What Really Happened at Christmas? - A Bible Study by Jack Kelley - https://gracethrufaith.com/childrens-stories-for-adults/what-really-happened-at-christmas/
In the past I've explained why I believe Jesus probably was born sometime in September. If that's the case then what really happened in December? Is Christmas just the result of overlaying Christian beliefs on a formerly pagan holiday as some believe, or is there more to it?
Happy Hanukkah
To find the answer we begin with a look at the Jewish Feast of Hanukkah. Maybe you've heard the story of Hanukkah, but if not here's a brief summary. In 165 BC, during the time of the Maccabean Revolt, the Jews recaptured their desecrated Temple from Syrian dictator Antiochus Epiphanes and undertook a rebuilding and cleansing process to make it fit for worship again. (Angry with the Jews and defiant toward God, Antiochus had captured the Temple, sacrificed a pig on the altar, and erected a statue of the Greek god Zeus in the Holy Place requiring everyone to worship it on pain of death. This outrageous act rendered the Temple unclean and became known as the Abomination of Desolation.)
Jewish tradition holds that when they prepared to cleanse the Temple to make it fit for use again, the priests could not find enough Holy Oil to keep the Temple Menorah, a large 7 branched oil lamp, lit for the required 8 day purification ritual. They only had enough for one day. But they went ahead in faith and God multiplied that small supply so that it lasted for the full eight days making the Temple Holy again.
Since then, this miracle has been commemorated in the Feast of Hanukkah, an eight day celebration that includes the use of a special 9 branched candlestick called a Hanukkiah, short for Hanukkah menorah. The Hanukkiah has a single elevated branch, representing the available supply of oil, and 8 additional branches, one for each day of the purification ritual. Each day of the celebration an additional candle is lit, always using the flame of the elevated candle, until on the final day all the candles are burning. This reminds them that the light for each day came from the single day's supply of oil they began with. Hanukkah is also referred to as the Festival of Lights for this reason.
By the way this Abomination of Desolation is an act destined to be repeated and will again trigger a revolt, this time involving the whole world. When you see a Temple in Jerusalem you will know the time is near, and when you see the Abomination of Desolation standing in the Holy Place you will know that 3 1/2 years of the most terrible time man has ever known have begun (Matt 24:15-21). Whether you see this from Earth or Heaven will be determined by whether you've previously accepted the Lord's death as payment for your sins.
What Day Is This?
As you know Hanukkah takes place around Christmas so I'm going to use the proximity of the two events to make what some would call an outrageous claim. I believe there's a theological connection between Hanukkah and Christmas that does nothing less than state God's position on the beginning of life.
In Happy Birthday Lord Jesus I demonstrated that in all probability John the Baptist was conceived in what would have been mid to late June on our calendar and born the following March. John's mother and father were Elizabeth and Zechariah. According to Luke 1:36 Mary conceived in the 6th month of Elizabeth's pregnancy. That means that our Lord was conceived in late December and born the following September. Because the calendars are different the exact dates vary from year to year, but each year Hanukkah takes place in close proximity to Christmas. Jesus is called "the True Light that gives light to every man" (John 1:9). Was Jesus, "The Light of the World" conceived during the Festival of Lights? Are we unknowingly celebrating His conception at Christmas instead of His birth? If that's the case do you realize what God is telling us?
When Did Christmas Begin?
The fact that Jesus is God incarnate is amply supported in Scripture. But when did He become God and why did He choose to come into the world the way He did? Jeremiah 1:4-5, Psalm 51:5 and 139:13-16 all allude to the fact that God knew us from the moment of our conception. He knew all the details of our lives and considered us human from that time. To merely be with us in human form Jesus could have arrived as a fully grown man but He came as an embryo because that's the way all humans begin their life.
Christmas began at the moment of divine conception. God the Father planned it, God the Holy Spirit planted the fertile seed in Mary, and at that moment God the Son took on human form in the womb of a virgin. From that first moment of conception Jesus was very much alive, very much human, very much God. He didn't become the Incarnate God somewhere along the path of His life, or even when He emerged from Mary's womb. He had been such from the moment of conception (Luke 1:35). God could not have made any stronger statement about the sanctity of pre-born life.
As a poor, unwed teen-aged girl about to be ostracized from family and society, Mary met all the modern criteria for a therapeutic abortion. But had she and Joseph sought one, it would have been just as much the murder of the Messiah as was His death on the cross 33 years later. So the life of the Christ child really did begin at Christmas. And now you know the adult version of the Christmas story.
Hope from a messed-up family tree - Greg Laurie - http://www.wnd.com/2016/12/hope-from-a-messed-up-family-tree/
Pastor Greg Laurie notes Jesus' line included 'liars, cheats, adulterers and prostitutes'
It has become very popular to look into your genealogy. I have a friend who is really into this, and for a while, every time I saw him he had a new discovery about his heritage.
Of course, most of us would like to think we are related to someone important, like a member of a royal family, a celebrity, some great intellect, or a hero from American history.
But what if you were researching your family tree and discovered you had some unsavory characters in it? Would you want to let others know? Let's say that you found out you had a number of prostitutes in your family tree. Is that something you would tell people about? Imagine hanging around with some friends, and one person says, "I'm a distant relative of George Washington."
Another says, "Well, I have royal blood flowing in my family."
And you say, "Well, I have three prostitutes in my family." Is that something you would be proud of?
You may be surprised to know that the most famous family tree in human history had some unsavory characters, including liars, cheats, adulterers, and prostitutes. I'm talking, of course, about the family tree of Jesus Christ. He knows all about having relatives who might be embarrassing.
Yet in his family tree, we can see the amazing grace of God clearly on display, long before Bethlehem, showing us that God gives second chances.
Now, when we tell the Christmas story, we usually cut to the chase. We usually go straight to the beautiful narratives that are found in Matthew, and especially in the gospel of Luke. We often skip over what precedes that story, which is another lengthy genealogy, because we think it doesn't mean anything to us.
Yet this genealogy affects every one of us. It is as much inspired by God as any other passage in the Bible.
And for the Jewish people in Jesus' day, genealogies were a big deal for a number of reasons. A genealogy would determine whether someone was related to the priesthood. It also would determine if a person was in the royal line. And, it would influence how the family inheritance would be passed on. Therefore, they were sticklers for genealogies.
The genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1 reads like a biblical soap opera. There is David, who was plucked from obscurity and became the greatest king in the history of the nation Israel, the man after God's own heart. David's name is usually associated with two others, which represent both his greatest victory and his greatest defeat. The name Goliath reminds us of his greatest victory when he killed the 9-foot-6-inch Philistine in the valley of Elah. And then there is the name Bathsheba, with whom he fell into the sin of adultery. And not only was David guilty of adultery, but in his attempt to cover it up, an innocent man lost his life. The repercussions of that sin were repeated not only in David's life but also in the lives of his children. Yet David made it into the most exclusive family tree in human history.
Then there is Abraham. Though he was a great man of faith and is considered the father of faith, he had his flaws and shortcomings. We know that he lied about his wife, Sarah, out of fear for his life and a lack of trust in God. Yet God established Abraham as the father of the Jewish people and clearly placed him in the Messianic line.
Tamar is named in this famous genealogy, which is really shocking. In Genesis 38, where we read about her prostitution and deception, there is no redeeming value, no silver lining to her story. She is pretty much a corrupt character. Yet amazingly, by the grace of God, Tamar is in the messianic line.
Then there is Rahab, who also was a prostitute. She was a Gentile and an inhabitant of Jericho. When Israeli spies were sent in to check out the land before the Israeli army occupied it, they were hidden by Rahab in her home. Because of her act of kindness toward the people of God, the Israelites spared her and her household. And then, even more amazingly, she was brought into the messianic line as the wife of Salmon and the mother of the godly Boaz, who was David's great-grandfather.
Next we come to Ruth. She, too, was a gentile. She married one of two sons born to a woman named Naomi. When Naomi's husband and sons died, she decided to return home to Israel. This prompted Ruth to make the famous statement, "For wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God" (Ruth 1:16 NKJV).
