Isaiah 9:6-7 (AMP): For to us a Child shall be born, to us a Son shall be given; And the government shall be upon His shoulder, And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  There shall be no end to the increase of His government and of peace, [He shall rule] on the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From that time forward and forevermore.  The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

God loves us so much!

John 3:16 (The Passion Translation – TPT):
For this is how much God loved the world—he gave his one and only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life.

Galatians 4:4-5 (AMP):
But when [in God’s plan] the proper time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the

[regulations of the]

Law, so that He might redeem and liberate those who were under the Law, that we [who believe] might be adopted as sons [as God’s children with all rights as fully grown members of a family].

His birth.

Luke 2:6-7 (TPT):
When they arrived in Bethlehem, Mary went into labor, and there she gave birth to her firstborn son. After wrapping the newborn baby in strips of cloth, they laid him in a feeding trough since there was no available space in any upper room in the village.

This is the Greek word kataluma. This is not an “inn” but simply the upstairs level of a home where guests would stay. It means there was no guest room available in Bethlehem for Mary to give birth.

Since all of Joseph’s and Mary’s family also made the journey because of the census, every home of a relative would have been full. In that day Bethlehem was far too small of a village to have an actual inn, all the katalumai there were occupied. It is likely that Joseph and Mary had to sleep downstairs in the main room of a relative’s house. The downstairs of a village home in that day was like an all-purpose room that served as a workshop during the day, and at night it was used to shelter frail animals, while the rest of the flock was left outdoors.

I like what Kirk Cameron said:

“If you had to pick one thing of value amongst all your Christmas decorations, it would probably be your nativity set. There are so many people that fail to grasp what is so amazing about that scene. To say that it is valuable just because the baby Jesus is there misses a huge point. The birth of the baby is valuable because of the story he enters into. Picture a cave. Not a stable, or a prairie barnyard scene.  First of all, a manager is a feeding trough. More than likely carved out of a rock. And upon that rock, one would feed their animals. Move beyond the cute and traditional. Where everything is safe and soft, where everyone has light skin and clean clothes. See a cave, see a place where livestock is fed. Now let’s get this story right. This was a child, who was born into a world, where the world power wanted to kill him just for being born. Think of Soldiers, Herod’s men were moving through the streets finding babies and murdering them. And mother’s weeping for their children.  Setting the stage, we are careful about having Mary there. Kneeling by her newborn baby. Joseph as well, and of course Baby Jesus. The Bible calls our attention to a seemingly mundane object.

The Swaddling Cloth

What is Swaddling cloth? Is it just a blanket for a newborn baby? We typically only think of the Baby Jesus wrapped in the cloth. But the Bible brings these cloths back into the story one more time. At His tomb. When the stone was rolled away. Did you ever wonder why the Magi gave Jesus the Gifts of Frankincense or myrrh? Those are burial spices. Why for all the reasons, would one bring burial spices to a baby shower? The nativity is a picture of the coming death scene. Herod’s men don’t get to kill the baby. Is was for an appointed time, God’s time, and on His terms. The death of Jesus was not the tragic end to his story.  And that is the reason for the season.”

Where is your heart tonight? Sin kills you but believing in God saves you – Romans 6:23 (AMP):
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God [that is, His remarkable, overwhelming gift of grace to believers] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Do you believe?  Acts 4:12 (AMP):
And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among people by which we must be saved [for God has provided the world no alternative for salvation].”