Changing The Divine Diapers

And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.  Luke 2:40

Early on a cool morning in Bethlehem, Joseph the carpenter awakened and sniffed the air. 

"Holy... gag! Mary, I think the Son of the Most High needs to be changed again!"

"No way, it's your turn," Mary said, "And I told you that street vendor's meat looked sketchy, but you fed it to Him anyway." 

The divine child giggled from his new crib and made another stinky deposit in the holy swaddling cloths. 

Like our verse for today, we may be tempted to summarize the infancy of the Christ child and move on to the parables and miracles. Mary and Joseph had to be there, and like many new parents, they may have occasionally fed the newborn Son of God something a bit spoiled by mistake. But wait, the newly-reborn Christian might say, didn't God make some provision for that? Maybe we aren't comfortable thinking of the Christ as a human child with all the usual stinks and messes. But human He was and human He died on the cross to save us. 

I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas!

Bucky

The King Asks

But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.
  --Matthew 2:6

If you turn back to Micah 5:2, you will find as I did that this quote is not exact. We can give the priests and scribes a break though since they did pretty well. When the king asks, it can be tough to quote a verse exactly verbatim right on the spot. But they did say 'shepherd' in there, didn't they? Could this have anything to do with a group of shepherds around Bethlehem who saw a great thing one night? Knowing the scriptures and having quotes ready for the situation may help us and others. However, it comes down to what testimony we bear, and the shepherds bore it well by just telling their story. Marvelous and miraculous things happened to the shepherds, and then there were these folks following a star. Testimonies will pile up about Jesus, because in these latter days there are yours and mine too. If a king asks, we must tell him our story.

Have a merry Christmas week! 

Bucky

That's Nothing!

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
  -- Isaiah 9:6

Last night the football game moved along quickly enough that I was still up at the end of the first half. There, I got to see a play that the announcers said happens (or is successful) only about once every half century. As I was pondering that privilege, I could almost hear all the friends of Jesus saying, "That's nothing! Every year we celebrate a thing that only occurred once in all of history." Yes, and what a celebration it is! But speaking of turnarounds, both teams I rooted for last night had the lead when I retired to my reading, only to both lose the games by morning when I got up. This Child is gone from us again, but what do you suppose the 'morning' will bring? Those prophecies in this verse for today do not seem to be all completed just yet.

Have a merry Christmas season in our hope for His return!

Bucky

Came To Pass It Did!

And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.  Luke 2:1-3

A decree goes out from the governing authority. Sometimes it may be just interesting, other times completely dull, but once in a while a decree affects everyone and everything. This one from the Caesar was one of those everyone decrees. Joseph and Mary might appreciate the convenience of an online form, had they known about it, at least until all their data was stolen. In their case with the Internet some years in the future, it meant a journey of some distance from their hometown of Nazareth to the little town of Bethlehem. Of course from the scriptures and angelic messages, they probably knew the trip to Bethlehem was a thing going to happen. The decree just helped Joseph move it along, since men sometimes need a little push in the direction they should be going already. 

And in Bethlehem that wonderful birth came to pass and our Savior was born. 

Bucky

Great To Have A Guide

When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.  Matthew 2:9-10

You are almost to a place, but in an unfamiliar land; GPS doesn't exist yet and maps will come in a few years or so. Someone has kindly pointed out the road to Bethlehem, but that is all you have to go on to find one child who was born sometime in the past couple of years. (Give us a break, it took the party that long to arrive after seeing the sign watched for over centuries.) Well imagine your relief and joy to have that sign you saw back home turn out to be more than you thought it was and you now have a sure guide pointing to the house you want to find! Well, one of these days we all want to find a place called Heaven, and maps or GPS will not help us. But what we saw in Christ when we believed will turn out to be that sure Guide who will return to lead us home, His home and ours. 

Praise God for His Son! 

Bucky

Where Will Ya Be Born?

And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:  Matthew 2:4-5

Had you been around in 1564 you might have asked me where I would be born, and... Of course we know that is nonsense. However, in the case of Jesus it was told by the prophet Micah hundreds of years before His birth where the Christ would be born. And that, my friends, just leaves me kind of flabbergasted. What does one say to that and many more prophecies of Messiah that all came to pass on that one night in Bethlehem? Let it be and praise to God for the birth of His Son, Jesus!

Bucky

A Troubling Christmas Tale

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” Matthew 2:1-2

Things in Jerusalem have been mostly calm for a while, and then one day these men from the East come to town with their question. They seem to have expected Jerusalem to be celebrating this birth. The current king, Herod, stands there thinking, "Wait, what?" It would be a comical scene if they hadn't reacted in a murderous way.

The message of the wise men prompted a troubling of the mind in Jerusalem. The people in power liked things the way they were. Suddenly here come these guys with their talk of a special star and a new king. Troubled minds soon thought up a troubling solution and a young family had to make a midnight journey to Egypt to escape the child-murdering soldiers of Herod.

Not the most charming part of the Christmas story!

Bucky