I hope the title of this article caught your eye. Maybe with many of you it has caused you to be a little disturbed. Well that is why I named this article "X-Mas For Many" because for many people all over this world they have taken Christ from Christmas. Some people in this world are not even allowed to say the name of Jesus, much less celebrate His day of birth. I just got back from Thailand and Malaysia and have been home now for a week. We had an awesome time, and the Lord showed His power over and over again. I hope that experience can tie into this article a little bit.

This was my first visit to Asia, and I had no idea what to expect. When I got there my heart was totally broken for all the people wrapped up in idolatry. I could not believe so many people worshipped these man-made idols that don't even answer their prayers. That's why in Thailand there is no such thing as Christmas; they don't even know that Jesus is alive. For many in Thailand it is the X-mas holidays, and to take it even a step further they live a lifetime without Christ. When we went to Malaysia, things were a little different. There was still idol worship, but the most popular and dominant religion in this country is Islam. Malaysia is a Muslim country, and we were not allowed to share the gospel with the Malay people. It was so sad to see how dedicated they were to their religion that five times a day, they would stop whatever they were doing, and pray. In Malaysia they can't celebrate Christmas because it is against the law to even know about Jesus. Well, I guess your sitting there saying this is cool information, but what does it have to do with me. The first thing I did was thank God for the freedom we have in this country, but even with this freedom we take so much for granted. In America there are many people who have taken Jesus out of Christmas simply because Jesus wasn't for them.

I know, what does all this have to do with us. In John 3:16-17 it says that God loved the whole world and He sent His Son Jesus to save the world. What I mean is Jesus was born for the whole world, Jesus died for the whole world, and Jesus rose from the grave for the whole world. It is up to Christians around the world to put Christ back into Christmas. Jesus has commanded each one of us to share His love with people everywhere. Look for yourself in Matthew 28:19-20; Mark16:15-16; John 17:17-18. People die everyday because they share the love of Jesus with other people. Here in our country we don't face that, yet. So lets take advantage of our freedom this holiday season and become Jesus to those around us. Remember those who can not celebrate the birth of our risen Savior in prayer. The best gift you can give this Christmas, is the gift of eternal life!

Merry Christmas,

Matthew Ervin