Christmas Welcome
In Pampanga Province in Luzon, Philippines, you’ll find San Fernando. The historic city hosts the Giant Lantern Festival featuring the quintessential Filipino Christmas tradition—paróls. With simple bamboo, colored paper, and candles, gifted artists create breathtaking star-shaped lanterns to celebrate the birth of Christ.
Filipinos around the world have taken this Christmas tradition with them into suburban neighborhoods, main…
The Best Gift Ever
At a winter retreat in northern New England, one of the men asked the question, “What was your favorite Christmas gift ever?”
One athletic man seemed eager to answer.
That's easy,” he said, glancing at his friend next to him. "A few years back, I finished college thinking I was a sure bet to play professional football.…
A Ukrainian Christmas
The people of Ukraine include many wonderful elements in their observance of Christmas. Sometimes wisps of hay are placed on the dinner table as a reminder of the Bethlehem manger. Another portion of their celebration echoes the events of the night when the Savior entered the world. A Christmas prayer is offered, and then the father in the…
Immanuel
I was talking with a friend who is a newlywed and can’t wait to be a parent. He and his wife are planning and praying for a baby. They already have names picked out—and my friend’s wife isn’t even pregnant!
In 735 BC the prophet Isaiah prophesied to the spiritually struggling nation of Judah: “The virgin will conceive…
The Christ of Christmas
Christmas is wet in Singapore. It doesn’t snow; it rains. Growing up in a non-Christian family, we didn’t celebrate Christmas. But when I was young, my siblings and I, together with a few neighborhood kids, decided to have a Christmas gift exchange. I don’t know where we got the idea—maybe from all the TV shows we’d been watching.…
Surviving the Wilderness
In the 1960s, the Kingston Trio released a song called “Desert Pete.” The ballad tells of a thirsty cowboy who is crossing the desert and finds a hand pump. Next to it, Desert Pete has left a note urging the reader not to drink from the jar hidden there but to use its contents to prime the pump.
The cowboy resists the temptation to drink and uses the water as the note instructs. In reward for his obedience, he receives an abundance of cold, satisfying water. Had he not acted in faith, he would have had only a jar of unsatisfying, warm water to drink.
This reminds me of Israel’s journey through the wilderness. When their thirst became overwhelming (Ex. 17:1-7), Moses sought the Lord. He was told to strike the rock of Horeb with his staff. Moses believed and obeyed, and water gushed from the stone.
Sadly, Israel would not consistently follow Moses’ example of faith. Ultimately, “the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed” (Heb. 4:2).
Sometimes life can seem like an arid desert. But God can quench our spiritual thirst in the most unlikely circumstances. When by faith we believe the promises of God’s Word, we can experience rivers of living water and grace for our daily needs.
Share the good news of Jesus this Christmas!
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