Story of the Birth of Jesus

The Christmas Story of the Birth of Jesus

The Christmas Story of the Birth of Jesus

Matthew 1:18-25; Matthew 2:1-12; Luke 1:26-38.

The Conception of Jesus Foretold

Mary, a virgin, was living in Galilee of Nazareth and was engaged to be married to Joseph, a Jewish carpenter. An angel visited her and explained to her that she would conceive a son by the power of the Holy Spirit. She would carry and give birth to this child and she would name him Jesus.

At first Mary was afraid and troubled by the angel's words. Being a virgin, Mary questioned the angel, "How will this be?" The angel explained that the child would be God's own Son and, therefore, "nothing is impossible with God." Humbled and in awe, Mary believed the angel of the Lord and rejoiced in God her Savior.
Surely Mary reflected with wonder on the words found in Isaiah 7:14 foretelling this event, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." 

The Birth of Jesus:

While Mary was still engaged to Joseph, she miraculously became pregnant through the Holy Spirit, as foretold to her by the angel. When Mary told Joseph she was pregnant, he had every right to feel disgraced. He knew the child was not his own, and Mary's apparent unfaithfulness carried a grave social stigma. Joseph not only had the right to divorce Mary, under Jewish law she could be put to death by stoning.

Although Joseph's initial reaction was to break the engagement, the appropriate thing for a righteous man to do, he treated Mary with extreme kindness. He did not want to cause her further shame, so he decided to act quietly. But God sent an angel to Joseph in a dream to verify Mary's story and reassure him that his marriage to her was God's will. The angel explained that the child within Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit, that his name would be Jesus and that he was the Messiah, God with us.

When Joseph woke from his dream, he willingly obeyed God and took Mary home to be his wife, in spite of the public humiliation he would face. Perhaps this noble quality is one of the reasons God chose him to be the Messiah's earthly father.
Joseph too must have wondered in awe as he remembered the words found in Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." 

At that time, Caesar Augustus decreed that a census be taken, and every person in the entire Roman world had to go to his own town to register. Joseph, being of the line of David, was required to go to Bethlehem to register with Mary. While in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to Jesus. Probably due to the census, the inn was too crowded, and Mary gave birth in a crude stable. She wrapped the baby in cloths and placed him in a manger.

The Shepherd's Worship the Savior:

Out in the fields, an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds who were tending their flocks of sheep by night. The angel announced that the Savior had been born in the town of David. Suddenly a great host of heavenly beings appeared with the angels and began singing praises to God. As the angelic beings departed, the shepherds decided to travel to Bethlehem and see the Christ-child.

There they found Mary, Joseph and the baby, in the stable. After their visit, they began to spread the word about this amazing child and everything the angel had said about him. They went on their way still praising and glorifying God. But Mary kept quiet, treasuring their words and pondering them in her heart. It must have been beyond her ability to grasp, that sleeping in her arms—the tender child she had just borne—was the Savior of the world.

Let us pray, Dear God, Bless this day, a day which is filled with Love and joy and peace. The day that you gave to us all the greatest gift to all mankind. The birth of your Son, Jesus Christ. A child of hope, a child of love, a child of peace and a child who would grow to be the Greatest Man to ever walk this earth. Thank you Father for this day as we celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ. I pray Lord that we all learn today that we not only celebrate his birth on this one occasion yearly but that we celebrate his  Love for us daily. I pray that all mankind who may be lost may receive him this day and always. In your sweet name we pray. Amen...

In the Still of the Quiet

      To have received that dreadful phone call in the middle of the night, had been a fear I had been living with my many many years, but to have received the message that I got two days after Thanksgiving was not at all what I expected. Star my baby sister had been rushed to a nearby hospital to the Trauma Unit who was on standby. A brain scan showed my sister had a very severe life threatening infection called Meningitis. Test were sent to the lab to find out which type it was and in the mean time they had to remove a section of her skull and place a drain tube in her brain to try to remove the fluid which had thickened terribly, it seemed the infection had been there for a couple of months and had went misdiagnosed even though she had been hospitalized the previous month. The doctors had diagnosed her with a severe sinus infection.If it had been caught then it would have been more treatable and her chances for survival would have been extremely good. Now she was diagnosed with Bacterial Meningitis, she had slipped into a coma and the fluid was not draining off the brain for it was to thick and it had now produced blood clots. Her blood pressure kept jumping to high and when they gave her med's to get it down then the blood pressure would go to low, they just couldn't get her stable. Everytime I would go in to visit I would talk to her and while I was in there she would blink her eyes. Everyone thought it was just me seeing what I wanted to see, but I knew what I saw was real. My daughter even saw it.

       On Sunday the 28th of November and Star's 43rd birthday she was taken for a Brain Scan. The doctor's told my Mom there was basically no brain activity and gave my sister a five percent chance for survival. Thirty minutes after receiving that news I walked into her room in the Surgical Critical Care Unit, leaned down and said Star do you still want to go home with me? Just as I said it she opened her eyes wide open and looked right at me, I squealed with excitement and sent my daughter to get our Mom. I turned around and there was about fifteen doctors and nurses standing outside the window looking in awe at what was happening.Mom saw it and was very happy yet the nurse tried to say it was just reflex;however every time I went in she would open them at the sound of my voice, and if she couldn't open them she would blink them. I continued to pray and tell my Mom she would be alright. I was in fear not only for my sister but for our Mother as well. Mom's health was not good and she had high blood pressure as well as severe anxiety which could cause her severe problems.
     On Monday morning we awoke after a few hours of rest, I wouldn't say sleep for my Mother was talking in her sleep all night long. She thought she was at home and the other people in the waiting area with other family who was also patients,Mom thought they were in her house and she was going to run them out. My stepfather had to wake her and then try to get her to get her bearings so that she could sleep peacefully but it was almost impossible. They Critical Care Unit called for my Mother a couple of hours later and she not only didn't know where she was, but she had no recollection of what had happened to my sister or why she was at the hospital. My aunt Brenda was with her so she was able to talk my Mother back into reality before they went into the room. I was down stairs sleeping with the girls, my daughter Rachel and Star's daughter Jessica. Security woke us and we returned upstairs just as my Mom came out. Stars eyes had swollen and the infection was now draining from them as well as her right ear. The neuro surgeon had been called in but he was in surgery so an ear nose and throat specialist came. He said it was actually a good thing that this was happening because it was actually releasing some of the pressure off of Star's brain. Apparently there was also an abcess the size of a golf ball. The drain tube still wasn't working, so anything that wasn't hurtful to her was a good sign. This reassured me even more that God was at work within my sister. It was hard I believe for everyone to comprehend just how very severe Star's condition really was. I didn't wont to leave her and mom but I had to get Rachel back home for school before she fell behind in her studies. We told Star we were leaving blew her kisses from across the room and left around three that afternoon, headed back for South Carolina but I promised my sister I would return as soon as I possibly could.
         As my daughter and I drove through the Smoky Mountains it began to pour down rain, it was getting dusky dark and the wind was blowing, with this the temperature began to drop. As we exited onto interstate 26 headed toward home, we decided to stop for a bite to eat. We went to Long John Silvers, we didn't have one of them in our town so it was actually pretty good for fast food. We took the exit ramp back onto the interstate and just as we did the engine stalled. It seemed the engine coolant system had failed. Here we were on the side of the interstate freezing rain and my daughter had just rolled the window down for some fresh air because I smoke. When the engine stalled we lost all power which meant the windows were no longer functioning. I immediately began calling 911 on my daughters cell phone. The first call went out at 610p.m. The 911 operator ask where we were, all we could tell her was the geographical location because due to the hysteria we couldn't remember the number of the exit we had taken to eat. They were dispatching someone out immediately. Thirty minutes past and we were beginning to become very frantic. Cars and semi trucks were passing us at very fast speeds, we had no emergency lights and my car being silver was hard to see with the rain pouring down. I could just invision someone hitting us at any moment. We made another frantic call to the 911 operator who once again dispatched us through to the Highway Patrol and once again we gave them the information and explained to them we were freezing and had no power, no lights and no heat.We were crying as the traffic continued to fly past, I had my daughter put her seat belt back on just in case we were to get hit by the ongoing traffic. Our car had became soaked with the rain blowing in, the seats were soaked and my daughter and I had left for Tennessee without coats because we had forgotten just how cold it gets back home so we had nothing to keep us warm except the sweaters we were wearing. To make a long story short we were finally rescued, taken to a motel where we were stranded for three days until the car could be repaired. If you are ever broken down on the interstate do not think for one second that the North Carolina Highway Patrol will go out of their way to help you. This was the second time in ten years we have broken down in that state and the second time we were basically forgotten. It was a local Asheville Police officer who came to our rescue an hour and a half later while the Highway Patrol argued as to whose jurisdiction we were in. I thought their job was to protect and serve but we came to find out quickly that is not the truth. That night my daughter and I joined together in prayer to our God Almighty for his protection and he brought forth a band of angels who help us get through. We were towed off the interstate to a auto shop where the young man who worked there tried to fix the car, he then drove us to a motel and the next day the car was taken to a shop.God broke a network of good samaritans to our rescue and we were on our way home.
      As we were traveling the interstate once again we called Tennessee to check on my sister and was given miraculous news. My sweet sweet sister had began to open her eyes for the nurses and my Mother and then to everyone's surprise she moved her legs. My Mother was beside herself and it was all I could do to hold back the tears but I sure did shout Glory to God and Hallelujiah  a bunch. There is no doubt in my mind that my sister will recover for her time is not over. God did not bring this illness upon her. She was struck by evil forces and now God is working to restore her body and mind so that she may continue on with her earthly mission set forth for her to achieve on the Lord's behalf. What has happened to her is and will be something that my family will never forget. It will be something that shall make my sister stronger and braver than ever. I know that this is just the beginning of many miraculous days ahead for her as she fights to recover. Darkness has cast evil down upon my family for many years, it has tried to break my family through terrorizing the things we love the most but we shall continue this treacherous  journey on earth becomes he is with us and he will protect us and we shall rise up against all evil in Jesus name. We know that we are not alone for Christ is with us always. Amen...