I have friends who don’t believe the Bible is completely true. There are some people I know who deny a lot of things about God. Some people whom I care a lot about refuse to pray, often saying that their prayers don’t matter.

Still others ask me to pray for them because they feel that my prayers are more “potent.”

The last point is laughable, almost. What a mess I am. I mess up several times a day, let my temper get the best of me. I would not be surprised to hear people say “He’s a Christian?”

I’m not a very good example.

But it’s not about me. It’s about my relationship with Christ. Despite my shortcomings, I feel like I can still tell others what a relationship is supposed to look like, regardless of the messenger. At least I hope that’s so. I mean, after all, the Bible is full of stories about flawed people who lead others to Christ or at least helped people understand things.

All with God’s guidance, in my opinion.

I was talking with people the other day about how Christmas has really lost its original purpose, and how it’s so easy to lose sight. This world, this culture, these people. We’ve all contributed to the demise.

My friends and I started talking about the prophet Isaiah and how he was given a prophecy by God. Several prophecies, really. But one of those prophecies had to do with the birth of Christ.  It’s spot on. And it took place 700 years before Jesus was born.

Critics who dispute the Bible have often said that Jesus could have come along and purposely led the life that the scriptures spoke about. I don’t know how educated people could believe this, actually.

Not only did Isaiah write about the virgin birth, he also spoke about the messiah coming from the house of David and being called Immanuel.  His prophecy talked about the tribe of Judah, Bethlehem, being a descendent of Jesse. All very amazing and all proven; right there in the scripture.

Sure, it takes some faith to grasp it all. But how can you really dispute?

I think of the people Isaiah wrote about; how they were walking in darkness and how they saw a great light. This messiah, this king, would be born as a baby and would be a savior. Amazing. I think when you start to grasp the meaning of all that Isaiah wrote and the prophecy that came to pass, you gain a new understanding of Christmas.

Yes, those people walking in darkness. Think about going for generations, feeling that things were so bleak and so dark, yet having hope that you would one day be saved from it all.

Think about being around when this prophecy was fulfilled, probably not allowing yourself to be too hopeful because you’d waited so long.  Think about how you’d feel when you found out for certain that what had been spoken about had actually happened.  The great light. The hope. It was all here now.

These sort of feelings can be equated with how we felt about Christmas when we were young.  Hope, anticipation, joy, thankfulness and incredible happiness. We felt all of those emotions as youngsters, and when we fully grasp what a wonderful thing the birth of Christ is, we can feel them all again.

And, it’s really not just about feelings. There’s much more to it all. Feelings are secondary.

Out of the darkness came hope. Tidings of great joy. Tidings that would be for all people. A savior. Christ the Lord.