When we read of God’s creating man in His image, giving man dominion over all the earth and over every creeping thing, we see part of God’s intention for the purpose of man. God placed Adam in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. (Genesis 1:26 and 2:17) In Genesis 2 verse 18, the Lord noted that it was not good for man to be alone. God formed every beast and bird out of the ground, and brought them to Adam. Adam, named them, however, there was no suitable companion for him, thus God created Eve. In Chapter 3 of Genesis, we read of the appearance of the serpent, (identified in Revelation 12:9 as Satan himself in corporeal form) in the garden. The serpent deceived and tempted Eve and sin entered the world as she and Adam disobeyed God’s command and ate the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden.

God is holy and sin separates man from right relationship with God. The only sacrifice that could atone for that sin was a blood sacrifice of a perfect (without spot or wrinkle) lamb.

However, it was revealed to us that immediately following man’s fall, God had a plan. In Genesis 3:15 as the Lord was speaking to the serpent concerning what he had done, God said, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed (offspring) and her Seed (Jesus), He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” The word ‘bruise’, sup in the Hebrew means crush or overwhelm. Rosh, translated ‘head’ means: leader, chief, and head. God informed the devil then, that the day would come when the woman’s offspring, Jesus Christ, would crush him.

As we read on in the Scriptures, we see the prophetic messages given concerning this event which would come in God’s time or as we read ‘in the fulness of time.”

We read in what the Lord spoke to Abram in Genesis 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

We also read this prophetic word in Isaiah 59:1, “The Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, neither his ear heavy that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” Then on to verse 16, in the same chapter, we further read, “And he saw that there was no man and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness ; it sustained him.” The New Spirit Filled Life Bible textural notes for verses 16 through 21 reads: “Finding no human intercessor qualified to represent fallen Israel, the Lord provides His own salvation. This section is messianic, referring to the salvation wrought by God. Isaiah 59:21a, ”As for Me," says the LORD, "this is My covenant with them..” The word covenant in the Hebrew, beriyth, means promise.

We read this prophetic word in Isaiah 9:6 and7, “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. 7 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.”

Isaiah 11:1 foretells: “There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, A Branch shall grow out of his roots.” Revelation 5:5 reveals, “But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals." Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Another prophetic word found in Isaiah 61:1 reveals, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.” We see a record of the fulfillment of this word in Luke 4: 17,18, 20 and 21 regarding Jesus, “And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: 18 "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; ... 20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

Remember, we said earlier that God’s promise to Abram, who was renamed to Abraham, was that all the families of the earth would be blessed in him? Jesus the Messiah, came through Abraham’s descendants, through, Jesse and King David’s lineage, through the Jewish people.

As we approach the celebration of the most popular and celebrated holiday all around the world, Christmas, we realize, depending on where we live, we might hear: “Feliz Navidad” (Spanish), “Joyeux Noell” French), “Frohe Weihnachten” (German), “Meri Kurisumasu” (Japanese), “Kala Christougenna” (Greek), “Gia ng sinh viu ve” (Vietnamese), “Krismasi njema (Swahili) or hundreds of other languages. Yes, Christmas is celebrated all around the world. Praise God, John 3:16 reveals, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

The word ‘Christmas’ had it’s origin from the Old English term, “Cristes Maerre” which means Christ mass. That phrase means ‘a celebration of the Lord Jesus Christ.’ His birth is celebrated to recognize the fulfillment of the long awaited promise to those who would believe.

It is important that we understand why it was necessary for Jesus, the Son of God, to be born a physical man, in a fallen world. Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”, gives us this understanding. Jesus was the perfect Lamb of God, Who could be that sacrifice that would pay sin’s penalty.

Oh, this is so wonderful, remember what the Lord told satan after the fall? The Lord told satan that He had a plan to save mankind from their sin and rebellious ways.

God declared through His messengers in His Word that Jesus would save us from our sins. We see this truth in Matthew 1:20-23, “But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins." 22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."

Galatians 1:3-5, “Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen”

1 Peter 2:24a, “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree.”

Titus 2:14 (NLT), “He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.

Christmas is the celebration of Jesus’ birth which took place so He could redeem us from sin and make a way for us to have peace with God! Romans 5:1, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

Christmas is the moment when God’s plan of redemption was fulfilled!

Christmas is not about business profits, shopping, gifts, tinsel, toys, having parties, or materialism, Santa Claus, elves or reindeer.

Billy Graham is quoted as saying, “Christmas heralds the entrance of God into human history. Shepherds heard angels that night proclaim the true meaning, “Fear not, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all people.” (Luke 2). Matthew 1:23 reads, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." It is a glorious reality!”

We celebrate His birth! Without His willingness to leave heaven, come to be born as a man, and sacrifice his life to pay the penalty for our sin, we would forevermore be lost in our sins and separated from God. He alone was worthy! 1 John 3:15 (Amplified Bible), “ You know that He appeared [in visible form as a man] in order to take away sins; and in him there is [absolutely] no sin [for He has neither the sin nature nor has he committed sin or acts worthy of blame].”

For you, as a Christian, it is a time to reflect and celebrate the significance of Jesus’ birth!

Christmas is to be a celebration of God’s love for the world!

If you are going through a struggle during this time, I pray that God, Who sent His Son, our Hope, to us during this season, will reveal Himself to you in a special way. I pray He will minister to you His comfort, protection, provision, love, and peace, the peace that passes all understanding. Know that He is ever present and will keep you in His care.

May the pouring out of His love and presence upon you be your greatest gift this year.

Unless noted all scriptures are taken from the New King James Version.

NLT New Living Translation