He Came as a Baby, But didn’t Remain a Baby 

            Hebrews 10,23

For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.
Hebrews 2:18

RECOMMENDED SCRIPTURE READING:  Hebrews 4:14-16  “14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast  our  confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

COMMENTS:  We are entering a wonderful time of the year, Advent.  The Holiday season when we remember the birth of our Savior.   I was surprised; a few years ago to discover the early church did not observe Christmas but certainly did Easter.  Apparently observing birthdays was a pagan practice and not a Jewish practice.  Pagans believed such an observance enabled the “spirits” to guard and guide as followers honored and celebrated their gods in celebrations.

The early Christian Jews were not accustomed to observing personal birthdays, so observing Christ’s birthday was not something they were inclined to do especially since they believed Jesus had an eternal existence prior to His birth.  They did not want any possibility of pagan practices infiltrating their faith.  Besides, they knew Jesus existed for an eternity before His physical human birth.  They knew He was and is God, the Great I AM, the Creator, the Messiah.  They also knew He was their Savior and Redeemer.

Well, it was not until 300AD that the idea of celebrating Christ’s birth was embraced.  Church leadership then decided to pick December 25 to celebrate Christ in order to provide opportunity to change an existing pagan Roman holiday into a Christ-centered observance.  That happened during the reign of the first Roman Christian emperor, Constantine.  He stopped Roman persecution of Christians and converted himself on his deathbed.

I was a bit unsettled at first discovering this and especially unsettled to discover no record or recorded date of Christ’s birth.  The date is not recorded in scripture but is some implication in prophecy to indicate likely was in fall season.

Well, I still can’t quite get my mind and heart around the idea that early Christians and even His disciples, who were passionate about celebrating His death and Resurrection didn’t even record the date of His birth.  Even His mother Mary didn’t relay to them a need or knowledge of that date.  I’m sure she knew clearly the month and date of His birth.

So if they didn’t observe Christmas, why should we?  Especially since Christmas has become such a secular holiday focusing on parties and presents and just pretty lights.  Nativity sets are becoming less popular or even allowed in many public settings.

But Christmas and the Advent Season is a wonderful opportunity to shout and show the    world Jesus is real and did come and live and die and Rose again so we can be forgiven –  we can know and fellowship with our Creator – we can have confidence of  a eternal home with Him at life’s end.  If we decide not to celebrate Christmas, we miss a wonderful opportunity to praise and honor our Savior and an opportunity when our friends and neighbors and even enemies are the most open to hear His Good News of Redemption.

December 25 is no longer remembered as a pagan Roman holiday but as the birthday of Christ our Lord and Savior.  That may not be Christ’s actual human birthday, but that date proves His eternal power and eternal authority over the most powerful forces on earth.  There was no earthly power greater than Rome so for this date to be lost to Roman influence and given to Christ’s honor is significant and reassuring for us.  That realization helps me embrace that date as His.  Only He would want to take a meaningless evil date and transforming it into a precious date.  For that date reminds me that He took an evil meaningless human like me and you and transforms us into a creation precious and even priceless to Himself.

Other pagan religions may deny Jesus is God but they can’t deny He did live and did great good and even did God’s will.  Most admit Jesus was a great prophet or even the greatest but fail to accept Him as God. 

But Jesus made it clear that He was and still is the only way to God the Father (JOHN 14:6).  THERE IS NO OTHER WAY OF REDEMPTION.   WE ARE NOT BEING PREDJUSTICED OR UNACCEPTING OR INTOLERANT, AS THE WORLD WOULD VIEW SUCH A STATEMENT.   If only one road led to our home, would we allow others to try to come visit us using an inaccurate road map?  Wouldn’t we try to persuade them to follow an accurate road map or follow our instructions?  WE HAVE THE GOOD NEWS AND NEED TO SHARE THAT NEWS BY LIVING AS HE CALLS US TO AND LOVING AS HIS GIVES US CAPABILITY TO AND BE READY TO SHARE THE GOSPEL MESSAGE WHEN ASKED AND INVITED.  OUR LIVES ARE OUR INVITATION AND HIS MESSAGE IS THE INSTRUCTION OF HOW.

So, the next question is why did Jesus come as a baby to humble parents in a humble setting and lifestyle?  Why not as an adult powerful king escorted triumphantly from heaven escorted by thousands or millions of angels? One day He will, but not the first time.  He chose to come and live another way, a much more humble way.

Coming as a defenseless child to humble parents was prophesied because that is the way He chose to come and planned for.  He was vulnerable and at risk of abuse and persecution and even death by coming and living and growing in this matter.  Was it foolish or give unnecessary risk of failure for Christ to come and live this way? 

