It’s not unusual to see nativity scenes this time of year. They’re often lovely scenes, complete with robed figures nestled among sheep, donkeys, and cows on beds of straw. But one thing frequently amiss in these scenes involves the portrayal of Mary, Joseph, Jesus, and other characters. Nativity scenes frequently depict ethnically incorrect details of Christ’s birth—blonde, blue-eyed characters in Middle Eastern robes.

This practice dates back centuries to Renaissance artists and the Byzantine Empire, a time when art was booming and Christianity was slowly on the rise. When these European artists decided to depict Christ, they likely painted renditions of faces they knew well—European ones! But Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and most other biblical characters were not European and would not have looked European…

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The story is told about a man walking along the road carrying a heavy bag on his back. Along came a farmer in his wagon who stopped and offered the man a ride. He gratefully accepted and climbed on the wagon. As they continued the journey, the farmer urged the man to put his bag down. “Oh no, sir,” said the man. “You have been kind enough to give me a ride, I cannot expect you to carry my burdens as well.”

Sadly this is a picture of many Christians today and the church today. They have been saved and delivered from their past sins and problems. They have a new freedom in Christ. They are on their way to Heaven. Yet they cling to the past and continue to carry their old burdens…

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Northern lights, Aurora Borealis is a nature and light phenomena that you can see dancing over the sky on the northern regions of the hemisphere. It flickers and plays over the clear sky in the nights. The northern lights display themselves in an east-west direction, stretching upward 1000 km and appearing as fluttering curtains, wispy haloes, rotating pinwheels, or heavenly pillars that dance across the sky. They show themselves most often in shades of green, but can appear equally impressive in yellows, pinks, dark reds, and various blues. The northern lights are as striking as a brilliant sunrise except they rise in the wrong direction.

The northern lights are mentioned in the Bible in the book of Ezekiel in the Old Testament. In the 2600 years old description it says, “I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north–an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light…”

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At the time of the Tower of Babel, all the people in the world lived in one place. Because they were all together, they all spoke the same language, practiced the same culture, and contained a vast gene pool that kept them all looking very different – even though they all lived in one place. For instance, a mother and father could have had four (and more) children that looked nothing alike! But the people of Babel had disobeyed God by staying in one place, for He had told them go forth and inhabit the earth. Because they disobeyed Him, God confused their languages. Changing the languages forced the people to separate and inhabit different parts of the world.

Because the people at Babel were separated into smaller groups, their gene pool was also significantly limited. As a result, certain dominant characteristics developed in each people group. Over time, humans started believing that some people groups are better than others. This belief is racism, and it is sinful…

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