"Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us." So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them. "
Luke 2:1-20 [NASB]
And so began the life of the One who changed everything about earth from that moment forward. Of no other has so much been written, told, sung, drawn, argued, or believed. While some claim He was merely a prophet or a great man, others claim He never even lived.
But live He did.[and still does!]
He came as promised. And He promised to come again.
And that, my brothers and sisters, is our Great and Blessed Hope.
And so what is Christmas?
It is that time for us to remember and celebrate the GREATEST GIFT ever given to anybody by anyone . . . the gift of God's promise that because He came once to SAVE us, as He promised, He will come again to DELIVER us, as He has also promised!
So please don't forget . . . THE REASON FOR THE SEASON IS AND ALWAYS WILL BE---JESUS!
For He is the promise and the promise fulfilled! Amen.
When I was a kid, Christmas was a wonderful, magical time of the year. Each day approaching Christmas was more exciting than the day before. Burned into my mind are all those wonderful sights, sounds, smells and memories. But somewhere along the burdensome road called adulthood, the WONDERMENT of this most magical day became lost. But recently, the wonderment returned . . . thank God! For me, part of rediscovering this wonderment has been making this Christmas page. So I am going to put some of the things I like about Christmas here; as well as links to some of the places you can go to get help to put together your own Christmas page. Why not try it! It will be fun.
In the process you may find the "child within" again.
And I believe Our Lord loves us most when we come to Him as children . . . innocent, pride-less, filled with wonder, and with a loving heart and open arms [or is it an open heart and loving arms!]. BUT---and this is VERY important---we must choose to touch that child within, to be open, and child-like, and vulnerable--or the WONDERMENT will pass us by!! So, why don't you stop for a minute and take a look at these Christmas pictures. They may take a few moments to download but they will be worth it. They are filled with WONDERMENT.
And WONDERMENT is the very essence of Christmas. Enjoy!
[This was the source for many of the great images on my Christmas Page.]
