jeannethebean

Saviour, Christ, the LORD. He would save us from sin and death. He was the ONLY ONE, the prophesied and promised ONE: The Messiah. The Christ. He is one with The God Almighty, THE GREAT I AM.

1st of all: what were the shepherds told would be a sign? "a baby lying in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes" How is this a sign of the MESIAH, the Saviour? FAST FORWARD 33 YEARS: Jesus is lying on a stone slab, (similar to many feeding troughs used in Bethlehem in those days when wood was so precious, and scarce, and stone stayed in place.) Also the babe wrapped in linen IS a sign of Christ The LORD later to be wrapped in swaddling linens after His death on the cross of Calvary. THAT is the SIGN, and THAT is the GOOD NEWS! (That baby would later die for my sins). AND RISE AGAIN! Jesus told us to come to Him as do the little children. CHILDREN would know to depend on Him, aware that doing things on their own would be ineffective. God so blesses the humble! SIMILARLY: If the good news of Christ's birth was presented initially to self-righteous, self-sufficient, and prideful people caught up in their own self-worth, perhaps there would have been doubt and unbelief. The shepherds DID believe and they obeyed. They went to go see what they had been told. Then they told others (not ashamed at what another person would think). They were not "people pleasers" by trade. But they were connected to the living God and returned to their lowly positions worshipping and praising God.

Extra credit : We are blessed because God is good, not because we are good. MANY believers who follow God's will for their life suffer physical and emotional hardships on Earth. Consider the 1,000 poor and humble pastors with Gospel for Asia that own only one set of clothes and a mat to sleep on and never expect more earthly luxuries. YET, they have pleasure in serving the living God, our LORD Jesus Christ, and the overflowing JOY of the Lord in preaching the good news of the gospel. Being a consistent Christian means you have peace with the LORD, and the PEACE OF THE LORD!. If Christ's love reigns in my heart there is the fruit of the Spirit in my life! There is love and peace and forgiveness and kindness and gentleness and self-control. If Christ lives in me, consistently, then He empowers me to live in His grace, never having anything "harder" than we can do together. THIS LIFE IS A TRAINING GROUND FOR TRUSTING GOD TO SUPPLY MY NEEDS IN EACH NEW DAY; walking in His will then has no "hardships", trusting in His love and having FAITH that things are exactly as they should be.

Luke, the physician, would be interested in presenting a "scientific" account with a reliable time-line. Dates and rulers mentioned could be cross referenced, increasing the validity of his gospel.

Jesus referred to Himself so many times (more than any other name) as "The son of Man". Which is interesting since He IS/ was/ and always will be GOD! The miraculous virgin birth, (foretold hundreds of years before the one and only virgin birth ever on Earth) and the name Immanuel ("God with us") also foretold by Isaiah, are both BOLD and "in-your-face" prophetic/ signs pointing us and the Jews (then and now) to our ONLY hope for everlasting life (through God's mercy and grace). To believe is to receive. To accept that the ONE true LIVING God lives with us, IMMANUEL, leads to a broken and humble spirit and a desire to die to self. It leads to 1st John 1:9 and repentance from sin. God is JUST to forgive us our sin because what Jesus, the perfect, virgin born, sinless son of man, did on our behalf. That's the only way we can be free from sin. He could not have been sinless without being God. (All men and women fall short of the glory of God.) There is no one righteous, not one. THERE ARE NO GOOD PEOPLE ! (Just believers saved by grace.) This is possible because God lived among us and lives today within us. *(our hope of Glory) Amen, amen, amen.....AMEN!

the NAME of Jesus has power beyond our ability to comprehend, but in part Although, that power that raised our LORD, and Saviour, from the dead and seated Him at the right hand of the father, is available to us through faith.) Through faith in the name of Jesus, God (in His mercy) saves us not only from sin, but also from the just and due penalty of sin, which is God's wrath and death. (Getting what I don't deserve at Jesus' expense is grace) It is the ONLY name under heaven which humans can be saved. The angel Gabriel spoke to Mary that Jesus reigns in an everlasting kingdom. An angel spoke to Joseph in a dream that Jesus would be the Saviour from sin. It seems impossible, without God preparing their hearts, to comprehend. They did not have what we have now. We have the benefit of Jesus' teachings (His Word) and resurrection, and His sending of the Holy Spirit. (Alleluia!)

First he thought of HER. Joseph was not self-righteous. His initial instinct was not "She did this to ME!" The sinful nature is to be selfish and ego-centered. God's grace is reflected in Joseph's initial response to protect Mary. God may even have controlled the heart strings of both Mary and Joseph in this extremely unusual situation.

humility, (helping his father with menial tasks when growing up.) hard work with his own hands and body. (sometime incomfortable positions and blisters even) respect for his earthly father and the 'clients" patience and the reward of not "cutting corners" in an endeavor. diligence and a time line to finish a job once started, even when putting off personal needs consideration of another families specific needs in watching Joseph listen and design for another. joy of a completed work and in helping with practical earthly service

What does immaculate conception tell us about Jesus' nature? The nature of Jesus is completely different than those born of flesh (myself included). His reaction to insult is/was compassion. His response to evil doers is to pray for them, and die for them. In His own walk He sees that nothing is impossible with God. He always seeks the will of God. He is God, therefore He IS love.

Mary was told she was going to have a baby. She said, "How can this be?" (like any virgin would wonder!) And it was explained that with God all things are possible. "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God." He will be in the line of David (as the Messiah was to be), and His kingdom will have NO END! (That is a pretty amazing announcement. Especially to a 16 year old Jewish girl, dreaming of her betrothed.)

Mary was told she was going to have a baby. She said, "How can this be?" (like any virgin would wonder!) And it was explained that with God all things are possible. "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God." He will be in the line of David (as the Messiah was to be), and His kingdom will have NO END! (That is a pretty amazing announcement. Especially to a 16 year old Jewish girl, dreaming of her betrothed.)

Mary was told she was going to have a baby. She said, "How can this be?" (like any virgin would wonder!) And it was explained that with God all things are possible. "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God." He will be in the line of David (as the Messiah was to be), and His kingdom will have NO END! (That is a pretty amazing announcement. Especially to a 16 year old girl Jewish girl, dreaming of her betrothed.)

Hello! So happy to meet you all! I am always blessed by Pastor Ralph's studies and recently dove into Isaiah. Having just looked into Isaiah's prophecy of our LORD and Savior, Jesus, The Messiah, this Christmas study will be especially rich! So, let the study begin. Praise God for His grace, His gift to us of faith, and His powerful Word. : Isaiah 55:11New International Version (NIV) 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

I believe as Jan Mary humbly and clearly stated above.

we will see Him CLEARLY as He sees us. Ahhh 1 Cor 13:12 " For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known."