Elev8 issue34

- EDITOR’S NOTE -

THE LORD’S PORTION OLUKAYODE OLAYEMI

O

f late, the debate about tithing in the New Testament church seems to have become louder, with both sides well-armed with solid scriptures and technicalities to back their respective views.

On the back of recent social media debates, I had to pause and question what I do (in terms of tithing) and why I do it, as I strongly believe in having a proper understanding of the things we do as Christians, otherwise we are no different from the pagans who pour oil on their dead gods.

As I reflected on the topic, I found myself in the book of the beginnings (Genesis). Interestingly enough, the scripture makes no mention of the word tithe. In Genesis 2:16 - 17 (AMP), Moses wrote, “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and blessing and calamity you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

IN THIS ISSUE

To me, the scripture above highlights one thing, the ‘Lord’s Portion’, and that is what tithing is to me, giving God what is His, and preserving (‘not eating’) that one chunk (first and best) of all He has blessed me with.

That said, I think the debate is, in a way, a protest against the jet set lifestyle some churches have taken to, the appropriateness (or otherwise) of which can be argued.

The fact that it has become an issue, is indicative of a problem which needs to be addressed by embracing the highest level of accountability, prudence and decorum in the administration of kingdom resources.

Tying it all together, as we begin to make plans for the New Year, we each should take time to reflect and seek our own divinely inspired reason for, understanding of and conviction about tithing. Perhaps you are ‘bigger’ than this and have raised the bar for yourself by tithing over 10% of your income; now might be a good time to start reflecting on how you can also tithe your time, talent, strength and every other resource God has entrusted in your care.

CLERGY - Page 3 Pastor Godman writes on the true essence of Christmas.

VOX POP - Page 8 What childhood Christmas traditions would you want to bring back?

HEALTH & WELLBEING - Page 4 Staying trim and healthy this holiday.

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL - Page 9 5 ways to share Christmas love.

CAREER - Page 5 Tips to earning more in 2018!

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL - Page 10 Keep the Christmas tree alive

COVER - Page 6 Celebrating Christmas: the history, the controversies, and what really matters

ELEV8 ESSENTIALS - Page 10 We recommend our favorite coolest items and resources.

TEAM

PUBLISHER Godman Akinlabi

COMMUNICATIONS For feedback and comments, please send Chinny Ugoji an email to publications@elevationng.org Opeyemi Araba

Read online at www.issuu.com/elev8

PUBLICATIONS Matthew Mancha EDITOR Kayode Olayemi

GRAPHICS DESIGN Seiyefa Egein CONTRIBUTORS Kayode Olayemi Chibuzo Okereke Twyla Idigbe Victor Alagbe Onyinye Norman-Roberts Bridget Okuma CIRCULATION Charles Okorobo

ADVERT MANAGER Tishegunfunmi Ade’Adegbesan deyoking@gmail.com +2348033022788 +2348034067881

CLERGY

WHY CHRISTMAS? Godman Akinlabi

W

hen I read the book of Isaiah, it just blows my mind to think about the fact that God will be that painstaking in trying to reach out to us in the anticipatory days of the coming of the messiah. Isaiah prophesied this and these prophesies kept for 700 years and when the fullness of time came, just as the prophet said in Isaiah 7:14, it happened exactly that way: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel (NKJV)”.

One of the weaknesses of this generation is that we lack the capacity and we have refused to build the capacity to keep the word of God in our hearts. We give credit to Israel today because they anticipated the coming of the messiah for 700 years and they passed this knowledge from one generation to another - that the messiah is still coming and man will not remain in this state of helplessness forever; that man’s greatest problem (sin) will not be an unresolved issue forever.

People have rationalised Christ and his coming in so many ways. They have wondered what it (His coming) stands for and what it’s supposed to mean. That’s why things are getting out of hand and people are beginning to think that Christmas is just another holiday. Some people think Christmas is just about shopping, decoration and lights.

The Bible says he is the light of the world which is why we see light everywhere at Christmas. Everyone is going after light to decorate their home and offices. It’s still to buttress the fact that the One who we celebrate says that as long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world; that’s the One we celebrate in this season!

The Essence of Christmas

We need to focus on the essence of Christmas and the fact that Christ did not come to die just because it was his destiny -there was a plan; a plan that came into existence before the foundation of the earth.

