ever Stolen Anything?

Think back to when you were a kid. Money from Mom and Dad, candy etc. Or what about that office stationary that you took from work or downloading illegal MP3s’ or movies? I will have to say yes to this one and I think you would be lying to me if you were to answer no. Again, if I stole something, you would call me a thief – So…If you have ever stolen anything, you are a thief.

Question #3 – Have You Ever Committed Adultery?

Pretty heavy question isn’t it! One of the commandment states “Thou shall not commit adultery”. While you may not have cheated on your spouse, I’ve still got some bad news. Jesus actually went a step further on this one and said that if you even LOOK at a person lustfully, you have already committed adultery in your heart! OH MAN…failed again! I’m not doing too well here. If you have looked at someone in an inappropriate manner, you are an adulterer at heart.

Question #4 – Have You Ever Take the Lords Name in Vain?

This one is pretty broad but can include saying things like: Oh ***, JC, GD etc etc. One of the 10 commandments states that “You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain” and God has said that He will judge those that take his name in vain, or use it in a careless manner. Failed again. If you have ever taken the name of the Lord in vain, you the Bible says that “God will not hold him guiltless, who takes the name of the Lord in vain”. This is a serious offense and will not be taken lightly.

Sorry…I didn’t make the rules!

How Did The Test Go?

I think we’ll stop there because I’m not doing too well and I bet you aren’t either. That’s just 4 out of the 10 commandments and I’ve broken ALL of them so far. Even if you have only broken 1, the Bible says that if you have broken 1, you have broken all of them.

Surely you can now see that you ARE NOT a good person. You are a liar and thief, you have taken God’s name in vain and you are an adulterer at heart.

Now when you die and stand before God what are you going to tell Him? Why should He let you into heaven? Clearly it’s not because you are a good person. Maybe to others around you, you look pretty good, but to God – You are a criminal that has broken his commandments.

So how do we fix this problem? You may say “there’s no way that a loving God would punish someone for something this trivial when I have done a lot of good things – It all evens out”

Well, lets think of this – God is a judge and if you were in a court of law, would the judge let you go if you had committed terrible crimes, yet you volunteered at the homeless shelter? NO, the fact that you have done good things has no connection with the fact that you still committed a crime and payment has to be made. What about a judge that KNOWS about crimes that were committed, yet does nothing to see that justice was carried out. Would you call him a good judge? No, a judge that does not punish people for their crimes would not be a good judge, but a corrupt one. God is a good judge and therefore, HE MUST punish people for breaking His laws.

So the very bad news is this: We are ALL guilty – Every one of us whether we like it or not and if we died TODAY, we would have to stand before God and be judged. Now for the worst news of all – Those whom God judges and are found guilty will end up in a place called hell – a place of eternal torment. It’s not going to be a party place, but a place of eternal hate, punishment and pain. You just went through the test and found out that you ARE guilty. God is not going to overlook your sins; Because He is good, He must see that justice is satisfied.

You are guilty and you have no way to make payment or restitution for your sins. No amount of good can erase the bad that you have done, just like a murderer cannot erase his bad actions just by doing a few good things.

How Can I Earn My Way To Heaven?

Short answer – You can’t. It’s a free gift.

Lets look back to the court of law scenario. Let’s imagine you’re just about to be hear the punishment for crimes that you know that you committed – Maybe tax fraud or theft and the penalty for the crime is a $100,000 fine. At the very last moment as the judge is about to give you the dollar figure that you must pay, a man who you don’t even know walks into the courtroom and says to the judge “Judge, I cashed in all my retirement savings and here’s the money to cover this mans fine”. Wow…A guy you don’t even know paid your fine and now you are free to go. He did it out of love and concern for you and he does not want to be paid back. He gave it as a free gift, not based on your talent, good looks, good deeds or anything else. How grateful are you to this man for paying your fine? Don’t you think this man deserves more than a Christmas card each year!

A True Christmas – The Best News You Will Ever Hear

Just like the man in the courtroom that paid your fine, over 2000 years ago, God came to earth in the form of a baby – Jesus Christ. He lived a perfect life, never sinning even once. Then He suffered and died a horrific death on the cross and in that He took ALL your sins and mine upon Himself. You and I deserved to be punished for our offenses, but Jesus took the punishment that should have been mine and yours. Even though you did the crimes, Jesus took the punishment for you.

Wow…Great News! – It’s called the “Gospel”, which means “Good News”.

It gets even better though. After 3 days in a sealed tomb, He rose from the dead, appeared to over 500 eyewitnesses and then ascended into heaven where He sits at the right hand of the Father – God. He abolished death and gave you and me the ability to live forever in heaven.

What’s the Catch?

While you will never be good enough for heaven based on your own abilities and actions, the Good News is that you don’t have to be. Jesus already paid the penalty on your behalf and now, what God requires of you and me to make things right are these two things:

1. Repent – This means to turn around, stop sinning and apologize to God for your sins against him. Realize that you are not a good person and that your actions have angered and offended God.

2. Faith – Now you just have to have faith that Jesus exists, that He died on the cross for YOUR sins. You know you can’t earn it because you will never be good enough, but you acknowledge that Jesus already died and paid the penalty for your sin. It is a free gift to those who turn from their sins and put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. It’s a free gift, but you will not be forced to take it.

The Skeptics

Some of you may be thinking, “that’s good for him, but I don’t actually believe what the Bible says so it does not apply to me.” That’s an interesting statement, but the problem with it is this; It doesn’t matter what you believe, because it’s not what you believe that determines reality. Just because I believe that a mailbox will get up and walk away, doesn’t mean that it’s going happen, no matter how hard I believe it!

Your Turn To Decide

You have a decision to make and I will leave you with this; Christmas is about celebrating the birth of the one person who made the payment for your sin so that you can know that your sins are forgiven and you can have the assurance that when you die – whether today, next week or 50 years from now, you will spend eternity in heaven.

If you are wondering how you can make that leap from non-believer to believer, start by talking to God. No fancy words – Just tell him you are sorry and if you have a Bible, read Psalm 51. If you don’t have a Bible, visit BibleGateway.com and type Psalm 51 in the search box. This chapter of the Bible is about a man named David (the David from the David and Goliath story). He realized that he had offended God by his actions and in Psalm 51 you can see what he said to God in order to make things right. It’s not about words, but an attitude.

Any Questions?

If you want to harass me, tell me I’m a religious fanatic or challenge me on this, feel free to visit my contact page and send me a note.

If you are genuinely interested in learning more, you can also visit my contact page and I would be more than happy to explain things or answer your questions.

I encourage you to visit this website: TCCRadio.com . You can listen to some streaming radio shows online and get answers to those big questions in life.