Luke 1:30-35

Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.  And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. NKJV

Christmas holiday festivities once again are at hand, many people have different interpretations of this important time in the Christian calendar. To many it is time to celebrate and be merry, others it is time to be off work and relax, others it is time of the year to reconnect with the extended family and reacquaint themselves after a rigorous time of nation building and continuous struggles of life.  To others it is time to get away from it all; yet to others it is time to themselves in all sorts of indulgence and spend fearlessly although next years fees and other bills are beckoning.

The holiday was meant to be a time to celebrate the birth of the Messiah; reflect upon the fulfilment of promise of eternal salvation. But people across the world have however canalized what is eternal to suit their lustful needs. Christians and non-Christians around the world enjoy this holiday with different frames of mind and expectations. Some expectations are materialistic while are Spiritual, either way they call it celebration.

To most entrepreneurs it is time to make a kill, more so those in the transport, hospitability, entertainment industry. They’ve hiked prices of about everything except oxygen which I am sure they would too is they could get away with it. They say demand has outstripped supply; they justify their usury as willing buyer willing seller basis. An item that would ordinarily cost a few hundred shillings is now almost double its original price in a span on two weeks; a trip that cost few hundred shillings is now thrice as much. What is saddening about it all is the fact that some of these people are Christians who claim salvation of God upon their lives!

People in public transport sector are the most naughtorious at the moment; they claim or believe that now in their “harvest time”. Drivers of public service vehicles have thrown caution and due diligence into the trash bin in a bid to make as many trips as possible. Some end up so fatigued that they fall asleep on the wheel of a bus/vehicle that is travelling at over a hundred kilometres per hour. Your guess is as good as mine at what the end result of such unfortunate actions would be.

Many lives have been and continue to be lost; others are maimed for life through road carnage that could have been otherwise prevented if the greed for more money didn’t arise. Kenyan roads network may not be at its best right now but everyone can bear witness and appreciate that the situation on ground now is far much better than it was five years ago. I also know for sure that such scenarios are not localized to Kenya but are replicated in many other countries as well.

The major challenge is that those entrusted with enforcing the law of the land are so easily compromised/persuaded/influenced to look the other way with/by receiving tokens/bribes of  a few shillings on the afore goings. Through all this I like saying that, ‘the blood of those who perish or those who are maimed by the actions/inactions of such officers is squarely upon them’ I know for sure that there many good policemen and women out there but again there are others who aren’t as good, this too is not a phenomenon localized to Kenya only but can be found elsewhere in the world as well. Whether it is localized or not is beside the point because personally I don’t condone corruption in any shape or form.

Much merry making; plenty of enjoyment and rigorous activity is the order of the day whereby everyone wishes to please and enjoy themselves as much as possible, the enjoyment is good as long as it lasts. However, it is notably unfortunate that during such moments very many people fall into all sorts of mischief and end up in misery and regret afterwards. Many youths and adults alike; whether rich or poor, whether educated or otherwise will start the year 2012 with scarred hearts, battered bodies and immense remorse due to overindulgence that is very common at a time like this.

I don’t intend to be a spoilsport or make your festive mood gloomy but I would like to lay bare some real life facts that go round and round, year in – year out. What might ordinarily begin as gay moments sometimes end up being spoilt by some simple acts of negligence or throwing away restraint and caution to the wind! Such acts of recklessness bring lifetime regrets; ‘I wish I knew’ are the famous last words for such occasions. I am referring to those who seek to please their peers and forgetting who they are. They try out all silly things like drugs, alcohol, an unprotected premarital sexual contact that expose or makes them vulnerable to HIV- AIDS and Hepatitis B among other related diseases; the list could be endless. My last word on this is that always remember everything that thrills also kills.

