Christmas 2025

 

~ Why Christmas ~

 

Questions ~ Is Christmas just a stable and a manger? But why did Jesus come? 

 

We don’t have to guess…  He tells us why He came! Below are some of the main reasons God came to earth in the form of the man Jesus.  

 

To Serve Others ~ “Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. ²¹ And He said to her, ‘What do you wish?’ She said to Him, ‘Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.’

 

²² “But Jesus answered and said, ‘You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?’ They said to Him, ‘We are able.’

 

²³ So He said to them, ‘You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.’

 

²⁴ “And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. ²⁵ But Jesus called them to Himself and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. ²⁶ Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. ²⁷ And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave — ²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:20-28).

 

To Complete ~ Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. ¹⁹ Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:17-20).

 

To Call ~ “Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. ¹¹ And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, ‘Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’

^12 “When Jesus heard that, He said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance’” (Matthew 9:10-13, see also Mark 2:17; Luke 5:32; John 3:16-18).  

 

To Witness To Truth ~ “Pilate therefore said to Him, ‘Are You a king then?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.’ ³⁸ Pilate said to Him, ‘What is truth?’ And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, ‘I find no fault in Him at all’ (John 18:37-38).

 

To Allow Sight ~ “Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life’” (John 8:12).

 

To Provide Direction, Truth, and Life ~ “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’ (John 14:6).

 

To Die For You ~ “Jesus came to serve and give His life as a ransom” (Matthew 20:20-28b).

 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

 

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Bible Version: Quotations are from the NKJV unless otherwise noted. Emphasis is added.

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There Is More to the Christmas Story

~ Four Cs Summarize It All ~

 

~ He Created ~ “We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels — everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the Church, He organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body” (Colossians 1:15-18a msg).

 

~ He Came ~ “Watch for this — a virgin will get pregnant and bear a Son; they will name Him Emmanuel (Hebrew for ‘God is with us’” (Matthew 1:23).

 

“About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So, Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.

 

“While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. Mary gave birth to a Son, her firstborn. She wrapped Him in a blanket and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel” (Luke 2:1-7 msg).

 

~ He Conquered ~ “When they crucified Him, the Roman soldiers took His clothes and divided them up four ways, to each soldier a fourth. But His robe was seamless, a single piece of weaving, so they said to each other, ‘Let's not tear it up. Let’s throw dice to see who gets it.’ This confirmed the Scripture that said, ‘They divided up My clothes among them and threw dice for My coat’.” [The soldiers validated the Scriptures!]

 

“While the soldiers were looking after themselves, Jesus’ mother, His aunt, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene stood at the foot of the Cross. Jesus saw His mother and the disciple He loved standing near her. He said to His mother, ‘Woman, here is your Son.’ Then to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ From that moment the disciple accepted her as his own mother.

 

“Jesus, seeing that everything had been completed so that the Scripture record might also be complete, then said, ‘I’m thirsty.’

 

“A jug of sour wine was standing by. Someone put a sponge soaked with the wine on a javelin and lifted it to His mouth. After He took the wine, Jesus said, ‘It’s done . . . complete.’ Bowing His head, He offered up His spirit” (John 19:23-30 msg).

 

Here is the rest of the story!

 

~ He’s Coming ~ “Jesus said, ‘Don't let this throw you. You trust God, don’t you? Trust Me. There is plenty of room for you in My Father’s home. If that weren’t so, would I have told you that I’m on my way to get a room ready for you? And if I’m on My way to get your room ready, I’ll come back and get you so you can live where I live’” (John 14:1-3 msg).

 

Jesus also said, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works’” (Matthew 16:26-27 nkjv).

 

~ Note ~ The base material in this post is from an unknown source.

 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

 

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Bible Version: Quotations are from the NKJV unless otherwise noted.  Emphasis is added.

 

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~ A Reversal ~

 

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*****

A thousand times in history a baby has become a king to rule a nation. 

 

Only one time has a King become a Baby so save ALL nations.” 

 

*****

 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

 

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Resurrection Sunday

~ The Central Point ~

 

Easter is the central pivot of three historically great events!

