The historic record of the birth of Christ can be found in Matthew 1:18-25
and Luke 2:1-20.

Well all it's Christmas time again! You know how I know it's Christmas time? My mailbox is stuffed with junk. it's always stuffed with junk, but this junk mail has holly and pine trees and reindeers on it.

actually it's not christmas yet- in the traditional church calender this season leading up to Christmas is called Advent. Advent means 'coming' and this is the season that many churches celebrate the events leading up to the coming of Christ to the earth just over 2000 years ago. Many European cultures have special traditios during Advent, such as lighting Advent candles and singing special hymns each Sunday in Advent.

Well, our society has it's own Advent traditions, doesn't it? Most of them seem to involve stressful shopping trips, end-of-year parties, and the like. And people start talking about the spirit of Christmas (or Xmas). Listen to this ad from a newly renovated shopping complex.
"There's no better way to enjoy the spirit of Christmas than by discovering our newest and most desirable shops.' NOT!!

Another ad says " the spirit of giving means more then ever." Who are they Kidding??
What they really mean is the spirit of spending. Preferably in their store!

Here's one off the Internet, from a website advertising cross stitch pictures of Santa: 'Our magical glowing santa reflects the spirit of love and giving. He holds the star of Christmas in his hand.'

What is this spirit of Christmas that everyone is talking about?
To the department stores, or the Internet mail order companies, it's the spirit of MATERIALISM.
The spirit of XMAS simply means feeling good enough or guilty enough to go out and spend lots of money buying stuff which people don't need.

Surely there must be the something more to the spirit of Christmas than that?? Almost nowhere can you see anything to do with the real reason for the season- Jesus Christ.

Our society has almost totally secularized and materialized what was once a Christian festival. Many people in our city are happy with a Christless Christmas. or atleast a Christmas without the Christ of the bible. The Christ whose birth we read about in Matthew and Luke.
But Materialism- a life without God-can't satisfy you in the end.
It doesn't give you any hope for the future. It can't answer the big questions we all ask, like where have I come from, why am I here, and where am I going? it can't give us any valid reason for morality.
If I'm just a bunch of atoms stuck together by random evolutionary processes, if when I die that's the end, just nothing, then there is no right or wrong, nor anything to live for. IF that's true, then you may as well all go home now. There is nothing to celebrate and no hope of eternal life.
But, if the biblical picture of reality is true, Life is meaningful and hope,joy,love and peace can all be yours in Jesus Christ. And if you believe the miracle that the whole universe was created by a personal, holy, just and loving God, then the virgin birth of christ as Emanuel-
God with us-is not unreasonable to believe in.

~ Christmas is about true spirituality. it is not just a children's story or a nice myth covering a merely natural birth. Don't be intimidated by the materialism of the consumerist society around us.
We are not living in a material world. Angels are real, the virgin birth happened just like the bible says, and Jesus really is the son of God, God come to earth in human form.
Nothing less is sufficient for our Salvation......

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Duchess~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Though I have fallen, I will rise.
though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light
...He will bring me out into the light; I will see his
righteousness........... Micah 7:8-9