{"id":3789,"date":"2016-12-25T09:00:07","date_gmt":"2016-12-25T15:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=3789"},"modified":"2016-12-30T22:22:39","modified_gmt":"2016-12-31T04:22:39","slug":"choose-to-celebrate-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=3789","title":{"rendered":"Choose to Celebrate Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another Year of Choices<\/em><\/p>\n

By Barbara Dahlgren<\/em><\/p>\n

\"CelebratePeople keep or observe Christmas for a few reasons. For adults, it\u2019s a time for families to get together. For parents, it\u2019s a time to give gifts to their children. For children, it\u2019s time to get presents. For Christians, it\u2019s all of these plus a time to celebrate the birth of Christ.<\/p>\n

The birth of Christ is very significant. Yet, long before His birth there was something wonderful \u2013 the promise of His coming and the promise of redemption for mankind which was all foretold in Scripture.<\/p>\n

Psalm 130:7-8 told us, \u201cO Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with Him is full redemption. He will redeem Israel from all their sins.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeremiah 23:4-5 said a day was coming when God would raise up a king who would reign wisely and do what was right. His name would be \u201cThe Lord Our Righteousness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Isaiah 9:6-7 told us, \u201cUnto us a child will be born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be called: Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Isaiah 11:2-5 said the Spirit of the Lord would rest on Him, and the spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge, fear of the Lord. He would not judge by what He saw or heard but with righteousness.<\/p>\n

Over 300 prophecies were fulfilled through the birth of Jesus, His life, His ministry, His death and resurrection. Not just the promise of Christ\u2019s coming was revealed in Scripture but the details of how it would take place. This miraculous event was not some afterthought, but totally planned by God.<\/p>\n

He would be from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10\/Luke 3:3), a descendant of Abraham (Genesis 12:3\/Matthew 1:1), Isaac (Genesis 17:19\/Luke 3:24), Jacob (Numbers 24:17\/Matthew 1:2), Jesse (Isaiah 11:10\/Romans 15:12), and David (Jeremiah 23:5-6\/Matthew 1:1).<\/p>\n

He would be born of a woman (Genesis 3:15\/Galatians 4:4), a virgin (Isaiah 7:11\/Luke 1:26-31) in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2\/Luke 2:4-7), worshipped by shepherds (Psalm 72:9\/Luke 2:8-15), and honored by kings (Psalm 72:10,17\/Isaiah 60:3\/Matthew 2:1-11). The slaughter of children (Jeremiah 31:15\/Matthew 2:16-18) and flight to Egypt (Hosea 11:1\/Matthew 2:14-15) were foretold as well. The list goes on and on.<\/p>\n

So Christ\u2019s birth was significant!<\/p>\n

Consider this\u2026 So significant was the birth of Christ that the world splits history, calendars, and time lines into two segments: BC which means before Christ and AD which means \u201cin the year of our Lord\u201d indicating after Christ was born.<\/p>\n

\"Luke<\/p>\n

To show the significance of Christ being born, an angel was sent by God on the night of His birth to announce His arrival. \u201cDo not be afraid, I bring you good tidings of joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord.\u201d (Luke 2:10-11) Sounds like a reason to celebrate to me!<\/p>\n

Christ is the Savior for all, so I don\u2019t worry too much about those who keep Christmas without focusing on Christ. They may not even know Christ, yet. However, they are actually celebrating a holiday about Christ\u2019s birth. They may try to say that\u2019s not what they are celebrating, but how can they get around it? Christmas literally means Christ\u2019s Mass. So, ironically, whether people want it to or not, it commemorates and celebrates Christ\u2019s birth!<\/p>\n

The true gift of Christmas won\u2019t be found under a tree, but in the presence of Jesus in our lives. That\u2019s why, as we celebrate, we thank God for this indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15) This gift of Christ was sent not to condemn us, but to redeem us! (John 3:17) His name is Emmanuel which means God with us. We never have to be afraid or feel alone again. He is our good tidings of joy, sent for all people \u2013 from the poorest shepherd to the richest Magi! To me, that\u2019s something to celebrate!<\/p>\n

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Suggestions for practicing this choice\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are some Christmas quotes to read at Christmastime. They can put us in the true Christmas spirit.<\/p>\n