Topic : Christmas, incarnation

• It cost Mary and Joseph the comforts of home during a long period of exile in Egypt to protect the little babe.
• It cost mothers, in and around Bethlehem, the massacre of their babies by the cruel order of Herod.
• It cost the shepherds the complacency of their shepherd’s life, with the call to the manger and to tell the good news.
• It cost the wise men a long journey and expensive gifts and changed lives.
• It cost the early Apostles and the early church persecution and sometimes death.
• It cost missionaries of Christ untold suffering and privation to spread the Good News.
• It cost Christian martyrs in all ages their lives for Christ’s sake.
• More than all this, it cost God the Father His own Son—He sent Him to the earth to save men.
• It cost Jesus a life of sacrifice and service, a death cruel and unmatched in history.

Source unknown

At a reception honoring musician Sir Robert Mayer on his 100th birthday, elderly British socialite Lady Diana Cooper fell into conversation with a friendly woman who seemed to know her well. Lady Diana’s failing eyesight prevented her from recognizing her fellow guest until she peered more closely at the magnificent diamonds and realized she was talking to Queen Elizabeth!

Overcome with embarrassment, Lady Diana curtsied and stammered, “Ma’am, oh, ma’am, I’m sorry, ma’am. I didn’t recognize you without your crown!”

Today in the Word, November 16, 1995, p. 23.

If we had been the shepherds one night long ago,
I wonder if we’d recognize the star or if we’d know
the reason for His birth and if we’d really go
to worship at the manger. I wonder, would we know'

Is it really any different than if Jesus came today'
I wonder, would we recognize His face in any way'
Or would we turn away from Him
not knowing what to say'

If Jesus walked among us in our hurried, busy pace,
I wonder if this stranger would really find a place'

Rebecca Barlow Jordan

Source unknown

What’s all this hectic rush and worry'
Where go these crowds who run and curry'
Why all the lights—the Christmas trees'
The jolly “fat man,” tell me please!

Why, don’t you know? This is the day
For parties and for fun and play;
Why this is Christmas!

So this is Christmas, do you say'
But where is Christ this Christmas day'
Has He been lost among the throng'
His voice drowned out by empty song'

No. He’s not here—you’ll find Him where
Some humble soul now kneels in prayer,
Who knows the Christ of Christmas.

But see the many aimless thousands
Who gather on this Christmas Day,
Whose hearts have never yet been opened,
Or said to Him, “Come in to stay.”

In countless homes the candles burning,
In countless hearts expectant yearning
For gifts and presents, food and fun,
And laughter till the day is done.

But not a tear of grief or sorrow
For Him so poor He had to borrow
A crib, a colt, a boat, a bed
Where He could lay His weary head.

I’m tired of all this empty celebration,
Of feasting, drinking, recreation;
I’ll go instead to Calvary.

And there I’ll kneel with those who know
The meaning of that manger low,
And find the Christ—this Christmas.

I leap by faith across the years
To that great day when He appears
The second time, to rule and reign,
To end all sorrow, death, and pain.

In endless bliss we then shall dwell
With Him who saved our souls from hell,
And worship Christ—not Christmas!

M.R. DeHaan, M.D., Founder, Radio Bible Class

The mystery of the humanity of Christ, that He sunk Himself into our flesh, is beyond all human understanding. - Martin Luther,

Table Talk

Mary had the little Lamb, who lived before His birth;
Self-existent Son of God, from Heaven He came to Earth. (Micah 5:2)

Mary had the little Lamb; see Him in yonder stall—
Virgin-born Son of God, to save man from the Fall. (Isaiah 7:14)

Mary had the little Lamb, obedient Son of God;
Everywhere the Father led, His feet were sure to trod. (John 6:38)

Mary had the little Lamb, crucified on the tree
The rejected Son of God, He died to set men free. (1 Peter 1:18)

Mary had the little Lamb—men placed Him in the grave,
Thinking they were done with Him; to death He was no slave! (Matthew 28:6)

Mary had the little Lamb, ascended now is He;
All work on Earth is ended, our Advocate to be. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

Mary had the little Lame—mystery to behold!
From the Lamb of Calvary, a Lion will unfold. (Revelation 5: 5,6)

When the Day Star comes again, of this be very sure:
It won’t be Lamb-like silence, but with the Lion’s roar. (Psalm 2:12; Revelation 19:11-16)

Marv & Marbeth Rosenthal, Copies of this poem may be used without written permission from the authors.

Long ago, there ruled in Persia a wise and good king. He loved his people. He wanted to know how they lived. He wanted to know about their hardships. Often he dressed in the clothes of a working man or a beggar, and went to the homes of the poor. No one whom he visited thought that he was their ruler. One time he visited a very poor man who lived in a cellar. He ate the coarse food the poor man ate. He spoke cheerful, kind words to him. Then he left. Later he visited the poor man again and disclosed his identity by saying, “I am your king!” The king thought the man would surely ask for some gift or favor, but he didn’t. Instead he said, “You left your palace and your glory to visit me in this dark, dreary place. You ate the course food I ate. You brought gladness to my heart! To others you have given your rich gifts. To me you have given yourself!”

The King of glory, the Lord Jesus Christ, gave himself to you and me. The Bible calls Him, “the unspeakable gift!”

Source unknown

Twas the night before Jesus came and all through the house
Not a creature was praying, not one in the house.
Their Bibles were lain on the shelf without care
In hopes that Jesus would not come there.

The children were dressing to crawl into bed,
Not once ever kneeling or bowing a head.
And Mom in her rocker with baby on her lap
Was watching the Late Show while I took a nap.

When out of the East there arose such a clatter,
I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash!

When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But angels proclaiming that Jesus was here.
With a light like the sun sending forth a bright ray
I knew in a moment this must be THE DAY!

The light of His face made me cover my head
It was Jesus returning just like He said
And though I possessed worldly wisdom and wealth,
I cried when I saw Him in spite of myself.

In the Book of Life which He held in his hand,
Was written the name of every saved man.
He spoke not a word as he searched for my name;
When He said, “It’s not here” my head hung in shame.

The people whose names had been written with love,
He gathered to take to His Father above.
With those who were ready He rose without a sound
While all the rest of us were left standing around.

I fell to my knees, but it was too late;
I had waited too long and thus sealed my fate.
I stood and I cried as they rose out of sight;
Oh, if only I had been ready tonight.

In the words of this poem the meaning is clear;
The coming of Jesus is drawing near.
There’s only one life and when comes the last call,
We’ll find that the Bible was true after all!

Copyright 1984, Bethany Farms

Take the year 1809. The international scene was tumultuous. Napoleon was sweeping through Austria; blood was flowing freely. Nobody then cared about babies. But the world was overlooking some terribly significant births.

For example, William Gladstone was born that year. He was destined to become one of England’s finest statesman. That same year, Alfred Tennyson was born to an obscure minister and his wife. The child would one day greatly affect the literary world in a marked manner.

On the American continent, Oliver Wendell Holmes was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. And not far away in Boston, Edgar Allan Poe began his eventful, albeit tragic, life. It was also in that same year that a physician named Darwin and his wife named their child Charles Robert. And that same year produced the cries of a newborn infant in a rugged log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. The baby’s name? Abraham Lincoln.

If there had been news broadcasts at that time, I’m certain these words would have been heard: “The destiny of the world is being shaped on an Austrian battlefield today.” But history was actually being shaped in the cradles of England and America. Similarly, everyone thought taxation was the big news—when Jesus was born. But a young Jewish woman cradled the biggest news of all: the birth of the Saviour.

Adapted from Charles Swindoll

Source unknown

In the Christmas narratives, there are several “fear not’s.”

1. The “fear not” of salvation: “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings...which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10,11).

2. The “fear not” of the humanly impossible: “Fear not, Mary, … the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: …For with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:30, 35, 37).

3. The “fear not” of unanswered prayer: “Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John” (Luke 1:13).

4. The “fear not” of immediate obedience: “Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife. … Then Joseph … did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him” (Matthew 1:20,24 NPS)

Source unknown

Americans used 28,497,464 rolls and sheets of wrapping paper, 16,826,362 packages of tags and bows, 372,430,684 greeting cards, and 35,200,000 Christmas trees during the 1989 Christmas season.

Garbage Magazine, quoted in Signs of the Times, 12-1991, p. 7

When was Jesus born? No, not on December 25. Though Christians had adopted that date by A.D. 336, Christ was born “when shepherds watched their flocks by night.” In other words, most likely in the spring. And no, He wasn’t born in the year A.D.

The Bible tells us that Herod the Great ruled Palestine when Jesus was born, and Herod died in 4 B.C.—so Jesus had to have been born not long before that. (Blame Dionysiuys Exiguus for this one—he’s the sixth century monk who came up with the idea of splitting history into A.D. and B.C. He just chose the wrong date to do so, that’s all.)

Signs of the Times, Dec, 1991, p. 6

The Christ-child lay on Mary’s lap, His hair was like a light.
(O weary, weary is the world, But here is all aright.)

The Christ-child lay on Mary’s breast, His hair was like a star.
(O stern and cunning are the kings, But here the true hearts are.)

The Christ-child lay on Mary’s heart, His hair was like a fire.
(O weary, weary is the world, But here the world’s desire.)

The Christ-child stood at Mary’s knee, His hair was like a crown.
And all the flowers looked up at Him, And all the stars looked down.

G.K. Chesterton in The Wild Knight

To avoid offending anybody, the school dropped religion altogether and started singing about the weather. At my son’s school, they now hold the winter program in February and sing increasingly nonmemorable songs such as “Winter Wonderland,” “Frosty the Snowman” and—this is a real song—”Suzy Snowflake,” all of which is pretty funny because we live in Miami.

A visitor from another planet would assume that the children belonged to the Church of Meteorology.

Dave Barry in his “Notes on Western Civilization” (Chicago Tribune Magazine, July 28, 1991)

To perceive Christmas through its wrappings becomes more difficult with every year.

E.B. White in The Second Tree from the Corner

If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator;

If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist;

If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist;

If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer;

But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.

Source unknown

IN December 1903, after many attempts, the Wright brothers were successful in getting their “flying machine” off the ground. Thrilled, they telegraphed this message to their sister Katherine: “We have actually flown 120 feet. Will be home for Christmas.” Katherine hurried to the editor of the local newspaper and showed him the message. He glanced at it and said, “How nice. The boys will be home for Christmas.” He totally missed the big news—man had flown!

Our Daily Bread, 12-23-91

Twas much,
that man was
made like God before,
But that God should
be like man
much more.

John Donne

God Came Near, Max Lucado, Multnomah Press, 1987, p. 21ff, 39ff

“Without God’s explanatory word, God’s redemptive action could not be recognized for what it was. The clearest revelation of God (the incarnation) is nevertheless the most opaque to man.”

J.I. Packer, New Bible Commentary, p. 15

Two women who were having lunch in an elegant hotel were approached by a mutual friend who asked the occasion for the meal.

One lady replied, “We are celebrating the birth of my baby boy.”

“But where is he?” inquired the friend.

“Oh,” said the mother, “you didn’t think I’d bring him, did you?”

What a picture of the way the world treats Jesus at Christmas.

Source unknown

In his book, Science Speaks, Peter Stoner applies the modern science of probability to just eight prophecies regarding Christ. He says, “The chance that any man might have ...fulfilled all eight prophecies is one in 10 to the 17th. That would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000.” (one hundred quadrillion).

Stoner suggests that “we take 10 to the 17th silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state 2 feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly... Blindfold a man and tell him he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up [that one marked silver dollar.] What chance would he have of getting the right one?”

Stoner concludes, “Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing those eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man,...providing they wrote them in their own wisdom.”

Source unknown

Praise God for Christmas.
Praise Him for the incarnation, for the word made flesh.
I will not sing of shepherds watching flocks on frosty nights,
or angel choristers.
I will not sing of a stable bare in Bethlehem,
or lowing oxen,
wise men trailing star with gold,
frankincense, and myrrh.

Tonight I will sing praise to the Father
who stood on heaven’s threshold
and said farewell to his Son
as he stepped across the stars
to Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

And I will sing praise to the infinite, eternal Son,
who became most finite, a baby
who would one day be executed for my crime.
Praise him in the heavens,
Praise him in the stable,
Praise him in my heart.

Joseph Bayly

Source unknown

Christ was content with a stable when he was born so that we could have a mansion when we die.

Source unknown

Pastor Clifford S. Stewart of Louisville, Kentucky, sent his parents a microwave oven one Christmas. Here’s how he recalls the experience:

“They were excited that now they, too, could be a part of the instant generation. When Dad unpacked the microwave and plugged it in, literally within seconds, the microwave transformed two smiles into frown! Even after reading the directions, they couldn’t make it work. Two days later, my mother was playing bridge with a friend and confessed her inability to get that microwave oven even to boil water. ‘To get this darn thing to work,’ she exclaimed, ‘I really don’t need better directions; I just needed my son to come along with the gift!’”

When God gave the gift of salvation, he didn’t send a booklet of complicated instructions for us to figure out; he sent his Son.

Source unknown

Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child,
Make thee a bed, soft, undefiled,
Within my heart, that it may be
A quiet chamber kept for Thee.

My heart for very joy doth leap,
My lips no more can silence keep,
I too must sing, with joyful tongue,
That sweetest ancient cradle song,

Glory to God in highest heaven,
Who unto man His Son hath given
While angels sing with pious mirth.
A glad new year to all the earth.

Martin Luther

Source unknown

Some gifts you can give this Christmas are beyond monetary value:

• Mend a quarrel, dismiss suspicion, tell someone, “I love you.”
• Give something away—anonymously.
• Forgive someone who has treated you wrong.
• Turn away wrath with a soft answer.
• Visit someone in a nursing home.
• Apologize if you were wrong.
• Be especially kind to someone with whom you work.
• Give as God gave to you in Christ, without obligation, or announcement, or reservation, or hypocrisy.

C. Swindoll, Growing Strong, pp. 400-1

The Word of the Father, by whom all time was created, was made flesh and was born in time for us. He, without whose divine permission no day completes its course, wished to have one day for His human birth. In the bosom of His Father He existed before all the cycles of ages; born of an earthly mother, He entered upon the course of the years on this day.

The Maker of man became man that He, Ruler of the stars, might be nourished at the breast; that He, the Bread, might be hungry; that He, the Fountain, might thirst; that He, the Light, might sleep; that He, the Way, might be wearied by the journey; that He, the Truth, might be accused by false witnesses; that He, the Judge of the living and the dead, might be brought to trial by a mortal judge; that He, Justice, might be condemned by the unjust; that He, Discipline, might be scourged with whips; that He, the Foundation, might be suspended upon a cross; that Courage might be weakened; that Security might be wounded; that Life might die.

To endure these and similar indignities for us, to free us, unworthy creatures, He who existed as the Son of God before all ages, without a beginning, deigned to become the Son of Man in these recent years. He did this although He who submitted to such great evils for our sake had done no evil and although we, who were the recipients of so much good at His hands, had done nothing to merit these benefits.

St. Augustine, Sermons on the Liturgical Seasons, Trans. Sister Mary Sarah Muldowney, R.S.M., Vol. 38 in The Fathers of the Church, ed. Roy Joseph Deferrari (New York: Fathers of the Church, Inc.), p. 28.

In his book The Life of God in the Soul of Man, Henry Scougal, the seventeenth-century Scottish minister, said, “God hath long contended with a stubborn world, and thrown down many a blessing upon them; and when all his other gifts could not prevail, he at last made a gift of himself.”

Christian Theology in Plain Language, p. 86.

• God Came Near, Max Lucado, Multnomah Press, 1987, p. 21ff, 39ff
• Cf. Swindoll, Growing Pains, p. 34.

I thought that; that day would not get here as it seemed like eternity but the day finally got here. After a night of tossing and turning, early in the morning I awoke than ran to the tree and looked under it to see what was there, as I looked, I found nothing under the tree, so I turned to my Father and asked him where is the gift that you said that you gave me he than told me that it was not under the tree but on it, as I looked up I heard these words "Father forgive them for they know not what they do? the gift was Jesus Looking down on me with love in his eyes. 

Rev .A.P.Roberts