The Real Jesus

by Skip Heitzig | January 26, 2024

I read about a town in Florida where they put out a big nativity set, and the little baby Jesus in the manger got stolen. They replaced him, but he got stolen a second time. So they wised up and put a GPS in little baby Jesus to track him if he got stolen a third time. Well, he did, and they were able to find the thief.

But I discovered it's not an isolated incident. It happens every year. It's so common that researchers have a name for it—the "Stolen Baby Jesus Syndrome." Some people do it as a joke. Some do it just to spite Christmas. One man had his personal baby Jesus stolen in front of his house. The newspaper reported that he said, "Do you know where my Jesus is? Please return him to me."

The world by and large doesn't have a clue who the real Jesus is. He's been stolen by secularists, other religions, and even so-called Christian churches. They've made Him into something He's not. But we must try to bring as many people as possible to the truth of who He is and the good news of His coming.

Now, one of the groups most resistant to the gospel has been Muslims. Yes, they believe in Jesus, but they do not believe He is anything but a man. They don't believe that He died on a cross to atone for sins. They haven't met the real Jesus.

And yet, across the world, many Muslims are coming to faith in Christ. I've read many books on this and heard many stories. One Muslim sheikh has claimed that in Africa alone, over six million Muslims have converted to Christ.

What I want to emphasize is that people of other faiths are not the enemy. Satan with his lies and false teachings and doctrines—that's the enemy. The apostle Paul said that "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers…in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12). Keep in mind the vision of John in Revelation 7:9, where he saw people from every nation, tongue, and tribe gathered around the throne of God worshiping Him.

Now, I want to share four ways we can effectively share the gospel and help others meet the real Jesus:

1. Be prayerful. Prayer is the most significant power God has given us on this earth. Tap into it.

2. Be watchful. We need to look at our world and current events through the lens of Scripture.

3. Be tactical. We Christians need to be more strategic in our thinking. We need to be doing evangelism all the time. We can't just say, "Well, whatever happens, happens." We must ratchet up our efforts to get the gospel out.

4. Be respectful. The unbelievers you encounter at work or in the community are made in the image and likeness of God. God so loved the world, including those who don't think like you do. So be respectful and open your heart to them in dialogue.

What a glorious gospel we have, different from every other belief system. Unfortunately, the world doesn't really know who Jesus is. But we know. He is Lord. He is God. He is coming back. He is going to rule and reign over the earth. And so, here's our task: to let the real Jesus be seen and let Him shine in our lives.

Copyright © 2024 by Connection Communications. All rights reserved.

For more from Skip Heitzig, visit ConnectwithSkip.com, and listen to today's broadcast of Connect with Skip Heitzig at OnePlace.com.