What do you boast about?

Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save. And even those who advocate circumcision don’t keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast about it and claim you as their disciples.

As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God. (Gal.6:12-16)

Do you feel proud about being religious? Do you boast about your achievements? Do you take credit for what you possess that which you can never earn?

Religions tell us to work our way to god. Those who tirelessly follow the “to do” lists of religions often boast about their achievements. They feel they are eventually making god obligated to them. There are also those who think they are equal to god, thus making it possible for the humans to achieve practically anything or everything.

Promoting Rituals

Most people swear by rituals. Every culture is full of them. Rituals are part of religion. Christian Religion is no exception. It is our attempt to find God. Since it is human effort people will take credit for it. But the Bible says that no one can become acceptable to God by being religious or by observing rituals, however faithful they might be.

As long as you encourage others to follow some rituals you are in vogue. You earn name and fame, position and influence, money and perks. Promoting rituals is boasting in self and it will last only till we last.

Preaching the Cross

The Bible tells us that a Christian has nothing to boast about himself. The only thing he can boast about is the Cross of his Savior because he is saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, in what Jesus has accomplished on the cross.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. (Eph.2:8-9)

Every Christian is commanded to preach the message of the Cross, because it is the power of God unto salvation (Rom.1:16). The message of the cross excludes all rituals and human efforts and is highlighted as the only way to reach God. When you preach this way you will invite opposition, threats and persecution. That is one of the reasons why several people are content with promoting rituals.

However, the ultimate yardstick of effectiveness is the resultant transformation. The real thing is the new life that we receive from God through faith in Jesus Christ, just because of what Jesus has done on the cross. Neither religion nor rituals can do this. And all of it is a free gift from God. Aren’t you glad for the cross of Christ?

So, if at all I boast, let me boast of the cross of Christ, by which I have been transformed in my relationship with all that is temporal.

Living Faith

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,  being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (Jam.1:2-8 NIV)

People these days are so outspoken about their faith. They explain all the crazy things they do as the outcome of their faith. Faith means different things to different people, nevertheless every human being who breathes operates on faith. The object of their faith may vary.

As the Bible defines it in Hebrews 11:1,

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

The object of a Christian’s faith is Jesus Christ.

Faith is more than mere intellectual assent, it results in corresponding action or behavior. Faith that is alive moves one to action. If there is no visible transformation in the life of the one who professes to have faith, his/her faith is a dead one. Faith is like a seed planted in the ground, which, if not sprouting, growing, flowering and producing fruit over a period of time, is dead.

Living Faith Rejoices in Trials

James is writing to encourage the Christians of Jewish origin who were scattered all over the world. Since their faith in Christ has effected a change of behavior in them they were being subject to opposition and persecution from their own community. This situation is not uncommon even today in many countries around the world. James suggests that Christian faith is practical and behavior oriented. He raises a few issues in his letter. According to him, Christian faith is a living faith. It is intellectual assent plus action. You do certain things because of your belief and intellectual assent. It is a faith that works.

Attitude in Trials

It may seem crazy, for those who do not have faith, to rejoice when you are in trouble. First of all, it is humanly impossible to do so unless there is some mighty reason behind. Here, there is a purpose with which God is permitting trials in the life of a Christian, the result of which is profitable.  You don’t fake the real joy, it comes from the source of joy – Jesus the Savior who suffered for your sake. The joy of the Lord is our strength in trials (Neh.8:10).

Apostle Paul had more trials than any other Christian, perhaps (2Cor. 11: 22-29). Yet, he confidently said nothing can separate us from the love of Christ (Rom.8:35-39).

Advantage in Trials

The Bible says that trials in a Christian’s life are a test of his/her faith. It is profitable because it helps to develop endurance. Trained in endurance we become perfect and mature in our character.

God allows His children to grow through testing with the purpose of perfecting us in godliness. One has to successfully pass every test before he/she can graduate from the school of suffering. God did the same thing with the man Jesus (Phil.2:6-9;  Heb.5:7-10).

