Merry Christmas to All

It is this time of the year when the Christian world celebrates the birth of Jesus. Even though today’s Christmas traditions are somewhat detached from the real meaning of the celebration, we are reminded of this important event in human history. I am thankful that our Saviour was born, but more importantly, I’m full of gratitude for His sacrificial death on the Cross of Calvary. At Christmas I am always reminded of that, more so than the birth of our Lord.

This is what Zachariah (father of John the Baptist) prophesied under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: "Because of God's tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace." Luke 1:78-79. Yes, he was talking about the coming of our Saviour. What a great encouragement for all of us.

When I imagine how Christ came into this world as a sweet little baby, I’m thinking this must be one of the greatest mysteries in the bible. My limited human mind can not comprehend how the Creator of this Universe could send His son, who is God Himself, Who was present and active at Creation, how can He arrive here on Earth so helpless, so vulnerable… What a demonstration of love from the beginning to the end of Jesus’ ministry among us sinners.

Even though we don’t know the exact time of Christ’s birth, we need to pause for a moment, forget about dates and years and simply give thanks. While writing this, the music and the words of “Joy to the World” are ringing in my ears. Indeed what a joy it is to receive our Saviour in our hearts!

I hope each one of us will express gratitude to our Lord by showing love to others, I hope each one can put differences aside for a moment and experience true peace, I hope each one of us can forgive someone this Christmas.

Wish you all God’s richest blessings!

George

Are Christians obligated to keep the Law of the Old Testament?

Here’s another controversial question which will open a “can of worms” among many readers. It took me months of research and studies on this topic. Finally after much prayer and discussions with friends I decided to write a paper which turned out to be about 8 pages long. In the article I approach some common questions associated with this topic, such as:

When was the Law of the Old Covenant given?
Who was the Law given to?
Is the Law eternal or does it have a beginning and ending point?
What is the purpose of the Law?
Can we split the Law into “moral” and “ceremonial” laws?
How does the Law affect the life of Christians?

Personally for me the most important question of these is whether or not we can split the law in “moral” and “ceremonial”. I believe this is a question we all need to find an answer to, because it can change how we view the Law, how we express our love and gratitude towards our Creator and even how we live our lives.

The article is published on BorninChrist.org and this is the first of the few I plan to write. I pray for all readers, that we may have good communication and understanding through words, but most importantly I pray that we have an open mind and we’re not afraid to take our bibles and search deep, even if some of the things we learn are contrary to what we’ve been told for years. May the Holy Spirit guide us all.

George