Wednesday, December 24,
2025
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. Greek iconography indicates
that he either slapped or punched Arius who did not believe in
the virgin birth or the deity of Christ.
It seems appropriate to me that
the man who gave birth to Santa Claus would historically be involved in defending,
physically and literally, 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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