"Christmastime Is Here"

Well, it is that time of year!  The time when we celebrate Christ's birth.  If He was never born, then He never could have died for the sins of the world.  Christmas is a very significant time of year, for it represents the beginning of forever in eternity with Jesus.

What are some of the ways you celebrate Jesus around the Christmas holiday?  One example for me is that we used to hide baby Jesus from the nativity set until Christmas day.  The thought was Jesus didn't come until Christmas day, and we had a chance to search for Him all around the house during the days leading up to Christmas...  Do you have traditions that represent something special?  If so, please share them below.

These past couple Christmas's I have read the "Christmas" story in the Bible.  Both accounts (Matthew and Luke).  It is amazing what took place all those years ago.  I can't even begin to fathom what the people of that time went through because they chose to be involved in Jesus and His life.  Can you imagine being Mary?  Being a woman who would love to get married sometime in the near future, I have pondered Mary's situation many times.  I can't imagine having your husband picked for you and marrying him when you are still a "child".  Do you think she truly loved Joseph?  Imagine all the ridicule and criticism she received because she was pregnant. I have felt criticized before when choosing to go a way that wasn't popular to the world, but I knew it is what God wanted me to do.  And sometimes I didn't even feel like doing it, but I knew for certain it was what God wanted me to do.  There is an indescribable peace when you are following God's will and His plan for your life.  I believe Mary had the certain peace as well.  Another thing that is unfathomable for me, transportation...  Can you imagine traveling miles and miles on untamed terrain walking?  Possibly riding a donkey or other animal, but I doubt it.  The animals were probably primarily used to carry necessities like food... I can't imagine that, camping out every night along the way...  Do you think Mary and Joseph saw the star before the Magi came?  Was Mary happily willing to travel to Egypt? Or did she put up a fuss, or pout along the way?  Maybe she didn't outwardly show her disgust, but strongly felt it inside her with every step in the opposite direction of their previous home.  Did her family completely write her off?  Did they not want anything else to do with her once she became pregnant?  Did they eventually become followers of Jesus after they heard His message?  

I will never know what is was like to live in that time period, but I am so very thankful that it happened all those Christmas's ago.  How about you?  Have you put much thought into it?  I encourage you this Chrsitmas season to read the amazing story of Jesus's birth. Ponder it... Soak it all in...  What questions would you like to ask Mary and/or Joseph?  What have you always believed about the Christmas story that you realized wasn't necessarily true compared to the true biblical account?  Did anything surprise you? I would love to hear your thoughts and see what you discovered this CHRISTmas!

Blessings!

~ S*

Nativity (Part 2)

Did you watch it yet??? Well, before you read on here is one last chance... Last week I encouraged you to watch "The Nativity Story" and read Matthew and Luke's versions of the story to compare them... I also suggested you make a list of the things the movie got wrong... How many did you get? Did you get some I didn't catch? Below is my list:

1. Luke 1:19: The angel Gabriel appeared to Zachariah at the right of the altar... In the movie Zachariah only heard a voice...

2. Luke 1:13 Zachariah's prayers were answered by Elizabeth bearing him a son. In the movie he acted like he had never heard tell of the idea...

3. Luke 1:20 Zachariah was told he would be able to speak the day it happened. In the movie this was not mentioned.

4. Luke 1:24 Fact: Elizabeth remained in seclusion for five months after becoming pregnant.

5. Luke 1:36 Fact: (goes with #7) Elizabeth was in her sixth month when Mary first saw Gabriel. Fact: It does not mention weather or not Mary already knew that Elizabeth was pregnant before the angel came to her...

6. Luke 1:40 Mary entered Zachariah's house and greeted Elizabeth. In the movie she was outside...

7. Luke 1:56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months. It does not say that Mary was or wasn't there; however, following the times that were written, it would seem that she was there when Elizabeth gave birth to John the Baptist...

8. Luke 1:62-64 When learning what John the Baptist's name was going to be the people asked/made signs to Zachariah to ask what the baby's name was to be. Zachariah wrote John and then he could speak.

9. Matthew 1:20-21 An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. Fact: It does not specify who the angel was or what the dream was about. I think that whenever Gabriel was revealed to anyone he would have been mentioned by name...

10. Luke 2:6 "While they were there" the baby came. Fact: It doesn't say she was in labor and they got there in the nick of time... They could have been there for a week...

11. Luke 2:13 A "Company" or "Multitude" of heavenly hosts appeared with the angel praising God. In the movie you just see one angel. Fact: Once again it does not specify that the angel was Gabriel...

12. Luke 2:16 When the shepherds came the baby was "lying in the manger" just like the angel said. In the movie Mary is holding Jesus...

13. Matthew 2:1 The Bible does not specify the number of Magi. It has been assumed that there were three because of the three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh... But I personally do not agree with that number...

14. Matthew 2:2, 7, 9-10 It was A star, not three joining together. It has been proven by planetarium that it wasn't some fluke phenomenon like the movie depicts...

