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...

The Light Of The World

Hanukkah is an annual festival of the Jews celebrated on eight successive days on Kislev 25, to honor the restoration of divine worship in the Temple after it had been defiled by heathens. They keep this an annual holiday on the twenty-fifth day of Kislev, which is the third month of the Jewish civil year, the ninth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar and is coincided with the month of December in Gregorian calendar.

Hanukkah is associated with a nine-branch menorah. The Temple menorah has seven branches but the Hanukkah menorah has nine branches, eight to remember the eight days of Hanukkah and one is the Shamash, the candle used to light the other candles which is usually either higher or separate from the other eight branches. The center candle is signifying our Lord Jesus Christ, the Light of the World; and in the Gospel of John, He preached three sermons declaring Himself as the “Light of the world,” and all three could have been during Hanukkah, the Festival of Light.

John 12:46 ~ I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

Many believe that our Lord Jesus Christ was conceived on the Festival of Lights—Hanukkah. The Bible does not specifically say the date of Jesus’ birth, but it was definitely not during the winter months because there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. (Luke 2:8). From the account of John the Baptist, his conception reveals that he was conceived on about Sivan 30 (Luke 1:8-13, 24). Adding forty weeks, for a normal pregnancy reveals that John the Baptist was born on or about Passover, Nisan 14. Six months after John’s conception, Mary conceived Jesus (Luke 1:26-33); therefore Jesus would have been conceived six months after Sivan 30 in the month of Kislev— Hanukkah. Starting at Hanukkah, which begins on Kislev 25 and continues for eight days, and counting through the nine months of Mary’s pregnancy, the approximate time of the birth of Jesus was at the Festival of Tabernacles, right after the Feast of Trumpets. Blowing of the Shofar during the Feast of Trumpets means the bringing of a clear message of the Good News: the Grace of God in Christ.

John 12:35 ~36: Then Jesus told them, "You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light." When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.

We hold candles in our hand during caroling and even in certain countries, candles are put at the windows of all the Christian homes on Christmas Eve. These candles are signifying the LIGHT is in the world and are pointing us to Jesus, the Light of the world.

John 8:12 ~ When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

Fourth Drink... The Cup Of Praise!

Continue from my previous post on Third Drink… The Cup of Redemption, I continue to see Jesus' perfect execution of His Father's will in everything He had done... From the fourth drink point of view, this drink is supposed to be the Cup of Praise and it is drank while joining in responsive praise for various ways in which GOD has blessed the Jewish people and GOD had Himself their God and Jewish people His own people. The Passover meal is to be ended in praise with this drink until the next year's celebration.

From the account of the Gospel of Mark chapter 14 verse 26, it suggests that our Lord Jesus' special Seder that night did not include the fourth drink, the Cup of Praise. But for the previous two Passover meals with His disciples during His ministry on earth, He observed their custom by ending the Passover Seder with the Cup of Praise. In the Last Supper, as the name suggested, He adjourned straight to Gethsemane with Peter, James and John where He wrestled in prayer about the cup of suffering He was about to drink.

Mark 14: 26 ~ When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

He skipped the Cup of Praise and chose to drink the cup of suffering so that we can drink the Cup of Praise. He chose to drink the cup of suffering so that we Gentile can also become His people and He becomes our God. With this drink, we Gentile can also drink in responsive praise for the ways our Lord Jesus has bless us... He had made everything possible... and with that, He continued on with His Father's will to obsolete the old and bring forth the new...

Hebrews 8:6 ~ But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.
Hebrews 8:7 ~ For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.
Hebrews 8:8 ~ Because finding fault with them, He says: "BEHOLD, THE DAYS ARE COMING, SAYS THE LORD, WHEN I WILL MAKE A NEW COVENANT WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND WITH THE HOUSE OF JUDAH—
Hebrews 8:9 ~ NOT ACCORDING TO THE COVENANT THAT I MADE WITH THEIR FATHERS IN THE DAY WHEN I TOOK THEM BY THE HAND TO LEAD THEM OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT; BECAUSE THEY DID NOT CONTINUE IN MY COVENANT, AND I DISREGARDED THEM, SAYS THE LORD.
Hebrews 8:10 ~ FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS IN THEIR MIND AND WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.
Hebrews 8:11 ~ NONE OF THEM SHALL TEACH HIS NEIGHBOR, AND NONE HIS BROTHER, SAYING, 'KNOW THE LORD,' FOR ALL SHALL KNOW ME, FROM THE LEAST OF THEM TO THE GREATEST OF THEM.
Hebrews 8:12 ~ FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR UNRIGHTEOUSNESS, AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE."
Hebrews 8:13 ~ In that He says, "A NEW COVENANT," He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

He drank the cup of suffering so that we can drink the Cup of Praise!

