Christmas, the time many claim to celebrate the birth of Jesus our Savior, although we do not know the day of the week or of the year on which He was born. It is most probable that it was not in December based on Luke 2:8 where the shepherds were “living out in the fields keeping watch over their flock by night”, which was seasonable from about Passover in Spring until Autumn, (late October or early November), not in the winter’s cold of those high mountainous regions around Bethlehem. It is not important that we know the date of Christ’s birth, if it were God would have preserved it for us. What is important is that He was born “as Savior of the world” 1 John 4:14. The point of the matter is this: if we are celebrating His birth, whether it be December 25, January 7 (Orthodox Christmas), or any other day we should be honoring Him with our gifts of Praise, Worship, Adoration, Service, and the full acceptance of His gift of “eternal life” Romans 6:23. And in this we do rejoice and “have fellowship with one another” 1 John 1:7.
A Prayer
Selected by Rose Hill, Author unknown
Forgive us Lord our Christmases,
When Your birthday we have spent,
Upon our own desires,
And selfish pleasures bent.
Forgive the times we’ve pondered long,
On what we would receive,
Heeding not Your gift of love,
For all who would believe.
And when we pray “Forgive us Lord,
Our trespasses” –add too–,
“Forgive us all the Christmases,
When we’ve forgotten You!”
Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson Co. used by permission.