Assistance in Trials

It is humanly impossible to have the right attitude in suffering and grow to maturity by our own strength. We need God’s grace and wisdom to go through it. God knows it and He is promising His assistance in our times of trials. James 1:5 instructs us to ask God for His wisdom. He will see us through as we depend on Him (Heb.4:14-16).

Shaping us up, at any cost!

No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)

History tells us that God’s people, over the years, become tired of doing what God wants them to be doing. The same monotonous, boring routine, when the people around use post modern devices and enjoy unlimited entertainment. The inclination to ‘be like others‘ has been a major driving force. The line between the people of God and the ‘people of the world’ has been unclear, often, in each generation. God was aware of this ‘fallen’ human nature and strictly warned them not to mingle with the ‘others‘ beyond a limit, particularly in the areas of community life and worship. In Apostle Paul’s language it was to “be not yoked together with the unbelievers”.

But, we get tired of boundaries and wander into the forbidden territory like them, don’t we. We explain away our desire to explore and experience, like our great grandma did in the garden of Eden. We take God’s mercies for granted and indulge in sinful lifestyles. God had laid down His rules for His creation – rules as per His standard of holiness. But, for Israel, He also promised rewards for obedience and punishments for disobedience. But they turned ungrateful and did not even remember the great things their God has done for them. They turned out to be highly selfish to the extent of exploiting and cheating others for their own personal gains. As a result, the people of God went through wars, captivity, slavery and humiliation as punishment, time and again. In rebellion they complained that God was being unfair in demanding whole lot of things they could not perform.

However, the Covenant God initiated between Him and the Israelites was not to be broken as it was sealed by His holy name. He has loved His people with an eternal love, Israel first and then the Church. God can not go back on His covenanted promise.

Here, God is calling His people to present their case in the court of justice. God has His entire creation as witness and man has no valid argument before God. God explains through the prophet that His demands are just a few and very simple.

Do Justice

In all their dealings God wanted them to do justice because God is a God of justice. Living Bible puts it as “doing what is right“. This does not give room for exploitation of others. In doing justice to others you may have to lose what is in your possession or you may have to give up or let go. This is what Jesus meant when He said “treat others as you want them to treat you”. When you are at wrong, justice will be unpleasant to you.

God says in Micah 6:9 that He will execute His justice toward His people because they have neglected to do justice in their dealings with others. They were guilty of possessing ill-gotten wealth and cheating others using dishonest weights and measures in their transactions (Mic.6:10-11). Thus, God’s justice demands punishment up on His people.

Show Mercy

Mercy, in simple terms, is not paying back what others deserve for their wrongs. It is not paying back evil for evil, or paying back good for evil. It is not trying to get even, but forgiving.

God wants His people to be merciful to others like the way He is merciful to all, particularly to them. In spite of their repeated rebellion God has been merciful to them.(Mt.5:7; 9:13; 12:7; Lk.6:36; Eph.4:32; Jam.2:13)

But God’s people continue to be violent in their dealings with others, lying against them (Mic.6:12). They followed the example of King Ahab the son of Omri and the husband of wicked Jezebel (1Kings 16:21-34; 18:1-18; 21:1-26).  Because of this God will restrain His mercy from them and allow them to be vulnerable, oppressed, hungry, attacked and looted by enemies (Mic.6:13-16)

Be Humble

Humility is the opposite of pride. It is considering others better than yourself. It is the willingness to go through even humiliating experiences as a part of your walk in obedience to God.

God’s people are to walk in humble obedience to their God. The sin of pride is probably the worst, the sin that caused the bright angel’s fall. God’s people, too, get proud along their walk with God. And God hates pride from His people. So, to keep them humble, God would allow His people to be weak and frail some times, poor and helpless other times, so that they will depend on Him always.

When God became a human to reveal Himself and His plan of salvation, He came as a humble Jewish carpenter who endured the highest form of humiliation.