Third Drink... The Cup of Redemption!

The first Passover in the land of Egypt was celebrated by people who were enslaved. They were instructed to eat in haste, ready to leave position. After the exodus, the Jewish people were allowed to recline and enjoy at leisure. Many Jewish families will recline to the left in their chairs while eating, or the four cups may be drunk while leaning the left elbow on the table.

There are four drinks in the whole course of the Passover meal. The first cup is before meal after the mother in the family Seder, covers her head, lights the candles (usually two) and says the blessing "Blessed art thou o Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who has set us apart by his word, and in whose name we light these festival lights." This bring forth the remembrance of GOD'S four promises to Moses in the Book of Exodus.

Exodus 6:6-7 ~ "Therefore, say to the Israelite: 'I am the LORD, and I will BRING you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will FREE you from being slaves to them, and I will REDEEM you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will TAKE you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.'

The first cup of drink is being blessed which is called “The Cup of Sanctification” The head of the family or other readers will then tell the story of Passover. When the story comes to the plagues, second drink is filled. The second cup is called "The Cup of Rejoicing". As each plague is recounted, they dip a finger in and allow a drop to fall, which in turn, reducing the fullness of their cup of joy. This cup is not drunk at this stage. The third cup is “the Cup of Redemption” and it is drunk warm to signify the blood of the Passover lamb.

Luke 22:20 ~ In the same way, after the supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you…

This is the cup known as “The Cup of Redemption”. It was the cup after supper that Jesus gave to His disciples. He said to His disciples, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” This cup was supposed to signify the blood of the Passover Lamb but Jesus said, “This is My Blood…” Wow…!

After this third cup, the Hallel is sung. Hallel means "Praise" and is Psalm 113 to 118 or Psalm 136 and is written in the Gospel of Mark chapter 14 verse 26 as, "When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."

The fourth cup is the Cup of Praise. It is drank while joining in responsive praise for various ways in which GOD has blessed them, for God had Him their God and them His own people.

From the account of the Gospel of Mark chapter 14 verse 26, it suggests that our Lord Jesus' special Seder that night did not include the fourth cup. He adjourned to Gethsemane with Peter, James and John where He wrestled in prayer about the cup of suffering He was about to drink.

Friends, He drank the cup of suffering so that we can drink the cup of praise. He was very considerate and because of His love for us, He had done it all… That is why He cried out loud at the Cross, “It is finished!”

This Is My Body...!

Imagine if you are a Jew and you have been observing the Passover meal years after years; and you happened to be in the midst of the twelve disciples partaking the Last Supper together with the Lord. What would be your feeling when the Lord stood up, took the bread, gave thanks and said, “This is My Body!”?

I have been reading many times on the verse where the Lord took the bread and said, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” and this verse does not have much impact on me until I was led to take a closer look at how the Jewish people celebrate their Passover meal.

Well, Passover is a festival to be celebrated at home involving every members of the family using the meal as visual aids and taste experiences. The first Passover was celebrated by people who were enslaved. They were then instructed to eat in haste, ready to leave position. After the exodus, they recline and enjoy the Passover meal at leisure.

Three pieces of Matzo bread are wrapped for Passover. The leader of the family will take the middle Matzo and break it into half. One half is wrapped in white linen cloth (Jesus was wrapped in burial cloths). This half is called Afikomen (the coming One). The head of the family will then tell the children to hide their eyes and he in turn, hides the Afikomen. The Afikomen will then return to the table at the end of the Passover Seder and to be eaten as dessert.

After the meal, the head of the family will then speak blessing over the Matzo, "Blessed art thou o Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth." The Matzo is then shared among the family members. In the Gospel of Luke chapter 22 verse 19, Jesus broke this bread, gave thanks, and He added, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."

Every little gestures of this celebration are pointing the coming of the Messiah, our Lord Jesus and His mighty work. Now, with the understanding of the Jewish culture, this verse suddenly becomes alive to me! How cool is it when Jesus held this bread (the Afikomen, the coming One) and claimed, “This is My Body! Wow...! For 1,500 years (the number of years under the dispensation of Law), the Jewish people had been observing and celebrating this festival year after year and suddenly, a Man, stood up, took this Afikomen, which signified the coming of the Messiah and claimed, “This is My Body!” Wow, cool...!

