Sharing the True Meaning of Christmas

Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. 

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.  For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:1a, 2a, & 6 NIV)

We rejoice in this holiday season and wish you a Merry Christmas! For us who have been enlightened, this holiday is a wonderful time to celebrate the gift of life that God has given us through Jesus. However, our joy is tempered by the reality that Christmas is not universally celebrated in a way that honors who Jesus is and what God has provided through His Son. There are places around the globe where Christmas is not recognized or celebrated at all. In some other countries Christmas is simply acknowledged as a holiday focused on festivities, family gatherings, and giving. Even here at home, much of the true meaning of Christmas has become lost or distorted in the secular world. Christmas is so much more than a baby in a manger, wise men following a star, and shepherds receiving an amazing revelation. 

The prophetic words of Isaiah (Isa. 9:1-7 and 61:1-3) provide some insight into the fuller significance of the birth of Christ. Jesus was born to initiate and implement God’s plan to make it possible for us to experience His active presence in our lives today and have the confident assurance that our lives are secure in Him for all eternity. This provision of hope that Christmas commemorates is for everyone regardless of nationality, race, ethnic identity, gender, or age. Unfortunately, there are far too many people in this world living under the oppressive darkness of spiritual deception, often exacerbated by physical hardships that leave them with a sense of hopelessness. They have not yet personally experienced the impact of the prophecy in Isaiah 9:1; “there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress.” 

Christmas is also a time when we reflect on Christ’s mandate for us to pass God’s incredible, multi-faceted, life-giving gift on to others. The mission of The Tide is to shine the light of Christ throughout the world and to guide people into his loving embrace where they may personally experience the joy of salvation. The Tide is grateful for your companionship in ministry and celebrates your generosity. Thank you for embracing The Tide mission! Your financial support is critical to enabling The Tide to proclaim the gospel in multiple languages throughout regions of Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Thank you for working hand in hand with The Tide to declare the truth about who Jesus is and why God sent him into the world!

The bulk of our resources are focused on producing and airing gospel centered media content and using the resulting programs to make disciples and plant churches, but our boots on the ground also strive to meet a variety of physical needs depending on the situation and available resources. 

For many years we have been engaging in a variety of community empowerment projects to help improve the lives of people living in underdeveloped rural areas of India. This includes such things as basic health clinics, vegetable gardening, agricultural training, sports outreach, literacy training, and after school day care. This year our ministry team in India also added two Tailoring Training centers so that rural girls and women can learn a valuable trade to help alleviate economic distress by generating some much-needed income.

As our partners in Cameroon have been expanding their outreach, they are encountering people in communities that do not have access to clean water. Consequently, we are endeavoring to sink wells so that people no longer need to live with the risks of unhygienic surface water sources. Another goal we have in Cameroon is to provide much needed permanent structures where congregations can find relief from the blazing sun or pounding rain as they meet for worship and fellowship.

In 2004 we started distributing radios in India to ensure that certain poverty-stricken communities would have access to the gospel. The success of our “Radios for India” project in making disciples and planting churches inspired us to expand media player distribution into other countries. This year we are putting a special emphasis on increasing the number of portable, solar-powered media players we distribute in Pakistan and Thailand. These devices are an integral component of evangelism and discipleship in both these countries and have the added benefit of allowing recipients to listen discreetly in situations where they risk persecution and harm for listening to Christian teaching.

Providing a service to an individual or community is a great way to build relationships and helps people to become more open and receptive to the gospel. Even though you may not think of it as gospel proclamation, alleviating distress in the name of Jesus can ultimately result in more people responding to Jesus in faith. On our website you can find a list of projects that we are asking you to help support either through a special year end gift or through designated contributions throughout the coming year. 

Your regular support throughout the year is the foundation on which The Tide operates, but we also rely very heavily on a generous Christmas offering to help meet our annual budget. As you contemplate your year-end giving, please consider making a special Christmas gift to The Tide to help meet our commitments to our various global partners and perhaps even take on a special project!

Ultimately this appeal is not about asking you to give to a ministry or a special project; it’s about asking you to help make it possible for people in other regions of the world to know and experience the reason we celebrate Christmas with such joy: the birth of our Messiah!