Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all my friends, readers and family members...!

By the way, 25th of December is not the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was actually the day when angel Gabriel visited Mary in Nazareth, a small town in Galilee 2010 years ago. This was the day in the month of December that, virgin Mary was conceived through the Holy Spirit and would be giving birth to a Son by the name of Jesus. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.”

After the gestation period of nine months, i.e. in the month of September of the following year, Mary gave birth to her Firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in linen cloths and placed Him in a manger because there was no room for them in the Inn, which was once King David's palace. The town of Bethlehem was packed with people then as the Jewish people started the celebration of the Fall Holidays thirty days prior to the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), which falls on the first day of their seventh month (September/October). For thirty days the Shofar was blown every morning in the Synagogue to remind the people that the holy day was approaching, and that they should prepare themselves. Their preparation consists of confessing their sins and seeking forgiveness, and going back to fix those mistakes made during the year on the ten days between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).

Baby Jesus was believed to be born on the 11th day of September, after the Feast of Trumpets, in between the Yom Kippur and the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Trumpets is feast proclaiming the spiritual birthday of the world or creation, and is celebrated with blowing of the trumpets.

To date, the Day of Atonement is the central holy day in the autumn season of Tabernacles. It is the most solemn day of the year and the Jewish people had to be prepared for Yom Kippur as it was the day of national cleansing and repentance and is also known to the Jews as the Day of Judgment.

Baby Jesus was born after the Feast of Trumpets and between Yom Kippur and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) as He came to “tabernacle among us". He was born for the purpose of dying for this world and to be judged on the Cross on our behalf thirty three year later…

Well, by His grace I have learnt the way God see thing. He sees the birth at the time of conception while men have to be convinced with seeing the physical birth…! He sees us in His mighty and loving arm the moment we accepted His Darling Son as Saviour, while men have to see Heaven to be convinced that they are saved...!

Ooh... hallelujah! What a beautiful privilege we have in Christ that, we are able to see this world through His heart. This is His grace...