Saturday,
December 24, 2022
Isa 7:14
14 Therefore
the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and
bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Matt 1:23
23 Behold, a
virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call
his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
"A Visit from St. Nicholas",
more commonly known as "The Night Before Christmas" and "'Twas
the Night Before Christmas" from its first line, is a poem first published
anonymously in 1823 and later attributed to Clement Clarke Moore, who claimed
authorship in 1837. Some commentators now believe the poem was written by Henry
Livingston, Jr.
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro'
the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar plums danced in their heads
The
real Saint Nicholas was Nikolaos of Myra, a historic
4th-century Greek Bishop of Myra, in Asia Minor (modern-day Demre,
Turkey). His legendary habit of secret
gift-giving gave rise to the traditional model of Santa Claus through
Sinterklaas. He was cast into prison during the persecution of Diocletian but
was released after the accession of Constantine and was present at the Council
of Nicaea.
The
Council of Nicaea was convened, among other things, to determine
the true nature of the Son of God and His relationship to the father. Questions
lingered regarding the virgin birth and whether
Jesus was “begotten” and had no beginning or “created” and therefore did have a
beginning. The amazing thing to me is that a group of men believed they could convene to
determine truth! Truth stands regardless of the consensus of any council.
It
seems appropriate to me that the man who gave birth to Santa Claus would
historically be involved in defending the truth that Jesus was virgin born.
Luke 1:35
35 And the
angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the
power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which
shall be born of thee shall be called the Son
of God.
Dear
Jesus, thank you for your virgin birth, your sinless life, your sacrificial death,
and your victorious resurrection! AMEN
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