Roger TJ Koo: 2015

Hi Everyone,

Christmas is the time where we receive presents especially children. Giving presents itself is not wrong but we also need to remember the real meaning behind Christmas. We need to know why Christians celebrate Christmas.

We celebrate Christmas to welcome the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus was born in a manger through the virgin birth of Mary in Bethlehem about 2015 years ago. The birth of Jesus came through Mary, a virgin who was pledged to be married to Joseph. Before they were married, Mary, a virgin¹, was pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Joseph, who was faithful with the law wanted to divorce her quietly when he heard about her pregnancy as it was shameful for a lady to be pregnant before marriage. After considering this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him informing him that the baby his wife, Mary is conceiving is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and they are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.^2,3
I became a Christian by trusting Jesus as my God and Saviour during Easter 10 years ago. He is perfect and has no sin yet he bore the burden of our sins and chose to die on the cross for our sins, because of His deep and wide love for us. Jesus, who in very nature God, gave up his rights as God to fulfill the Father's will of saving mankind from sin. We are supposed to be at the cross to receive our punishment yet Jesus took them all. On the third day, He rose from the grave and sit at God's right hand. His resurrection proves that He has conquered sin and death. He died for all our sins regardless of who we are. All our sins are forgiven and we are made right in His eyes. We are saved by grace through our faith in God. He taught us to imitate Him, to be who He wants us to be. As we walk with God, we will bear his likeness and the fruit of the Spirit.
^{Below are the references to the birth of Jesus in the Bible. All of the verses are in the New International Version (NIV) translation.}

^{Here are some related Bible verses that describes how God loves us:}

John 3:16
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. (John 3:16, NIV, Bible Gateway)

Romans 5:8-9

⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
⁹ Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! (Romans 5:8-9, NIV, Bible Gateway)

Ephesians 2:8-9

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.

(Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV, Bible Gateway)

1 John 4:16-19

¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ¹⁷ This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:16-19, NIV, Bible Gateway)

Galatians 5:22-23

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

(Galatians 5:22-23, NIV, Bible Gateway)

Through our faith in God, we learn to be generous and kind. We are also told to be a cheerful giver. We can give Christmas gifts and yet we also need to remember the birth of our Lord Jesus. We can also remember the needy and help them as well during this period. We can pray for them so that they can find hope and peace with God.

I would like to share some Christmas songs with you this year:

Chris Tomlin - Adore