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Birth of Jesus
Traditions
It has been debated for centuries whether December 25th is truly the
day of Christ’s birth, but it is a futile argument because the bible
makes no reference as to the season, day, or month our Lord actually
was born…
The truth about why Christians chose that particular date to
celebrate His birth comes from the early church. December 25th was
the day Roman pagans celebrated the birth of their Sun God. The
early church wanted this celebration replaced with the birth of the
one true God, Jesus Christ, so they started celebrating His birth on
the same day as the pagans.
Theologically, it does not matter when His actual birth took place,
nor the day we celebrate it. That He was born to save mankind from
sin is what remains the real reason we need this day of remembrance.
Virgin
Birth
The virgin birth is crucially important! Christ being the Son of God
could not be born to one already married or it could honestly, (with
great merit) be argued that He was not of God but the husband of the
woman giving Him birth. Thus, God chose the virgin to be Mary, (a
young, teenaged girl) betrothed to an older gentleman, Joseph. As
described in bible scriptures. (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23, and Luke
1:27, 34)
Visited by the Angel Gabriel, in response to Mary’s query, “How can
this be?” (When she was told she would give birth to the Son of God,
knowing she was a virgin.) The Angel answered, “The Holy Ghost will
come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee.”
(Luke 1:35)
The Angel also encouraged Joseph not to turn his face from Mary for
she was a virgin though expecting, “That which is conceived is of
the Holy Spirit.” He told Joseph to wed Mary, and take her from the
place where she was known in order to avoid her persecution.
(Matthew 1:20) Women were stoned for being unwed and with child in
biblical times. That might not be such a bad idea for modern times
either, says Granny Tam!
Matthew also states, “The Virgin Mary was found to be with child.”
(Matthew 1:18,) and (Galatians 4:4) teaches the virgin birth by
saying, “God sent forth His Son, made of woman.”
From these passages it is certainly made clear, the birth of Jesus
was the result of the Holy Ghost working within Mary. The Immaterial
(Holy Spirit) and the material (Mary’s womb) were to be the miracle
of Christ’s birth. Mary was the vessel, chosen by God, to be mother
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Denying the physical birth would be to deny Jesus was human.
Scripture tells us, Jesus was both God incarnate and very much a
human being. (John 1:14, Timothy 3:16, and Hebrews 2:14-17.) However
Jesus was NOT born with a sinful nature because sinful nature is
passed generation to generation through sins of the fathers. Being
born of God the Father and the Virgin Mary circumvented the
transmission of having a sin nature. This allowed eternal God, Jesus
Christ, to become sinless–perfect man. Get it?
Okay, so now that you know why we celebrate Christ’s birth on
December 25th, and why we know Him to be God born of the Virgin
Mary, are there any more questions? I thought not…
Just remember what this Holy Season is really all about, and
celebrate it in a special way—giving God the glory. Tell your
children the true message of Christ’s birth, and that through His
grace we are saved from sin.
Celebrate with love in your hearts and not piles of gifts. Teach the
young to give to charities, the church, the elderly, and neighbors
less fortunate. This is the message we should pass on to others
about the true circumstances and meaning of Christ’s birth no matter
what day we celebrate it.
Merry Christmas
Written by Granny Tam
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My vote is to have Christmas traditions all year round. You see at
Christmas time most people at least the ones I have met, always change just a
little for the better around Christmas. I do not know whether or not it is the
great yuletide Christmas carols, the festive atmosphere every where you go, or just some
hidden part in all of us that screams out,
( I BELIEVE IN MORE THAN WHAT I SEE AROUND ME. )
You see, somewhere deep down
inside we all believe in something better than we now have or see, and most of
us feel a lot better when we help someone. Whether the person is in need or not, this feeling
is what I call the feeling of Christmas, and we all should strive to feel this way all year long.
"TREAT ALL OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM TREAT YOU"
"Merry Christmas"
Enhance your Christmas, with
Christmas poems and stories highlighted with your favorite Christmas carols.
Christmas traditions are fast becoming a family way of life.
Poems are a simple way of inspiring others to join in on the Christmas
traditions that love and poems can bring to this Christmas holiday.
Christmas Traditions of Joy,
both big and small
so precious from the start,
are moments to recall
and treasure in the heart.
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