do not celebrate christmas ...but I am glad the name of Christ is preached.....
May I try to share with you a reason to celebrate?
Luke 1:34-50 (ESV)
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34 [/SUP] And Mary said to the angel,
“How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
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35 [/SUP]
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
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36 [/SUP] And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.
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37 [/SUP]
For nothing will be impossible with God.”
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38 [/SUP] And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
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39 [/SUP] In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah,
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40 [/SUP] and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
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41 [/SUP] And
when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary,the baby leaped in her womb. And
Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,
{even John in the womb, CELEBRATED the news of the Christ Child.}
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42 [/SUP] and
she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! {So did Elizabeth CELEBRATE the news of the Christ Child.}
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43 [/SUP]
And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
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44 [/SUP] For behold,
when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
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45 [/SUP] And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
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46 [/SUP] And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
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47 [/SUP]
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, {even Mary CELEBRATED the news of the Christ Child.}
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48 [/SUP] for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
{Could that be a prophecy of CHRISTMAS, when we CELEBRATE the news of the Christ Child.}
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49 [/SUP] for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
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50 [/SUP] And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
Luke 2:4-20 (ESV)
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4 [/SUP] And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,
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5 [/SUP] to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
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6 [/SUP] And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.
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7 [/SUP] And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
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8 [/SUP] And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
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9 [/SUP] And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.
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10 [/SUP] And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold,
I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
{even Mary CELEBRATED the news of the Christ Child.}
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11 [/SUP] For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
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12 [/SUP] And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
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13 [/SUP]
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
[SUP]14 [/SUP] “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
{OH MY look, even a MULTITUDE of angels found it important to CELEBRATE the news of the Christ Child.}
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15 [/SUP] When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
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16 [/SUP] And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.
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17 [/SUP] And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
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18 [/SUP] And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.
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19 [/SUP] But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
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20 [/SUP] And
the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
{THERE is FIRST CELEBRATION OF CHRISTMAS where they were CELEBRATING the news of the Christ Child. NOW where is the verse that tells us to STOP celebrating HIS BIRTH?}
I know that the Romans had a pagan holiday that was celebrated on Dec. 25, but we do not celebrate that pagan god, we celebrate the News of the Christ Child. And the fact that the pagans had a holiday on Dec. 25 has NO BARING on our celebrating the Birth of CHRIST, because I guarantee you that there have been enough pagan false gods throughout the history of mankind to ensure that there is a Pagan holiday on all 365 days of a year. Do I believe He was born on Dec. 25th? I doubt it, because of the verse that declares the shepherds were still in the field watching their flocks, implies that it was when the grass was still green, and that is the ONLY clue to the date we have. Some years, long before Dec. 25th, the flocks would have to be corralled for the winter. Today in Bethlehem it got up to 59 degrees. My guess is it was earlier than December, but there is NO WAY OF KNOWING FOR SURE.
Dec. 13, 2013
SO why Celebrate the Birth of the CHRIST CHILD on Dec. 25th?
WHY NOT?
THE DATE IS NOT IMPORTANT, BECAUSE WE DO NOT KNOW THE DATE.
HOWEVER, THE FACT THAT THE ANGELS Joyously CELEBRATED HIS BIRTH, IS MORE THAN ENOUGH REASON
FOR US TO CONTINUE TO CELEBRATE HIS BIRTH.
Honest, I am not trying to criticize your beliefs, but I am trying to give you a reason to celebrate HIS BIRTH!
You are missing a tremendous Blessing. I have already cried many tears watching Christmas related videos that blessed me to tears, and my wife and I will watch more of them tomorrow.
[video=youtube;L-jn-EvHw_4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-jn-EvHw_4[/video]