Archive for the ‘Christmas’ Category
Why A Savior?
It is December and, of course, it is time to celebrate Christmas. Well, most of us do anyway. But, have you ever wondered why there was, or is, a need for a Savior?
In the Christmas story, where we find the babe lying in a manger because there was no room at the Inn, an angel of Lord came to some shepherds to announce to them about the birth. The story goes like this:
8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (Luke 2: 8-14)
In verse 11 we read about the angel telling the shepherds that a Savior had been born. A Savior? Why a Savior? In short, a Savior is needed to save us from ourselves, because of what we are unable to do for ourselves.
To begin, we need to go back all the way to the book of Judges, to the very last chapter – Chapter 21 – and to the very last verse of the chapter – verse 25:
25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Look where it says, “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” It does not say they did what was right in God’s eyes but in their own eyes. Very much like today.
The Old Testament is a story, albeit a true one, about God choosing a people for His own, and giving them the opportunity to prove that they could be obedient to Him and, by doing so, earn a place in Heaven. However they continued to show that this was not possible and they constantly sought to do their own will and not God’s. They could not be completely obedient to the Laws that God had given them; basically the Ten Commandments which was part of the covenant that God had made with them. In doing so, that is in doing what they saw was right in “their” own eyes, they gave evidence to God that they could not do anything to earn forgiveness for their sins and to be found worthy of acceptance into Heaven.
They would not do what God wanted of them, they desired to do what they felt was right in their own eyes; regardless of what God wanted.
In Hebrews 8: 8, 9 we read:
8 Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord.
If God’s chosen people could not continue in the agreed upon Covenant with Him, then how could anyone do so? The answer is they can’t. No one can. No one has and no one will ever do so. For that reason mankind, based on the continued disobedience of God’s chosen people, proved that because of their sin nature they would never be found acceptable in God’s sight and could never fulfill the righteous requirements of this same Covenant. Thus mankind was condemned to spend eternity in hell. Unless someone would stand in their place and fulfill the requirements of God so that we could be forgiven and find a place in Heaven for us.
In short, mankind needed a Savior!
In Romans 8: 1-4 we read:
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,[a] who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
For what the Law “could not do” Christ did for us in our place. Jesus fulfilled the righteous requirements of the Law and because of that all who put their trust in Him will receive forgiveness for their sins and be found worthy of being accepted into Heaven based on what Jesus has done for us.
This is the Savior that we are told about in the Christmas story. “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”
That is why we were sent a Savior. Without one there would be no way to Heaven; we would all stand condemned before God for our sins. Jesus is the only way. He is the gate by which we must pass through in order to go into Heaven and go out into eternity with Him.
So, this Christmas be as the shepherds and believe in the miracle of the virgin born Savior. Come to Him with praise and thanksgiving and receive Him as your Lord and Savior. Be as the shepherds and hear the Heavenly multitude say:
“Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth, and toward men good will.”
Why a Savior? Because we can do nothing to save ourselves. Jesus is that Savior. Come to the manger now and receive Him into your heart.
What Do You Celebrate At Christmas?
If you celebrate Christmas without Jesus, then what are you celebrating?
Now I may put up a decorated tree and some decorations outside but I do so just for fun. However, I could just as easily not have any decorations and I would still be just as happy. Know why? Because I don’t need any of these trappings to remind me about whom it is who came into the world to deliver me from having to pay the penalty for my sins. You see, I celebrate the person of Christ and not the holiday.
So, I don’t need to know when Jesus was born. It really isn’t important as that date then would become something more meaningful than the fact of Jesus Himself. You see, more emphasis would be put on the holiday and all of the trappings that come with it than on the person of the holiday itself. Much like it already has.
Think about it. What is more important to you Christmas or Jesus? Do you really need the colored lights or the decorated tree to worship Jesus, let alone the shopping, the stress and the debt? When was the last time that you bowed down before Jesus just to let Him know how grateful you are that at some point in time past He did come to earth, to become one of us and to put Himself in the place of a sinner (you) to deliver you from suffering the consequences of the wrongs “you” have committed?
Celebrating Christmas is not important at all. Celebrating the Savior is, and that is something you can do any time you want. You really don’t need one special day in which to do so. All God wants is for you to bow the knee before Jesus, admit your sinfulness and ask for forgiveness. Then it’s just a matter of confessing that Jesus is Lord and by faith believe that He died for you and rose again from the dead to give you eternal life and you, too, will be able to celebrate Jesus anytime that you want.
One day a year will not be that important anymore because it will have no true meaning. Celebrating Jesus is everlasting and receiving Him is receiving the best gift that you will ever have, for it is lasting, it is eternal, and it will never spoil or fade away.
So, this year don’t just celebrate a meaningless day. Instead celebrate the Savior who can make every day meaningful. You can do so just by celebrating Jesus.
This Is Christmas
It is not about a Nativity scene. It is not about Shepherds. It is not about Angels on high. It is not even about three Wise Men. If it isn’t about any of these things, then what is Christmas all about?
The answer is quite easy…
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth… (John 1: 1, 14)
Christmas can be celebrated anytime of the year. The day doesn’t mean anything. What is important is what happened. For what happened is that God became a man. He lowered Himself from His glorious throne to become one of us. He did so to talk to us on our level and, as man, His name is Jesus.
The reason He came down to us is very simple.
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners… (1 Timothy 1:15)
Are you a sinner? Then He came to save you. That is what Christmas is all about. All you have to do is to bow before Him, admit you sinfulness, ask for forgiveness and submit to Him as Lord of your life and He will be your Savior. It’s that easy.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14: 6)
There is no other way. God became man. We call this man Jesus, and Jesus came into this world to save sinners. That is what Christmas is all about.
To celebrate Christmas is to celebrate life, eternal life and forgiveness of sins, given because God became man to save sinners from their sins. The question for you is this. Will you join in on this celebration and have peace with God, or will you reject Him and face the penalty for your sins?
My prayer for you is that you will be among the many who will come to know what it is to have peace with God, and who will know the true meaning of, and be able to wish us all, a very “Merry Christmas”… 🙂
…….
Christmas Ambivalence
Ah, Christmas! Lights, Santa, a Nativity scene, not to mention greed, sorrow and stress. Why? What for? Sometimes I wish that Christmas never happens, and I say that as a Christian. So, what gives? No, I’m not a Scrooge nor am I heartless. Just seeing the holiday a little different.
Christmas, while being a Christian holiday, was never celebrated in the early Christian Church. In fact, it is not known exactly when Jesus was born, only where and that is in Bethlehem. Even though there is an account of the birth of Jesus in two of the gospels, the early Church never recognized nor celebrated the birth of Christ. In fact, Paul the Apostle, in 1 Corinthians 2: 1, 2 made the following statement about Jesus and the teachings about Him:
And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Paul made it very clear that what is important about Jesus is that He had been resurrected from the dead. Our “faith” depends on it. In 1 Corinthians 15: 14 Paul tells us:
And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.
What Paul made clear in all of his teachings is that Jesus was crucified, He died, was buried and was raised again to save people from sin, and to give life eternal to those who would believe in Him. Paul never celebrated the birth of Christ as well as none of the other Apostles or even those who were taught by them. Christmas is not a celebration of the early Church and was not commanded by God to be observed.
Since that is the case, should Christmas be celebrated today? It depends.
If you believe that we need to celebrate Christmas, in order to be an obedient Christian, and it is something that should be done in order to gain favor of God to be allowed into Heaven, the answer is no. Think of this.
In Galatians 4: 9 – 11 Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said the following:
But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.
In other words, if one celebrates Christmas because they feel they have to, they are doing so for the wrong reason and it could even call into question whether or not they truly are a Christian.
However, in Romans 14: 5 – 7 we are told this:
One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.
Here we see that it is OK to keep one day special, if we do so to the glory and honor of God. Likewise, if we decide not to honor that day and we do so to the praise of God that, too, is OK. For we do all these things to honor God and not ourselves.
To celebrate Christmas then is OK if you do so to honor God and to give Him praise. If you feel that you do not want to celebrate Christmas and you do it to honor God and to praise Him that, too, is OK to do. For both reasons are done to give God the glory, honor and praise that He so deserves.
But, what has happened to Christmas? To many it has become a time of greed, stress and sorrow. We worry about making sure we have the right decorations, the best gifts and going into debt just to give something that is fleeting, never lasting and gone in a moment of time. Christ is being pushed out of the public view, placed on the back lots and pushed back into buildings that never show His glory to those who truly need the Gospel message which is about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.
If it were not for the crucifixion of Jesus – His death, burial and being raised from the dead – Christmas would have no meaning at all to Christians, and it would be nothing more than a meaningless holiday worthless to the salvation of anyone.
