It’s the most wonderful time of the year! So the famous song goes. Christmas has been around for centuries, celebrated globally by Christians and even non Christians and has become a cultural and commercial phenomenon.
It’s been marked with various traditions and cultural practices depending on your origin. The most common of course is of Santa Claus ,fancy trees, family feasts ,partying ,snow ,sleigh and reindeer while in my homeland Africa it’s marked with family gatherings, slaughtering of animals, fire, smoke, nyama choma (roasted meat), soup, drinks, traditional brews, stories by the fire.
For most however ,it’s just like any other day, trek to work, hard labor , and if lucky get some coins to buy a meal for the family, that’s prepared over a fire and shared gratefully as they listen to carols sang in the radio followed by the usual news of Political trickery, COVID-19, Corruption cases and embezzlement of state funds, poverty, neglected masses, violence and murders followed by vain commercials telling one on how to boost one’s confidence and appeal by consuming their poison laden drink.
Is this what Christmas was really meant to be? The Christians settled on this date to celebrate the birth of the Christ Jesus, hence the reason why it bears his name. There is no evidence however that Jesus was born on the actual date of Dec 25th, the bible does not say. It just so happened that it marks the first week of the winter solstice in the northern Hemisphere and the sun would be up for longer making the rest of the winter more bearable.
The Reason for Christmas therefore is to celebrate the birth of Christ, the Savior of the world. One cannot appreciate the birth of Christ if the reason for this life and death on the cross mean nothing to them.
Why did the world back then need Christ in the First place?
Let’s go way back to the beginning in the garden of Eden. Adam and Eve had such a close relationship with God that he often came down from heaven to visit his creation. They met face to face with God every single day! But when the serpent showed up, tempted them into sin they were punished by God, became mortal (no longer allowed to eat from the tree of life) and banished from the garden.
Since then, Man and God lost their close fellowship, the only way we could communicate was through prayer, offering sacrifices and shedding of animal’s blood to get forgiveness. But the intimate, heart to heart interaction was all lost.
Fast forward to centuries later, some of the descendants of Adam and Eve -the Israelites are taken as slaves in Egypt and later fall into a cycle of slavery and freedom as they are attacked by many nations over several centuries. They fell into the hands of the Egyptians, then the Babylonians, Persians and later the Romans.
The Prophecies of the Savior – Jesus Christ the Messiah
But God had a plan to rescue his people. He told his prophets of a coming Savior, the Messiah, Jesus Christ who would reconcile his beloved creation back to him forever. The Prophecies spoke of the birth of Jesus, his ministry on earth his death and resurrection too.
The birth of Christ is just a part of this wonderous love story. One would need to understand the reason for his birth to fully appreciate Christmas season.
Though he is the Son of God, he agreed to be sent on a mission to planet Earth, sent as a baby, born of a virgin, God as his Father. Raised by a Jewish couple – Joseph and Mary, began his ministry after his baptism and completed his mission on earth by agreeing to die on a cross and resurrected on the third day.
Unfortunately, it’s easier for many to believe that Clark was really Kal-el of Krypton and even after he “dies” he is “resurrected” and comes back to life in the Justice League 2017.
Prophecies of Christ’s birth
“Therefore the Lord himself will give youa sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and[e] will call him Immanuel” Isaiah 7:14
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9:6-7
“You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the MostHigh. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:31–33).
Prophecy of Christ’s ministry
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” Isaiah 61:1- 2a
Prophecy of Christ’s suffering death and resurrection
Prophet Isaiah speaks of the Suffering and the glory of the Servant which is a prophecy of the very suffering, death and glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ centuries before he was born on earth.
Jesus did not walk to his death blindly, he knew what was coming, he had to complete his mission -complete the work which God the Father had sent him here to do. Despite the ridicule, hate and rejection from humanity, he still chose to die for us on the cross. It is for this reason that he was born.
7 “He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makeshis life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied
by his knowledgemy righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:7-12
The Blood of Christ
Jesus declared to his disciples during the last supper “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Matthew 26:28
“God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” Romans 3:25-27
We shall overcome the evil one by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. Revelation 12:11
“ remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:13
“His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, (Jews and Gentiles), thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. “ Ephesians 2:15
“This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 3:6
“His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Ephesians 3:10
This reveals to us the intent of the death of Christ on the cross and what his shed blood achieves for us. The purpose of Christ was to create in himself one new humanity and to reconcile all peoples to God through his blood and through him we now have access to God the Father by one Spirit.
The Promise of Eternal life
“There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:25
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17
“God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1John 5:11
Do we still need a Savior today – 2021 and beyond?
The year 2020 has been tough, no doubt. The challenges we face today are enormous, the global economy on the brink of recession that could possibly spill to the coming years. Many have lost their lives due to COVID-19, millions currently infected by this strange virus, others lost jobs and financial stability, there also has been a sharp increase in depression and all kinds of crimes.
I’m not suggesting that we turn a blind eye to what’s happening around us and ignore the facts. His Holy Spirit is with us here on earth. He is not far away that he cannot see or know what we are going through. He gives every one life breath and everything else. He marked out the our times in history. The Lord has compassion on all he has made. He has loved us with an everlasting love. We only need to turn to Him, believe In Him and in His Son Jesus Christ and rely on him for wisdom on how to overcome these challenges and for his saving grace.
In 1863,the month of March ,the then American President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation for a day of national humiliation and fasting. The proclamation acknowledged the overruling power of God and that the country had been recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven yet – they had forgotten God. It goes on to say “ we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.
Given the high regard we have of Abraham Lincoln and all that he stood for how much more then are we called as Christians to remember that our prosperity, positions of power and influence doesn’t come from our own strength but from God Himself.
This year , more than any other before it has showed all humanity that we do not control everything. God is in control of everything. We need to realize that we are his creation, and when creation cannot heal itself, nor can it save itself.
It needs a Savior, and that is found in Jesus Christ alone. I find it strange that part of his creation would easily believe that one Anthony E. Stark the Iron Man died in order to save others in the Avengers End game by simply snapping his fingers. Yet the Son of God, was arrested tortured, allowed himself to be crucified and shed his blood for the forgiveness of our sins and gave us his righteousness in return, eternal life and reconciled us back to our Heavenly Father, and yet we fail to believe in him, let alone acknowledge his very existence!
The fact that you are still holding on ,this Christmas, the fact that you are seated there reading this is something to be grateful for. Our God is a God of second chances ,slow to anger rich in mercy, not wanting us to perish but to come to repentance.
Though we have been dead in our transgressions, God has made us alive in Christ. The Savior gives us hope for tomorrow and eternal life. In Christ and through faith in Christ we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Wake up, sleeper ,rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you!
ComeFullCircle 
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