The Christmas Story

Luke 2:

1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and Angels

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 16 And they came with haste and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Our Savior, Lord, and King born as a babe to be our Passover Lamb and He will come back soon as our King!

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Do you believe?

Jesus said that if we believe in Him we will be saved. But what about the rest of God’s Word? Do you believe what it says? You know…you can’t pick and choose which parts or which verses or books to believe although many people seem to do just that these days. Being a Christian means more than believing in Jesus although that is the beginning of your faith. Living as a Christian daily means living by God’s Word. Not just the New Testament or the parts about Jesus and His ministry but by living and believing ALL of God’s Word from Genesis to Revelation.

There are no areas of the Bible which are gray areas when it comes to faith. You either believe all of it or you actually believe only parts of it and when you do that you have invalidated ALL of it. By choosing to believe some parts of it and not others it is you who makes God’s Word of no effect!

Being a Christian, heart, and soul, is not a life of choosing what you will believe and then throwing out the parts you don’t like. Except in our world today, this is exactly how people want to read and believe or not believe in God. They want to choose which parts that they can live with and leave out the parts that they don’t like or those which make them feel guilty of their sins.

Jesus did not soften His sermons because there were people in the crowd who didn’t like what He was saying. He taught what the Father told Him to teach and to bring those in who would believe. If there were some who would not listen or believe that His teaching came from God then so be it because it was their choice to reject His teaching.

God had been trying to reach them ever since He liberated them from slavery to the Egyptians. But as soon as three days into their freedom, they began to grumble and it never really stopped, even when they reached the land which God had promised to them and conquered those who were living there. We are the same way today. We want the blessings of God and the promise of eternity in Heaven but we want to live our lives our way…but that isn’t how it works!

In our world or living by God’s rules, it is either one or the other, you can’t have it both ways!

That is why in the book of Joshua they were given a choice and we are as well: “Choose you this day whom you will serve“. You will either serve your own selfish desires and live like the rest of the world does or you will serve God and follow His ways and live in the footsteps of Jesus.

Time…

Time is something which most of us think we have plenty of but truly we are deceiving ourselves. The ruler of time Who is God knows how much of it each of us has. Some of us have many days or weeks or even years, others may only have minutes or hours. But we are not given a card or a manual expressing how much time each of us has available to us…that information is known only to God Himself.

Your time may be long and full of life and happiness while another person is racked with the pain of diseases or some other malady. Some of us are blessed to be living in a place where there is enough food for everyone and some are not. It isn’t some lottery or drawing which has placed us in these circumstances although some people call it “fate”. I don’t believe in “fate” but I do believe in God. It is His pleasure to give to each of us a measure of grace and rewards in this life. Some of us are rewarded with more and some with less, at least as the world measures these “rewards”.

Many times I have seen these rewards cause heartache and pain in the lives of those who have much of them and in the lives of those who barely have enough the same pains happen as well. It is hard to distinguish which people truly enjoy their wealth or their poverty. Sometimes the amount of “reward” doesn’t really make much difference in a person’s life since some with much “wealth” experience cancers and heartache and some with barely enough suffer through it but their life is blessed in other ways besides that which “wealth” can bring.

One thing which money, power, prestige or fame cannot purchase for you is more time. Make the best of what you have and those you love because we are not guaranteed a certain number of days or years, so treasure the time which you have with them. Once a minute is gone it will never come again. There was a wise saying once, by whom I don’t know for sure but it went something like this: You cannot touch a river in the same spot more than once.

It is the same with time. Every second which passes by is gone so make the best of the time that you have.

The women in Jesus’ family line

Matthew 1:1 and following:

Berean Literal Bible
The Genealogy of Jesus
(Ruth 4:18-22; Luke 3:23-38)

