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Why do we celebrate Christmas? (VANITY)
Vanity | 12/25/2008 | Wiley S. Pinkerton

Posted on 12/25/2008 6:09:22 AM PST by WileyPink

This is a very joyous time of year. Bright lights, carolers, gifts. But why do we celebrate Christmas? Because of the birth of Jesus...Right? Luke 2:13-14 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, (14) Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Were these heavenly host praising God because a child was born? Or were they praising God because they knew that now, finally since Adam's fall, man could be reconciled with God Himself!?

Jesus knew His mission. Peter didn't want Him to take such drastic measures but Jesus knew that He would have to "suffer many things". Mark 8:27-38 And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? (28) And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elijah; and others, One of the prophets. (29) And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. (30) And he charged them that they should tell no man of him. (31) And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. (32) And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. (33) But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savoriest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. (34) And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. (35) For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. (36) For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? (37) Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (38) Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Join me today in this celebration. God has so blessed us. Not because of the gifts that we will find under the tree this morning but because of the sacrifice that hung on the cross so that we can savor the things of God and not the things of man. He IS the Christ!

In Christ...Alone!

WileyPink


TOPICS: Apologetics; Evangelical Christian; Worship
KEYWORDS: christ; christmas

1 posted on 12/25/2008 6:09:22 AM PST by WileyPink
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To: WileyPink

Nothing but a child.


2 posted on 12/25/2008 6:23:13 AM PST by Cyber Ninja (His legacy is a stain on the dress.)
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To: WKB; tutstar; trillabodilla; del4hope; duckbutt; Fiddlstix; somniferum; WKUHilltopper; kimmie7; ...

Baptist Ping


3 posted on 12/25/2008 6:36:23 AM PST by WileyPink ("...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6b)
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To: WileyPink

Good morning, Wiley and a very Merry Christmas to you. Today I celebrate that God came to reveal Himself incarnate to us and to pave the way for us to return into a relationship.


4 posted on 12/25/2008 6:43:07 AM PST by jer33 3
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To: WileyPink
Image and video hosting by TinyPic
5 posted on 12/25/2008 7:06:03 AM PST by Cyber Ninja (His legacy is a stain on the dress.)
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To: WileyPink

You said — “Join me today in this celebration. God has so blessed us. Not because of the gifts that we will find under the tree this morning but because of the sacrifice that hung on the cross so that we can savor the things of God and not the things of man. He IS the Christ!”

I’m thinking that too many people are thinking about Jesus as the “baby in the manger” along with “... And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

WELL..., Jesus also said...

Luke 12:49-53

49 “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!

50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!

51 Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division.

52 For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three.

53 Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

And with that, I post the “Christmas message” that we should *really* be thinking about this Christmas Day, instead of “peace on earth”.... (which is not coming, first, according to the Bible...)


I think that the message of Christmas, these present days, should be made to be one of “Prepare for the Coming Judgement from Jesus Christ” — and not “Peace be Unto You Brother...”

That’s because the coming Jesus Christ (which is not too long from now, as we are in that time when He is returning) — He is going to be the One who comes as Conquering King and going to *war* with the enemies of God, killing millions and billions of people in the battle He directly engages in with the people on this earth.

Those enemies will be the enemies of Israel and the one who say they will kill all the Jews in the world (in their “last day” as they put it). This Jesus will be killing millions upon millions of Muslims — so much so that He returns to Jerusalem, after the battle, with blood splattered over His garments from this horrendously bloody fight.

This is the Jesus that one should be mentioning during this Christmas time, as we are very close to His coming again, to set up His Kingdom on this earth, ruling and reigning from Jerusalem, in His world-wide government and over all the people of the earth.

This is the Jesus that we should be thinking about now, because we are very close to that Jesus, as we think about this Christmas day, today...

We are now living in the time for which more is said in the Bible than the time when Jesus came the first time (about two times as much said about these times than the time when Jesus came the first time).

The time we are in, now, is when Jesus will be returning again, setting up His Kingdom on earth, ruling over the nations, from His world-wide government in Israel. We are in the time of the final fulfillment of prophecy.

Now is the time to shift from the focus of when Jesus was born, to the focus of — this is the time Jesus is returning. When He returns, he will be returning as a conquering King — and He will be righteously angry at the Muslims. When He returns, he will go into battle with those nations and peoples who have tried to destroy Israel, and upon returning from that battle, his garments will be splattered with the blood of the millions upon millions that He will have killed.

That’s when He returns to Israel and sets up the Kingdom, that world-wide government, in which He rules with a rod of iron.