God spoke about it gradually over some time that something is going to happen to man that will change the way we live.

The essence of His coming is redemption and reconciliation. Anything short of these in your life must not be permitted.

When Christ redeemed us, He didn’t only redeem us to get forgiveness from God. We also got reconciliation with God. So, we are not mere strangers in His presence or in His house and this is why I celebrate Christmas.

God. According to Isaiah 53:12 (NKJV), “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him...” All He sees about us is that we can tap into His joy.

This season, you may have lost a job or you might not have gotten paid, but I want you to understand that the pathway to everything that Christ did for us, the pathway to the essence of His coming is His joy and if you allow the devil to rob you of your joy, He can rob you of every other thing.

Christmas for us should be a time of exceeding great joy, a time of serious celebration and a time of enjoying God’s great grace. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

“The essence of His coming is redemption and reconciliation. Anything short of these in your life must not be permitted.”

His Joy Christmas is about the redemption of your life and the reconciliation back to God. Both portend great things for the believer because they come with things money can’t buy. The scripture in Romans 14:17 (KJV) says, “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”. These are the key things we want to celebrate at Christmas. We overcome condemnation, we overcome the disapproval of men, we overcome the sentencing and the punishment that is due to us and we rejoice because Christ came for redemption and reconciliation.

I need you to remember when God thinks about you and sees you in His kingdom.

All He remembers is righteousness, the fact that you have been made right with

Godman Akinlabi is the Lead Pastor of The Elevation Church

HEALTH & WELLNESS

BATTLE OF THE BULGE Avoiding the Holiday Weight Gain Chibuzo Okereke

S

o it’s everybody’s favourite time of year again, Christmas!!! The time for parties, reunions, sharing, gifts, family and food…lots and lots of food is finally here. We know Christmas serves the kind of dishes and delicacies that you don’t see every day, the type made only on special occasions, the type that are calorie-laden but yet so difficult to resist.

Yes, it’s Christmas time and let’s be honest, the food is one of the reasons why we love this time of year so very much.

That said, we can’t just throw all caution to the wind and indulge ourselves with reckless abandon, or can we? The answer is no! Caution cannot be thrown to the wind due to health concerns, financial consideration and even scriptural instructions (Proverbs 23:20- Don’t drink too much wine and get drunk; don’t eat too much food and get fat). So, how do you enjoy this special season without piling on the pounds? How can you prevail in the ‘battle of the bulge’ during this Christmas and New Year holiday?

Here are some tips I think will be useful to everyone regardless of whether you are battling with your weight or at a comfortable weight you’d just like to maintain: 1. Eat before the party: Have something healthy before you host or go out to that holiday lunch or dinner.

Fill up on some fresh fruit or vegetables as they have a low calorie density and will give you important nutrients while preventing you from starting out hungry and eating too much. In addition, eating more high-protein foods, such as lean meats, turkey, chicken, beans and eggs can help you maintain a healthy weight because they are associated with greater satiety.

2. Limit your time around the food spread: Whether it’s in your kitchen or on a party buffet table, keep a safe distance from the festive food. Take what you want and leave that vicinity as quickly as your legs can carry you. You will find that you tend to eat more when you stand in front of the buffet table. So, busy yourself with more important things like chatting with friends and family instead of planting yourself at the dining table where you will easily lose count of one puff-puff after another from the starters section.

3. Pace yourself: Don’t plan to eat everything within the first hour of your Christmas lunch; instead, start with small portions and space them out. Chew slowly and savour the food your host, wife, mother etc. spent hours preparing. This will make you enjoy the meal more and eat less because chewing slowly fills you up with less food. It takes the brain

around 20 minutes to receive a signal from the stomach that it’s had enough. So, listen to your body and wait for some time before you go for a second helping…you probably don’t need it.

4. Stay active: Maintain your exercise routine, take family walks, or even organise outdoor activities with friends. Remember this season isn’t only about food and parties, it’s about bonding with loved ones as well. So, be creative and figure out fun ways to get moving this season; celebrate with activity!

5 Be a blessing: If you are hosting, invest in some disposable containers and give your guests, neighbours, security guards etc. food platters to take home on Christmas day. Don’t just throw everything into your freezer and systematically devour the high calorie leftovers during the rest of the holiday. It’s best to return to your normal healthy routine as quickly as possible, so be a blessing and share with others to create an ultimate winwin.