Because God’s people are not willing to be humble, God would allow them to be humiliated and teach them humility the hard way. Israel would be made a laughingstock before the nations of the world (Mic.6:16).

God is not finished with us yet. He is in the process of making us to be like His holy Son. At times when we don’t yield, like a father, God will use strict discipline or harsh ways to let us learn what we ought to. He does this because we are to reign with His dear Son as co-heirs and God can not take it for granted.

Leaders Beware!

What sorrow awaits you who lie awake at night, thinking up evil plans. You rise at dawn and hurry to carry them out, simply because you have the power to do so. When you want a piece of land, you find a way to seize it. When you want someone’s house, you take it by fraud and violence. You cheat a man of his property, stealing his family’s inheritance.

But this is what the Lord says: “I will reward your evil with evil; you won’t be able to pull your neck out of the noose. You will no longer walk around proudly, for it will be a terrible time.” (Micah 2:1-3)

Abuse of Power will invite punishment

Corrupt leadership is not a modern malady. It existed ages ago. God had sent warnings to them through His prophets before He sent punishment. Yet people continue to be corrupt, unjust, cruel and selfish, particularly those in power.

Those in leadership were called to lead God’s people to the destination God has for them. But today leaders have forgotten the destination altogether, let alone the one who called them to lead.  They are there for the powers they wield, not for the cause they are called. They use their powers to fulfill their greed and to satisfy their self. They grab what belongs to others and prevent others from getting what belongs to them.

But God is not sleeping. He will act at the right time to avenge the power-mongers and they will not escape.

Refusal to heed will bring disaster

When prophets of God talk about sin and its judgment, the corrupt leadership can not stomach it. They prevent the preachers from bringing strong messages. They stop those who preach against their abuse of power. They would rather reward those who preach out of context and say what God’s Word does not say. They fool themselves by saying that God is on their side and He will not bring disgrace up on them as He is a loving God. Thus they continue to exploit their colleagues and fellow beings and take advantage of every opportunity for their own personal benefit. They continue to use (or abuse) people and dump them after they have achieved their selfish ends.

God will not tolerate this for long and He will come to the rescue of the oppressed. He will save them and gather the remnant like a shepherd gathering his flock. He will break down the walls of oppression errected by the enemy and lead His gathered ones out from darkness into His marvelous light. He will then reign as their King and they will honor Him as their Savior and Lord.

God’s Work and His Workers

The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.” Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning. I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.

Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure. (1Tim.5:17-22)

Christendom is plagued with leaders who portray larger-than-life images, demand celebrity status and live in royal style. Their point is that they are the ‘royal priesthood’, ‘princes’ and ‘princesses’, children of the King of kings and the ‘heirs’ of God. But they forget that they are ‘co-heirs’ with Jesus Christ, who emptied Himself of all His glory as the Creator God to take up on Himself the form of one of His own creation, that too, the likeness of the sinful humans. There are arguments about the status of a worker in God’s vineyard. Paul reminds Timothy to be careful about the work of God as it involves different people handling different responsibilities.

Honor Good Workers

The body of Christ is not an autocratic set up. Perhaps it is close to a democratic style except for the over all submission to the authority of God. It is a team of workers that are on the job, almost like the honey bees. Each one has his/her role to play, both initiative as well as supportive. That is why Paul is using the analogy of the body with different parts working together. However, there is an element of mutual accountability that should keep the work going.

Paul reminds Timothy to honor good workers, workers who do their jobs well. These are people who are committed to the call and work without selfish motives. There is special mention about those who are preaching and teaching the Word of God. The honor is in financial terms, double the pay of an ordinary worker. Paul refers to Deuteronomy 25:4 in his quote about the oxen that is threshing corn. He states that such workers are worthy of their pay. He recommends in Gal.6:6 that “Those who are taught the Word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them”. He also argues that “the Lord ordered that those who preach the Good News should be supported by those who benefit from it”. (1Cor.9:14)

Rebuke Bad Workers

It is the collective responsibility of the Church to rebuke the erring servants. Discipline of the body is so important as we see in the Word but it is the most neglected responsibility. Leaders refuse to discipline people for fear of losing members. There should be a mutual accountability among the servants of God who check on each other for their walking in godliness. Paul recommends public rebuke of the erring worker so that it will serve as a warning to all.