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham:
2 Abraham begat Isaac, and Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob begat Judah and his brothers.
3 And Judah begat Perez and Zerah out of Tamar, and Perez begat Hezron, and Hezron begat Ram. 4 And Ram begat Amminadab, and Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon. 5 And Salmon begat Boaz out of Rahab, and Boaz begat Obed out of Ruth, and Obed begat Jesse, 6 and Jesse begat David the king.
Next:
David begat Solomon, out of the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon begat Rehoboam, and Rehoboam begat Abijah, and Abijah begat Asa. 8 And Asa begat Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat begat Joram, and Joram begat Uzziah. 9 And Uzziah begat Jotham, and Jotham begat Ahaz, and Ahaz begat Hezekiah. 10 And Hezekiah begat Manasseh, and Manasseh begat Amos, and Amos begat Josiah, 11 and Josiah begat Jechoniah and his brothers
at the time of the carrying away to Babylon.
12 And after the carrying away to Babylon: Jechoniah begat Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begat Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel begat Abiud, and Abiud begat Eliakim, and Eliakim begat Azor.
14 And Azor begat Zadok, and Zadok begat Achim, and Achim begat Eliud. 15 And Eliud begat Eleazar, and Eleazar begat Matthan, and Matthan begat Jacob, 16 And Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, the One being called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David until the carrying away to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the carrying away to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

Of the different women in the lineage of Jesus, there was at least one who “played” at being a harlot and one which was a harlot and two Gentiles, Rahab and Ruth, and one pregnancy outside of wedlock (of the Holy Spirit). Why did God use these women in the lineage of David and Jesus? Mainly to show His compassion and His redemption of those who needed it and because it suited God to do so.

We cannot know the mind or the thoughts of God in His choosing of the women who would be in the bloodline of His Son, but He can use anyone to bring about His purposes. Even a small church in Coxburg, MS. A word or something which is done that people may associate with your faith in Jesus can make a big difference in someone’s life.

You may not see it while you live, but one day in heaven you will see someone who tells you that a word or a deed influenced them to seek out Jesus as their Savior. Even the life of your children or grandchildren may be touched by something that you do or say. God can use a murderer or an apostle or a child in His service just as well as He can use a preacher or a teacher. In God’s Kingdom, all of us are equal to the task which He gives us to do because He will give each of us the talents and abilities needed to do His will.

Whether we possess those qualities in this life or in the next one will be up to Him alone. But He will make us equal to the task which needs to be done regardless of its complexity or its ease. God can use any person or situation to extend His favor or His compassion toward those which we come in contact with each and every day that we live according to His purposes. This is why there are some unusual people in the lineage of Jesus, prostitutes, Gentiles, men who have not always followed God’s will or purpose in their lives but God used each of them for His purpose regardless of their shortcomings.

Even the men which Jesus called to be His disciples were ordinary men. They were not priests or of the “ruling class”. They were fishermen, mostly, and each of them was used in a specific way to take His message to those who needed to hear it. Each of the disciples had a gift or a way to teach which would bring the message of God to those who would listen and hear it with their spiritual ears and not just hear it and walk away as many do today. So, the women and men in the lineage of Jesus were all part of God’s plan and purpose for the world and for the message which He would bring to the world.

Jesus removes our chains

ourlovingsavior

All of the problems and persecution we face, whether it is something as small as being un-friended on Facebook or even sickness or being imprisoned because of your faith. God loves you and watches over you in this life and He calls those who will be useful to Him.

We have all been offered the chance at eternity through Jesus but few will accept it because of their prejudice or their hatred of the Jewish people or Christians in particular. God loves all of us and made sure that each of us has the chance for eternal life with Him, but each of us has to accept it and believe in the One Who provided the way.

John 3:16-18

16 For God so loved the world that He gave the only begotten Son, so that everyone believing in Him should not perish, but should have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world that He might judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 The one believing in Him is not judged, but the one not believing already has been judged, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

What Child is this?

For many years we have sung this song at this time of year but I have often wondered if anyone actually searches for Him or His real identity?

The angel Gabriel came to Mary and told her that she would bear a Son Who would be called Immanuel and to name Him Jesus (Yeshua). For a teenage girl, this was fairly upsetting particularly since she was betrothed to Joseph at the time. Without going over the entire story of Jesus’ birth my only revelation is this: He was NOT born on December 25. He was born, according to the Jewish calendar, during the Feast of Tabernacles which is around late September early October.

Jesusfitsinyourheart Why is this important? Because the word used or translated “with” when the meaning of Immanuel was translated also means “to tabernacle with”. God came to live with mankind, at least for a time and physically be with His creation. Ever since the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has lived with each believer from the time that they asked Him to come into their hearts. He dwells with us!

