At this point in our journey we are going to pause, while we think more about the

Book of Job. We will continue with that part of our journey in February.

Meanwhile we will consider the Christmas story.

Throughout my long life I have believed in the great stories of the Bible,

especially those of the New Testament. What great stories they are! The virgin

birth, the crucifixion, the resurrection, the ascension into heaven and many more.

Some may think me naive but in my experience God works in mysterious ways to

show us his ways. So it is with the Christmas story.

For many years certain Jews had been expecting God to interfere in the life of their

country because it was occupied by The Romans. It was probably expected

that God would send quantities of troops to do the job. Of course, none of

this happened and God surprised us once again. What we got was a pregnant

woman, on the point of giving birth,

searching with her husband for

somewhere to rest in the small town

of Bethlehem. It was hopeless, as

the town was full of voters.

Hopeless, until a kindly farmer

offered them the use of a barn. There

amongst the hay, straw and cattle our

Saviour Christ the Lord was born.

The only people who knew of

the event were some shepherds who had been tending their flock and came in with a

strange tale that they had seen angels, who had informed them of the birth of the

Saviour. It is a lovely story, and when you add the coming of the Wise Men it is a

complete one.

Jesus and his earthly family were Jews, the Wise Men were not. Thus from the

very beginning God has sent Jesus with his message of love to the whole world. I

enjoy Christmas, with presents, decorations etc. but without that baby born in a stable

it would be meaningless. Let us give Christ the one present he requires from us,

namely the dedication of our lives to His service as long as we live.

A Journey through the Bible with Tiglath