Trust Him! The shepherds, wise men, and angels celebrated the birth of Jesus with gifts, songs, and prayer. One theory is that the early church decided to celebrate Christmas on December 25th in order to oppose the pagan celebration of Sol Invictus. And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. The situation would have been difficult for anyone to understand, let alone a man engaged to a woman who was expecting a child. "Joy to the World" Words: Isaac Watts, The Psalms of David, 1719. "The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told" (v. 20). First, you need to learn about Jesus. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. Nor am I referring to happiness. How Should We Celebrate the Birth of Christ. Joyful and triumphant, What Does The King James Bible Say About Celebrating Christmas The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. He became a man in His incarnation. His father went down to the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, for so the young men used to do. What is the genuinely Christian way to observe Christ's nativity? And they kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the people of Israel did. What is more, in these verses, God promises to give us all victories for peace if we ask Him. He would say that He was the truth for a world that was dreadfully confused. There are a few Bible verses that seem to suggest that Jesus did not want people to celebrate his birth. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found . This can be a very trying experience. In early fall. First, it involved her memory; for we are told that she treasured up all these things. Third, it involved her intellect; for she treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. Do you know that you have fallen short of God's standards and that nothing within you will ever be able to move up to the fulfilling of them? And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7). 11. 52 Bible verses about Celebration - Knowing Jesus Perhaps you are one who longs for the Lord's return. It also teaches us of God's power, for an incarnation is beyond our ability even to conceive, let alone to bring into being. Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. Well, peace with one another results from having peace with God and with finding the peace of God personally. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.. You shall keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor. Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants. Once more they cried out, Hallelujah! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! So everyone who knows of Christ and has become a Christian can tell others of Him. We cannot understand it but it is true, and we should marvel at it. There are four main points to this short message: Each of these points is important, of course. Come to the wedding feast. But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. In the birth we see God's wisdom. Born the King of angels; Second, there is the strong possibility that the persons may not be in harmony but that they will want to make a pact between themselves in order to settle their differences. They had heard the music of heaven. The passage begins by speaking of the shepherds. It is based upon what God has done, and it is given to the Christian by God and is sustained by God. A complete edition was edited in 1904 for the Cambridge University Press as Richard Crashaw: Steps To The Temple, Delights of the Muses and Other Poems by A. R. Waller. And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. That is the Christmas story God became man! Jesus Christ does not thus become some magical wand which causes all our troubles to disappear. ", Dr. Keiper walked with him over to his office and, calling him by name, said, "Have you ever read the text carefully?" From beginning to end, God's dealings with our race are cause for amazement. The shepherds took this message, in the only form they knew, to their contemporaries. Moreover, since acknowledging His true worth is the essential meaning of worship it means to acknowledge God's worth to glorify God is to worship Him by words. Would anyone want to say that these men were not authorized to spread such a message? The third type of peace is a peace with one another. We can estimate when Jesus was born by counting backward from his death on Passover, Nisan 14 in the spring of the year 33 C.E. To do this is to glorify Him, an act which is, as the Catechism states, one aspect of man's chief end. But the circumstances were not good. Love never ends. It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. Psalms 118:24 - This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. We see His disposition to use little things, to exalt the humble and to subdue the proud. We see His grace. What is the solution? Do you do it? For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to celebrate. That is what Jesus Himself said: "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." He trusted God and received a great revelation concerning the work of the Savior. We need to think about each of these ways. Volume I, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1951), page 146. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Frank E. Gaebelein writes about this passage in The Practical Epistle of James, "A few years ago, former Chancellor Hutchins of the University of Chicago said war begins in the minds of men. To do so is to worship God both by words and in song. It is one of the great words of the Greek language. The Bible tells us that the birth of Jesus was unlike all other births in that Jesus existed before birth as the second person of the Godhead and He became man, not to provide us with a sweet story to tell children each winter or even as a theme for our greatest musical compositions, but in order to grow to maturity and then to die for our sin as a means of our salvation. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men. For we quickly come upon the Lord Jesus Christ's great invitation recorded in Matthew 11:28-30: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. To me it is a farce! And there, where they had first heard the angels' song, they themselves were heard to be singing God's praise. May God give you grace to do that. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. Now I am an old man, and I haven't any reason to believe that there is any truth in that text at all. The exact date of Jesus' birth is not recorded in the Scriptures. It is important because man's problems stem from the fact that in his natural state, he is not at peace with God. Will Graham Devotion: The Criminal on the Cross. It involves an effort to enter into the heart and counsels of God. Blog, A Christmas is a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. In Luke 2:8-20, it says: "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. C But then, suddenly, an angel appeared with the message: After the angel spoke a host of angels appeared, all praising God and saying. So, the best way to celebrate Christmas is to believe on Jesus as your Savior. Notice that this verse does not say, "In everything present your requests to God. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. It is not just brooding or getting into a pious frame of mind. Tillich, Paul. Praise the Lord! (Luke 18:13). James means that the lack of peace between men has its true source in men's emotions. J Taken together, therefore, the Greek and Latin definitions imply, first, that peace is not primarily a state of mind or an individual virtue but rather a state existing between two or more persons. I am not referring to activity, of course. Do you sometimes feel that God has forgotten you? Let's have a Christmas gift exchange this year. So he told them this parable: What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? You cannot tell that which you have not first felt and experienced. Salvus means "healthy" or "whole." And the angel answered her, "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 holythe Son of God. In 1872 an edition in 2 volumes was printed for private subscription by A.B. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. What a cause for amazement! ( John 19:14-16) Jesus was about 30 years old when he began his three-and-a-half-year ministry, so he was born in the early fall of 2 B.C.E. Luke 3:23. They must learn to love Him and to serve Him more and more. There is a clue to what peace means in this verse in the way the word is used in the earlier chapters of Romans. Would she have guessed what was happening because of her familiarity with the Old Testament prophecies, such as Isaiah's prophecy that "the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son" (Isaiah 7:14)? Continue by pondering these things. So he was told, "you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7). He loves you so much that He gave His life for your salvation. It is before his own master that he stands or falls. Many of you might have heard that the wise men did not appear during the night of Jesus' birth, no matter what nativity scenes may try to tell you. Further light is shed upon these verses by the meaning of the words for peace in the original Greek and Latin. The first message is a message of the faithfulness of God. Our gift to our children will be teaching them Who Jesus is and what Christmas is all about. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with . This is a cause for amazement. Easter Easter is another holiday that is celebrated by Christians. (Revelation 22:17). E Ecclesiastes 7:1-4 ESV / 156 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful. He would say that He was the life for a world that was dying. Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress; let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more. Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Jehoshua, meaning "Jehovah is salvation." 10. Just as we celebrate our children's birthdays every year, I believe it's entirely appropriate for us to celebrate the birth of God's own Son, Jesus Christ, every year. Crashaw, Richard (1612?-1649). Have you confessed them to God and to others? Thus, the message to Joseph centers primarily on that great work which Jesus, the Messiah, was to do. And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. December 26, 2015 The world treats the message of Christmas as wishful thinking because the world is not right with God and it does not wish to assume its own spiritual responsibility before Him. Peace on earth. The meaning of His name is "He will save His people from their sins" When Was Jesus Born? Bible Hints and Historic Evidence - Christianity.com Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. This is the peace spoken of by the Apostle Paul in the first verse of the fifth chapter of Romans: "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." . This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. The answer is in chapter 3, verse 17: "And the way of peace they do not know." Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." The difficulty with this approach does not lie in the thought that the biblical view of salvation is unrelated to such themes. But if that is true, why do we not see peace today? We had made a raid against the Negeb of the Cherethites and against that which belongs to Judah and against the Negeb of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire. And David said to him, Will you take me down to this band? And he said, Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this band. And when he had taken him down, behold, they were spread abroad over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. It struck me, as I began to read this story once again, that apart from the angels, no one would have understood what the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ meant not the shepherds, not Joseph, not even Mary. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. The trouble lies with men. Four Reasons Christmas Is Not a Christian Holiday - Life, Hope & Truth Celebrating it certainly does seem and feel like the right thing to do. Looking at the verse closely, we find that it uses the word "rest" twice. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957), page 166. D But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. She would have wondered how she could have conceived without having slept with a man. The Infinite clothed in human flesh! And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. But what does the Bible specifically say about your day of birth? Of course they did! And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. I am glad that the angel appeared to Joseph and not only to Mary. In these verses the angel first greets Mary, then gives this message: "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. Proud member Let your prayer be the cry of the publican: "God be merciful to me, a sinner!" When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the Lord. This is why carols are so much a rightful part of Christmas; for, when sung by those who understand them, they are a means of praise. ( Egypt Today .) Geocoding Second, it involved her affection, for she treasured these things in her heart. It is the kind of amazement we associate with special effects in a movie or with an Olympic gold medal winner. Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. Not only did these men have something to tell, as we do, they also knew of a world that needed desperately to hear their message. Unless our way of talking about salvation makes distinctions here, our interpretations inevitably fall short of the biblical conceptions. As you pray that prayer, you will find that God has already been merciful in Jesus. But the writer of this epistle had a deeper insight into humanity. King Solomon offered as a sacrifice 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. To ignore them is unimaginable. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. Systematic Theology. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end. Judging from the Christmas cards I get every year, I suspect that this is the phrase from the Christmas story that is most popular with people in our day. 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. We turn from that picture to the final pages of the Bible, and in those pages we find the Lord Jesus Christ high and lifted up, and all of creation is paying homage to Him. By Billy Graham This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Can you do that? If we are honest, we must admit that many persons, even Christians, celebrate it most by buying presents, decorating their houses, visiting relatives and friends, or watching football games on television. Is the Celebration of Christmas Biblical? - Owlcation When the angels had departed, the shepherds decided to go to Bethlehem. But they have. Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. It is an attempt to take what you know and then by an exercise of the mind to build upon it. The appearance of an angel to Joseph in a dream to tell Him to take the Child Jesus and his mother into Egypt to escape the wrath of King Herod. But I imagine that the joy of this couple on this occasion was the greatest this world has ever seen. Are Birthday Celebrations Christian? - Restored Church of God In the New Covenant, he has given us the Lord's Supper and baptism. And God will grant your requests." He was, however, making a very important point: We should never celebrate Jesus birth at Christmastimeand then forget Him the rest of the year. This passage suggests four ways of celebrating Christmas: Tell others about it. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. Romans 14:5-6 - One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. The hymn is Love Divine, All Loves Excelling, and the stanza to which I am referring is the second. In other words, James is saying that war begins with men's emotions. Both of these ideas are related to the idea of a mediator who brings irreconcilables together. In chapter 2, verse 10, Paul writes of God's fairness in granting "glory, honor and peace, for everyone who does good.". Local: 704-401-2432 However, there is no evidence that Christmas was originally . Ralph L. Keiper once said, "When we know Christ, not as a doctrine or a theory, but as Savior and Friend in our daily experience, we gain a confidence in Him which brings peace to our hearts. So, according to Tillich, who popularized this approach in his three-volume Systematic Theology and in his lectures, salvation can therefore be applied "to every act of healing: to the healing of sickness, or demonic possession, and of servitude to sin and to the ultimate power of death" 6 It means "reuniting that which is estranged, giving a center to what is split, overcoming the split between God and man, man and his world, man and himself. Also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toilthis is God's gift to man. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Keiper, Ralph L. op. And the shepherds would not have come to the manger in the little town of Bethlehem if the angels had not conveyed their message. Why? K What Does the Bible Say About Birth Of Christ? - OpenBible.info For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living. Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. The other kind of amazement is a holy wonder in response to those acts of God which are beyond human comprehension. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to celebrate. Well, later in His life He would speak of Himself in terms that spoke to precisely the world's condition. We see the force of this verb when we recognize that it was used of persons who were becoming engaged, hence, of the engagement contract. Allow it to stretch your mind, and learn that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in any human philosophy. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. Will you turn your focus toward Christevery day. Bible verses related to Celebrating Birthdays from the King James Version (KJV) by Relevance. The Scriptures say, "And let him who hears say, Come!" You say, "How does this come about?" God told us everything needed for life and godliness ( II Peter 1:2-4 ). The world won't let us miss the holiday. I am convinced that this thought was uppermost in Luke's mind as he set about to write this opening section of his gospel. 13. Living a Life of Celebration | Bible.org One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. The verse quoted was translated from Latin to English by Frederick Oakeley, 1841. What Does the Bible Say About Rejoice At A Death Cry At A Birth? And, of course, this is the sense in which we glorify God. Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Let me illustrate this by a story from the life of Dr. Ralph L. Keiper, who was a professor of English Bible at Conservative Baptist Theological Seminary in Denver, Colorado, and who was for many years associated with Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse in his ministry. Hardly! But she could not have known that for sure. Beyond any question, the gospel of Jesus Christ has important social implications. In fact, the Bible would not even support the view that the world is capable of being redeemed socially apart from the supernatural intervention of God in history. Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Bible Verses About Celebrating Birthdays - KING JAMES BIBLE ONLINE
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