So, these are just a few tips to get you started and on the right track. Let’s agree and make this the year that losing weight won’t top our New Year’s resolution list, shall we? Season’s greetings and enjoy your holiday!

CAREER

NEW YEAR, NEW GIG Olukayode Olayemi

One lesson from the 2016/2017 recession in Nigeria, is the fallibility of the monthly paycheck. When the recession hit, organisations around the country were quick to cut salaries and even lay off some of their workers. In the cases where that didn’t happen, the devaluation of the Naira alone caused an implicit reduction in monthly take homes and when it was adjusted for inflation, the problem worsened.

I

nterestingly, it is not as though pre-recession wages were high, they weren’t and weren’t growing either.

Most people weren’t getting raises and even when they did, they couldn’t keep up with the country’s double digit inflation. Case in point, the national minimum wage has remained at N18,000 per month since 2011 (then it was $109 now it’s $50).

ideas to get you started: 1. Market Items on OLX: If you are good at marketing, you could sign up as an OLX champ and make a decent commission by connecting buyers with sellers of listed items.

2. Sell things online: The online retail giants (konga.com and jumia.com) have made it easy for anyone to sell any product online. You no longer need to have to warehouse, keep inventory or employ a team of buyers or operations staff. Just list you products with these retailers and get your goods accessible to millions of people. You could also post your products on social media (Instagram, Whatsapp, and Facebook) and have people order them.

“...we are in the era of multiple streams of income and you don’t need to work multiple “real” jobs to improve your financial 3. Drive for Uber or Taxify: You can make some extra cash just by wellbeing.” driving other people around the city. All it

Consequently, it’s virtually impossible for most young people to follow the time tested path to financial freedom - live below your means and invest the surplus. Today, most are living paycheck to paycheck and saddled with debts.

takes is a car, some free time and data. So if you find yourself being free some nights or weekends, just sign-up with Uber or Taxify and get driving.

So what are the options? You could accept that you are damned to living hand-tomouth, or increase your income with a better paying job (if you can find one) or get started with a side gig. Clearly, we are in the era of multiple streams of income and you don’t need to work multiple “real” jobs to improve your financial wellbeing.

4. Become a freelancer: The internet has democratized the market place for creative and professional services. With skills that can be used virtually (accounting, data entry, designing, video editing or writing), you can create a profile and start bidding for jobs on sites like upwork.com and fiverr.com. There are people out there willing to pay you good money to render such services to them remotely.

With that in mind, it’s time to take control of your future and start thinking about launching your side gig. Here are some

5. Manage social media for small businesses: Finally, you can turn those minutes of

scrolling through your social media feed into cash. Many small business owners neither have the time nor the expertise to constantly promote their business on social media. You could reach out to some business owners and offer your service for a fee.

This is far from an exhaustive list, but hopefully it gets you thinking about different ways you could start earning some extra income.

CELBRATING CHRISTMAS HISTORY, CONTROVERSIES AND WHAT REALLY MATTERS.

C

lose your eyes and imagine Christmas in January… Can you? Maybe not.

To most of us, Christmas and December are inseparable but, it wasn’t always that way. In the first 3-centuries of Christianity, Christmas wasn’t in December and neither was the birth of Christ even celebrated at all. Till date, Orthodox Churches in Russia, Serbia, Jerusalem, Ukraine, Ethiopia and other countries celebrate Christmas on January 7th.

The general belief held by many modern Christians around the world is that Jesus was born on the 25th day of December some 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem. So each year on this day the ‘birthday’ of Jesus is celebrated by over 2 billion Christians globally.

Although Christmas has been celebrated as a Christian festival since it first appeared in an early Roman calendar from 336 A.D.. Not all Christians celebrate it and a good number of Christians have been calling for its end, denouncing it as a pagan festival and that even if it isn’t one, its presumed essence has since been lost in a highly commercial and secular world.

They argue that the world has hijacked

TWYLA IDIGBE Christmas!!

The big debate between the supporters and denouncers of Christmas centre around these questions are: is Christmas a scriptural command? Is it a Christian celebration? Was Jesus really born on Christmas day? Is the essence of Christmas lost?

Let’s attempt to answer these questions from both sides.

Is Christmas a scriptural command?

