Christmas is a happy,
festive and joyful time. We celebrate Christmas with gifts, fancy meals, family
gatherings and we enjoy marvelous, joyful worship. But in the busyness of the
season do we miss the holy meaning of Christmas? Do we know what Christmas is
really about?
It’s about the greatest
miracle of all! The Incarnation of Jesus as a baby. Christ assumed human form in the person of Jesus and is completely
God and completely man. The Son of God existed before the world was
created. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. All things came into being through Him and apart from him nothing came
into being that has come into being.” (John 1:1-3)
The divine Son of God existed with God and took
on his human body in the womb of Mary. He was not the son of Joseph. He was the
Son of God. Mary was a virgin and God impregnated her. Can you imagine this?
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a
son and will call him Emmanuel, which means, God with us.“ (Matthew 1:23) In
this scripture Matthew is quoting from Isaiah 7:14. Scholars for centuries
didn’t know this could be taken literally. They were expecting a
different kind of Messiah. This is a promise greater than anyone expected. Mary
is pregnant with the Son of God!
Angels run all through this holy story. The angel Gabriel
appeared to Mary and said: “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him
Jesus. He will
be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will
give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel
Mary
asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and
the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be
holy, and he will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:34-35) Have you ever seen
an angel? Can you imagine this happening
to a teen-age girl? What an amazing revelation!
When Joseph
learned Mary was pregnant he planned to quietly end their relationship. Then an
angel appeared to him in a dream and said: “Do not be afraid to go ahead with
your marriage to Mary. For the child within her has been conceived by the Holy
Spirit. And you will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will
save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21) And Joseph listened and
married Mary in spite of what the neighbors must have said.
Another angelic appearance came at the birth of Jesus. An angel appeared to the shepherds and said, “I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savior – Yes, the Messiah, the Lord- has been born tonight in
How amazing that must have been for these
shepherds to hear the angel’s message and then to see a vast number of angels
praising God and announcing the Good News. Can you imagine the awe and wonder
of this? Only Almighty God, the King of Kings, Our Holy God would do this.
Coming as a baby cost Jesus much. He gave up indescribable power and glory to
become one of us.
There were witnesses to all these events and they have been
studied and written about and pondered over for centuries. The star that guided
the wise men from the East also attests to the divine nature of Jesus. He was
both divine and human. He lived on earth, grew up and taught his disciples to
love God and follow Him. And he died to save us. And he
rose again! The Christmas “story” is the most amazing true story told and it is
a TRUE story. It is His Story.
Don’t miss this. Ask Jesus into your heart this Christmas.
“Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
Blessings, Dottie
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