Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all my family and friends.


The 12 days of Christmas will bring us to January 6. You may have heard that old timers in the Ozarks call Jan 6 Old Christmas. It is still celebrated as regular Christmas in many eastern countries. A pope changed it to December 25 to draw attention away from a pagan ceremony celebrated in Europe on that date.

The early church did not celebrate the birth of Jesus. Their attention was on the good news of His death and resurrection. One tradition is that they believed John the Baptist was born on Jan. 6. Later, because the Bible says Jesus was about 30 years old when He was baptized, they jumped to the conclusion that Jesus was born on Jan. 6.

Actually, it seems clear from Mary's visit to Elizabeth that Jesus was born some time after John. This would put the birthday of Jesus in the Spring.

Note that also beginning in Luke 2:22, Jesus was taken on the eighth day to the temple in Jerusalem for circumcision and for the sacrifices the law of Moses required for a firstborn son. He would indeed be circumcised. Jesus was a Jew. He was also the fulfillment of prophecy, as Simeon and the prophetess Anna recognized.

Jesus was at least a year old when the wise men came to the house where the star led them. Some believe they came from the Parthian Empire east of the Roman Empire. They had been enemies. So the wise men were probably a large group and were accompanied by a good number of soldiers. (Because they were in enemy territory) No wonder they caused such excitement in all Jerusalem. Thank God the wise men obeyed divine direction and gave opportunity for Jesus--the young child, not a baby--to escape to Egypt.

Hope you all enjoyed Christmas as much as we did.
Remember that Jesus came to die and rise again and be our Lord and Savior and Coming King.
Even so come Lord Jesus.