A Christmas Message

This is the season we celebrate the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ. We call it Christmas and somehow it got assigned December 25th as the day. But why the 25th of December?

It appears the Church of Rome deliberately chose December 25th as the date of Christ's birth to turn people away from a pagan feast observed at the same time. Pagan celebrations had always occurred throughout the empire. Since the time of the Roman Emperor Aurelian (270-275), December 25th was observed as "the birthday of the sun."

It seems Rome chose this same date to counteract this pagan feast of the sun god and turn people instead to the "Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings" (Malachi 4:2; Luke 1:78). Or put another way, Julius chose December 25th so that the Son of God rather than the sun god would be worshiped.

Although there is no direct evidence that proves this, sermons from fathers of the church such as Augustine (354-430) and Leo the Great (440-461) both give this line of reasoning.

Therefore, this theory seems to be the probable one. December 25th was chosen not because it had somehow been proven from extra-biblical sources that Christ was definitely born on December 25th. Rather the date was chosen to counteract a very popular pagan holiday that had already been occurring on this date.

Here in the United States, Christmas is a joyful religious holiday when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The Christmas story comes from the Bible. An angel appeared to shepherds and told them a Savior had been born to Mary and Joseph in a stable in Bethlehem. Three Wise Men from the East (the Magi) followed a wondrous star, which led them to the baby Jesus to whom they paid homage and presented gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Yep, that is what the songs are all about and what the stories on TV all depict. But, is that what really happened? Their timing is not quite biblical.

Luke 1 - The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” 29Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30“Don’t be frightened, Mary,” the angel told her, “for God has decided to bless you! 31You will become pregnant and have a son, and you are to name him Jesus. 32He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” 34Mary asked the angel, “But how can I have a baby? I am a virgin.” 35The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby born to you will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. 36What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she’s already in her sixth month. 37For nothing is impossible with God.” 38Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants. May everything you have said come true.” And then the angel left.

Why did God choose this particular woman; why Mary?

The genealogy of a person was very important in those days. Proving where you came from was of primary importance. And Mary's lineage showed that she and therefore her offspring were descendants of King David and of Abraham as described in the first chapter of Matthew. And this is the lineage the Messiah was to come from as prophesied by Isaiah in the Old Testament.

Matthew 1 - The Birth of Jesus the Messiah
18Now this is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19Joseph, her fiancé, being a just man, decided to break the engagement quietly, so as not to disgrace her publicly. 20As he considered this, he fell asleep, and an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to go ahead with your marriage to Mary. For the child within her has been conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22All of this happened to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: 23“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and he will be called Immanuel (meaning, God is with us).” 24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord commanded. He brought Mary home to be his wife, 25but she remained a virgin until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

It was important that Jesus be brought up in a loving family environment. And Joseph and Mary were truly in love with each other. That was tested when Mary confessed she was pregnant and, after his dream, Joseph agreed to marry her and raised Him as he did his other sons.

Luke 2 - The Shepherds and Angels
8That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened, 10but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! 11The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!” 13Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God: 4“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors.” 15When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Come on, let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17Then the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19but Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20The shepherds went back to their fields and flocks, glorifying and praising God for what the angels had told them, and because they had seen the child, just as the angel had said.

God told a few, and they went to see for themselves, and then they told others.

Isn't that always the way. We need some proof. It is very difficult for us, as humans, to believe what we have not seen. Yet the full power of God is available to us every day if we only reach out and apply it without seeing proof first; apply it in faith.

Matthew 2 - The Visit of the Wise Men
1Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2“Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We have seen his star as it arose, and we have come to worship him.” 3Herod was deeply disturbed by their question, as was all of Jerusalem. 4He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law. “Where did the prophets say the Messiah would be born?” he asked them. 5“In Bethlehem,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote: 6‘O Bethlehem of Judah, you are not just a lowly village in Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’” 7Then Herod sent a private message to the wise men, asking them to come see him. At this meeting he learned the exact time when they first saw the star. 8Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!” 9After this interview the wise men went their way. Once again the star appeared to them, guiding them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11They entered the house where the child and his mother, Mary, were, and they fell down before him and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12But when it was time to leave, they went home another way, because God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.

Here is where the story we hear goes off the timeline. We tell the story of the three wise men and yet there is no mention of how many. We tell the story of how they visited the "baby Jesus" in the manger yet the Bible tells that they visited him in a house, not in a manager.

It took over a year for those wise men, those astrologers and their entourages, to travel and find Jesus. God gave them a star to guide them. With their knowledge of the stars they were able to use that bright star to guide them to wherever Jesus was. And they found Him when He was two years old.

