Hanukkah: Bringing More Light into the World...Continued from page 2

What Does This Mean for Christians Today?

It is not uncommon to find Christians?whether Messianic Jew or Gentile Christian?celebrating Hanukkah. For Gentile Christians, it serves as a reminder that our God is a god of miracles?past, present, and future.

It is also a reminder of Jesus’ words recorded in John 8: 12: When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

Psalm 119:105 states: Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

In the opening of his gospel, John wrote: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

Within these three sections of Scripture, we find a common theme: Light, Life, and the Word.

When Jesus was in the Temple?and how beautiful it must have been for the feast?he was questioned as to whether he was, in fact, the Messiah. What followed was Jesus’ most vehement answer to this most common question asked of him. Within the text found in John 10: 25-38 is another common theme: miracles. He had performed many miracles and those miracles had drawn them to him like bees to honey.

As Hanukkah Draws Near

This year, as Hanukkah draws near, and whether you celebrate with those of the Jewish faith or just spy Hanukkah tableware, menorahs and slender menorah candles in blue and white, toy dreidls, or any number of Hanukkah merchandise nestled on the shelves near the Christmas items, I encourage you to remember the miracles God has performed in your life and the lives of those you love. If you are in need of a miracle, remember this: God, who performed the miracle of Hanukkah for the Jews in 164 BC and Jesus, who performed miracles in Israel 2000 years ago, is the same One who performs miracles today.

So, light a candle… and believe.

[1] http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/?action=getCommentaryText&cid=4&source=1&seq=i.50.10.2

[2] http://bible.crosswalk.com/Dictionaries/EastonsBibleDictionary/ebd.cgi?number=T2986

[3] http://christianactionforisrael.org/judeochr/hannxmas/lights.html

Best-selling authors Miriam Feinberg Vamosh (left; a Jewish writer living in Israel) and Eva Marie Everson (right; a Christian writer living in the USA) are the coauthors of an upcoming book Falling Into the Bible (Thomas Nelson, 2008), inspired by Eva Marie’s articles of the same title for Crosswalk in 2002. They are both speakers and are the best of friends.