Christmas
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Tower of the Flock, Part 2 – Joseph’s Story
Joseph’s story Luke 2:1-6 My heart squeezed when I saw Mary sitting on a boulder on the outskirts of town. Her eyes were closed, pinched shut in pain. Her jaw clenched, stifling a moan. My first memory of her flashed through my mind. Giggles filtered through the sycamore leaves overhead. I looked up to see her legs dangling from a branch as she and my little sister gobbled ripe, juicy figs straight from the tree. My sister jostled her reaching for another fig, and Mary lost her balance. She fell into my arms. I had no idea then that it was only the first time I would hold her. But…
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The Tower of the Flock, Part 1 – Eliezer’s Story
Eliezer’s Story At Migdal Eder Squinting in the late afternoon sun, I wiped my brow and surveyed our work. The crazy intense, sleep-deprived spring was well behind us. The last ewe had delivered the last lamb. We’d had a lovely, lazy summer letting the sheep graze the lush hill country. I’d been glad to get away from town for a few months. But harvest had come and gone, and we’d brought the sheep to the fields to eat what the gleaners left behind. That morning, Uncle Asa sent me to the watchtower on the edge of town to ready it for the next lambing season. Ignoring my aching back and…
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Why a Manger?
I don’t know about you, but it always bothered me that Jesus was born in a stable among a bunch of smelly animals. No comfy crib for the Son of God – He slept in a stone feed trough. Can’t you just picture a sheep sticking his head in the manger looking for a snack only to end up nibbling on Jesus’s hair? Why was Jesus born where farm animals live? The usual explanation made sense. The Father chose a humble place for the birth of the Savior to show how He can sympathize with the poor and downtrodden. But that’s not a very satisfying answer. I thought Mary had…
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Jesus, the Nazarene, King of the Jews – Part 7
When I was a child, my mind wandered during the sermon. (Shocker.) Looking at the crucifix, I wondered about the “INRI” hanging above Jesus. What I know now but didn’t know then is that it stands for IESVS NAZARENVS REX IVDÆORVM. Jesus, the Nazarene, King of the Jews. Now Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written: “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” John 19:19 Pilate wrote the inscription in Jewish Aramaic, Latin, and Greek for all to see. That rankled the chief priests. They told Pilate to change it to, “He says he is King of the Jews.” Pilate refused. Why?…
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A detour with a signet ring – Part 6
The LORD has a harsh rebuke for King Jeconiah in Jeremiah 22. “As I live,” declares the LORD, “even though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were a signet ring on My right hand, yet I would pull you off; and I will give you over into the hand of those who are seeking your life, yes, into the hand of those whom you dread, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans. I will hurl you and your mother who bore you into another country where you were not born, and there you will die. But as for the…
