Beloved friends in Christ,

I am grateful this year to celebrate the birth of our Lord in America. I have been in the States for 27 years. When I arrived in America in 1992, I was reminded, as I always am, of the famous, heart-moving painting of the Arrival of the Pilgrim Fathers by Gisbert Antonio (1835-1901). These are women and men of God getting down on their knees and falling on their faces offering thanksgiving and gratitude for their newfound freedom. I could see myself in that painting falling on my face before the Lord thanking Him for the gift of freedom given to me in a land that was founded on Biblical values where the name of Christ was meant to be exalted above all names, where people will be sent off as missionaries to send the light, the Light of the Prince of peace. God fully revealed Himself in Christ so that we may be free and proclaim freedom to the world and set them free from the shackles of oppression. Life was mundanely going, day in, day out, but then Christ was born and the shepherds in the field were graced by a visit from an angel of the Lord who stood before them and the glory of the Lord shone around them. Naturally they were in awe by what they saw and they became terribly frightened. But the angel of the  Lord said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring a you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord”(Luke 2:8-10). As a former Muslim I can’t help but notice a stark difference between the two messages. Allah in Islam casts terror in the hearts of unbelievers, according to the chapter of the Family of Imran in the Quran, verse 150. Jesus, on the other hand, by His birth as our Lord and from there on, is casting pure peace in the hearts of everybody, because it is the Father who is sending Him to us in the fullness of time, and our Father is Adonai Shalom, the Lord our peace, the Lord our wholeness who heals us and He doesn’t discriminate but the Good News of Nativity is extended to all, and as Jesus, the Prince of Peace, rules in my heart, I can finally take a deep sigh of relief and thank God for the true meaning of security as a safe citizen of the US, a citizen who wants sincerely for America to be America, yes a melting pot for all, but it is the America to which I fled and left my house in the village in Egypt because I am simply choosing to pursue being treated as an equal citizen and keep my human dignity, which was violated and assaulted for years and years for converting from Islam into Christianity. Here in America we have a mission and we can’t afford to be silent. Here is the mission field and it has come right next door in addition to our missionary outreach to thousands upon thousands of Muslims in the Muslim world. Together we do it, together we proclaim to Muslims the true meaning of security and shalom, peace and wholeness. Merry Christmas to you all. 

Timothy Abraham