This is amazing when you consider the fact that Ruth was a Moabite, and the Moabites were among the worst enemies of Israel. Yet here was this Moabite, this pagan woman, who came to faith in God. Then she married Boaz and became the grandmother of Israel's greatest king, David.
It certainly gives hope to those who have failed in life. In this genealogy we have God, in his mercy, doing for sinners what they can't do for themselves: mending their broken lives and putting together their shattered hopes.
This is why Jesus came to earth. We like to think that he came to make good people just a little bit better or to give us a cause to celebrate. Those are fine things, but the real reason he came was because we were irreparably separated from God by our sins.
God's message to Joseph was, "You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21 NKJV). Christmas is about God's solution for sin.
You see, Jesus came to redeem us. He came to free us from the power of sin, from the penalty of sin, and from the ultimate repercussions and judgment of sin as well. That is the message of Christmas.
Joseph and Mary - Nathele Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com
The Christmas story is one of hope and joy. It's evidence that when God makes a promise He is faithful to fulfill it and He allows people to be a part of bringing His promises to fruition. How often do we read about Joseph and Mary but don't stop and really think about the story behind these people who were willing to do what God asked of them? They took on a great responsibility and they were up to the challenge, but the choices that each had to make were life changing. God asked Mary to give birth to the Messiah and she and Joseph were to raise and protect Him until He became an adult. Every parent should take raising a child as a serious responsibility, but when the Child is the Saviour of the world, that takes very special people.
Many people think that Mary was more than a mere human. This idea doesn't come from the Bible and cannot be supported by Scripture. Mary was a normal young woman, possibly a teenager who had hopes and dreams of marriage and a family like all young women. Her lineage is given to us by Luke who traces it back to King David through his son Nathan (Luke 3:31), and further back to Judah (Luke 3:33), and right on back to Adam. The birth of the Messiah had been prophesied by Old Testament prophets and women throughout the ages hoped to be the one to give birth to Him. When a woman married, her desires changed. She and her husband would have children, and she would be disqualified because she was no longer a virgin. "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14. With God, all things are possible, and the virgin birth was no exception. In Mary's day, if a woman who wasn't married became pregnant she would be condemned under Jewish Law and could be stoned to death. The choice Mary would soon make could have meant her death. She was promised in marriage to a carpenter named Joseph, but the wedding ceremony hadn't taken place; Mary was a virgin. Her life was normal and nothing out of the ordinary until the angel Gabriel appeared to her. "And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be." Luke 1:28-29. "Troubled" means she was scared! Gabriel saw her fear and calmed her saying that she had found favor with God. That must have made her feel a little better but his next words would have been shocking. "And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS." Luke 1:31. I often wonder what went through Mary's mind. She knew the penalty for being pregnant and not married and Joseph would have every right to walk away from his commitment to marry here. There would be gossip to face and what would her parents say? Scripture doesn't say that Mary hesitated nor did she ask for time to think about it. She didn't discuss the pros and cons with friends about it or flip a coin. She simply asked how. "Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?" Luke 1:34. God always gives us a choice, and Mary chose to obey God. No wonder He chose her for such a special task. She had a heart to obey God no matter what it might mean to her personally. Christians can learn from Mary's attitude and not question God, but simply obey Him. "And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." Luke 1:35. Mary's next words show strength of character. She didn't understand how it would be accomplished, but trusted God to make it happen. "And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her." Luke 1:38. It was a simple answer but very profound. Her life would be changed, but her willingness to serve God is a beautiful testimony of faith.
