Meaning of ISBI-BENOB

He is as certainly with us now as He was with the disciples at the lake when they saw coals of fire, fish on the coals, and bread (John 21:9). Not physically, but still in real truth, Jesus is with us!

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them. With great awe and in complete reverence, the shepherds looked upon the baby Jesus. It was true.

When we first meet Mary in Luke’s gospel, it is on the occasion when an archangel appeared to her suddenly and without fanfare to disclose to her God’s wonderful plan.

Amid the cheerfulness of household gatherings, it is easy to slide into sinful amusements and forget our declared character as Christians. It should not be so, but it is, that our days of feasting are very seldom days of sanctified enjoyment.

Unlike most people, I do not feel much Dickensian nostalgia at Christmastime. The holiday fell just a few days after my father died early in my childhood, and all my memories of the season are darkened by the shadow of that sadness.