The Island-Fish

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  “O ye passengers, whom may God preserve! come up quickly in to the ship, hasten to embark, and leave your merchandise, and flee with your lives, and save yourselves from destruction; for this apparent island, upon which ye are, is not really an island, but it is a great fish that hath become stationary in the midst of the sea, and the sand hath accumulated upon it, so that it hath become like an island, and trees have grown upon it since times of old; and when ye lighted the fire upon it, the fish felt the heat, and put itself in motion, and now it will descend with you into the sea, and ye will all be drowned: then seek for yourselves escape before destruction, and leave the merchandise.—The passengers, therefore, hearing the words of the master of the ship, hastened to go up into the vessel, leaving the merchandise, and their other goods, and their copper cooking-pots, and their fire-pots; and some reached the ship, and others reached it not. The island had moved, and descended...

What have you got?

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What is Christmas?

Strip off the date, the name, Santa Clause, the cards, the presents, the tree and the food, and what have you got? Nothing! Absolutely Nothing! It isn't biblical, it isn't Christian. It is nothing.

So, why do it, if it is nothing?

Christmas is important because it gives Christians the opportunity to catch the world barely aware of Jesus, and give them the gospel truth, that God loved the world so much He gave Himself in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ because of our sin: born in a manger, died on a cross and risen from the grave!

Spurgeon said, "Look, Christmas is here. We might as well live with it and take the opportunity to exalt Christ."

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