This has been a busy week for us as we prepare for another Christmas holiday.  I compiled the annual Christmas letter
while Jan took care of completing the Christmas cards.  I really appreciate that it's such a time consuming tedious job.
Thanks also goes to her for taking care of getting most of the Christmas presents.  Amazon makes this part of Christmas shopping easier for her than going from store to store seeking just that perfect gift for everyone.  All of these efforts sadly can overshadow why we celebrate the birth of Christ.  There's no more important statement made this time of year than, "We should put Christ back in Christmas."

     The birth of Jesus was like no other birth as it was an incarnate birth.  Stop and recall why this was so.  Incarnate literally
confirms that Jesus was conceived in Mary's womb by the Holy Spirit, but He was born of flesh of the blessed virgin.  This
means that Jesus came down from heaven as Spirit and then was birthed as flesh and blood making Him both Spirit and 
Man.  

This is significant as being conceived as Spirit he was born without sin, not like the rest of humanity that the original
sin of Adam has been passed down through generations.

     Just think that God took His Son off of heavens throne and came down to earth so that He could experience the joys, the 
pains, the trials that man experiences, both the triumphs and defeats, even to an excruciating death.  Jesus came to
show us that God understands us spiritually, emotionally, and physically.  He sent his Son to die for us bearing our sins on  His guiltless body.  You see, when Jesus left heaven to live amongst men it was really a Christmas demotion. 

     Philippians 2:6-8 tells us, "Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His
advantage; rather, He made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness.  And being 
found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross."

    We shouldn't just skim over this passage.  Jesus was in every way equal to God.  Grasp the significance!  Genesis 1:1 tells us "In the beginning God created."  Then in John 1:1-4  it's revealed: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through Him all things were made, without Him nothing
was made without Him.  In Him was life, and that life was the light of mankind."

     The Christ child's birth was a divine demotion.  It's hard for us to understand in a world filled with hate, greed and self-interests. 

Christ was contrary to all our conventional thinking in every way.  He became like us to be a very personal God totally relating
to us.

     C. S. Lewis wrote, "Every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this, or results from this.  In the Christmas story God
descends to reascend.  He comes down from the heights of absolute being into time and space, down into humanity, ... down
to the very roots and sea-bed of the Nature He has created.  But He goes down to come up again and bring the whole ruined
world with Him."

     For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have
everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."
(John 3:16-17) 
         
PRAYER:  Thank you Jesus,  As the unique Son of God brought forth on that first Christmas morn you have given us the best gift as we celebrate your birth.  When you physically entered into our world you have provided with your gift of serving all humanity the opportunity to be reconciled to our heavenly Father.  Your sacrifice on the cross was the greatest gifted of all time as it provided us cleansing of our sins and your resurrection the promise of being in your
presence for eternity. 

In Your most Holy Name I pray,  AMEN