IS THERE A CHRISTMAS IN ISRAEL?
The Facts of Christmas ☆ ☆ ☆ By Dr. H. A. Ironside ☆ ☆ ☆ I t is A privilege to pause in the stress of modern life and go back in spirit to stand by that manger bed and gaze again upon the lovely Babe, who is God manifest in flesh. The story of the birth of Christ is ever new. In all the annals of earth there is nothing else to be compared with it. Heathen mythologists, inspired by Satan, sought to imitate it by gro tesque and corrupt tales of women who became mothers of demigods by association with the grossly carnal deities of paganism. But these were the Devil’s counterfeits, designed, as Justin Martyr said, to blind men to the truth when at last the promised Seed of the woman was revealed. It was by the direct creative power of God, working through His Holy Spirit, that the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:48) became the mother of our Lord. His Incarnation was the first step in the fulfillment of the program of re demption. Bethlehem was the prelude to Calvary. -■The Christmas story is not a He brew myth or Christian folklore. It is a blessed and glorious fact. God has actually come down to earth and be come incarnate in the person of the man Christ Jesus. In Bethlehem’s Babe we see deity and humanity united, never more to be separated. But Incarnation alone would not save one poor sinner. He became man in order that He might give His life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). Apart from Calvary, B e t h l e h em would have no lasting significance. The Saviour bom in David’s city had to die in order to redeem us to God. It is an interesting fact that al though Micah foretold the birth of Christ as taking place in Bethlehem, there seemed, almost to the last, no likelihood that this would be. God used a Roman emperor’s command to bring Mary to Bethlehem at the very last moment (Luke 2:1-4) in order that His word might not fail. To keep Christmas, and yet not to have received Christ as Saviour, is to trifle with the mercy God has mani fested in the gift of His Son. Have we received Him for our very own, and
With Jews still looking for their Messiah you might ask: "Is there a Christmas in Israel?” This little orphan along with other children are needy in Israel. All their lives all they have known has been suffering. Some of the Yemente Jews in their great exodus to Israel were so under nourished they could hardly hold food. They were numb from weeks of terror and hope. A child of 12 weighed what a young ster of four should weigh. This is one o f the many reasons we are ministering in Israel. God has led us to help these little children. We believe they are the future missionaries or Christian wit nesses in Israel. Is there a Christmas in Israel? There can be—with your help! Hebrew Chris tians are still suffering discrimination. Their children become targets of ridi cule. Your heart will be rejoicing if at this blessed Christmas season you help relieve distress and give a little happi ness to needy, hungry Hebrew Chris tians in Israel and in Europe. Remem ber especially the little children and the aged Hebrew Christians whom we sup port in Homes.
THE GIFT OF GIFTS
Blessed be God, our God! Who gave for us His well-beloved Son, The gift of gifts, all other gifts in one; Blessed be God, our God! What will He not bestow? Who freely gave this m ighty gift unbought, Unmerited, unheeded, and unsought; What will He not bestow? He spared not His Son! ’Tis this that silences each rising fear, ’Tis this that bids the hard thought disappear; Who shall recall His pardon or His grace? Or who the broken chain of guilt replace? ’Tis God that justifies! The victory is ours! For us in might came forth the M ighty One; For us H e fought the fight; the triumph won: The victory is ours! —Horatius Bonar “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. . . . He came unto His own and, His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:1-14). He spared not His Son! ’Tis God that justifies! are we seeking to glorify Him in our ways?
Reverend Jacob Peitz, INTERNATIONAL Secretary Hebrew Christian Alliance U. S. A. i p i l CANADA
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