The Story of Christmas - No 6

This is an interesting story which sits beside the story of Jesus birth. The boy that is born turns out to be the forerunner and announcer of Jesus as Messiah. 

Read the end of the passage to discover what the boy's dad, Zecharias the old priest, thinks of Jesus (he calls him the dayspring from on high i.e. the dawn from heaven. Zecharias is teaching us that Jesus' coming would launch a new day for the world. Listen to his analysis of the outcome of the coming of Christ - 'To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace.' An amazing consequence of the coming of Christ which is based on the death and resurrection of Christ. 

Is Jesus alive?

The Lord Jesus Christ is no ordinary person. I make this statement in the present tense because I believe that the Lord Jesus is not just a figure of history but he is, today, still alive in heaven. I don't mean alive in the way we might think about a relative who has died and hope is now in heaven. As a Christian I believe people who have turned from their sin and accepted Jesus as their Saviour will be in heaven when they die but this is not my point at the moment. I mean that Jesus is alive, physically in heaven. 

The Conception and Birth of Jesus

The Conception and Birth of Jesus

I heard a discussion today on the radio about the conception and birth of Jesus. I will not relate to you what was said but very little credence was given to the record of the Bible. I don't know what you think? Read what the Bible says about the conception and birth of Jesus - it looks pretty clear to me that the claim is that Jesus was born of a virgin, Mary. IN a later blog we will discuss the significant of this.

Matthew 1:18-25

¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been ^[j]betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by [the power of] the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ And Joseph her [promised] husband, being a just and righteous man and not wanting to expose her publicly to shame, planned to send her away and divorce her quietly. ²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the Child who has been ^[k]conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a Son, and you shall name Him Jesus (The Lord is salvation), for He will ^[l]save His people from their sins.” ²² All this happened in order to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the ^[m]prophet [Isaiah]: ²³ “Behold, the ^[n]virgin shall be with child and give birth to a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel”—which, when translated, means, “God with us.” ²⁴ Then Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and he took Mary [to his home] as his wife, ²⁵ but he kept her a virgin until she had given birth to a Son [her firstborn child]; and he named Him Jesus (The Lord is salvation).

Jesus’ Birth Foretold

26 Now in the sixth month [of Elizabeth’s pregnancy] the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin [j]betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And coming to her, the angel said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was greatly perplexed at what he said, and kept carefully considering what kind of greeting this was. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 Listen carefully: you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.32 He will be great and eminent and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob (Israel) forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.”34 Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin and have no intimacy with any man?” 35 Then the angel replied to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you [like a cloud]; for that reason the holy (pure, sinless) Child shall be called the Son of God.36 And listen, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37 For with God nothing [is or ever] shall be impossible.” 38 Then Mary said, “[k]Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel left her.

Luke 1:26-66

Mary Visits Elizabeth

39 Now at this time Mary arose and hurried to the hill country, to a city of Judah (Judea), 40 and she entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, her baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered by Him. 42 And she exclaimed loudly, “Blessed [worthy to be praised] are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed [spiritually fortunate and favored by God] is she who believed and confidently trusted that there would be a fulfillment of the things that were spoken to her [by the angel sent] from the Lord.”

The Magnificat

46 And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies and exalts the Lord,
47 
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 
“For He has looked [with loving care] on the humble state of His maidservant;
For behold, from now on all generations will count me blessed and happyand favored by God!
49 
“For He who is mighty has done great things for me;
And holy is His name [to be worshiped in His purity, majesty, and glory].
50 
“And His mercy is upon generation after generation
Toward those who [stand in great awe of God and] fear Him.
from generation to generation.
51 
“He has done mighty deeds with His [powerful] arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.
52 
“He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And exalted those who were humble.
53 
“He has filled the hungry with good things;
And sent the rich away empty-handed.
54 
“He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
55 
Just as He promised to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

56 And Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months, and then returned to her home.

John Is Born

57 Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son.58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown His great mercy toward her, and they were rejoicing with her.

59 It happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child [as required by the Law], and they intended to name him Zacharias, after his father;60 but his mother answered, “No indeed; instead he will be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by that name.” 62 Then they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote as follows, “His name is John.” And they were all astonished.64 At once Zacharias’ mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began speaking, praising and blessing and thanking God. 65 Then fear came on all their neighbors; and all these things were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard these things kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this little boy turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him [to bring about his birth].

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DIY or Done - A Seek the Truth Bible Media Blog

DIY or DONE

There are thousands of DIY enthusiasts who are prepared to tackle jobs around the house themselves rather than engage the services of the experts. They purchase the requisite tools and equipment and many are confident that, given the proper instructions, they can carry out the work themselves. Others are prepared to pay extra and invite those who have the expertise and experience to do the plumbing, electrical work, lay the carpets or hang the wallpaper. They are convinced that they could never do as good a job themselves; they worry about making costly mistakes and for peace of mind they hire the services of those who carry out such work every day.

