The Extraordinary Gifts of Christmas – The Gift of Peace With God.
The gift of peace with God comes through knowing Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. Mark introduces the first in his series about Christmas gifts.
The Perfect Christmas Gift
Finding the perfect Christmas gift for everyone on your list is one of the biggest challenges we face as we approach the day. In the spirit of the season, gift giving should be thought out, being considerate of who you are buying for.
The giving heart wants to see a positive response on the face of the receiver as they unwrap the package and see it for the first time. Many family Christmas get-togethers have been ruined by a bad reaction to a gift received. Feelings can get hurt when honest effort and good intentions are met by ungratefulness.
True Meaning of Christmas
In this 4-part series entitled “The Extraordinary Gifts of Christmas,” we are going to look at the true meaning behind Christmas; God giving His Son as a gift to the world. Jesus was born about 2000 years ago to be the Savior of sinners; to be a sacrifice for all those who believe in Him. God the Father gave His Son to the world out of genuine love; intending Him to be received by everyone. The problem is that most do not understand the significance or know the importance of the gift, so they do not receive Him as their gift from God.
Jesus’ birth; the coming Savior of the world had been foretold since humanities fall into sin, but no one was certain of the exact time of when He would arrive, so the event was a surprise for everyone.
Gabriel Visits Mary
In the New Testament, the gospel writers point out that when God made His gift known, only a certain few people were made aware. How did God tell them? Only in extraordinary ways!
How did they find Jesus? Only in extraordinary ways!
Extraordinary is the only way to describe how God reveals the gift of His Son to everyone.
It was very remarkable for Mary to be told by the angel Gabriel that she would give birth as a virgin. In just a moment of time she received a life altering announcement by a supernatural being!
Gabriel appeared to her and said;
Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.
Luke 1:30-32
The name “Jesus,” means; “the Lord is Salvation.”
Mary was the first to know of the marvelous gift of God that was soon to come into the world.
A Roman Decree
When the time came for Mary to give birth to Jesus, it happened that a decree was issued by the ruling Roman government that all the world was to be taxed, requiring all Jewish men to temporarily travel to their ancestral homeland to register.
Mary was engaged to Joseph who had to go to Bethlehem; the appointed city to those who were of the lineage of David. Together they travelled, but when they got there, they could not find a place to lodge; apparently, due to the government enforced registration, it caused much upheaval with many traveling and inns were inundated with those needing accommodations.
This being the case they had to make do. We are not told what type of shelter they found, but while they were in Bethlehem Mary gave birth to Jesus, swaddled Him and laid Him in manger/an animal feeding tough, as a substitute for a crib. If this whole situation wasn’t extraordinary enough, then just wait till we contemplate what happened next…
An Angel Appears to the Shepherds
That night, as shepherds were watching over their sheep outside the town of Bethlehem, an angel appeared to them. The glory of the Lord shone around them as the angel stood talking to them. They were afraid, and the angel said;
Do not be afraid, I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people, for today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.
Luke 2:10-11
This is a big announcement! It had been over 300 years since God had given any form of revelation or prophecy to Israel… why would He come to shepherds? They were nobodies! Why not go to the religious leaders or the king who was reigning at that time? Just like God came to Mary, an ordinary woman to give birth to the Son of God, He wants to take the ordinary and do the extraordinary! There are more examples to come, keep reading!
Recognizing Jesus
The angel went on to tell them of specific things to look for, and when they see them, they will recognize it is Him. The first sign to look for was a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes – this was nothing out of the ordinary for a baby to be bound in cloth, but it would confirm that the baby they are looking for is a newborn.
The next sign they were to look for was something more unique; the Savior would be lying in a manger: an animal feeding trough. In this unaccustomed circumstance it appears that Joseph and Mary were making do with the resources and surroundings they found themselves in and using a manger for a crib. It was probably just one example of their need to improvise.
God was taking visuals from this extraordinary experience and using them as the signs the shepherds were to look for, so when they see them together, they will know, without a shadow of a doubt, they have found “Christ the Lord.”
Babies in Bethlehem
How many babies were born in Bethlehem at this time? Probably a few.
How many would be found at that moment swaddled? Maybe the odd one.
How many would be found lying in a manger? This was very out of the norm, and shockingly contrary to the exalted titles given to this newborn by the angel. Who would conceive in their minds that the birth of the long-awaited Messiah; the “Savior of the world,” “the Lord,” would be humbly born in a small insignificant town such as Bethlehem, and then into such an inferior situation where His crib is substituted with a feeding trough?
We would think that the Savior and King of Israel would be born in Jerusalem, the capital city, under the most comfortable of circumstances, but no. The way God plans things is not the way we expect.
Glory to God in the Highest
Suddenly multiple angels appeared praising God and saying;
“Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
Luke 2:14
This exclamation from the angels was praise directed towards God, for this great blessing, the gift of this event that had just occurred, and the coming of the Savior, which was the full expression of His love for humankind. Also, “peace on earth.” Not “peace TO earth,” but peace ON earth. Did Jesus birth bring peace to the world? No. It did not bring peace to the world universally, but it did come to individuals on a personal basis.
Peace With God
Israel had been waiting for thousands of years for the Messiah to come and now the waiting was over.
By faith, many had expected His coming; patiently waiting, hoping, longing to see God’s promised gift come into the world… that anticipation was replaced with peace. Their faith in God’s promise is fulfilled in the birth of Jesus, which was the segue to His perfectly lived life, doing miracles and good works, to Him becoming the sacrifice to take away sin, dying on the cross, then rising from the dead three days later. Peace had finally come on the earth into the heart of each one who believes in Him as their Savior. Those trusting in faith of His coming and receiving Him would be those who would please God.
It was true then and it is still true today. You can also have peace in your soul, with God.
Let’s Go See!
After the angels left, the shepherds said to one another,
“let’s go and see what God has told us!”
Quickly they journeyed to Bethlehem. Remember, they were not given an address, a street name or a locational description, only the sign of a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger… when you think about it, some searching must have been involved, but their faith and desire to see God’s gift kept them looking.
They found Him, just as it was described! They were so thrilled seeing what they saw, experiencing what they experienced that they told everyone about this baby, who is Christ the Lord. Everyone who heard what they said marveled at their extraordinary story.
Praising God and Finding Peace With God
The shepherds returned to their sheep in the countryside glorifying and thankfully praising God for the privilege of hearing what they heard and seeing what they saw!
What an extraordinary gift! They received it with thankful hearts.
This is much like a great promise that Jesus made to His disciples, and we can still trust in it today; Jesus said;
I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
Luke 11:9-10
Are you looking for God and His peace? Take the initiative and wholeheartedly seek Him!
How to Find Jesus
God has made known to the world how to find Jesus;
–The Bible describes to us who He is, what He has done and how that relates to our need for Him. Take time to read it.
–The Holy Spirit speaks to people’s hearts pointing them to Jesus. Pray to God for understanding.
-Like the shepherds, there are those who have seen and experienced the Christ and want to share that with everyone. Find a good Bible believing church to hear and learn more.
The free gift of salvation through Jesus is available to all people. It is not forced upon anyone, but God wants those with hope and faith to seek Him out. God’s gift does not come with any conditions or limitations, it just needs to be received. He gave it out of His love for everyone.
Will you gratefully receive this gift for you?
The Gift of Promise
Please join me in part-2 of this series, “The Gift of Promise,” when we will look at another extraordinary event that happened, where the baby Jesus was found, but this time there were no angels saying who He was, and no signs to seek Him out. Listen in to find out how He was found in a very special way!
Are you at peace with God? We would love to hear from you. Comment below or contact us at HopeStreamRadio.
Mark Hillis
Mark lives in the small rural village of Fenwick, Ontario with his wife Michelle and three boys.
He joined the FBH International team in February 2022, coming from the business world with a design and art background.
Mark is particularly interested in seeing people come to Christ and grow in their faith. He recently produced the series entitled: Sow to Grow.
Mark serves as an elder at Brockview Bible Chapel in St.Catharines , Ontario.
Visit Mark’s contributor’s page here.
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Images Courtesy of:
Christmas Gift- Astridsu
The Annunciation – Mironov
Angels Appear to Shepherds – Dennis Jarvis
Shepherds Find Jesus – Lawrence OP
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