Could you celebrate Christmas if you had none of the glitter and glitch of decorations, the trappings of the commercialization of expensive gifts and the need to please others? What if all that was needed was to fall to your knees and give thanks to God for sending His own Son into the world to save sinners?
It’s OK to celebrate Christmas as long as your priorities are in the right place. You can do the decorations, buy the gifts and celebrate the birth of Jesus as long as you do so to the glory and honor of God. If you do, I think you will see that all of the trappings that make up the Christmas holiday is really not needed at all.
Christmas is a day that can be celebrated – for the right reason. We only need to honor Jesus for giving up what He Had to become what we are. That alone is enough for celebrating the birth of Jesus. But, then again, we could do that anytime that we wanted, any day of the year. And we can do so without all of the greed, sorrow and stress that comes upon us this time every year.
Wouldn’t that be great? It can be if you celebrate Christmas to honor Jesus and not to sacrifice your wallet to ease your conscience or place an offering on the altar of greed in buying the biggest, the best and the most. I’m sure you will find it more satisfying and not stressful at all. At Christmas time it would be best to practice what we read in Hosea 6: 6 where God says…
For I desire mercy and not sacrifice,
And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
Make this Christmas the best ever. You can take away the greed, the sorrow and the stress. You can do so by giving the best gift you will ever know – yourself to God. Ask Him to forgive you for living a sinful life ( we all do ), submit to the Lordship of Jesus and receive the gift of life – eternal life. You will know a love that you have never experienced and you will have made peace with God.
May you have a most wonderful Merry Christmas and celebrate it for the true meaning behind it – the day that God became a man and we call his name Jesus…
…….
What About The Term ” Xmas “?
For my Christian friends and for those who are just curious.
The term “Xmas” really isn’t bad. In short, in the Greek language the word for Christ (Khristós or Christos) is Χριστός. A variant for Xmas is “Xtemass” and it was used as early, I believe, in 1551. If you go back as far as 1100 you will find the term of “Xp̄es mæsse”. The letter X, from the Greek word of Χριστός, was used as a short-term for Christ.
Also, terms like Xpian and Xtian have been used for the word Christian, not to mention that the term Xtianity has been used for the word Christianity as far back as 1634.
Basically these terms were just short versions of saying “ Christ Mass “.
So, when we see, today, the term “ Xmas “ we are actually seeing someone saying “Christ Mass“ or “Christmas”.
After seeing how this term began and how it has been used down through the ages, I feel that so many people, in their quest not to offend anyone are actually telling us Christians that Christ does live and they are unknowingly proclaiming His birth.
And, at Christmas time, isn’t that what we are celebrating anyway?
Now, with “Xmas” in mind, I came up with an idea and I’m sending it out to you as a good suggestion. To anyone or any business that uses the term “Xmas”, thank them for proclaiming Christ’s birth, smile and then wish them a Merry Christmas. Then happily walk away and let them think about it for a while.
I think Jesus would like that… 🙂
Why A Savior?
Even if you are not a Christian, I’m sure you are familiar with the Christmas story.
The Gospel of Luke has the best account of the birth of Jesus, and in the part which describes the encounter that some shepherds had with an angel we read, in part, the following:
“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…..”
Wait a minute. A Savior? Why do we need a Savior? I mean we’re all good, right? So, why do we need a Savior and from what do we need to be saved?
Good questions, all…
In Proverbs 6 beginning at verse 16 we read:
These six things the LORD hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
A proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren.
For a moment, think of these seven things. Have you ever done any of them? Odds are you have had at one time or another had a proud look about you, lied about something, devised a way to get back a someone, either hit someone or at least thought about hitting someone, told something about another person that wasn’t true, and even spread gossip to get someone in trouble.
Do you realize that just by doing any one of these has caused you to be separated from God. We all know about the Ten Commandments and we always say, “Well, I’ve tried my best to do them, and God knows I’m not perfect, but I am basically good.”
However, when you look, again, at those seven actions I’ve mentioned, just one of them will keep you out of Heaven. In 1 Corinthians 6:9 we read:
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?”
Are you “unrighteous?” If you have done just one bad thing, even a simple little white lie, you are an unrighteous person. As it stands now, you are in danger of spending eternity in Hell, not Heaven.
You will have to pay the penalty for having done anything bad. You see God will not allow anyone who is unrighteous into Heaven. That would be like pouring a sewer system into pure drinking water. It has to be purified first, just like you. The problem is, spending eternity in Hell will not purify you.
