CHRIST-mas!

Blessed Christmas to thee, brothers and sisters in the Lord Christ!

Rejoice, all ye saints of the Lord! For Christ truly came, "to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace", and to "save His people from their sins"!

Christ-mas brings, many things to many people. To some, it may be a time of rest, to others it may be a time of dedication, offered to the Lord. But we can be sure, as redeemed children, Christ-mas brings hope, joy, peace and love.

Hope- of eternity with the Lord, of salvation from our sins, that Christ brought unto this dying weary world of lost sinners to be reconciled once again with their God! What great hope indeed!

Joy- of our salvation, of reciving God's most precious, treasured Gift, that Christ's forgiveness brought to a sorrowful miserable world, lost in sin and shame. What great joy indeed!

Peace- from the cleansing and washing of our sins, the very name of Jesus brings to our hearts, that we enjoy with God because of the reconciliation work of Christ! What great peace indeed!

Love- of God being poured out to men in the little Child in the manger, towards God for His indiscribable gift, of Christ that lead His through life on earth, even through the road leading to the Cross at Calvary! What great love indeed!

Yet.. Apart from all these that Christ-mas brings to us, Christ-mas is so special and precious to me because its my blessed Savior's birthday! It is especially true that hearts are warm and tender during this season of the year. And I thank the Lord He warms my heart each time I spend to think and ponder about Baby Jesus. Christ-mas has been a season of card and gifts exchanging, yet my prayer this year is that I would never lose sight of Him because I was rushing through them. They are perfectly sweet and nice, helping us to give generously to others as Christ teaches, but as everything that seem good may rob away joy and peace in Christ, let all be done with Jesus as the object of all we do!

This Christ-mas has been wonderfully quiet and silent. Naturally, with the absence of many, ha! Yet it has also been blessed and nice. Thank the Lord for caroling last night, that we may bring great tidings of joy and share the joy of Christ-mas to others! Even today's Christmas service was great! I'm glad we didnt give ourselves into the "festive mood" and be joyful all the way- yet in the end not understanding and knowing why we are rejoicing. But I'm also glad that all is still and silent, that every heart may be ready to ponder and seek God. "Let Him who observes a day, observe it to the Lord" Isnt it true that every day in our lives we ought to desire to be still and seek God's face in His Word and prayer? It ought to be so, I realise. But as Daniel always says, IF we didnt seek God at any point of time of our life thru the year, IF, then at least, the least we could do is to ponder and meditate on God's love- Jesus Christ- this Christmas. Of course, if we realise, it does not have to be Christ-mas then we seek God. In fact, in prayer and in Word daily we sit by His feet daily. But since we have this day God blesses us with, let us use it wisely and continue to meditate on His birth?

Something that never fails amaze me each time this year is the thought of being at the birth place of Jesus a that time. The carols that sing, "Long lay the world, in sin and error, pinning, till He appeared and the soul felt its worth", "O come O come Emmanuel, and ransome captive Israel".. all sing about the desperation and cry men of God were going through while waiting for their Messiah God promised. From God's promise in Abraham, till David, God prophecied through His prophets countless times in Scripture of this day where the Christ would come to save His people, "Israel". I believe many while waiting have fallen aside or astray, yet those who waiting patiently and silently before the Lord, truly what joy and peace this day two millenium ago brings! The fulfilment of God's promise, the promise of eternal salvation from all men's sin, and everlasting communion and relationship with God fell on the first Christmas day! What hope Baby Jesus brought to men on Christmas night!

I actually planned to spend this time, while blogging, as I share, to behold numerous prophecies of old fulfilled on Christmas day, and in Jesus Christ. So a few short sharings:


Prophecies Respecting Christ and Fulfillment

As the Son of God
Ps 2:7
“I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.
Luke 1:35
And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

As the seed of the woman
Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”
Galatians 4:4
But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born[a] of a woman, born under the law,

As the seed of David
Jeremiah 23:5
“ Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “ That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
Romans 1:3
concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,

His being born a virgin, His being called Immanuel
Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.[a]
Matthew 1:22-23
So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,”[a] which is translated, “God with us.”

His being born in Bethlehem of Judea
Micah 5:2
“ But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”
Matthew 2:1
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,

Great persons coming to adore Him
Ps 72:10-11
The kings of Tarshish and of the isles Will bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba Will offer gifts. 11 Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; All nations shall serve Him.
Matthew 2:9-11
9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

The slaying of the children of Bethlehem
Jeremiah 31:15
Thus says the LORD: “ A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more.”
Matthew 2:16
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.


Haha, hopefully this sharing has blessed your heart as it has blessed mine while searching for them and reading through them.. Indeed the Lord Jesus was the Christ proclaimed throughout the ages. Yet with the knowledge of this, let us not be like the Pharisess and Kings who knew Him from head but never from their heart. Let us be as humble as the shepherds and have as a seeking heart as the wise men, having the knowledge of Christ Jesus in our lives, yet to come before Him to adore and worship Him in all our lives! As the Lord chooses to reveal Himself to us, as He did to the shepherds and the wise men, may we not respond as they did? To explode in thanksgiving, to bow down in worship, to love and adore this Baby Jesus who eventually became our Offering to God.

Have a blessed and wonderful Christmas with Christ our Savior! (=