THE REAL CHRISTMAS SPIRIT! WHAT IS IT—AND DO WE HAVE IT?

 

     Hello, again. I’m Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember again this Christmas season that the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
     My question today is “THE REAL CHRISTMAS SPIRIT! WHAT IS IT—AND DO WE HAVE IT?” For many years during the Christmas holiday season, I have longed for God to work miracles in my life and in my family's lives.
     I love everything Christmas. Since I was a child, I have loved Christmas lights, Christmas villages, Christmas vignettes, Christmas events, Christmas music, and Christmas TV specials—and who can forget Christmas gifts? My favorite gift of all time as a kid was a plastic fire truck. Also, my brother and I stayed up all night on Christmas Eve one time after getting a motorized racetrack. (Yes, we opened up all our gifts on Christmas Eve, but don't talk to my wife about it.)
     What made, and makes the Christmas season so special for me? It’s not really easy for me to explain. My family was not especially religious, and we went to church perhaps only one/half of the weeks in a year. I was never taught directly the details of salvation or the importance of becoming saved. One Christmas song, however, had a significant impact on me as a child. It was “Angels We Have Heard On High” by Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians. I played a snippet in my video. The song brings to mind the impact of angels on the world—and this was even before I knew much about angels or the effect of Jesus' birth on mankind. I think that song had a substantial impact on my giving my heart to Jesus about twenty-some years later.
     So, what is the ‘Christmas spirit’? I’ll give a sample from the Old Testament that to me is emblematic and a precursor of what happened on the first Christmas Eve when Jesus was born. It's found in Ezra 3:12-13 when Ezra, the priest, records the profound moment when the foundation of the temple was laid during its rebuilding. Here it is:

“But many of the older priests, Levites, and family heads, who had seen the first temple, wept loudly when they saw the foundation of this temple, but many others shouted joyfully. The people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shouting from that of the weeping, because the people were shouting so loudly. And the sound was heard far away.”

     Isaiah 9:2 prophesied another moment in time when another foundation would be laid, one that far surpassed the foundation of the physical temple. It was the foundation of an eternal spiritual temple: It was fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. It reads the following:

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness.”

     Then Isaiah 9:6 further elaborated:

“For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

     Then, in Luke 2:8-14, the prophecy was fulfilled. Here it is, when the angels appeared to the shepherds to announce to them the birth of Jesus:

“In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.” Suddenly, there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors.”

     So there you have it: “good news of great joy that will be for all people”, which is a Savior, “born in the city of David”. It follows the song that I played earlier, “Angels We Have Heard On High”.
     This then is the REAL Christmas Spirit—that we can all have only when we embrace Jesus as our Savior.
     See you next time!