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Christmas & Children

The Nativity

Advent #7 The Nativity Tells the Story of Christ’s Birth

One of the things we can be certain of; Christmas will come and Christmas will go. A child anticipates the coming of Santa but is that what we want our children to remember? Or is that Christmas is the birthday of our Savior? It is all about Him, not Santa. Perhaps that is why the Apostle John spent so much time writing about Jesus and why he chose to author five books in the NT.  Perhaps it is why he left the family business to follow Christ. Perhaps that is why when Christ said, “follow me,” he left it all behind. He never looked back but became the disciple whom Jesus loved and was the only one not martyred for his faith.

John wanted all of those who read his letters to know that his full purpose was to proclaim the truth about Christ and His life as well as challenge us to follow Him fully as well. John’s message was that Jesus was the Word with God, life eternal, and He is light. Perhaps that is why we celebrate Christmas with lights.

As the angels rejoiced, so should we because Jesus was and is faithful and righteous, forgiving our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness. He is our advocate with the Father. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and the sins of the whole world.  And that is what Christmas is all about.

Without him, Advent has no meaning.  Come to him and know of him that you may have eternal life.  Take time this season to teach children the real meaning of Christmas; Christ came, lived, died, and rose again that they might know Him and be known by Him.

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Myth or Truth?

1tim adven2at

Advent Series: 1Timothy

Recently a friend received a note saying Christmas is just a man-made myth copied from earlier mythologies. Where did these ideas come from? We don’t need to go back very far to find evidence of these ideas. Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to John Adams saying that in the not too distant future generations will class Christmas as a fable. Thus we need to be armed with evidence from scripture to dismantle these godless ideas.

True, Paul counseled Timothy to instruct certain people not to spread false teachings and we should heed that counsel as well. Peter reminds us that the prophets who predicted the grace that would come to you searched and investigated carefully. In addition, Peter and John both spoke and wrote that they had been an eyewitness of this one who came for one purpose: to save His people from their sins. Paul tells Timothy what they had discovered: Christ was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory.

The world may seek to deny the divinity of Christ but if we are like the Bereans we can follow the path of truth just as the prophets of old so that we can say with them: Christ indeed was the Son of God just as the scriptures say.

Are you looking and watching?

If you are interested there is a page of Advent articles on Bible.org. Just put Advent in the search box.

 

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Tick Tock….

clock-christmas-mug2Revelation 16 “Tick Tock….”

‘You are just—the one who is and who was, the Holy One—because you have passed these judgments, they got what they deserved.’ Does God take pleasure in this? NO! The answer is found from the pen of Ezekiel: “Do I actually delight in the death of the wicked, declares the sovereign Lord? Do I not prefer that he turn from his wicked conduct and live?” [Ezek 18] and from the pen of Peter: God ‘is being patient toward you because he does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.’ [2Peter 3]

The truth is this: what you sow you reap. Satan has sown his seeds of the “deadly d’s” and now God has set his sickle to him and his tares and with righteous judgment they will be reaped to destruction. Satan’s heart was defiant from the beginning and now God’s patience has run its course. God’s sacred history and His plan are unveiled that we might know and be challenged to repent and live righteously. He has immersed us into the lives of the 7 churches that we might know God’s standards of righteousness and be warned of the consequences if we do not. God has opened his book that we might see how much He hates unrighteousness as we should as well.

It is darkest before the dawn but Christmas is coming and the Holy One, the Ancient of Days’ clock will have sounded its last tock forever and we hear the bells resound: “It is finished!” and so it will be.

All Scripture is taken from the FREE online Bible Study tool of Bible.org ministries.

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