Jesus declared the Afikomen as His Body in front of His twelve disciples. The twelve disciples were significantly representing the twelve tribes of Israel as well as the twelve Elders of the Church; as twelve being the number of government. Hey, our Lord was declaring this powerful truth to His people, i.e. the Nation of Israel as well as His Church...! From then on, Passover meal became the Holy Communion and we, as His holy nation, the Christ generation, are blessed with instant access to this powerful providence that the remembrance of His mighty Finished Work at the Cross is possible at any time and in anywhere. Because of His Finished Work, we do not have to wait for the coming one by observing any festival ever again…


"Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheynu, Melech ha Olam, hamotzi lechem min ha aretz" which means “Blessed art thou o Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth!"

Do Not Eat The Meat Raw!

During the time of the Old Testament, lambs for the Passover meal were being slain and not a bone was to be broken in these sacrificial lambs. Passover pronounces redemption and to the Jewish people, the Passover feast has a special meaning. Though we are not slaves, like the Jewish people, we were slaves to our sin, our own wants and desires. Sin was our master until Jesus, the Passover Lamb, delivered us from our "Egypt". The lamb slain during Passover is a foreshadow of the redemption we find in Jesus, our Saviour, our Passover Lamb. The principle of redemption is the concept of bondage to the slavery of sin and freedom from its domination. To be "redeemed" means to be purchased from slavery and Jesus Christ purchased our freedom with His blood as the payment for the redemption. The Good News is; we are redeemed!

Before the Passover lamb was taken to the Temple, the High Priest would tied it for public view so that it could be inspected for blemish. In the same way, Jesus sat and taught in the Temple courtyard for four days. He was inspected and questioned as the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and the teachers of the law sought to trip him up in His words and entrap Him. They could not, because He was perfect and without blemish.

Jesus had equal status with God but did not think so much of Himself that He had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, He set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, He stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He did not claim special privileges. Instead, He lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.

Like the Matzo bread, Jesus was pierced in His brow by the crown of thorns as well as in His hands and feet by the nails. He was also pierced in His side by a soldier’s spear. He was pierced for our transgressions… He was also scourged on His back until His flesh was all torn and bloody, and His bones were exposed. By His stripes, we are healed…

Like the brunt of the Matzo bread, the full fire of God’s wrath fell on Jesus, burning up our sins into ashes, and at the same time, bring out the fragrance of the offering of Jesus. After the Finished Work at the Cross, our sins and lawless deeds are but ashes and our Daddy in Heaven remembers our sins and lawless deeds no more! If anyone come to you with this ashes in their hands, just sneeze and these ashes will vanish in the thin air...

Exodus 12:8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water, but roast it over the fire—head, legs and inner parts.

Jesus indeed was the true Lamb of God, the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. At the Cross, He had accomplished the Father's will...

I am concern for those who come to the Lord’s Table with confession of their sin. Although they are sincere, they ignorantly sin against the body and the blood of the Lord the moment they confess their sin. No wonder Prophet Hosea said in the Book of Hosea: “My people are destroyed from the lack of knowledge.” If we confess of our sin before we partake the communion, we are saying the Lamb has not being judged, the Lamb has not been burnt and our sin is still with us. In this manner, we are eating the meat raw. When we are eating the meat raw, we still hold on tight to our sin and therefore, we eat and drinking judgment on ourselves! The Lord says this is an unworthy manner because this manner does not glorify the Father but brings humiliation to His Name! The truth of the matter is, God is Holy and He had lawfully judged and legally punished our entire sins of our life on our Substitute at the Cross. The same sin cannot be punished twice!

If we believe that all our sin had been forgiven, the way we approach the Table is not by the confession of our sins but the confession of our righteousness we already have in Christ. In this manner, we are eating the meat burnt with fire. If we come to the Table with confession of our sin, we are saying the Lamb has not been burnt and judgment for our sin has not been executed. To come to the Lord’s Table with sin consciousness is unworthy. This sort of manner contradicts to the truth and we are eating the meat raw!

Come to the Table seeing our sickness had been judged on Jesus’ body, our sins had been punished and exhausted on Jesus’ body; our poverty had been taken away as He died poor and naked on the Cross and our curse had been removed as He was hung on the tree on our behalf. He had been burnt…

The Lord’s Table is not a place to plead for forgiveness of sin or to claim God's blessing and healing but a place to remember Jesus and celebrate His death for through His death on the Cross, He conquered for all our victories. The Bible says in the Book of Romans that we, as the redeemed one are more than a conqueror. Is this not grace...?

Therefore, renew your mind and do not eat the meat raw!