Mary had to trust God to work out the details. If she was given a reprieve from being stoned, she was still without a husband to care for her and would be an outcast. God doesn't do a half-way job when He asks us to step out in faith. Though she wasn't married, she was promised in marriage to Joseph who must have been a remarkable man. God had chosen him for the task of caring for Mary and for the Baby she carried. The Gospel of Matthew tells us a little about Joseph. Like Mary, Joseph was also a descendent of King David, but his line was through David's son Solomon (Matthew 1:6). This was the royal line. Scripture doesn't tell us much about Joseph, but what it does say describes a very honorable man. He and Mary were to be married, but suddenly she became pregnant. He knew the child wasn't his and he would have been within his rights to publically bring charges against her. He thought about his options and was considerate of Mary when deciding what to do. "Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily." Matthew 1:19. Though the marriage hadn't taken place, the betrothal was a binding agreement upon both of them and had to be dissolved legally. Joseph didn't want Mary to suffer public humiliation so he decided to quietly step out of the picture and let her move on with her life as best she could. What he didn't know was that God had chosen him for a great purpose. Though Joseph wasn't the biological father of the Child, God chose him to be the man that would act as the earthly father of the Messiah. The angel came to Joseph and reassured him. "...fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost." Matthew 1:20b. Joseph had known Mary was pregnant, but apparently she hadn't told him that the Child's Father was God! That would be hard to explain. The angel said that Joseph wasn't to be afraid to take Mary as his wife, and so he did. Mary must have been relieved. Joseph also proved himself to be worthy of God's favor because he was willing to wait until after her Child was born to consummate their marriage. "Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had biddenhim, and took unto him his wife: and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS." Matthew 1:24-25. This dispels another myth. Some people believe that Mary was a perpetual virgin, but that's just another of man's fabricated stories. Joseph and Mary did consummate the marriage after Jesus was born. Scripture says Jesus was her "firstborn" which implies at least a "second born" child. Joseph and Mary did have children together, and their names appear later in Scripture.
Don't let anyone convince you that Jesus wasn't God incarnate. He had no biological human father, which means His blood wasn't tainted by Adam's sin. That allowed His pure blood, which He willingly shed on the Cross of Calvary, to take away the sin of anyone who sincerely comes before Him and asks for forgiveness. It was through Mary that Jesus was human, which qualified Him as our Kinsman. "If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold." Leviticus 25:25. When Adam ate the forbidden fruit he sold what he possessed. No longer could he walk with God and Paradise was lost. Unlike the sacrificial blood of animals to cover sin, only God's pure blood can take sin away. Because Jesus was fully God and fully human He was qualified to be our Kinsman Redeemer and purchase back what Adam lost. "For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people." Hebrews 2:16-17. Jesus is God and His love for us is the reason He entered His creation as one of us. He was born in a manger in Bethlehem in order to offer us the gift of redemption that can only come through His shed blood. There is no love that can be compared to the love of God.
Joseph took care of Mary and was obedient to follow God's instructions. They travelled to Bethlehem because of a census, and that's where Mary gave birth to the Messiah, which fulfilled prophecy. The lowly shepherds were the first to visit Jesus in the manger where He was born and sometime later the wise men came from the east to worship the newborn King. They brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and these gifts probably financed the hasty trip to Egypt, another fulfilled prophecy. "And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him." Matthew 2:13. Herod was evil and, in an attempt to thwart God's plan of salvation, Satan inspired him to send soldiers to murder all children in Bethlehem who were younger than two years old. If Joseph hadn't been obedient, Jesus would have been killed.
Both Joseph and Mary were asked to step out in faith and trust God. Even though they didn't understand the whole picture, they obeyed God step by step and day by day. Their goals in life were honorable: Joseph had a carpentry business and was able to support a wife and family and Mary's desire was to be a wife and mother. Their lives were changed because God had higher plans for them. Because of their obedience the entire world was changed. You are an important part of God's plan. Even though you don't understand how God will accomplish His will through you, are you obedient? Instead of trying to out-think God, simply obey Him. He worked out the details for Joseph and Mary, and so He will work out the details of what you are called to do. Simply trust Him.
God bless you all,
Nathele Graham
Forget Something? - Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org
He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, "Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?" -Matthew 2:4
Imagine for a moment that you are living in first-century Israel. You hear mysterious visitors from the east speak of a star that has been leading them. Now, don't you think it might be a good idea to make the short journey of about five miles from Bethlehem to Jerusalem to check it out?