In spiritual matters it is just the same; in the ecclesiastical world, regardless of the religion, we are constantly encouraged to do, to pay, to pray, to attend, to practise and the moment will never arrive when we will know that we have achieved enough. Emphasis is laid on our input and it is a lifelong business. God is seen as demanding and difficult to satisfy; even when we have done our best we will have to wait till the day of judgment and anxiously await His assessment of our efforts.

Thankfully no such regime is endorsed by the Scriptures. The very opposite is true and the glad tidings of the gospel remind us of One, none less than the Son of God, Who came from heaven to do what we could never do and meet our need completely, leaving nothing for us to do but to trust Him. What lengths God has gone to; what expense He has borne; what He has given to save us from hell and fit us for heaven is beyond all telling. My friend, getting to heaven does not depend on what you can do for God but what He has done for you; the Lord Jesus said, "I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do" John 17.4.

Let me focus your thoughts on Calvary, the sufferings and sacrifice of the only Saviour of sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ, and remind you of what He accomplished there, that day. He undertook to bear the punishment due to our sins and to do all that God justly demanded before sinners could be pardoned and be fitted for heaven.

He took my sins and my sorrows,

He made them His very own;

He bore the burden on Calvary,

And suffered and died alone.

(Charles H Gabriel)

Just before the Saviour died, He expressed triumphantly in a loud voice, "It is finished" John 19.30. The work is done; all our efforts, no matter how earnest or sincere, will accomplish nothing, but Christ has done all that God demanded and therefore all we need. Are you prepared to take Him at His word and trust Him alone for your eternal salvation?

Faith in Christ will save thee,

Sinner, trust God’s risen Son,

Trust the work that He has done,

To His arms now quickly run

Faith in Christ will save thee.

(Robert Lowry)

Reproduced by kind permission of Assembly Testimony Magazine


For more information and further explanations of the message of the bible via videos, blogs and podcasts please visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

Are you being duped?

People love being fooled! Illusionists like Harry Houdini was a star a century ago, and even today his successors such as David Copperfield, David Blaine, Steven Frayne, etc., fascinate millions. People know that they are being deceived by these entertainers, but they adore it!

When I was a teenager, we had a neighbour called Mr. Tolly, a retired electrician. He was originally a Londoner, who as a young man worked in the very theatre in London where Harry Houdini performed. Mr. Tolly took a keen interest in how Houdini constructed and prepared his props, with all their secret compartments and hidden escape devices. Then, years later, he entertained our village by doing his own escapes from locked boxes; escaping from handcuffs, etc., at the local miners’ galas. 

Harry ‘Handcuffs’ Houdini was a Hungarian-American illusionist and stunt performer, who had originally come to fame for his escapes from police handcuffs. Actually the illusionist had studied locks all his life and had an encyclopedic knowledge of handcuffs. When challenged he looked at the cuffs and knew exactly what kind of key he needed to open them. His assistant then got the necessary key from Houdini’s huge collection and passed it to Houdini who hid it on his person, usually in his mouth. Having distracted the onlookers, he got the key out and opened the handcuffs – simple! As time went on he extended his repertoire to include chains; ropes slung from skyscrapers; straitjackets under water, and having to escape from and hold his breath inside a sealed milk churn.

One of Houdini’s famous deceptions was ‘The Hanging Straitjacket Escape’. Houdini usually performed this out on the street in front of the venue where he was performing, suspended from a crane above the gathered crowd. He had previously been tightly strapped into a straitjacket in front of the crowd and also had his ankles bound. A crane lifted him up so that the audience could see what he did, re-enforcing the impression that there was no trick to the feat and he escaped by magic. Houdini himself revealed how he escaped from such straitjackets in his 1910 book called Handcuff Escapes. The secret was creating plenty of slack in the jacket as it was strapped on. As the jacket was brought around the back, Houdini moved his arms outwards to loosen material around his chest. Houdini then held on to this slackened material, and as the jacket was buckled at the back, Houdini took a huge breath to expand his chest. Once the jacket was in place, Houdini had plenty of wiggle room. He trained and trained at this trick until he became so proficient that he reduced his escape time from half an hour to three minutes. 

All his other tricks had similar explanations, even the one where he appeared to move through a solid brick wall. What he himself called ‘the best escape that I have ever invented’ was getting out of a padlocked milk churn filled with water. Of course the churn was tampered with on the inside, so that he could easily escape! Read more at http://listverse.com/2014/11/02/10-secrets-to-harry-houdinis-greatest-illusions/.

For more information and further explanations of the message of the bible via videos, blogs and podcasts please visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk