And yet the most prophesied birth in the history of the world is occasionally foolishly questioned by the enemies of God who never cease to harass the Christian faith.
No, the Son of God was not born on December 25th...and, yes, the day we celebrate was co-opted from the pagan Roman holiday of Saturnalia in an attempt to convert pagan Rome to Christianity. We, too, supposedly a nation of Christians, have celebrated our national idol of money to the point of nearly commercializing everything holy out of Christmas.
Should we then join the enemies of God by denouncing Christmas? Not at all. We will always be in a spiritual warfare with God's enemies. We need to cultivate the truth of our celebration of the birth of our Savior so that our light shines brightly into a dark world. One ray of light eliminates much darkness. This is a great time to take advantage of this unique opportunity to present the gospel to the world.
Unlike anyone else in the history of the world, the birth of Jesus Christ was foretold for centuries by the Hebrew prophets, along with the details of His life, death and resurrection. No prophecies preceded the births of Buddha, Confucius, Muhammad, etal. None of them were resurrected from the dead. The life of Christ is the most verifiably proven life in all of history. The fulfillment of Bible prophecy is one of the most powerful proofs that we have. Paul used it in converting the lost, turning the world of his day upside down. So should we.
Christianity was not a first-century invention. The birth of the Messiah is the fulfillment of centuries of prophets who spoke with one voice the consistent message of the prophecy of Jesus. There are more than 300 Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament. For what reason? So that Israel could identify Him when He arrived.
The very first prophecy can be found in Genesis. The prophecies declared that He must be of the "lineage of David" and the gospels of Matthew and Luke begin with the genealogy of Joseph and Mary, clearly establishing that Jesus met every criteria. No other life in the world has been as meticulously documented, even by secular scholars. His Word, the Bible, is consistently the most purchased book in the world. And yet many of His own people, the Jews, rejected Him then and now.
While great numbers of Messianic Jews are accepting Christ in recent years, the majority of Jews still hope for their Messiah to come and will accept the anti-christ as their messiah for a short period of time before finally recognizing Him at His Second Coming.
Man crucified its Creator despite overwhelming evidence of His Deity.
Many skeptics have been converted to Jesus Christ in the midst of their search to disprove Him. It is impossible to remain an honest skeptic after examining the historical record.
We have the most solid reasons possible for our faith in Christ. The most convincing evidence becomes our relationship with Him. Ours is not a shallow worship of dead idols, eyes that cannot see, tongues that cannot speak. No. Ours is a living relationship with God, one in which we share fellowship with Him. He communes with us.
Don't lose any opportunity to present the gospel with conviction and boldness at this time of celebration of the blessed Messiah, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He did not remain a baby in a cradle. He became a living sacrifice to bring redemption to all mankind that would believe and accept Him as Lord of their lives.
He is coming back very soon, not as the meek and lowly sacrificial lamb, but in power and glory as the King of Kings, to judge the world and to reign and rule in righteousness, fulfilling the rest of the prophecies. He wants you to be a part of that kingdom.
A Child of the King
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