Welcome as we gather together to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I love this time of year, not because of the presents I receive each year, but THE present I have received, the greatest gift that has ever been given to me, and that is Jesus Christ! That is what we are doing here this morning, coming together to thank the Father for sending His only begotten Son to die for our sins, to set us free from our sins.
And for many, there are those yearly Christmas parties that are always interesting. In regards to that, recently there was a memo sent out in regards to the companies annual Christmas party and this is what it said:
FROM:
Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
TO: All Employees
DATE: October 1, 2009
RE: Gala Christmas Party
I’m happy to inform you that the company Christmas
Party will take place on December 23rd, starting at
noon in the private function room at the Grill House. There will
be a cash bar and plenty of drinks! We’ll have a small
band playing traditional carols . . . feel free to sing along.
And don’t be surprised if our CEO shows up dressed
as Santa Claus! A Christmas tree will be lit at 1:00 PM. Exchanges
of gifts among employees can be done at that time; however, no
gift should be over $10.00 to make the giving of gifts easy for
everyone’s pockets. This gathering is only for employees!
Our CEO will make a special announcement at that time!
Merry
Christmas to you and your family,
Patty
Company Memo
Now, because of some hurt feelings, another memo had to be sent out and it went like this:
FROM:
Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
TO: All Employees
DATE: October 2, 2009
RE: Gala Holiday Party
In no way was yesterday’s memo intended to
exclude our Jewish employees. We recognize that Hanukkah
is an important holiday, which often coincides with Christmas,
though unfortunately not this year. However, from now on,
we’re calling it our “Holiday Party.” The
same policy applies to any other employees who are not Christians
and to those still celebrating Reconciliation Day. There
will be no Christmas tree and no Christmas carols will be sung.
We will have other types of music for your enjoyment.
Happy now?
Happy Holidays to you and your family,
Patty
Company Memo
Well, there were still some problems and, believe it or not, another memo had to be sent out and it went like this:
FROM:
Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
TO: All Employees
DATE: October 3, 2009
RE: Holiday Party
Regarding the note I received from a member of Alcoholics
Anonymous requesting a non-drinking table, you didn’t sign
your name. I’m happy to accommodate this request, but
if I put a sign on a table that reads, “AA Only”, you
wouldn’t be anonymous anymore. How am I supposed to
handle this?
Somebody?
And sorry, but forget about the gift exchange, no gifts are allowed
since the union members feel that $10.00 is too much money and
the executives believe $10.00 is a little chintzy.
REMEMBER: NO GIFTS EXCHANGE WILL BE ALLOWED.
Company Memo
I know, what else could be said, but there were those that were still not satisfied with what this memo said and another memo was sent out that read like this:
FROM:
Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
To: All Employees
DATE: October 4, 2009
RE: Generic Holiday
Party
What a diverse group we are! I had no idea
that December 20th begins
the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which forbids eating and drinking
during daylight hours. There goes the party! Seriously,
we can appreciate how a luncheon at this time of year does not
accommodate our Muslim employees’ beliefs. Perhaps
the Grill House can hold off on serving your meal until the end
of the party or else package everything for you to take it home
in little foil doggy baggy. Will that work?
Meanwhile,
I’ve arranged for members of Weight Watchers to sit farthest
from the dessert buffet, and pregnant women will get the table
closest to the restrooms.
Gays are allowed to sit with each other. Lesbians do not
have to sit with Gay men, each group will have their own table.
Yes,
there will be flower arrangement for the Gay men’s table.
To
the person asking permission to cross dress, the Grill House asks
that no cross-dressing be allowed, apparently because of concerns
about confusion in the restrooms. Sorry.
We
will have booster seats for short people.
Low-fat
food will be available for those on a diet.
I
am sorry to report that we cannot control the amount of salt used
in the food. The Grill House suggests that people with high blood
pressure taste a bite first.
There
will be fresh “low sugar” fruits as dessert for diabetics,
but the restaurant cannot supply “no sugar” desserts.
Sorry!
Did I miss anything?!?!?
Patty
Company Memo
Yes, you guessed it, another letter had to be sent by Patty regarding this event and this is what she had to say:
FROM:
Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
TO: All You Complaining Employees
DATE: October 5, 2009
RE: The Holiday Party
I’ve had it with you vegetarian’s!!! We’re
going to keep this party at the Grill House whether you like it
or not, so you can sit quietly at the table furthest from the
“grill of death,” as you so quaintly put it, and you’ll
get your salad bar, including organic tomatoes. But you
know, tomatoes have feelings, too. They scream when you slice
them. I’ve heard them scream. I’m hearing them
scream right NOW!
