The reason....
 

First, I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I trust you are all with friends and family enjoying a blessed Christmas season. As I normally do on Christmas, I read the familiar story of the coming of our Savior. My attention was drawn to Luke 1:31: And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

No other name was given here. No other name was needed. This name, this Name of JESUS, tells us all we need to know of His purpose in coming. He is the God of our salvation. He is the source of our salvation. From Him the earth could have peace, if they would only recieve Him. All that we ever need is in Him.

Now, there are those who refuse to recognize this day as the day of His birth. And, that is their right, for we really don't know the actual date of His birth. And sometimes, I think that may be a part of God's design. The date of His birth isn't nearly as important as the reason for His birth. He came to die that we could live. He came to save us, to redeem us from our own destruction. He came, so that those who believe in Him could have everlasting life.

So, again, Merry Christmas to all. Be blessed. Be happy. But, more importantly, be thankful that He came.

Re: The reason....
 

Merry Christmas everyone!

Re: The reason....
 

Very well said.

Merry Christmas.

Re: The reason....
 

Great Post, One Accord!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, AFF Friends!

Hugs,

Falla39

Re: The reason....
 

I was gonna start a post like this, but I wanted to say:

For all the roots of Christmas trees, all the controversies, all the facts that Jesus wasn't born in December this has been the time Christians celebrate the birth of the Savior, like it or not. It's about Him. As commercialized our capitalistic, consumer driven culture has become this should be the time of year we remember that God gave His Son freely.

Im reminded of these words

Luk 14:12 He said also to the man who had invited him, "When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid.
Luk 14:13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
Luk 14:14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just."

Jas 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Re: The reason....
 

Amen OA. Merry Christmas to you and all my AFF friends. God is faithful, as he has this day started to heal a broken family. I love y'all.

Re: The reason....
 

Jesus is the Reason for the season

:christmasjig:christmasjig:christmasjig

Re: The reason....
 

As great as the recounting in Luke, this Christmas I am preaching the nativity according to John: John 1:1,14 and John 3:16 :-)

Re: The reason....
 

I'm just thankful Jesus came as God manifest in the flesh,and shed His blood.
For without the shedding of blood,there is no forgiveness of sin.

Re: The reason....
 

I thought of the reason God was manifest in flesh as Christ. Heb 2:14-15 says it was so He could partake of flesh and blood and destroy him who had the power of death through death. This would deliver us who were subject to bondage. He came down from His throne to this earth in order to unite us with Himself in His death and resurrection, so that He could return to His throne in union with us. This seats us on His throne with Him, in His Kingdom. He did not leave His throne in order to go back to it for His own sake. He did it to unite with us and return us in such union to that throne and RULE.

The Lamb became the Lion.
The sacrifice became the King.
The cross led to the crown.
All for our sakes!

And when we deny ourselves and take up our crosses, we, too, are lambs and sheep who becomes lions in His kingdom as Kings and Priests!

Re: The reason....
 

What blessed me this week is that Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, was called THE CITY OF DAVID (since David was born there as well). Zion, where David ruled, was also called the CITY OF DAVID. Jesus now sits in Heavenly Zion as KING OF KINGS! It's as though the whole gospel is portrayed in just that thought, when we consider He was born in order to partake of flesh and blood that he might die and save mankind, bringing us into the Kingdom!

Re: The reason....
 

Bro.Blume,
How ironic that God didn't allow His Son to be born in Big proud Jerusalem.
Instead allowed Him to be born just a few miles away, in little humble and
lowly Bethlehem.
I love an old song my late parents sang and I have sung it myself. The proud
and haughty spirits would not like to hear it. Only the humble and lowly. Those
that know to humble themselves in the sight of GOD! The proud and haughty
hearts will not allow Him to be born there, but the humble, thirsty and hungry
will allow Him into their hearts.

Humble Thyself

If thou wouldst have the dear Savior from heaven
Walk by thy side from the morn till the even,
There is a rule that each day you must follow:
Humble thyself to walk with God.

Refrain:
Humble thyself and the Lord will draw near thee,
Humble thyself and His presence shall cheer thee;
He will not walk with the proud or the scornful,
Humble thyself to walk with God.

Just as the Lord, in the world’s early ages,
Walked and communed with the prophets and sages,
He will come now if you meet the conditions:
Humble thyself to walk with God.

Just as the stream finds a bed that is lowly,
So Jesus walks with the pure and the holy;
Cast out thy pride, and in heartfelt contrition
Humble thyself to walk with God.

W. J. Rodgers, 1909



Falla39

Re: The reason....
 

Amen! It seems the Jews looked for Him in a Jerusalem-type scenario.

Awesome! That is exactly the picture we see in little Bethlehem.

Micah 5:2 KJV But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.


Another thought: Bethlehem means HOUSE OF BREAD, which is why shepherds kept flocks there to feed their sheep. It was a very fertile part of Israel. And Ephratah, the name of the town before it became Bethlehem, means FRUITFULNESS.

Re: The reason....
 

Thanks, Bro. Blume, for that which your wise words added!
Blessings,
Falla39