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Each of the scriptures in Matthew that we were to read gives us an illustration of the very fact that Jesus came to save the Jews. The Jews refused his invitation to salvation to the point that they killed him; therefore, the Gentiles were offered this wonderful free gift. The wisemen took the news of the birth of Jesus to another nation and told of his coming for their own salvation. We should also take these scriptures to heart..................we are to actively spread the news to the lost that they have been given this free gift of eternal life if they accept Christ as their savior.

Each of the scriptures in Matthew that we were to read gives us an illustration of the very fact that Jesus came to save the Jews. The Jews refused his invitation to salvation to the point that they killed him; therefore, the Gentiles were offered this wonderful free gift. The wisemen took the news of the birth of Jesus to another nation and told of his coming for their own salvation. We should also take these scriptures to heart..................we are to actively spread the news to the lost that they have been given this free gift of eternal life if they accept Christ as their savior.

We learned that they were not too proud to go down on their knees to worship the King. Just as we are to know that at the name of Jesus, all will bow down before him in the end of time. The wisemen knew that this baby was the Messiah. Sometimes it seems that we are too proud to think that we will bow down to him. Yet, when we remember that we can do nothing without him, our knees do the bending and we do the mending of our misguided thoughts that we can make it on our own.

The star is of great importance......it is showing the way to find the Christ child. The wisemen from the East are truly in earnest to find the King of the world.................We read in the Old Testament that the wisest people were from the East. It was their quest..........they knew the need to honor him with the gifts.......God had purpose for the gifts to further the safety of the child. When King Herod learned that the child was born, he made sure no male children would live in Bethlehem. His crafty deed did not interrupt the plan God had for his son. The wisemen left without jeopardizing the little savior of mankind. Joel Osteen said this morning on T.V. that God sends others to help us in our Christian walk...........he did, he does, and he will always do so. It is wonderful that he shows us just how many people helped in furthering Christ's misson on earth.

I think that I have always been busy telling people at my workplace about Jesus. I have found that there are so many people who want to talk about Him, but they are afraid, too. They know that they can ask me. I taught ESL and most of my students were Spanish; they loved to compare our version of the names....Jesus sounding different, Mary being Maria, etc. We loved to talk of our religious songs of praise and the holidays. My health went on the decline this year, and my time for medication increased. Thinking of death, one finds time to study what is after this life. When we get to feeling better, sometimes we take time off from studying his word. I am full of joy especially at the time of his birth's reinacted at church during this month. Our Christmas tree is decorated with only Christian decor so our grandchild can ask questions and we can answer them about Jesus. I am always curious about what Jesus did, does, and will do, and I love to teach Sunday School because God always does like he did with Moses, he lets my class speak in my place when I am speechless. I praise Jesus and talk to him constantly in prayer.

About three titles..............I see two given in the scripture. Jesus would be our Savior and he would be Christ the Lord. We understand already that he is from the line of David as told in the Old Testament He will save the souls of both Jews and Gentiles as also told prior to now. Christ the Lord...............might be showing he is part of the Trinity. Holy Spirit, Jesus, and God. Jesus is the baby that holds the key to our destiny.

The Bible says that the smartest people are sometimes those who fail to follow the star. The shepherds were so ill thought of in that day, that God chose them to see the Savior. Their look at Jesus gave them, the lowests of humans, the hope that they could be a child of God and they shared the word with the others around them who might have also been left out had the angels appeared to people living in luxury and holding a position of power. When I think of the common elements that were present at the birth site, I think that maybe God wanted us to know that it is not material things that make a difference. The baby Jesus made his mark on all the world by having nothing...........................but the love of us to see him through tough times. There is less to worry about when one does not accumulate extra baggage. Perhaps we get too encumbered with all the things we have to take care of and forget the most important thing is caring about each other as God commanded us to do. God certainly takes pains to show us these simple things in the Bible. We like Mary need to ponder them in our hearts.

I have only had one child, but I can remember how I felt on the last month of my pregnancy and how uncomfortable traveling in a car was for me. My stomach was so big that I could not tie my shoes. I cannot imagine walking for any distance or riding a donkey. The back pain was enough to make me sit up the last month at night to sleep. Besides the physical pain to Mary, I can imagine the mental strain. She was young, not married, and without her mother to give her any indication of what to expect. The fact that the child would be Holy............I wonder if she feared that the child would have wings like the angels or different from just a human on the outside features. If life were easy for Christians, we would never know how to cope with problems in our lives, much less how to help others in their times of need. God may will us to have hardships and others things that do not eqate to a fairytale life. He is there for us always. Sometimes we might seek pleasures that are the devil's doing. Those hurt us when we participate in those outside the will of God. Being a consistent Christian sometimes causes one to spend a lot of time being alone. One never is wrong for doing what is right. Some people who profess to be friends desert those people taking a stand for Christ. Also, even getting a job is often difficult when one is known to do what is right. Many workplaces want team players and if the team is playing dirty, they want one to become one too. One of my best friends worked so hard in our church, introducing changes that made the church a church not luke warm, but HOT to do God's work. The established members constantly put her ideas down until she stopped teaching a Sunday School Class and now she is considering finding a church where she feels that she is wanted. Being a consistent Christian is very difficult.

When Luke prints the rulers in history, he makes sure that we realize that Jesus is not an imaginary person just for Christians. He places Jesus in his worldy context of rulers and his place in history as revealed from his birth on until his death. Those who doubt his humble birth sometimes search to disprove it and end up proving it with all the documentation in the Bible.

God does not make mistakes. He chose Joseph just as he chose Mary. These two people were righteous people chosen to house the Savior in their home regardless of his genetic structure being Holy. Joseph truly believed that his adopted son Jesus was indeed the chosen one by God to come to earth and take the form of man to save the people, both Jews and Gentiles.

This question seems a bit unclear as to its meaning. When the old testament tells where Jesus will enter this world by a most unusual means and that he will save his people from their sins and this finally happens just as it was foretold.....it no longer is a story but a real happening when Mary delivers a child without having intercourse with Joseph or anyone for that matter. Then shepherds, Magi, and temple people Simeon and Anna, etc. further confirm this child is the Messiah.

The name Jesus was so important. It made clear that he was the SAVIOR. Telling Mary and Joseph at different times makes a point of its extreme importance. To stand by tradition was not allowed here. It is first told to Mary because she is the one who must carry this child to term knowing that this name will be greater than all others. At the name of Jesus, all knees shall bow. Joseph is a man who would find it difficult to believe that Mary understood everything correctly.When the angel restated the name of Jesus, there is absolutely no way that Mary had misunderstood. IT IS VITAL that the name be Jesus.

For some reason, I do not think there was another option for Mary. She had taken the responsiblity on with complete faith that God knew the plan..............Joseph was not going to hurt Mary...........he was very kind, but he was thinking of a low-keyed divorce to release both of them from the problem. In the dream, Joseph understands that is not his option for God has indeed made other plans.

Jesus learned two important qualities of a carpenter are customer satisfaction from a job well done and patience in making a product of such a high quality. Seeing Joseph deal with the public through his carpenter trade also taught Jesus that some humans have integrity as Joseph and that was a wonderful trait for Jesus to see on an earthly realm since he had innate intergrity from a heavenly realm. That career also showed him the hardships of being among the poor, not the elete rich. When he grew up, he benefited from this background.

Mary was blessed to have been chosen to mother the Savior of mankind. Actually, I am never too proud to describe her as being that; however, some people do not believe she was a virgin............chosen by God............and inseminated by Him to have this child. That is really sad.