The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they’d been told!
Luke 2:20 (from The Message Bible)

What a wonderful thing that the shepherds took a chance and went to see the baby Jesus. It changed their lives and they wanted to tell everyone what they had experienced. How this tiny newborn baby had such an effect on them is a mystery to us. Surely God was at work in their lives.
God works just as diligently in our lives; we just need to be open for His message. He probably won’t send a choir of angels when He has something to tell us, but if we watch for the signs, we will receive the message just as clearly as the shepherds had.

Every day of our lives, we should want to tell everyone we encounter about our Lord and Savior. We have been given the same message as the shepherds. Now it is our turn to share that good news. Let the people we encounter decide for themselves if what we say is true or not. They won’t be disappointed.

(My daughter Val took this picture while she was in Kenya last summer. I just love it. Thought it was appropriate to this post; I am thinking that the goose and goat are on their way to tell somebody some wonderful news.)

Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself.
Luke 2:19 (from The Message Bible)

Every mother has high hopes for her baby from the minute he or she is born. What will he grow up to be? Who will she look like? Will he be smart? Will she be popular? A million questions run through every mother’s head when she sees her newborn baby. Mary had the same questions, and one more that we wouldn’t ask. What will happen to the Son of God?
If you have read the entire Bible or have never opened one, if you’re in church every weekend or just for funerals and weddings, you still have heard the story, you know how this baby’s life on this earth ends. Unless you have lived your whole life under a rock somewhere, you know that the baby Jesus grows up, shares the truth about His Father, and dies an unimaginably painful death on a cross.

Imagine that you are Mary or Joseph and you could see your baby’s future and know that horrible end? How could you have any joy in your life? Believe it or not, God knew the horrible end His son would face and still He sent His son to us, so that we would not have to face that pain ourselves.

While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the inn. Luke 2:6-7 (from The Message Bible)

Whenever I get to this part of the story, I can never quite believe that Mary and Joseph traveled to the city of their ancestors and there was no one in the little village who would take them in. Also, being as Bethlehem was a little village, did they really have any inns, anyway? It wasn’t like Bethlehem was just off the interstate and there was a Super 8 to cater to the camel drivers. The word here, inn, would be better translated to inner room.
Joseph and Mary probably found some relatives who would give them lodging, but they already had house guests sleeping in their inner room, or guest room. The only space left for company was the stable, which wasn’t a cave out back, as usually depicted. Homes at the time more often had the area for the animals in the same building. It made more sense that way, the animals would be kept safe and they would throw off body heat to warm the house in the cold of night.
Yes, Jesus was probably placed in the manger - what a perfect crib that would make, don‘t you think? But I picture that Mary was surrounded by female relatives along with the cattle and donkeys.
Why do we always see Mary and Joseph in this cave by themselves with the baby Jesus and the farm animals? Because Jesus was born in the most humble of places, as foretold in scripture, and from these humble beginnings he would become king. But at that time, you had to be born in a palace to ever become a king. So whether he was born in a cave, or in the stable within the home of a common, working class family, he would never be able to rise to a position of ruling a kingdom. Of course, they did not realize at the time what it really meant to rule the kingdom, to rule the world.

If you have children, were they born in a clean bright hospital? Can you imagine giving birth any place else? Your bathroom floor? The back seat of a car? A barn? The women of the Bible never gave birth somewhere sterile. There was no such place back then.

So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s town, for the census. As a descendent of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant. (Luke 2:4-5, from The Message Bible)

The people of the time placed a lot of importance on their ancestors. Various characters all throughout the Bible will have whole lists written of their descendants. It would only make sense to them that if they were all going to be counted that they would go to the hometowns of their ancestors.

Looking on a map, Nazareth appears to be fairly close to Bethlehem, approximately 90 miles. It would’ve taken them at least several days, though, to walk that distance, especially with Mary being pregnant. We always picture Mary riding a donkey with Joseph walking beside her. There’s no mention though in the Bible that she rode a donkey, and being that they were relatively poor, it is possible that she was walking right along with Joseph.

When we take a trip somewhere, we make plans. We study a map and pack our bags. Things were different in Jesus’ time. There was no GPS, no triple A, and not even a spacious SUV. The donkey might have been their only luxury. Maybe. If they had a donkey. Imagine taking a week-long trip without any of the comforts we are used to. Now, imagine being pregnant besides.

(Two years ago I wrote a devotional, The Christmas Story in 40 Days, describing the events leading up to the birth of Christ. Through the month of December, I will share a passage from that book each week in my Sunday blog. I hope you enjoy – I will as during this busy time of the year, I won’t have to write one each week! Have a blessed Christmas season.)

(Two years ago I wrote a devotional, The Christmas Story in 40 Days, describing the events leading up to the birth of Christ. For the next five weeks, I will share a passage from that book each week in my Sunday blog. I hope you enjoy – I will, as during this busy time of the year, I won’t have to write one each week! Have a blessed Christmas season. )

"The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn’t know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced."

(Matthew 1:18-19, from The Message Bible)

In Biblical times, to be engaged to someone was as legally binding as being married. The only difference was that the couple was not yet living together, and thus, unlike many couples today, not having sex. Joseph’s only option, when he found out that Mary was pregnant, was to cancel the marriage contract and divorce her. He could do this publicly, which would mean the masses had the right to stone her. Or he could do it quietly, in front of only two witnesses, which would hopefully save Mary’s honor and her life.

Joseph had a lot to think about. When we are faced with difficulties, do we look at all possible solutions? Or do we just plunge in and do the first thing we think of? Next time you have a challenge to face, look at all your options before taking action. And most importantly, take time to pray.