At the same time, Isaiah said, “Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and His name shall be called Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) The messiah would save his people Israel.
He was to be born of the house of Jesse and David. All these prophetic words were fulfilled when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. On the night of His birth, the stars danced in the heavens, kings trembled in fear; wise men traversed the earth searching for Him.
The humble shepherds received the news with thankful hearts and fear. The angels said unto them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” He came to humble shepherds — not to the king’s palace.
When Jesus was born, many believed in Him, but some rejected Him. It is the same in our day. Keep Jesus in your Christmas. We prepare for Christmas; we trim the tree, we buy presents, decorations are put in place. We plan food for a festive day. We invite friends and family. Unless Christ is the center of Christmas, all our efforts are pagan.
How does one get ready for Christmas? Let me suggest some things we can do. (1) Spend time in solitude, consider the deeper meaning of Christmas. Thank God for His blessings.
Be sure you do something unselfish for others during the Christmas season. Jesus takes note of our unselfish deeds. He once said, “Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, you have done it unto me.”
Remember to give something to God. My good friend, the late Charles Allen tells us of when he was a boy, he would ride to church with his father, who was a preacher in our conference. On the way to the little country church, they passed Professor Miller’s house, a retired school teacher. He was out beside the road, waiting for Brother Allen. He stopped and they talked a minute. The retired teacher took from his leather purse two fifty-cent pieces and handed them to the preacher and said, “I want to make a contribution to the church for my wife and myself.” Knowing the financial circumstances of the teacher, that he hardly put bread on the table and wood on the fire, the preacher kindly said, “Professor Miller, I do appreciate this gift, but the church is coming along fine and we really don’t need it, and I want you to keep it.”
The professor looked at the preacher and said, “Brother Allen, would you deny me the privilege of giving to my Lord?” He wasn’t giving the money because the church needed it, he was giving it out of a sense of deep gratitude for his blessings.
We give very little when we give our possessions. We truly give most when we give ourselves. God gave us His best at Christmas time. Here is your homework for the week, and unless you do this, you will fail the course. Be sure that in our celebrations of Christmas that my heart and your heart cradles a king - the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!
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