what does the bible say about celebrating jesus' birth

In Luke 2:8-20, it says: "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. Keiper asked, "Why do you call it a farce?" May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans! You shall keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor. I know that Christmas is a busy time. Tillich, Paul. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. G Just as we celebrate our childrens birthdays every year, I believe its entirely appropriate for us to celebrate the birth of Gods own Son, Jesus Christ, every year. Come to Him now! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever. And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, Amen. The second concerns the salvation of men. We also can celebrate Christmas by being amazed at it "And all who heard it were amazed" (Luke 2:18). These words mean "a right opinion," "a wrong opinion," and "a contradictory opinion" respectively. In the book of Philippians, Paul speaks of this peace when he says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. It is the way mentioned in the book of Philippians. Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? Well, they had been out in the fields of Bethlehem in the middle of the night, watching over their sheep as they had for many hundreds of nights previously and as their fathers undoubtedly had before them. In fact, the Bible would not even support the view that the world is capable of being redeemed socially apart from the supernatural intervention of God in history. All rights reserved. Because man is at odds with God, there cannot be peace on earth. While a lot of well-meaning, devoted, and sincere Christians celebrate Christmas, we need to think if this celebration does really glorify . Anybody who knows good news is authorized to tell it, particularly when it is news that will be the means of salvation of others. When a person is at peace with God judicially and is experiencing increasingly in his own life that peace of God which transforms him and gives him tranquility even in the midst of great emotional turmoil and misunderstanding, then there is a firm foundation on which to overcome those interpersonal tensions that upset families, churches, cities, governments and the world. Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Spend some time at Christmas thinking over what you do know of God and trying to understand the ways of God more fully. In this verse, Simeon says to Mary, "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a . But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Of course He should. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. M And the herald proclaimed aloud, You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. Greet also the church in their house. Together these verses teach that men are not naturally at peace with God but that God has acted to make peace through the Lord Jesus Christ. The first message is a message of the faithfulness of God. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. 7. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. In 1872 an edition in 2 volumes was printed for private subscription by A.B. Keiper concluded, "When men are truly men of good will seeking to do God's will this text becomes a mighty force. Ecclesiastes 7:1-4 ESV / 156 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful. For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. Will anyone argue that they were uneducated? Frank E. Gaebelein writes about this passage in The Practical Epistle of James, "A few years ago, former Chancellor Hutchins of the University of Chicago said war begins in the minds of men. So, according to Tillich, who popularized this approach in his three-volume Systematic Theology and in his lectures, salvation can therefore be applied "to every act of healing: to the healing of sickness, or demonic possession, and of servitude to sin and to the ultimate power of death" 6 It means "reuniting that which is estranged, giving a center to what is split, overcoming the split between God and man, man and his world, man and himself. For if their story was not worth telling, then no story that has ever been told is worth telling and life has no joy or meaning. Jesus fulfilled that promise when He died for your sin and rose again for your justification. In other words, peace will come when men are truly men of good will. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. You want something but don't get it. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. He would say that He was the truth for a world that was dreadfully confused. It is an attempt to take what you know and then by an exercise of the mind to build upon it. Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. From beginning to end, God's dealings with our race are cause for amazement. In the first place, we are told that the shepherds, after they had come to Bethlehem and had seen the infant Jesus, "spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child." In other words, the shepherds became witnesses of the event. Does the Bible Condemn Using Tarot Cards? Unless our way of talking about salvation makes distinctions here, our interpretations inevitably fall short of the biblical conceptions. And it is this in which we are to imitate them. Z. Topics: Jesus Christ. So, the best way to celebrate Christmas is to believe on Jesus as your Savior. It is not this way with joy. Though Dec. 25 is considered the birthday of Jesus by a large segment of Christendom, there is no evidence that . of And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. Christmas is always a special time for most everyone but especially followers of Jesus. Malachi, who lived in the fifth century before Christ, was the last of the prophets. To ignore them is unimaginable. Will you turn your focus toward Christevery day. If you know this joy, then you can go on, as the angels did, to give glory to God; and you can possess that peace of heart and soul which transcends understanding. He is the Savior. What is the genuinely Christian way to observe Christ's nativity? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand hima threefold cord is not quickly broken. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's house. 1. God has not forgotten. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with . Dont Despair: A Reminder From Anne Graham Lotz. Why not join every year with the shepherds on that first Christmas, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen (Luke 2:20)? Will Graham Devotion: Why Would Jesus Willingly Die a Horrific Death? Rather, He enables us to face them with a quietness, a calmness and confidence, which makes it possible to find a solution" 10 This is the peace that Edward Bickersteth wrote about in the late nineteenth century, in a verse which has since become one of our great hymns: The first way in which we find this peace, then, is by learning of Jesus. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. Keiper, Ralph L. op. I am convinced that this thought was uppermost in Luke's mind as he set about to write this opening section of his gospel. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. Finally, by an obvious extension, glory meant a person's true "worth." The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. The Bible tells us that the birth of Jesus was unlike all other births in that Jesus existed before birth as the second person of the Godhead and He became man, not to provide us with a sweet story to tell children each winter or even as a theme for our greatest musical compositions, but in order to grow to maturity and then to die for our sin as a means of our salvation. So they left their flocks and came and found Jesus, precisely as the angels had indicated. (Luke 18:13). There had been revelations from God in the past. Had God forgotten His people? Happiness is related to circumstances. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com. Ponder the great doctrines of the Christian faith doctrines of the incarnation, atonement, grace, sanctification, heaven, perseverance, and others so that you begin to grow strong in doctrine. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 12. And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. Blog, A R Peter tells us that God delays only long enough to call to repentance all whom He has before determined should believe ("He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" see 2 Peter 3:9). Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. . Peace on earth. Allow it to stretch your mind, and learn that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in any human philosophy. Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. So he was told, "you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). It is just that His plans do not run on our timetables. And, of course, this is the sense in which we glorify God. There are many reasons why Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. There are a few Bible verses that seem to suggest that Jesus did not want people to celebrate his birth. But the circumstances were not good. The Apostle James was one who knew this, and he spoke of it in a passage that is a perceptive analysis of such problems in the world and in church circles. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward.

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