The rest of you weirdo’s, I hope you all have a rotten holiday!
Drive drunk and die,
The Wicked Witch from Hell!!!
Company Memo
Well, management had to step in and after that last memo; this is what they sent out to their employees:
FROM:
Joan Bishop, Acting Human Resources Director
DATE: October 6, 2009
RE: Patty Lewis and Holiday Party
I’m sure I speak for all of us in wishing Patty Lewis
a speedy recovery after her nervous breakdown and I’ll continue
to forward your cards to her.
In
the meantime, management has decided to cancel our Holiday Party
and give everyone the afternoon off the 23rd of December with full
pay.
Happy Holidays!
Joan
We laugh at that but it is amazing how we have to remove Christ from Christmas and folks, that is what Christmas is all about! And granted, Jesus was not born on December 25th, that is a pagan holiday no matter how you slice it. But the reality is, Jesus was born, God became flesh and dwelt among us and this event most likely took place in the fall, when shepherds would still be out in their fields. Now how do I know that Jesus was born, that God became flesh and dwelt among us? Because of a memo that God sent and you may not like it but believe me on this one, He is not going to change it. This is what the Old Testament prophets spoke of and this is what needed to transpire so our fellowship with the Father could be restored since sin had separated us from God.
So with that said, let’s begin reading this morning in Matthew chapter 1, starting in verse 18 and see what the Lord has for us on this Christmas morning as we study His Word and look at the birth of His Son!
This memo, in a sense, was spoken by God and given to Matthew for each of us to read and understand. It’s focus is the events leading up to the birth of Christ and Matthew, more than any other writer of the Gospel’s, goes back to the Old Testament to show that the prophets spoke hundreds, even thousands of years before this event even took place of the birth of the Messiah. They showed that Jesus is the fulfillment of what the Old Testament prophets said from His birth all the way to His death and resurrection and His second coming. In fact, there are very detailed prophecies regarding His first coming, over 300 that Jesus fulfilled down to the tiniest detail and there are over 500 related to His second coming!
And so with the rest of our time this morning, let’s look at these verses and see what we can glean for them as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
If you were Jewish you would probably understand that there are basically three steps to marriage in Jesus day. First there was the engagement and this could happen at a very young age and usually their parents made these arrangements for them. Next was the betrothal, and this is where Joseph and Mary were. The betrothal now made the previous engagement official and binding. This period of time could last 1 year and the couple was known as husband and wife even though they had not consummated their marriage yet. During this time the man prepared the home for his wife and she would wait until he called upon her. And when this happened this is when the marriage would take place, after the year of betrothal and it is now that the marriage is consummated.
And there is a problem now because Mary is with child, she is pregnant and even though they were in this betrothal period, there were no sexual relations that were to take place, that occurred after they were married. Now Luke fills in some of the details of what was going on with Mary, how she found out what was to take place. In Luke 1:26-35 we are told:
“Now in the sixth month the
angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of
Now can you imagine what was going on in Mary’s mind at this point, no wonder Gabriel told her not to be afraid! How is she going to explain this to her husband? “A Joseph, I have some news for you.” “Great Mary, what is it?” “Well, I am pregnant!” “You are what?” “No, it is not what you think, the Holy Spirit came upon me and I am with child!” That is what Mary was facing and we don’t know how long before she told Joseph but I would think she could not wait too long for she would be showing signs that she was pregnant and thus, she had to give him this news. But for Mary, Luke tells us that she respond to what Gabriel told her by saying, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38.
Please keep in mind that Mary was probably a young teenager at this time, maybe 12 or 13 years old and look at her maturity, her faith. The angel told her these things and she was willing to be the instrument that God was going to use in this situation. Did Mary understand all that this would entail? I doubt it, but again, look at her faith! But how was her husband going to respond to this news? Let’s read on and see.
You have to give Joseph a lot of credit here for he could have had her stoned to death for committing adultery! But he loved Mary and wanted to do what was best for her, even though he was not going to go through with the marriage. And yes, I am sure he felt betrayed by her, that she was unfaithful to him, but he still loved her and did not want to hurt her. Thus, Joseph is going to get a divorce. And yes, even though they were not married yet, the betrothal period was official and binding and the only way to get out of it was a divorce! But again, look at this man Joseph, he wants to do it secretly, as quietly as possible because he does not want people to find out what Mary did, he was trying to protect her. But Joseph did not have the full picture yet and God is going to show him what this is all about!
