Christmas Thoughts

I've been enjoying the Christmas story in the Bible, and I wanted to share a few thoughts.  Before Mary was told that she was to be Jesus' mother, an angel announced to Zacharius that he would be the father of John the Baptist.  The interesting thing about this is that the angel said that Zacharius and Elizabeth would have a son as an answer to Zacharius's prayer.  Now if you were the husband of a woman who was past menopause, would you be praying for a child?  I tend to doubt that God will answer prayers that I'm no longer praying, but Zacharius was probably receiving an answer to a prayer that he had prayed long ago.  God does not forget our prayers, and if He hasn't granted our requests yet, it doesn't mean He won't ever.
Zacharius had doubts about the angel's message, but his weak faith didn't stop God from blessing him richly.  He and his wife not only were parents, but their son was a very godly man.
Of course the next famous baby in the Bible was Jesus.  The birth announcement came from angels, to whom?  Not the religious leaders.  The angels told ordinary shepherds.  God likes to speak to humble people.  "The humble He teaches His way" (Psalm 25:9).  I love this, because not everybody can make it into the Who's Who of the world, but anybody can be humble.
The angel said to the shepherds, "I bring you good tidings of great 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."  Sin destroyed the fellowship between mankind and God; Jesus died and resurrected to bring us His gifts of forgiveness (Ephesians 1:7), righteousness (Romans 5:17), and reconciliation (Romans 5:10).  There is no greater joy than to be friends with God.
Other than the heavenly host that visited the shepherds, the birth of Jesus was without fanfare.  God came to earth in His characteristically quiet and humble way.
"How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is giv'n!
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heav'n. 
No ear may hear His coming, but, in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still the dear Christ enters in."
The birth of Jesus was a fulfillment of a prophecy in Isaiah 9:6-7:  "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder......Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end."  I really like that last part.  Heaven won't be boring because His government and peace keep increasing.  It will just keep getting better and better!
When Jesus was about a month and a half old, He was taken to the temple and presented to the Lord.  One of the people who greeted Him there was Anna.  Anna was an interesting person.  She was a prophetess, an elderly woman who never left the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.  When Anna got to the end of a day, she couldn't see the fruits of her labor with her eyes.  She didn't sew or grow vegetables or care for children.  She just prayed, and the Lord records this as service to Him.  Again I was encouraged that prayer isn't a waste of time.
Last Sunday at church, we watched a funny video about a man who was preparing to be Joseph in a living nativity scene.  At the end he became serious as he looked at his baby son and said that he couldn't let his son die as God let His Son die.  It made me think about the sadness of the Father as He watched His Son be crucified.  The world was covered with darkness for three hours that day, and maybe this was God's way of showing His grief at the death of His only Son.  Our heavenly Father understands grief, because He has experienced it Himself.
I pray that we can all get to know the Lord better during the holidays.
God bless us, every one!