Chanukah - Day 1

. Chanukah is one of the fun times of the year when we celebrate a victory given by God so His people could worship freely. There are many lessons that come through the Chanukah story which are good for each of us to remember.
. One of the lessons of Chanukah is to be committed to God. We should never be ashamed of our faith, and we should never back down and reject our faith no matter the cost.
. Many people ask me if I am Jewish or if I am Christian. I could answer the question something like ths: "Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God,smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." Isaiah 53:4-5
. The follow up question to this is "If you are a Christian, why do you still celebrate Chanukah?" The answer is that I celebrate Chanukah because Jesus did. Take a look at John 10:22-30 (and you can read further)
. "Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade. The Jews gathered around him, saying, 'How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.'"
. "Jesus answered, 'I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one.'"
. I picture Jesus playing with the dreidle when he was young. His family celebrated Chanukah as he was growing up. And Jesus came to the Temple at the time of Chanukah and recognized the festival. Was Jesus the promised Messiah? Just as the Miracle of Lights was a display of God's power, the miracles brought by Jesus were a proof of His Lordship.
. Those who know Jesus follow Him. They hear His voice. He gives eternal life. This is the plan of God. Jesus is Immanuel.

John wrote in his first letter (1 John 2:7-17) this Chanukah thought:
. "Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.
. Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.
. I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
. I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning.
. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.
. I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father.
. I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning.
. I write to you, young men, because you are strong,
. and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
. Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."