Your Miracle At Christmas

Christmas means different things to different people. For some its shopping, parties, celebrations, gifts wrapped under the tree. To others its Santa and his elf’s, stockings hung by the fireplace and the hope of snow. There are those who know and observe the reason for the season, Jesus Christ, his birth, and they treasure nativity scenes, advent and the traditional reasons for December 25. There are the sport junkies, food-aholics, and dare I not miss those chocolate lovers. There is also the Christmas Scrooge. And not to be missed, are those who need a miracle this Christmas. Did I cover everyone here.

The need for a miracle today is no different than the need they had in the day of Mary and Joseph. There were people in need, and people who needed nothing and on that day, when we celebrate the birth of Jesus it was just as evident as it is now.

Why is it some receive a miracle and some do not? I don’t pretend to know the mind and wisdom of God. There are some lessons we can learn, ancient lessons for a modern day. I have learned this in life, there are some who miss the miracle, for miracles abound all around us, and there are some who gain their miracle. I wonder, in which camp are you? Lets talk about those who miss the miracle and see what we might be able to learn. There are those who are:

Misguided.

The first chapter of John speaks of Jesus coming. Verse 11 He came to His own, and those who were his own did not receive Him. When Philip found Nathanael he said to him in verse 45, We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said to him, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip said, Come and see.

Why do people miss their miracle, because they have been misguided about what God can do, and for many there are like the man who thought he was dead. His wife and friends send him to a psychiatrist for help. The psychiatrist, realizing the man was misguided decided if the man could grasp a simple fact, dead men do not bleed, he would understand he was alive. So he had him read medical texts, had him observe autopsies and other tasks to show dead men do not bleed. After weeks of effort, the patient finally told the psychiatrist he had convinced him, dead men do not bleed. At which the psychiatrist took out a need and stuck him in the arm and the blood flowed. The man looked down with a contorted, ashen face and cried out “Good Lord! Dead men bleed after all!”

Some people look a miracle in the face and dismiss it. The wise men were following the Bethlehem star, stopping in to see King Herod to inquire about the birth of the King of the Jews Matthew 2 accounts. Herod gathers together the chief priests and scribes, basically the religious leaders of the day to mind out what they knew of this. In verses 5 and 6 they tell Herod, In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet, ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah for out of you shall come forth a ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.’

Even though they knew the truth in words, they never understood the truth in their hearts, they were misguided in their faith and as a result missed their Christmas miracle.

Is it any different today? Another reason people miss their miracle is they are…

Idle

When Philip told Nathaniel he said, “Come and See.” The wise men were following a star, the shepherds left what they were doing to come and see what was happening in the manager of Bethlehem. Faith is an active word, not an idle activity. Pamela Reeve said Faith is engaging in the deepest joy of heaven, knowing His unfathomable love for me as I walk through the thorny desolate now. It is engaging, it is walking, it is holding on, it is believing.

We know the story of Christmas, Luke 2:1 Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabitants of the land. So Joseph returns to the city of his family, Bethlehem, the city of David, and when they arrive the hotel is packed, the no vacancy light is flashing and they find quarters in the stable out back. We know there was a star in the sky the shepherds and wise men saw it. We know there was an overflow of people in Bethlehem, the no room in the inn told us. So it seems, people with idle time, missed the miracle of Christmas with all the signs around them, sound familiar today? We find people are also: