Christmas of Light

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men

This time of year is set aside as holy because unto us in the City of David a Savior was born, Christ the LORD! We celebrate and rejoice; we dance, sing, feast, and give gifts! Why? Because a virgin gave birth to a son, they called Him Emmanuel, God with us! He had come to take away the sins of the world!

Isaiah 61:1-3 (CJB) 61 The Spirit of Adonai Elohim is upon me, because Adonai has anointed me to announce good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted; to proclaim freedom to the captives, to let out into light those bound in the dark; 2 to proclaim the year of the favor of Adonai and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, 3 yes, provide for those in Tziyon who mourn, giving them garlands instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, a cloak of praise instead of a heavy spirit, so that they will be called oaks of righteousness planted by Adonai, in which he takes pride.

Jesus the Messiah has come! He set us free! Healed us! Made us righteous with His righteousness! Jesus made a way for us to live forever with Him when there was no way. How can we sit still? Our spirits rise and we celebrate full of thanksgiving and joy!! Whatever it looks like here, we are a people that have God WITH us! Our futures are secure in Him! On Christmas Eve Christians all over the Earth come together in worship to participate in a candle lit service. Each participant's candle is lit from one large Paschal candle to represent the light of Christ spreading from person to person bringing those lost in darkness into the light and illuminating the world. This Christmas Eve is extra special as it also falls on the first night of Chanukah. Chanukah is not one of the high holy days but it is a celebration of a miracle of light. An enemy of God’s people had come against them to conquer and put out their light. The menorah, representing the spirit of God, only had enough oil to burn one day. A man was sent to get more oil; however, it was an eight day journey. Each day as they waited for the return of the messenger, the fire continued to burn, against all odds, the fire of God burned eight days with only one day’s quantity of oil. It was a miracle of light and a statement that the darkness, no matter how heavy and powerful it may seem, it can never put out the light of God!!

John 1:4-5 (CJB) 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not suppressed it.

Jesus celebrated Chanukah

“And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch.” – John 10:22-23

During Jesus’ earthly ministry, Chanukah was known as the Feast of Dedication and still is today. In a time that it seems there is an increase in darkness, multitudes full of fear and terror. They march, scream, burn, kill, steal, and destroy all over the Earth, while others hide in despair without hope. You may wonder what we can do about it. How can we help them? I am not rich enough or strong enough to give them what they need, you may think. What they need is hope, joy, faith, peace, they need Jesus! They are lost and consumed by darkness and see no way out. They need The LIGHT!

John 8:12 (CJB) 12 Yeshua spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light which gives life.”

When darkness begins to cover the Earth Jesus spoke of wise virgins who trimmed their laps and lit the way. Jesus also said that we are to be as a city on a hill, a light that we do not hide under a bowl. Instead we should be much like a lighthouse guiding the lost and afraid out of the darkened storm into the light, that they may too become a city on a hill. This year as Chanukah menorahs are lit on Christmas Eve night around the world we truly are celebrating together THE miracle and power of the light of God! When you light your Christmas Eve candle, ask the Lord to show you where you have hidden your light and whose life you can bring the light of Christ into this year. Hold that candle high and be the beacon that guides the lost to HIM! Happy HOLYdays and merry CHRISTmas from the LIVNIM family!