 

Christmas (God with us) ~ “‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:23).

 

Easter (God for us) ~ Jesus said, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

 

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (John 3:14-21).

 

Pentecost (God in us) ~ Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever — the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.  I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.  A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me.  Because I live, you will live also” (John 14:15-19).

 

“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.  Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.  And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.  But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:9-11).

 

Questions ~ Do you understand the extreme importance of these three events?  If so, what have you done about it?  Do you know without a doubt where you will spend eternity?

 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

 

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The Total Story…

 ~ Four Cs Summarize It ~

 

CHRISTMAS  ~  Almost everyone knows “The Christmas Story” but not many fully understand “the rest of the story.”  It can be summarized with four C words.

 

He Created  ~  The historical account of creation. 

 

“We look at this Son [of God – Jesus Christ] and see the God who cannot be seen.  We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created.  For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels — everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him.  He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment.  And when it comes to the church, He organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body” (Colossians 1:15-18a msg).

 

He Came  ~  The historical account of the birth of Jesus Christ – the first Christmas.

 

“Watch for this — a virgin will get pregnant and bear a Son; they will name Him Emmanuel (Hebrew for “God is with us”).

 

“About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire.  This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria.  Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for.  So, Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s town, for the census.  As a descendant of David, he had to go there.  He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.

 

“While they were there, the time came for her to give birth.  Mary gave birth to a Son, her firstborn.  She wrapped Him in a blanket and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel” (Matthew 1:23 & Luke 2:1-7 msg).

 

He Conquered  ~  The historical Cross of Calvary account.

 

“When they crucified Him, the Roman soldiers took His clothes and divided them up four ways, to each soldier a fourth.  But His robe was seamless, a single piece of weaving, so they said to each other, “Let's not tear it up.  Let’s throw dice to see who gets it.”  This confirmed the Scripture that said, “They divided up My clothes among them and threw dice for My coat.”  [Note that the soldiers validated the Scriptures!]

 

“While the soldiers were looking after themselves, Jesus’ mother, His aunt, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene stood at the foot of the Cross.  Jesus saw His mother and the disciple He loved standing near her.  He said to His mother, ‘Woman, here is your Son.’  Then to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’  From that moment the disciple accepted her as his own mother.

 

“Jesus, seeing that everything had been completed so that the Scripture record might also be complete, then said, ‘I’m thirsty.’

 

“A jug of sour wine was standing by.  Someone put a sponge soaked with the wine on a javelin and lifted it to His mouth.  After He took the wine, Jesus said, ‘It’s done…  complete.’  Bowing His head, He offered up His spirit” (John 19:23-30 msg). 

 

He’s Coming  ~  The most important promised conclusion to the end of human history. This is the critically important “rest of the story! – the climax of human life on earth as we know it.”

 

“Jesus said, ‘Don't let this throw you.  You trust God, don’t you?  Trust Me.  There is plenty of room for you in My Father’s home.  If that weren’t so, would I have told you that I’m on my way to get a room ready for you?  And if I’m on My way to get your room ready, I’ll come back and get you so you can live where I live.’

 

“Jesus also said, ‘For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works’” (John 14:1-3 msg & Matthew 16:26-27 nkjv).

 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

 

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The REAL “Reason for the Season”

 ~ What If Jesus is NOT the “Reason for the Season”? ~

 

Introduction  ~  It has been common for well-meaning individuals to proudly proclaim that “Jesus is the Reason” for Christmas.

 

Comments  ~  (1) This is a well-meant statement and is often used as part of an effort to bring Christ back into the CHRISTmas season.  (2) Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.  (3) Is the Christian view of Christ’s birth mainly about the birth of a baby in Bethlehem over two millennium ago?

 

An Alternative View  ~  Consider the reason Jesus Christ was born on that first Christmas day. 

 

Scripture  ~  Jesus, Himself, said, “For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost” (Matthew 18:11).

 

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder.  And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).   

 

“For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). 

 

Conclusions  ~  We are the reason for the birth of Christ and therefore the “reason for the season.”

 

The point of the season is not His birth but that we can have rebirth!

 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

 

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