Skip to main content

The Nativity - The Reason for the Season

I did something today that I normally don’t do: I ventured into a place I consider hostile territory – I went to the movies. Those who know me well (admittedly a crowd of one – my wife) know that I abhor the environment of the modern movie theater. If it wasn’t for the movie that we were going to see, the $3.50 bottle of water would have surely tipped me into another soapbox on the absurdity of the modern theater environment. However, I was anticipating the pleasure of the movie “The Nativity Story”, so being a grump about having to endure the movie theater seemed at odds with the message of Jesus.

After viewing “The Nativity Story”, I can clearly see why the City of Chicago was so quick to ban public excerpts of the film from being shown at a street festival in the city a few weeks ago. This movie is all about JESUS! We really can’t have that going on freely in the American public square now can we? This movie is a wonderful reminder of why Christians should love Christmas. This was not so much a movie, as it was a visual representation of the message of Luke Chapter 1. No Hollywood gimmicks; no over-indulgent melodrama. It tells the simple but powerful message of how our Lord and Savior was sent into the world by a patient, loving and generous God, to save us all from the sins of our lives. The characters were not the typical Hollywood types. These were people who probably would have looked and acted as the New Testament figures written about in the Gospels. They were human, they were humble, they were fearful and they were faithful. All qualities that we need as Christians today, if we are to make an impact for Christ in a world long already gone mad.

God bless those responsible for making this film, and those responsible for bringing it to the movie theaters. “The Nativity Story” may be playing in but one of the many theaters in the multiplex, but its story is as a million miles away from the perversion that is likely being shown elsewhere in the theater under the same roof.

May it bring many lost viewers into the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as the King who was born to die for the sins of their lives: The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." (Luke 1:28-33 NIV)
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Ignore God and Decrease Your Birth Rates

I read a very interesting article yesterday in the New York Times on the topic of the shrinking birth rate in Europe over the past few decades. The article outlines the demographic danger facing Europe with the high likelihood that several countries (Italy, Spain and Germany among others) will see their native populations decrease by up to 40% by 2050. According to the article, the replacement birth rate necessary to maintain an equal population size from generation to generation is 2.1 children born to each woman. In Europe according to the article the rate is well below 2.0, with some countries closer to 1.5 and dropping. It is a lengthy and very interesting read that sheds some light on a phenomenon that in all likelihood will reshape the face of Western Europe within 100 years. The interesting thing about the article is that it was published after extensive research and interviews with many experts and it offers various possible explanations for why this situation has developed....
Read more

Funerals for the Unsaved or Unbelievers

I am not a leader of a church, but I oftentimes wonder how does one lead a funeral service for someone who dies without knowing Jesus Christ as Lord ? Admittedly I have not been to many funerals in my lifetime, though they are appearing to come more frequently lately, but the fact is that funerals are held daily throughout the world and as such this is a pertinent question to someone just about every day.   I’ve been to the funeral where the person lived a fairly routine life, taking care of their families and other responsibilities as best they could, paying taxes and doing the average things that we as human beings do on a consistent basis. They however had no visible relationship with God through His son Jesus Christ. When this person dies, the surviving family members are oftentimes left scrambling trying to find a person and a place to officiate the funeral services – generally because the deceased did not have a regular church that they attended. Funeral homes sometimes ...
Read more

Were they Saved?

Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many… (Hebrews 9:27-28 NIV) My wife and I were talking about a celebrity who we learned had died recently. One of my first thoughts (as is customary) was “were they saved”? Did that person accept that Jesus died for their sins so that they could live forever in Heaven? Though neither my wife nor I could know the real answer to that question, if we went by the “evidence” of how that person lived their public life, then it appeared highly unlikely that a salvation conversion would have occurred in their life. If so, then their death was indeed a tragedy. Acceptance of Jesus is indeed the difference between life and death (for eternity). Look at this diagram below (taken from a previous publication by author Bruce Wilkinson). The size of the circle denotes the average life span of our present life on earth. The length of the line denotes the first .000...
Read more