Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus. • Matthew 1:18-21, 24-25

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered…. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. • Luke 2:1-16

You left your throne and your kingly crown,
when you came to earth for me;
but in Bethlehem’s home was there found
no room for your holy nativity.

God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. • The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. • John 3:17; 1 Timothy 1:15

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him [Jesus Christ] the iniquity of us all. • For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified [made right with God] by his grace as a gift, through the redemption [payment for our wrongs] that is in Christ Jesus...to be received by faith. • Isaiah 53:6; Romans 6:23-25

For Christ also suffered once for [our] sins [when he died on the cross], the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh… [then] through the resurrection… has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. • 1 Peter 3:18,21-22

You came, O Lord, with the living word
that should set your children free;
but with mocking scorn and with crown of thorn,
they bore you to Calvary.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. • [God] has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. • For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. • Romans 6:23; Colossians 1:13-14; Ephesians 2:8-9

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights. • For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. • Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! • James 1:17; John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 9:15

O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
there is room in my heart for you.

The perfect gift—salvation through Jesus Christ—is available this Christmas for those who will accept it!

(Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version except Matthew 1 taken from the New American Standard Bible.)

Few people were ever more sincere than I in trying—without success—to find meaning, truth and purpose to life.

But at the university I noticed a small group of people—eight students and two faculty members—with something different. They seemed to know what they believed and why. I wanted what I saw.

Two weeks later, while I was sitting with some of them at a table in the student union, the conversation began to center on God. That bothered me, because I thought it was not intellectual. And yet I was curious.

Leaning back in my chair, I said to one of the students, “Tell me, what has made you so different from others?”

She looked me in the eye with a little smile and said: “Jesus Christ!”

My response revealed my bias and my ignorance. “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” I said, “don’t give me that garbage about religion!”

To which she replied: “I didn’t say religion. I said Jesus Christ!”

My new friends challenged me to examine the claims of Christ. I thought most Christians were idiots. But these people were persistent. Finally, I accepted their challenge, out of pride, to refute them.

One of the crucial areas of my research to refute Christianity centered around His resurrection. More than 1,000 hours of studying this subject showed me that the resurrection of Jesus Christ was either one of the most wicked, heartless, vicious hoaxes ever foisted upon human minds, or it was the most fantastic fact of history.

Jesus of Nazareth, a Jewish prophet, claimed to be the Christ prophesied in the Jewish Scriptures. He was arrested, judged a political criminal, and crucified. Three days after His death and burial, some women went to His tomb and found the body gone. His disciples claimed that God had raised Him from the dead and that He had appeared to them and to many others at various times before ascending into heaven.

In my attempt to refute Christianity, I made some startling observations about the resurrection. The testimony of history, for example. I had no idea there was so much positive historical, literary and legal testimony supporting the factuality of Christ’s resurrection. But the more I investigated, the more evidence I found. I came to see why the Apostle Paul had said, “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (1 Corinthians 15:14).

Jesus’ foretelling of His resurrection was another of my startling observations. Prior to Jesus’ death, He took His disciples aside and told them that He would be condemned to death and handed over to the Romans who would mock Him and spit on Him, flog Him and kill Him. And three days later He would rise from the dead (Mark 10:33-34).

The more I studied the historical-biblical Christian faith the more I realized it is a thinking person’s faith. As Jesus said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).

But alongside the scholarly evidence for the resurrection, there is circumstantial evidence—what happened to me.

Having set out to refute the resurrection and Christianity, and then having been compelled by the evidence to believe that Jesus Christ was indeed exactly who He claimed to be—and that He indeed rose from the dead, I faced a new problem. My mind was saying, “Christianity is true,” but my will was saying, “Don’t admit it!”

It came to the point where I’d go to bed at ten and wouldn’t fall asleep until four in the morning. I knew I had to get Jesus off my mind or go out of my mind.

Finally on December 19, 1959, at 8:30 p.m., I became a Christian.

I prayed four things that night, to establish a relationship with the resurrected, living Christ who has since transformed my life. First, I said, “Lord Jesus, thank You for dying on the cross for me.” Second, I said, “I confess those things in my life that are not pleasing to You. I ask You to forgive and cleanse me.” (The Bible says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18).) Third, I said, “Right now, in the best way I know how, I open the door of my heart and life, and I trust You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for coming into my life by faith.”

After I prayed, nothing happened. There was no bolt of lightning. I even said to myself, “Oh, no! What’d I get sucked into now?” I felt I’d gone off the deep end. And some of my friends agreed. But I can tell you now that in six months to a year-and-a-half I found that I had not gone off the deep end.

Later, in a debate with the head of the history department of a midwestern university, I said that my life had been changed. My opponent interrupted me to say, “McDowell, are you trying to tell us that God changed your life in the twentieth century?”

After 45 minutes of my describing changes, he said, “Okay, that’s enough.”

One area I told him about was the mental peace I had finally found. Another was control of my temper. And old hatreds gradually turning to love.

You can laugh at Christianity; you can mock and ridicule it. But it changes lives.

Christianity is not something that can be forced on anyone. All I can do is tell what I’ve learned. Beyond that, it’s your decision.

Christ was raised from the dead. He lives. He has the infinite capacity to enter your life, forgive you, and change you from the inside out.

Excerpted from The Resurrection Factor, published by Here’s Life Publishers, San Bernardino, California. Reprinted by permission of Campus Crusade for Christ.

"To love [God] with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." --Jesus' words in Mark 12:33

Without question the crucial issue in living the Christian life is the condition of your heart. Actions may be temporarily deceiving, but ultimately our outward behavior will reflect what's inside, because our internal attitudes form who we really are. Those inner attitudes are also what God deems most important.

In this book one of Christianity's most respected Bible teachers and pastors examines the foundational attitudes, or "pillars," of Christian character as outlined in God's Word. Pillars such as genuine faith, obedience, humility, selfless love, forgiveness, self-discipline, gratitude, and worship.

To some degree each trait, on its own, marks a person as one of God's own and reveals an active, living faith. Each is an essential element of mature Christianity. But there is transforming power when you combine them in your everyday living as God commands. Your character will be grounded in godliness; you will see things from an eternal perspective; and your faith, your actions, your witness to others will be revitalized from the inside out.

Did you know that there were over 300 different kinds of dinosaurs? Some could swim, and some could fly. Some had sharp teeth to eat meat. Others had long necks to reach the tops of leafy trees. God made each dinosaur special, with its own shape and size and color. But did you know that God made something even more special than dinosaurs? He made you!

Do you know how special you are to God? The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). You are so special that God wants you to live forever with Him in Heaven! But your sins—the bad things you do—separate you from God. So God sent His Son Jesus to take away your sins by dying on a cross. Three days later he rose to life again and now He lives in Heaven.

If you are sorry for your sins and believe what Jesus did for you, just say to Him with all your heart:

Dear God, thank You for loving me and making me so special. I believe that You sent Jesus to earth to take away my sins so that I can live with You forever in Heaven. I'm sorry for the bad things I've done. Please come into my life and help me live for You. Amen.