I think we had better be thinking about the conquering King, going into battle and killing millions of people — instead of the baby Jesus, slumbering peacefully...

Isaiah 9:6-7

For unto us a Child is born.
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

That peace comes only after 2/3 of the world’s population is killed in the judgements of God and only after Jesus goes to battle against the Muslims and those nations who wish to destroy Israel and kill all Jews.

Psalm 83

1 A Song. A Psalm of Asaph. Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, And do not be still, O God!

2 For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; And those who hate You have lifted up their head.

3 They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, And consulted together against Your sheltered ones.

4 They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”

5 For they have consulted together with one consent; They form a confederacy against You:

6 The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagrites;

7 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;

8 Assyria also has joined with them; They have helped the children of Lot. Selah

9 Deal with them as with Midian, As with Sisera, As with Jabin at the Brook Kishon,

10 Who perished at En Dor, Who became as refuse on the earth.

11 Make their nobles like Oreb and like Zeeb, Yes, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,

12 Who said, “Let us take for ourselves The pastures of God for a possession.”

13 O my God, make them like the whirling dust, Like the chaff before the wind!

14 As the fire burns the woods, And as the flame sets the mountains on fire,

15 So pursue them with Your tempest, And frighten them with Your storm.

16 Fill their faces with shame, That they may seek Your name, O Lord.

17 Let them be confounded and dismayed forever; Yes, let them be put to shame and perish,

18 That they may know that You, whose name alone is the Lord, Are the Most High over all the earth.

Psalm 2

1 Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing?

2 The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,

3 “Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.”

4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision.

5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure:

6 “Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.”

7 “I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.

8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.

9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ “
10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth.

11 Serve the Lord with fear, And rejoice with trembling.

12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

Think about His coming again and coming to make war...


6 posted on 12/25/2008 7:15:45 AM PST by Star Traveler
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To: Star Traveler
...and He will be righteously angry at the Muslims.

Not just the Muslims; all those who have heard His message and denied Him; those who used His name solely for self aggrandizement, the whited sepulchers, and many others.

Yet the wondrous gift of forgiveness is offered to all who accept Him. Pray for our Muslim enemies, that many will accept the gift.

7 posted on 12/25/2008 7:45:51 AM PST by JimRed ("Hey, hey, Teddy K., how many girls did you drown today?" TERM LIMITS, NOW AND FOREVER!)
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To: WileyPink
You have it right - Christ is the reason for the season. Eventually, He will bring peace, but not before it gets really, really bad.

But, we who have accepted Him as our Lord and Savior have joy because we know where we will be for Eternity - with Him!

God Bless and Merry Christmas!

8 posted on 12/25/2008 7:55:51 AM PST by trebb ("I am the way... no one comes to the Father, but by me..." - Jesus in John 14:6 (RSV))
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To: JimRed

Yes, it’s true that it’s not just the Muslims — and that anyone who has refused God’s “gracious gift” of salvation by His Son, Jesus Christ (which was a high price to be paid on Calvary) — they will be judged, too.

Here we see the Sheep and Goat judgement...

Matthew 25:31-46

31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.

32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.

33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.

34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;

36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

37 Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?

38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?

39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’

40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

41 Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:

42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;

43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

44 Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’

45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’

46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

[Jesus’ “brethren” are the Jews..., for clarification...]

And so, we are also going to see this “separating out” of the people who “still remain alive” (after the 4 billion plus people on earth are killed). So, that’s true that many others are included.

But, the focus here is that God and Jesus Christ are intensely jealous of Jerusalem and are intensely and righteously angry — *especially* and more so — at those who would try to destroy Israel as a nation among the nations of the world and would try to kill (expressly so) Jesus’ brethren (as opposed to only rejecting “salvation” for example). So, Jesus is going to be so much *more* judgemental and intense at those Muslim nations and Muslim populations around Israel (trying to push Israel and the Jews into the sea). These peoples and nations will be utterly destroyed, at the time that Jesus Christ returns...

In other words, you *do not* want to be a Muslim at that time or living in a Muslim nation, because the people and those nations will be totally and utterly destroyed and obliterated.


9 posted on 12/25/2008 8:29:54 AM PST by Star Traveler
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To: WileyPink

I always liked this story by Joseph Farah saying the reasons Jesus MIGHT ACTUALLY BEEN BORN ON DEC 25th!

You hear so many people say that this birth date is impossible it is good once in a while to consider the contrarian view:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=25819


10 posted on 12/25/2008 12:43:09 PM PST by ChinaGotTheGoodsOnClinton (To those who believe the world was safer with Saddam, get treatment for that!)
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