26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name [was] Mary.
28 And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored [one,] the Lord [is] with you; blessed [are] you among women!"
29 But when she saw [him,] she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.
30 Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.
32 "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
33 "And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."
34 Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?"
35 And the angel answered and said to her, "[The] Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
36 "Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.
37 "For with God nothing will be impossible."
38 Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

46 And Mary said: "My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. 48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. 49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy [is] His name. 50 And His mercy [is] on those who fear Him From generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered [the] proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He has put down the mighty from [their] thrones, And exalted [the] lowly. 53 He has filled [the] hungry with good things, And [the] rich He has sent away empty. 54 He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of [His] mercy, 55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever."

2:1 And it came to pass in those days [that] a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. 4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. 6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 "And this [will be] the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" 15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us." 16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 Now when they had seen [Him,] they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard [it] marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

God bless each and everyone of you. May you experience the great truth that God loved us soooo much that He gave His Son, that whosoever believeth on Him, would not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16. What greater gift could God have provided than the gift of everlasting life? All you have to do is reach up to Him and receive it by faith, and it's yours! Merry Christmas!

-- BB (peace2u@bellatlantic.net), December 24, 1999

Answers

"Wise men still seek Him."

-- Pastor BB (peace2u@bellatlantic.net), December 24, 1999.

I vote for a delete.

do I have a seconder and a third ?

-- Hayley Mills (deletepollies@aol.com), December 24, 1999.

I always loved that story. Thanks BB!

-- (Here@today.com), December 24, 1999.

This man is NOT a polly, but a godly, kindly GI who is fully prepared and prepared to help the community around him, and has helped his invalid mother-in-law to prep, and who has blessed my life to meet him and his wife and his mother-in-law. His postings all year long have been a help to others.

Hayley Mills, get a life...and make it the kind this man lives, as pleasing to the Lord!

-- Elaine Seavey (Gods1sheep@aol.com), December 24, 1999.

Well that's just dandy Elaine. But I don't come to this forum to hear something I've heard for the umpteenth time. You want to hear it again. Fine! Go to church and listen to it again! And while you're at it, quit preaching. I'm with you Hayley, but I don't believe in censorship of any kind, even to those who use this forum for their private pulpit. I wouldn't have clicked on this topic if I'd known it was this. I thought it was something different.

-- gilda (jess@listbot.com), December 24, 1999.

Gilda, I'm sorry you are so bitter about the Christian faith. I'm even more sorry that your bad experience has kept you from knowing God's love. He really does love you Gilda. Very much. God is love.

The subject line said OT: I don't think it is misleading. In any case, you could have just moved on like I do when I see the thread isn't what I expected. Sorry if it offended you, but the gospel of Jesus Christ does offend those who won't believe it. All the best Gilda.

-- BB (peace2u@bellatlantic.net), December 24, 1999.

Thanks, BB, for a reminder of the REAL reason for the season!

Happy Birthday Jesus! :-)

-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), December 24, 1999.

You will note Mr. BB, that I said I wouldn't have clicked on here if I'd known what it was. Did you see that? I'm sorry I clicked on. But why do you Christians label anyone that doesn't approve of your constant proselytizing as bitter. I am not bitter, but I am tired of having religion shoved at me constantly, and believe me, I'm not the only one. I feel the same way about the constant battering we endure from TV commercials, when we tune in to hear the news. Does that mean that I should never watch TV.

By the way, there is a religious forum on here, but it doesn't have much traffic, so everyone likes to post religion on here.

-- gilda (jess@listbot.com), December 24, 1999.

Gilda, I'm not pushing religion, never have, never will. Only love Gilda, only love. I only want you to know God loves you. That's all. I didn't know it for most of my life. Now I know....and all I want is for others to know He is there and His love is real and satisfying.

His love brings joy, peace, and hope. It fills the spirit, the heart, the mind, the life, the soul,... gently pointing to the day when God will once again show up on this dark, lonely world as He did that night long ago in Bethlehem.

-- BB (peace2u@bellatlantic.net), December 24, 1999.

For those criticizing this post is any indication of what is to come in just a few days I dread the thought of how it will be when it does come.

-- JS (joewstout@iswt.com), December 24, 1999.

Duh,

OT CHRISTmas post is about CHRIST. And some people are offended as if they were manipulated to hear CHRISTian dogma. Isn't that irrational?

I'm curious, what did you think OT Christmas story was about, a sale at Bloomingdales? Crowds at Wal-Mart? Chemtrails? What?

-- Hokie (nn@va.com), December 25, 1999.

Hey Hokie, The other day I read the funniest story I've read in ages, on another site. It wasn't labeled anything but CHRISTMAS STORY. It was a true story about Christmas, and it was hilarious. I howled. and laughed and felt more cheerful than I'd felt in days. So all I can say is that I was hoping for another funny story I'd never heard before. Believe me, not everything that has the word Christmas in it is about Christ.

-- gilda (jess@listbot.com), December 26, 1999.