General Articles

Celebration-Thanksgiving-Christmas :: By Dale V. Nobbman

Published on: by RR10

We have much to celebrate and be thankful for in November of 2024. Another American presidential election has successfully taken place, just as it has every four years in the 248-year history of this Republic of the United States of America. On January 20, 2025, America will once again reset and reboot our governmental leadership at all levels of our federal, state, and local offices across the nation by retaining some politicians and giving others the boot.

It is a proven process of transferring power on a clockwork four-year basis, which has kept the United States of America the greatest country in the world for nearly two and a half centuries. Quite the accomplishment for a democracy, thanks be to God’s blessing on us! Let us praise God daily for making the last 248 years something truly special to celebrate.

Next up is Thanksgiving Day, an annual celebration of the founding of our nation and the plethora of blessings God has bestowed on this American nation since the English settlers established themselves at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607 and held thanksgiving services. Followed by when the Mayflower Pilgrims landed at Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where they founded the Plymouth Colony in 1620. Their first Thanksgiving celebration dates back to 1621 when they shared a harvest festival with the Native Americans who helped them with their crops. The courage and perseverance of the early Pilgrims, by the grace of God, became a cherished and celebrated part of our American heritage up to the present day.

On October 3, 1789, George Washington made the first presidential proclamation setting aside a day in November for citizens to celebrate what we call ‘Thanksgiving Day’ today. Have you ever read his proclamation? I have attached it below for you to read for yourself all the references to God, the Ruler of all Nations, and how we should give humble thanks.

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor– and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be– That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks–for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation–for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war–for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed–for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted–for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions– to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually–to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed–to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord–To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us–and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York on the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

Go: Washington

This is just one of many examples in our nation’s historical documents about how our nation was indeed based on a Judeo-Christian foundation, which Satan does not want anyone in the United States to know about in our revisionist history taught to us today.

Then comes Christmas, a day set aside in December each year, originally intended as a day for us to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God. Today, it seems the 25th of December has become more of a secular and pagan observance with each passing year; however, the millions of Christians still residing in America today help ensure that our nation remembers and retains the original intended spirit of the Christmas season from year to year, in order that we are still able to celebrate the real ‘reason for the season,’ which is to praise and glorify Jesus Christ.

Most of our favorite traditional pre-20th century Christmas hymns and songs contained sacred references to honor the birth of Jesus Christ and the saving impact of his life on us. Most of our traditional Christmas songs in the 20th century became more secular in nature.

It is amazing the diverse group of men and women God chose to write, compose, and translate our traditional Christmas songs and hymns. Some were wealthy, and others were professional musicians, but in many, many cases, God chose either poor people or individuals with all sorts of physical ailments and infirmities or societal obstacles to overcome in order to create our traditional Christmas music over the course of centuries.

If you wish to learn more about our traditional Christmas music and the people behind it, in order to help your celebration of Christmas this year, I wrote a book published in 2018 titled The Lives of the Christmas Music Makers, which takes a deep dive into the biographies of the people who God used to create our traditional Christmas songs and hymns as we know them today. You can find it for sale on Amazon and other online places.

As I said at the beginning of this article, Americans have much to celebrate during the remainder of this year and in the years to come, for as long we continue as a unified nation.

Ultimately, though, the best thing we have to celebrate is what Jesus Christ did for us after his birth and during his relatively short life on earth. After a three-year ministry intended not only for the spiritual edification of the Israelite people but for all the Gentile people of the world as well, right up to the present day, Jesus willingly laid down his life and shed his blood as a sacrificial lamb to make us righteous with God the Father. Then, through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, He was victorious over death, making it possible for all who believe in Him to have eternal life with God the Father and God the Son. That is truly a cause for joyous celebration every year. My best advice—is to believe in Jesus Christ.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Celebrate a new life in Christ this holiday season by giving your heart and life to Jesus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The King Who Was Born a Fugitive (Matt 1:18-2:23) :: By Donald Whitchard

Published on: by RR10

Scriptures: Isaiah 7:14; Jeremiah 31:15; Matthew 1:18-25, 2:1-23; Luke 2:1-20

Summary: Matthew’s Gospel records the account of the circumstances surrounding the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, including the attempt on His life by the hands of Herod and the horrendous events that followed.

Joseph and Mary were betrothed to one another. It involved a marriage arranged by both sets of parents, and the details were negotiated by the signing of marriage contracts. This time of betrothal was as binding and serious as the marriage itself, which would not take place until a year later. The couple stayed with their parents for the time. The groom would be busy building a home for himself and his soon-to-be bride while she underwent a time of testing and personal preparation to see if she would remain faithful to him. Infidelity was grounds for divorce or worse.

After the year had passed, the groom would go to the bride’s home, accompanied by a group of friends and family. The marriage ceremony would take place. He would then bring the bride to their new home, followed by the same procession. There would be a time of celebration, then a time of privacy where the marriage would be consummated. It was during this period of betrothal when Mary became pregnant by the work of the Holy Spirit. The news of her pregnancy gave Joseph cause to consider divorcing her and putting her away somewhere safe.

One of the foundations of the Christian faith is the affirmation that the Lord Jesus was born of a virgin, as the Scriptures foretold (Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:34-35). Isaiah had made this prophecy seven hundred years before this time, and it was now fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. While He had a human mother, His true Father was God. He was both Divine and human, and if He had been born like anyone else, He would have inherited the same sin nature as we have, and would not have been able to carry out His mission of redeeming us and bearing our sins upon the cross and rising from the dead as proof that His work had been sufficient to reconcile us to God and secure the promise of salvation and eternal life (Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 53:1-12; John 3:16, 19:30; Acts 4:12; Romans 5:6-11, 6:23, 8:31-39, 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 15: 1-18, 12-19; Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 2:1-2; Revelation 1:17-18).

Joseph’s mission (vv.20-28) was to marry Mary and not be afraid of what occurred. He was told by the angelic messenger that the baby was of Divine origin, along with the purpose and mission of the Child. The Child would be named JESUS (Yashua – Aramaic), given the mission of redeeming His people Israel (Luke 19:10; John 3:16-17; Acts 13:23; 1 Corinthians 15:3). All these things were done in order that the prophecy given by Isaiah would be fulfilled. Without hesitation, Joseph arose and did as he was told. While he does not speak in the Scriptures, we see that from Joseph’s actions and nature, he was an example of devotion, love, grace, mercy, and obedience to God. He is to be commended for what he did in spite of the circumstances.

Chapter 2 gives the account of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem (“house of bread”), the city where a thousand years before, David the king had been born. Joseph had also been born there and had returned with Mary to be registered for the census ordered by the Emperor Caesar Augustus (Luke 2:1-2). One of Caesar’s vassal “kings” was Herod the Great, who had been put in charge of the region of Judea forty years earlier by Marc Antony, a contemporary of Julius Caesar. Augustus had faced Antony and his paramour, Queen Cleopatra of Egypt, in the battle of Actium in 31 B.C. Augustus, whose real name was Octavian, had been adopted by Julius Caesar, ended up being the first emperor of the Roman Empire in 27 B.C. and would rule until his death in 14 AD.

Herod had made his peace with Augustus and was allowed to remain on the “throne” of Judea. Herod was not a pure-blooded Jew but was instead from the region of Idumea. He was seen as a usurper to David’s throne by his Jewish subjects. He was never accepted or liked by them despite his attempts to win them over by rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem along with other public works projects that strengthened the region economically and culturally.

As Herod grew older, he became more paranoid and suspected everyone around him of conspiring to overthrow him. This turned him into a cruel and bloodthirsty tyrant. He had his own sons and favorite wife put to death due to his suspicions, something he deeply regretted later. When the Magi (‘Wise men”) arrived in Jerusalem, they began asking where the new king had been born (Numbers 24:17, 19). Their question had been based upon the study of the stars and searching through the prophecies of respective nations, concluding that the star in the east was unmistakable in its signification that a royal birth had occurred.