However, there is a line of caution! In honoring the good worker as well as rebuking the bad one there should not be any partiality or favoritism. It is possible to reward someone who pleases you and to frame someone whom you don’t like. People pleasers will get favors and those who have difference of opinion will suffer. So, don’t jump to conclusions before allegations are authenticated.

Appoint Mature Workers

Much of the problems can be avoided if there is proper screening at the time of appointment. Read through 1Tim.3 and other passages where the qualifications of workers are mentioned. Look for faithful people as Paul reminds Timothy in 2Tim.2:2. By appointing unworthy workers we will be party to their sins and the impending judgment. So Paul warns not to be hasty, biased, or careless in appointing people for the ministry.

Personally we need to keep away from sin. Timothy was also reminded to take care of his health because our body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. (1Cor.3:16-17; 6:19). The suggestion to use a little wine as a medicine for his frequent stomach problem is not an excuse for habitual drinking. In all these, the real nature of a servant of God will be revealed through the years and it may lead him to condemnation or commendation accordingly.

The Word of God and the Servant of God

The Prophets of old and the servants of the new Covenant all had a definite call from God to serve Him. In spite of them and their desires these men and women were moved by the power of God to accomplish whatever God wanted to do through their lives. Prophet Ezekiel was one such person. God’s call and preparatory work are clearly evident in the lives of His servants.

“Son of man, do not fear them or their words. Don’t be afraid even though their threats surround you like nettles and briers and stinging scorpions. Do not be dismayed by their dark scowls, even though they are rebels. You must give them my messages whether they listen or not. But they won’t listen, for they are completely rebellious! Son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not join them in their rebellion. Open your mouth, and eat what I give you.” (Eze.2:1-8 NLT)

The work of the Word

The servant hears the voice of God through the Word of God,. It is the life transforming Word that moves people and turns them around. Paul says in Rom.10:17 (NKJV) that “…faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” As one reads, listens and meditates on God’s Word, the Spirit of God uses it to communicated to him and to generate faith that pleases God. As this continues, the Spirit of God will begin to move in and through his life. In the case of Ezekiel, as he listened to God’s Word, the Spirit of God took hold of him and lifted him up to his feet, enabling him to stand up.

As God’s servants speak it out, it is the Word of God that speaks to people today. The Spirit of God uses it to convict, regenerate, rebuke, encourage, strengthen, commission and transform those who pay attention.

The response to the Word

The servant is commanded to proclaim the Word as it is given to him. His dignity, status or security should not come in the way of doing this. Irrespective of what the audience’s response is he has to proclaim it. The accountability aspect is individual. You do what you are commanded to do. Your listener is responsible to do what he is told. It is not the servants’ responsibility to see that the listener obeys, rather he is responsible to tell the message as God had said it.

The role of the servant

The servant has a significant role to play in the proclamation of the Word. He can be tempted to dilute the message in view of material gain, personal interests, or personal and family security. He can also become so used to it that he may take it for granted. When the message is distorted, the servant is causing his listeners to err and go astray while inviting God’s wrath upon himself. In order to avoid this there are specific instructions to the servant, like: ‘don’t be afraid of the audience, don’t rebel, be brave, listen’, and so on.

Listen carefully to everything I say and then think about it. Then go to the people who were brought here to Babylonia with you and tell them you have a message from me, the LORD God. Do this, whether they listen to you or not. (Eze.3:10-11 CEV)

The imagery of eating God’s Word points to the seriousness of the whole mission. The servant must literally feed on it and internalize the message before he can proclaim it. He should be so convinced and filled with the message that it will flow out of him with the same force and effect. The process of intent listening and meditating is suggested so that the servant is able to boldly say “thus says the LORD”.

