God is so amazing! Because he not only gives us the grace to start each day afresh, he also gives us the grace to start the year afresh. First he gives us the ability to wipe the slate clean daily, then after living three hundred and sixty-five days of the year, he enables us to wipe all those days out (if we so choose) inorder to start afresh again. Talk about God-given detox for the body, mind and spirit! As we wave good bye to 2023 and open our doors to 2024, I'm raising a warm glass to you all. Wishing you a better new year, where we can let go of the past and look forward to the future. I’ll leave you with this song by Jeremiah Paltan called the moon, hope it puts you in the mood for the new year celebrations!

"Forget what happened in the past,
and do not dwell on events from long ago.
I am going to do something new."
(Isaiah 43:18-19, God's Word Translation)

Happy New Year!
Luv Kemi West (The Postman)

Ever wonder what Christmas is all about? Because this is the question that keeps coming to mind each time I see a festive Christmas advert celebrating Christmas, but somehow conveniently avoids mentioning the name of Christ. When you see an advert with the Caption ‘The gift to share this Christmas’ but see no reference to anything that remotely resembles Christ in that advert, it makes you wonder what gift they are actually talking about. Afterall, Christmas is all about Christ, God’s sacrificial gift to mankind. So, why would a supposed Christmas advert fail to mention Christ’s name?

Could it be because it’s become common place for adverts or promotions to omit the name of ‘Jesus Christ’ in favour of other generic words such as ‘Festive season’ or ‘Happy Holidays’. Where any other word seems to fit the bill except the very name whom the season is truly about? There is clearly something wrong with this commercial picture of Christmas? Because truth be told, it would be difficult for a young child experiencing Christmas to know what it is really about if they’ve had no visual representation of Christ presented to them. Would they know that 'God so loved the world that he gave us his only son, his most precious gift, to save the world from sin? (See John 3:16) Or will they know that Christ is the second chance God gave the human race?

That said, who is this Jesus Christians talk about and what makes him special? In the book of Matthew 11:27 Jesus introduced himself by saying:

“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."
(Matthew 11:27, New International Version)

Jesus made it clear that he was the son of God whom God entrusted with everything and the only one who knows God holistically. Therefore, it is only through him that anyone can get to know God properly. He went on to talk about the reason why he came into the world in the book of Matthew 20:28, he said:

"The Son of Man did not come to be served. He came to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many people.”
(Matthew 20:28, New Century Version)

Inotherwords, Jesus came to serve and to save mankind from the shackles of a sinful world, so that we could live eternally with God. It’s the reason why Christians follow Christ and why they celebrate Christmas, knowing that Jesus Christ came to seek and save those who are lost in order to reconcile them back to God. Isn't that knowledge worth celebrating or worth sharing? And is it any wonder Jesus called it the good news and commissioned his disciples to share the good news of the gospel too? (See Matthew 28:16-20). In the book of Romans 10:15 Jesus said this of those who choose to follow his footsteps by sharing the gospel:

"...How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
(Romans 10:15, ESV)

Meaning that it’s a beautiful thing to share the gospel. Therefore, as we celebrate Christmas, let's remember who Jesus is, that is:

"The Son of Man who came to seek and save those who are lost.”
(Luke 19:10, NLT)

Then let's put the Christ back in Christmas by sharing the good news of Christ's gospel and reminding an unbelieving world of what Christ did for them. For that is the true meaning of Christmas and what the Christmas spirit is really about.

Have a merry Christmas!