Christmas Is...

     Christmas is a time of joy.  The angel came to announce, "..I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all the people."  The world did not yet know that this would be a time of great joy for all the world.  The announcement that one would come to bruise the serpent's head was made in Gen. 3.  Now after all these years, the Child has been born.  The angels burst forth with praise and singing and great joy. 
     Christmas is a time of great pain.  Herod's jealousy and fear of a new king born causes him to send forth a command that all male children aged 2 and under are to be killed.  Throughout Bethlehem and its districts there is the sound of lamentation, weeping, and great mourning.  Jeremiah's prophecy has come to pass, Matt. 2:17,18.  Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.  Spiritual warfare is ignited with the birth of the Child.  Rev. 12:4 says, "...the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born."  Christmas has ignited spiritual warfare, which has caused much pain for all the world.
     Christmas is a supernatural time.  So many supernatural events took place at that first Christmas:  The angels appearances to Zacharias, to Mary, to Joseph, the supernatural birth of John the Baptist, and the prophecies of Elizabeth, Zacharias, Simeon, and Anna, the shepherds and the angels, the wise men and the star, Joseph's dreams to flee to Egypt, to return to Galilee, then to Nazareth.  Our God guides us supernaturally, and Christmas reminds us of the supernatural ways that God speaks and guides His children.
     Christmas is a time of destiny.  In Luke 2:34 Simeon said to Mary, "...Behold this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel and for a sign which will be spoken against."  The Child's destiny is seen through the genealogies of Christ, and the many Old Testament prophecies fulfilled in Him.  God had destiny for the birth of this Child, and God has a destiny for each of our lives.  He has a plan to accomplish in each of us.
     Christmas is a time of hope.  Despite the pain, and the warfare, Christmas gives us hope for today and for the future.  He is our blessed Hope, and we look for His appearing the second time.  He is working together all things for our good, and He will make all things new.  Now abides faith, hope, and love.  We have hope because of Christmas!

How does the supernatural affect your life today?