Why Is Christmas So Important?

Why Is Christmas So Important ?

The commercialism of the Christmas season continues to grow with each passing year playing to our wants and desires increasingly pushing Jesus out of the picture. So what are we as Christians supposed to do? Stop celebrating Christmas because Jesus no longer appears to be the reason for the season as some have? No!

The day is still called CHRIST - mas. Carols are still sung of His birth and can be heard through most mall sound systems. Christmas needs to be looked at differently, with an eternal perspective. To the Body of Christ, Easter is perhaps the most dear and sacred of days. Jesus rose from the dead three days after He died as a sin offering for the sins of the world. Important because if there was no resurrection there would be no Christianity and as Paul says , "your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins" (1 Corinthians 15:17, NASB). But what of His birth and the effect that had on the entire world. For me Easter means nothing without Christmas. Jesus was born to die for our sin and be raised from the dead for our justification (Romans 4:25). Christmas' meaning then becomes more significant, for without the birth of Jesus we would not be redeemed either. It was His unique birth which brought a unique life. Because of the virgin birth He did not have the sin nature as we all have, but one free from the effect of the fall. This allowed him to live a life wholly without sin (2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15) in obedience to the Father. As a result of this Jesus could be the lamb without spot or blemish to be offered up for man's sin (Hebrews 9:13-15). Linking these two events will help us gain a greater understanding of who our Lord truly was and is. For instance the Gifts of the Magi represent who they understood the Baby Jesus was and would become…….

Luke Chapter 2

…..The star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Gold is meant to portray how Jesus is a "King" since He stems from the line of King David; Frankincense is something Jewish priests use during temple ceremonies, and hence stands for Jesus as the "mediator" between God the Father and His people. Also this could be said to foreshadow His sacrifice on the cross as an "offering" for the forgiveness of our sins; Lastly, Myrrh is used to embalm the dead during Jesus' time, and like what was mentioned above, it symbolizes Jesus dying on the cross for the salvation of mankind.

Maybe we should be hearing more sermons on the birth of Jesus at Easter, more sermons on the resurrection at Christmas

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us)."

Matthew 1:23, ESV

Joy to the world ... the Lord is come!"

We wish you a Merry Christmas ... time to celebrate our Savior's birth and reflect on His great grace in our lives ... and a blessed New Year!

My Peace I Give Unto You

My peace I give unto you

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you." John 14:27

These two verses speak of the one thing all people long for…Peace! Peace with God, Peace with People and Peace with ourselves. Many seek it so many different ways. Money, Status, even Love! The message of Christmas is about receiving inner peace that can only be found only in knowing this God-Man, Jesus. Listen to Luke 2:14 in the EAV…

¹⁴ "Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" Luke 2:14 (English Standard Version)

When Our Lord speaks peace, He makes peace, His words are ever "spirit and life." Have you ever received what Jesus speaks? "My peace I give unto you" - it is a peace which comes from looking into His face and realizing that He is peace.

He is the Sovereign God who creates all things and controls all things. Jesus Christ is not the best human being the human race can boast of— He is a Being for whom the human race can take no credit at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate— God coming into human flesh from outside it. His life is the highest and the holiest entering through the most humble of doors. Our Lord’s birth was an advent— the appearance of God in human form.” So how should we respond??

His Birth in Me

Paul writes in (Galatians 4:19) “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you . . .” Just as our Lord came into human history from outside it, He must also come into me from outside. Have I allowed my personal human life to become a “Bethlehem” for the Son of God? I cannot enter the realm of the kingdom of God unless I am born again from above by a birth totally unlike physical birth. “You must be born again” (John 3:7). This is not a command, but a fact based on the authority of God. The evidence of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that “Christ is formed” in me and once

“Christ is formed” in me, His nature immediately begins to work through me. The Spirit of God testifies to and confirms the simple, but almighty, security of the life that “is hidden with Christ in God.

When you really see Jesus, I defy you to doubt Him. If you see Him when He says, “Let not your heart be troubled . . .” (John 14:27),

I defy you to worry. It is virtually impossible to doubt when He is there. Every time you are in personal contact with Jesus, His words are real to you. “My peace I give to you . . .” (John 14:27)— a peace which brings an unconstrained confidence and covers you completely, from the top of your head to the soles of your feet. “. . . your life is hidden with Christ in God,” and the peace of Jesus Christ that cannot be disturbed has been imparted to you.

