SPIRITUALITY AND FAITH
The Real Gift --
Jesus Christ!
Submitted by Francine Houston
to a city of Galilee name Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great and will be called the Son of the highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of his father, David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has conceived a son in her
As the snow falls to the ground and people put up their Christmas trees, I almost forgot why we celebrate Christmas. I got so wrapped up in the “Christmas spirit”, that is, getting gifts for my family, I forgot who the real gift is. The real gift is Jesus Christ. In the perfect world of Adam and Eve before they sinned, there was just constant fellowship and relationship with God the Father and each other. When they sinned, God punished all of them including the serpent and put them out of the garden. However, in Genesis 3: 14 – 15, God told the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
Now the man has seed not a woman, however, God did the impossible with a virgin. In Luke 1: 26- 38, “Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God