- Dec. 23, 2024 - Pastor Belinda
8 In the same region there were someshepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock at night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.10 And so the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army of angels praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among people with whom He is pleased.”
15 When the angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem, then, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. Luke 2:8-16 NASB
On our last trip to Israel in May of 2024, we were blessed to go into Bethlehem to the church of the Nativity. It is the historic marker of the place where Jesus was born and laid in a manger. In times past when we had visited the church of the Nativity it would be crowed with lots of tourist. Each time before when I would get to the location of his birth and the manger area people would be pushing and crowding in to have a look. This time there were just five of us and six counting our guide. As we entered the area our guide said “ take your time and when you’re done I’ll meet y’all on the other side.” I was so blessed! I was able to just set down on the edge of the marble where the silver star marks the place of his birth and just pray and talk to the Lord. Right across from the place of his birth is a stone manger where they say he was laid. It has been said that in the times of Jesus birth mangers were made of stone and not wood. Their location maybe right on, or they could be off. It is said that based on local history researched by Helena, mother of Constantine I this was the place. There were those wanting to wipe out the truth of the location and when Helena heard this she went in and built a church over the site to preserve it. I can’t put into words how it feels to be in the same location where Jesus was born.
There is no one like him. Buddha, Mohamed, all the gods worshiped in the past, none of them came out of the grave but Jesus! None of them set the demon possessed free but Jesus! None of them performed the miracles Jesus did!
So this Christmas take a minute and thank him for coming to earth. It was the beginning of our redemption. It all began right there in Bethlehem. Thank you Jesus!
Have a blessed Christmas,
Pastor Belinda
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Photos taken by Belinda in May 2024
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