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Merry Christmas! I pray this season will be filled with the Lord's Presence and joy for you and your family.
However, I realize this is a stressful and painful time for many. Unrealized expectations, past sorrows, etc., can make what is supposed to be a joyous season a real bummer. If this is true for you or someone you know, or even a person you meet during this holiday season, the cause and cure are relatively simple.
Christmas is either very special or a real pain simply because of the way we view it. Literally it's all in our minds. A negative event that happens at Christmas (divorce, break-up, loss, one acting rude) is much more emotionally charged than say if it happened in midsummer. It's
all because we EXPECT Christmas to be magical.
We were led to believe in childhood that at Christmas our dreams come true, people will act awesome, and a man will bring us everything we want on Christmas Eve night. But we aren't people of magic. We are of the Holy Spirit, the One true supernatural aspect in life. He responds to our faith in the Word of God, not our magical childhood thinking and expectations!
In any and every situation, the one question to answer is, "What does God say?" Is it any wonder then that even the Christmas message from the Bible has been corrupted with false teachings and untruths. If we are going to experience the Supernatural God, we must know what His Word says about everything. False beliefs will kill you. Hosea 4:6
I thought then, it would be interesting for us to look at some of the false ideas about Christmas and Jesus' birth. It will be good practice for reviewing everything we believe about other things. I will give you the cure for your Christ-mess at the end.
XMAS MYTHS
There's no scriptural evidence to celebrate Jesus birth on Dec 25th.
The Bible doesn't say on what date He was born.
"Xmas" is not a secular attempt to remove Christ.
The X comes from the Greek abbreviation for "Christ".
(And for the record...the peace sign isn't a distorted cross. It's a combination of two flag signals used in the military that peaceniks put together to stand for nuclear disarmament. <--free trivia.) Christians get stirred up about the most trivial things. ☮
Mary and Joseph didn't go to a La Quinta looking for a room.
The word "inn" in the bible means "guest room in a house". It usually was an upper room in a private home. There was no room for them because most likely other family members arrived before them for the census. The "hotels" (Inns) of their day were often of ill-repute, so they probably wouldn't have inquired at one anyway. The Bible never mentions an innkeeper in the narrative.
Jesus wasn't born in a manger and probably not in a barn.
We imply that from our own minds. He was more than likely born in the house outside of the normal guest quarters where they were staying, but yes, was laid in a manger.
A brief word about the Christmas carol Away in a Manger. (deep sigh) Really?? Part of the song says, "The little Lord Jesus no crying he makes?" Seriously? Sweet lyrics, but unrealistic. Ok. No more rant.
The Christmas Star didn't appear the night of Jesus birth. It actually appeared over the house somewhat later. The shepherds were sent by angels to the manger. They didn't see a bright shining star. They did however see a host of angels making joyful proclamations. Luke 2:7-12 But it doesn't say the angels sang.
The Bible doesn't say there were three wise men.
It says, "Magi from the East arrived in Jerusalem...and they brought gold, frankincense and myrrh." Matthew 2:1,11 We probably get the idea of three kings from the Christmas carol We Three Kings or from the fact that there were three gifts.
The Wise Men (Magi) didn't come to the manger scene. It probably was a month or so afterwards when they visited. They came to a house. So we need to leave that out of the manger scene in the Xmas plays. Matthew 2:11
If Jesus Christ is truly the focus, Christmas won't be a mess. It will be peaceful, joyful full of love, and orderly. That's not to say that the evil one won't try to disrupt it, but we have peace despite him!
Have realistic expectations about the Holiday Season. What does God want and expect? It's not really about others expectations or even our own. Keep Jesus the focus. Lower the holiday hype level in your mind. December 25th is no different than March 25th in reality. Enjoy the holiday by putting on love. Make it about others and not yourself. That's the Jesus way.
Ask Him to heal you of your holiday related pain. He can do it. He will do it. But you have to start seeing things realistically, and that means through God's eyes and His Words.
Have a joyful Holiday!
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