Category: Food For Growth

1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. ² (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) ³ And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. ⁴ And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Beth-lehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) ⁵ To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. ⁶ And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. ⁷ And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. ⁸ And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the LORD. ¹² And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

¹⁴           Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace,

Good will toward men. ^{~ KJV} Luke 2:1–14

This is the real and true Christmas story—the greatest story ever told. Why is it so important? Because this is the day we celebrate, the day we commemorate, that a Savior, who is Christ the LORD, was born.

A tiny, helpless baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.

The same God who said, “Let there be light,” and light came to be, had now incarnated Himself—becoming a humble, helpless baby, dependent on His earthly parents to provide, protect, and love Him. He took on flesh and came in the form of man so that He might save man through His life, death, and resurrection.

That is what the angel was proclaiming that night to the shepherds who were out in the fields keeping watch over their flock when he said, “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy.” For a Savior was born in Bethlehem—a Savior who was destined for the cross in order to save mankind from their sins. Every man, woman, and child now has the opportunity to live throughout eternity with Jesus.

There are many so-called facts that claim to be verified by science that are not facts at all, such as evolution. But here is a fact you can depend on, a truth you can believe, because it comes from God Himself: a Savior—Jesus, the Christ—was born over two thousand years ago. He lived and died, was raised to life again on the third day, and is coming back to receive unto Himself all those who believe and take refuge in His great and mighty Name.

This Christmas, let the joy of the new birth take shape in your life. Believe God for great and mighty things—things that only He can provide. It’s Christmas; let us rejoice and be glad. Our LORD and Savior has come.

Father, thank You for the joy of Christmas. Thank You for the hope we have in Jesus. Thank You, LORD Jesus, that You are coming back for us, so that where You are, there we shall be also. In Jesus’ Name we pray, amen.

⁸ And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. ¹⁰ And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ~ Luke 2:8-12

The very first people to hear the good news of the long-awaited Messiah were shepherds. Not kings. Not rabbis. Not the teachers, prophets. None that you would expect to be the first to greet the King of kings and LORD of lords. The Great I Am. God Himself. So, this begs the question, why were the shepherds the first to hear?

Jesus, the LORD, is the Good Shepherd, and we, the Church, are His sheep. God told the shepherds first because they represent the head of the Church. Leaders of the Church are shepherds under Christ, the Good Shepherd. The shepherds being the first to hear about and see Jesus isn’t random or strange. It’s setting the stage for the leaders of the Church to take their rightful place and shepherd the flock of Christ.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Follow The Good Shepherd.

⁴¹ He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). ~ John 1:41

Do They Know It’s Christmas?, performed by some of the biggest stars at the time, was and still is an anthem of compassion. While the lyrics definitely mischaracterize an entire continent, the words do hit a soft spot in our hearts with lines like:

And in our world of plenty
We can spread a smile of joy
Throw your arms around the world
At Christmas time

And another:

And the Christmas bells that ring there
Are the clanging chimes of doom
Well, tonight, thank God it’s them
Instead of you

Do they know it’s Christmas time at all? is specifically a line we should all ask ourselves. What do I mean by that? Do they know Jesus, the Messiah, has finally come? No matter how hard the world tries, they can’t separate Christ from Christmas. Christmas will forever be a symbol of hope because it singlehandedly marks the birth of the Messiah—the birth of the Light of the World.

So, this Christmas, ask yourself, “Do my children, family, friends, coworkers, neighbors know it’s Christmas time at all?” Do they know the Messiah, Jesus? Or are they still looking for something? A Messiah? Peace? Freedom? Joy? Hope? Something to fill the emptiness inside? This Christmas, don’t wait to share Jesus with others. Don’t hesitate, be afraid, or intimidated to share Christ with anyone and everyone willing to listen because without Christ, they have no hope.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let Them Know It’s Christmas.

⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ~ Ephesians 2:4-7

I have no gift to bring
That’s fit to give The King
…
I played my drum for Him
I played my best for Him

Little Drummer Boy is one of my favorite Christmas songs of all time. Every time I sing these lines tears fill my eyes. We have nothing fit to give the King of kings and LORD of lords. No gift worthy of Him, yet all He asks for is for us to give our best. To give Him us as He first gave Himself.

This Christmas, as you celebrate with you family and friends, remember the very first Christmas Gift. Remember that Christ came to save us. He left the splendor of all of Heaven for us. And in return all He asks is for us to give ourselves back to Him. Just as a bride will give herself to her groom, we are to give ourselves to Christ.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Give Yourself.

