“… the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.”

— Matthew 2:9-10

Have you ever gazed at the stars in the sky and wondered what Christ’s star—the star of Bethlehem—looked like? What a magnificent star it must have been for the wise men to pack up and take off after it. They left everything to follow that star.

Many people have speculated about the exact physical nature of that star, but in the end, all speculations are merely guesses. But we do know that this star heralded Christ’s coming, and as it did so, it communicated His nature to us.

The star of Bethlehem was a star of love that pointed to the incarnate yet divine love of Jesus Christ, God’s perfect love that had come to earth in human form.

The star of Bethlehem was a star of hope that led the wise men to the fulfillment of their expectations, the success of their expedition. Nothing in this world is more fundamental for success in life than hope, and this star pointed to our only source for true hope: Jesus Christ.

The star of Bethlehem was a star of joy. “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.” All true joy comes from Him. From deep within the well of our souls, Christ’s joy bubbles up and overflows. Those who know Jesus the best rejoice the most.

The star of Bethlehem was also a star of witness. It witnessed about the one true King and Messiah Who came to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles.

But most of all, the star of Bethlehem was a star of guidance. The star guided the wise men through the desert and across great distances. It guided them to the Lord Jesus Christ. We also are guided by our Star—God’s Word, a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. As pilgrims through this barren land, God’s Word guides us to Jesus Christ, the Light of the World.

Today thank God for the love, hope, joy, witness, and guidance we gained when Jesus Christ was born under that star. May the light of His star guide you this day and every day until together we bow down and worship Jesus with the wise men in Heaven.

“Wise men still seek Him.”
Christian Bumper Sticker

“… and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.’”

— Matthew 1:23

Christmas weaves its own magic spell with twinkling lights and silver bells, wonderful music and special memories. And as we let nostalgia flood us with warm feelings, we find ourselves hoping for a perfect Christmas. We long in our hearts for something to make everything right in our world. I believe that at this time of year, whether people recognize it or not, everyone longs for God.

Some have said that next to the Bible, we should know best the hymnal. The Scriptures contain doctrine and ethics. Our hymns, which have been called “three minute sermons,” consist of great truths set to music. This is certainly true concerning most Christmas hymns and carols. Some of the most beautiful music in the world belongs to the Christmas season, and these songs clearly communicate the message of Christ’s coming and of His redemptive work.

Consider the ancient hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” This hymn begins with the shortest lyric in the history of songwriting: one letter—“O”. Not even “Oh,” it was simply “O”. The Latin Church of the eighth century called this syllable the antiphon, and they sang it as the deep-seated plea of the human heart after God. The Bible tells us, “As the hart pants after the water brooks, so pants my soul after Thee, O God.” This is the personal longing communicated in “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”

Just as the godly Jews waited for the Messiah to come, so now the Church waits and longs for Him to come again. As you sing “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” this Christmas season, thank God that Christ will return to make everything perfect and whole again.

“It has been said by scholars that the second coming of
Christ is mentioned no less than 1,200 times in the Old
Testament and 300 times in the New Testament.”
Francis W. Dixon

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of Life … that which we have seen and heard we declare to you …”

— 1 John 1:1, 3

Do you know how much proof we have that Jesus really lived? If you put together both Biblical and secular sources, we have an enormous amount of information about Christ’s life. While today we have only one or two copies of ancient secular manuscripts, fifteen thousand Biblical manuscripts have survived. And down the years, Bible translators haven’t just copied the Bible from one modern language to another. Instead, they’ve consulted the original Greek and Hebrew sources. Because the stories of Christ’s life have been communicated in this way, we can trust their accuracy. Unlike the stories of mythical heroes, which grow more exaggerated with time, the number of miracles Jesus performed, as reported in the Gospels, diminished over time. The book of Mark, written first, describes twenty, and the books of Matthew and Luke, written later, describe twenty-two and twenty-one, respectively. But the book of John, written much later, describes only eight.

The two most important historians of the first century—the Jewish historian Josephus, and the Roman historian Tacitus—also confirm every basic fact of the Gospel narratives. As well, about twenty other early secular historians speak factually of Jesus. Some even wrote whole works against Him. The Jews wrote of Him in the second part of the Jewish Talmud, called the Gemara. Though they wrote this work to discredit Jesus, the Gemara gives an ancient confirmation of the basic facts of Christ’s life: His unusual birth to Mary, His ministry in Palestine, His miracles, the divisions He caused among the Israelites, His crucifixion on the day before Passover.

Modern skeptics, who have sought to prove Christ was just a myth, have been convinced by their own research that He not only lived but was the most extraordinary person who ever inhabited the earth. Jesus is the greatest fact of history. Today, thank God that we do not follow “cunningly devised fables” (2 Peter 1:16); rather, we follow the Word made flesh so that we might have abundant life.

“The historicity of Jesus is no longer questioned
seriously by anyone, whether Christian or unbeliever.
The main facts about Him seem to be beyond dispute.”
H.L. Mencken

“… the virgin shall conceive …”

— Isaiah 7:14

Have you ever heard of a white crow? I sure haven’t seen one, but that doesn’t mean that one doesn’t or couldn’t exist.

Many people view the Virgin Birth as a white crow. They say that Jesus couldn’t possibly have been born of a virgin, just because that type of birth had never happened before and hasn’t happened since. But the Bible teaches that Jesus was conceived in a miraculous and supernatural manner; the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary, conceiving within her Jesus Christ, making Him both God and human.

We can understand that unbelievers would attack and ridicule this doctrine. With no Biblical knowledge, they can dismiss this assertion as mythical and not historical. But sometimes the attacks come from within the Church, and when this happens, we have a much more serious problem. In this case, wolves in sheep’s clothing attempt to deceive the masses.

What would happen to our faith if the Virgin Birth were a myth or hoax? What consequences must follow? To begin with, Jesus would have been an illegitimate child. If this were the case, then the angel lied to Mary when he said, “The holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” Mary would not be blessed among women, but rather unchaste and immoral, despised and outcast by her culture.

If Jesus had been born of humans, He Himself would have been only human, not divine. And without His divinity, He could never be our redeemer. He couldn’t save anyone. He would have no power to forgive sin, and Christianity would be a fraud. Even God Himself would be a liar, for He said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).

The issue of the Virgin Birth is no fine point of theology; it lies at the very heart of our faith, because it asserts Jesus’ true nature. He is indeed the virgin-born Son of God.

If there is a God, a God who has created the universe, who
spoke the world into existence, and has created a vast expanse of
galaxies, is it any great thing for Him to simply reach down and
place a microscopic cell in the womb of a woman that He made?
Paraphrase Of Dr. Manford Gutzke

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

— John 1:14

Do you remember the fairy tale about the toad that, when kissed by a princess, became a handsome prince? Well, Christmas is the story about a prince who became a toad— about the Creator of the universe who became a creature to redeem the creatures in bondage. How would you feel about becoming an animal—a donkey, an ostrich, or a toad? I submit to you that the distance between Christ, the eternal Son of God, and a human being is infinitely greater than the distance between a human and any part of the animal creation. Christ is immortal; death was alien and foreign to His nature. Yet He tasted death for us.

Through the centuries, the hymn writers, theologians, and heralds of Christ have told us that this Babe in Bethlehem is none other than God Himself—the same One who enwrapped Himself with the starry clouds of the Milky Way and flung from His fingertips the vast myriad of galaxies that light the night sky. He is none other than the eternal, omnipotent, omniscient Creator of all things. He is our God, the Almighty One, God the Son. He left Heaven so we could gain Heaven. He came into the valley of sorrows so we could have a way out of it. He became poor to give us His riches. He suffered to free us from pain and death.

Christ’s life on earth was absolutely unique. He never learned because He knew all things. He never apologized because He never did anything wrong. He never corrected His teachings; He never sought advice. Never before or since has such a Man as this lived, who invariably evoked from the hearts and minds of those who beheld Him the startled question, “What manner of man is this?” The baby asleep on Mary’s lap was Christ our King, Lord of the universe. What a privilege to know Him.

“Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see; hail the incarnate Deity.
Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel.”
Charles Wesley

“And there shall be no more curse … ‘ for the former things have passed away.’”

— Revelation 22:3, 21:4

When Christ came to earth, He began reversing the effects of the Curse that resulted from Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden. This restoration process, which will only be complete in Heaven, includes the development of science.

Have you ever thought of it that way? Most people don’t. After all, the tenets of science and those of Christianity often seem at odds in today’s world. But modern science has Christian origins. Not only did science arise in a Christian culture, but all of the major founders of the different branches of science were Christians, some of them very devout. Great scientists who were committed Christians include Isaac Newton, Robert Boyle, Louis Pasteur, Blaise Pascal, Joseph Lister, Michael Faraday, and Lord Kelvin, to name just a few. We need to recognize the link between their Christian worldview and their pioneering discoveries. Science, said Kepler, the great astronomer, was “thinking God’s thoughts after Him.”

Science has proved to be a great blessing to all of humankind, saving the lives of millions and lengthening the life spans of virtually all it has touched. And science was born from the Christian faith. When we experience the benefits of modern science—driving to an antiseptic hospital, receiving anesthesia, and having pure, germ-free surgery—we owe all this to Christ and His devoted people of faith.

Let’s remember that science’s breakthroughs are Christ’s blessings to us. As Isaac Watts’ great Christmas carol, “Joy to the World!” declares, “He comes to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found.” What’s one blessing from science that has further removed the Curse from your life? I encourage you to thank God for that scientific development during this Christmas season.

“There are two books laid before us to study, to
prevent our falling into error; first, the volume of the
Scriptures, which reveal the will of God; then the
volume of the Creatures, which express His power.”
Francis Bacon
(Father Of The Scientific Method)

“… Cursed is the ground for your sake … In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread …”

— Genesis 3:17, 19

Do you remember the last time you blew it with God? Do you remember what that did inside of you?

You’re not alone. People have experienced those feelings since the beginning of time.

What happened to Adam and Eve when they sinned? They died spiritually. Their minds were darkened. They stubbornly followed their own wills, their spirits out of tune with God. Through their sin, Adam and Eve allowed sorrow, separation, guilt, fear, and self-centeredness into Paradise—into the lives of all humankind—bringing hatred, crime, violence, war, death, and Hell in their wake.

The Curse resulting from Adam and Eve’s sin has not only spiritual implications, but also physical ones. God pronounced the Curse first upon Satan for deceiving and tempting the woman, condemning the Serpent to crawl on its belly and eat dust. Then God cursed the woman, increasing her suffering in childbirth and subjecting her to her husband. For the man, God took the delight from work, relegating the man to a life of labor and toil in the midst of thorns and thistles. All of the animals came under the Curse, and what had been kindly and loving pets became dangerous, wild, and poisonous creatures. Finally, all creatures would eventually succumb to physical death most often preceded by disease, illness, pain, and weakness.

Maybe you’d rather not dwell on such depressing issues at this time of year. And, fortunately, you don’t have to. Why? Because Christmas is all about Christ’s coming to take away the effects of this horrible curse. Christ came to earth as a baby to absorb the Curse for us. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus destroyed the Devil’s works and created a way for us to be restored, perfect in God’s sight.

God begins that work in you and me when we surrender to Him and become His children, born of the Spirit. That work continues throughout our lives in the process of sanctification. Fully and perfectly, we will be restored when we reach Heaven; Christ will have completed His work in us and eliminated the Curse. In a perfect world and in perfect bodies, we shall dwell forever with Christ.

This is the message of Christmas, the reason Jesus came to earth as a babe. As you and I anticipate Christmas this year, let’s rejoice that all curses are reversed in Jesus Christ.

“So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heav’n.”
Phillips Brooks

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”

— 1 John 4:18

When was the last time you felt your heart pounding, your stomach tying itself into knots, your hands shaking like leaves in the wind? Was it last year? last month? yesterday?

Maybe you feel those things this very minute.

Fear runs deep in the human race, a legacy passed down from the very first of God’s creation. It’s the natural response of a sinful people to impending judgment. After Adam and Eve had tasted forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, what was their immediate response to hearing God’s voice? They were afraid and ran to hide themselves among the trees of the garden.

Do you remember the three angels who visited Abraham and then went to Sodom to talk to Lot? One of them was none other than God Himself appearing briefly in angelic form. But He came not as a Savior; he came to spy out the wickedness of the land. He came as a destroyer, bidding the red-hot sulfur to fall upon Sodom and Gomorrah to end the wickedness of their people.

God also came in judgment of the world during the time of Noah. In the face of the Flood that eventually wiped wickedness from the face of the earth, the people cried out in fear before they cried out no more.

Do you ever feel that fear? People truly had every reason to fear God and the supernatural, just as a criminal fears a police car’s blinking lights and wailing sirens. But the angel that announced Christ’s birth said, “Do not be afraid.” During his lifetime, Jesus repeated those words often. Jesus didn’t quote them from the angel. Jesus gave those words to the angel when He commissioned the angel to communicate His birth to the world. This message and Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, ushered in a new relationship with God: “Fear not.” “Be not afraid.” “It is I, be of good courage.” “Fear not, little flock.”

We don’t have to be afraid. Perfect love drives out fear, and God loves us—loves you— perfectly. You and I need not fear God’s punishment, for Jesus has taken it for us.

Will you accept God’s perfect love today?

Hear the angel’s words—and God’s message to you: “Be not afraid, for I bring you good tidings of great joy.”

“Now we need not fear the grave;
Jesus Christ was born to save.”
“Good Christian Men Rejoice” (Christmas Carol)

“Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.”

— Isaiah 9:2

“Why are there so many lights, Daddy?” Have you ever wondered the same thing at Christmastime, when you see hundreds of houses decked with colorful, twinkling lights? The question about the Christmas lights came on a dark December night from a four-year-old girl. Her father perceptively answered, “Because Jesus is the light of the world.”

Before the Light of the World came to earth, the world was very dark. The Golden Age of Greek philosophy had passed, and an intellectual barrenness had covered the landscape of the mind. The faith in the Homeric gods had all but vanished completely, and skepticism had paled the souls of many. The moral structure of society had collapsed everywhere, and humanity had sunk deep into the mire of depravity and vice. When there was nothing but discouragement, disillusion, and despair—when everything was the bleakest and darkest and grimmest—Jesus came.

By no mere coincidence does Christmas come in December. Christmas comes after the season when the dead leaves have flown across the ground with every gust of wind. Christ did not arrive in the time of blooming flowers and balmy breezes. Christ did not arrive in the time of fields ripe for harvest. He arrived when frost lay sheeted over the earth. He came in the midst of a bleak and dark December under a glittering star. This reminds us that Christ came for those who feel frostbitten by life. He came for those who are snowed under. He came for those overwhelmed by the cold realities of life. He came to soothe and rock and cradle and kiss and lullaby a cold, hurt, crying world.

Christmas makes December beautiful and bright. Christ makes His birthday a time of joy, miracles, and light. Thank Him today for the Light He brought to the world at Christmastime and for the Light He brings daily to your life.

Before Christ came, the devil made it
“always winter and never Christmas.”
Paraphrase Of C.S. Lewis

“For there is born to you this day in the city of David [Bethlehem] a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

— Luke 2:11

Do you know the story behind one of the most beloved Christmas carols, “O Little Town of Bethlehem”? Let me tell it to you. A young Episcopalian minister arrived in Jerusalem on December 24, 1865. He made his way on horseback about six miles south, to the little town of Bethlehem. He stood at the bottom of a hill and was struck by the vision of the town. With very little light around it, the town seemed so dark. How still and silent was the sight. So unlike the flaming metropolises of America, blackness hovered over the little town of Bethlehem.

Three years later, the minister, Phillips Brooks, wrote a poem about Bethlehem. During the week before Christmas, Brooks’ music director, Lewis Redner, wrote a melody for that poem. He finished it just in time for Christmas Sunday, when it was first sung by six Sunday school teachers and thirty-six children. And every Christmas since, that song has touched our hearts, for it speaks of the deepest needs and greatest longings of the human heart and soul.

For centuries the human soul has longed for something more than death. “Is life no more than this?” people ask as they watch their loved ones descend into the tomb to return no more. “There must be more than this.” The hopes of all the world rested with that little Babe in Bethlehem.

Also, the fears of all the world were met there with Him—the fears that life has no ultimate meaning and no significant purpose, that humanity has no future, that we must go down into the pit of oblivion never to live again. But Christ’s birth gives humankind new hope to combat those fears.

Today as you anticipate Christmas, think of Bethlehem and the event that occurred in that humble little town. Allow Christ to meet all your hopes and fears, for He came to do just that.

“Yet in the dark street shineth the everlasting Light; The
hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight.”
Phillips Brooks