Why Christmas?

                                                                          Why Christmas?????

                                                     

The Christmas Holiday season is upon us. Crowded highways, crowded department stores  shopping centers and malls. As Charlton Heston screamed when locked up in a prison cell in the first Planet of the Apes film screamed ,"it's a madhouse....a madhouse!" It seems Christmas is a time of competing with neighbors in the amount of Christmas decorations necessary  to outdo the competition. And becomes a time of trying to find a perfect gift for whomever you're searching.  Interest rates on credit cards are soon forgotten. And paying for said items in the soon to be future, when the bills come due, is tossed aside in the forgotten pile of ones mind. Gifts come first it's Christmas and we have to do this. Buy Buy Buy Buy Buy!!!!
                                                   

I was brought up at a time in the country when most people didn't have credit cards. The first credit card was issued in 1950. So they had them but no one I knew had or used one. You paid cash or put it on layaway. And if you couldn't pay for something for Christmas then you just didn't give it by going into debt. It was lay a way or No Way. 

We always had a Christmas tree. And it was a real tree that needed real water so that it didn't dry out  and leave more needles than necessary to be cleaned up. Something my mom was well  aware of and always made it aware to my Dad and I. I always enjoyed decorating the tree, wrapping the lights around the branches,  hanging   the various ornaments, putting a star or angel at the very top and throwing tinsel icicles on the tree that added a special touch. 

And most of all  I really looked forward to assembling my Lionel Train laying the tracks down to circle the tree.  Putting my hand to the transformers main switch, moving it to the right and watching that train proceed to move around the track. 

                                         

In addition,  my Christmas  train would pass by  a nativity scene, with 3 kings, a shepherd or two, and a figure of a man on the left and a young women on the right looking down at her baby in an old wooden crib surrounded by hay. It was part of the Christmas celebration but I never heard that true story of who this baby born in a manger was and why His birth was necessary.

The first Christmas was held on december 25 in 336 AD. Why that date? The Roman Christian historian Sextus Julius Africanus dated Jesus’ conception to March 25, which, after nine months in his mother’s womb, would result in a December 25 birth.There is no mention of birth celebrations in the writings of early Christian writers such as Irenaeus (c. 130-200) or Tertullian (c. 160-225). Origen of Alexandria (c. 165-264) goes so far as to mock Roman celebrations of birth anniversaries, dismissing them as “pagan” practices, a strong indication that the birth of Jesus was not celebrated at all at this point.Even though Easter was already widely celebrated to mark the death of Christ.

                                                 

By the fourth century, two dates were widely recognized and by then, also celebrated: 25 December in the western Roman Empire and 6 January in the East (especially in Egypt and Asia Minor).The earliest mention of 25 December as Jesus’ date of birth comes from a mid-fourth century Roman almanac that lists the dates of death of various Christian bishops and martyrs. The first date listed, 25 December, is marked: natus Christus in Betleem Judaea: Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea.

It is widely held that early Christians chose 25 December to celebrate Christmas to encourage the spread of Christmas and Christianity throughout the Roman empire because if Christmas looked like a pagan holiday, more pagans would be open both to the holiday and the God whose birth it celebrated.

                                                    

Over the years, gift exchanges became connected with the name of St. Nicholas, a real but legendary figure of 4th century Lycia (a province of Asia). A charitable man, he threw gifts into homes.The 8th century English missionary, St. Boniface, Apostle to Germany, is supposed to have held up the evergreen as a symbol of the everlasting Christ. Around the thirteenth century, Christians added one of the most pleasant touches of all to Christmas celebration when they began to sing Christmas carols. Puritans forbade Christmas, considering it too pagan. Governor Bradford actually threatened New Englanders with work, jail or fines if they were caught observing Christmas.

But it seems much of the world, Christian world, has come to accept and look forward to a Holy Day on December 25th. A time of visiting, meeting those relatives or friends we haven't seen in a while and also eating a little bit too much during the Christmas feast at dinnertime. And most of us, including myself have fond memories of Christmas. But for many, if not most, the reason for Christmas gets forgotten in all  the excitment, traveling, giving and getting that the Christmas Holiday entrails. 

                                         

You have probably heard from some whom you believe to be overzealous, "Jesus is the reason for the season." But that is the number one reason to celebrate. The Bible gives the answer with John  3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son and whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life."  "In this is love not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent his Son to be an atoning sacrifice for our sins." (1 John 4:10) 

                                                  

There it is...God loved ...God sent....Jesus was sacrificed for the sin of the world. He paid the price that no mere tainted mortal born in sin could. Why is that? Again we consult Scripture. 

