It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.. But the circumstances were not good. He makes me lie down in green pastures. Come to Him! (Revelation 22:17). Would anyone want to say that these men were not authorized to spread such a message? Salvus means "healthy" or "whole." Is there such a verse? The answer is in chapter 3, verse 17: "And the way of peace they do not know." So he was told, "you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). - Sort By Book Order. How could their tongues be silent when they had heard such music? Ralph L. Keiper once said, "When we know Christ, not as a doctrine or a theory, but as Savior and Friend in our daily experience, we gain a confidence in Him which brings peace to our hearts. L It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. "Has God forgotten me?" Then out of the darkness we hear God speaking to call forth life and order. This can be a very trying experience. God has not forgotten. In the first place, we are told that the shepherds, after they had come to Bethlehem and had seen the infant Jesus, "spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child." In other words, the shepherds became witnesses of the event. I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord, the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. Jesus Christ does not thus become some magical wand which causes all our troubles to disappear. It is one of the great words of the Greek language. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to celebrate. Keiper concluded, "When men are truly men of good will seeking to do God's will this text becomes a mighty force. You shall not do any ordinary work. There is much activity but many go through these activities in a joyless way. He answered, "That old threadbare message of peace on earth, good will to men." 5 Bible Verses That Celebrate the Birth of Jesus Health, Inspiration How often have we heard the phrase, "Christ is the reason for the season." To help remind us of why we celebrate Christmas, here are five key Bible verses that celebrate the birth of Jesus. He was, however, making a very important point: We should never celebrate Jesus birth at Christmastimeand then forget Him the rest of the year. One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. It was lost because it lacked direction, primarily spiritual direction. It is in this sense a doxology, which means to express a right opinion of God verbally. Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Can we doubt that the shepherds had something worth telling? It is in this emotional center of man, called by Scripture 'the heart,' that James says war begins, when the lusts within a man strive together." The Bible does mention two individuals celebrating birthdays: the Egyptian Pharaoh in Joseph's time ( Genesis 40:20) and King Herod in Jesus' time ( Matthew 14:6; Mark 6:21 ). And where are you from? He said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite, and my master left me behind because I fell sick three days ago. Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. The Truth! The trouble lies with men. We only understand the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ by revelation. Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The passage begins by speaking of the shepherds. It is not this way with joy. It is the message of Christmas. His birth was necessary. The professor replied that he thought he had. Come to Him now! Christians are to be active in many efforts to achieve social justice, improve the life of the poor, minister to the needy. Christ was born to save! Keiper, Ralph L. Peace in Storm. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. Beyond any question, the gospel of Jesus Christ has important social implications. Did they have joy? If God did that, He would soon make a muddle of our Christian lives because "We do not know what we ought to pray for" (Romans 8:26), and we pray with wrong motives. The question is important because of the significance of the day and because so many obviously do not know how to celebrate it. Keiper asked, "Why do you call it a farce?" The second concerns the salvation of men. Have you responded to His love by giving your life to Him? 2023 BGEA O Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. May God give you grace to do that. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. Blog, A This is exactly what we have in Christianity. May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans! First, it involved her memory; for we are told that she treasured up all these things. It comes from a Latin verb which means "to make a bargain" or "to make an agreement between contracting parties." Will anyone argue that they were uneducated? Our children's gift to us is their example of amazement which will lead us to recapture our own sense of amazement at the incarnation. I have known people who have had deep and fervent prayers answered after the better part of a lifetime has gone by prayers for the salvation of a son or a daughter, prayers for success in some worthwhile endeavor, prayers for reconciliation with an erring wife or husband. When men seek to have their own way, it becomes a mighty farce. We see the force of this verb when we recognize that it was used of persons who were becoming engaged, hence, of the engagement contract. Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! It refers to what we would call "peace of mind" or a "peace of heart." G We turn from that picture to the final pages of the Bible, and in those pages we find the Lord Jesus Christ high and lifted up, and all of creation is paying homage to Him. It is just that His plans do not run on our timetables. There are three instances. You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end. Just as we celebrate our children's birthdays every year, I believe it's entirely appropriate for us to celebrate the birth of God's own Son, Jesus Christ, every year. Clap your hands, all peoples! What are we to say to such theories? 7 This basic approach to salvation has been picked up in an avalanche of books on pastoral counseling, Christian psychiatry, and the cure of souls. And in the center of them in the appearances of angels to Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds there are the three messages which, more than any other, perfectly explain the true, divine meaning of Christmas. On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time; according to all its statutes and all its rules you shall keep it. So Moses told the people of Israel that they should keep the Passover. One theory is that the early church decided to celebrate Christmas on December 25th in order to oppose the pagan celebration of Sol Invictus. Then, you can think about these things and allow God to teach you more about Himself. There are two kinds of amazement. He is the Savior. Geocoding Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. After this type of amazement has run its course nobody gives the cause of it a second thought. And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Finally, our text suggests that we can celebrate Christmas by glorifying God and by praising Him. Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. It was dying because it had no adequate cause for which to live. Think of the situation under which the Jews lived at this time. I am glad that the angel appeared to Joseph and not only to Mary. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. D . What a cause for amazement! For we quickly come upon the Lord Jesus Christ's great invitation recorded in Matthew 11:28-30: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. This combination, when truly grasped, produces witnesses. Will Graham Devotion: The Criminal on the Cross. That is the Christmas story God became man! So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. King Solomon offered as a sacrifice 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So everyone who knows of Christ and has become a Christian can tell others of Him. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. He trusted God and received a great revelation concerning the work of the Savior. J The exact date of Jesus' birth is not recorded in the Scriptures. Because man is at odds with God, there cannot be peace on earth. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost. Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Although there is no mention of Jesus specifically mentioning to celebrate Christmas, the Bible does say that he was born on December 25th. Greet also the church in their house. He wrote and remember, he is writing to Christians "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Have you heard these messages and appropriated them for yourself? Second, there is the strong possibility that the persons may not be in harmony but that they will want to make a pact between themselves in order to settle their differences. A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. Sol Invictus was a pagan god who was believed to be the unconquered sun. To do this is to glorify Him, an act which is, as the Catechism states, one aspect of man's chief end. You want something but don't get it. Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. Since his day no one had been raised up to declare the sure word of the Lord. When a person is at peace with God judicially and is experiencing increasingly in his own life that peace of God which transforms him and gives him tranquility even in the midst of great emotional turmoil and misunderstanding, then there is a firm foundation on which to overcome those interpersonal tensions that upset families, churches, cities, governments and the world. But of all these things, the incarnation of the Son of God is the most amazing. On the other hand, if man cannot save himself spiritually if he is headed for an eternity without God and is unable to reverse his condition then Jesus Christ had to come. This is a cause for amazement. His birthday was celebrated on December 25th. This has something to do with the age in which we live as well as with the general aspirations of mankind, I suppose. Perhaps you have prayed for something and have not received an answer, at least not the answer you were waiting for. If anyone would argue in this way, he should notice that the shepherds had the most important authorization of all possession of good news which had been revealed to them by God. Many people believe that the celebration of Christmas is rooted in the pagan holiday of Saturnalia, which honored the god Saturn. But how? 9. In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. Celebrating Christmas can also take the form of pondering it, for Mary "treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:19). Gaebelein, Frank. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. Judging from the Christmas cards I get every year, I suspect that this is the phrase from the Christmas story that is most popular with people in our day. And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holythe Son of God. And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it? And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. Jesus fulfilled that promise when He died for your sin and rose again for your justification. (Great Neck, NY: Doniger & Raughley, 1955). There are two answers. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Moreover, if you will permit me to apply it in this way, it seems to me that apart from the truths which the angels revealed to Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds two thousand years ago concerning the birth of Christ apart from really understanding what they said and meant undoubtedly, this Christmas, the real meaning of the birth of Christ will pass us by also. Shout to God with loud songs of joy! The third message is of the outcome, which is joy for man and glory for God. How Should We Celebrate the Birth of Christ. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. In one sense all the acts of God are legitimate grounds for such amazement. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born when he is old? Keiper, Ralph L. op. Why Does God Compare Our Relationship with Him to That of a Bride and Groom? Moreover, you can do it in song. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. We see His grace. Instead they carry us deep into the mind and counsels of our great God. But how should a Christian celebrate Christmas? He would say that He was the way for a world that was lost. Though Dec. 25 is considered the birthday of Jesus by a large segment of Christendom, there is no evidence that . And, of course, this is the sense in which we glorify God. Christmas time is a few days away. He asked him to examine the last clause of the verse carefully: "good will toward men." 12. They would readily tell you that the Bible commands us to celebrate Jesus' birth - that it is a time of rejoicing for the coming of the Savior of the world. While a lot of well-meaning, devoted, and sincere Christians celebrate Christmas, we need to think if this celebration does really glorify . Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Not only did these men have something to tell, as we do, they also knew of a world that needed desperately to hear their message. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7). Contact Us. He restores my soul. Now, just as the Bible speaks of peace with God so it also speaks about a peace of God, and this is quite different. In this verse, Simeon says to Mary, "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a . BGEA is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. When circumstances are right, there is happiness; but when the source of happiness departs, happiness goes with it. Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. The appearance of an angel to Joseph in a dream to tell Him to take the Child Jesus and his mother into Egypt to escape the wrath of King Herod. This is the peace spoken of by the Apostle Paul in the first verse of the fifth chapter of Romans: "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." The Life! And David said to him, To whom do you belong? All rights reserved. There is a sense in which the world will never know even one of these three types of peace until the return of Jesus Christ. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com. He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Hopefully Christmas this year has been more than presents and parties for you, and youve taken time to focus on Jesus. All Joseph could have thought was that Mary had been unfaithful. Most people think that the day of one's birth is special. Perhaps you are one who longs for the Lord's return. The appearance of an unnamed angel to Joseph to explain the virgin birth and to name the Child. On the day of the firstfruits, when you offer a grain offering of new grain to the Lord at your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a holy convocation. Trust Him! Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Do you do that? Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Christians celebrate Christmas, or the birth of Jesus Christ, on December 25th. "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" Words: Charles Wesley, Hymns for Those That Seek and Those That Have Redemption in the Blood of Jesus Christ, 1747. Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!
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