I realized that although Christmas we spend it with family and eating dinner, it is really the preparation of the time before that we focus on Jesus the most. And it should be, we spend more time that way! Just as we are preparing our gifts for the ones we love, so God was preparing a gift for those He Loves. What a precious gift it was, too!!!!!
Here are a couple of things I want to share....
1) the Mark Hamby devotional that came today. Amazing how twisted things can become over time! Much like gossip we twist things around until they aren't true! Although we can't know for sure, I believe Mr. Hamby has it pretty close...
Away in a Manger
It's amazing the assumptions we make through the years--so much so that, in our minds, fiction becomes fact. Here are a few myth busters that will surprise you:
Myth #1: Mary rode to Bethlehem on a donkey. Nowhere to be found in the Scriptures.
Myth #2: The innkeeper sent Mary and Joseph out to the stable because there was no room in the inn. Nowhere in the Scriptures is an innkeeper mentioned!
Myth #3: Mary and Joseph tried to check in at an inn. The word INN is better translated guest room. Most families had a guest room attached to their homes.
Considering that generous hospitality was part of the culture, and that a few hundred people that would have comprised this Bethlehem village, it would have been most unlikely that Mary and Joseph would have been turned away.
Not sold yet? Picture this. A typical home back then consisted of one large living room, a separate but attached guest room (the inn), and one additional room, open to the living area, situated about three feet below the living quarters, like a split level. The peasants used this room to house their animals at night in order to avoid theft. A trough or manger was dug into the living room floor, which allowed the larger animals to stick their heads over the partial wall to drink and eat. Can you picture this? Jesus was born in the living room!
To turn away a pregnant woman would have been unthinkable in Middle Eastern culture. The baby Jesus was not turned away--He was welcomed into someone's home because there was no room in the guest room where Joseph had originally planned on staying!
What really happened? May we become like the Bereans of Acts 17 who received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Pretty interesting, eh?
2) I have fallen in love with this song! It is so beautiful!!! I love how the song is NOT in a minor that makes you want to cry or something. This one just makes my soul sing.
"Was anyone able to look past the stable, and not see a child but a King"
~Rebecca
2 comments:
I hope you have a great Christmas!
I never thought about the time I spend preparing my gifts and then take that same feeling and think about the time that GOD spent in preparing HIS gift to us! I think of all the love and excitement and anticipation I feel. I imagine how you'll react and appreciate what I've done. I think about how you'll use the gift, who you'll show it to, how you'll take care of it......and then I read your post. Yes, I imagine GOD must have done the same thing. How do I do all those things as the recipient, though?? WOW!! This post really makes me think about that on the receiving end of the gift. Thank you!!! I love you, Dear Daughter!!
Post a Comment