Category: Christmas

Christmas for All

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CHRISTMAS FOR ALL Luke 2:10

“Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which will be to *ALL people.” *(Caps added).

Again, from the beginning, God intended His Word to reach ALL the nations, first to the Jews, then the Gentiles. It was never to be contained, but to enfold. The shepherds, social outcasts, were the FIRST to hear the news of the savior’s birth.

How is it then, that we debate over His skin color, what He said, who He meant it for, WHY He said it? The issues are trivial and from the pit of Hell that keep the FAMILY of GOD divided.

Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of ALL the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit…”

If He was Black, ALL NATIONS would include Europe, Sweden, Finland, etc. If He was White, ALL NATIONS would include Africa, India, South America, Asia. This is why the Model Prayer begins with: “OUR Father, who art in Heaven…” It is, “Thy will be done on EARTH,” not, “Thy will be done only in Israel.”

ACTS 17: 26-28
26 And He has made from ONE blood[a] EVERY nation of men to dwell on ALL the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ (caps added).

Include someone in your Christmas celebration that was never included before, and show them the love of Christ.

Christmas Signs

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CHRISTMAS SIGN: Luke 2:12

12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

God tailored the sign given to the recipients of the news. Not for the shepherds the subtlety of a Star in the east, but an angel in their midst. The shepherds received a Savior; the Magi were told of a King. The shepherds’ message was given in a startling fashion so that there would be no misunderstanding of the event that had taken place.

The Magi had been studying the star and plotting to follow it long before.

How fitting they bought gold, so that a carpenter could afford to flee to Egypt.

And frankincense, a kingly scent to overpower the smell of livestock.

And myrrh, a burial spice, prophetic in its symbolism, as was the oil of anointing at Bethany.

Shepherds were not welcome in places such as palaces and temples, so access would be given them by placing the newborn King someplace where they too could see and worship.

But the city of David was the city where the pinnacle of King David’s line was born. The Magi would be welcome there, and treated as the royalty they were. And when they arrived under the guidance of the star they worshiped Jesus, not his parents.

Of the thousands of babies born that night to swell the ranks of the census, this one was in a special place, a place where typically no human baby would ever be placed, a container to feed cattle and sheep.

A synonym for manger is “crib.”

Later He would come to say, ‘He who eats my body…’

The signs that point the way to Him are still being revealed to those who would walk the path to see and worship, and those who would look for the signs G-d has promised He would set in the heavens.

May the knowledge that your King is accessible to you, and that you may partake of Him, bring you comfort and joy.

Amen.

Christmas Child

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CHRISTMAS CHILD

“For there is born unto you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11

Children are born of their mothers, into their families, not to groups of people.

Christ, already being begotten of God, had to be in a sense born again Himself through the body of Mary, thereby becoming in His earthly body like the people He came to redeem.

Unlike Adam, made fully formed as a man, Jesus went through a cycle of growth:

He understood what it was to be under parental authority, to learn at the feet of the rabbis (and later amazed them).

He knew what it was to work, play, and interact with siblings who think you’re strange.

He understood temptation to seize power, hunger, thirst, scorching heat, and freezing cold when He was in the desert, so much so that at the end of His testing the angels came to tend Him.

He understood grief, weeping at the death of Lazarus.

He marveled at the centurion’s proclamation of faith.

He understood frustration, trying to get the Pharisees to open their eyes.

He understood obedience in the face of fear in the Gethsemane Gardens.

He understood what it is to die.

But this night, He is a baby, sleeping in his mother’s arms, under His earthly father’s protection, given to us by the Father of all, and we celebrate His delivery not only to Mary, but to us, and for us.

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). Matthew 1:23

“For unto us, a child is born. Unto us, a Son is given.” Isaiah 9:6

May His Holy Presence be newly born in your homes and among your families this Christmas.

Amen.

 

Christmas Lights

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Luke 2:9

“And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.”

A light from Heaven suddenly overtakes you.

In your world, this has never happened. It’s night time, and you’re outside, and suddenly….

We have the gift of hindsight, but the shepherds were afraid. Greatly afraid.

Did they cry out, shield their eyes, maybe even start to run? Yet, the light was not hurting them, or blinding them, or burning them. It was just sudden.

He is the God of “suddenly.”

Remember the conversion of Saul? In Acts 9:3 we read:

“As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.” 

We are admonished to “walk in the light, as He is in the light.” (John 1:7)

May the light of God surround you with peace, and change your life, your heart, with the news of the blessed birth of our Savior. It really doesn’t matter what day, it matters that it happened.

“The people walking in darkness, have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.”  (Isaiah 9:2)

Merry Christmas, brothers and sisters.