Herod was right in expecting an answer from the chief priests and scribes as to where the Messiah would be born, and they interpreted the writings of Micah properly. Yet they should have known better.
These men were the theological scholars of their day and knew the Scriptures inside and out. It was their job to study the Scriptures and number the letters and lines to ensure careful copying. They knew the Scriptures so well, but they cared so little. They knew where the Messiah would be born, but they didn't care about a baby king as much as an adult monarch who could line their pockets with gold. They were too busy to bother with Him.
Do you know one thing that can keep you from Christ more than anything else? It's religious pride. When you say, "I already know that" or "I've already heard that," it could actually dull your spiritual senses to the Word of God.
Sometimes when you hear the Word of God again and again, you can essentially enter into a place of complacency, a place of apathy. You might even find yourself asleep. I find it interesting that many of the Bible's warnings about waking up are actually addressed to believers. Believers can be asleep like these religious scholars who missed out on that epic event.
Even at Christmas, with all our celebrating of the birth of Christ, we can forget about Christ and fail to give Him a passing thought.
Christmas ... the Rest of the Story - A Bible Study by Jack Kelley - https://gracethrufaith.com/childrens-stories-for-adults/christmas-the-rest-of-the-story/
For You created my inmost being, You knit me together in my mother's womb ... all the days ordained for me were written in Your Book before one of them came to be. -Psalm 139:13,16
Celebrating the Lord's birthday on December 25 is a tradition that's probably about 1300 or 1400 years old. "Wait a minute," you say, "There's a 600 year gap. What did people do before then?" Let's find out.
First, we believe the December date came to be as a result of the integration of Christianity into the Roman Empire as first a permitted belief and later the official religion of the Empire. Previously, it had been outlawed and its practice punishable by death. But the Emperor Constantine changed all that, the worship of Jesus was made legitimate, and in the 4th century AD what was to become the Holy Roman Empire was born.
Tradition, Tradition
You know how deeply ingrained traditions become. For generations the pagan Feast of Saturnalia had been a part of Roman life, celebrated at the time of the winter solstice, late December. Rather than abandon this tradition when Christianity was legalized, the pagan holiday was declared to be the day of our Lord's birth and renamed Christmas. This was not the first time that traditions from different cultures had been blended together in the Roman Empire. When the seat of pagan religion moved from Babylon, it first settled in Pergamus (modern Turkey) before moving to Rome. Traditions from the Babylonian winter feasts like mistletoe, hot cross buns, yule logs, and evergreen trees (see Jeremiah 10:1-5) were incorporated into the Feast of Saturnalia and later found their way into celebrations of Christmas. Knowing their origins, early Christians accepted neither the date nor the pagan traditions and refused to celebrate the Lord's birth in December. It was several hundred years before the custom gained acceptance in the Christian world. Hence the gap.
To discover the Lord's real birthday requires some detective work, and the biggest clues come to us from John the Baptist. John was six months old at the time of the Lord's birth and discovering his birthday is somewhat easier so let's start there.
Happy Birthday, John
Zechariah and Elizabeth, John's parents, had been unable to have children. Then the Angel Gabriel visited Zechariah during one of his tours of duty in the Temple to inform him that he and Elizabeth were being given a son (Luke 1:8-11). Zechariah was a priest and had been chosen by lot to offer prayers at the Golden Altar just outside the Holy of Holies. This was already a once in a lifetime honor but Gabriel's appearance made it dramatically more unique. Only twice before had an event like this taken place, and all involved barren women and Messianic promise. Hannah was given a son Samuel who later anointed David King of Israel. The mother of Samson was told her son would begin the deliverance of Israel from the Philistines. And now Zechariah was being told that his son would be the one to proclaim the coming Messiah.
Now comes the first assumption. Wanting a son more than anything (it was a woman's crowning achievement in that era, whereas being barren was considered a punishment from God) we have to believe that Zechariah and Elizabeth went about the process of conception immediately upon his return home. So when was that?
