Christmas Is About Christ
Isn’t that more accurate? It is a time to reflect upon the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior, to make merry because of the wonder of our heavenly Father’s immeasurable love for sending His Son to undo that which we have done…
It all began when an angel, Gabriel, visited an elderly childless couple, Zacharias and Elizabeth. They were obedient to God, and never gave up hope that someday He would grant them a child.
Gabriel tells them that their prayers have been answered, saying that they would have a son, and to name him ‘John,’ (John the Baptist in his adult life), who would serve a special purpose for Jehovah God:
“For he will be great in the sight of the Lord…He will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb. He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.” Lk. 1:15 – 17. CSB
Indeed, John the Baptist would reconcile many Israelites into a position of right relationship with God, so as to be prepared to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ.
When Elizabeth was six months along in her pregnancy, Gabriel visits her cousin, Mary, and blows her away with his declaration:
“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” Lk. 1:30 – 33. NLT
(In the Greek, ‘Jesus’ is rooted in the word ‘lesous,’ meaning ‘The Lord is salvation.’)
Mary is taken aback, and asks the angel how that could be so, because she was still a virgin. Gabriel answers:
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, therefore the child to be born will be called holy – the Son of God.” Lk. 1:35 ESV
Nothing like this in all of history has ever occurred. The Holy Spirit transformed Mary’s womb to be able to accept the Spirit of Christ and envelop it in flesh, to form the child Jesus.
Mary had to be a virgin, so that Jesus would not be tainted by the sin of Adam, that is handed down to each generation during the human act of conception.
Gabriel then told Mary that her cousin Elizabeth was also with child. Mary hightails it over to her cousin and as soon as she enters her house, John leaps in Elizabeth’s womb, and she is filled with the Holy Spirit, causing her cry out to Mary:
“Blessed are you among women, and your child will be blessed! How could this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Lk. 142, 43. CSB
Mary stays with Elizabeth until just before John was born.
She then returns to her fiancé, named Joseph, showing up with that telltale bump in her abdomen, and he knows it’s not his. Joseph is consternated over this, but God sends an angel to come to him in a dream:
“Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Mt. 1:20, 21. NLT
As the time Jesus’ birth was approaching, Caesar Augustus, emperor of Rome, ordered a census be taken, for the purposes of taxation throughout Judea. So, everyone had to register in the city where their ancestral records were kept. For Joseph and Mary, that was Bethlehem.
When they arrived, there was no lodging available, so they had to stay in a cattle stall, where the Son of God was born.
Simultaneously, an angel appeared to shepherds in a nearby field and declared:
“Do not be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all people: Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” Lk. 2:10, 11. CSB
The shepherds visited baby Jesus, and word began to spread far and wide – even to the ‘east,’ (a term generally used in the Bible to indicate Arab lands). From that region, ‘wise men’ (also translated as ‘philosophers’ or ‘astrologers’), were led by a star towards Jesus’ location so that they might worship this Child King.
The king of Judea, Herod, heard of this, and fearing that his rulership was in danger of being usurped, had the wise men brought to him and asked them to report back to him when they located the baby, so that he too could worship Him. Not. He wanted to kill Him.
The wise men did find Him and worship Him; but as they left to return, God sent them a vision in their dreams, warning them to not see King Herod. Simultaneously, Joseph received an angelic vision, advising him to take his family and hide in Egypt to avoid that same king.
Time goes by and Herod figures out that He was duped. He asked his priests about where the Messiah would be born and they told him that the Scriptures foretold it to be in the city of Bethlehem.
King Herod retaliated by having every male child, aged two and under, slaughtered.
The king eventually died, and God sent an angel to tell Joseph to return to Judea, where his family eventually settled in Nazareth. And the Bible tells us:
And the Child continued to grow and become strong [in spirit], filled with wisdom; and the grace (favor and spiritual blessing) of God was upon Him. Lk. 2:40 AMP
Now, as awesome as this amazing event is, let us look at the BIG PICTURE!
The true gift of Christmas is Jehovah’s ultimate and free gift of love to His favorite creation (humankind) – the path to the blessed hope of reconciliation with Him, now and forever, through His Son, Jesus Christ.
It is such a big gift. To receive it, all that we must do is get out of our own (worldly) way and stay focused on the enormity of God’s love, which He expresses within His purposes for everyone. When we step up to receive it, we can be the spiritual reflection of His will and enjoy His promotion and encouragement as we are realized in the power of Christ within:
I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose – I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infused me with inner strength and confident peace.] Phil. 4:13 AMP
Focusing on the gift keeps us humble, knowing that we are, left to our own devices, ineffective in God’s purposes. We must recognize, invite, embrace and lay hold of God within us. In that union, we finally attain a closeness within, (that we’ve so desperately sought for externally), through the grace of Christ’s communion with us.
Only through the strength of that kinship, can we transcend the ways of the world and find our fulfillment in the love of our Creator and His Son:
…give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behaviors and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Rm. 12:1, 2. NLT
The Christmas gift of God’s grace is an offering of unity with Him as His child, which transforms us from what we have become (worldly), to that which He first created us to be – wise, free in His truth, and spiritually awakened to know ourselves in Christ, conscious of the nature of God within.
We are then delivered by His grace from who we thought we were, into a new direction by yet another gift from God – the Holy Spirit.
