God with us
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Matthew 1:18-23
God with us, what a powerful truth! Sometimes it is so hard to comprehend that God Almighty, the Creator of the Universe, would care enough about us that He would come to this earth, this sin-sick world to endure pain, rejection and heart-ache, just so we could have forgiveness.
I suppose, I’m really thinking about this now after conversing with a young person that converted to be a Muslim. The question was basically why do we celebrate Christmas in December when it has been documented that Jesus was born in June? My answer was and is, “the fact that He WAS born is enough for me to celebrate everyday!”
I don’t like to get in arguments and heated discussions about religion. To me it’s embarrassing and such a waste of precious time. Now if you want to share with me about what you believe and then give me equal time to share what I believe, I’m all for that! But a former pastor once said “A man with an experience is far better than a man with an argument”. And I have experienced the awesome gift of God’s sacrificial love. I KNOW that He came (Whenever He came) as a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, born in a manger to a virgin. I KNOW that the angels sang and the wise men and shepherds came and it was a Holy night (and day for that matter). I know that He grew up to teach us about love and forgiveness, and I know that He died, willingly for all of mankind, because we could not pay the debt we owed for our sins. I also KNOW that His gift of salvation is free and all we have to do is receive it and walk in it each day.
If you have that kind of experience, it really does not matter when Jesus was born, because the celebration should be every time we remember what He did for us!
To me the 25th of December is the whole world celebrating Jesus’ birth. Some of us KNOW why we are celebrating and some…well they think otherwise. But in MY heart I celebrate the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords this day and everyday because He is God with Us!
God with us, what a powerful truth! Sometimes it is so hard to comprehend that God Almighty, the Creator of the Universe, would care enough about us that He would come to this earth, this sin-sick world to endure pain, rejection and heart-ache, just so we could have forgiveness.
I suppose, I’m really thinking about this now after conversing with a young person that converted to be a Muslim. The question was basically why do we celebrate Christmas in December when it has been documented that Jesus was born in June? My answer was and is, “the fact that He WAS born is enough for me to celebrate everyday!”
I don’t like to get in arguments and heated discussions about religion. To me it’s embarrassing and such a waste of precious time. Now if you want to share with me about what you believe and then give me equal time to share what I believe, I’m all for that! But a former pastor once said “A man with an experience is far better than a man with an argument”. And I have experienced the awesome gift of God’s sacrificial love. I KNOW that He came (Whenever He came) as a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, born in a manger to a virgin. I KNOW that the angels sang and the wise men and shepherds came and it was a Holy night (and day for that matter). I know that He grew up to teach us about love and forgiveness, and I know that He died, willingly for all of mankind, because we could not pay the debt we owed for our sins. I also KNOW that His gift of salvation is free and all we have to do is receive it and walk in it each day.
If you have that kind of experience, it really does not matter when Jesus was born, because the celebration should be every time we remember what He did for us!
To me the 25th of December is the whole world celebrating Jesus’ birth. Some of us KNOW why we are celebrating and some…well they think otherwise. But in MY heart I celebrate the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords this day and everyday because He is God with Us!
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