Today is the end. Tomorrow is the beginning. Today the book closes on 2015, and tomorrow 2016 opens its first chapter. Life seems to be made up of beginnings and endings, doesn’t it? School begins and ends. Vacations begin and end. Seasons begin and end. Our children’s time at home begins and ends (and how…
The other day I stopped by my mother’s house to check on some things, and she asked me go through some stored photo albums (do people use those anymore?) and pull out a couple of albums of old Christmas photos. I didn’t have a lot of time to go through them like I will later…
Now it’s Joseph’s turn. You know the story. It’s there in Matthew 1:18-25. Mary, trusting in the God of the impossible, accepts her role as the mother of the Messiah. Suddenly, Joseph’s world is turned upside down. His happy betrothal to Mary takes a shocking and disconcerting turn: she’s expecting, and he doesn’t quite know…
When you think of the Christmas season, what words come to mind? “Joy”? “Peace”? “Good will”? How about “fear”? As you read the story of Christ’s birth in Scripture, you can see it. You actually see fear. That’s why you also see the words “Fear not” throughout the story. Think about it. For example, when…