For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Arrangement: William H. Cummings, Congregational Hymn and Tune Book, 1857. This article may not be reproduced in any other fashion without the expressed written permission of the Alliance. At best she might have guessed that the child that was born to her might possibly be the Messiah. But shouldnt He be part of your life every day? On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time; according to all its statutes and all its rules you shall keep it. So Moses told the people of Israel that they should keep the Passover. And you will enter, perhaps for the first time, into the Christmas story. M And we need to understand exactly what the biblical meaning of these words is if we are to understand this part of the angel's announcement. 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. On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother's womb you have been my God. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. The Wise Men Were Not There. So do that. "The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told" (v. 20). We had made a raid against the Negeb of the Cherethites and against that which belongs to Judah and against the Negeb of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire. And David said to him, Will you take me down to this band? And he said, Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this band. And when he had taken him down, behold, they were spread abroad over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. 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 would say that He was the life for a world that was dying. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 2. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. Have you seen those things? He was to save His people. Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. You cannot tell that which you have not first felt and experienced. They must learn to love Him and to serve Him more and more. To the choirmaster. This article may be printed and distributed with this notice attached for personal use such as small groups and local Bible study groups. Visit the Bible online to search for words if you dont know the specific passage yourre looking for. The first of these important appearances was to Mary. She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast. Because it came from God and was centered in the birth of the Savior. He asked him to examine the last clause of the verse carefully: "good will toward men." Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it? And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. The Bible says, But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). K Suddenly the angels appear, first to Zechariah and then to Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds, and the word is out: God has not forgotten! Therefore encourage one another with these words. This is why carols are so much a rightful part of Christmas; for, when sung by those who understand them, they are a means of praise. They had heard the music of heaven. 5. One day just before Christmas vacation, the professor said, "Well, Keiper, are you going to preach that old Christmas farce again?" But the circumstances were not good. Does God Really Work All Things Together for Good? The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. It was a sad world in their time. W We are told of them that they "returned glorifying and praising God." Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Again he sent other servants, saying, Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. 3. Answer: Your question is backward. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. D Imitate the shepherds in spreading the word concerning what you know about the Christ child. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. Matthew 1:18-25 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. The answer is in chapter 3, verse 17: "And the way of peace they do not know." Psalms 118:24 - This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. 1. The Scriptures say, "And let him who hears say, Come!" T Second, there is the strong possibility that the persons may not be in harmony but that they will want to make a pact between themselves in order to settle their differences. Spend some time at Christmas thinking over what you do know of God and trying to understand the ways of God more fully. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. As you pray that prayer, you will find that God has already been merciful in Jesus. He trusted God and received a great revelation concerning the work of the Savior. You shall not do any ordinary work. 5. But how? Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. How could their tongues be silent when they had heard such music? To the choirmaster. Now this is what the shepherds did. Clap your hands, all peoples! Or that they had not been endorsed by the temple authorities? So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. The verse quoted was translated from Latin to English by Frederick Oakeley, 1841. P V To understand what God has to say about peace, we need to recognize that there are different types of peace spoken about in the Bible and that of all of these, the most important is the peace we have with God as the result of justification. Luke 1:35 ESV / 25 helpful votesHelpfulNot Helpful. BGEA is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. After this type of amazement has run its course nobody gives the cause of it a second thought. E Do you know that you have fallen short of God's standards and that nothing within you will ever be able to move up to the fulfilling of them? Pondering is work. Celebrating it certainly does seem and feel like the right thing to do. Why, to their sheep obviously. Because of the gospel, Christians understand that the peace of God is only for those who acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. He leads me beside still waters. What is more, in these verses, God promises to give us all victories for peace if we ask Him. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. In fact, the opposite is the case. Then glorify and praise God for what you know. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. B The appearance of first one angel and then a multitude of angels to the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem. Christians celebrate Christmas, or the birth of Jesus Christ, on December 25th. The Greek word for peace is eirene. What is the solution? Do you sometimes feel that God has forgotten you? But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 'From whence,' he asks, 'come wars and fighting among you?' Moreover, if you will permit me to apply it in this way, it seems to me that apart from the truths which the angels revealed to Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds two thousand years ago concerning the birth of Christ apart from really understanding what they said and meant undoubtedly, this Christmas, the real meaning of the birth of Christ will pass us by also. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. Ponder on its meaning. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. There is a clue to what peace means in this verse in the way the word is used in the earlier chapters of Romans. The Truth! Second, it involved her affection, for she treasured these things in her heart. It is a result of the Christian's first having entered into a relationship of peace with God. Christmas time is a few days away. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. In this hymn, known as the "Benedictus," the aged priest exclaims: "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people. There is a sense in which the world will never know even one of these three types of peace until the return of Jesus Christ. The situation would have been difficult for anyone to understand, let alone a man engaged to a woman who was expecting a child. That is the question. 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. Three sentences! Let the wonder of that first Christmas fill your life todayand every day. I have known people who have had deep and fervent prayers answered after the better part of a lifetime has gone by prayers for the salvation of a son or a daughter, prayers for success in some worthwhile endeavor, prayers for reconciliation with an erring wife or husband. King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. Toll Free: 1-877-247-2426. The passage begins by speaking of the shepherds. The other kind of amazement is a holy wonder in response to those acts of God which are beyond human comprehension. He wrote and remember, he is writing to Christians "What causes fights and quarrels among you? After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, Hallelujah! Easter Easter is another holiday that is celebrated by Christians. There are two answers. Moreover, since acknowledging His true worth is the essential meaning of worship it means to acknowledge God's worth to glorify God is to worship Him by words. Since his day no one had been raised up to declare the sure word of the Lord. 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. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem; Come and behold Him Will you turn your focus toward Christevery day. The Herald Angels Sing" Words: Charles Wesley, Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1739. How could they refuse to tell what they had seen? Not only did these men have something to tell, as we do, they also knew of a world that needed desperately to hear their message. Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. Have you recognized yourself as a sinner? Now the one thing prayer will most do for us is bring our minds into a greater conformity with the mind of God. 11. Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. In the birth we see God's wisdom. 1. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. 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. Born the King of angels; Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. Solicitation Disclosure Statement This holy amazement is closely melded to adoration. This combination, when truly grasped, produces witnesses. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. 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. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Finally, by an obvious extension, glory meant a person's true "worth." Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found . Anybody who knows good news is authorized to tell it, particularly when it is news that will be the means of salvation of others. Then take time each day to draw strength from His Word, the Bible, and to pray, and to have fellowship with other believers. But they have. There is one kind of amazement which is merely a tickling of the fancy. O First, you need to learn about Jesus. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Will Graham Devotion: Why Would Jesus Willingly Die a Horrific Death? The Way! of Furthermore, do not think that you need to go back to church in order to do these things, but learn rather to do them wherever God sends you in your home, school, or business. And the promise of the angel "for He will save His people from their sins" are the greatest words of the entire Christmas story. Things seem to go as they have been going from the beginning, and you want something better. 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. In these verses the angel first greets Mary, then gives this message: "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. Would anyone want to say that these men were not authorized to spread such a message? I can do all things through him who strengthens me. There is much activity but many go through these activities in a joyless way. cit. Jesus fulfilled that promise when He died for your sin and rose again for your justification. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Music: In Dulci Jubilo, 14th Century German melody; harmony from Christmas Carols Old and New, 1871. How do you celebrate Christmas? But if that is true, why do we not see peace today? While a lot of well-meaning, devoted, and sincere Christians celebrate Christmas, we need to think if this celebration does really glorify . So, you see, if Christmas means anything, it at least means this that God has not forgotten His people. Salvus means "healthy" or "whole." OpenBible.info When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the Lord. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. But there is a second way also. How can this be? Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. In other words, James is saying that war begins with men's emotions. The shepherds, wise men, and angels celebrated the birth of Jesus with gifts, songs, and prayer. He explained the full force of the original language which literally means "Glory to God in the highest and peace among men of peace." The messages of the angels do not reinforce our secular views of Christmas. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. Jesus was born to be our Savior as the carol says: Christ was born to save! Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. Christmas is a very important holiday for Christians because it celebrates the birth of their savior. There are five appearances of an angel, or angels, in the Christmas story, and another appearance of an angel to Joseph later to tell him to return to Israel from Egypt. Music: Adeste Fideles, attributed variously to John Wade, John Reading or Simao Portogallo. 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. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. On December 25th people the world over will celebrate the birth of Lord Jesus Christ. But not once in the Bible does God tell us to celebrate Christmas" (1). ( Egypt Today .) They are: The appearance of Gabriel to Zechariah to announce the birth of John the Baptist. In 1872 an edition in 2 volumes was printed for private subscription by A.B. O come, all ye faithful, These celebrations are inadequate to say the least. Can you do that? Christmas is a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. 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. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. Thus, the message to Joseph centers primarily on that great work which Jesus, the Messiah, was to do. Unless our way of talking about salvation makes distinctions here, our interpretations inevitably fall short of the biblical conceptions. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. Have you seen that truth in the story? And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holythe Son of God. 2023 BGEA Privacy Now when you acknowledge a person's true worth or express a proper opinion of him, you may be said to be glorifying him. Later it came to mean only "a good opinion." Music: Mendelssohn, Felix in his cantata Festgesang an die Kunstler, 1840. Glorify and praise God for what was done that first Christmas. Observe the month of Abib and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. It is a temporary fascination with something unusual. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures" (James 4:1-3). It is a time where they remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In other words, the best way to celebrate Christmas is by becoming a follower of Him whose birth we commemorate. 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. It is the way mentioned in the book of Philippians. Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. God did not forget! And it is this in which we are to imitate them. But the writer of this epistle had a deeper insight into humanity. Dr. Keiper relates how during his university days, when he often spent the weekends preaching, he had the following conversation with one of his non-Christian professors. It comes from a Latin verb which means "to make a bargain" or "to make an agreement between contracting parties." 7 This basic approach to salvation has been picked up in an avalanche of books on pastoral counseling, Christian psychiatry, and the cure of souls. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. It is celebrated on December 25th. I am not referring to activity, of course. Like the message to Mary, this message also has four parts: Also, like the message to Mary, it has an important emphasis which, in this case, is the proclamation of joy. There are plenty of decorations to buy and parties to attend during this season but how should we really celebrate Christmas? 4. This is what theologians call, "Hypostatic union." It explains how God, the Son of God, took human nature but He remained God at the same time. But their amazement is fitting to Christmas - it's a sample of what Christmas amazement should be for those who understand the Christmas story. In other words, the only ultimate essential for proclaiming the gospel is a knowledge of it. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. The trouble lies with men. Why? We cannot understand it but it is true, and we should marvel at it. ( John 19:14-16) Jesus was about 30 years old when he began his three-and-a-half-year ministry, so he was born in the early fall of 2 B.C.E. Luke 3:23. Finally, in chapter 1, verse 7, Paul indicates that the only solution to the problem lies in receiving peace from God: "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ." Peace on earth. The time of fulfillment has come! "Good Christian Men, Rejoice" Words: Heinrich Suso (?-1366); translated from Latin to English by John M. Neale in Carols for Christmastide (London: 1853). The shepherds took this message, in the only form they knew, to their contemporaries. "Everything" leaves nothing out. The word "pact" also comes from it. So he told them this parable: What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? Be patient! And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. Nor would Joseph have known. Come to Him! And David said to him, To whom do you belong? For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to celebrate. But then, suddenly, an angel appeared with the message: After the angel spoke a host of angels appeared, all praising God and saying. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord., For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.. Ralph L. Keiper once said, "When we know Christ, not as a doctrine or a theory, but as Savior and Friend in our daily experience, we gain a confidence in Him which brings peace to our hearts. He restores my soul. That is, men are not men of peace. Notice that this verse does not say, "In everything present your requests to God. Nevertheless, each of them fails at the most important point the great fact that salvation in the biblical sense is by God alone and tries to encourage the age-old desire of man to save himself, which is impossible. Praise the Lord! Hardly! John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. If God did that, He would soon make a muddle of our Christian lives because "We do not know what we ought to pray for" (Romans 8:26), and we pray with wrong motives. Therefore encourage one another with these words. Some even contain good emphases. When circumstances are right, there is happiness; but when the source of happiness departs, happiness goes with it. Further light is shed upon these verses by the meaning of the words for peace in the original Greek and Latin. TopicalBible The Life! I know, of course, that Jesus was probably not born on December 25 at least there is no real evidence that He was.