Happy Belated Birthday, Jesus!

It’s that time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Regardless of whether this is truly the date when Jesus was born (and in all likelihood it is not), the important thing is that the Son of God came into this world, born to a virgin, and died on the cross for our sins, and any and all who believe, and trust that we are saved by His death and resurrection, are saved and will have eternal life with Him. So, out of curiosity, when was Jesus actually born? Are there clues in the Bible that tells us? And how was December 25th chosen as the day to celebrate His birth?

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The Christ Child in the Old and New Testaments

In the last post we discussed Jesus’ life and death as prophesied in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New Testament. In this post we will look at Jesus’ birth. As God promised, His Son, who all things were created through Him as it says in Colossians and in John, would come into this world, born as a Child to save the world from sin. He did this by living a perfect sinless life, taking on the sins of the world and giving His life for us through His death on the cross. He would grow up to do mighty things, but it started in Bethlehem, in a manger.

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The First Christmas

I remember watching the Charlie Brown Christmas special. With all the hustle and bustle of shopping and gifts and trees and decorations, we lose sight of what Christmas is all about. But Linus got it right. Remember? He recited part of Luke 2. ‘Christ’mas is not about any of that. It is about the birth of our Savior.

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Jesus the Greatest Gift

Merry Christmas, everyone!  May your hearts and homes be filled and I hope that all of you will have a wonderful time with friends and family this Christmas season!  I love the time of opening gifts and seeing joy of others when they receive a gift that they will enjoy.  But the greatest gift of all and the greatest blessing is knowing Jesus Christ.  Not just knowing who He is, but really knowing Him, having an intimate relationship, a saving relationship with Jesus.  It gives me such great joy to see someone make that decision to trust in Jesus.  It is overwhelming joy!

That is what Christmas is all about.  We celebrate the birth of Jesus (though it may have actually been some time in the fall, not December 25) on this day, not for the opening of presents or gathering of families or the feast or any of that, though that is all great, too, but that Jesus came to this earth to save us from our sins, from eternal damnation, to give us eternal life! Continue reading “Jesus the Greatest Gift”

The Song of Mary

After Mary found out that God had chosen her to give birth to His Son, Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, she gave this humble proclamation:

Luke 1:46-55

My soul magnifies the Lord,

And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;

For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

For He who is mighty has done great things for me,

And holy is His name.

And His mercy is on those who fear Him

From generation to generation.

He has shown strength with His arm;

He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He has put down the mighty from their thrones,

And exalted the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

And the rich He has sent away empty.

He has helped His servant Israel,

In remembrance of His mercy,

As He spoke to our fathers,

To Abraham and to his seed forever. Continue reading “The Song of Mary”