The wisdom and power and effectiveness of way God chose to come and live and redeem us show us:
1. God’s way did work!

  1. God’s way satisfied His requirement of a perfect sacrifice being the only way to redeem His unredeemable creation.
  2. God’s way not only redeemed Jesus’ generation but every generation from all times.
  3. God’s way has not diminished or weakened or worn out. It works as well today as it did on Easter morning.
  4. God’s way cost Him the most and us the least.
  5. Other religions give other ways of redemption but history reveals deficiencies of those ways. But ultimately the second after our death will confirm the true way from the false ways. 

God is more than able to defend Himself.  Defending Him is not our job.  Our job is to show the better life He offers and gives.  To show the love and hope He offers and gives.  To live and love as He did and still does.   To do so sincerely and not pretended.  If you are pretending, come to Him sincerely and humbly and seek and ask to be changed.  Surrender what even it is that has been holding you back.

At times, we all battle and resist surrender.  Surrender is an ongoing choice and commitment and battle because He continues to search us and show us areas we need to surrender.  He asks of us what we are able to do, not what we are not able to.  His love is patient and His loving guiding hand will lead us toward the Goal of becoming Christ-like over the rest of our days on earth if we walk with Him.

I’m on that journey but still not Christ-like yet.   As I look back, I can see improvement but realize I, like you, still have a long ways to go.  We can’t comprehend perfection let alone example it, so should not be discouraged at our failing or in the failings of others.  We may exhibit different weaknesses but we are all equally falling short of our perfect example, Christ.

Scripture tells us Jesus was tempted in every way as we but sinned not.  To be tempted and choose not to sin implies He was capable of sinning.   He had that choice and ability.  Such a concept and possibility is unsettling for me so am sure it is for you.  Jesus, as a full human, was not aware of the future other than what the Father revealed to Him to prepare and equip Him.  This is another difficult concept to understand.    How Jesus and God the Father were one and all God together while still being separate while Jesus was human living on earth.  I don’t understand that other than accept scriptures explanation and understand God can do anything and I can’t comprehend Him

But I also know that even though Jesus didn’t know details of dangers and temptations satan would bombard Him with.  Satan didn’t know how Jesus would react nor the impact His mission would have.  BUT GOD THE  F ATHER DID!!  He brought help and encouragement when needed.   He guided and protected Jesus and His parents from Herod’s edict to kill all new born males as He did Moses.  He protected Jesus from stoning and from death and prepared Him for temptation so His humanity would withstand it.  He only allowed Jesus to be beaten and crucified.  Satan thought he finally won, but God the Father had and still has the upper hand and still is in full control. 

Christ will return soon triumphantly and satan will finally be beaten.  We serve a WONDERFUL GOD.  THE ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD.   A God no one could have imagined or invented.  No one could.  AMEN?  AMEN!

So, our hope and prayer is Christ will be real and a part of your Advent Time and Christmas celebration.  As spend time with family and in worship at church, take some time to reflect and honor the one whose birth we celebrate and whose life we remember.  Whose death and resurrection we embrace for our own salvation.  MERRY CHRISTMAS>
AMEN!

“If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me. “  Robert Murray M’Cheyne

I AND MY FAMILY PRAY YOU AND YOUR FAMILY HAVE A BLESSED AND CHRIST FILLED CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR.

IN HIS LOVE,

DON MCDANIEL

Access to my blog at “https://donsdevotions.wordpress.com“. There you will find 326 blog posts I have made plus a link to my devotional journal material archives from 2013 to present.

My Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/Dondevotionals/

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Don McDaniel - Who am I? Hello everyone and welcome to my devotional journal blog. In order to get acquainted and help you get to know me a bit better before considering following my blog, let me give you some background. I am a 74-year-old male and a retired engineer. I worked for a major supplier of underground mining equipment for nearly 40 years before retiring in 2012. Arlene and I have been happily married since April 1978 and have two grown – married children, one granddaughter and 2 step grandsons. I joined the local United Methodist church at age 12 after accepting Christ as my Savior at age 10 during revival services in that same church in 1961, so I have been a “Born Again” Christian all my teen years and adult life. Christ has helped and guided me all that time. He guided me in choosing my wife and life’s career. My life journey has included regrets and failures, but God has picked me up and protected and spared me from life threatening consequences and dangers more times than I can recall or count. But many I do recall and encourage and motivate me to trust and follow Christ with more passion than ever. Christmas 2011 our daughter gave Arlene and I each a devotional journal. Journals were books with devotion for each day and space to give personal impressions and thoughts related to each devotion. Her desire was to have a lasting legacy she could refer back to and share with her children and grandchildren especially after we are gone. I was touched by that gesture. My parents and Arlene’s were devout Christians, so we would have greatly treasured having that from them, so we felt a sense of urgency to honor her request. I finished my journal first and returned it to our daughter the following Christmas. I’m glad I did it then because Parkinson’s has caused my hand writing to deteriorate since then. The exercise was such a blessing for me. Discipline of keeping journal helped me gain a deeper walk with Christ and greater discipline in honoring my time of prayer and devotion with Him each day. So, I decided to continue the practice but since I could not find a paper journal I liked, I decided to create my own. I had already been receiving electronic devotions by email every day from several sources, my favorite being “Turning Point” from Dr. David Jeremiah. What I decided to do was to include devotional scripture but add my own thoughts and comments only so there would be no issue of copyright infringement. Creating and maintaining journal by computer also addressed my deteriorating handwriting ability. I started an electronic devotion journal January 1, 2013 and have been faithful to that practice every day since. I prayed about method and level of distribution. My initial intent was to only share it with my two children by email, but quickly discovered others in my family, my church, and friends from work (both retired and still working) who knew me and wanted to be included in distribution when they learned what I was doing. I now distribute by email my daily journal at the beginning of each month to over 150 friends and relatives. God has richly blessed and encouraged me. I am concerned with the state of our church and nation, and world for that matter, believing we are living in the end times the prophets of old and Christ have talked about in scripture, so time is short. I desire to be true to my Savior and a witness to help others come to a saving knowledge of Him and equipped to share His Good News too. If my journal can encourage and help others, I believe God wants me to share it. I struggled, for a time at first, because I know many others keep similar journals but only for their own edification and do not want to share them because they are private. However, Christ has stirred my heart to share it as a witness tool. Our son and daughter have a long-time friend who grew up with them who we also befriended nearly 25 years ago. He had a lot of family problems, so would gravitate to our family as a refuge and eventually thought of us as his adopted parents and he as our adopted son. We lost contact with him for some time when he grew up and left home. He traveled around the U.S. and eventually ended up in Ukraine where he resided for next 10 years. He had to return to the US to renew his visa and took opportunity to recommend I begin a blog of my devotions and helped me set it up. He is also an active blogger and has been an email subscriber to my journal for several months, so he has been suggesting I expand my distribution by starting a blog to get broader exposure. After reflection and prayer, I concluded God was in this, so he is helping me set up my blog site. This brief autobiography is my first entry. He returned to Ukraine, then resided there until circumstanced made him decide to move back to US with his young son. This biography was my first post February 29, 2016 . I have published 600 posts from 2016-2023 automatically sent to all my Facebook friends, published on WordPress to be accessible to anyone curious or seeking a deeper walk with God. I decided to take a sebatical to prepare for a new chapter. In 2014 I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease which affects patient ability to walk, drive, do physical work, and eventually talk. By mid 2023 it became evident our home for last 42 years (previously owned by my parents for previous 44 years and by my mother's grandparents for 39 years before that) would eventually not meet my needs so we decided to sell it and move into 1st floor of a duplex we also owned that was the town school from 1855-1913. Likewise, the property was requiring more maintenance that I was no longer able to keep up with. 2023 involved selling our home and moving into apartment next door and then in early 2025 an opportunity to move closer to our daughter and granddaughter in Kentucky which was completed in May 2025. For a number of months I have been seeking direction seeking God's direction and timing to return to blogging as my journey with Parkinson's continues to unfold with God's guiding hand in mine. I hope and pray my devotions will continue to be a blessing for you. God certainly has become closer and more real to me since started this blog in 2016. I have spent time with Him studying scripture and praying and listening and writing this journal. I will continue seeking God’s help and will welcome your input to make this site as meaningful as I can and true to God, who is motivating me to create and maintain it. I will also welcome input in order to make format more meaningful going forward. Don & Arlene McDaniel In His Service, Email: mcdanieldonald769@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Don1951 If you wish, you can access my blog at “https://donsdevotions.wordpress.com“. There you will find 600+ blog posts I have made plus a link to my devotional journal material archives from 2013 to present (https://donsdevotions.wordpress.com/2016/03/02/link-to-dons-devotional-journal-entries-2013/ ) You may also access my Facebook page and request to be my friend and automatically receive my daily journal publications daily. My Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/Dondevotionals/ Many thanks to a pastor and dear brother in Christ in Nepal who set up the above Facebook page to help and encourage and give opportunity for more to explore and use my devotional blog materials.

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