It's Christmas -- a special time to celebrate and give thanks for the birth of Jesus. But who exactly is Jesus? Read on to see what the Scriptures, from Genesis through Revelation reveal about Him.

Genesis 3:15 - seed of woman, 49:10 - Shiloh
Exodus 12:1-28: - Passover Lamb
Deuteronomy 14:19 - the Angel of God, 18:15 - Prophet like Moses
Joshua 5:14 - Commander of the army of the Lord
Judges 2:1 - Angel of the Lord
Ruth 2:1, 4:9-10 - Kinsman-redeemer
2 Samuel 7:13 - Seed of David
Job 19:25 - Living and returning Redeemer
Psalms 16:10 - God's Holy One who will not undergo corruption, 23:1 - Good Shepherd, 24:7-10 - King of Glory, 45:6 - God,
            110:4 - a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek, 110:6 - a judge among the nations, 118:22 - the stone 
            which the builders rejected….the chief cornerstone
Song of Solomon 5:10 - Chief among ten thousand
Isaiah 7:14 - Immanuel, 9:6 - Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, 52: 13 - "My Servant", 
            53:3 - Man of sorrows
Jeremiah 23:6, 33:16 – THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS
Ezekiel 21:27 - He whose right it is
Daniel 7:13 - Son of Man, 9:25 Messiah the Prince   
Amos 7:8 - The plumbline
Micah 5:2 - The One to be Ruler in Israel
Nahum1:15 - Him who brings good tidings , who proclaims peace
Zephaniah 3:15 - The King of Israel
Haggai 2:7 - Desire of All Nations
Zechariah 3:8 - the BRANCH, 12:10 - "Me whom they pierced", 14:9 - King of the earth
Malachi 4:2 - Sun of Righteousness
Matthew 1:23 - Immanuel….God with us, 2:2 King of the Jews, 2:4 - the Christ, 9:15 the bridegroom
Mark 1:11 - “My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”
Luke 1:32 - great….Son of the Highest, 1:35 - the Son of God, 1:76 – prophet of the Highest, 1:78 – the Dayspring from on 
            High, 2:11 –a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, 2:12 - a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths
John 1:1 - the Word, 1:9 - the true Light, 1:14 - the Word become flesh….only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, 
            1:29 - The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, 3:16 - God's only begotten Son, 6:38 - bread of life
Acts 2:21 - the One spoken of by the mouth of all God's holy prophets since the world began
Romans 3:25 - a propitiation by His blood, 5:11 - reconciler
Ephesians 2:14 - our peace
Philippians 2:9 - highly exalted, 2:11 - Lord
Colossians 1:13 - the Son of His love, 1:15 - the image of the invisible God, firstborn of all creation, 1:16 - creator of all things, 
            1:18 - head of the body, the church….the beginning, the firstborn from the dead
Hebrews 1:2 - heir of all things….the brightness of God's glory….the express image of God's person, 2:5 - captain of our
            salvation, 3:2 - faithful to Him who appointed Him, 4:15 - High Priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses, 
            5:5-6 - High Priest forever, 5:9 - author of eternal salvation,  7:25 - able to save to the uttermost those who come to 
            God through Him, 7:26 - holy, harmless, undefiled, 8:15 - Mediator of the new covenant, 12:2 author and finisher of our
            faith, 13:8 - the same yesterday, today, and forever, 13:20 - the great Shepherd of the sheep
1 Peter 2:6 - chief cornerstone, elect, precious, 2:7 - stone which the builders rejected, a stone of stumbling and rock of 
            offense
1 John 1:1 -the Word of Life, 2:1 - Advocate
Revelation 1:8 - the Almighty, 1:13 - Son of Man, 1:17 - the First and the Last, 1:18 - He who lives….alive forevermore, 
            5:8 - the Lamb, 5:14 - Him who lives forever and ever, 19:11 - Faithful and True, 19:13 - The Word of God, 19:16 - KING 
            OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS, 22:13 - the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, 
            22:16 - the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star

Amen

I’m sure I missed some. Please feel free to comment and add to this list.
~Suzie

Well, its that time of year again! Are you already busy making lists and shopping for presents? Have you gathered the family and gone to pick out your tree? Are you planning a Christmas party?  Is your brain spinning with visions of what your Christmas will be like this year? Has the planning and preparing taken over your life? I do hope you’re not too busy to finish reading this post because I have something very important I would like to share with you. It is a little book, just twelve letters long, written by a woman who is a “firm believer in God and God’s word.” Her name is Mrs. T., and she wrote this book because she had, “a growing concern that God’s word often goes unheeded, especially at Christmastime.” (Quotes are from cover flap of her book.) Mrs. T. passed away over three years ago, but her little book still has some big things to say about The Real Reason for Christmas.

Mrs. T. (short for Mrs. Margaret Taliaferro), wrote The Real Reason for Christmas way back in 1977. It is a book of letters to children for the twelve nights before Christmas. The letters are neatly printed by hand and sprinkled with whimsical line drawings. The letters are short and designed to be read aloud. If you read one letter on each of the twelve nights before Christmas, you will have had twelve simple but profound lessons in basic theology. You will have been encouraged, with at least twelve different reasons, to slow down and let your mind dwell upon the real reason for Christmas. You and your family will be reminded, refreshed, renewed, and ready to celebrate the best Christmas ever with Jesus Christ at the very heart of it.

I am sad to say that I believe this book is presently out of  print, but used copies can be obtained at amazon.com or abebooks.com. There seem to be a lot of these books out there (although I can’t imagine anyone wanting to part with their copy).  Our family, always read “Mrs. T.” every year at Christmastime. The children who were old enough took turns reading (and holding the book up to show the illustrations to the rest of us) and my husband always read the final letter on Christmas morning before we opened presents. We continued the tradition when the children grew into teenagers and no one ever complained about reading "Mrs. T. " 

The Real Reason for Christmas continues to be read every Christmas in the home of my son, Rob, and daughter-in-love, Marchelle (our gifted writer of youth lessons). I believe my Texas family also delights in reading Mrs. T. To tell you the truth, I still have our original copy of the book, purchased in 1977, and I read it every year also.

I am not one to recommend a book lightly, but I wanted to share this one with you because I think it will give depth, joy, and special meaning to your Christmas. It is good to look back and remember why we celebrate Christmas. In the New Testament, the apostle Peter speaks of our needing “reminders” (2 Peter 1:15 and 3:1), and often the Scriptures, exhort us to “remember” (such as in Acts 20:35; 2 Timothy 2:8, Jude 1:17, Revelation 2:5 and 3:3). What better time to take a few moments to "remember" than at the season of our Savior’s birth. 

I’ll write again before Christmas, God willing. In the meantime, I’ll be praying that every morning when you wake up, you will remember the real reason for Christmas!