Isn’t that a wonderful and powerful message and the best part of it is that one day soon we will be with Him too! Your life and mine will not have to end with the death of this “tabernacle” which is walking around with pains and problems! We will be with Him forever. God loves His creation enough that we will be in His Presence for eternity. No more pain or sickness or death. That is the message and the hope that we have all been given by His grace and mercy.

So why would you want to keep this glorious and life-changing news to yourself? When we are baptized into our new life with Him and we come out of the water we are like the Hebrews who were escaping from Egypt after going through the Red Sea. We are not supposed to just sit down on the shore and not move until Jesus comes and they didn’t either. They complained and whined about being in the desert but God provided for them and He does the same for us too.

We have been given a new life to live in Him and through Him because of His love and grace toward us and we should make sure to walk in that grace until He comes again. The fact that God came to live with and redeem mankind is the most wonderful act of compassion and love that can be imagined. Don’t turn away from Him just because of your idea of how your life should be. Seek Him out and find the life which you can live through Him!

The story of His birth and how we celebrate it has been handed down and changed over the years to coincide with other traditions and celebrations but the story and the message only come from the gospels. That is the story which we should be hearing and clinging to for our salvation because He, the baby in the manger, is our Savior.

Gadgets and doodads

Why are we so interested in these things which take up space and don’t get used? Life is not about stuff and gadgets and doodads, it is about relationships and the people in our lives, especially those in our families! We should be thankful for them and let them know how we feel about them and their contributions to our lives. Those who we attend church with should also know how much they mean to us as well. But many times we keep that information to ourselves and never really express our feelings toward them.

Even toward our family, immediate and in-laws too, we seem to keep our feelings to ourselves. Why has our society become so distant toward each other and yet many want to open our borders to people who aren’t Americans and really don’t want to become citizens? Many of them seem to only want the benefits of being considered an American but they don’t want to be an American!

Christmas and being a Christian is not about stuff or presents or doodads and gadgets, it is about celebrating the birth of Jesus Who came to bring humanity the salvation which God wants us to have. Do you believe that God wants us to be saved? I do. Because He wouldn’t have sent Jesus to be our Savior if He didn’t! Remember, if you have ever read about the Garden of Eden, God used to walk with Adam in the cool of the day. That is the type of relationship He desires to have again with us.

Not just a few of us but with every person that will repent of their sins and accept Jesus as their Savior by believing in Him.

Statues and idols don’t have any power to save you. Nothing which is made by mankind, religion or otherwise, can bring salvation to your soul. Only belief in Jesus as your Savior can do that. Praying to Allah can’t do it. Praying to Mary can’t do it. Praying to your ancestors can’t give you eternal life. Only belief in Jesus and in His atonement for your sins on the cross can bring eternal salvation to you.

Walking with Him daily and following His lead in your life can bring such peaceful days to you that I can’t describe them. I have had more days of peace walking with Him for the past twenty years than I could ever imagine having without Him in my life. Granted, I don’t live in a country ripped apart by war or terrorism and I’m not wealthy since I live on disability now, but life is better since He is keeping me here to do His work until that day when He calls me home.

I still have trouble making my bills sometimes. I still wake up with my aches and pains that go with me everywhere. But…I am blessed with His Presence and His promise of eternity when this life is over. The time which we have here is a very small amount of time compared to eternity and that is my goal. To make it to the home which He has prepared for me and for you too if you will believe in Him. No more sorrow or pain or wearing glasses to see or even a watch to tell time by because we don’t need to watch the time.

We will be “like Him” when we are there, not “gods” but our bodies will be immortal and a lot better than the ones we live in now. I pray that everyone who reads this will seek Him out as their Savior so I can welcome you home or even meet you one day in eternity.

Many who need Him

There are so many people in the world who have never heard of Jesus and His love for them. Some of them are in places where missionaries aren’t allowed and some are in places where the danger is against those who bring His message and anyone who may give their life to Him. So…how can we get His message to the world, to the people who need Him and don’t know Him. They may know about Him but they haven’t come to the point of realizing that their soul and their eternity depends upon their relationship with Jesus.

