Christmas is almost upon us! It has already been in the shops for the last few weeks, but now the event is almost here. Christmas has been the theme at our church for all of this month, and it was stressed this morning how important it is to keep to the FACTS, and not confuse these with our TRADITIONS. There is nothing wrong with our traditions which are part of our heritage and which we pass on to our children, but let us make sure they know the difference. Santa is a lot of fun, but he is only representative of an old time gentleman named Saint Nicholas who used to hand out presents to the poor people of his town. From there he has evolved into the jolly man with the white beard we see today, who will grant all our requests.
Even when it comes to the Bible account of the birth of Jesus Christ, let’s make sure we read it correctly….for instance, many carols and stories say the Baby was born in a manger. He was NOT, He was laid in the manger after he was born. Nowhere in the Bible do we read there were three wise men who visited Him…the Bible account says there came wise men from the East, bringing three different types of gifts!
What do you think Joseph did with these gifts? Gold, frankincense and myrrh weren’t much practical use on their own, but God knew they would be able to sell them to raise the money for their flight to Egypt, and so He provided ahead of time for their needs. How wonderful is our God!
