Christmas Message (2002)

Hello all, Merry Christmas and thank you for visiting this site.

Isn't it funny (not in a humorous sense), that every year our society, through feel-good television and movies, will tell us what Christmas is about? To kids, it is presents and to adults it is (supposed to be) about family and love. Every year also, Christians are perplexed with this societal view, and with frustration say "No, it is about Christ coming to this earth - God taking human form to save us, and bring us back to Him!".

Rather than repeat the now traditional call of Christians for society to come back to the real meaning of Christmas (although that end would be nice), I think I will use this message to implore Christians to take more time over Christmas to thank God for sending His Son for us - after all, we cannot thank Him enough, and it is His blessing only that will guide others into a true understanding of Christmas.

Christmas is for most people the busiest time of year - shopping, preparing Christmas celebrations, travelling to meet relatives or welcoming relatives into your homes, and attending church up to three days in a row does tend to fill in the time... not to mention the end-of year work party and school presentations for the kids on top of the routine business of our lives. But how important is this all really? Must this consume our time over the coming break?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that these things be ignored, I would just like to add one more item to that (unending) list - prayers of thanksgiving. Christmas is supposed to be about remembering the birth of Christ, thanking God for sending His Son into the world, yet I find it very easy to relegate my 'thanksgiving' to the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Church services. Surely, thanksgiving prayer - regular and consistent - should be first as a Christian's priority over this period?

I believe I would even have a case if I were to argue that many of the other responsibilities of Christmas could be 'toned down' in order to focus on Christ - but let us first simply set aside some time regularly for prayer - time with God, to think on His love, provision and grace in sending Christ for us, for "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us".

After saying that, there may be those reading this message who are wondering what Christmas is really about, so I write the following hoping to be informative to those who did not know, and to remind those who did...

Christmas has everything to do with love and a loving gift - the love of God, and the gift of His Son Jesus. Jesus is mentioned so often by Christians, because of who He is, how He lived, why He died and why He rose from the dead.

This message of Jesus is associated with Christmas and Easter because these events mark the beginning and end of Jesus' life. Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, Good Friday remembers His death, and Easter celebrates His resurrection. Christmas celebrates the time two thousand years ago, when God stepped into human history as He had never done before - in the form of a man. And that man, Jesus Christ, lived and died in such a way that anyone who puts trust in Him can live out the rest of their lives in a real relationship with God, experiencing His love and provision, and be assured of a place with God for eternity. (Find out how this works.)

Christmas is a time for remembering God's love and provision, for sending Jesus on a mission that would bless us so richly. And that is why I implore all who read this message to thank God for sending Christ.

   As We Approach the End of This Year...  (top)

As of the 31st December 2002 this site will have been online for exactly nine months. Those nine months are thanks solely to God. Praise God for using this site to reach some who did not know Him and to encourage others who needed it (and for providing an easy and obvious email address for those with nothing better to do than to send hoax emails, viruses and spam!).

Praise God that He has led a brother Christian to offer to host this site for free next year (thus relieving me of that burden which I may have struggled with), and praise God that I have been given the year next year to devote almost exclusively to Bible study and work on this site.

Please pray for this ministry which, by the grace of God, I hope to offer for many years to come.

   Approaching 2003...  (top)

In 2003 I hope to start providing Bible Studies, I intend to continue writing devotions, I am considering beginning a monthly email newsletter (for those of you who are willing to pray regularly for this ministry and who are interested in the resources and studies offered); I hope also to add significantly to the Church History section of this site, to continue writing introductions to and summaries of theological subjects, and look forward to answering more and more emails from those who are interested in the Christian faith. I say all of this knowing that it will only come to pass if it is the will of God.

Please pray as I receive emails from people who disagree with the beliefs presented in this site, that God would gift me to be loving and wise in my responses; and pray that as I answer other emails I may be equally loving and wise, encouraging and challenging.

Finally, please pray that every direction I look and every step I take in this ministry may be at the guidance of God, for His glory and to His praise.