our daily bread

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Dexu Xia

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Dec 21, 2018, 2:25:44 AM12/21/18

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Just Another Day?

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. Acts 3:13

In Christmas Every Day, William Dean Howells tells of a little girl who gets her wish. For one long, horrible year it is indeed Christmas every day. By day three, the yuletide joy has already begun to wear thin. Before long everyone hates candy. Turkeys become scarce and sell for outrageous prices. Presents are no longer received with gratitude as they pile up everywhere. People angrily snap at each other.

Thankfully, Howell’s story is just a satirical tale. But what an incredible blessing that the subject of the Christmas celebration never wearies us despite the fact that we see Him throughout the Bible.

After Jesus had ascended to His Father, the apostle Peter proclaimed to a crowd at the temple in Jerusalem that Jesus was the one Moses foretold when he said, “God will raise up for you a prophet like me” (Acts 3:22; Deuteronomy 18:18). God’s promise to Abraham, “Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed,” was really a reference to Jesus (Acts 3:25; Genesis 22:18). Peter noted, “All the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days”—the arrival of the Messiah (Acts 3:24).

We can keep the spirit of Christmas alive long after the celebrations have ended. By seeing Christ in the whole story of the Bible we can appreciate how Christmas is so much more than just another day.

Father, thank You for giving us Your Son, and for giving us His Story on the pages of the Bible.

This year, as you pack up the Christmas decorations, don’t put away the spirit of Christmas.

又是圣诞节？

亚伯拉罕、以撒、雅各的上帝，就是我们列祖的上帝，已经荣耀了祂的仆人耶稣。-使徒行传3章13节

在豪威尔斯（William Dean Howells）所写的故事中，说到一个小女孩希望天天过圣诞节，结果美梦成真，在漫长又可怖的一年里，每天都过圣诞节。到了第三天，圣诞节不再令人感到欢乐，没多久大家都厌恶糖果，火鸡供不应求、商人漫天喊价，人们收到礼物不再心存感谢，因礼品已堆得满坑满谷，人人怒气相向。

还好，这只是一则讽刺寓言。虽然整本圣经处处都让我们看到耶稣的踪影，但这位圣诞欢庆的主角却从未使我们感到厌倦，这是多么美好的一份祝福啊！

耶稣升天之后，使徒彼得在耶路撒冷的圣殿告诉群众，摩西曾预言“上帝要从你们弟兄中间给你们兴起一位先知像我”（使徒行传3章22节；申命记18章18节），指的就是耶稣。上帝应许亚伯拉罕“地上万族都要因你的后裔得福”（使徒行传3章25节；创世记22章18节），也是指着耶稣说的。彼得更表明，“从撒母耳以来的众先知，凡说预言的，也都说到这些日子”（使徒行传3章24节），就是指弥赛亚的降临。

即使圣诞庆祝已过，我们仍可保留圣诞的精神。只要看看整本圣经关于基督的记载，我们就会珍视圣诞节的意义，知道这绝不只是一个周而复始的节日。

天父，感谢祢为我们赐下祢的爱子，
也感谢祢让我们从圣经的篇章中知晓祂的事迹。