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Good Morning…..(only 3 days till Christmas and T-13 days till we start the Bait!!!!!!) 8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

This is a crazy time and I know you are busy…So let me just give you something to think about….When the angel said that a “Savior” had been born….what did that mean to the shepherds…to us…..We could go to heaven, or something more. Chew on that for a few days and then join us on Christmas Eve….and we will discuss it together. See you then at 5:30 or 7:30 The service is going to be AWESOME!

Dear Friends, (4 days till Christmas and T-minus 14 days till we start the Bait!) Let’s keep reading Luke’s account of the Christmas Story. Yesterday we talk about Mary and Joseph heading out on the long trip to Bethlehem at a time that God knew would not be easy….but he called them to it anyway! When they got to Bethlehem this is what happened:

6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

Did they forget to pray for a place to stay? I mean that is the least God could have worked out for the right? Could not have God moved in a nice guys heart to have him offer Mary his room for the night/ As we spoke of last Sunday, God does not always work everything out for us, but he is ALWAYS present with us.

One of the most astounding things we do when we read the Bible is we add to what we read. In this passage we read that Jesus was laid in a manger. A manger is a feeding trough for animals. So, from this one would we have developed the character of an Inn keeper (seen in all Children’s Christmas plays) a Stable, for that is where a manger might have been, and animals for they would have eaten out of the manger. All of these are great conclusions but let’s think about this situation for a moment.

The city was crowded. Many people may have traveled at least as far as Mary and Joseph, with their horses or mules. It is possible that make shift mangers (feeding troughs) were made and set in streets and back alleys for the over abundance of animals to be feed. Mary might have had Jesus in the street and laid him in a manger, for we have no clue where this manger was.

WOW, that really ups the deal for me of what God called Mary and Joseph too. We need to keep in mind that what God calls us to may not be easy….He will be present though. Thinking through this truth it impresses on me the importance of learning to enjoy God’s presence. Many people have no clue how to do that. We are so busy trying to fix everything, calling on God to fix it for us that we have no time for God. Fixing bad stuff becomes the goal in life and if God will help us with that Goal great, if not we will find another way to fix it. GOD IS MORE INTERESTED IN BEING WITH US….his enemy throws stuff into our lives that we think needs to be fixed so we will spend less time WITH God. FOCUS ON THE REALATIONSHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!! It’s all that matters.

Good Morning, ( 5 days left till Chrsitmas Eve Service andT-15 days till Bait Time….hope your planning to join us) Ok let’s continue our look at the Christmas Story recorded in the book of Luke.

1 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant.

Remember the pictures of May and Joseph you saw as a kid. They were always smiling traveling on their way to Bethlehem…..but come on. Mary was 9 months pregnant and they were traveling 80 miles. We red nothing about a donkey, some maybe they walked. Israel is not Florida! Hills, mountains and no blacktopped roads is what they had to deal with. I’ve always wondered why God makes it hard on people who are just doing what he asked them to. In fact what God asked them to do was hard enough in itself, let alone a 80 mile journey and no where to stay.

It is interesting when you ask that question you usually get a lot of answers, except from people who are facing that kind of hardship now.When you are facing something tough, while doing what God asks you usually find two responses. First is an attitude of complaining, blame shifting, frustration. Or you find an attitude that Mary and Joseph seem to have, the one of obedience no matter what the hurdles are. This was an important task that God had for two people, no wonder he needed to fins people like Mary and Joseph.

God continues to work, and he has important tasks right now. He may ask you to do something for him and then not clear the way, just ask you to fight through with obedience…are you ready?

Have a great day and we will talk in the morning……