Keeping the Focus on Jesus

Here is a question that I asked myself - so far this Christmas season (which is just starting), how many times have I talked to Luke about Santa Claus compared to how many times have I talked to him about Jesus being born and what Jesus has done for us?

Being honest with myself, I admitted - Santa has been named more than Jesus and that is a pure shame! I have asked the Lord to forgive me and to also help me get back on track.  God is merciful and His grace always amazes me. To help our family grow and learn together and to hold ourselves accountable, we have set a goal for ourselves this Christmas season.

During this busy season (that tends to get focused on shopping, eating, and gathering), our family has decided that we will focus on studying Jesus everyday. Landis and I will study together and then...

Each day/night, Landis and I will share something we have learned about Jesus with Luke. By doing this, we will maintain a focus on our savior here at Christmas time and throughout the year. I do plan on writing down much of what we learn and teach Luke (more than anything - so that we can all look back anytime we want to study what we've learned). My hopes are to also share what we learn with you - either through Facebook or the blog (or both).  There may be days that I don't get to post but I will try my best! I am excited to go on this journey with my family and Jesus to learn more about Him. This is going to require us to read, study, and dig deep into God's word and I can't wait!

I want to say this before I begin...I'm NOT doing this to look like I'm participating in a canned program "25 days of Christmas, etc." - I'm not doing this to show off what I know about Jesus or brag about my family in any way. I'm doing this because I want to grow closer to Jesus, and, because during this time of the year, the Devil works hard to get our focus off of Him, I'm going counteract this attack by drawing closer than ever to the light of the world - Jesus - the REAL reason for the season.

Let me go ahead and get started...

Lesson #1

#1 – Jesus was born of a virgin.

Luke 1:30-35 – “’Don’t be frightened, Mary,’ the angel told her, ‘for God has decided to bless you! You will become pregnant and have a son, and you are to name him Jesus.  He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.  And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!’ Mary asked the angel, ‘But how can I have a baby? I am a virgin.’ The angel replied, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby born to you will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.”

Believing in the virgin birth is required to receive salvation through Jesus. We have to understand that the virgin birth is what made Jesus different from the rest of us.  Unlike us, Jesus was born without the sin that we have.  He is God’s son so He was born perfect and remained sinless his entire life.

Please remember you can always email me at bumgarnernatasha@gmail.com if you have questions or want to learn more about Jesus.  

Merry Christmas! 

Toddy