December 2008
 The
true meaning of Christmas gets lost when
we believe contrary worldviews. Our beliefs
determine our views in a world where absolutes
are fading away. The Merriam-Webster dictionary
defines Christmas as “a festival or
holiday commemorating the birth of Christ.”
Do you believe the dictionary’s definition
of Christmas? Our view will determine how
we will celebrate the holiday season.
The Prophet’s View
Our heavenly Father prepared
His kingdom for us from the foundation of
the world.1 He knew
that Adam and Eve would succumb to the temptations
of the serpent, but immediately, He promised
that the seed of the woman [Jesus] would
bruise Satan’s head. 2
Over seven hundred years
before the birth of Jesus, the Lord granted
a sign to prove that He would crush Judah’s
enemies. Isaiah said, “…the
Lord Himself will choose the sign. Look!
The virgin will conceive a child! She will
give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel
– ‘God is with us.’”
3
Later, Isaiah prophesied,
“For a child is born to us, a Son
is given to us. And the government will
rest on His shoulders. These will be His
royal titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty
God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His expanding, peaceful government will
never end. He will rule forever with fairness
and justice from the throne of His ancestor
David. The passionate commitment of the
Lord Almighty will guarantee this!”
4
The Angel & Mary’s
View
Isaiah’s prophecies
were about to be fulfilled, “In the
sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy
[with John the Baptist], God sent the angel
Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee,
to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged
to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant
of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and
said, ‘Greetings, favored woman! The
Lord is with you.”
Confused and disturbed,
Mary tried to think what the angel could
mean. ‘Don’t be frightened,
Mary,’ the angel told her, ‘for
God has decided to bless you!’ You
will become pregnant and have a son, and
you are to name him Jesus. He will be very
great and will be called the Son of the
Most High. And the Lord God will give Him
the throne of His ancestor David. And He
will reign over Israel forever; His Kingdom
will never end!’
Mary asked the angel, ‘But
how can I have a baby? 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
born to you will be holy, and He will be
called the Son of God. What’s more,
your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant
in her old age! People used to say she was
barren, but she’s already in her sixth
month. For nothing is impossible with God.’
Mary responded, ‘I am the Lord’s
servant, and I am willing to accept whatever
He wants. May everything you have said come
true.’ And then the angel left.”
5
The Prophetic View
After the birth of John
the Baptist, Zachariah, his father, prophesied
concerning Jesus, saying: “Praise
the Lord, the God of Israel, because He
has visited His people and redeemed them.
He has sent us a mighty Savior from the
royal line of His servant David, just as
He promised through His holy prophets long
ago. Now we will be saved from our enemies
and from all who hate us. He has been merciful
to our ancestors by remembering His sacred
covenant with them, the covenant He gave
to our ancestor Abraham. We have been rescued
from our enemies, so we can serve God without
fear, in holiness and righteousness forever.”
6
“And you, my little
son [John the Baptist], will be called the
prophet of the Most High, because you will
prepare the way for the Lord [Jesus]. You
will tell His people how to find salvation,
through forgiveness of their sins. Because
of God’s tender mercy, the light from
heaven is about to break upon us, to give
light to those who sit in darkness and in
the shadow of death, and to guide us to
the path of peace.” 7
The Birth of Jesus
“At that time, the
Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a
census should be taken throughout the Roman
Empire. (This was the first census taken
when Quirinius was governor of Syria). All
returned to their own towns to register
for this census.
And because Joseph was
a descendant of King David, he had to go
to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient
home. He traveled there from the village
of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him
Mary, his fiancée, who was obviously
pregnant by this time.
And while they were there,
the time came for her baby to be born. She
gave birth to her first child, a son. She
wrapped Him snugly in strips of cloth and
laid Him in a manger, because there was
no room for them in the village inn.”
8
The Shepherd’s View
“That night, some
shepherds were in the fields outside the
village, guarding the flocks of sheep. Suddenly,
an angel of the Lord appeared among them,
and the radiance of the Lord’s glory
surrounded them. They were terribly frightened,
but the angel reassured them. ‘Don’t
be afraid!’ he said, ‘I bring
you good news of great joy for everyone!
The Savior – yes, the Messiah, the
Lord – has been born tonight in Bethlehem,
the city of David! And this is how you will
recognize Him: You will find a baby lying
in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of
cloths!’
Suddenly, the angel was
joined by a vast host of others –
the armies of heaven – praising God:
‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and peace on earth to all whom God favors.’
When the angels had returned to heaven,
the shepherds said to each other, ‘Come
on, let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s
see this wonderful thing that has happened,
which the Lord has told us about.’
They ran to the village
and found Mary and Joseph. And there was
the baby, lying in the manger. Then the
shepherds told everyone what had happened
and what the angel had said to them about
this child. All who heard the shepherd’s
story were astonished, but Mary quietly
treasured these things in her heart and
thought about them often. The shepherds
went back to their fields and flocks, glorying
and praising God for what the angels had
told them, and because they had seen the
child just as the angel had said.”
9
The Biblical View
The Lord has led me to
give you this Biblical view of Christmas.
It may be the only time you hear it this
season. There is no greater gift that I
can give you other than the truth concerning
Christmas. Jesus came as the Savior of the
world to take away sin, defeating the devil.
This is why we rejoice and celebrate this
glorious season.
Not only do we rejoice
at Christmas, but on Easter, celebrating
the resurrected life of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It is by faith in His shed blood for our
sins and in His resurrection to give us
life that we are saved by grace. This is
one of those times of year that we celebrate
our faith in Christ with victorious believers
who will sit with Jesus on His throne, just
as He was victorious and sat with His Father
on His throne. 10
This is a glorious time
of the year when the Spirit of God moves
in our lives to bring great joy. “For
the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what
we eat or drink, but of living a life of
goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
11 It is such a joy
for me to know that I am celebrating this
season with you. King David said to the
Lord, “You will show me the way of
life, granting me the joy of Your presence
and the pleasures of living with You forever.”
12 And as believers,
we will live forever together in His kingdom.
A Prayer For You ...
Our loving Father in Heaven,
may Your will be done in our lives as we
think upon Your Son, Jesus. He came to earth
to save us and to bring us into Your family.
We inherit all that is good through Him.
Like the shepherds, we give thanks, glory
and praise to You for all You have done.
Your love is seen in Him, and we receive
that love as our gift, so that we may love
others. Help us, Father, to show the love
of Jesus to this world, so others may obtain
the correct, perfect and eternal peace which
only Jesus can give to those who trust and
believe in Him. Thank You, Father, for Your
gift of life eternal and for our place in
Your Kingdom…a place Jesus has prepared
for us. May You bless us, Father, now at
this season and always, in Jesus precious
name, Amen.
Scripture References (New Living
Translation):
Acknowledgement: A special thanks
to Sherry for transcribing this months view!
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