As we enter the Christmas Season, our thoughts usually are consumed by all the hustle and bustle of this time of year. Shopping and parties, baking and planning cause us to become hurried and we end up losing our focus of what the Season is all about. Today’s Bible Journaling is from Luke 1:31, “And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.” Many people tend to not believe the Virgin birth of Jesus. But, as the devotional for this journal observed, without Jesus being born of a virgin, the story would be about “a sinful girl, who got pregnant, was fortunate enough to avoid being stoned to death, who raised her son, and then watched him get slaughtered.” If that was truly the case, we would have nothing to rejoice about. Jesus would have been born as a sinful human and would not have been a worthy sacrifice for our sins. The truth of the matter is, Mary was a virgin, overcome by the Holy Spirit of God, and she became pregnant by God’s overshadowing of her. Therefore, Jesus, who was fully God and fully man, became the perfect sacrifice for our sins.
I am so grateful to God for His plan! His plan of salvation is perfect. No one born in the conventional manner would have been able to take the punishment for our sins. As humans, we are all born in sin. Adam’s sin has been passed down over the generations, and our sins must be paid for with a perfect sacrifice. Jesus was the only perfect sacrifice to die a horrible, cruel, death as punishment for our sins. God chose a chaste, Godly young woman to be the mother of His Son. Mary was such an honorable woman and she loved God with all her heart. She was the perfect choice!
As I read this Bible verse, my thoughts were drawn to the fact that because of the virgin birth, Jesus is my Savior! True, it was my choice to invite Him to be my Lord and Savior, but even before I accepted Jesus as my Savior, was already my Savior and my Salvation!
No one else could take His place as my sacrifice…heaven knows, I sure couldn’t! Jesus lived a completely sinless life, making Him the perfect sacrifice.
I can’t begin to imagine what Mary went through. In those days, being pregnant out of wedlock was a crime punishable by death. The law required that she should be stoned. However, Joseph, to whom she was engaged, decided not to humiliate her publicly, but was going to divorce her quietly. In those days, an engagement was almost the same as marriage without the benefit of living together. I’m sure the town gossips had a field day! Mary had to endure the gossip and the ridicule, the scorn, and the shame of being pregnant without being married. But she believed that God would see her through. She trusted His plan and did not turn away but remained steadfast in her faith that God knew what He was doing, and she was honored to be part of His plan. Joseph was warned by an angel sent from God not to divorce her, but to go ahead and marry her. I wonder what the town gossips thought about that? They must have either felt sorry for Joseph, or thought he was some kind of fool. But, little did they know that this was all part of God’s plan.
As we celebrate the birth of our Savior, it is a good thing to think of what that virgin birth means. It means salvation for all mankind, it means we have a God who loves us so much that He planned a way to redeem our souls from sin. It means we can have joy, peace, and a life filled with God’s love, and strength to live every day for Him.
If you have never accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, this is the perfect time! You will have a new life, be born again, and you can experience a love that mere human’s can not give. Ask Jesus to come into your heart, for He stands at your heart’s door knocking, asking if you will let Him in. (Revelation 3:20) He will replace the emptiness inside and give you peace.
donnasmusings 