Christmas Is a Time of Commitment
In an era when naturalism prevails our universe is considered a closed system. Anything that can’t be explained naturalistically is discredited.
Part of what naturalism advocates is that if something can’t be seen, heard, tasted, felt, experienced, or proven it doesn’t exist and isn’t logical. To the naturalist the human mind must be able to understand a thing for it to be real. Naturalistic philosophy advocates reality is exhausted by nature, containing nothing supernatural. Then God said —- “Surprise.”
God made natural laws to provide for us a comfort zone. By utilizing them wisely we gain confidence. Gravity prevents fear of falling off the earth.
He did not make natural laws as a straight jacket for Himself. He has chosen on occasion to abrogate a natural law and pull back the veil of the unknown. It is His way of saying “I am here.”
In a rare employment of this method the laws of natural procuration were amended. Laws of biogenesis were given a reprieve and a virgin conceived. That is the foundation of the Christmas celebration.
It takes faith to believe that. That means it is believable because we live by faith. Every time you drive in the rain, fly on a plane, buy or sell on credit, go on a date or get married faith is exercised. Every time you drive a car it is an exercise of faith. There is no way you can tell in advance the brakes will work the next time you apply them. Yet, you have faith enough to tailgate going 75 miles an hour.
The issue is what we are willing to make an object of our faith.
Mary believed she was a virgin. When told she would conceive she asked, “How can this be since I do not know a man?” The expression means I have not been sexually active. The angel assured her, “With God nothing is impossible.”
She responded, “Let it be to me according to your word.” That is faith.
Joseph believed she was a virgin. According to their law a woman pregnant out of wedlock was to be stoned. He had such confidence in her he protected her and suffered the indignity. That was faith.
Nazareth was a little settlement about 100 yards wide and 300 yards long. The folks there obviously believed her and not any of the community’s gossips or they would have stoned her. A child of “illegitimate birth” could not enter the synagogue, but when Jesus went back to Nazareth “As was His custom, He went into the synagogue.” That was an act of faith.
Dr. Luke, who wrote one of the four gospels, was called a “beloved physician.” That means he was a good doctor. He interviewed Mary and wrote of her “…those things which are most surely believed among us.” He concluded she was a virgin. That was an act of faith.
Because of the virgin birth Jesus is called Emmanuel, “God with us.”
For naturalists who don’t believe this it is an act of faith also.
For those reading this who are not of the Christians faith, it is hoped this will help your understanding of why Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus and wish for you as for all a MERRY CHRISTMAS. This is a great season to establish and confirm faith in the Christ child.
The Curtain Call for Christmas
May this historical and inspirational material be a blessing to all who read them. May it aid in making yours a – – – MERRY CHRISTMAS.
The cast on earth and in heaven was assembled. Let the drama begin. The curtain call is about to be given by the angel Gabriel.
Earth’s greatest mystery, the greatest mission, was about to unfold. Imagination is ignited in two realms, heaven and earth.
He who the whole universe could not contain was now to be bound by the walls of a cattle stall. The voice that called worlds into existence was for a time to be reduced to a baby’s cooing. The voice that stirred the deep dark to create worlds now cries with the voice of the infant He was to become. He who breathed the breath of life into man, now as a man breathes so slightly as to seemingly have no breath at all. With a heart full of love He with resolve was to enter time. The heartbeat of heaven was soon to be heard in an infant’s chest.
He who in eternity leaned on the breast of His Father is now in time to lean on the breast of His mother. He was as old as His Father and eons older than His mother.
At a time when man was trying to make himself god, God made Himself a man. The creature could not come up to the Creator, so the Creator came down to the creature, humans.
In antiquity there were two stages of Jewish marriage, the Kiddushin and the Huppah. The first was a period of betrothal, also known as espousal. A binding contract was agreed upon and signed. At that point they were considered legally married. However, at this point they did not come together and often never even saw each other for a year. If the male died during this period the woman was referred to as a virgin who was a widow.
At the end of this first phase the actual wedding, which often lasted several days, was conducted, and thereafter the marriage was consummated.
It was during the period of betrothal an angel announced to the virgin Mary she would have a child fulfilling the prophet promise:
“For unto you a Child is born,
Unto you a Son is given.”
The enigmatic couple locked wills and began their faith walk. As the birth neared they complied with a government decree and began their journey from Nazareth that would have taken them along the western bank of the Jordan River and through the Wilderness of Judah to Bethlehem. There Mary gave birth and thus the Word became flesh and came and dwelt among us.
There is a formula applicable to all of life that is especially appropriate for the birth.
“The length of wait multiplied by the depth of anticipation equals the height of joy.”
