CHRISTmas

Have you ever wondered why we celebrate Christmas? Or do you think Christmas is not even necessary?Well it's really necessary. Through this post I hope you find the reason why Christmas is important.

See Christmas is the celebration of Jesus Christ, Emmanuel God with us. If God did not send his only son there would not be a reason to celebrate Christmas. Christmas is the birthday of Jesus Christ. If you do not know what I'm talking about here it is.

 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

(Luke 1:26-33 ESV)

 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
  “Glory to God in the highest,
  and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
  When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

(Luke 2:6-21 ESV)
So this is what is called the Christmas Story. It is the story of the birth of the Savior of all. I wonder what it sounded like when the choir of angels descended and began to sing. It probably sounded pretty loud. When the shepperds heard this they might have ditched their sheep and sprinted to Bethlehem The whole story is precious and wonderful.

You know how we search and search for the perfect gift to get someone that they will love and not hate? That we hope they wanted and are happy to get it? Will there is one gift that is perfect and something that we would love. This gift is Emmanuel, God with us. The gift I'm talking about is Jesus Christ God's son. He is the perfect gift.

You see Christmas is not the same without Jesus Christ. If God did not send his only son to this earth to save us we wouldn't need Christmas. If Emmanuel didn't come we wouldn't need Christmas. Christmas is wrapped around Jesus Christ completely. This holiday is dependent on Jesus. You know how the politically correct saying now a days is "Happy Holidays?" Will I got news for them, I will be politically wrong and say Merry Christmas! When they say Merry "X-mas" they are taking Christ out of Christmas. It's sickening to see how far the country is going away from our Christian roots.

I challenge all of you to say Merry Christmas to every one and not worry about whether or not you offended people because when they say Happy Holidays they offend Christianity even if they don't realize it.

My Friends I wish you a very Merry CHRISTmas and a Happy New Years.

Got Plans?

What's your plans for life? Are they to make a family be rich and drive a nice car? Is it to be in the military and get medals? Or is it to become a movie star or pro athlete? Well let me tell you guys something, God has plans for you that is far greater than what any plans that we may have. Let's look at Jeremiah 29:11.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future."
Sounds great doesn't it? That is one of my all time favorite verses in the bible. You see, like the verse says God knows the plans that He has for you. The plans that will prosper you and not harm you. Plans that will give you hope and a future. Thats is definatly awesome!
See, God knows what you will be when you grow up.  If it's to be a movie star or a pro athlete, it will be to serve God. If it's to make a family, it's to serve God. Or if it's to join the military, it's to serve God. Finally if it's to be an evangilist, preacher, missionary or anything else like that, it's to serve God. Everything that God wants you to do or all the plans that He has for you, It's to serve, and bring glory to God. Through bringing glory and honor to God you will gain prosperity and you will gain hope with other people as well. Nothing God wants you to do will harm you, although it might test you physically, mentally and spiritualy. All that is to make you better and stronger in faith and mentally stronger.
Another verse I'd like to show you is this:
Put not your trust in princes,
  in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
  on that very day his plans perish.
(Psalm 146:3-4 ESV)
See what this means is that if you put your trust in a ruler or the government you trust them in vain. It's because one day the government will be gone. There is no need to put all your trust into a man because it is not everlasting. One day he will die and all his plans will be gone.
That does not mean you should not trust anyone. You should trust your friends and other people but not all the way. What you should do is put all your trust in God because his plans will not go away. He has salvation. He has great plans for us.

Light

What do you think of the word light? Do you think of the sun, or darkness leaving a  room? Do you think of Jesus? Jesus is the light of the world.

John 1:1-5 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." (NIV)
So what does this mean? Well first who is the Word? The Word is Jesus. Now to the other question. This means that Jesus is God and all things were made through him. It also means that Jesus is the only light that will never go out. Jesus is the light of men. He shines into the darkness and the darkness flees.
The darkness will surround us, it will seem that no hope remains. That hope is the light of the world. The only living god. The Great I Am. The light of the world will shine brighter than the morning and the evening sun. He will shine brighter than the brightest star. The darkness will turn and flee! The darkness does not have any power over you as long as God is with you. God over powers darkness. There is no other God like him.
Isaiah 9:2 "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." (NIV)
 Is that powerful or what? People walking in darkness seeing a great light? People living in the land of the shadow of death the light has dawned? That's crazy! Whose the light? Jesus! Jesus gives hope.
So remember the light and learn more of the light.