15. Matthew 2:1-4 After the Magi arrived and announced they saw the star then Herod, the chief priests, and teachers of the law asked them where the Christ was to be born. (It says nothing of previous killings or inspections.) It appears (biblically Verse 3) that Herod had not considered the idea at all until the Magi came... The movie makes it appear as though Herod has been searching and doing everything in his power to prevent the predicted King from taking over his throne...

16. Matthew 2:7 Herod called in the Magi secretly to find out when they first saw the star. In the movie they talked around a very full table with little children present.

17. Matthew 2:11 The Magi came to a house and saw the child with his mother. It is almost certain that the Magi were not there when Jesus was born, but instead arrived when he was between 24 and 15 months old. Thus the Magi would not have been present when the shepherds were there, nor would they have seen Jesus lying in a manger...

18. Matthew 2: 16 (Continuing from 17...) The above statement also explains why Herod had children killed that were two and younger... The age has to do with how long the star had been visible to the Magi...

19. Matthew 2:12 The Magi were "warned in a dream" not to go back to Herod. In the movie they just play it as they thought Herod was creepy, and they were wise enough not to go back to him...

20. Matthew 2:13-14 Not long after the Magi left an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream (once again does not say if the angel was Gabriel) and told him to take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. So he got up in the night and left. In the movie they are still in the cave/stable, and they leave while the soldiers are knocking on other houses looking to kill the children. They would have been in a house, if Jesus was almost two years old, and most likely they would not have "just escaped" right before the soldiers opened the house door... They could have fled days before the episode or the night before...

So there you have it... My take on the incorrectness of "The Nativity Story". Do you agree? Did you find other things that didn't match up with what the Bible says? I also don't think the angel visits to Mary, Joseph, or the shepherds would have been in any way creepy or mysterious... Let me know what you think!

Blessings!
~ S*

Nativity (Part 1)

 Have you ever watched the "The Nativity Story" movie? Have you ever compared it to what the Bible tells us really happened?

I challenge you to watch the movie and make a list of all the things they got wrong in the movie… I will post a follow up entry with my list, but I want to see how many you can find on your own first... You can borrow the movie from the library, or watch it online: Click Here.

This past Christmas I read the first two chapters of Matthew and Luke. As I was reading I began to wonder what it would have really been like... What did Mary really think of Joseph? How old was she really? Did she just get up in the middle of the night and listen to her husband when he said they needed to flee to Egypt, or was she second guessing him, asking him why, hating every step in the opposite direction of their previous home? How much say did the woman really have? How did Joseph treat her? Was he the one to deliver the baby? Did she do it on her own? Did she really walk all the way to Bethlehem? 

As you can tell, I am somewhat of a romantic, so that is kinda how my questions are leaning. I know there are supposed answers, but the Bible doesn't say she road on a donkey... The Bible doesn't say she was in labor when they got there almost ready to give birth... The Bible doesn't say there were only three kings/wise-men or that Mary was or wasn't there when Elizabeth gave birth... A lot of the things we have been taught or have seen while growing up are just assumptions... What do we really know about the birth of Jesus?

Read Matthew 1:16-2:23 and Luke 1:1-45, 56-66, 80-2:21 to find out.

Let me know what differences you've found. I'm eager to hear them.

Blessings! 

~ S*

Cold Turkey

"'Everything is permissible'--but not everything is beneficial. 'Everything is permissible'--but not everything is constructive." -- 1 Corinthians 10:23 (NIV)

Have you ever had to quit doing something because God told you to?  Did you quit "cold turkey", or did you ease yourself out of it? Did you fight with God and say, "I don't want to give that up, or I don't want to stop doing such and such... Why God why???"  

A couple days ago my family decided to stop watching all of the crime shows on TV that we have been watching for multiple seasons...  This list, for me, was 8-10 shows long... 

What would be the hardest thing for you to give up right now? Facebook, sweets, You Tube, dating, smoking, drinking, watching sports, video games, __(you fill in the blank)__...  That's what it's like to give up these shows I have been watching.  I have had time to fall in love with the characters, I want to know how their stories are going to end, what am I going to do now that I don't have all this TV to watch, I've always used the evening's TV time as a way to relax and just forget about what is going on around me...  But God showed me last night in a dream that I was to stop...  Yesterday, when my family approached me with the idea, I was trying to decide how I was going to go about watching the shows I like with out them; now I am probably more on board than they are.

The verse at the top of the post has been one I have quoted to myself quite a few times the last few months... Aside from TV, I have also given up a few other things that I had been doing for many years... Every time I am tempted to do them this verse pops into my head, 1 Corinthians 10:23: "You say, "I am allowed to do anything"--but not everything is good for you. You say, "I am allowed to do anything"--but not everything is beneficial." (NLT)  "“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up."(ESV)  "All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify." (NAS)

It can be hard to keep popular things from becoming idols or front runners in our lives.  Being willing to lay some of your favorite things down, when God asks you to, is a great way to tell if you are making an idol out of them or not.

Click Here to visit my post on Idols.

What can we do to make better use of our time?  Have you given up something and found a ton of extra time that you didn't use to have?  What did you do with that extra time?  Let's try to use our extra time the way God wants us to. 

Blessings!

~ S*
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