...and you know what that means! Time to reflect and relax! What, pray tell, should we reflect on? Well, I think the name says it all: CHRISTmas. Unfortunately, all too often we forget about the true meaning of the holiday and focus on presents, sending out gazillions of Christmas cards, baking the *perfect* meal, or Santa. (Or as Jon likes to say, "Satan.") Now before people start commenting about how wonderful Santa is...don't. I realize that Santa is a beloved childhood icon. However, he is not the true meaning of Christmas.
On or about this day on or about 2000 years ago God himself sent his only son to be born in a dirty, smelly, manager. There was nothing princely about it, yet he was a prince indeed. God always dealt with the "dirty" parts of our lives, and His birth started no differently.
It's funny cause I was just watching a show the other night about the miracle of Christmas. Then at church the sermon highlighted similiar information. I think both made some good points. So good in fact I'm listing them on my blog. Why? Because I can!
1. Some say the virgin birth is impossible. I ask you this. Why would a group of individuals struggling to start a new religion make up some crazy story? It does sound impossible. In fact, too impossible to make up. The fact is that it was prophisized that the Christ would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14) hundreds of years before His birth.
2. I learned this Sunday that shepherds were considered very unscrupulous and so untrustworthy their testimony wasn't even accepted in court. Yet God trusted shepherds to be one of the first people to learn of Jesus' birth. Again, the writers of the Bible would not make this up because it wasn't seen as a positive thing that shepherds were even remotely involved.
3. The more archeological evidence is found the more it proves what the Bible says. We know that censuses were issued during Jesus' lifetime that forced people to return to their homeland. That is why Jesus' parents had to make the long treck to Bethlehem, thus fulfilling more prophecy from Micah 5:2.
4. The Bible says Mary and Joseph had to flee the area because King Herod, known for his brutality, issued a decree that every male under two years of age was to be killed. It makes sense the couple would have traveled to Egypt because there was a huge Jewish population there two thousand years ago and they would be safe.
There are so many facts I could continue to list, but others things are a callin'.
Bottom line, let's remember why we celebrate Christmas this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment