eLimu | Christianity and Traditional African Heritage

New life in Christianity

(Isaiah 9:6 -7, Matthew 1: 20 - 23, Luke 2: 1 - 21)

Jesus was born of a virgin. His mother Mary became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is known as the Immaculate Conception.
The angel Gabriel announced the intended purpose of God concerning Jesus to Mary.
Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem, Judea where Joseph was registering his family in the census.
Shepherds and wise men, who had been shown where the baby Jesus would be by angels, visited Him. They praised God for what they had seen.
Jesus’ birth and mission had been prophesied by Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 9:6-7.
He was the promised Saviour and Prince of Peace.
Every year we remember the birth of Christ over Christmas. During this time, we appreciate God’s love for us.

New life to a Christian means leaving the life of sin and believing and following the teachings of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come.”
In the new life, a person stops doing the old things like cheating, stealing, disobeying and engaging in irresponsible behaviour.
One starts doing what is pleasing to God like helping the needy and getting involved in church activities. One also strives to live in harmony with all at home, school and in the community.
Through Jesus Christ, we are given a new life formed in God’s likeness.
From Ephesians 4:17-32, we see that when someone has a new life in Christ, the heart and mind become new.

In Genesis 12:1-9 we read of how Abraham obeyed and trusted God and God blessed him.
Abraham was called by God to leave his original home and go to a place that God would show him.
Abraham did not know anything about God, since in his community they worshipped the moon.
In obedience and faith, Abraham moved to an unknown land.
God was pleased with him and He blessed Abraham.
God promised Abraham that He would:

He also gave Abraham a new home in the land of Canaan.
Giving our lives to God means allowing God into our lives and seeking His guidance.

In Malachi 3:8-12, God tells us to obey Him by giving tithes and offerings, and trust Him to provide for us. A tithe is 10% of our income.
When we sacrifice our comforts in favour of God’s work, He will greatly bless us.
As Christians, we give our lives to God when we help the needy, tell our friends, neighbours and family about His goodness, go to church to sing and dance for Him, read the Bible and pray.

God sent to us His only son Jesus Christ so that we could receive and live our new lives in full.
Through Christ’s sacrifice, we share in the joy of salvation.
In Titus 3:4-8, we are told that salvation was given to man through God’s kindness.
Those who accept this salvation are given the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus died on the cross, He shared His life with us. He gave His life for us.

Christians in the early church shared many things.

They shared their time, shelter, property, food and the word of God.
They helped the needy such as orphans, the sick, the poor and the widowed.
They shared their faith and encouraged other people.
As Christians today, we can also share many things with others.
There are many people who are in need of our love like people with HIV/AIDS, orphans,
children living on the street, widows and the poor.
We can share our property, time, food and shelter.
We can also share fellowship and our new lives with others.