However, God has provided a way for the unrighteous person to gain forgiveness for the wrongs they have committed and to be granted admittance into Heaven. He has provided a “Savior”.
This is what we read about in the Christmas story in Luke. God has provided a Savior and His name is Jesus, and to all who believe in Him, and who submit to Him as Lord, the bad things they have done will be forgiven and the righteousness of Jesus will be placed upon that person. Because of the righteousness of Jesus they will be granted admittance into Heaven.
The thing is, you must admit that you have done wrong. You must be willing to say that you know you cannot enter into Heaven because of anything you have done. You must realize that you can only be forgiven if someone pays the penalty that you deserve to pay, because of what you have done, and the only Person who can stand in your place, to be found guilty on your behalf, is Jesus. Only because of what Jesus has done in His obedience to the Father, in His dying for sins, and in His resurrection can you have any hope of salvation.
You see, from what you need to be saved, is from yourself, because you are an unrighteous person, and that unrighteousness has caused you to be condemned to spend eternity in Hell paying for the bad things you have done.
That is why you need a Savior and that Savior is Jesus.
Call upon God now. Confess that you have done wrong and submit to Jesus as Lord of your life and, if you can do that, Jesus will be your Savior. So that when you read, “For there is born to you this day….. a Savior…..”, you can join all of the others down through the ages who can say:
“It was for me that a Savior was provided, to save me from myself, and His name is Jesus.”
When this happens the Christmas story takes on a whole new meaning. We can see why a Savior was needed and for whom He came to save; to save us from ourselves.
You see, we cannot save ourselves. We cannot be good enough to earn admittance into Heaven. We cannot do anything to be forgiven for any of the bad things we have done. We need a champion, one who will stand in for us, we need a Savior. Only Jesus can be that Savior. If you deny Him you deny yourself the only chance there is to spend eternity in Heaven.
Can you admit your wrongs? Will you submit to Jesus as your Lord, to take over control of your life? Will you bow before Him as the only Savior who can provide you forgiveness for your sins?
If you can say yes to all of these, then this Christmas will be the most wonderful Christmas you will have ever had. You will receive the best and most precious gift ever, the gift of being given a Savior to save you from yourself. His name is Jesus.
May this be a most wonderful time for you, and I pray that you will have a more meaningful, peaceful and life changing time of the year so that it will truly be, for you, a very Merry Christmas…
Why Christmas
It really doesn’t matter when we celebrate Christmas. I say that because Christmas is not about having a holiday, buying gifts or decorating a tree, etc. No, Christmas is about reminding us that God lowered Himself and became one of us.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God….. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1 & 14
Many times in the Old Testament we read about the word of the Lord visiting someone. As an example of this, we read in Genesis 15:1, “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
The Word of the Old Testament became man in the New Testament and we call Him Jesus. In order to be one of us, at our level, He had to born as one of us, but He had to be born sin free. In order for that to happen the One from Whom the seed would come would have to be sin free. God, Himself, is the only sinless being. So, from the Holy Spirit through Mary was God in man implanted and was born without a sin nature.
God, as a man called Jesus, came and dwelt among us and we did not know Him. He came to seek and to save the lost; those whom He would save through His sacrifice of death and separation from the Father, and to give us life through His resurrection from the dead.
He became the sacrifice for sin and, because of that sacrifice, those whom He saves has eternal life through the forgiveness of sin and the promise of eternal life because of what He has done for man. Without the Word of God coming into this world as a man called Jesus, to become sin for us and to give us His righteousness to save us from our sinfulness and from facing the wrath to come, we would have no hope of salvation.
For this reason do we celebrate Christmas. It is a celebration of the forgiveness of sin, the salvation of our souls and the promise of eternal life in Heaven with God. Unless you have been born again by the Spirit of God, Christmas is not really for you, for you have not, as yet, received the gift of life. Life that only Jesus can give.
Christmas celebrates life, love, and the forgiveness of sins, as God, born of a woman, gave to us through Himself as a man called Jesus. When Jesus was born is not important. Why He was born is. If you celebrate Christmas for any other reason you are not celebrating Christmas at all.
Why Christmas? Because God, through the person and work of the man He became – Jesus – has provided for man what man cannot provide for himself….. salvation from sin and eternal life in Heaven.
The question is… do you have the right to celebrate the day when God, born of a woman, became man; the day we call Christmas? You can have the gift of God. If you will just repent of your sins, submit to Jesus and call Him Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead… you will have been saved, and you, too, can celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.
Riff's Christian Journal 