Prayer
– Lord, You are worthy of our praise, honor, respect, and love. Happy Birthday
to You! May you rejoice with us as we celebrate Your birth—as well as Your
resurrection!
The
Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of
David! Luke
2:11
Meditate.
Consider honoring Jesus on His birthday.
A friend of mine just shared that a
young Chinese Christian told her that many Chinese people think that Christmas
is a celebration of Santa Clause’s birthday. What? So, I Googled it out of
curiosity. Google reported that many Chinese, especially in larger cities, have
Santa parties with the streets filling with people in Santa costumes.
Interestingly, Santa, or Old Man of Christmas as they call him, is often
depicted playing a saxophone and is portrayed with his sisters, not elves and
reindeer. Only about three percent of the population is Christian, so the
“birthday” is not in recognition of Jesus, but often of Chinese rulers like
Mao Zedong. Additionally, in Hong Kong it is a celebration of peace and renewal.
Still, it is not Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior that they celebrate.
Although it is not a recognition of a birthdate that
the Jews celebrate in late February or March, they commemorate Purim as the day
that the Jews were set free from the anticipated annelation by the wicked Hamen.
It is celebrated with gifts and food, just like we celebrate Christmas and
other birthdays.
He told them to celebrate these
days with feasting and gladness and by giving gifts of food to each other and
presents to the poor. This would commemorate a time when the Jews gained relief
from their enemies, when their sorrow was turned into gladness and their
mourning into joy. Esther
9:22
How do you “celebrate” our Savior’s
birth? Lighted trees? Decorations of wreaths, pointsets, garlands, and light
displays on your home? Singing Christmas carols? Playing Christmas songs on the
radio and watching Christmas movies? Attending Nutcracker ballet or Holiday Symphonies?
Special meals with friends and family? Attending Christmas Eve Lighting service?
That last one is my all-time favorite. Whenever possible and wherever I am, I
always try to go to light a candle and honor Jesus.
How do you observe your own birthday,
the birthdays of friends and family members? The choice is yours how you honor
our Lord on His birthday. Honoring Him is essential aa Christian life. He
honored you by dying a sacrificial death on a cross for your sins. How can you
give Him the respect and reverence to which He is entitled?
Verse
of Salvation ~ Help us, O God of our salvation! Help us for the glory of your
name. Save us and forgive our sins for the honor of your name. Psalm 79:9
© 2024 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
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