Romans 3:21-26 ESV

[21] But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— [22] the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: [23] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, [24] and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, [25] whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. [26] It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Every Christmas season Churches will mention the Immaculate Conception and connect it to the birth of Christ not realizing it’s not about His conception or birth at all. It’s about Mary. The Feast of Immaculate Conception is celebrated every December 8^th in honor of the immaculate connection of Mary, the Mother of Jesus.

See, Catholics believe Mary was conceived sinless and perfect. It is one of four Marian dogma of the Catholic Church, established in the 7^th century. The other three being the perpetual virginity, the mother of God, and her ascension. So often, Christians use words and terms that sound like they should be Christian, when in actuality, they are indeed not. See, all have fallen astray. All have sinned. All have made mistakes, that is the reason Christ had to come. That is the reason for the virgin birth.

Mary needed Jesus just as much as the rest of us. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” This is true for ALL of mankind. Jesus isn’t the exception to the rule. He is the rule. Jesus came to be our perfect sacrifice in order that all of mankind, including Mary, might be saved.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Celebrate The Only Perfect Conception.

⁶ My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. ~ Hosea 4:6

Every year I see multiple posts, videos, comments, opinions, etc. about why Christians should not celebrate Christmas. It always goes back to one reason, “Christmas is originally a Pagan celebration.” I honestly believe this is a very good lie from the enemy. Why? Because Christmas (and Easter another holiday being attacked) is a season or time that can bridge the gap between non-believers and believers. How? Because even non-believers celebrate Christmas. It’s a big holiday throughout the world. It’s a time when those who never go to Church attend on Christmas Sunday morning. It’s the perfect time to share the greatest story ever told. The story of the very first Christmas gift.

Now, what about it being Pagan? It never was. See, the claim that Christmas started from gods like Saturn, Tammuz, Osiris, Horus, Mithras, and Sol Invictus. Sol Invictus is first mentioned over 300 years AFTER the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The celebration of Jesus’ birth is first recorded (that we have today) by Hippolytus of Rome (c. 180-235 AD). So, Christmas predates Sol Invictus by over a century.

Now, Mithras. Mithras’ birth wasn’t celebrated. In fact, the culture of Mithras didn’t have public festivals and he was never born. In Mithraism, Mithras emerged from a rock as an young adult man. No virgin birth. No celebration. No connection to December 25^th.

Now, Osiris. Osiris was exclusively born of Geb and Nut. There was no virgin birth. Instead he is always born of the union between Geb and Nut throughout ancient Egypt. In fact, his birth was celebrated in September. September 6^th-10^th. Same with Horus. There is no virgin birth. Horus was born of Isis and Osiris after Isis brought Osiris back from the dead. Again, no connection to a virgin birth or December 25^th, instead he was born during the same time period as his father, Osiris. Osiris was born during the 6^th and Horus the 7^th. They were celebrated back-to-back.

From the times of Hosea, the people of God were led astray for their lack of knowledge. Today is no different. We, the Church, are constantly being led astray for the lack of knowledge. We are constantly being confused because we don’t check for ourselves. As Christians, we should celebrate the birth of LORD and Savior, just as the Wisemen did. Just as the early Church did. Why? Because without His birth, there would be no death and resurrection. There would be no salvation. We would have no hope.

So, this Christmas remember the birth of Christ. Remember the celebration of our LORD. Remember that without His birth we would have no hope.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Learn Our Forgotten History. 

 

We have early Church writings from the second century of how Christians celebrated the birth of Jesus on December 25^th. So many people love to claim that Christmas was originally a pagan holiday. They’ll use days like Sol Invictus or Saturnalia, but in actuality, these claims are far from the truth.

See, from the early Church long before Sol Invictus even existed they were celebrating the birth of Christ. Saturnalia was never celebrated on December 25^th. In the Church today, we take the word of others without fact checking them.

Today think about the importance of Christmas. Think about the reason for the season. Think about Christ, the only God to take human form and die for His people.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Think Before You Celebrate.

²⁷ And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, ~ Hebrews 9:27

In the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Captain Barbossa states a grim but true statement to Captain Jack Sparrow as he comes to terms with their inevitable future deaths. He says, “There’s never a guarantee of coming back. But passing on, that’s dead certain.”

I’ve heard people say that in the next life they’ll do better. Or next time around they’ll do things differently. There’s entire religions that believe that you will be reincarnated until you get it right, but that there is just a false hope.

See, we only get one life. One chance to get things right. One chance to fulfill our call and follow Christ. There is only one opportunity for your name to be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life in order to gain eternity with Christ Jesus.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Get It Right The First Time Around.