Last week I told you that Christmas is my favorite holiday. Family get-togethers, decorations, presents, friendliness, and of course Christmas music, especially by Manheim Steamroller, are all part of our birthday celebration.

There was none of that at the smelly stable in Bethlehem the night Jesus was born, but that shouldn’t keep us from getting involved enthusiastically in the festivities of Christmas. We have reason to celebrate, because without His birth, He could not have lived, and died, to redeem us from a wretched existence in Hell.

There are many who don’t believe in Hell. Do you? Jesus does. He gave a vivid account of its miserable reality in the Gospel of Luke (15:19-31).

I’m sure you know that God sent Jesus to be our Savior, but did you ever wonder WHY God did it? The answer isn’t complicated; it’s because we, you and I, are God’s favorite creation. He created the entire world and all in it for our benefit.

I believe that the world was created billions of years ago, but that the first man was created in the Garden of Eden, less than 6,000 years ago. Why do I believe that? Because God told us how he created the first man (Gen 2:7); and then names the 72 descendants of Adam, all the way to Jesus (Luke 3:23-38). That would average out to a 55-year life-span for each of the ancestors of Jesus, covering 4,000 years.
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I said a little bit ago that Jesus was born so that He could die to redeem us from our sins.

When Jesus died, He fulfilled every righteous requirement of the Old Testament Law by His torture and death. The moment He cried out “It is finished!” we passed from the harsh rule of Law, to God’s Grace, His unmerited, unearned, undeserved favor. The instant Jesus died, God tore the veil in front of the Holiest Place in the Temple from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51), illustrating that we are now welcome to come into that Holy Place. God’s intent for us to receive Grace was started by giving us the Gift of his Son, born in a smelly stable in a dusty Jewish town, born a Jew, one of God’s chosen people.

Do you know why Jews are called God’s “chosen people”? The reason is that God chose them because they would obey His commandments, and raise His Son in a Godly environment.

I believe the reason Jews have been, and are being persecuted is simply because they are the people that God chose from whom His Son would be born.

There’s persecution today by “Christian” preachers who preach anti-Semitic hatred (Jeremiah Wright is one). The most gruesome historical illustration of anti-Semitic hatred was when King Herod, jealous when he heard of the birth of another “King”, had buys in Bethlehem 2-years and under, slaughtered in an attempt to see that Jesus would be killed.

I think we’ve been outdoing King Herod. We have slaughtered unborn American children. He only slaughtered a couple thousand or so; we’ve slaughtered millions.

Despite all that, Christmas is a time for celebration. Christmas is a lot more than family get-togethers, decorations, presents, friendliness, and music, but they are legitimate parts of the Christmas celebration.

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Next week, right before Christmas, I am going to give you a “gift”.

An e-mail was sent to me containing a piece from a former Orlando, Fla. Columnist, who “nails” what is wrong with our country’s leaders. It’s too long to fit in my column, so I plan to buy an ad to have it printed. I believe it’s that important for you to see.

The columnist does a great job, and you will be able to determine for yourself if his statements are true and accurate. I will point out the one thing that he missed, so together he and I will have laid out the problem for you.

But the problem needs a solution. He has a solution, and though it is good I don’t think it will work. So I’ll give you the “gift” of the solution, which, if you can accept it, will change your life. You can have the best Christmas ever.

PAUL SAID TO”EXPOSE THE WORKS OF DARKNESS” (Eph 5:11)
You can reach Mr. Murphy at willmurf1@yahoo.com
www.murphy-properties.com