MY SPECIAL CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR MESSAGE

 Christmas greetings do I bring to you in the name of God Almighty, His Son- our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

 

Truly, the Lord is faithful and His mercies endure from generation to generation. In His infinite mercies, love and steadfastness, He has blessed us with the gift of life, making it possible for us to witness and also partake in this year’s Christmas celebration. With great joy and thanksgiving, I thank Him immensely and bless His holy name. According to King David in Psalm 124 “If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, let Israel now say…” My beloved children, well-wishers, friends, and other people of goodwill, with the happenings around the world, it has become very clear that to live or remain alive is a great privilege. Hence, from the depth of my heart, I thank and bless God for giving us the privilege to live and for all the beautiful things He has done for us. May His holy name be praised from now to eternity in Jesus name, Amen.

 

Christmas and Its Essence: God, right from the beginning of creation, loved man and had a wonderful plan for him; hence, He created him (man) in His own image and after His likeness too. The birth of Jesus Christ on earth, which Christmas symbolizes, brings hope for salvation, redemption, forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with the Living God.

 

Christmas therefore, is a period that God uses to renew His promises of life and perfect protections against the devil and his agents. To us, Christmas depicts the love of God for mankind and because of this great love He gave us His only Son, Jesus Christ, so that through Him, we will have eternal life and inherit His Kingdom forever. To be able to claim these wonderful promises, we need to draw closer to God in salvation, righteousness, holiness and true worship. I urge all of you, my friends, to return to God. Joel chapter 2:12-13, says, “Yet even now," says the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments." Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and repents of evil.” 

 

More so, I enjoin you to see Christmas as a period of sober reflection and not with worldly and carnal activities that have nothing to do with Christmas. Christmas ought to be a period those who truly love God should unreservedly show their immense gratitude to the Almighty God for allowing His holy and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to be born and to dwell among men in this sinful world, so that if they believe in Him, they will have eternal life and live happily with God forever. Therefore, in this regard, Christmas is a hallowed event, to be celebrated and observed with some degrees of spirituality and not the other way round as most people do. Christmas is not only a matter of going to church but a matter of sincerely showing God Almighty great honour (respect), appreciation and True LOVE by accepting His wonderful incomparable, unparallel and unequalled mighty special Gift, His only Begotten Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. If we truly love Him (God), we will never reject His Holy Gift. Nevertheless, God does not impose it on man to worship Him but rather He gives man the right to make his choice to either follow Him or do otherwise and face the consequence as Proverbs 8:35-36 say, “For he who finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD; but he who misses me injures himself; all who hate me love death." In your own interest, seek the Lord and live.

 

My Sincere Advice: My beloved, let us endeavour to reciprocate God’s love, goodness and mercies upon us by loving Him and keeping His commandments for our own good because “If a man returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house.” (Proverbs 17:13). Let us also support and encourage our fellow human beings who are good to us and have good intentions for society. That is why the Bible enjoins youths in Ecclesiastes 12:1 to “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, when you will say, ‘I have no pleasure in them.” It is disheartening that nowadays, people do not abide by the word of God, as many who profess to be Christians do whatever they like, holding that nobody sees them therefore, nothing will happen to them.

 

Let me use this medium to advise all true worshipers of God not to use phones for their Bible study or replace the Holy Bible with tablets, laptops and other technological devices. The Holy Bible is your weapon of faith; it is holy and therefore, should not be replaced with anything.

 

Commendations: I sincerely commend my fellow servants of God, who are doing their best to propagate the gospel of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, without any compromise; winning souls for Him and leading their flock in the right path by practising and preaching the ever sound doctrines of the Bible, despite all odds. I sincerely commend all the members of Living Christ Mission, including the Princesses and all the church workers, children of God all over the world, relatives, friends, well-wishers and other people of goodwill across the globe that have done one thing or another, this year, to make and keep me happy, and assist me in my humble and selfless service to God, including those who are doing their best to please God. My prayer is that God will bless you exceedingly, and uphold you in Jesus name, Amen. May I also sincerely commend and thank the University Community, the chairman and Board of Trustees, the Management, staff and students of Hezekiah University, Isiala Umudi, Imo State Nigeria. I also thank the people of Umudi for their support.

 

Condolences: May I use this opportunity to sympathise with people who lost their loved ones and relatives this year either by sickness, accidents, fire, hunger, any natural disaster, COVID 19 Pandemic or by the various crisis and upheavals that came up this year, both in Nigeria and other parts of the world. I pray God to console you and give you the fortitude to bear these big losses.

 

Conclusion: Honestly speaking, this year has been an eventful one but I thank the Lord for His mercies and sustenance through the year. Once again, I appeal to you to keep your faith in God as His beloved children and do not for any reason allow anything separate you from His love. “The LORD is with you, while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.” (2 Chronicles 15:2). Finally, remember that the wisest decision you can make in life is to seek God, love Him, fear and worship Him in truth and in spirit. “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.” (Proverbs 8:17), “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). My dear friends, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year.

 

Prayer/Good Wishes: Of a truth, it is very obvious that we need the Supreme God in our lives on daily basis, considering how dangerous the world has become. The devil, agents of darkness, the wicked and enemies of righteousness, are on rampage to steal, kill and destroy. We really need prayers, hence I stand on the promises of God and His Son, Jesus Christ, to pray for you at all times. As a servant of the Most High God and His anointed Prophet, I pray that the Almighty God whom I serve will enrich you with the blessings of this holy season, cause you to find favour in His sight, give you the grace to know, love and obey Him so that after your sojourn here on earth, you will live happily with Him in heaven forever. May He also prosper the work of your hands, protect and deliver you from your enemies, never allow you to be put to shame and fulfil all the desires of your heart according to His will in Jesus name, Amen.

 

I sincerely and humbly wish you well, I also once again, wish you Merry Christmas and a very Happy and Prosperous New Year in the Name of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 

 

The LORD bless you and keep you: The LORD make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you: The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

 

May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all in Jesus name, Amen.

 

 

Yours in the Service of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,

 

 

His Grace, The Most Rev. Professor Daddy Hezekiah MFR, International Mayor of Peace, The Anointed Prophet of The Most High God, Lion of The Tribe of Igbo (Odum Ebo Igbo), Founder and Leader, Living Christ Mission Worldwide, Proprietor and Chancellor, Hezekiah University, Umudi, Imo State, Nigeria.