For good reason heaven burst forth with angelic voices proclaiming the birth. Shepherds left their solitude and ventured into Bethlehem to marvel over the event. Wise men journeyed a great distance to pay homage.
“Long lay the world in sin and error pining till He appeared and the soul felt its worth, a thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices….”
That is what Christmas is all about.
The Last Advent
Christmas 2022 has come and gone all too quickly. Hopefully it has left you with memories worthy of a vault in your memory bank. If so, it will pay joyous interest for years to come.
Advent is another word for Christmas. It means a coming into place, view, or being; arrival. It has come to mean the coming of Christ into the world.
In modern use Advent refers to the period beginning four Sundays before Christmas, observed in commemoration of the coming of Christ into the world.
These lines from the renown Christmas song “Oh Holy Night,” describe the years of waiting for Jesus’ advent.
“Long lay the world in sin and error pining
‘Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices….”
Now we live in the capsule of time between two advents, His first and His second coming.
The German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer opined, “Advent creates people, new people.” “The Advent season is a season of waiting, but our whole life is an Advent season, that is, a season of waiting for the last Advent, for the time when there will be a new heaven and a new earth.”
Speaking against the background of the first advent he refers to our time as a time of waiting for the last Advent, the second coming. Like the Old Testament prophets waited for Jesus’ coming, so we should wait expectantly for His second coming to our troubled world.
Pining, as used in “O Holy Night” is one of those older words we don’t hear very often. It does refer to a desperate longing, but it also has a more archaic meaning of discontent and fret. Both reflect what the Bible tells us about the state of the world. In rebellion against God it seeks satisfaction in things that do not satisfy. It is a restless world that will not embrace the one cure that can save it.
How then should we live while expecting the second advent? Bonhoeffer who lived out the last years of his life in a Nazi concentration camp offers this answer: “Your life as a Christian should inspire every nonbeliever to question their disbelief in God.” Do and you will please God, but displease the world.
Salvation is free, but discipleship will cost you your life
Again wise council is offered by Bonhoeffer: “Look up, you whose gaze is fixed on this earth, who are spellbound by the little events and changes on the face of the earth. Look up to these words, you who have turned away from heaven disappointed. Look up, you whose eyes are heavy with tears and who are heavy and who are crying over the fact that the earth has gracelessly torn us away. Look up, you who, burdened with guilt, cannot lift your eyes. Look up, your redemption is drawing near. something different from what you see daily will happen. Just be aware, be watchful, wait just another short moment. Wait and something quite new will break over you: God will come.”
The After Christmas, Christmas
“… be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4: 32)
There is a Peanuts Cartoon in which Lucy says to Charlie Brown, “‘Tis the season of peace on earth good will toward men. I suppose we ought to be a little kinder toward each other.”
The ever hopeful Charlie responds, “It’s a shame we can’t make it last all year.” To which Lucy retorts, “What are you, some kind of religious fanatic?”
Compliance with Charlie’s idea would make for a better world. Don’t expect it to be lived out by others at all times. There are always Scrooges. They can find fault or failure in the best of things and most positive of comments. But wait, that is no reason we have to respond in kind. We can always engulf them in kindness and shower them with thoughtfulness.
Regardless of the attitude and spirit of others, you can model the wise men who left their visit with the infant Jesus, glorifying and praising God. Upbeat all! Go ahead and risk being considered some sort of religious fanatic.
Most people you encounter will have some load they are carrying. You can help lighten their load by having an uplifting spirit. Consider yourself an ambassador of the Lord Jesus on assignment to share His love with the least, the lost, and the last. Your assignment is to share “peace on earth good will toward men” – – – and women, children also.
Don’t be concerned with the response. That is their responsibility for which they are accountable.
Just as some people brighten up a room just by walking out you can resolve to brighten up any room you walk in.
Would you like to have more positive friends? By answering this simple question you can answer for yourself how to develop them. Do you like to be around upbeat people? Likely the answer is yes. So do others. Therefore, by being upbeat you attract others who are upbeat. It is within your ability to do it.
Who wants to be around people who are negative, complain a lot, or have nothing good to say? In fact, most of us run when we see them coming. Instead, be the kind of upbeat person who lights up a room with your spiritual energy.
Former President Calvin Coolidge somewhat spelled out the spirit Charlie Brown had in mind when he said, “Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.”
There are 365 days in the potential New Year. Resolve to meet the challenge of Charlie Brown. Better still the charge given in Scripture, “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous….” (I Peter 3: 8)
The Birth of Jesus
May this account of the birth of Jesus as recorded in Luke 2:1-20 bless you.
“And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!’
So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.’ And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told to them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told to them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told to them.”