Gary:

I offer this for your consideration. Do with it as you wish.

ISAIAH 9:6.....
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

ISAIAH 7:14.....
"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold a virgin shall concieve, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."

Micah 5: 2...
"But thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."

Matthew 1:21-23....
"And she shall bring forth a son, 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 name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, GOD with us."

Matthew 2:1-2...
"Now when Jesus was born in Bethelem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem. Saying.....'Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him."

Luke 2:7
"And she brought forth her first born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; for there was no room in the inn."

As I was driving around today, calling on some of my clients, these and other verses came to me, along with some thoughts. I don't know your feelings about God's revealing his will to us today, but I am convinced that he does and when he does I am convinced that he expects us to act on his revelations.

The thought was presented to me as this: The great God of heaven, the Creator of all that is, was, or ever will be, became incarnate. He came to the earth the same way as all flesh comes into the earth, as a newborn baby. As I drove along I had this vision of the Almighty Creator ...... laying in an animal trough on a bed of straw.

He who could have come in king's regalia, came in a lowly manager. Why did he do this? What was his message to us today? I believe it is this: If the Greatest of All can humble himself to such a state, then we who are his very creation can never raise ourselves above that level of humility.

As the Christmas season nears, this scene is played out over and over again for all the world to see. It is GOD who lay in that manager. It is God who humbled himself to a degree that not one of us I dare say, can ever match, even if called upon to do so. So, when some man berates and criticizes me because I choose to elect a day wherein I put this magnificient act to the forefront of my life ..... what do I care? Who is anyone to say the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ is an abomination?

The very idea of arguing against the observance of the birth of the one and only begotten son of God in anyway, is, of itself, an abomination. I have more opportunity at this time of year to share the Gospel story than at any other time. I dare say those who would belittle and vilify this time as something pagan and sinful must be the blindest of all men.

No, Jesus was not born on December 25th. And no, we do not know the exact day or time when he was born, and by the same token we cannot and do not know the exact day he will return ....... yet we look for it, we build our very hope around it. Why?? Because it is the day that will change all of our lives. The coming of our Messiah was the most life-changing event that has ever taken place, dimmed only by the promise of his return. Not to a manger, robed in flesh and blood as he did at one time ..... but as Lord of Lords, and King of Kings.

NO!!! The fact that we do not know the day and month of his birth is immaterial. What is pertinent is the glorification of our Messiah. And when some say that this time of year is a time for drunken debauchery, I say to them, I don't know what crowd you have been hanging out with .... but the people I associate with see this as a time to praise God for his great gift and to remember the lowly birth of the Master of all things.

When someone says we should remember his birth all year long, I say, "AMEN!" But I spent 42 years in the Church of Christ fellowship and I heard very little, other than as a statement of fact regarding the miricle of the birth of God in human form. I know the makeup of those who condemn this celebration. After all ..... I was one of the best for many years, and I had no concept of the magnitude of what God allowed of himself on that day. A great many people don't even think that Jesus became God until his baptisim. How sad.

May I close with this which I think precludes any retoric or profound dissertation which I, or anyone else, may expound: God came to earth as a baby in a manger!!!! And because of that, I have a hope that is greater than all the wealth and fame, and more important than all the arguments about who is and who is not a recipient of that great gift. PRAISE GOD and may all his children say, "AMEN!!!!"

Jim