I am sure that Joseph was thinking these things over, troubled over what Mary had told him. And as he was in bed an angel appeared to him in a dream, it could have been Gabriel and this angel tells Joseph not to go through with the divorce but to go through with the marriage with his betrothed wife, Mary! And notice that this angel gives to Joseph a confirmation of what Mary told him, that it was indeed the Holy Spirit that came upon her, in what way we don’t know, but now she is with child.
Talk about your heavy-duty dreams. I am sure Joseph is wondering what this is all about? What kind of child is this that is to be born? And God, through this angel is going to tell Joseph who this Child is and the work He is to do!
Now this is so simple for us to understand that even a child can understand this. This child, Jesus, has come to save us from our sins because it is our sins that have separated us from our God! In Isaiah 59:1-2 we are told, “Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.”
You see, God is holy, He is righteous and He cannot look favorably upon sin. And if we try to approach God in our righteousness, which are like filthy rags, it will never happen. Thus, Jesus has come to set us free from our sin, to completely take it away and thus, the Lord can save us through Jesus, He can hear us because Jesus has paid the penalty for our sins. That truly is our greatest need and thus, God has met our greatest need, the forgiveness of sin! You have probably heard this many times before but it truly drives home this point. We are told:
If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator;
If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist;
If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist;
If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer;
But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.
- Source Unknown
And this Savior, His name was Jesus and it is the Greek word from the Hebrew Yhowshua or Joshua and it means, Yahweh is our salvation or Yahweh has become our salvation. That is what Peter tells us in Acts 4:12, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Please understand that fact, there is no salvation apart from Jesus! I know, what gives me the right to say something like that? God does for we see that over and over in the Bible. How do I know that the Bible is true and these other religious books false? Because God tells us the end from the beginning, He tells us what is going to happen before it even happens.
Like I have said, the Bible is loaded with prophecy that is very clear, it is very specific. Let me just show you a couple. First of all in Micah 5:2, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.” And this is from The Amplified Bible, “But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, you are little to be among the clans of Judah; [yet] out of you shall One come forth for Me Who is to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth have been from of old, from ancient days (eternity). [Gen 49:10; Matt 2:5-12; John 7:42.]”
In other words, here is a prophecy specifically telling us where the Messiah was to be born, in Bethlehem and specifically the Bethlehem in Judah, Bethlehem Ephrathah! There is no way that Jesus could have arranged that one unless He is who He says He is! God knows the end from the beginning! And not only is the Messiah to be born in Bethlehem but He is God. How do I know that? Because Micah tells us that He is from everlasting, or that He is eternal and only God is eternal. We will deal more with God becoming flesh in a few minutes, but again, here is a specific prophecy of where the Messiah is to be born and that this would be God incarnate!
Another one I will give you is from Daniel chapter 9 as the angel tells Daniel that there will be 173,880 days from the going forth to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Messiah comes! According to Nehemiah, on March 14th 445 B.C. King Artaxerxes gave the command to Nehemiah to restore and rebuild Jerusalem and if you counted off 173,880 days you would come to April 6th 32 A.D., the every day that Jesus rode through Jerusalem as Messiah the King, the only time He did that! Only God can know the exact day that would occur and He nailed it. No other religious book can do that because there is only one God!
Thus, I can say with 100% authority that the Bible is the Word of God and what God has said, that Jesus has come to save man from his sins and He is the only one who could do this! Sin has separated man from God and Jesus is the Mediator, the Bridge-builder to restore our relationship with God the Father! Thus, His name shall be called Jesus because He will save man from his sins!
Now Matthew takes us back to an Old Testament prophecy regarding the Messiah and His birth. He takes us to Isaiah 7:14 and we are told that a virgin will give birth to a Son. Now the reality is, man has the seed, but God is doing something special here. Yes, Joseph, in a sense is the stepfather of Jesus but He was born of Mary!
Here is one of those passages of Scripture that has provided much controversy. We believe this to point to the virgin birth of Jesus. That is the long-term fulfillment. But this was also to be a sign for Ahaz to show God’s faithfulness. The Hebrew word for “virgin” is ALMAH, which means a young, unmarried women of sexual maturity. Now in those days she would have been considered a virgin, not so today. If Isaiah used the Hebrew word BETHULAH that would have solved the controversy, for it seems to mean virgin. So what is going on here? In Isaiah 8:18 we read, “Here am I and the children whom the LORD has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel From the LORD of hosts, Who dwells in Mount Zion.”