News of these visitors and their inquiry reached Herod’s palace and caused a major disturbance both there and in the streets of Jerusalem. The old, paranoid monarch saw this as yet another threat to his rule. The people’s fears arose because they knew that Herod’s madness would inevitably lead to bloodshed and terror.

Herod summoned his scribes, desiring to know more about this announcement of royalty. They told him that the promised King of the Jews was to be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). He then summoned the Magi, asking them when the star first appeared. The sighting and following of the star took about two years. Herod then concluded that this Child was still in the area. Now, he showed his devious nature by piously asking them to search for the Child and bring word to him so that he might also worship Him. This was a lie straight from the pit of hell. Satan and the demons had been dreading this time ever since Eden (Genesis 3:15).

Satan would use every means to see that the Promised Messiah would never live to fulfill His purpose and thus, in his deluded mind, thwart the plans of God for redeeming His fallen creation and people. The enemy would use Herod to try and carry out this wicked scheme.

In the meantime, the Magi followed the star until it settled over the house where Jesus and His parents lived. Entering the house, the Magi fell before the Child in an act of worship and presented three gifts. The first gift was gold, the precious metal of royalty and a visible sign of His right to rule over His people. The second gift was an incense known as frankincense, used in the worship of God. It was mixed with olive oil and was used to anoint the priests of Israel. The third gift was a spice called myrrh, which was used to prepare a body for burial. It was, in a sense, a gift grounded in faith, representing the impending death of the king but also a sign of trust in God that the king would rise from death.

These gifts show Jesus’ role as King, High Priest, and Redeemer. After giving the gifts to Jesus, Matthew records that they were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, lest they be unwilling participants in a plot to eliminate the One whom Herod saw as a rival for his throne. The source for this account may have come from one of the Magi, from Mary, or from the LORD Himself as Matthew wrote down years later what had been revealed to him.

Verses 13-15 of Chapter 2 tell us that once again, God used a dream to warn Joseph to leave Judea and go to Egypt in order that Herod’s plot would not happen. He immediately responded by getting the family ready and then headed off to Egypt to hide among the Jewish population who were living in Alexandria and other areas of the nation. Undoubtedly, Joseph found work as a carpenter there and was able to provide for his growing family. Mary and Joseph had other children after Jesus was born (Matthew 12:46, 13:55; Mark 3:31; Luke 8:20; John 2:12, 7:5; Acts 1:14; 1 Corinthians 15:7). Eventually Herod died with no one to mourn for him. Upon hearing that Herod was dead, Joseph decided it was safe to return to Judea, and in doing so, fulfilled a prophecy (Hosea 11:1).

Chapter 2 concludes with verses 16-23 describing the account of Herod’s horrendous order for his soldiers to slaughter all infants two years old and under whose only crime was to have been born at the same time as Jesus. This act of demonic madness fulfilled another prophecy that described the heartbreak of mothers and their inconsolable grief over losing a child (Jeremiah 31:15). The devil and his goons, both supernatural and human, have been declaring war on children and families since the start of civilization. While we shudder at the crime Herod committed, remember that this same evil presence is in the world more so today in the form of abortion, abuse, pedophilia, and other heinous acts that will be avenged by the LORD at the Great White Throne Judgment (Proverbs 6:16; Romans 12:9; 2 Thessalonians 1:8; Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 20:11-15).

No one who has harmed the innocent will be spared, and they will have to answer for their crimes against God (Matthew 18:6). Upon returning from Egypt, Joseph learned that Herod’s son Archelaus had taken over in Judea. This descendant of a madman was the major reason for Joseph to head to Nazareth and set up shop there. The Bible tells us that Jesus “grew in stature, and in favor with God and people” (Luke 2:52). God the Father kept His Son in anonymity until the right time. It came thirty years later with the preaching of His cousin, John the Baptist. The king would then make His appearance.

donaldwhitchard@outlook.com

www.realitycityreverend.com