Special to USAfrica magazine (Houston) and USAfricaonline.com, first African-owned, US-based newspaper published on the Internet.
Dr. Felix Orji, OSB, is the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of All Nations, a Diocese in the Anglican Church in North America province. He is based in Houston, Texas.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.” (John 3:16-17).
“She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21).
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
The Bible tells us that God loved and still loves the world of rebellious sinners so much that he did something extraordinary: He gave the world the gift of his one and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to save us from the guilt and penalty of our sins, to set us free from bondage to Satan and eternal death, and to rule the world with grace, truth, righteousness, and peace.
In Jesus, God the creator and sustainer of the universe took on human flesh for the sake of our redemption. The mystery of Jesus coming down to save us by taking on human flesh without surrendering his deity and heavenly dwelling is beautifully captured by John Calvin when he wrote: “Here is something marvelous: the Son of God descended from heaven in such a way that, without leaving heaven, he willed to be borne in the virgin’s womb, to go about the earth, and to hang upon the cross; yet he continuously filled the world even as he had done from the beginning!”
God’s gift of his divine Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Savior, Lord and King is the most magnificent, magnanimous, priceless, and intensely personal gift ever given to humanity. Jesus is the gift that is greater and beyond all gifts the human mind can ever imagine or ask. Christmas is the remembrance and celebration of his birth as a baby in a manger in Bethlehem of Judea. That is worth celebrating!
This Christmas, we invite you to remember God’s love in giving us his Son, rejoice and give thanks to him the for the gift of his Son, and receive Jesus Christ the Son of God as your Savior, Lord, and King. When we remember, rejoice, and eventually receive God’s special gift of his Son, Jesus, we discover that in Jesus we have forgiveness of all our sins, eternal life, salvation from an eternal Hell, adoption as his children, the gift of the Holy Spirit, deliverance from the power of Satan, gift of new purpose and power in his life, and great hope in the world to come. In Jesus we have the fullness of divine grace and the fulfillment of God’s promises to his people!
If you’re not a Christian we implore you not to ignore the Christ of Christmas again this year. Do not let this Christmas season end without receiving God’s precious gift of love to us – Jesus Christ of Nazareth! Receive him, rejoice in him and be inebriated by the joy of his salvation!
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