It is argued that since we are not clearly instructed by the Bible to celebrate the birth of Christ and there is no evidence in the scripture or history books that his birth was celebrated by the apostles and early Christians, we should have no celebrations or even special services to commemorate the birth of Christ. Whereas, Scripture does tell us to remember His death in the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper, and we celebrate His resurrection by assembling on the first day of the week.

This argument is a case of hyper literalism - an absolute devotion to the details of the scripture in such a way that one misses the spirit and essential thrust of a passage. If we applied this argument consistently in church and churching, we would need to

discontinue the use of musical instruments, worship songs as we know it, online church, there could be no special services or seasons to commemorate things God has done as with thanksgiving or a dedication service for a new building. What the Bible does not forbid, either explicitly or by implication from some moral principle, is permissible to the Christian, as long as it is edifying (Col. 2:20-23) Was Jesus really born on Christmas day?

Was Jesus really born on December 25th in the first place? Probably not. The Bible doesn’t have an account of his actual birthday, and the Nativity story contains conflicting clues. In the account of St. Luke, he talks about Shepherds being in the field with their flock at night. December in the Palestine region is a cold and rainy month and it would be more likely for shepherds to seek shelter for their sheep rather than be out in the cold and rain. This makes it improbable that Jesus was born on the cold wintry night of December 25th. The climate at that time will also have made it illogical for the census that led to Jesus being born in a stable in Bethlehem to have taken place in the first place, as the roads in winter would have been in poor conditions and the journey too tedious for a heavily pregnant Mary.

COVER This is not as conclusive as it sounds for a number of reasons - it could have been a mild winter and it is not at all certain that sheep were always brought into enclosures during the winter months, we are only logically assuming they were. Also, the best season for the shepherds of Bethlehem is the winter when heavy rains bring up a luscious crop of new grass. After the rains, the once-barren, brown desert earth is suddenly a field of brilliant green. Again, while it is true that during the winter months sheep were brought in from the wilderness, Luke’s gospel tells us the shepherds were near Bethlehem rather than in the wilderness, this would have made their journey to visit baby Jesus very possible.

Is it a Christian celebration?

It is claimed that many of the traditions found in the celebration of Christmas were brought over into Christianity from pagan practices in order to make Christianity palatable to the heathens to get them to convert. To many ancient pagan civilizations, December 25th was the birthday of the gods -- the time of year when the days began to lengthen and man was blessed with a “regeneration of nature.” Moreover, all of December 25th’s Babylonian and Roman festivals were characterized by 5-7 day celebration periods of unrestrained or orgiastic revelry and licentiousness which modern Christians now practice with so called Christmas parties.

The pagan associations were lost long ago as many of the things we use today from the calendar to names are sourced from ancient roman civilizations. For example, the names of the days of our week also had their origin in pagan beliefs, Wednesday is derived from Woden, the chief god in Germanic mythology, Thursday originally stood for the Germanic god of the sky or of thunder, and Friday comes from Fria, the goddess of love. On Fridays we scream TGIF! Without thinking about the ancient goddess Fria. This also applies to the traditions of Christmas. We only have a problem if we choose to observe the Christmas season with their ancient associations in mind.

We can choose to see the Christmas tree as a symbol of the eternal life which Christ, the Son of God, offers to man via another tree, the cross, the Christmas lights and candles can remind us that Jesus is the light of the Word. The exchange of gifts can remind us of God’s gift and our need to give of ourselves to others as those who have received God’s gift of life through Christ.

Is the essence of Christmas lost?

Christmas is undoubtedly one of the most joyful times of the year. Over the years, Christmas has taken a full grip on the world, celebrated by both Christians and non-Christians, to become the highest celebrated holiday season. The season has been so secularised and commercialised that Christmas is now referred to as Xmas and Merry Christmas replaced with Happy Holidays. Some Christians argue that it is unbecoming of true Christians to associate with a secular holiday where in many offices, it is celebrated with wild ungodly parties and people spending lavishly on gifts. In a recent survey, less than three-quarters of American children knew Christmas was to celebrate the birth of Jesus, with 11 per cent believing it was the birthday of Father Christmas. This shows us that society sees Christmas as a shopping holiday and society is only too happy to keep this momentum going.

We can’t throw o u t t h e

baby with the bath water. How we choose to celebrate Christmas is entirely up to as free willed beings. We are responsible for our thoughts and deeds, and as Christians, we should stick to the real reason for the season which is Jesus.

What really matters…?

Jesus Christ is the complete essence of Christmas. The celebration of Christmas is not about the celebration of the birthday of Christ but rather a celebration of the birth of Christ, the word made man with God coming into a sinful world as man so that men can transcend as gods.

The will of God is for the creation to honour and reverence His son Jesus. God showed His love to mankind by sending His son to die for us that we might be reconciled back to God. Jesus Himself agreed to come and die despising the shame just to fulfil the burning desire of God. Christmas is celebration of rebirth, a celebration of hope for mankind with the birth of a sweet baby on a dark cold night.

Personally, I like Christmas being celebrated on the 25th of December- what better time than the end of the year to look back at how grace has kept you all through the year. Celebrations are better with family and the Christmas holiday is the one time in a year that most families get to be together.

With these in mind, do go on and have yourself a very merry Christmas, spreading love, light and cheer to those around and truth be told, love does no wrong to a neighbour, it never hurts any one. So go on, share the love, because His love is why you are here.

Merry Christmas.

What Christmas Traditions from Your

Childhood Would You Want to Bring Back?

Victor Alagbe

Y

ippee! Christmas is here again and I am brimming with excitement. Christmas is one of those few times in the year when love is really in the air.

Everybody—friends, family, neighbors, random strangers understand that Christmas is special. Believers and pagans alike tend to be kind, thoughtful, and go out of their ways to make life somewhat better for the next person; however, it appears that the Christmas experience is somewhat being watered down. Christmas is shifting towards becoming just another public holiday – God forbid! We asked some people to remember the interesting Christmas experiences that they had growing up which seem to have fallen out of style in today's age.

Homemade Christmas Decorations Growing up, making Christmas decorations was an art – and we decorated to our hearts’ content. Paper Garlands, Star of David, and Greeting cards were some of the things we made during Christmas.

Making garlands and other stuff helped us to develop our creativity and it taught us how to improvise when you ran out of paper, gum, or watercolor.

"All the kids on our street would go around houses to check out the garlands so that we could agree on who made the longest and

most colorful paper garlands." - Alagbe Steven Christmas Carols It appears that singing Christmas carols is no longer in style. Singing Christmas carols is a wonderful experience; it makes Christmas communal and helps you connect at a more emotive level with the story of God's gift of salvation to humanity through Jesus Christ.

"For me, I will say it’s the carols. It is really fading out… but back then, people looked forward to the carols… those old songs, such as “Silent Night”. These days, when people gather, it is more like a Christmas party, not singing… not carols." - PG Sharing Christmas food We won't attempt to start the Jollof Rice wars but there's no denying the fact that Christmas is incomplete without Jollof Rice and Chicken! In the last decade, we have woken up to the aroma of different pots of food wafting from the kitchen to our rooms on Christmas day.

"On Christmas day itself, we used to cook plenty of food and shared jollof rice with our neighbors. We used to go from house to house to give them bowls of food whether they were Christian or Muslim… Nobody seems to do that anymore". - Tunji Iyiola

Christmas Firecrackers Some of us can still recall firecrackers from the Christmases of our childhood.

Lighting firecrackers and fireworks (think knockout and bangers) seem to have gone out of style. Of course, the government and some estate associations frown on such activities today; yet, we can't help remembering the nostalgia of seeing massive fireworks on Christmas eve.

"I miss knockouts (firecrackers)… growing up we used to have knockout competitions… we would just go round the neighborhood making loud bangs and watch the sparks fly..." - David Rhino Christmas Clothes Kids don't really wait around for Christmas clothes anymore as they get new clothes all year round. Hence, there's not really spectacular anymore about “Christmas clothes”. Growing up, Christmas was probably the only time you could be sure that you would get new clothes. The trip to the market to buy the clothes was an experience and a definite expression of love from ones parents.

"Let's not get started on the wait between when you buy the clothes and when you actually get to wear them on Christmas day! lol!". - Adeyemi Ademola

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

5

WAYS TO SHARE CHRISTMAS LOVE

Onyinye Norman-Roberts

Christmas season is a much highly anticipated period. It is the favourite time of year for most people. Fraught with decorated highrise buildings lining the streets and the chill of the harmattan (or winter), it cannot be argued that this festive season comes with a “spirit” - a key indication of which is giving. Christmas time is one laden with giving and receiving of gifts.

