LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional
DECEMBER 25 CHRISTMAS DAY THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-11 >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#1-33 The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ
360 of 365 - Prayers to JESUS
Jesus, thanks be to the Son, and the Father, and the Holy Spirit for today marks the most Pivotal Event in human history!!! Though we do not know the exact day the Event occurred, it does not detract in the least from its Magnificence! Because of the Significant Importance of The Event to all mankind, there has been a “day” set aside to commemorate that Event known as CHRISTMAS, named after the Birth of the CHRIST CHILD who was named JESUS by the His virgin mother as instructed by the Angel Gabriel. Gabriel announced that though she was a virgin, the Holy Spirit would come upon her and she would conceive the Son of the Most High God. The Event celebrated by millions and millions is known as CHRISTMAS but over time the world has lost the TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS in the tumultuous sea of the quest for profit. Lord Jesus, may we reflect this CHRISTMAS DAY on the “REASON WHY THERE IS A CHRISTMAS SEASON”, why it brings JOY to millions, and what is the GREATEST GIFT EVER GIVEN TO MANKIND! AMEN
THE JESUS QUESTIONS
DECEMBER 25 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-11 >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#1-33 The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ Jesus was proclaimed as the “Son of the Highest” when Luke in his Gospel of Jesus Christ records “Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth… to a virgin betrothed to…Joseph…the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS…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.” (Luke 1:26-35) In the Gospel of Matthew we read, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit…an angel of the LORD appeared to [Joseph] in a dream saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son; and you shall call His name JESUS; for He will save His people from their sins.’ So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the LORD through the prophet [Isaiah 7:14], saying ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name IMMANUEL, which is translated, GOD WITH US.’” (Matthew 1:18:23) Let us look at the simple facts recorded by these eyewitness accounts that began over 2000 years ago what is known worldwide as CHRISTMAS!!! FACT#1) “… the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth…” : The world was spinning round and round and everyone was going about their daily lives as they had been doing for centuries and then God sends His angel Gabriel down from heaven to the earth. Do you suppose that God got bored and decided to stir things up or do you suppose that God said, “Now is the time to fix this mess caused by sin”!!! FACT#2) “God sent Gabriel…to a virgin [named Mary]…betrothed to Joseph” : This is now shaping up as an well planned event as God specifically sent a specific angel named Gabriel to a specific woman named Mary who had a specific condition called virginity and Gabriel was sent at a specific month to a specific city of Galilee named Nazareth and a specific time in Mary’s life for she was betrothed to a specific man named Joseph. Note that there are a lot of names used which generally rules out this event being a “random act of a bored deity”!!! Also in favor of this being a well-though-out-plan is the absolute conditions surrounding these numerous well established specific facts!!! FACT#3) “Mary…you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus…” So it is now evident that it is God Most High that has planned this specific mission for only God can proclaim a future event {known as prophecy} and bring that event to fruition. Notice Gabriel stated that even though Mary now has a virgin womb that she “will conceive” in the future and that she “will give birth to a Son”. Not only does Mary know she will conceive and bear a “Son” but when she comes to the fullness of her time and a “Son” is born to her, that she is to name her “SON, JESUS”!!! The facts are pointing to a Very Specific Purpose that has been Perfectly Planned by God Himself for the place, the people, the circumstance, are very complimentary and very detailed to accomplish this Very Specific Purpose that will unite Heaven and earth, and God and man in a way that has never been accomplished before since the dawn of creation when God dispelled the darkness by proclaiming His Purpose, “LET THERE BE LIGHT” (Genesis 1:2-3) FACT#4 “[Gabriel]…an angel of the LORD appeared to [Joseph] in a dream saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife” — God takes care of every situation and God again and again tells us “Do not be afraid” so obviously He wants us to be “Joyful” and God had a very good reason for Joseph being betrothed to the virgin God Himself chose to favor. It is not coincidental that “Joseph” was indeed from the family and lineage of “David” for it is becoming evident that prophecy is going to be fulfilled in such a manner that there can be no debate because the odds of this event and these circumstances coming together by random chance are so astronomically against chance that only the Omnipotence of God Most High can account for everything happening through these specific circumstances to accomplish His Divine Purpose!!! FACT#5 “…for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit…Mary your wife…will bring forth a Son; and you shall call His name JESUS; for He will save His people from their sins.” God knows the difficultly that Joseph being a righteous man is having because his betrothed wife Mary is pregnant and Joseph knows without a doubt in his heart of hearts that he has not been with Mary. Also, never in the entire history of mankind since the first mother and father, Adam and Eve, has any woman become pregnant by any other method that the seed of man being implanted into the womb of a woman, therefore Joseph has legitimate concerns about the pregnancy and Mary’s claim she has not been with a man so God dispels Joseph’s concerns by addressing them completely and directly with the revelation that Mary’s Son was conceived by the Holy Spirit. To add further credence it was from God, the same angel that visited Mary also visited Joseph and they were both told that “God IS the Father”, that she would bear a “Son” and they were both told to name the Son of God, JESUS!!! FACT#6 “call His name JESUS, for He will save His People from their sins.” God establishes that He is the Father, His Son will be named JESUS, and this “virgin birth” was done with the Specific Purpose to SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF SIN. !!! FACT#7 “So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the LORD through the prophet [Isaiah 7:14], saying ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name IMMANUEL, which is translated, GOD WITH US.’” (Matthew 1:18:23) God had spoken 800 years before the Birth of Jesus through His prophet Isaiah about GOD’S PLAN of the VIRGIN BIRTH of the SON OF GOD and GOD’S PURPOSE was to bridge the great gap between GOD’S HOLINESS and man’s sin. God further demonstrated His Commitment to “never forsake us” for in our greatest hour of need we can have confidence HE IS GOD WITH US!!! When we take these Seven Facts of Christmas we now can sing JOY TO THE WORLD THE LORD HAS COME!!!! We can also be sure that without CHRIST, there is no CHRISTMAS!!! From LAYMAN’S PULPIT ———
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!
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