Tag: Christmas

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12.26.24.Hallelujah!

Praise the Lord !

Revelation 19 Hallelujah!

John sees and records the vision of the last of the wickedness wrought by the evil one.Listen to what John hears: Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; because His judgments are true and righteous.

We just spent a month preparing for Christmas but the greatest gift we could bestow on our Lord are these words that John recorded. John also saw the end of the wicked ones as they are thrown into the lake of fire prepared for the devil and his angels/demons. Stay true beloved and stay strong as you look forward to the end of all of Satan’s ways. 

John adds this to our prayers for today: “Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.”

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The Truth About Christmas

1 John 3-5 A Christmas Message from John

Today, as we stop to ponder the truth of Christmas, the Apostle John writes to remind us why God sent His only begotten Son on that Christmas night so long ago. [1 Jn 3:5] He was manifested to take away our sins, [1 Jn 3:8] He was manifested to destroy the works of the devil. In order to to do that, He had to be the propitiation [atoning sacrifice] for our sins. [1Jn 4:10] That is the true Christmas message and why Christ came long ago.

Thus celebrate Christmas and ponder those thoughts. Merry Christmas

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Christmas – by Faith

Christmas from long ago

Hebrews 11 to 13 Others Tell the Story of Faith

Long ago in a faraway land, isn’t that how fairy tales begin? Yes, they often do, but this is not a fairy tale! It happened long ago in a faraway land, and the voices of those in the story tell a story of faith that they hope you will embrace. 

The Hebrews author wants you to know the real Christmas story as told, not by words, but by the lives of Abel, Enoch, Noah, and others. Each one says, I never saw Christ or touched Him or heard his voice, but I believed by faith. Like Abraham, God took that as my confession and counted me, just as him, righteous. [Rom 4:3] Christ was the light that came into the world; centuries later, the Apostle Paul added that this light “died for our sins according to the scriptures; he was buried, and he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” [1C or 15:3-4] Peter added his voice, “You do not see him now, but you believe in him, and so you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy…”[1Peter 1:8-9]

They all were telling about the Christ Child, the Messiah. Their story is true and not a fairy tale. We pray that you join them and believe by faith this Christmas so God can call you righteous.

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Angels or Christ?

Angel or Christ

Hebrews 1-4 It is Christmas time, and we spend exorbitant amounts of money to decorate our homes with Christmas trees. Usually, but not always, we place an angel at the tip-top. In reading these chapters, the early believers did much the same in their worship by elevating angels over Christ. He wrote to remind them that angels are merely ministering spirits. They are NOT the Son.

Over and over, as we have read the letters to the early believers, we have seen that the NT authors repeatedly remind their readers to stand firm and elevate Christ! The unknown author of Hebrews continues that train of thought; Christ must always be pre-eminent. He, not angels, came to earth to die for the people’s sins so that He could be their High Priest! He warns them to stand firm and not to harden their hearts. Did they, and do we get the point? Angels are ministering spirits; they are NOT the Son.

This Christmas, do I keep Christ first? When I look at my tree, do I see an angel there just as decoration? Is Christ first?

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“The Christmas Story in Hebrews”

The Christmas Story

Hebrews 7 to 10 This week we are caught up in the Christmas story of the birth of the Christ child.  We ponder anew each Christmas season the story of the Nativity. We recall the gospel writers sharing with us how that came to be; Mary, “was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.” [Matt 1:18b]  The Hebrews author does not want us to miss that God, in eternity past revealed that truth: “But a body You have prepared for Me.” [Heb 10:5] And why did this Christ child come? He came to do God’s will by offering Himself as the perfect sacrifice. [Matt 26:42] And to further take to away the first that He may establish the second. It is by this that we have been sanctified through offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. On this, it was affirmed when He said “It is finished!” [Jn 19:30]

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The Holy Spirit and Christmas

The Holy Spirit is our gift

1Cor 12 It is December, and that means Christmas is coming! God gave us the best Christmas gift ever when He sent His Son Jesus. But, God also plans ahead and He had your name on a special gift; the Spirit to reside with you FOREVER AND EVER!

Jesus said: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;” [Jn 14:16] He is our permanent teacher, not just on Christmas morning but FOREVER! and EVER! In addition, Jesus prayed that; ” But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and will cause you to remember everything I said to you.”  [Jn 14:26] And then in 1Cor 12, we read that the Spirit gives; better than Santa! He also distributes; not to just good boys and girls but to every saved believer as He wills. He works all these things for His glory and that we might edify others and especially the church. There may be a diversity of gifts, but the same Spirit who does all of this and more, and we are to receive each one gratefully. 

Since eternity the Spirit has been actively distributing gifts, and you are blessed to have received His gift, whether it be knowledge or wisdom or the gift of x, y, z as he gave to Daniel. 

Do you know your gift? Do others recognize that you have been anointed with the Holy Spirit? Are you grateful for the gifts He has given to you?

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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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