A

ll over the world, most stores and business establishments make their highest profits from Christmas sales. Clothing items, jewellery, home appliances, electronic gadgets to name a few, all make for appropriate gift items; but if you are like me, and are itching to rebel from the cliché manner of Christmas gifting, but have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA what to purchase or where to search, worry no more.

This article is just for you.

One thing to bear in mind is, Christmas gifts should be well thought out. It is not enough to gift someone just anything; be willing to go the extra mile to give something significant. Below are a few ideas which I believe should be helpful for you.

1. Do Someone’s Chores: Look out for an elderly couple who live alone and take care of their chores. You could help with gardening, take out their trash or help them with grocery shopping.

2. Visit a Lonely Patient in the Hospital: With the atmosphere super charged with urgency and excitement, there are bound to be accidents - people will be admitted in hospitals. So pretty pleaaaassseee, extend your kindness and share your happiness with them as well. You could take your

Christmas party away from your home or village to the hospital and give everyone a good time. The joy they’d feel could speed up their recovery process!

3. Offset Someone’s Bill: Look out for those who cannot afford to pay their bills and as a result are serving “jail term” in hospitals. You would be surprised to know the untold suffering people have to endure for the lack of a few naira notes. Some may be unable to receive even the slightest medical attention for want of a little token that you and I may consider insignificant.

a full fuel tank, and make someone’s joy complete.

And last but, CERTAINLY NOT the least …

5. Feed a Family: Think of that family that has been going through a pretty hard time and may possibly still need some of your good ol’ Christmas love. Add a few extra cups of rice (or beans…hehehehe) to yours, accommodate that need in your pot and take the meal over to them, wishing them a very merry Christmas. Also, alongside colleagues and friends, you could organize a food drive for a much larger crowd and give out yummy goodies with extra packages to last people a couple more days.

It is not enough to gift someone just anything; be willing to go So as we waltz into this highly anticipated festive season, I implore you to be very the extra mile to give observant, super attentive and extremesensitive to everyone (the Holy Spirit something significant. lyinclusive) and everything around you.

4. Sponsor a Trip: If you look closely enough, you would find someone who desires to travel to be with family but, due to lack of funds for transportation, is unable to. The dire need to be with loved ones far outweighs that designer shirt you feel he/she needs. You could sponsor that trip with a cash gift or

Be selfless and sacrificial, give of yourself – and willingly too. Think outwardly and look out for ways to put a smile on someone’s face. Go to great lengths to do so. Heaven’s handsome reward awaits you.

Here’s wishing you an Amazingly Merry Christmas and a Fabulously Blessed New Year ahead!

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

Keep the Christmas tree alive Bridget Okuma

O

nce upon a time, there was a little fig tree who dreamt of growing up so that he could go and be a Christmas tree amongst the humans.

The other older trees, knew more about life and they told him that being a tree with humans wasn’t as good as he thought.

But the little fir tree didn’t want to believe the older trees – and he didn’t have to wait much longer.

He was so pleased when one day some children came with their parents to choose a fir tree to decorate their living room. The children adored him at first sight; so, he was dug up, and then brought into the living room where he was hung with decorations. After they had finished decorating him, the little fir tree shone with thousands of lights.

Christmas was getting closer and everyone admired the little Christmas tree. The young fir tree thought, “All the bigger trees were wrong” and he lifted his branches even higher so people would admire him better.

Up till January, he was the prince of the living room but then he started to lose his needles. Now, nobody looked at him, touched him or even bothered to gather up the tiny needles that fell. Then, one day, the whole family decided to put him down into the closet. The fir tree started to feel very sad but still had hopes.

After several months, it seemed never ending to him, it was Christmas again.

The little Fir tree was collected from the closet and dusted back to life. But to its surprise, its glorious shine of a thousand lights had reduced to 500, the year after 250, the next 100 and 5 years down the line it had lost its essence; it was no longer a significant symbol in their home. Then the Fir tree thought “All the bigger trees were right”.

Just like the little fir tree, Christmas traditions of old, such as midnight mass, door to door carol singing, and even greeting cards are dying out because modern life has taken over.