When they did, they lavished great gifts upon Him. And I do not think it was just three little boxes as "Hollywood" depicts it. No, I believe there were many, many, many camels’ worth of gifts. Think about it. They were giving the King of Kings, the Messiah, the son of the almighty God himself an offering.

Jesus began His life in a manager, and started His childhood with wealth.

Soon it will be December 25th once again, and we will celebrate another year with Jesus as the Messiah. Mary had Jesus in her, but not in the way He is in you. She was a host for the creation of God's son on earth. And God had to bring Him to us in that way.

He fulfilled prophecy of old when Jesus was born of a woman. That is true. But why did He not just create the Messiah as a fully-grown man like He did with Adam?

If a "new man" dropped into town and told you he was the Messiah, would you believe it? I do not think so. It gets back to that "show me" mentality we all have. And that comes from doubt and fear. And doubt and fear do not come from God.

Looking back over the lineage, the words from God to both Mary and Joseph, the miraculous birth, the angel's message to the Shepherd’s, and the long pilgrimage of the wise men to worship Him one can see the "proof".

How does Jesus in Mary compare to Jesus in you?

John 3
5Jesus replied, “The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven.

Mary was a host. And "Humans can reproduce only human life ". She gave birth to the infant, the human baby Jesus. She nurtured that child as her own. She mothered Him through his childhood and beyond.

John 3
7So don’t be surprised at my statement that you must be born again. 8Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

As one who has accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are born again.

John 3
16“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. 18“There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God. 19Their judgment is based on this fact: The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20They hate the light because they want to sin in the darkness. They stay away from the light for fear their sins will be exposed and they will be punished. 21But those who do what is right come to the light gladly, so everyone can see that they are doing what God wants.”

I remember a TV series called Star Trek: Deep Space Nine that ran from 1993 to 1999. There was a character called Jadzia Dax. She was referred to as a host for a simbiant. Dax was the name of the simbiant. And Dax was many, many, many years old. The simbiant took over a new host whenever the current one was too old to continue on. There was only one Dax and that simbiant could only be in one person at a time.

Jesus is not for just one of us. He is for all of us. But, He does not take over all of us. He might like to, but we are a reluctant people. We like the freedom of choice God gave us when He called the world and us into existence. So we give Him a little space by accepting His free gift of salvation.

With that gift comes life everlasting. With that free gift comes the ability to choose to let Him take over our bodies and to do His work through us. When that occurs, His power and authority flows to all who reach out, to all who reach out to Him.

Celebrate Christmas. Let Jesus into your heart and be Lord of your life.


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Scripture reference from the NLT

The Widow Woman

While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people putting their gifts into the collection box. Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two pennies. "I assure you," he said, "this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has." (Luke 21:1-4 NLT)

We read this and smile. Perhaps a tear begins to drop as we think of how this poor widow woman wanted to give something and did so, but not out of a legalistic leaning. She gave out of her heart even at the cost of perhaps her meals that day.

She was not motivated by a giving message that went on and on in the temple that day. Nobody passed a basket or asked people to come to the front to drop their offerings. At the entrance to the temple there was a collection box. We might call it an offering box. Those that came into the temple could drop their tithes and offerings into the box. The giving was done in secret. Unless you happened to be nearby and see who was passing the box, you did not know who put something in.

Jesus was nearby and noticed what she dropped in. Like with everything else, He used the observation to teach others. He did not embarrass the woman by shouting out to the crowd. No, He was speaking to His disciples who were with Him and always eager to learn.

When was the last time you gave all you had?

Most of us budget our money so we can meet expenses each month. We just hope we run out of month before we run out of money. Hopefully, this is what happens to you.

How does the offering fit into your budget? Do you wait until the end of the month to see how you did and then give what is left over? This is a good example of giving out of your surplus. Do you take that amount and give it over the next month a week at a time so others see you giving something? This is an example of giving out of pride.

The poor widow knew that she knew that her God would provide for her. She gave out of her heart knowing He would provide her needs. She had faith in the promises of God and was not worried about anything.

I don’t think it would be prudent to empty your savings accounts and retirement funds and give them at the next offering. And I do not believe in the teaching that tells us to give and God will return it back to us tenfold or better. God blesses us in His time.

Giving ten percent of your paycheck each week is certainly a tithe. But is that going to the church because you were taught a principle and given a formula? Or are you giving out of your heart, the result of your relationship with God?

I cannot give ten percent, you say. I have trouble meeting expenses each month with the twenty dollars I drop in the basket each week. What will happen if I give ten percent? I will go broke!

Remember the feeding of the five thousand and having baskets left over? Tithing is where God math takes over. His math has you giving ten percent and you getting through the month with all expenses covered and something left over.

Remember, this is not a formula. When you give your tithe from your heart to the Kingdom of God, You