Merry Christmas!

    Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14 (NIV)
    
    
    
    What a beautiful day it is. It is a day that we, as Christians choose to celebrate the birth of Jesus. We really dont know what day Jesus was born, but In 336 A.D., the Western Church, based in Rome, chose December 25 to celebrate as Christmas, meaning "Christ's Mass." The Eastern Church chose January 6. The day was named Epiphany, meaning "appearance." Eventually the period from December 25 to January 6 became known as the Twelve Days of Christmas.
    
    The Prophet of God, Isaiah spoke of Jesus birth roughly 700-years before it transpired, when he said, For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (see Isaiah 9:6). 
    
    We then see this prophesy coming true in the Book of Matthew when an Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him that his wife Mary would in fact be having a child. 
    
    And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins. Matthew 1:21 (NKJV)
    
    We see in Isaiah that that the child Mary was to conceive would be called Immanuel, which means, God with us. This was to be His descriptive title of His earthly ministry. And we see in Matthew 1:21, and in Luke 1:31 that the Angel Gabriel visited Mary and told her to give the name Jesus to Him. 
    
    Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means either The LORD is salvation, or The LORD saves.
    
    Christmas is a day synonymous with the giving and receiving of gifts. It is unfortunate that there are eyes that will light up with the thought or notion that they might receive something from someone that we so desired such as a toy or some other gift that they had desired, yet not even consider accepting the gift of salvation. 
    
    I would encourage you to consider the following. If you are a Christian, then you have received this gift. Why not offer it to someone else? Why not participate in a true gift exchange this year. The gift of salvation comes from God, but it is offered through us as Christians to those who do not have a hope in their personal eternal salvation.
    
    Lets share the message of the Gospel this season with those whom God has laid upon our hearts, and has brought into our lives. Lets not allow our own inabilities to stop us from sharing this message.
    
    For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (NKJV)
    
    This baby Jesus that was born in a manger was willing to lay down his life for all of us. He is the Christ who died to save us from our sin. We cannot save ourselves. He is willing to save all those who turn from their sin and come to Him. Salvation is from God alone. No amount of good works can earn it.
    
    Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12 (NKJV)
    
    Merry Christmas my friend, and May God richly bless you this day.