Imagine the scene in Bethlehem. It was the night of nights, and yet it had begun as every other night had before it. In Bethlehem’s houses mothers lay their children down to sleep. In the courtyards of the inn some camels lay down to rest. In the fields the sheep lay down while the shepherds sat near their fires. In the heavens…
The Firstborn Over All Creation
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And…
The Star – God Provides a Travel Guide for Seekers
The Star — God Provides a Travel Guide for Seekers Believe it or not, the Bible tells us that God commissioned a particular star to serve as a kind of travel guide for a group of men from the East who had developed an interest in looking for the Christmas child. Not only did that star lead these Easterners…
He Will Be Called Wonderful
He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. — Isaiah 9:6 My dictionary defines wonderful as “so unusual or magnificent that it causes wonder and amazement.” What a description of Jesus! First, Jesus was wonderful in His pre-existence. As the perfect man who was also God, He existed from all eternity. Only He is equally at home…
Jesus — Completely Human, Completely Divine
She will bring forth a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. Jesus In the four gospels of the New Testament, it’s His most common name — used almost six hundred times. And a common name it was. Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, Jeshua, and Jehoshua —…
The Word Became Flesh
Have you ever received a one-of-a-kind gift? Something unique, completely unlike anything you had ever seen or even heard of? When the apostle John referred to Jesus as the “only begotten of the Father,” the original Greek means “unique” or “one-of-a-kind.” And as God’s gift to us, Jesus — who is both fully God and…
But Mary Sang
Before we get into the story of the one who comes at Christmas, and who He really was, I want to take you into a prelude — a prelude that is the story about the one person who knew Him best: Mary, His mother. Mary’s story is about a song she sang, before the Christmas…
The Real Meaning of Christmas
We hear it all the time, “don’t forget the meaning of Christmas.” Yet how many people know the real meaning of Christmas? According to a survey released this week by the American Bible Society, 94% of Americans celebrate Christmas but only 15% of Americans read the Bible’s account of the birth of Christ as part of their…
The Creator’s Glory Within Us
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. — Luke 1:32 The Creator still works to design things that can add to your glory. He has made you in His image so that you might make the…
Jesus and Dangerous Things
Dear Jesus, please give me the wisdom to tell the difference between broken people and biting people. — Lisa Harper There is nothing more ugly than a Christian orthodoxy without understanding or without compassion. — Francis A. Schaeffer So, I’ve been thinking about dangerous things. Late one Sunday afternoon last summer, I was unloading luggage from a…