How can we get the word and the message of Jesus to those who truly need to hear it? By going and telling others about our Savior and His love, whether we do it in person or online they need to hear His message.

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The pathway to salvation is not a hard path to find but you have to stick to the path and stay on it until He comes. Don’t veer to the right or the left because the way is easy if you follow it but when you get off of the pathway you are getting into the enemy’s territory.

What do you see?

If you go to church on a Sunday or maybe Wednesday night, what do you see and hear? Is the service done as a show or is it a teaching service from a chapter in one of the books from God’s Word? Do you feel welcomed into the fellowship of believers or are you just a guest who is visiting and a number to be counted?

GowheretheWordisPreached Do you see Jesus and His teachings being lived out for all to see when they come to His church or is it just a building with people in it?

In some churches today, regardless of the denomination, you will find the love of Jesus Christ and you will feel it when you come into the building. The people will seem to radiate it to you in their attitude and their greetings and the message will follow that as well. In other churches, again regardless of denomination, you may not feel it or hear it at all. You may hear it from a few people individually or from the message but the “church” feels cold and almost lifeless. As if there are a few people who are radiating the love of Christ but not enough to fill the building.

This is a sad state of affairs for the church of Jesus Christ. Not only in America but in other places around the world. The message has been diluted and changed with the addition of “man-made laws and wisdom” in the messages and in the bylaws of the church itself. The believers who began the church at Pentecost after the ascension of Jesus would not recognize the message that is being taught today or the people claiming to be Christians!

Now don’t read this and think that I am pointing my finger at any particular church or denomination. The facts have been showing up for a few years now and they are becoming more common. Granted, the facts that I speak of are only in America but it is possible that the same condition is present in churches all over the world.

Sadly, this is the condition which the church finds itself in today. Not so much because of the doctrine being taught from the pulpit, if it is a Bible-teaching church, but because of a dearth of teaching from the Bible at home! The Bible has been kicked out of public areas and from public schools along with prayer too so there are fewer people who have grown up hearing prayer and learning from God’s Word. With that in mind, why would the past couple of generations want to attend church to learn about their Savior?

TenCommadments They may not realize that they need a Savior in the first place! That is one of the main problems plaguing our world today. A moral compass is missing along with the laws which guide that compass. So, how are we to tell young people that they aren’t supposed to do this or that if they have never heard of a reason for it?

See the Ten Commandments: Exodus 20:3-17

3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it.

12 Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

13 Thou shalt not kill.

14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

15 Thou shalt not steal.

16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.

If you check most of the laws in Western society you will find that they are in line with nearly all of these laws of God.

God in man…

When our Savior came to Earth as a baby, He was the Seed of the woman but He was also the Word made flesh. The Old Testament tells of this in many scriptures and many verses yet there are some who will only teach and preach from the New Testament from the gospels on to the book of Revelation. The Bible reveals Jesus in many different ways and places in Scripture if we will only read and study it in order to find Him. In Genesis, He was the promised Seed of the woman. In Exodus, He was shown in the pillar of Cloud by day and the Fire by night, His sustaining Presence was also with them where the water came from the Rock and the manna which sustained them.

Jesuspaiditall The Person of Jesus showed up in many different places. Later He was seen as the Angel of the Lord and as a Son of the gods. His most enduring ministry has been in the past two millennia as the Holy Spirit sent to teach us to be more like Him and to be our Comforter. Jesus is our Savior, our Shepherd, and our Redeemer as well as our Advocate and our Protector.

God has given Him the seat at His right hand and one day He will sit on His throne in Jerusalem as King, ruling for one thousand years. How do I have confidence that these things will happen? Because of the prophecies in the Bible and their fulfillment. The only ones which have not come to pass are those foretold for the Tribulation. Be ready when He comes for His Bride, the believers who are on the Earth at that time and those who have died. There won’t be a second call. If you are left here then you will be part of the time of Trouble.

Jesus Can you become a Christian during this time? Yes, but it will be dangerous and deadly because if you refuse to take the mark of the ruler of the world at this time you will be killed by beheading. If you do take His mark then you will lose your eternity. There is no gray area to hide behind…you either belong to Jesus or you follow Satan’s false leader who is the opposite of Jesus, the AntiChrist.