Christmas Greetings to One and All!
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
Prophecy of the Coming Savior
Isaiah 9:6, 7 –
6 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.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.
Fulfillment of Isaiah’s Prophecy
Luke 2:1-20 –
1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)
3 And everyone went to his own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Photo Credit: Mommyof9
By Lillie Ammann, December 24, 2009 @ 6:31 am
Matt,
You’ve quoted some of my favorite Scriptures, reminding us of the real meaning of Christmas.
Joy and peace to you and your family.
Lillie Ammann´s last blog ..Scripture for Christmas Eve
By Matthew C. Keegan, December 24, 2009 @ 6:57 am
Peace and love to you and yours too, Lillie! Merry Christmas & a Blessed 2010!
By Jackson, December 24, 2009 @ 7:51 am
I was having something different for my Chrstmas but I got the real image from your post about the Christmas hence thanks for that & Merry Christmas!
jackson@personal finance tips´s last blog ..Hey Look How Graceful The Dollar Looks In Yester Years! Will Redesigning Help In Reviving The Value?
By Denesa, December 24, 2009 @ 8:46 pm
Merry Christmas!
By Vincenti, December 25, 2009 @ 6:05 am
It is amazing to me that a person could look at the beautiful world we have and not know there is an intelligence behind it all.
Case in point.
We were watching a commercial the other day showing a new toy, perhaps you’ve seen it, the robotic hamster.
A secular professor was there as well, and I asked him whether he felt the toy could have evolved naturally given enough time, in the way he posits our world evolved.
To our surprise he responded, no, of course not. Look at the little gears and the plastic housing. There isn’t any way that that could have happened for example in the oceans of our world or on dry land for that matter.
However, we pointed out, the person explaining the plastic toy was a billion times more complex. We challenged the professor and with a straight face, he said. Yes, but the woman explaining the hamster toy is living, and therefore, evolution is the answer. All by chance.
Of course, this is simply another example of the “found watch” story where someone finds a watch and knows for sure there was an intelligent designer involved.
It’s remarkable to me that secular humanists have closed off a banger for the big bang, but would never admit that a book they are holding could have been formed accidentally given enough time. A book, a trillion times less complex than the being holding it, but the secular professor insists we are simply accidents of nature. Same with the entire planet and its beauty.
Why would such a person be deemed an intellectual? Now that’s a mystery to me.
It’s one thing to be agnostic. But to be an absolutist in the face of evidence to the contrary does not seem to be a very enlightened position.
By Bukmacher, December 25, 2009 @ 9:08 am
thanks and aso wish all the best and Merry Christmas to all
bukmacher´s last blog ..Życzymy wysokich wygranych
By Deb S, December 25, 2009 @ 10:02 pm
Thank you for quoting some of my favorite scriptures. Merry Christmas!
By Matthew C. Keegan, December 26, 2009 @ 8:53 am
@Jackson Merry Christmas and a blessed 2010, Jackson!
@Denesa Christmas Greetings and a wonderful 2010 to you, Denesa!
@Vincenti What you said reminds me of a saying: the gospel message is shallow enough for a child to swim in, but deep enough to drown a theologian. Sometimes people over analyze and miss the simple message of redemption. Blessings to you and yours!
@Bukmacher Thank you for commenting from Poland! Blessed holidays to you and yours too.
@Deb S To you too, Deb! Happy 2010 too.
By Sergei, December 27, 2009 @ 5:23 am
I am sure that Christmas will bring huge amount of joy and happiness to all the people. It will be great if god blesses was this year more. God bless you all.