In other words, the names of Isaiah and his children were to be a sign to the nation. Isaiah’s name means “Jehovah saves”. His first son, Shear-Jashub means, “a remnant shall return”. At this point it seems that Isaiah’s wife may have died and he married a prophetess who bore him a son named, Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, which means “speed the spoil, hasten the booty”. It was a reference to the Assyrians coming to take the land, but ultimately the Babylonians who would swiftly come and take them captive. Now some also feel that Isaiah called his second son, Immanuel, or “God with us”, which was a common practice in those days. Thus, in the darkness of the day, God was still with them.
Now as much as some like to argue against the virgin birth of Christ because of the Hebrew word Isaiah used, when the Septuagint translation came out in around 250 BC, that is the Hebrew Scriptures translated into Greek, they translated the Hebrew word ALMAH into the Greek word PARTHENOS, which means virgin. Not only that, but when we get to the New Testament, the Holy Spirit once again makes things very clear. For in Matthew 1:23, a quote of Isaiah 7:14, He uses once again the Greek word PARTHENOS, which means virgin.
And there is a problem. You see, many liberal people try to deny the virgin birth; they say it didn’t happen, that the text says it was a “young woman.” We have talked about this, but it doesn’t matter what the Scriptures say, people want to come to their own conclusion instead of letting God speak! If you feel that Jesus was not born of a virgin, can you please explain to me how a young woman giving birth is a sign to anyone? That is just foolishness because young women all over the world are having children and thus, that is not what this text is saying!
A virgin, Mary, who had not had sexual relations at all, will conceive and bear a son and they will call His name, “Immanuel”? Hey, wait a minute; I thought His name is Jesus! It is, this is more of a title than a name. Nowhere in the Scriptures is He called Immanuel. What is interesting is that Matthew quotes out of the same verse in Isaiah 7:14 and is telling us that this child will be God incarnate or that Almighty God will inhabit a body of flesh!
Is this important? Absolutely! Interestingly enough, Larry
King, the CNN talk show host, was once asked who he would most
want to interview if he could choose anyone from all of history.
He said, “Jesus Christ.” The questioner said, “And
what would you like to ask Him?” King replied, “I would
like to ask Him if He was indeed virgin-born. The answer to that
question would define history for me.”
Why would it define history for him? Because if this was
true, and it is, that means that God has become flesh and dwelt
among us. In fact,
John makes that very point in John chapter 1 where John tells
us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was
made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light
of men. . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and
we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father, full of grace and truth.”
Listen to how The Amplified Bible puts John 1:14, “And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth. [Isa 40:5.]”
And folks, if God did not become flesh and dwell among us, if Jesus was just a man, then He would be a sinner and in need of a Savior. He in no way could save us from our sins, but as we have seen, He has come to save us from our sins and it is God Himself who stepped into a body of flesh to free us!
Listen to this true story and you will see what a Savior we do have once you realize that you are a sinner. We are told:
Dr. Walter Wilson, ever on the alert to speak to men about their souls and need of the Saviour, asked an attendant at a service station who had filled his car with gas: “How did sin get in Sinclair?” pointing to the lighted sign atop the gas pump. “I do not know, sir, how sin got into Sinclair; but, sir, I have wished many times that I knew how to get sin out of my life!”
It was then that Dr. Wilson had the opportunity to tell the young man of the One who is the sinner’s friend and of whom it is written: “And thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21).
- Willis Cook
And so His name is Jesus, Yahweh is our salvation and His title is Emmanuel, God with us. But there are many names or titles given to Jesus as James Montgomery Boice tells us. He wrote:
What a wonderful list of names we have for Jesus! The Bible is full of them. He is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega, the Ancient of Days. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He is the Anointed One, the Messiah. He is our Prophet, Priest, and King. He is our Savior, the Only Wise God. He is our Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. He is the Lord, the Almighty. He is the Door of the sheep, the Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd, the Chief Shepherd, the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. He is the Lamb Slain from before the foundation of the world. He is the Logos, the Light, the Light of the World, the Light of Life, the Tree of Life, the Word of Life, the Bread that came down from heaven, the Spring which, if a person drink of it, he will never thirst again. He is the Way and the Truth and the Life. He is the Resurrection and the Life. He is our Rock, our Bridegroom, our Beloved, and our Redeemer. He is the Head over all things, which is his body, the church.
But above all, he is “God with us,” Immanuel, and he came from heaven to earth to save us from our sins.