Justified

The feast of Passover is called Pesach in Hebrew, which means passing over or protection, and is derived from the instructions given to Moses by God. This festival was instituted to remind the Israelite of the exodus from the land of Egypt, from slavery to freedom…

Jesus, the Passover Lamb, was betrayed on the night of Passover. He personally instituted the breaking of bread and partaking of the cup in the midst of this festive celebration also known as the Last Supper. Hence, the breaking of bread and partaking of the cup superseded the feast of Passover as the new era arrived through His death on the Cross. The feast of the Passover was the shadow of the real event to come and Jesus, the Real Passover Lamb was then, about to accomplish all that the prophets had spoken in the Old Testament.

On the resurrection Sunday, Jesus again appeared to His disciples and personally illustrating how a church is to conduct the Sunday Service with the breaking of bread and partaking of the cup.

Luke 24:30-31 ~ When He was at the table with them, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight.

From the light of this passage, the breaking of bread certainly opens our spiritual eyes and releases our spirit to recognize the resurrected Jesus and leads us to our understanding on the truth of His Finished Work. I want to stress again, it is recognizing the resurrected Jesus! But you may say, “Brother, I know Jesus, He died for me on the cross and He is my Saviour!” Yes, what you say is true but do you recognize Him as the Resurrected One?

If you can recognize Him as the Resurrected One, the nail pierced marks on His hands are telling you that all your sins have been forgiven…, past, present and future! If you believe that all your sin has been forgiven, then the way you approach the Table is not by the confession of your sin but the confession of your righteousness you already have in Christ. He prepares the Table in front of your enemies to celebrate victory instead of mourning for your sin and shortcoming. When we break bread and partake of the cup, we proclaim His death until He comes again. Every time a ram horn is blown in the Old Testament, His death was proclaimed, victory followed. In the New Covenant, every time we break bread and partake of the cup, we proclaim His death, and it is a reminder to the kingdom of darkness that victory belongs to us.

How do you recognize Jesus? Do you recognize the life when He was ministering on this earth? Or when He was at the Cross? If we fail to recognize His resurrection, we are only embracing half of the Gospel. The full gospel completed with His resurrection and indeed, the Lord wants us to recognize Him in His resurrection. His death on the Cross took away all our sin, sickness, curses and bondage while His resurrection justifies that we are righteous! Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.

The breaking of bread is powerful providence to enable believers to walk on this earth because as we come together to break bread, we remember once again what the Lord had done and we are also be reminded of our righteous status and a righteous man has no sin but righteousness, no sickness but divine health, no curses in their life but abundant blessing, no bondage but freedom with abundant life. But is it so in the body of Christ? It was not so at the church in Corinthian during Paul’s time and the situation in our time is no any better either. Let see what Paul had to say about communion…

1 Corinthian 11: 28-30 ~ that a man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.

What did Paul meant by examine himself? The examine himself here means examine the man or the manner he partake the bread and cup? The illustration in Verse 29 says the manner of how man partake not the man who partake. It is our manner of how we recognize His body. Do we believe that His Finished Work at the Cross had already given us the righteousness or we believe that He did not do a good job at the Cross and our present and future sin are not forgiven yet and need us to bring out one by one? It is a wrong manner to come to the Lord’s Table recognizing our own sin for he said, “It is finished!” When we come with a wrong manner, we eat and drink judgment on ourselves. The consequence is weakness, sickness in our midst and many fallen asleep.

When we believe the wrong thing, we are not walking in the truth and the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, is unable to witness and manifest His power in our life for He only bears witness with the truth. Believer who has fallen asleep is passive and is not threatening to the kingdom of darkness.

So the good news is, if we can understand what Paul was saying and come to the Lord’s Table recognizing the Lord’s body and not our sin, we shall be strong, healthy and is not sleeping!

Romans 4:25 ~ He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

By His grace we are justified... My heart is burning within me now and with this burning heart, I wish you a blessed Easter Holiday and may your holiday be happened with His happening!

The Light Of The World

Hanukkah is an annual festival of the Jews celebrated on eight successive days on Kislev 25, to honor the restoration of divine worship in the Temple after it had been defiled by heathens. They keep this an annual holiday on the twenty-fifth day of Kislev, which is the third month of the Jewish civil year, the ninth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar and is coincided with the month of December in Gregorian calendar.

Hanukkah is associated with a nine-branch menorah. The Temple menorah has seven branches but the Hanukkah menorah has nine branches, eight to remember the eight days of Hanukkah and one is the Shamash, the candle used to light the other candles which is usually either higher or separate from the other eight branches. The center candle is signifying our Lord Jesus Christ, the Light of the World; and in the Gospel of John, He preached three sermons declaring Himself as the “Light of the world,” and all three could have been during Hanukkah, the Festival of Light.

