March 2010 April 2010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010
August 2010
September 2010 October 2010 November 2010 December 2010 January 2011 February 2011 March 2011 April 2011 May 2011 June 2011 July 2011 August 2011 September 2011 October 2011 November 2011 December 2011 January 2012 February 2012 March 2012 April 2012 May 2012 June 2012 July 2012 August 2012 September 2012 October 2012 November 2012 December 2012 January 2013 February 2013 March 2013 April 2013 May 2013 June 2013 July 2013 August 2013 September 2013 October 2013 November 2013 December 2013 January 2014 February 2014 March 2014 April 2014 May 2014 June 2014 July 2014 August 2014 September 2014 October 2014 November 2014 December 2014 January 2015 February 2015 March 2015 April 2015 May 2015 June 2015 July 2015 August 2015 September 2015 October 2015 November 2015 December 2015 January 2016 February 2016 March 2016 April 2016 May 2016 June 2016 July 2016 August 2016 September 2016 October 2016 November 2016 December 2016 January 2017 February 2017 March 2017 April 2017 May 2017 June 2017 July 2017 August 2017 September 2017 October 2017 November 2017 December 2017 January 2018 February 2018 March 2018 April 2018 May 2018 June 2018 July 2018 August 2018 September 2018 October 2018 November 2018 December 2018 January 2019 February 2019 March 2019 April 2019 May 2019 June 2019 July 2019 August 2019 September 2019 October 2019 November 2019 December 2019 January 2020 February 2020 March 2020 April 2020 May 2020 June 2020 July 2020 August 2020 September 2020 October 2020 November 2020 December 2020 January 2021 February 2021 March 2021 April 2021 May 2021 June 2021 July 2021 August 2021 September 2021 October 2021 November 2021 December 2021 January 2022 February 2022 March 2022 April 2022 May 2022 June 2022 July 2022 August 2022 September 2022 October 2022 November 2022 December 2022 January 2023 February 2023 March 2023 April 2023 May 2023 June 2023 July 2023 August 2023 September 2023 October 2023 November 2023 December 2023 January 2024 February 2024 March 2024 April 2024 May 2024 June 2024 July 2024 August 2024 September 2024 October 2024 November 2024 December 2024
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26
27
28
29
30
31
News Every Day |

Why Christmas and the birth of Jesus are all about hope, peace, joy and love

The Advent season is about preparing our hearts, minds and souls to welcome the birth of the King of Kings. It is those magical and mystical weeks after Thanksgiving that lead to Christmas — and as Pastor Max Lucado has said, Advent is to Christmas what Lent is to Easter. 

The two big Christian holy days are eternally linked. Lucado told Fox News, "Christmas begins what Easter celebrates."  

Christmas is about the birth of Jesus. Easter is about what He was born to do.

ADVENT REMINDER: JESUS CHRIST BROUGHT ‘TRUE PEACE’ TO THE WORLD, SAYS TEXAS PASTOR

In the last few decades, that knowledge has taken a back seat to the hustle and bustle of shopping, parties and Santa Claus. Even the "comfort and joy" heralded is more about general feelings of delight and glee than the meaning of the birth of the Lion of Judah.  

As one theologian said, all of these things are fine — but we should remember that they all flow from one event: the birth of the Savior.

Just as with the meaning of each Advent candle, there are four things to keep us laser-focused on what Christmas is all about — and what it leads us to know and understand. 

They are the hope prophesied in the Old Testament; the peace of the Incarnation; the joy it brings; the love we can experience — and Jesus Christ as the culmination of all. 

When the first candle was lit, it begins the hope that is in every human heart, that there is a love that surpasses all understanding. That hope has its origins in the Old Testament. 

Woven through the Bible's Old Testament are hundreds of prophecies that tell of a Messiah, a Savior, that will be born sometime in the future. Many of the prophecies, like those in Isaiah, were written centuries before the birth of Jesus. 

MARTIN SCORSESE PROFILES ST. MAXIMILIAN KOLBE, PATRON SAINT OF PRISONERS AND DRUG ADDICTS

Cumulatively, they predict the conditions of His birth, meek and lowly; the location of His birth, Bethlehem; to whom He will be born, a virgin; and what He is coming to do — the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Hank Hanegraaff, the Bible Answer Man, said that if we just look at the geneology of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — through to the tribe of Judah and the royal line of King David, King Solomon and continuing up to the beginning of the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew — Jesus is the strongest candidate for this Messianic figure. 

Hanegraaff says, "The lineage is so precise that no imposter can walk through the doorway of that prophecy."  

Theologians aren't all in agreement as to how many of the Old Testament prophecies Jesus fulfills. It could be anywhere from 100 to 400. 

However, evangelist Anne Graham Lotz, the daughter of Billy Graham, says Isaiah's prophetic voice is one that many are familiar with. 

Says Graham, "That there would come the Messiah who would be a wonderful counselor, Almighty God, Prince of Peace, Everlasting Father — and by His stripes we would be healed."

One of the strongest ties from the Old to New Testament, says Lotz, is the Exodus, in which the Israelites were told to put the blood of a lamb on the doorpost so the angel of death would pass over. The Israelites would be saved by putting themselves under the protection of the blood of a lamb.

JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS, HUSBAND RECEIVES MIRACULOUS ‘GODWINK’: ‘COMPLETELY HEALED’

For centuries after the Exodus, Jews remembered the Passover by sacrificing a lamb. The sacrificial lambs had to be without blemish. So the shepherds, who watched after these animals, wrapped their legs with strips of cloth, aka swaddling cloths, to protect them from injury.

It was a dirty job, tending the sheep. It was also considered defiling. So shepherds were not allowed into the temple where the sacrifices took place.    

A little more than 2,000 years ago, the Bible says when the angels came to announce the birth of Jesus, they came first to those shepherds tending the sheep.

From Luke 2:10-14:  "Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.’"

Says Lotz, "They were in the fields outside of Bethlehem. That's where the Passover lambs were kept. And so God … was announcing to these shepherds who watched over the Passover lambs that would be sacrificed in the temple, that the Passover lamb had been born."

As for the strips of cloth, the swaddling clothes — this is how the shepherds would know this was the long-awaited Messiah, the Lamb of God.  

There are many historians and archeologists who doubt the Bible's account of the Exodus. That would mean, if the account of a mass migration of tens of thousands of Jews is not true, then it would also negate much of the biblical narrative, including the sacrificing of the lambs.

But investigative filmmaker Tim Mahoney says there is evidence of the Exodus. Mahoney is the director and producer of "Patterns of Evidence: Exodus." 

3 ADVENT FOOD TRADITIONS, EACH ‘WITH ITS OWN STORY,’ FROM AROUND THE WORLD

He said on a recent episode of the "Lighthouse Faith" podcast, "I can tell you that there's archeological evidence of a smiting of the Egyptians. And then in our films, it shows that this group of people just leave."

Mahoney added, "And so the evidence in the Old Testament is there for setting up this understanding that there would need to be a sacrificial lamb. And that is, you know, the story of Christ coming to be this pure, part-man, part-God being who would be sacrificed for our sins."

The second Advent candle gives us the peace our heart craves. But it can only happen when we understand the Incarnation. 

While the birth of Jesus describes what happened that first Christmas, it's the Incarnation that tells us what it means. 

It means that the Creator of the Universe took on human flesh and made His dwelling among us. 

This is the part that separates Christianity from every other religion.

The Gospel of John tells it most poignantly by echoing the opening of Genesis, "In the beginning was the Word and the word was with God and the Word was God." 

A more probing analysis of that line finds that the Greek word for "word" in most English translations doesn't really get to the heart of what John is telling us. 

The Greek word for "word" is Logos. It means far more than words on a paper or even the spoken word.

MARTIN SCORCESE BRINGS ST. SEBASTIAN'S STORY OF STEADFAST FAITH, MARTYRDOM, TO FOX NATION

The Logos is the underlying reality that is holding up the world. It means the science, the philosophy, the nature of the physical world as well as all that we experience — they meet as one in this Logos. 

And what John is saying is that this Logos took on human flesh and made His "dwelling among us."

Further scrutiny reveals much about the word "dwelling." Some translations will use the word "tabernacled," which divulges a tie to its historical context. 

"And the Word [Logos] became flesh and Tabernacled among us."  

The Tabernacle of Moses was the portable tent and mobile temple. It was the Israelites' dwelling place for God as they wandered in the wilderness. The Incarnation, "God with us," means God dwells within. He is the living and breathing Tabernacle.

Hanegraaff says this is no small matter: "This is not just an event. It's not just a discussion. It's the discussion. The Incarnation separates all of human history."

Christianity makes a claim that no other religion makes, that Jesus IS God. It's not that Jesus has divine qualities or is divinely inspired. He is God come to us in human form.

One pastor said, "You can reject the claims, but don't mistakenly believe Jesus is just a teacher or adviser."

Said Timothy Keller, "The Gospel is Good News, not good advice." The Gospel is the Good News of what God has done to save us, not a set of teachings about how we can save ourselves.    

Keller was the founder of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City; he passed away in 2023

CHRISTIAN AUTHOR, FAMED PASTOR RECEIVING HOSPICE CARE AT HOME: ‘CAN’T WAIT TO SEE JESUS'

In his 1991 sermon "God With Us," he revealed why people shouldn't be offended at Christianity's exclusive claims. He also understood how those claims don't sit well in a pluralistic culture in which all religions are treated equally.

Said Keller, "Every other religion says morality and goodness is enough ... Christianity comes along and says, ‘No. Your situation is so dire that morality and goodness will never be enough. The unique Son of God had to come and die for you and you have to put all your hope and trust in Him.’"

Keller said this is not narrowness. Instead, "it's a radically different diagnosis of your problem."

For example, he said, "Suppose you were sick and you'd gone to see several other doctors. And every one of them said, 'It's not serious, just rest and drink lots of fluids and you'll be fine.' But what if I came along, and I'm a doctor and I say to you, 'The other doctors are wrong. You are terminal unless you take this particular medicine.' How would you respond to me? Would you say, 'I don't want to deal with you because you're narrow-minded'? No. You'd say, 'You're either right or you're wrong, but you're not narrow-minded. I need to find out if you're right.'"

Said Keller, "I may be  crazy, or I may be a liar, or I may be right. But it has nothing do with narrowness."

The third Advent candle is about Joy. 

There's certainly a lot of it in New York City, though it's considered one of the most secular places in the world. Yet it is known as one of the top cities to visit for Christmas, regardless of a person's religious background.

Among the options every December, thousands attend the "Messiah" sing-along at Lincoln Center. 

People of different cultures, races and religions come together armed with their own vocal scores to sing what could be considered a divinely ordained musical masterpiece.

The libretto of George Friedrich Handel's "Messiah" is a version of the biblical narrative of redemption, a compilation of Old and New Testament verses of Scripture that talk of this Messiah, Christ the Lord, who comes to us. 

"He shall purify the sons of Levi" — that "surely, He has born our griefs and carried our sorrows." And of course, "Hallelujah, the Kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. And He shall reign forever and ever." 

Handel's "Messiah" is the luxury car version of the Christmas carol. But carols are just as theologically rich with the reality of Christmas.

SOUP AT PASTOR'S CHRISTMAS POT LUCK GOES VIRAL: 'IT'S MY FAVE FOOD'

"Joy to the World, The Lord is come ... Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns ... No more let sin and sorrow grow ... He comes to make these blessings flow, Far as the curse [sin] is found."

Pastor Lucado says that while Christmas has gotten overly commercialized with all the buying and selling, the Christmas carols piped into retail outlets are opportunities for people to hear the Christmas story. Says Lucado, "You know, when I go into a shopping mall and I hear ‘Silent Night’ [and other songs], there's Gospel in those songs."

As the fourth Advent candle is lit and we look at Christmas Eve, it is time to see the fullness of this event.   

Lucado says forgetting that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus would be like forgetting the Fourth of July is about the founding of America

Says Lucado, "Can you imagine if all of a sudden on the 4th of July we could not mention the United States or the birth of our country? Even if you're not pro-American, you acknowledge that the reason this event happens is the birth of our country."

In the end, says Lucado, "the Christmas story is about a narrative that no human being could have ever imagined: It's about our great Creator, our blessed Lord, the God who has always been, who has all power, and who holds the entire universe in the palm of his hand." 

He said, "God loved us so much that He chose to enter the world, but not as a king or as an emperor, but as a baby. And not just as a baby — but in the most humble circumstances imaginable."

Lucado is a bestselling author whose books have sold over 150 million copies. He spoke on the "Lighthouse Faith" podcast recently, saying the most important thing to remember about Christmas is that this is about hope and love. 

Jesus was not born in a chalet or in a palace, or in a large city like Rome or Athens, but born instead in some forgotten little one-camel town called Bethlehem. 

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER

He entered the world through the birth canal of a simple Jewish girl into the calloused hands of a simple carpenter.

Says Lucado, "The way He entered the world is, to me, the message of Christmas, that He would so love us, that He would become like us. And that He would so be like us. That there would never be a person who would say, ‘Jesus cannot understand me.’"

He added, "Because if you're poor ... Jesus has been poor. If you're forgotten ... Jesus was forgotten. If you're cold ... Jesus was cold. Everything that any human could ever experience, our Savior experienced."

Lucado also said, "That's the message of Christmas — how far Christ would go to reach the people he loves." The message of Christmas is, "For God so loved the world..."

For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle

The fifth and final Advent candle, of course, is the one we light on Christmas Eve. 

This candle represents Jesus — the culmination of the previous four. He is our hope, our Peace, our Joy, and our Love.

Москва

Кардиохирурга из Москвы отправили на четыре года в колонию за финансирование ФБК*

'Not sending Gukesh to school was tough call': Mother

'Ashwin retirement start of team's transition, next 3 weeks...'

Pujara's game plan: How to counter India's 'headache' - Travis Head?

PV Sindhu marries Venkata Datta, look at first pic

Ria.city






Read also

Spain’s monarch pays tribute to the victims of Valencia floods in his Christmas Eve speech

Idaho murders: Bryan Kohberger investigated for another home invasion prior to campus slayings

Un niño muere cada hora en Gaza, advierte director de agencia de la ONU

News, articles, comments, with a minute-by-minute update, now on Today24.pro

News Every Day

'Ashwin retirement start of team's transition, next 3 weeks...'

Today24.pro — latest news 24/7. You can add your news instantly now — here


News Every Day

PV Sindhu marries Venkata Datta, look at first pic



Sports today


Новости тенниса
WTA

Елена Рыбакина проводит 100-ю неделю подряд в топ-10 рейтинга WTA



Спорт в России и мире
Москва

10 копеек



All sports news today





Sports in Russia today

Москва

«Жду не дождусь дебюта за «Динамо» Подъяпольского»


Новости России

Game News

My Town: гараж и мойка 7.02.01


Russian.city


Москва

Стройматериалы оптом – надежный партнер для вашего бизнеса


Губернаторы России
PR time

Премьера детское шоу “Щенки Спасатели: Вперед в Новый Год” 31 декабря ДК им. Ленсовета


Филиал № 4 ОСФР по Москве и Московской области информирует: Социальный фонд упрощает работодателям возмещение затрат на охрану труда

Омск получил звание «Культурная столица года – 2026»

Филиал № 4 ОСФР по Москве и Московской области информирует: В 2024 году Отделение СФР по Москве и Московской области назначило единое пособие родителям 370,5 тысячи детей

Около 1,8 тысячи жителей трех округов столицы приступают к переселению по реновации


Создании ИИ клипа. Создание клипа с помощью нейросети.

Сергей Шнуров заявил, что Инстасамка слабо поет

Карди Би в тотал-леопарде и Джессика Альба в старомодном платье: 5 худших образов недели

Мариинка проведет посвященный Римскому-Корсакову и его ученикам вечер


«Соколиная» охота: команда Рублева взяла титул на World Tennis League

Путинцева высказалась о переезде в Казахстан

Юлия Путинцева раскрыла планы после ухода из большого спорта

Юлия Путинцева раскрыла правду про отношения с Еленой Рыбакиной



Стройматериалы оптом – надежный партнер для вашего бизнеса

Более 230 работодателей Москвы и Московской области получили субсидии за трудоустройство новых сотрудников по программе субсидирования найма

Свыше 6,5 тысячи жителей Москвы и Московской области получили справки о статусе предпенсионера в клиентских службах регионального Отделения СФР и МФЦ

С начала 2024 года более 2,5 тысячи многодетных мам в Московском регионе досрочно вышли на пенсию


Певица Семенович посетила пункт отбора на военную службу по контракту

Создание ИИ клипа. Создание клипа с помощью нейросети.

Сотрудники СОБР и ОМОН подмосковного главка Росгвардии прошли испытания на право ношения знака отличия полицейского спецназа

«Жду не дождусь дебюта за «Динамо» Подъяпольского»


Москомэкспертиза согласовала проект детского сада с бассейном в Коммунарке

Хазин рассказал, где лучше всего хранить деньги в 2025 году

Хабаровский край опустился до 73 места в рейтинге креативных регионов России

Это не бизнес, а наше детище



Путин в России и мире






Персональные новости Russian.city
Дмитрий Шостакович

Алексей Учитель назвал дату начала съемок фильма про Шостаковича



News Every Day

PV Sindhu marries Venkata Datta, look at first pic




Friends of Today24

Музыкальные новости

Персональные новости