He Reigns!

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Focus on Jesus


“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
~Micah 5:2

I’ve noticed on Facebook recently there have been a number of posts about saying Merry Christmas instead of happy holidays or season’s greetings. Apparently, Merry Christmas has become offensive to some, although I’m not sure why. Personally, I’ve always said Merry Christmas and always will, but I still wonder why people who don’t believe in Christ bother to celebrate Christmas at all. The word Christmas is a conjunction of two words – Christ and Mass, or a Mass in honor of the Christ. There are two beliefs where the date of Christmas came from. The first is that the pagan’s celebrated Yule, which was illegal, so the church decided to Christianize the holiday by making it Christ’s birthday. The other is that a popular holiday in the Roman Empire, dies solis invicti nati (“day of the birth of the unconquered sun”) was celebrated on December 25, and the Christianizing of that holiday related “sun” and “Son” and therefore, Christmas was born. Widespread celebration of Christmas did not occur until the late 9th century when churches held candlelight services at midnight on the 24th by reading verses and praying. This was the beginning of the service Catholic churches call ‘midnight Mass.’ Protestant churches adopted a similar service but held it at dawn on the 25th, and many churches continue to have “Sunrise Services.” Whatever the actual origins of celebrating December 25th as Christ’s birthday, it is still the day we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. So however you choose to celebrate, wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and remember, God loves you!

“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So, we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him (1 John 4:14-16).” 

Read Revelation 9


©2018 Marie McGaha

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comment. I appreciate you taking the time to stop by!