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The True Christmas Story
And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin
espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came
in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should
be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive
in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son
of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the
house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this
be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and
the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall
be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and
this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said,
Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. And Mary
arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; And entered into the house
of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the
babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and
said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother
of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped
in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were
told her from the Lord. And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.
For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call
me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. (Luke 1:26-49)
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came
together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing
to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee
Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou
shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be
fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall
bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Then Joseph
being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not
till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS. (Matthew 1:18-25)
Now when Jesus was born in Beth-lehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from
the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east,
and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with
him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where
Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Beth-lehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
And thou Beth-lehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come
a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of
them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Beth-lehem, and said, Go and search diligently
for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When
they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it
came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped
him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another
way. And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise,
and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod
will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed
into Egypt: (Matthew 2:1-14)
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should
be taxed. ( And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every
one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the
city of David, which is called Beth-lehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with
Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished
that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and
laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2:1-7)
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were
sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which
shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And
suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them
into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Beth-lehem, and see this thing which is
come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and
the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning
this child. (Luke 2:8-17)
Christmas is about giving, but it is not about what we give to others. It is about the gift that God gave us
2000 years ago. He gave us His only begotten Son to be our Savior to give us eternal life. From the beginning,
the most of the world rejected this precious gift.
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Dear Jesus,
I wish I could have been a shepherd,
and saw you that day,
Just a baby in a manger,
Lying on a pile of hay,
But holier than holy you were,
That special boy,
Who held in your tiny precious hand,
The key to this world's joy.
I wish I could have knelt by you
And worshipped you right then,
Then I would have felt the special
Peace those shepherds felt within.
I'm sure it was a feeling that mere
Words could not tell,
When at the sight of you Jesus,
To their knees they fell.
But Jesus that was a very long time ago
And I wasn't born back then.
Jesus I have no gold or silver to give you,
My best is mere copper and tin,
But humbly now I kneel at your feet with pleasure,
Because all the blessings you've given me,
No scales could ever measure!
By: Theresa Carle
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WHY JESUS IS BETTER THAN SANTA CLAUS
By: Unknown
Santa lives at the North Pole... JESUS is everywhere.
Santa rides in a sleigh... JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.
Santa comes but once a year... JESUS is an ever present help.
Santa fills your stockings with goodies... JESUS supplies all your needs.
Santa comes down your chimney uninvited... JESUS stands at your door and knocks, and then enters your heart.
You have to wait in line to see Santa... JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.
Santa lets you sit on his lap... JESUS lets you rest in His arms.
Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl, what's your name?" ... JESUS
knew our name before we did. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too. He knows our history and
future and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads.
Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly... JESUS has a heart full of love.
All Santa can offer is HO HO HO... JESUS offers health, help and hope.
Santa says "You better not cry"... JESUS says "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you."
Santa's little helpers make toys... JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds
mansions.
Santa may make you chuckle but...JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.
While Santa puts gifts under your tree... JESUS became our gift and died on the tree.
Its obvious there is really no comparison.
We need to remember WHO Christmas is all about.
We need to put Christ back in Christmas, Jesus is still the reason for the season.
Yes, Jesus is better, he is even better than Santa Claus.
Merry CHRISTmas!!!
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A Thought For Christmas
As we approach Christmas this year one single fact of Christmas seems to stick in my mind. When Christ was born,
there was no room to be found for Him to lay His head but in a manger. I wonder are we still not able to find room
in our hearts for Him? If money, power, or a certain job is lord of our lives, then Christ can't be. He wants to
have total control of our lives, but first we have to make room in our hearts for Him. So ask yourself this Christmas:
"Is there room in my heart for Him?"
By: Greg Hubbard |
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'Twas the Night before Christmas
'Twas the Night before Christmas
and all through the house,
Not a creature was praying, not wife, nor her spouse,
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
Jesus could see, He was forgotten there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
No visions of Jesus, just Santa, in their heads,
Dreaming of candy and turkey, and toys,
Never hearing of the birth of that precious baby boy;
With Ma in her kerchief and pa in his cap,
Old Satan could rest easy, he is taking a nap,
When at the door, there came a knock,
A warrior for Jesus, standing firm on the rock!
Pa opened the door, to see this mere man,
But the power that stood, was in his dear hand!
He quickly exclaimed, he was sent by the King,
Pa starred as he told him, his eyes began to gleam,
Pa fell to his knees, forgive me he prayed,
Got up and went straight to where his children laid;
The family all gathered, to hear the true Christmas story,
No longer did Santa, fill there hearts with such joy;
Now Christmas holds, a new meaning to them,
Jesus is smiling, as they celebrate Him!
By: Theresa Carle
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The Greatest Christmas Gift
Listen little children, can you hear,
the night of nights, is finally here
The earth trembles, with hope and delight,
fore Jesus Christ, will be born here tonight
There is His tiny manger, in the stable at Bethlehem,
even the angels in heaven, now stand there waiting for Him.
All of the crawling creatures, and the birds in the air,
know that God Almighty, will soon be there
A Son is now born, this is the awaited time and day,
Jesus Christ has come, our souls will now be saved
Sing loud old world, let your voices ring,
fore Jesus Christ has come from glory, and He is now our King
But some people have since forgotten, the reason for Christmas day,
they have let Christ fall out, somewhere along the way
The great deceiver has blinded them, with his silver and gold,
they have forgotten God’s love, is worth much more than all of those
It is not what we may buy others, or what we may tell,
that will lead us up to heaven, and keep us from that dreadful hell
It is the love that Christ, has shown to us all,
when He willingly left heaven, and was born in that lowly little stall
Lord we will not forget, what you have done for us on that first Christmas day,
You opened up the gates to heaven, and You've now shown us the way
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Jesus Christ is born
on that beautiful and unforgetful, early Christmas morn
Lord Jesus we have a present for You, on this Christmas day,
we give our lives to You forever, it is with You we want to stay
We lay our hearts before Your throne, our greatest Christmas gift,
we give it to the worthy child, who took away our sins and guilt
We love You Lord Jesus, and it is with you we will always stay,
we will never forget that Christmas, is really Your Birthday
Joe Sizemore
December, 1997
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Happy Birthday Jesus!!!!! Thank you for Your gift to us. My birthday present to you is not
much and hardly worthy for you, but it is all I have. I give to you my all!
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