 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,  who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, (Phil 2:5-6) 

There you have it. Jesus in the form of God ( another translation "being in very nature God") and is equal with God. This Jesus made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (Phil 2:7-8)

That little baby we see in nativity scenes literally came down from heaven to accomplish for us what no human being child of Adam could. Redeem us, buy us back to God in the sacrifice He would eventually submit to. The Word who was with God in the beginning was God, that Word became flesh and dwelt among us. By him, God the Word, Jesus, all things were created in heaven and on earth. He is before all things and in Him all thing hold together. (Colossians 1:13-18) 

The book of Hebrews begins with these words,inspired by the Holy Spirit:"God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,  has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;  who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,  having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.(Heb 1:1-4)

In the gospel of John,  the Apostle reveals that the religious leaders knew exactly what Jesus was saying about himself when He  answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working. Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God."(John 5:17-18).

Jesus didn't correct them in this assumption. They had heard about and some had even witnessed the signs and wonders Jesus had performed. Opening the eyes of the blind to see, causing the lame to walk, cleansing the lepers of their disease,  healing the deaf that they might hear, and raising  the dead. And yet their hearts were hardened and they sought all the more to kill him. Their security, their prestige, notoriety and livehoods were threatened by this One the people clamored to see and listen to.

In John 10 Jesus  told those who asked Him if He was the Christ " The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me.  But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.  My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.  I and My Father are one.”  And again they took up stones to stone Him. (John 10:26-30)

 His Apostles understood He was very God in very flesh come to save His people from their sins. That Jesus the Christ was the only name under heaven by which to be saved from an eternity of punishment and absence of God and the glory of His power. (1 Thess 1:7-10)

Colossians 2:9-10 “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily. and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.“(Paul)

1 John 5:20 “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.“ (John)

2 Peter 1:1 Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: (Peter)

Isaiah 44:6 “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.”(OT Prophet Isaiah)

 Revelation 1:17-18 “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.“

Christmas should be a remembrance day of God the Father who sent God the Son on a mission. To save a people for His own from the curse of death and the scourge of sin. 

When you see that babe in a manger remember that baby would one day be persecuted, scourged, hung on a cross and would endure God's wrath in your place.  

                                                 

 

2 Cor 5:21 "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

"He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”(John 3:36)

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, (1 Cor 15:3-4)

If you confess your your mouth Jesus is lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. (Rom. 10:9)

(** Some info
gleaened from Business Blog and Christianity.com)

Watering Down The Gospel

 

There are those who disparage believers who preach of fire and brimstone, eternal torment, the blackness of darkness forever, everlasting punishment and absence from  the presence of God and the glory of His power to all those who do not believe in the only name under heaven by which anyone can be saved. The way, the truth and the life Jesus the Christ.                                                                                                       

They are those Who cringe if  The FEAR  of the LORD is mentioned...... To those  I strongly disagree. To not speak of these things is to deny the importance and absolute necessity of Jesus sacrifice on the cross. Fear of the Lord invigorates the senses...fear starts the thinking processes to percolate.  Jesus Himself said, "Do not fear those who can kill the body but fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in Hell."                                                                                                                                 

We have this oggy googy if it feels good , raise your hands, roll on the floor and bark kind of Christianity today.  There are  false prophets and teachers writing worthless nonsense about God's best for your life. Never approaching the doctrine of sin and the effects and consequences of transgressing what God calls inquity.                                                                                                                                  

God's best for every Christians life is that you we be Holy as He is Holy. God said this and means it.  Jesus, God's One and Only Son said " You must be perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect." No one filled that bill except the Word who was in the beginning with God and was God. The Word who became flesh and dwelt (literally tabernacled) among us.  Jesus humbled Himself in a physical body and came into time and space to save "his people: from their sins. And it is God himself who must put that desire to know Him in a persons heart.  For each and every person is dead in their trespasses and sins, following the course of this sinful world, the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that works in the sons of disobedince and are by nature Children of Gods wrath. (Eph 2:1-5)                                                                              

 And it is God who  must instigate that new birth in a persons life. To have faith to believe, repent and obey. Saying a prayer without the changed heart, for the ability to do so, doesn't save anyone. If there's no regeneration,  no changing of a cold dead heart,  then there is no real confession and  no real repentence.                                                                                                                                                        

I have heard Christians so called say, "they have fire insurance." Meaning by saying the prayer, they're kept from hell. If there is one. (for many just don't believe there is)   Yet there are people who say a prayer and everything continues as it was in their life. No real conviction of sin. A shallow repentence. That is very dangerous. For it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. For our God is a consuming fire.                                                                                                                                 

They argue "But God is a God of love who wouldn't send anyone to hell (if there is one). God is love. Yes, that is why He sent His Son, Jesus into the world. But remember  first and foremost God is Holy. Sin, any sin will have no place in his kingdom. And sin is what the human race is full of. It is called the works of the flesh.                                                                                                                               

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, (sex with another mans wife or another woman or someone  other than one's wife) fornication, (sexual contact with anyone if not married. Heterosexual or homosexual) uncleanness,(impurity)  lewdness, (unlawful indulgence of lust; in Scripture mainly applies to...) idolatry, (craving, wanting, enjoying, being satisfied by anything that you treasure more than God... you revere a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons (for example, satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money, etc..) sorcery, ( the word in the New testament is pharmakeia.....from which we get our english word "pharmacy." and denotes drugs used in casting spells....Those abusing drugs then are practicing sorcery)  hatred,  contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,  envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Gal 5:19-22)                                                                                             

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,  nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.  (1 Cor 6:9-10)                                                              

 Do not love the world [of sin that opposes God and His precepts], or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.  For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life [pretentious confidence in one’s resources or in the stability of earthly things] —comes not from the Father but from the world.  The world and its desires  [its lusts and the shameful pursuits and ungodly longings]; pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17AMP)                                                                                                                                

Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,  that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.  For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles  (pagans unbelievers)—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. (1 Peter 4:1-5)                                                                                                                         

Yes God is love, I experience that every single day. His provision, His care, the knowledge of His Holy Word. But there are  those who say they believe and act as though it really doesn't matter how they live. It's "Sin- sure" rather than "Sin No More." We don't contemplate the enormity of our fallenness. How wretched we are in the sight of a Holy, Righteous,  Pure and Perfect God. And the eternal penalty that awaits those who are not  born of God....Who are not His people....born not  of  blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but born  of God. (John 1:13)                                                                                                                                              

His love  demanded that death of a pure and perfect human being and  only One, the very Son of God was capable of paying for the sin of the world. Jesus Christ made Himself of no reputation, took on the form of a bondservant, and came in the likeness of men.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (Phil 2:7-8)   No woman born Son of Adam, tainted, corrupt, impure, in their fallen state could qualify.  For sins inheritance is our lot. And we are that bad. That lost.                                                                                                

Jesus Himself said, without  me, you can do nothing.  No good works can be credited to our account as worthy of  allowing us entrance into the kingdom of God. We must be perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect. Only One was and is. Jesus the Christ in whom God said, "this is my beloved Son. In who I am well pleased. Listen to Him." One way, One Truth, One life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. (John 14:6)                                                                                                                                         

As For a Christians life. It is as Jesus Himself said to His disciples: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"                                              

God is serious about sin. God knows us, our nature. Nothing  is hidden from His sight....As Jesus said "What comes out of a person, that defiles a person.  For from within, out of the heart of each person, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,  thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within and defile a person.”(Mark 7:20-23)

All of us need a heart change. It is God who reaches down from out of heaven and ignites a persons desire for Him in their heart. God's word takes on a new and significant meaning. A person then longs to trust and obey. "For if anyone is in Christ Jesus they are a new creation.  Old things have passed away. Behold all things have become new." (2 Cor 5:17)                                                         

Not that we won't continue to struggle with certain sins and temptations. Everyone has them. Paul the blessed apostle said what I want to do I do not do  but what I hate to do in Romans 7. Our most treasured desire should be to please the One who gave us new life here and now and with Him in His Kingdom to come.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen. But on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Cor 4:18)                                                                                       

Our lives on planet earth are but a mist, a vapor that appears for a time then vanishes away." (James 4:14) But eternity is forever. You will spend it in one of two places. Through faith, belief, trust and obedience through Jesus the Christ. One's citizenship is in heaven, and the Kingdom of God awaits all His people.                                                                                                                                                          

For the unbelievers, those who refuse to believe, the disobedient and enemies of God. What awaits them is a  a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. (Heb. 10:27) And as Jesus said of the Son of perdition, the betrayer of the savior in the flesh, "it would have been better if he had not been born."  (Matthew 26:24) For it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.