The Intersection of
Life, Faith, Technology, & Science

You may have been busy during the past several days. Personally, I have travelled in 5 different states over two days with my beautiful wife and my parents to my brother's new home. Mary, thank you for putting up with that.

I'd like to take a minute to wish you the fullness of all that this holiday has to offer. The fullness prophesied about 2,600 years ago by Isaiah:

The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
You shall multiply the nation,
You shall increase their gladness;
They will be glad in Your presence
As with the gladness of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. Isaiah 9:2-3 (NASB)

Furthermore, Isaiah prophesied:

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this. Isaiah 9:6-7 (NASB)

The prophesy of Isaiah was fulfilled around 2,000 years ago. While we do not know the exact date, the early church leaders decided to take the coldest and darkest part of the year to celebrate the time when the light came to shine on us. That light is the Christ-child, whose birth is the reason for the holiday of Christmas. Strip away the toys that will become boring, the electronics that will break, and the clothing that will wear out, and we are left with Him: Jesus Christ, who came to give a dark world a great light that we could not provide for ourselves. May the peace, love, and joy of the Christ-child fill your heart this holiday season and always. May you and your family have a joyful, peaceful, and wonderful Christmas.

You may enjoy Rob's sharing of a telling of the Christmas story.

Labels: Christianity, Christmas

As I look at that title, I am not sure I like it. We don't know when Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Mary, who was engaged (and later married) to Joseph, was born exactly. The Gospel of Luke records:

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. (Chapter 2, verses 1-7, NASB)

However, I would be terribly remiss if I did not wish you a Merry Christmas and share with you this good news:

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:8-11, NASB)

Yes, that small child, laid in a manger, grew up and became a gift: the unspeakable, indescribable gift that I mentioned previously. I re-read II Corinthians 9:15 in a number of translations for a Communion Meditation I gave this morning, and I'd like to share the two I found to be the most descriptive:

• Thank God for this gift, his gift. No language can praise it enough! (The Message)
• Let us give thanks to God for his gift. It is so great that no one can tell how wonderful it really is! (New International Reader's Version)

Andrew posted a link to a wonderful post entitled "As Christmas Approaches" by Richard Hall, who is a Methodist minister across the pond. I also found a number of other good posts about Christmas by Richard, but I am still wondering about Peter using the word "daft". On that note:

Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noel! Feliz Navidad! Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Labels: Christianity, Christmas, faith