Tag Archives: Christmas

Christmas, 2023

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1 John 3:1 “The Father has loved us so much! This show how much He loved us. We are called “Children of God”, and we really are his children. But, the people in the world don’t understand that we are God’s children because they have not known Him.” (ERV)

The Father has loved us so much! This show how much He loved us. We are called “Children of God”, and we really are his children. But, the people in the world don’t understand that we are God’s children because they have not known Him.

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Reason for the Season

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Christmas Season is a time when many celebrate a holiday filled with many warm hearted traditions. In America we celebrate with “Christmas Trees” decorated with colorful lights and shiny ornaments. Many give and/or exchange gifts with friends and family. It’s a time when people tend to become more charitable and go out of their way to help those in need. with their time or money. Many songs and movies have been created to help us enjoy and celebrate Christmas.

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Shepherds and Angels

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Luke 2:8-12 “That night, some shepherds were out in the fields near Bethlehem watching their sheep. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord was shining around them. The shepherds were very afraid. The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid. I have some very good news for you—news that will make everyone happy. Today your Savior was born in David’s town. He is the Messiah, the Lord. This is how you will know him: You will find a baby wrapped in pieces of cloth and lying in a feeding box.” (ERV)

So what can we learn from these Shepherds? They were doing their job, taking care of the sheep. They were near Bethlehem. For them it was another ordinary night on the job. Then an angel suddenly appeared! The angel told them not to be afraid. I have very good news. It will make everyone happy. The angel told the shepherds that their Savior was born. He was the Messiah, the Lord. The angel told the shepherds how they can find him. They will find a baby wrapped in pieces of cloth and lying in a feeding box. And then, an army of angels appeared, all praising God. And then these angels went back to Heaven.

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Gifts from the Magi

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One of my early Christmas memories as a child is our family Nativity Set. The Stable was a hand-made, wooden stable with a built-in manger. It had a single, mounted Christmas light for a Star. The nativity set included an Angel, Joseph, Mary, Jesus, Three Magi with gifts, and Shepherds with a collection of farm animals. The family set it up every Christmas through Ephiphany, the Twelve Days of Christmas. Very inspiring.

About that time,  I was 7 or 8 years old. I still believed there was a Santa Claus. But I also told my parents I wanted a gift that was advertised on TV. We had a Philco TV model black and white television set. We got an absolutely incredible three channels when using “rabbit ears” antenna. At the time it was amazing technology.

Since I had my first hearing aid, I was able to watch and understand Saturday morning cartoons and commercials. Including about Christmas toys. It was during the “Cold War” years with the Soviet Union, and a popular toy was a “Mobile Rocket Launcher with Searchlight”. The searchlight could light up a target display on a wall and you tried hitting it with the rubber-tipped dart launcher. It was a lot of fun until it broke within a week of play. It was a toy I wanted that year, but now I remember it mostly because it broke so soon. As a toy and thing it was very temporary. Continue reading →

Merry Christmas 2017

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The Bible tells the story of Jesus’ birth in different gospels. Matthew 1:18-25 and 2:1-18.  Luke 1:26-38 and 2:1-21.  For this devotional, I am using only Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 1:26-38 and these verses are found below. These verses tell stories from Mary’s and Joseph’s perspective.  I found four, amazing similarities between their stories:

  1. Both Mary and Joseph are visited by angels.  An angel appears to Mary.  An angel came to Joseph in a dream. Communication with angels was extremely rare.
  2. Both Mary and Joseph were told by the angels, “Do not be afraid.”  They were to be married and found out that Mary was pregnant by the Holy Spirit.  These were unusual circumstances to say the least. 
  3. Both Mary and Joseph accepted what the angel had told them.  What faith!
  4. Both were told to name the baby Jesus.  He will save his people from their sins.

Matthew 1:21. “She will give birth to a son,  You will name him Jesus.  Give him that name because He will save his people from their sins.” (ERV) 

Jesus is our hope.  Named by angels, He was born for us, for you, for me.  We can come to know Jesus as our Savior.  Jesus comes into our hearts and saves us from our sins.  We do not have to be afraid. God is with us.  Amen.

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