- James Montgomery Boice, The Christ of Christmas
VERSES
24-25
We truly don’t know a lot about Joseph but he was a good man. He tried to do what he felt was right with Mary until the angel cleared the matter up for him. And once the angel spoke to him he obeyed and took Mary to be his wife. Now we read that and move on to the next chapter, but do you understand the faith that he had! In a dream this angel confirms everything that Mary told him and instead of doubting, he believed and did what he was told! That is faith that has legs! In other words, it is a faith that can walk!
It also says that Joseph did not know Mary or have sexual relations with her until after the birth of Jesus. Now this may be hard for some of you but Mary and Joseph did have other children besides Jesus. I know, you have been taught in some circles that Mary remained a virgin her entire life, but that is not what the Scriptures tell us. Joseph and Mary had a normal marriage relationship, which included sexual relations and children.
Listen carefully to what Mark tells us in Mark 6:1-3, “Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, ‘Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?’ So they were offended at Him.” So not only did they have other sons but they also had daughters!
I realize that some of you may still have rejected this gift that God has for you, but my prayer is that you would not leave here this morning without this gift! As I begin to close this morning, let me share this story with you and then I will make some concluding remarks. We are told:
There
was once a man who didn’t believe in God, and he didn’t
hesitate to let others know how he felt about religion and religious
holidays. His wife, however, did believe, and she raised
their children to also have faith in God and Jesus, despite his
disparaging comments.
One snowy eve, his wife was taking their children
to a service in the farm community in which they lived.
They were to talk about Jesus’ birth. She asked him to come,
but he refused. “That story is nonsense!” he said.
“Why would God lower Himself to come to Earth as a man? That’s
ridiculous!”
So she and the children left, and he stayed home. A while later, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blizzard. As the man looked out the window, all he saw was a blinding snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening. Then he heard a loud thump. Something had hit the window. He looked out, but couldn’t see more than a few feet.
When the snow let up a little, he ventured outside to see what could have been beating on his window. In the field near his house he saw a flock of wild geese. Apparently they had been flying south for the winter when they got caught in the snowstorm and couldn’t go on. They were lost and stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter. They just flapped their wings and flew around the field in low circles, blindly and aimlessly. A couple of them had flown into his window, it seemed.
The man felt sorry for the geese and wanted to help them. The barn would be a great place for them to stay, he thought. It’s warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm.
So he walked over to the barn and opened the doors wide, then watched and waited, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. But the geese just fluttered around aimlessly and didn’t seem to notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. The man tried to get their attention, but that just seemed to scare them, and they moved further away. He went into the house and came with some bread, broke it up, and made a breadcrumb trail leading to the barn. They still didn’t catch on.
Now he was getting frustrated. He got behind them and tried to shoo them toward the barn, but they only got more scared and scattered in every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where they would be warm and safe. “Why don’t they follow me?!” he exclaimed. “Can’t they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm?”
He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn’t follow a human. “If only I were a goose, then I could save them,” he said out loud. Then he had an idea. He went into barn, got one of his own geese, and carried it in his arms as he circled around behind the flock of wild geese. He then released it. His goose flew through the flock and straight into the barn--and one-by-one, the other geese followed it to safety.
He stood silently for a moment as the words he had spoken a few minutes earlier replayed in his mind: “If only I were a goose, then I could save them!” Then he thought about what he had said to his wife earlier. “Why would God want to be like us? That’s ridiculous!” Suddenly it all made sense. That is what God had done. We were like the geese--blind, lost, perishing. God had His Son become like us so He could show us the way and save us.
As the winds and blinding snow died down, his soul became quiet and pondered this wonderful thought. Suddenly he understood why Christ had come. Years of doubt and disbelief vanished with the passing storm. He fell to his knees in the snow, and prayed his first prayer: “Thank You, God, for coming in human form to get me out of the storm.
- Source Unknown
That is what God has done for us and all we must do is receive that free gift of eternal life that is wrapped in Jesus! And, what you have in your hands, the Bible is God’s memo to us in a sense, it is His Words, and He won’t change them to make us feel better. What He tells us, the solution to the problem of sin is only found in Jesus and to change that or altar that would give people a false hope!
If you don’t know Jesus this morning, just speak to Him. Say a little prayer that may go something like this: “Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and apart from you I am lost. Please come into my life and be my Lord and Savior!” And if you do that, you will receive the greatest gift that has ever been given, the gift of life that is found in Jesus.
For the rest of you who have asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior, thank Him for what He has done in your life. That His gift to you would never get old, never be tossed aside, but you would treasure it all the days of your life. I will leave you with these words from Jesus to take with you, “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 3:16-21. May you have a blessed Christmas!