According to many scholars; this was actually the time of the conception of Christ; as many ascribe His birth to the fall feasts; others I believe have said that the shepherds would have been out in the spring. In any case; our LIVING Head ( Colossians 1:18) evermore intercedes for us in heavenly places ( Heb. 7:25; etal). We need to attach the death and resurrection of Christ to the birth of course for the complete picture. In any event; we of course have a new year upcoming. Time relentlessly marches forward; like it or not.
There was already said to be the most need since World War Two a few years back as to the number of refugees; and hungry children worldwide. No doubt the problem is still at those levels today. May we wisely give as we feel led so as to be the "hands and feet" of Christ; and/or volunteer to help any way we can. May we also wisely plan seeing that there are so many catastrophes that seem to be coming to pass simultaneously in the short term; so as to have us be the "head and not the tail" when calamity strikes. ( Deut. 28:13).
No doubt there are many who are quite lonely this year as in recent years in particular. May we look for those who we can invite; or at least bless with a phone call or contact not just now but throughout the winter months in particular. I haven't been led to pray for revival; but I do ask that those who do come to church especially if backslidden will commit to regular fellowship as we are commanded to do so and more so as we see the Day of the Lord approaching ( Heb. 10:25).
There are some who have said that they sense the Lord is coming back around this time of year (of course that is hardly the only time mentioned for that event). Let us always keep the message of the Gospel forefront; whether we are out shopping for others (talking about Christ being the "reason for the season") or with family members and friends let us continue to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel.
Growing up in a traditional church setting, we celebrated advent and were taught that Advent is not just about the first advent of Christ coming as a Babe in a manger, but also in expectation of his second coming, when He will come back to put an end to all sin and evil among the people saved by His gracious sacrificial death and resurrection. But He needed to live a perfect life first from conception to death to be our perfect sacrificial lamb, able to truly take away the sins of the world.
I am glad that we have the account of His birth in the Gospels. We can know that when Paul says that He was without sin, we can know that He did not have a sinful nature like we all do, and from conception on He never sinned, not even as a child or youth! He was tempted like all children and youth, so these can know that Jesus is for them and understands their weakness due to the sinful nature. We can also know that He did not sin as an adult, so these people can know that He was tempted in every way as we have been but chose always to obey the Father and not give in to the desires of being human.
So, we celebrate His coming, Emmanuel, God with us. He is now always with us through the Spirit sent by Jesus and the Father. We are never alone, though we may not have other humans around us. Jesus' promise stands firm and true throughout all time for those who believe! And on top of that, He reconciled us to the Father through His blood shed for us!
There is so much to celebrate every day, but at Christmas we can marvel at the supernatural miracle of His Incarnation. Whenever His birthday really was, we don't know, nor the actual year. Mary knew, and perhaps the apostles knew since she stayed among them after the ascension. But it was not published in the Scriptures. This does not exclude us from celebrating His nativity, nay, all the more reason to have a season for it at the turning point of the darkest part of year into increasing light
According to many scholars; this was actually the time of the conception of Christ; as many ascribe His birth to the fall feasts; others I believe have said that the shepherds would have been out in the spring. In any case; our LIVING Head ( Colossians 1:18) evermore intercedes for us in heavenly places ( Heb. 7:25; etal). We need to attach the death and resurrection of Christ to the birth of course for the complete picture. In any event; we of course have a new year upcoming. Time relentlessly marches forward; like it or not.
There was already said to be the most need since World War Two a few years back as to the number of refugees; and hungry children worldwide. No doubt the problem is still at those levels today. May we wisely give as we feel led so as to be the "hands and feet" of Christ; and/or volunteer to help any way we can. May we also wisely plan seeing that there are so many catastrophes that seem to be coming to pass simultaneously in the short term; so as to have us be the "head and not the tail" when calamity strikes. ( Deut. 28:13).
No doubt there are many who are quite lonely this year as in recent years in particular. May we look for those who we can invite; or at least bless with a phone call or contact not just now but throughout the winter months in particular. I haven't been led to pray for revival; but I do ask that those who do come to church especially if backslidden will commit to regular fellowship as we are commanded to do so and more so as we see the Day of the Lord approaching ( Heb. 10:25).
There are some who have said that they sense the Lord is coming back around this time of year (of course that is hardly the only time mentioned for that event). Let us always keep the message of the Gospel forefront; whether we are out shopping for others (talking about Christ being the "reason for the season") or with family members and friends let us continue to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel.
Growing up in a traditional church setting, we celebrated advent and were taught that Advent is not just about the first advent of Christ coming as a Babe in a manger, but also in expectation of his second coming, when He will come back to put an end to all sin and evil among the people saved by His gracious sacrificial death and resurrection. But He needed to live a perfect life first from conception to death to be our perfect sacrificial lamb, able to truly take away the sins of the world.
I am glad that we have the account of His birth in the Gospels. We can know that when Paul says that He was without sin, we can know that He did not have a sinful nature like we all do, and from conception on He never sinned, not even as a child or youth! He was tempted like all children and youth, so these can know that Jesus is for them and understands their weakness due to the sinful nature. We can also know that He did not sin as an adult, so these people can know that He was tempted in every way as we have been but chose always to obey the Father and not give in to the desires of being human.
So, we celebrate His coming, Emmanuel, God with us. He is now always with us through the Spirit sent by Jesus and the Father. We are never alone, though we may not have other humans around us. Jesus' promise stands firm and true throughout all time for those who believe! And on top of that, He reconciled us to the Father through His blood shed for us!
There is so much to celebrate every day, but at Christmas we can marvel at the supernatural miracle of His Incarnation. Whenever His birthday really was, we don't know, nor the actual year. Mary knew, and perhaps the apostles knew since she stayed among them after the ascension. But it was not published in the Scriptures. This does not exclude us from celebrating His nativity, nay, all the more reason to have a season for it at the turning point of the darkest part of year into increasing light
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