Christmas in the 80’s and 90’s were more expressive of love, care and sharing. Parents are thankful to have the brood altogether under their roof, brothers communing with brothers, sisters exchanging new recipes, children playing with fire crackers and disco lights, neighbours sharing food and drinks, you wouldn’t even eat your own rice; everyone goes around showing the LIGHT of the world that we are.

Today, Christmas celebration as we know it has drifted from how we knew it and even worse from the essence of the season itself. Now, the spirit of giving which is the beauty of the season has been replaced with stern demand for ordinary gift with no intention to reciprocate the love. Shopping is now the most important Christmas tradition, greeting cards have been replaced with broadcast messages, family

dinners eradicated totally, and believers now wine and dine excessively with unbelievers as though it is just another public holiday.

Clearly, we have forgotten the reason for the season and we are killing the Christmas tree.

But now is a good time to change that narrative. The beautiful thing about Christmas is that it comes every year as a reminder of whom and what Christ stands for. It is about His birth, His life, His death and His resurrection.

So, as we celebrate Christmas this year, let’s love, let’s give, let’s share as Christ would want and keep the Christmas tree spirit alive!

“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 9:6 (NIV).

Essentials

ELEV8 ESSENTIALS A few of our favourite stuf that we can’t wait to share!

DUOLINGO

Duolingo is the world’s most popular way to learn a language. With the app, practise your speaking, reading, listening and writing skills while playing a game! It’s 100% free, fun and science-based.

The language learning app offers more than two dozen different languages and is available on iOS, Android and Windows.

BLINKIST This subscription service lets you in on key insights from 2000+ nonfiction books. These lessons are transformed into powerful packs you can read or listen to in just 15 minutes or fewer.

The free package gives you access to read and/or listen to one pre-selected book per day while the premium package can be accessed for a yearly fee of $79.99.

The service can be accessed from its app downloadable from the Google Play and the Apple Appstore.

KINDLE PAPERWHITE

The Kindle is purpose-built for reading.

With the Kindle, you can indulge your love of reading without interruptions like email, social media and text messages. It creates a sanctuary so you can lose yourself in a book.

The kindle can hold thousands of books and gives access to the millions of titles via subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

Unlike other tablets, the Kindle is glarefree and reads like paper. A single charge can last weeks.

FITBIT CHARGE2

A fitness tracker can be an excellent way to help anyone jump-start a workout plan.

The Fitbit Charge2 tracks all-day activity like steps, calories burned, distance, floors climbed and active minutes.

It also has a feature that helps track your sleep and provides real-time heartrate monitoring.

DEEZER

This music streaming service allows you to discover tracks, albums and playlists you love. With Deezer, discover more than 43 million tracks, you can stream and download to listen offline.

Funtime

QUESTIONS 1. What angel visited Mary?

2. Where did the baby Jesus sleep?

3. What was Joseph's job?

4. Which 'King of the Jews' ordered the killing of babies?

5. What country did the family escape to?

6. In what town was Jesus born?

7. What was the name of John the Baptist's Mother?

8. How many Wise Men brought gifts to Jesus?

9. How many gifts were given in the 12 Days of Christmas?

10. What's the period leading up to Christmas called?

- Angels - Baby - Bethlehem - Herod - Jesus - Joseph - Manger - Sheperds - Star

ANSWERS 1. Gabriel 2. In a manger 3. Carpenter 4. King Herod 5. Egypt 6. Bethlehem 7. Elizabeth 8. More than one. The Bible doesn’t say how many!

9. 364 10. Advent

Instructions: The words can be in every direction, even backwards!

Experience The Elevation Church.

Join us for any of our services.

PISTIS CONFERENCE CENTRE

1, Elevation/Resurrection Drive, 2nd turn after Oando Filling Station, Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos

SERVICE TIMES

Sundays: 7:00am, 9:00am & 11:00am Wednesdays: 6:30pm

PISTIS HUB

1A, Ikorodu Road, Maryland Junction, Behind Mobil Filing Station, Ikeja, Lagos

SERVICE TIMES

Sundays: 8:00am & 10:30am Thursdays: 6:30pm

PISTIS ANNEX

3, Remi Olowude Way, By 2nd Roundabout, Oniru, Lekki, Lagos

SERVICE TIMES

Sundays: 10:00am Thursdays: 6:30pm