verseoftheday

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under... "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more" Matthew 2:16-18 NIV Not normally a popular part of the Christmas Story... but today as we enjoy the freedom to live and worship how we want to, today pray for those around the world who are being persecuted for their faith. Was Herod so afraid of this baby because the people would then believe in a power greater than his? That baby, born 2016 years ago, not only split time, but ruptures our thinking about what really matters. This time of year we try to get together with people we care about, because that really matters. Jesus birth, God becoming man, making a way, wanting relationship with us...that really matters...for today & for all days ...

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. Micah 5:2 ESV From the humblest of places, in the humblest of circumstances... there was no glitter, tinsel, flash food...but God's plan to bring a saviour into the world was unfolding. This Christmas Eve, don't let the lights, the dramas, the tinsel on the outside, make us lose sight of the one who came from ancient of days. God's plan to save the world is entering a new phase... People were looking for a saviour then...and now... May our lives & actions, point towards the Ancient of Days. #christmas #promisesofhope #jesusatthecentre #ancientofdays

"Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means 'God is with us'". Matthew 1:23 NLT For 42 generations God had been working from the outside...His presence was so powerful people couldn't survive it, heaven met earth only in the Holy of Holies...but now...at the first Christmas, it all changed. God shrunk himself, humbled himself, made himself "nothing"...a baby in a teenage single mother in a tiny backwater town where nothing good ever came...and in that moment God is with us. Jesus says I'm going to enter the story in a new way, I'm going to know what it's like to be you and I'm going to be with you on this journey... I'm not just going to make a way but I'll be that way...this is a love story and this is the best way I can show you that I love you. #with #christmas #everythingchanges #promisesofhope #love #itsalovestory