God of Mercy and Wrath

Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God…

…let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. (Heb.12:14-15, 28-29 ESV)

It is often overlooked that the same God of Mercy is also the God of wrath. God can not change His rules and twist His justice. So the Church is warned to be careful the way it conducts itself. God is absolutely holy and without holiness no one will see God (Heb.12:14).

God of Wrath

The People of God came to Mount Sinai during their sojourn where God met them and gave them His commandments. It was a frightening atmosphere, with fire and smoke, and God speaking like thunder. The sight was so frightening that Moses said he shook with fear (Heb.12:21) (Exo. 19:16-25). This was a place where people experienced the awesomeness of the very presence of their God and were fully aware of His wrath. They were under the law of wrath and judgment and needed the blood of an animal to cover their sin whenever they approached the presence of God.

God of Mercy

The same God has made a new covenant through the blood of His dear Son, once and for all, for all those who place their trust in Jesus. Thus they experience first hand the mercy and love of their God. There is the assurance of a meeting with Him at Mount Zion, where He will reign as the King of kings. There is no fear of the wrath that will consume them if they come closer to this mountain, since only those who are redeemed by the blood of the Savior will gather their. Here there is joy, celebration and worship.

But the God of mercy do not want His children to take the free gift of His love for granted and live as they like. He expects them to live in holiness, reflecting His character of love and mercy towards each other. He is still the same, the holy, righteous, awesome Judge of all!

.

Servant of God

On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. (Acts 16:13-15)

The title “servant of God” means different things to different people. It’s meaning varies from religion to religion. In the first century Church it assumed great significance and it was used to refer to those who were specifically appointed by God for His mission on earth. Unlike today’s servants, they went where God wanted them to go and did what God wanted them to do, instead of going wherever they want and doing whatever they feel like and claiming that they did it under the Spirit’s guidance. Today, servants of God are after power, position and wealth. They don’t behave like servants anymore. They take up titles like “Apostle”, “Patriarch”, “Arch Bishop” and so on, to show that they have a superior role in the service of God. They impress up on people that success in the service of God is measured by the size of the crowd he can pull.

Fruitfulness is better spelled “faithfulness”

The fruitfulness of a servant’s ministry is not measured in quantitative terms. Rather, it is a direct reflection of his faithfulness to God. On his second tour Paul wanted to go and preach in Asia. But it is recorded that God stopped him from going ahead with that plan. Instead, they were directed to the region of Macedonia. Only a servant who is aligned to the will of his Master can discern the promptings and signals of the Master. It looks like Lydia and family were the only people who responded to the Gospel in Philippi. But the reaction from the people of the city was about to open greater avenues for the furtherance of the Gospel in God’s sovereign plan. A servant need not worry about the results as long as he is following the Master’s instructions faithfully.

Effectiveness is evidenced by God’s intervention

Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her. (Acts 16:16-18)

Paul and Silas were greeted by someone who was the least expected to do so, a demon possessed slave girl who was a professional fortune-teller for her masters. A servant of God discerns the powers of wickedness waging war against the kingdom of his Master. His victory over such forces was established and endorsed by his Master’s death on the cross.  Here, Paul did not entertain free publicity from the enemy, rather, he puts an end to it in the name of Jesus.

The Gospel is the Good News not because it is endorced by the most powerful people in the world. It is the Good News not because it has the backing of celebrities. It is the Good News because it is God’s eternal Word that has the power to save. God does intervene in the ministry of His servant who is faithfully going about the task assigned to him. This heavenly intervention cuts through the barriers and establishes victory, bringing transformation in the lives of people.

Peril of serving God my way

David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the LORD of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim. And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart, with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark.