The angel told Mary ““Do not be afraid “, I am sure that the devil,  at times as this is replicating this same message to some people in an effort to woo them to their own destruction. This very message is being given to somebody who is in a bar drinking alcohol while knowing very well that they will need to drive home or to wherever they need to go; the message is being told a born again Christian who is in business, it is okay to inflate the prices of commodities because it is Christmas, after all everybody is doing it. Both teenagers and the old are receiving this same message, it is reverberating in their ears too, try this drug or alcohol; try that new joint or try that nice disco place that opened the other day and so on and so forth.

While all this happening, I know that everybody in this wide world knows that God exists; whether they acknowledge Him as so is another matter. They know and call Him by as many names as there are languages on earth. Even those who claim that God doesn’t exist; all human beings are dependent on some kind of supernatural providence although they call the same by many names again.

Psalm 14:1-3

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good. The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. They have all turned aside, they have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one. (NKJV)

David had such a frame of mind when he wrote this wonderful psalm; we all know him as a worshipper that is why he called anyone who doesn’t believe in God and acknowledge the fact that there is God in heaven as a fool and being corrupt. Heart of man is really deceitful, sometimes it does have selective perception to many issues, whereby it absorbs whatever is agreeable to it and rejects anything it doesn’t. That is why some will chose to say they are lucky, others will talk about taking their chances not knowing that all these are a form acknowledgement that man needs something beyond their understanding.

I know this is subject is very deep therefore I will not proceed with it beyond this point because that was not my intention today.  In the process of trying to connect with the ‘higher’ beings, some of the mankind are known to seek connections with supernatural entities for their own selfish materialistic gains; others do it to achieve all kinds of power over the physical realms, others seek the same in an effort to identify who they really are.

All this is some kind of acknowledgement that man cannot live alone, he yearns to have ‘something’ deeper than them to look upon or worship albeit under different names, guises and reasons. There is a big variation in this inner need, the attempt to fill a void that is in a man’s heart that cannot be filled by all the gold or silver on earth; a thirst that cannot be quenched by all rivers or any drink found on this earth.

Many historians and biblical scholars have written much about the origin of Christmas, my summation about it all is this: it is of paramount importance that believers know the implications of this life altering event and not place much import on the actual day/date. Armed with this knowledge then I urge all Christians to reconsider their perceptions of what Christmas portends for them.

The knowledge that God fulfilled His age old promise of redemption from sin is very important; so important that it ought to bring about deeper reflection on the inner man and not just merriment and gift giving. I am not opposed to giving or receiving of gifts but I ask for moderation here. Giving gifts to those who can give some to you in return is not the true spirit of Christmas or so I believe.

It is a time when we should remember the less fortunate and again I don’t mean that this the only time we should do so but to constantly have them in our minds and hearts. The bible clearly tells us in Proverbs 19:17 – He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, and He will pay back what he has given. (NKJV) one thing that is important to remember about this verse is that God can never be a indebted to man so you can be sure of receiving from Him in more ways than one. This is not limited to material things as many are led to belief. I have been telling this to people from time to time and will continue until they hear.

Despite many interpretations by different people what Christmas means to them I want to, for the sake of this devotion, limit myself to one type of people; a people who know there is God, people who believe and worship One Creator, Who created everything both animate and inanimate. God of Who fulfils His promises to His people; Who is kind and merciful; Who gives enough grace to cover all failures and weaknesses in all mankind.

Christmas is a fulfilment of such promises, it brings hope to the hopeless and should be treated as so. Many people walk around with hearts that are laden with sin, misery and all sorts of suffering despite Lord’s plea to them to unburden themselves to Him. Though they might appear to be okay on the outside, though they appear to be beautiful on the outside but inside they are ugly, filled with bitterness, resentment, hatred, anger; darkness and hopelessness for both themselves and for others.

It is for this reason that God sent His only begotten son to bring hope to those who believe; yes the world may be full of fearful, resentful and horrible darkness; yes all physical evidence might appear to be turned against you but that doesn’t matter anymore. Only believe in your heart that Christ came to this earth in form of a mortal man to take away our mortality and give us His immortality.

That is why Christmas is an important period in the calendar, besides the happiness upon realization that through it we have assured hope of salvation. Reading through the Bible one realizes that there many verses like these ones in it that give people hope and reassurance in various circumstances but this one is among the most powerful of them all. You might have wondered why I have chosen to give weight to one section/verse than other; the reason is that this is culmination of the age old promise from God about salvation and deliverance form the reigns of the enemy that is Satan

Romans 5:18-21

Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous. Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (NKJV)

It is my sincere hope that the verses quoted above clarify my assertion and believe more clearly than before, that the birth of Jesus Christ heralded the end of an era of death through law and brought forth a new era grace; grace that abounds to eternity. This could not have been possible if Jesus didn’t come to earth, take the form of man and met Satan in the same environment and form that Satan met and misled all mankind through.

As I said earlier it is a time of joy and rejoicing therefore do so spiritually and physically with the knowledge of what and why you are really celebrating. Through the event of Christ’s birth we are strengthened tremendously and renewed spiritually to continue in this hope of salvation. Those who overemphasise on the physical merriment do themselves a disservice that is unparallel to any, Christians are actually urged to reflect at the gift of eternal life they received through this occasion. This is an opportunity for non Christians to also reflect upon their hearts and surrender their lives to Christ who has given them mercy and grace to live through the year and also hope to see another year that is around the corner. They should not only reflect by also take a step of faith and commit themselves to doing what is right in the eyes of God and not theirs.

I don’t really know if it is out of ignorance or out of foolishness that the Jews of the time could not understand this scripture “And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” All earthly kingdoms have an end but the one of Jesus Christ doesn’t have an end. This clearly indicates that this was not a physical kingdom but an eternal one.  Just like the Jews, some people today translate this time of the year to hold earthly celebrations and festivities. How I wish that God would help them understand the true significance of this verse, I am sure many have read and left it as it is. That is why their sorrows are increased after this period.

Deuteronomy 18:17-19

“And the LORD said to me: ‘What they have spoken is good. I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.  And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. (NKJV)

This was a very clear promise to all the children of Israel then and the same remains true and effective to them and us who believes. We therefore need to move with all speed and spread the word of God through out our localities and enlighten our neighbours, friends, relatives and families on the true meaning of Christmas. The spirit of Christmas might involve gifts exchange but again it shouldn’t be the main event or reason but done in moderation.

I believe that the best gift one can receive at a time like is that of salvation from God, total forgiveness of one’s sins and an everlasting promise of eternity. It is also my sincere hope that after reading this, you will reflect upon your life and commit your life to Christ if you hadn’t done so before and to recommit yours too if you were born again and went slack in some areas. Maybe you weren’t committed as you ought to or used to be when you were newly born again, you can change that now, this is your chance. Perhaps you were more outgoing for Christ’s sake and somewhere along the way you stopped, or you were doing something in the ministry and you had stopped this is your time to come back to the fold too.

Probably your level of generosity to the less fortunate was high up but went down over time for whatever reason, kindly start all over again, perhaps you stopped going to church or fellowship meetings because someone hurt or let you down, the time to change that is now. Whatever it is that is hampering your relationship with Jesus Christ should be uprooted, discarded and done away with. Perhaps it is a lack of some kind, the Lord graciously says return to Me and I will return to you in order to bless and strengthen you.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, in the Name of Jesus Christ I magnify your Holy name before the presence of your people and I most sincerely thank you for the time that you have given us all. To arrive at such a time of the year has truly taken your mighty hand. Through the festivities I pray that your may protect all my readers and through your ever merciful goodness allow them to see the coming year 2012. Let the year be the year of Godly remembrance and uplifting. May You Oh God, Richly Bless Minster Joy and J2J Ministries; Bless Maximum Victory and Joy Worship Centre and its entire congregation, Partners and Members. Amen

This devotional was written by Bishop Joseph Koburu Mukiira of Maximum Victory and Joy Worship Centre Nairobi, Kenya and brought to you Courtesy of Journey 2 Joy International Ministries Inc. USA