[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fdreaming-of-a-right-christmas":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fdreaming-of-a-right-christmas-surround":75},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":11,"columnName":58,"date":59,"description":17,"extension":60,"image":61,"meta":62,"minRead":63,"navigation":64,"path":65,"postType":66,"publication":67,"publicationUrl":61,"seo":68,"stem":69,"topics":70,"__hash__":74},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fdreaming-of-a-right-christmas.md","Dreaming of a Right Christmas",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10],"Micah","Galatians",{"type":12,"value":13,"toc":54},"minimark",[14,18,21,24,27,34,40,46,49],[15,16,17],"p",{},"This time of year we hear a lot about what's wrong with Christmas. The season has become too commercial. The stores are too crowded. Everyone's too busy. For many the holidays stir sadness and depression.",[15,19,20],{},"But a lot is right about Christmas too. Celebrated well, it can inspire meaningful worship, provide needed rest, build family memories, and offer unique opportunities to reach our neighbors who don't know Christ.",[15,22,23],{},"Christmas reminds us about the planning and forethought of God. Long before Mary and Joseph made their way to Bethlehem, God foresaw our need for a Savior. God's glory dazzled shepherds abiding in their fields by night, but even then the cross cast a shadow over the Lamb of God's cradle. Centuries before the Son of God was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger, the Father planned to give us new birth in his name.",[15,25,26],{},"The prophet Micah spoke about the Messiah hundreds of years before Jesus was born. If you're dreaming of a \"right\" Christmas, consider Micah's encouraging words.",[15,28,29,33],{},[30,31,32],"em",{},"Christ was born in the right place."," \"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times\" (Micah 5:2). Who would have predicted that the greatest ruler of God's people would come from the little town of Bethlehem? Wouldn't Jerusalem have been a more natural choice? Or Nazareth? But in the providence of God, Caesar Augustus ordered a census, and Mary and Joseph traveled to their ancestral town—the very place Micah had foretold centuries before.",[15,35,36,39],{},[30,37,38],{},"Christ was born at the right time."," \"Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth\" (Micah 5:3). For about 400 years between the testaments, God's people endured a waiting period so long and painful that it almost appeared God had abandoned them. A silent night is a beautiful thing, but not four silent centuries! From the close of the Old Testament till the beginning of the New, the prophetic voice was quiet as \"the world in solemn stillness lay,\" awaiting the Messiah. \"But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman\" (Galatians 4:4).",[15,41,42,45],{},[30,43,44],{},"Christ was born for the right reason."," \"He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely\" (Micah 5:4). Christ didn't come to establish a holiday. He came to shepherd his flock! He didn't come as a ceramic baby in a nativity scene. He came to stand in the strength of the Lord! He came to be the miracle-working, history-shaping, cross-bearing, third-day rising, Holy Spirit-sending, forever-reigning King of kings! \"His greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace\" (Micah 5:4, 5).",[15,47,48],{},"There's no better time and place to honor the Lord Jesus than right now, right where we are. During this season and always, he came to be our peace. That's not just a dream. It's reality.",[15,50,51],{},[30,52,53],{},"Postscript: I am indebted to Marshall Leggett for the title of this article. I heard him preach about a \"right Christmas\" at Broadway Christian Church in Lexington, Kentucky when I was a college student in December 1972. Thirty-two years later I still remember his sermon. Thanks, Marshall!",{"title":55,"searchDepth":56,"depth":56,"links":57},"",2,[],"First Look","2004-12-19","md",null,{},3,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fdreaming-of-a-right-christmas","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":17},"articles\u002Fdreaming-of-a-right-christmas",[71,72,73],"Biblical Theology","Church Leadership","Christian Unity","4uredOk2khrnA_M10R8nd2ZJaQmAsz1wy-15KA0CuOE",[76,81],{"title":77,"path":78,"stem":79,"description":80,"children":-1},"Down-to-Earth Communication From God","\u002Farticles\u002Fdown-to-earth-communication-from-god","articles\u002Fdown-to-earth-communication-from-god","Communication is a meeting of meanings—conveying information in order to gain a common understanding. That seems simple enough, but accurate communication can be very difficult. What will you get when ask for a simple piece of bread? Crusty Italian? German pumpernickel? Irish soda bread? Ethiopian injerra? American whole wheat?",{"title":82,"path":83,"stem":84,"description":85,"children":-1},"Driving into Smoke","\u002Farticles\u002Fdriving-into-smoke","articles\u002Fdriving-into-smoke","I once had a frightening dream in which I was driving a car through a crowded street. In my dream it was late at night, but the car’s lights wouldn’t work. I was barreling along at high speed through the darkness, trying to maintain control, but I couldn’t see where I was going."]