Also, let us not forget the Christmas gift of God’s mercy, which cleanses us from sins, perpetuated in ignorance, through the blood of Christ. He loves us so much that He covers us in Christ’s righteousness so that we can remain perpetually in His presence.
Our part is to surrender to Jehovah’s love. Why? Because He knows there is no rest for you, until you rest in Him.
Part of His love-filled will for us, is also to share this wonder with as many others as possible, preparing them as well, for Christ’s return – into the living gift of resurrection, forgiveness, acceptance, peace and spiritual perfection…
Merry Christmas.
Goodnight and God bless.
How To Be a Good Parent 8
Being Wise – part 4
As we continue to look at the applications of God’s wisdom in our lives, (see Part 2 and Part 3 of this series), let us now focus on being wise about what comes out of our mouths.
Speeches, books, recordings, conversation. Our entire reality is expressed in and through language. The ability to communicate this reality is a gift from God, and He takes the way that we use that gift quite seriously:
“Who makes a person’s mouth?…Is it not I, the LORD?” Ex. 4:11 NLT
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who love it and indulge in it will eat its fruit and bear the consequences of their words. Pr. 18:21 AMP
Christ also impresses upon us the weightiness attached to the wagging of our tongues:
“It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.” Mt. 15:11 NLT
“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil… on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Mt. 12:34 – 37. ESV
That gives you a new perspective, yes? What comes out of your mouth determines your present-time standing with God and those same words will be judged at the end of time, determining whether there will be heaven or hell to pay.
It behooves us then to remember that none of our words get past Jehovah:
You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD. Ps. 139:4 NLT
Keeping that remembrance, let us practice godly (loving) speech.
A man has joy in making an appropriate answer, and how good and delightful is a word spoken in the right moment – how good it is! Pr. 15:23 AMP
To help us facilitate this, let’s consider some of the mechanics of effective speech. First, we dismiss the chatter in our heads, in order to listen in present time, without being preoccupied with how we want to respond.
As we are listening, we provide an open space for the speaker to empty out whatever is on their heart and / or mind without interrupting. Then, we should reflect back to him or her what we thought we heard, as well as what we understood them to mean. That gives us the opportunity to have any misunderstandings corrected. Lastly, we carefully consider the spoken words, and respond with love and kindness:
The heart of the righteous studies how to answer… Pr. 15:28 NKJV
The Bible also shows us the antithesis of this approach, and its pitfalls:
Spouting off before listening to the facts is both shameful and foolish. Pr. 18:13 NLT
A fool does not delight in understanding, but only wants to show off his opinions. Pr. 18:2 CSB
When we come from love, we slow down our thoughts, and gently choose a succinct response, that lets the speaker know we have carefully contemplated their words and that our answer was given from our understanding of what was said:
The heart of the godly thinks carefully before speaking… Pr. 15:28 NLT
Let’s ponder then, what happens when God’s wisdom is not applied. First, we’ll see an ungodly imbalance in the contextual patterns of our speech:
Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Jas. 3:10 NKJV
Consider another ungodly (hateful) use of the tongue – telling lies:
A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who utters lies perishes. Pr. 19:9 CSB
A lying tongue hates its victims… Pr. 26:28 NLT
Also, look at what happens when you let your ego run your tongue:
…you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. Jas. 4:16 CSB
Another example of ungodly speech is that which spews out or the mouth of the small-mined mocker, who finds delight in the misfortunes of others:
He who mocks the poor taunts his Maker; he who rejoices over calamity will not go unpunished. Pr. 17:5 NASB
Lastly, similar to the prideful, are those who piously puff themselves up:
“These people approach me with their speeches to honor me with lip service, yet their hearts are far from me…” Is. 29:13 CSB
Okay, we’ve seen what not to have spewing from our mouths. Let’s take a look at how being wise with our speech brings us blessings from God and how we can convey His blessings to others.
First, we need to pray to God to ask Him to move on our behalf, (asking when in right relationship with Jehovah), so that we can carry out His will more effectively:
You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you ask with wrong motives… Jas. 4:2, 3. NASB
When our hearts are aligned with God, we can reflect HIs will in our speech:
No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear. Eph. 4:29 CSB
“…whatever the LORD says to me, that I will speak.” 1 Kin. 22:14 NKJV
When Jehovah is with us, our tongues have the power to do good. First, we can lift people up:
A soothing tongue [speaking words that build up and encourage] is a tree of life… Pr. 15:4 AMP
We can speak truth to confused souls:
Tell the truth to each other. Render verdicts in your courts that are just and lead to peace. Zech. 8:16 NLT
People will depend on what we say, because we are promise-keepers:
“You shall be careful to perform what goes out of your lips…” Dt. 23:23 NASB
And we can take a stand for justice:
Speak up for those who have no voice, for the justice of all who are dispossessed. Speak up, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the oppressed and needy. Pr. 31:8, 9. CSB
The highest and best application of our voice is using it to relate to our Creator:
Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; talk of all His wondrous works! Ps. 105:1, 2. NKJV
Finally, we have been blessed with salvation, we are divinely directed to gather others to the kingdom to experience the same.
Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. 2 Tim. 4:2 NLT
Talk isn’t cheap. It’s people who cheapen talk.
Your words are powerful, and God will move heaven and earth to make them come to fruition. Why? Because He cherishes you…
Part 5 coming soon!
Goodnight and God bless.