Arise, Shine.

We have just held a Christmas Tree festival at our church. Most of the trees were decorated to the theme of a secular song, but one was a bit different. Whoever decorated it had decided to celebrate Jesus, choosing “In Christ alone my hope is found” as their song, and everything on the tree was a reminder of Jesus.

On the top, instead of a star there was a small gold crown surrounded by thorns, below it was a cross-bar with sign which read “Yeshua ha Nozri, ve Melech ha Yehudim” (“Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”) – interesting that Y,H,V,H stand for Jehovah and no wonder that the Jews didn’t like this sign that Pilate hung over Jesus on the cross. There were also three nails, grapes to symbolise the True Vine, a water jar to symbolise the Living Water, a shepherd’s crook and small lamb to symbolise the Good Shepherd and His sheep and anointing oil to remind us that Jesus is our High Priest.

There was also a menorah – the six- or eight-branched candlestick with the tall candle in the middle which symbolises Jesus. It is wonderful to think that this symbol has been familiar to the Jews since the days of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, and is still used today as they celebrate Hanukah, the Festival of Light, at this time of year.

As Christmas approaches, let us boldly celebrate Yeshua, our Light coming into the world. Over the past few years it seems that many Christians in Britain have become wary of enjoying their faith in public, but now is very much a time to do so.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, the Light of the World, thank You so much for caring enough about us to come down to earth to share our lives. May we have courage to share our faith, no matter how weak it is, with those around us, and not be ashamed to call you “Lord”. Amen.

 
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