All the failures in the Christian life can be traced to losing our focus or taking our eyes off Jesus. Are you painfully disturbed just now, distracted by the waves and billows of God's providential permission, and having, as it were, turned over the boulders of your belief, are you still finding no well of peace or joy or comfort; is all barren? Then look up and receive the stable calmness of the Lord Jesus. Reflected peace is the proof that you are right with God because you are at liberty to turn your mind to Him. If you are not right with God, you can never turn your mind anywhere but on yourself. If you allow anything to hide the face of Jesus Christ from you, you are either disturbed or you have a false security.

Are you looking unto Jesus now, in the immediate matter that is pressing and receiving from Him peace? If so, He will be a gracious benediction of peace in and through you. But if you try to worry it out, you obliterate Him. We get disturbed because we have not been considering Him. When one confers with Jesus Christ the perplexity goes, because He has no perplexity, and our only concern is to abide in Him. Lay it all out before Him, and in the face of difficulty, bereavement and sorrow, hear Him say, "Let not your heart be troubled."

John 14: 1-3, 27

¹Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. ²In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

Romans 8:1-2, 37-39

¹ Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you

free from the law of sin and death. ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This Christmas Fix Your Eyes On Jesus

This Christmas ….Fix your eyes on Jesus

Christmas is often a season when we forget the true meaning of the holiday and become wrapped up in, and overwhelmed by, the seemingly insurmountable “to do” list of sending cards, baking cookies, decorating, and shopping. Rather than letting ourselves get swept away by the pressure of finding that “perfect” gift for each person in our lives, let us be obedient to Scriptures’ directive in Hebrews 12:2

² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

Oswald Chambers writes “

“That Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He did not emerge out of history; He came into history from the outside. Jesus Christ is not the best human being the human race can boast of— He is a Being for whom the human race can take no credit at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate— God coming into human flesh from outside it. His life is the highest and the holiest entering through the most humble of doors. Our Lord’s birth was an advent— the appearance of God in human form.”

His Birth in Me

. “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you . . .” (Galatians 4:19). Just as our Lord came into human history from outside it, He must also come into me from outside. Have I allowed my personal human life to become a “Bethlehem” for the Son of God? I cannot enter the realm of the kingdom of God unless I am born again from above by a birth totally unlike physical birth. “You must be born again” (John 3:7). This is not a command, but a fact based on the authority of God. The evidence of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that “Christ is formed” in me. And once “Christ is formed” in me, His nature immediately begins to work through me.

God Evident in the Flesh.

This is what is made so profoundly possible for you and for me through the redemption of man by Jesus Christ.

The Spirit of God testifies to and confirms the simple, but almighty, security of the life that “is hidden” with Christ in God.

When you really see Jesus, I defy you to doubt Him. If you see Him when He says, “Let not your heart be troubled . . .” (John 14:27), I defy you to worry. It is virtually impossible to doubt when He is there. Every time you are in personal contact with Jesus, His words are real to you. “My peace I give to you . . .” (John 14:27)— a peace which brings an unconstrained confidence and covers you completely, from the top of your head to the soles of your feet. “. . . your life is hidden with Christ in God,” and the peace of Jesus Christ that cannot be disturbed has been imparted to you.

All the failures in the Christian life can be traced to losing our focus or taking our eyes off Jesus. On different occasions in the book of Hebrews the writer admonishes us to turn our eyes upon Jesus.

We read in Hebrews 3:1, "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus." The word "consider" means "to observe fully." The ideal is to fix and keep your eyes on Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our profession.

In our text, Hebrews 12:1-2, the writer speaks to us of the importance of keeping our eyes on Jesus. He admonishes us to keep, "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith." The word "looking" speaks of "looking away to Jesus" and carries the idea of a fixed gaze. We are to look away from everything else, and look away to Jesus.

The songwriter put it into word ...

1. O soul, are you weary and troubled?
   No light in the darkness you see?
   There’s light for a look at the Savior,
   And life more abundant and free!
• Refrain:
  Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
  Look full in His wonderful face,
  And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
  In the light of His glory and grace.
2. Through death into life everlasting
   He passed, and we follow Him there;
   O’er us sin no more hath dominion—
   For more than conquerors we are!
3. His Word shall not fail you—He promised;
   Believe Him, and all will be well:
   Then go to a world that is dying,
   His perfect salvation to tell!