And David and all the house of Israel were making merry before the LORD, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God. (2Sam.6:1-7)

Following the crowd or obeying God

It was the unchangeable law of God that the Ark of God’s Presence must be carried by the Levites on their shoulders (1Chr.15:15) until it was installed in the Jerusalem Temple. Before (Solomon’s) Temple was dedicated the Ark rested in the Tent or the Tabernacle wherever it was set up. But the transport of it was the sole responsibility of the consecrated (set apart) servants of God, the Levites.

When the Philistines conquered Israel, they carried away the Ark thinking it was Israel’s idol, like the ones they were worshipping. They thought having their ‘god’ in custody would give them power over their enemy. Israelites too had slipped spiritually to the level of equating the ‘box’ to the Almighty God. They were drifting away following the pagan nations around. They asked God for a king to rule them because they wanted to be like the other nations. They were forgetting the command that they should not follow the ways of the other peoples. Now they saw how the Philistines carried the Ark around in style, mounted on a cart, instead of being carried by people. They tried the same when they wanted to bring it back. Neither David nor the Levites cared to follow the instructions God had handed down to them as Law.They thought it OK to serve God their way.

Good intentions or God’s intentions

The Ark and the people were doing fine until the oxen stumbled and the cart shook. Uzzah reached out and held the box that it shouldn’t fall. But God was angry at that and smote him. Why?

First of all, God of the Bible, unlike many other gods, doesn’t require humans to protect Him, His possession, or His prestige. He can take care of Himself. Secondly, if someone wants to serve Him or His purposes, it has to be done His way. Good intentions are not sufficient but a total obedience. He is specific about the end as well as the means to the end.

The Mysteries of Christmas

The Birth of Jesus Christ

This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” (Mat.1:18-23)

There are some myths and mysteries about Christmas. In today’s self-centered and individualistic culture Christmas has lost its meaning. Some people call it “holiday season” because it doesn’t hold anything more than just a couple of free days for having fun. For some others it is a time of family reunion-the only time of the year when they spend time together. For a lot of people in the east Christmas is the birth anniversary of the founder of the Christian religion.

Christmas is not the beginning of Christ

Many have misunderstood Christmas to be the beginning of Jesus Christ like other spiritual gurus or religious founders. But the Bible makes it very clear that Jesus was there before Christmas. He was there right from the beginning, in fact, He is the beginning. He is referred to as “Alpha” and the “WORD”.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. (Rev.22:13)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:1-3)

Jesus told those who rejected His claims,

“Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” ( John 8:58 )

He was “Immanuel”, which means “God with us”  or “God in human form”, as we read in Matthew 1:23. He existed before everything else because He is the Creator.

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. (Colossians 1:15-16)

Christmas is not just another event in history

So many things happen at random in the world. Children are born and some grow to be great personalities and people of influence. No one knew about their greatness before they existed. All of them die and are no more. The greatest of them may leave behind traces of memories for a couple of generations. But about 700 years before His coming into the world the Prophet of God announced that Jesus would come as a human baby. There were about 300 prophecies concerning the coming of Jesus in the Jewish Scriptures.

All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’) (Isaiah 7:14)

Those who followed Jesus realized that He was the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies.

Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.” (John 1:45)

Jesus confirmed this when He said:

If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. (John 5:46)

Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself…. Then he said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled”…. And he said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. (Luke 24:27,44,46)

Christmas will be complete at the return of Christ

The birth of Jesus Christ was announced as “Good news of great joy for all people” (Luke 2:10). It is good news that it points the way to forgiveness, to freedom, to lasting joy and peace, to eternal life, and to heaven-all available free of cost and effort. However, it is a package deal. You start enjoying these here and now, prevail through all the storms and struggles caused by the world corrupt by sin, and safely reach your eternal destination at the return of Christ. Christmas thus should remind us that we a re sojourners here and we await our transport at the trumpet call of the archangel. Then we shall be with our Saviour for ever, beyond the spell of corruption and sin, beyond the reach of tears and sorrow, beyond the powers of wickedness and evil. It will be then prove to have been Good News of Great Joy for ALL peoples, across nationalities, tongues and cultures, those who embraced it.