So How Are You Planning Christmas...Over Coffee?
18 December 08
Well it’s almost here for those of you who are counting down the days till Christmas or shall we say Jesus’ birthday?!
Finished all your Christmas shopping or are you still running around, dodging in and out of people through the streets, trying to get the ultimate present for your loved ones? Have you organised your turkey and the trimmings that go with it and have you managed to keep your Christmas tree up without if falling over at least once?
Let’s just stop a minute and think about this! All this is for the sake of Jesus’ birthday, how cool is that? But let’s think even more and look to the Persecuted Church. Millions of Christians are suffering for their faith and how many of them do you think can actually celebrate Christmas without any pressure from people who are against Christianity? If we look back to the West, we are more likely to have pressure to give presents, have big celebrations where many people are invited and to follow all the other Christmas traditions. So why should we complain about hassle when there are suffering people in the world who would love to join in and yet can’t?
Jesus – the light of the world – was our gift to us from God. So how do we pass on this gift to those who are persecuted and who basically can’t risk to host a celebration because it’s Jesus’ birthday? When you do your last minute Christmas shopping and fancy a drink to keep you warm from Starbucks that probably costs £2, the money paid for that drink a lone could fund a Bible for a persecuted Christian. Something that doesn’t cost that much to us could actually pay for something that means more than the world to someone – in this case a Bible. If you want to give a gift of hope to underground‘s Christmas appeal, give £1.50 by texting “Mary” to 84424
We at underground believe that prayer is our strongest weapon against those who persecute us. Why don’t you give a gift of time to those who are hurting by praying that Christians around the world can celebrate Jesus’ birthday in peace with others.
And as we move into the new year and we all say that we are going to have a new years resolution. Why don’t we choose to commit to praying for the persecuted every day? We can do this by using the Open Doors monthly prayer diary which we can either get in Frontline or from the Open Doors website.
Before we sign off, underground would like to wish you every blessing this Christmas and New Year. Let’s unite together in sending a gift of our time by praying for the Persecuted Church over Christmas. Have an awesome time!