Birth

This week, we have been taking a special look at the birth of Jesus ... the prophecy, the promise, and now the presentation.


Luke 2
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. 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. 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.” 13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others - the armies of heaven - praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” 15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.


Birth. In every great story ever written, there is a turning point. It is a moment when the author begins to unveil their solution to the problem that has been slowly building throughout the story. When the story is made into a movie, the turning point is usually accompanied by music (or a change in tone and tempo). You know what I’m talking about. What scene flashed through your mind? For me, it was the scene in Hoosiers when Jimmy Chitwood told the angry crowd at the town meeting that it was time for him to start playing basketball and that he would only stay and play for Hickory if the coach stayed. It is one of the greatest moments in movie history. In God’s story (the greatest story ever written), Jesus’ birth is the turning point (one of the greatest moments in history). Jesus is the solution to our problem. There was even some music included to accompany the turning point. Here is what I would encourage you to do ... reread the story ... listen for the music ... allow yourself to feel the joy of knowing the answer has arrived! Merry Christmas!


I am going to take a couple of weeks off for the holidays (and the birth of our second child). You can always check out previous entries, in the archive section of the blog, during the break. I pray you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. See you in a couple of weeks. God bless.