John 12:46 ~ I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

Many believe that our Lord Jesus Christ was conceived on the Festival of Lights—Hanukkah. The Bible does not specifically say the date of Jesus’ birth, but it was definitely not during the winter months because there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. (Luke 2:8). From the account of John the Baptist, his conception reveals that he was conceived on about Sivan 30 (Luke 1:8-13, 24). Adding forty weeks, for a normal pregnancy reveals that John the Baptist was born on or about Passover, Nisan 14. Six months after John’s conception, Mary conceived Jesus (Luke 1:26-33); therefore Jesus would have been conceived six months after Sivan 30 in the month of Kislev— Hanukkah. Starting at Hanukkah, which begins on Kislev 25 and continues for eight days, and counting through the nine months of Mary’s pregnancy, the approximate time of the birth of Jesus was at the Festival of Tabernacles, right after the Feast of Trumpets. Blowing of the Shofar during the Feast of Trumpets means the bringing of a clear message of the Good News: the Grace of God in Christ.

John 12:35 ~36: Then Jesus told them, "You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light." When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.

We hold candles in our hand during caroling and even in certain countries, candles are put at the windows of all the Christian homes on Christmas Eve. These candles are signifying the LIGHT is in the world and are pointing us to Jesus, the Light of the world.

John 8:12 ~ When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

The Gift

Christmas is just round the corner and indeed, Christmas is a season for giving. God had demonstrated His love by giving His begotten Son, Jesus Christ as the Gift for us… For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

Virgin Mary gave birth to her firstborn, a Son in Bethlehem, the town of David. When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took Baby Jesus to Jerusalem and present Him to the Lord, as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord", and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons." Obviously, Joseph and Mary were not financially sound as the type of offer reflected their financial affordability as indicated in Leviticus 5: 7 ~ 'If he cannot afford a lamb, he is to bring two doves or two young pigeons to the LORD… However, this consecration had changed their life and they did not remain poor ever since...

On the other hand, this ultimate prophecy came to pass when the Magi was led to witness Baby Jesus in His mother's arm. When Daniel the prophet was in Babylon, he was the head of the Magi. The Magi learned of the prophecies of the coming Messiah from Daniel and were handed down from generation to generation of the Magi. The star in the East had led the Magi to Joseph’s house and they saw Baby Jesus with His mother, Mary. The Magi did not come just to see Baby Jesus or visit Baby Jesus; they came to bow down and worship Him and they opened their treasures and presented Baby Jesus with gifts of gold, and of frankincense and of myrrh.

In the Bible times, these gifts were only meant for the kings. For gold was to designate royalty. Jesus is King of Kings and symbolically gold represents kingship; the King that Christ is for us. Frankincense signified His role as High Priest, an Intercessor between man and God. Symbolically frankincense also represented the divinity of Christ because frankincense was burnt as an offering to God. As for myrrh, because of its aromatic quality to cover the smell of decay, myrrh was an embalming spice and was used at death. Therefore, myrrh prophetically pointed to Jesus dying on the cross for mankind and also represented the bitter cup that Christ had to drink in suffering for our sins and the healing for us that his death brings. These gifts also signified the fundamental office of Christ as King, High Priest and Prophet.

Because of these three types of gift were mentioned, numerous erroneous thoughts had led to the conclusion that there were only three wise men. In actual fact, the Magi were powerful men in Babylon, and they were escorted by a troop of as many as 200 mighty horse soldiers when they traveled. Their present in the land of Israel gave fear to Herod due to the encroachment, his military tension within the Roman Empire and the news of a newborn King.

This ultimate Gift from God and the gifts from the Magi had the same theme in signifying the royalty nature, priestly ministry and the death of Christ. The birth of our Savior was to fulfill the Father’s will by demonstrating a consecrated life on earth and to take away the sins of this world...

Christmas' original purpose is to declare this Good News and celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Luke 2:11 ~ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to YOU; He is Christ the Lord.

By grace, a Savior has been born to YOU, have YOU receive this Gift?

Merry Christmas

Anyway, 25th of December is not the birthday of Jesus Christ. This is actually the day when angel Gabriel visited Mary in Nazareth, a town in Galilee 2000 years ago. This is 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 favored! The Lord is with you.”

After the gestation period of nine months, i.e. on the month of September of the next year, Mary gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. The town of Bethlehem was packed with people as the Jewish people start 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 is blown every morning in the Synagogue to remind the people that the holy days are approaching, and that they should prepare themselves. Their preparation consists of confessing their sins and seeking forgiveness, and going back to fix 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.

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 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 learned 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 Heaven the moment we accepted His Darling Son as Savior while men have to see Heaven to be convinced that they are saved...!