Choosing Teams
King David had divided the priests into 24 courses (divisions) to serve rotating one-week periods in the temple. All 24 divisions served during the Feasts and so each one also served twice a year on rotation. The religious year began about mid-March on our calendar and right away there were nearly three weeks of preparation and Feasts; Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits. Then the divisions began their rotation.
Comparing Luke 1:5 to 1 Chronicles 24:10 shows that Zechariah was of the division of Abijah, number eight in the weekly rotation. Counting the time all divisions were on duty and eight weeks of rotation, Gabriel's visit occurred about 3 months into the religious year, mid-June on our calendar. Assuming Elizabeth conceived shortly after Zechariah's return home from temple duty, a normal 9 month gestation period places the birth of John the Baptist at the beginning of the following religious year (mid-March remember) and indeed there are many who believe John was born on Passover.
According to Luke 1:26-27 Mary conceived in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy. Based on our discovery of John's birthday, that means our Lord would have been conceived in late December and born the following September. Assuming this is an accurate conclusion and Jesus was really born in September then is Christmas just the result of overlaying Christian beliefs on a formerly pagan holiday as I've stated above or is there more to it?
Happy Hanukkah
Maybe you've heard the story of Hanukkah. During the Maccabean Revolt (166-142 BC) the Jews recaptured their desecrated Temple from Syrian dictator Antiochus Epiphanes and undertook a rebuilding and cleansing process to make it fit for worship again. (Angry with the Jews and defiant toward God, Antiochus had sacrificed a pig on the altar and erected a statue of the Greek god Zeus in the Holy Place requiring them to worship it. This outrageous act rendered the Temple unclean and was known as the Abomination of Desolation.) Jewish tradition holds that when they prepared to cleanse the Temple not enough Holy Oil could be found to complete the required 8-day purification ritual. But the small supply they did have miraculously lasted for the full eight days making the Temple holy again. This event gave rise to the popular 9 branched Hanukkah Menorah as distinguished from the 7 branched menorah ordained in Exodus 25:31-40. The Hanukkah Menorah has a single elevated branch representing the available supply of oil and 8 additional branches, one for each day of the purification ritual. It symbolizes the miraculous cleansing of the Temple and is often seen at Christmas time. Hanukkah is also referred to as the Festival of Lights for this reason.
What Day Is This?
As you know Hanukkah takes place around Christmas so I'm going to use the intersection of the two holidays to make what some call an outrageous claim. I believe there's a theological connection between Hanukkah and Christmas that does nothing less than declare God's position on the beginning of life.
Remember, John the Baptist was conceived in what would have been mid to late June on our calendar and born the following March, and according to Luke 1:26-27 Mary conceived in the 6th month of Elizabeth's pregnancy. That means that our Lord was conceived in late December and born the following September. Because the calendars are different the exact dates vary from year to year, so this year Hanukkah began on the evening of December 9th and ended at sunset on the 17th. Some years Christmas falls within the 8 days of Hanukkah. Jesus is called "the True Light that gives light to every man" (John 1:9). Was Jesus, The Light of the World, conceived during Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights? Is this why Mary's response to Gabriel (Luke 1:38) was an excerpt from the Hanukkah prayer? Are we actually celebrating the Lord's conception at Christmas, instead of His birth? If that's the case do you realize what God is telling us?
When Did Christmas Begin?
The fact that Jesus is God incarnate is amply supported in Scripture, despite liberal theology's views to the contrary. But when did He become God incarnate and why did He choose to come into the world the way He did? Jeremiah 1:4-5, Psalm 51:5 and 139:13-16 all allude to the fact that God knew us at the moment of conception, knew all the details of our lives and considered us human from that time. To merely be with us in human form Jesus could have arrived as a fully grown man, a teenager or even a baby, but He came as an embryo, a fetus, because that's the way all humans come into the world.
Christmas began at the moment of divine conception. God the Father planned it, God the Holy Spirit planted the fertilized seed in Mary, and at that moment God the Son took on human form ... the form of an embryo, a fetus in the womb of a virgin. From that first moment of conception Jesus was very much alive, very much human, very much God. He didn't become the Incarnate God somewhere along the path of His life, or even when He emerged from Mary's womb. He had been such from the moment of conception (Luke 1:35). God could not have made any stronger statement about the sanctity of pre-born life.
