Coffee and Christmas
Taher, an Emirati, was sitting next to me at the coffee shop. He was a really friendly guy. We enjoyed our coffee as we got to know each other a little. As our conversation continued, I asked Taher if he knew about Christmas. He knew about Santa Clause and presents. He even knew that is about the birth of the Christ, but he did not know why Christ followers make such a big deal about it. I explained to him that the Hope of the world was born that night. While we don’t know the exact day, the reason we celebrate is because God was putting the final touches on His plan to provide redemption to all mankind. You see, we all have this problem with our bad works (sin) that make us the enemies of God. From the very beginning this is not what God wanted. God wanted to be connected to us, but since the time of Adam and Eve, we have been far from God. Since Adam, the Jews killed animals whose blood covered our bad works, but never completely fixed them. Then the prophets began to tell of one who would come to remove our bad works from us and save us from our problem with God. Then this tiny baby was born hundreds of years later. It did not make sense that a baby could be sent by God to fix our sin problem, so I fast-forwarded to Easter. The Christ was not only born as the perfect sacrifice, but the shedding of His blood also obliterated our sin. Like any sacrifice, the Christ had to die. He foretold this, but He also foretold that while His body would be destroyed, He would come back from the dead. I affirmed to Taher that not only does the Bible say this, but Roman history supports it. I asked Taher if he had ever heard this story and he replied that he had not. About that time Taher had to move on in his day, so he left the coffee shop.
Prayer Requests
Pray for Emirates and other Muslims who have never heard the real story of Christmas.
Pray that Christ followers would look for opportunities to share the true meaning of Christmas in very natural ways. Pray for receptive hearts.