[From Heaven to the Hay in the Heart] Part 1预览

What A Name!

Declaring that the Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace would be born in Bethlehem showed that Heaven had a plan for our salvation. That salvation was to be very personal. It came enveloped in a Person, God Himself. 

God the Son appeared as an angel in the Old Testament texts. We read in the gospels that God the Father sent angels to announce Christ’s birth. He sent angels to Mary, to Joseph, to Zechariah (John the Baptist’s father), and to the shepherds on Christmas night. Humble people receive great revelations. Christ’s birth was an angelic one. His preincarnate apparitions were those of an Angel; His annunciation was also angelic. The Angel Gabriel came to Mary telling her she was highly favored and chosen to give birth to the Savior. Shortly after, an angel spoke to Joseph to help him understand Mary’s unprecedented predicament and mission.

Bethlehem was a small town; it was also the hometown of King David. It is therefore significant that Jesus was born there, just where the Jews were expecting the Messiah to be born. The Jews were not ignorant of the prophecy concerning the exact place where the Messiah would be born. They understood what the name Jesus/Jeshua meant: Yahweh is salvation. They all called Jesus by this awesome name, which meant He was the Savior. Of course, we know that many Jews did not come to acknowledge this, but some did, and they became the foundation of the early Church. Do you acknowledge that Jesus is God? Do you recognize that He is the only way for your salvation?

The wise men from the East, known as the Magi, followed a sign from heaven, a star in the sky. Some traditions refer to the Magi as kings. The Old Testament describes kings who bring their gifts to a great ruler in Psalm 72:10−11.  Those kings came to give honor to the brightness of His rising (Isaiah 60:3).  

For centuries, Christmas has been a time to give honor to the Son of God, to render all praise to Him. Let us recover that old and good tradition and dedicate this holiday to worshipping the Messiah!

Look up. Follow the light Jesus has already shed, and you will never be lost.

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