< Luke 2:1-20 >

"And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us." And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them."

How are you today? Usually I greet Christmas from the tropics and with cautious spiritual optimism so far the reason why we celebrate Christmas is in remembrance of the day the Savior Jesus was born incarnated in the flesh of man. The name Jesus is "Ιησούς (iesous)" in Greek originated from the Hebrew name "ישוע (yeh-ho-shoo`-ah)" which means "Jehovah is salvation" put differently He who will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). Christ "Χριστός (khris-tos)" in Greek and "משיח (mashiyach)" in Hebrew means "the anointed King" (Daniel 9:26, John 1:41) and it is the New Testament`s appellation for the Old Testament`s Messiah. In the Old Testament the three kinds of persons anointed in order to perform their duties included kings, prophets and priests. Jesus Christ fulfilled all three roles as our King, our Prophet and the High Priest of Heaven. Jesus was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit and 10 months later at the time of His birth Joseph and his betrothed wife Mary were at his hometown in Bethlehem for a census decree by Caesar Augustus throughout the Roman Empire. Since there was no empty room for them in the inn the Baby Jesus was born in a stable and lying in a manger wrapped with white linen swaddling cloths He was visited by some shepherds and Gentile wise men coming from the East. The news of this greatest miracle event—that is, of the birth of Jesus Christ—greater than even the exodus of the children of Israel on dry land across the Red Sea led by Moses in human history (History simplistically is His story) was given to shepherds who tended their sheep at night by an angel and accompanied by a multitude of the heavenly host (Luke 2:1-20). Even now, I think it is the greatest of all miracles that I have met with God, who came by the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

When King Herod heard of the birth of Baby Jesus in Bethlehem near Jerusalem in the region of Judea he ordered the killing of all the young males under the age of two, this is to tell us that for us who are the truly born again saints, in the first two years of experiencing our faith, incontrovertible problems attack us unceasingly to shaken our faith in the true gospel of the water and the Spirit especially at this infantile stage as fragile newbies therefore we have to constantly deny our own thoughts as we meditate and ruminate on the Lord`s spoken word of Jesus` baptism at the Jordan River and His bloodshed on the Cross at Calvary in order to overcome these obstacles to our faith as we move on from eating blank food to solid nutrients to empower us through the church of God and our leaders else we fall preys to and become victims of circumstances ruled by the world and its ruler, the fallen angel, the Devil. To every direction you point with the index finger three other fingers point back at you. I certainly do not want to make a fuss here because lifting that finger and pointing it here and there will cause three fingers to point back at you. One of our fellow brothers, I will not mention the name here, who is a Ugandan used a foreign mobile phone number from South Africa on a social media app. You and I just like this our brother who have become truly born again, from every indication when we become lethargic in our minds we are kind of troubled similar to what happened to King Herod to be followed by the extermination of the male children less than two years old at the birth of Christ the Lord in Bethlehem. So I admonish that we just need to catch our breath, have a little bit of rest even if it`s just up to a split second and take a look to examine ourselves deeper.

Do not be confounded to think here that when I say we should at least have some short respite it`s compared to what preachers have religionized as the sabbatical year leave with paid salaries on the seventh year after serving their church for six straight years. This is rather ministering in the church as a wage earner on a worldly occupation. Furthermore, after a piece of land has been cultivated for six years in the seventh year it was given rest by the people of Israel in the Old Testament to observe the sabbatical year. To help your understanding let`s turn to Exodus 23:10-11. "Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove." Of course, the Bible must be the ultimate benchmark of your and my faith in the truth. Like this, the Israelites rested on both the Sabbath Day and the sabbatical year. So now we must continue and keep on with our priestly duties every now and then pressing toward the goal for the prize of the midpoint of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus otherwise we ourselves will end up to draw back to perdition. I pray and hope the Lord resolves all our difficulties in the billows of life and encamp us with the blessedness of the former and late rains of the Holy Spirit. So I am beseeching that in order to lessen the provocation not to make matters worse out of lethargy may it be according to God`s will given that we either stand a chance for the first resurrection or to face an accursed spiritual death in the lake of fire and brimstone forever based on our freedom of thought on what we strive to believe and preach. Being mindful of the will of God our free will should be dependent on what pleases God in order to glorify God. Even so, let`s keep, maintain and defend this faith of the gospel of being born again of water and the Spirit and spread this true gospel with all our heart`s content. Without a shadow of a doubt the genuinely born-again saint carries out his or her small duty of spreading the righteousness of God with a Berean spirit. For us the born again saints are not conformed to this world but are transformed by the renewing of our minds by pondering on the gospel word of the water and the Spirit. Like that I am continuously being refined spiritually under the guidance of the church led by the perfect Savior Jesus Christ. Here with Christ as the Head of the church that is our Commander-in-Chief we are being trained spiritually through the available literature ministry as we walk in this race of faith where absolutely indispensable is not whether you come in first or complete the race as the last but above all it is for you to finish the race. This means, in other words, that our spiritual prosperity or the prosperity of your soul comes before and precedes the prosperity of the flesh and not the other way round. To God the Father and Jesus Christ, I give all my thanks!