Dear Family
And here we are again, at the end of another year. The snowball of time has once more been relentless in its purpose and velocity. “Time waits for no-one”, a phrase without clear origin, probably best sums up our passage upon this earth. Blink, and time has gone. Blink again, and there’s very little left. Phew!
One constant that we have as believers in Jesus Christ, is the truth that God lives in us and with us, permanently. One glorious day, around 2000 years ago, the angel of the LORD appeared to Joseph and reminded him of Isaiah’s prophecy in 7:14 regarding the baby which Mary was carrying:
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Emmanuel.”
Emmanuel, God with us! What a concept to get our heads around. Not only that the Creator of this entire universe is keeping all things together as He fills the universe with His presence, but that He is also God with us. What a gift!
Which brings me to my actual point: When we celebrate Christmas (which Jesus did not, the apostles did not, the early church did not, the Biblical record does not, the reformers did not and which I do not), then we can easily miss the reason Jesus actually came — to seek and to save the lost. We are instructed to remember His death, NEVER his birth. Surely it figures that we should just stick to what the Bible says and not be so keen to jump into a commercial con of gobbledegook mixed with a few biblical passages and celebrate a festival of obvious occultic and pagan origins? Adding a mix of the Bible to the world does not make something biblical.
I keep hoping that the church would grow up out of its slumber and realize that God is not pleased with our man-made celebration which He never instituted and which we love to use human wisdom to attempt to justify. By remembering His death, we are focused on His salvation bought for us, His resurrection and His coming again. Friends, Christmas is not of God. Do not allow the allure of nice tunes, family get-togethers or excessiveness in any area, to compromise your beliefs in our Saviour. Let’s remain faithful to His call, “Come follow me.”