Vs. 20 - We are told in this verse that Jesus was Conceived of the Spirit, therefore He had not earthly father. All the genetics that determine the blood type of a baby comes from the father. Jesus was said to have the spirit without measure and had the blood type of the spotless lamb, inherited from His Father. That is how it can be said in the next verse we will look at that Jesus was indeed "God with us." This could be said of no one else, Jesus was truly "God manifest in the flesh" (1Timothy 3:16). Truly a miracle of the greatest degree that God would leave the splendors of heaven and clothe Himself in frail humanity and walk among us and then give that very life for us. Vs. 23 - He shall be called "Emmanuel" meaning "God with us." John 1:1 confirms this by telling us that Jesus was in the beginning with God and Was God! John then goes a step further in vs.14 to tell us that Jesus dwelt among us. Yes, the Word of God, The Creator of the Universe, The King of Kings, The Lord of Lords, The Alpha and Omega, The First and the Last, dwelt among us so we could look at His example. Then the spotless Lamb of God gave Himself for us, thats right, the Romans did not kill Jesus, the Jews did not kill Jesus, He gave Himself as a living Sacrifice for our sins. That is the greatest example of pure love and the thing that our heart should be set upon during this season. THIS IS CHRIST-mas!

Vs. 11 - Gold - Frankincense - Myrrh - Gold representing the Kingship of Christ, Frankincense representing the Priesthood of Christ, and the Myrrh representing the death and sacrifice of Christ. The wise men brought these gifts because they understood their significance and they had complete understanding of why they were bringing them. When they came to the place where Jesus was the first thing they did was "Worship" Him. They knew exactly whom they were in the presence of and why they were there. Bethlehem was the chosen place of birth for a reason; Bethlehem means, "house of bread" Jesus said that He is the bread of life. Jesus was that Manna that came down from heaven and He gives eternal life. Jesse was also from Bethlehem who was the father of David, and next to Bethlehem is a valley known as the 'fields of Jesse' the place where David watched over the flock of his father. It is believed that in these same fields is also the place where the angels appeared with the great announcement to the shepherds that Jesus was born. Imagine that, angels announcing to shepherds that the Great Shepherd was born that night. It is also in these fields that the lambs were raised to be used in the Temple sacrifices. Here the true Lamb of God is born that would present Himself to the temple in His day and be rejected. John the Baptist recognized this great truth at the Jordan that day when he proclaimed "Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world." There are many more great truths that relate to this wonderful story we celebrate as Christ-mas. I want to look at another scripture that Jesus used to convey a point:

27 "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even `sinners' love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even `sinners' do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even `sinners' lend to `sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Change our perspective on how we celebrate as Romans 12: 2 says: Be Not Conformed to the World. We can stop burdening ourselves with buying so much for us and family and start devoting more to homeless, nursing homes, soup kitchens, Rescue Mission, ect.... The options are endless. Why not spend the time and money that we would spend on these gifts on those that we don't know, the homeless, nursing homes, etc... people that would not be expected to pay us back? Wasn't it Jesus that said, "If you do it unto the least of these my brethren you have done it unto me" Why not go to Bethlehem and present gifts to Christ just as the wise men did? We can focus on presenting the Greatest Gift of all... Telling others about the Gift that God gave US...