The Birth of Christ

These next few posts will celebrate the birth of Christ as we welcome the Christmas season. I will be paraphrasing from the King James version of the Bible as well as notes from the NLT version.

Matthew Chapter 1

V. 18-25 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being just a man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins.

Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son and they shall call his his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife. And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

MATTHEW CHAPTER 2 Verses 1-12
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea in the days when Herod was king, there came three wise men from the east to Jerusalem. They asked where was the King of the Jews, for they had seen his star in the east and where there to worship him.

When Herod the king heard these things, he was troubled and all of Jerusalem with him. And he gathered the chief priests and scribes and demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, in Bethelhem of Judaea, for thus it is written by the prophet. . . . then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search diligently for the young child and when ye found him, bring me word that I may come and worship him also."

When they departed and lo the star which they say in the east went before them till it came and stood over where the young child was.
When they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother and fell down and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod; they departed into their own country another way.

BIBLE NOTES SHOW: Joseph was faced with a difficult choice after discovering Mary was pregnant. He had decided to break his engagement quietly, until the angel of the Lord explained the child's conception and birth to him. He knew taking her as his wife would be humiliating, but he chose to obey the angel's command to marry her. His action revealed four admirable qualities in Joseph: 1. He was righteous. 2. He had discretion and sensitivity. 3. He was responsive to God. 4. He had self-discipline.

God sent angels to help humans understand the logic and reasoning of what was happening. Angels help carry out God's work on earth. The angel that declared to Joseph that the son was conceived by the Holy Spirit revealed an important truth about JESUS- that he is both God and human.

JESUS means "The Lord Saves." He came to earth to save us because we can't save ourselves from sin. Only JESUS can save us from sin and he came to be our Savior from the power and penalty of sin.

How does this chapter relate to us today? In spite of the obvious holy birth of our Savior. We can see that often our decisions affect the lives of others, so we should always seek God's wisdom.
Christ is present today in the life of every believer. We celebrate his birth and his life. He was and is an enormous gift from God. May we continue to celebrate his birth always!

Yours in Christ,
Mary

Prayer Requests are needed for:
HEALTH: Gabe, Wanda, Janice Long’s parents, Arlene’s nephew David, Lori (who suffered a terrible accident)and her family and my neighbor Al who is nearing the end of his life. Update on Al, he no longer has cancer - Hallelujah! Prayers work! Keep the prayers coming. He still has an inoperable tumor. Let's work on that! And Barb who went in for back surgery and had a heart attack and stroke. Update on Stella: She is 10 weeks old and has her own room at the hospital. The doctors continue to experiment with respirators, but her parents can see progress in her lung activity. They need your prayers so badly. Let’s all raise our voices to God to hear our prayers.
SPIRITUAL UPLIFTING: Gail, Mary
RESTORATION OF FAITH: Al, John
LOVE AND SUPPORT: Claire, Hunter
SUPPORT: Haiti, Chile, those who need jobs, those who are about to lose or have lost their homes. Pray too, for our country’s leaders and our military people who die each day for our freedom.