![]() Mary had just experienced unexpected excitement, what with the shepherds rushing in and out, telling everyone about her baby. "But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart" ( Luke 2:19). Well, Mary was on a trip! And not only that, she couldn’t find a decent room in which to have her baby! She also had to lay him where the animals fed.īut God used Mary, an unwed teenage girl, to deliver His Christmas gift on a trip in a barn. Would it be during the night? Would we get to the hospital in time? What if we were on a trip? But you can be sure that Mary, a female, probably fretted over this.Įach of the four times I was pregnant, I worried about the timing of delivery. We tend to glance over the stable birth, forgetting how traumatizing that would be for an expectant mom. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn" ( Luke 2:6-7). "So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. Both seemed impossibilities one, an old woman of 80 years the other, a virgin.Īs the angel said to Mary upon the announcement that she would conceive in holiness, “For nothing shall be impossible with God”. and His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation'” ( Luke 1:46-50).Ĭousins Mary and Elizabeth each had miraculous reasons to rejoice! God had honored their everyday faithfulness by granting them pregnancies. ![]() For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant for behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. “And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 'Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!'" ( Luke 2:13-14). God sent Emmanuel-God with us, to “save His people from their sins” no matter who we are, or what we’ve done. But Christ’s heavenly ancestry rang perfect, pure, and holy. This speaks to our Father’s abundant mercy! The Messiah descended from a royal human bloodline, but one riddled with human frailty. And while we don’t get to choose our lineage, God chose Christ’s human ancestry right from David’s seed.ĭavid-the man after God’s own heart, yet David-the man who committed adultery. Whether we’re proud of our ancestral roots or not, we’re stuck with them. The underlying message, woven throughout the Christmas story, is “God and sinners reconciled”. ![]() “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit" ( Isaiah 11:1-2). Since many of us grew up hearing the Christmas story, sometimes the wonder is lost in the retelling (like watching a Christmas classic such as “It’s a Wonderful Life” for the 49th time).īut for today, sit back and watch the story unfold from 6 hidden lessons you may have never considered. What’s the best story you’ve ever heard-the one that drew you in and had you hanging on every word until the end? The dynamics probably involved suspense, danger, and heart-tugging moments.Īnd for me, the best stories are those with happy endings (Ahem-Hallmark movies).
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