Merry Christmas!

"While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them."- Luke 2:6-7

     Merry Christmas to all of you! I just wanted to talk a little bit about the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. There are many things that are significant about His birth. First off, the whole thing was significant because He came to save us. What sticks out to many people is the fact that Mary placed Him in a manger. While that is what makes His birth unique, there is something else that a lot of people look past. Many scholars believe that the cloths that Mary wraps Him in are burial cloths. The fact that He was wrapped in burial cloths points to the fact that He was born to die. Jesus was born over 2000 years ago, and His ultimate purpose was to die, a gruesome death on a cross, to be the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. Hebrews 9:12 says, "He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption."
     For those who don't know what the Most Holy Place is, it is a part of the Jewish Temple that was only gone into once a year. That day was the Day of Atonement. The High Priest (the head man in charge) was the only guy that could go in there. What made this such a big deal was that the Most Holy Place is where God's presence was. If just anyone went in there, they would die. If the High Priest messed up, he would die. Jesus is the High Priest, and he is sinless. He was the perfect sacrifice for our sins, and now because of His sacrifice, we can be with Him one day.

I pray that we all remember that God gave us His Son over 2000 years ago to die for us because He loved us so much.