As a poor, unwed teen-aged girl about to be ostracized from family and society, Mary met all the modern criteria for a therapeutic abortion. Had she and Joseph sought one, it would have been just as much the murder of the Messiah as was His death on the cross 33 years later. So the life of the Christ child really did begin at Christmas. Immanuel ... God with us.
And now you know the adult version. Merry Christmas.
The Man Who Tried to Stop Christmas - Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org
Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. -Matthew 2:7
King Herod was the man who tried to stop Christmas. With all his wealth and power, he came to complete ruin. Historical writings tell us that in the final year of his life, his body was infected with disease.
Ironically, Herod pretended to be a worshiper. He said to the wise men, "Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!" (Matthew 2:8). Yet Herod was a false worshiper. There are people like him today. They say they believe in God, but they live a life that contradicts what the Scriptures teach.
Herod wanted to be the king of his own life, but he really was a slave. He ended up being not the King of the Jews but the king of fools. Herod ended up on the ash heap of history like dictators before and after him, reminding us that those who live wicked lives eventually will reap what they sow. Adolf Hitler went into his bunker and shot himself as his nation crumbled around him. Saddam Hussein was found hiding in a hole and was eventually executed by his own people. Muammar Gaddafi was hunted down by his own people, beaten, and shot to death.
All those who blaspheme God, fight with God, or try to stop the work of God eventually will fail. Yet God's Word ultimately will prevail. Philippians 2:9-10 says, "Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth."
One day, everyone-every man, every woman, every believer, and every nonbeliever-will bow before Jesus Christ.
True Seekers - Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org
And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. -Jeremiah 29:13
The arrival of the wise men in Jerusalem would have created quite a stir. These were strange men with a strange question, asking for the King of the Jews. They couldn't have said a worse thing to King Herod. In effect, they were saying, "We're looking for the King of the Jews-and clearly you're not him."
This is why we're told in Matthew 2:3, "When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him." The word troubled used here could be translated "to shake violently"-like a washing machine in the spin phase. That was Herod. And when Herod was agitated, everyone was agitated. When he was mad, everyone was afraid of what could happen next.
So Herod called in the scribes, men who had committed themselves to studying the Scriptures. Without missing a beat, they went right to Micah 5:2: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting."
There was no question the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Of course, Herod wanted to stop this Child from coming and wanted to destroy Him.
God used these wise men to get Herod's attention. These were pagan men who were steeped in the occult. Yet God reached them in a way that they understood. He came to them by a star.
The Lord says that those who seek Him will find Him. To educated men and women, He will come to them in a way they can understand. To little children, He will appear in a way they can understand.
I believe that if people are truly seeking God, He will reveal Himself to them.
The Color of Christmas - Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org
For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. -Colossians 1:19-20
Red is the color of Christmas-not because Santa suits are red or because we wrap packages in red. Red is the color of Christmas because of the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed.
We see a battle being played out in our culture today that is actually the battle of the gods. It is the God of the Bible, the true and living God, versus all contenders. This battle goes back to the first Messianic verse in the Bible when, after Satan tempted Adam and Eve to sin, God said to him, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel" (Genesis 3:15). Thus, Satan wanted to stop Christ from coming.
The cradle was pointing to the cross. The Incarnation was for the purpose of atonement. The purpose behind the birth of Jesus was the death of Jesus. This is New Testament Christianity. It's the division between light and darkness, righteousness and unrighteousness, good and evil, and right and wrong.
Interestingly, it's actually through conflict that we can find real peace. For example, when someone walks into a dark place and turns on a bright light, it changes the entire dynamic. Through this conflict, through this disagreement, the ultimate unity will come. Why? Because as a Christian, you make people aware of their sin-and they don't like it one bit. You don't even have to say anything, really. You're just being you as a Christian.
So don't be upset because there is a little conflict. Just hold your ground and keep praying. This division can result in people thinking about their souls, considering the claims of Christ, and then ultimately turning their lives over to the Lord.
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