History, Real Life and Faith
So who were Simeon and Anna in the Advent story? Lovers of God who given the gift of seeing him in the flesh–when Jesus was six weeks old. After Jesus’ birth in the possible-stable in Bethlehem, he and his parents shifted to a better spot for a newborn and his mother. Eight days after Jesus’ birth, a priest circumcised him according to the…
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For those who live in cities where the night sky is a mere reflection back of the lights, stars and galaxies may not be as common as they are to others. People like shepherds who spend time away from city lights, often far from civilization, who have plenty of time on their hands. Or maybe even pilots cruising the night…
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A Strange Christmas Carol for Him Christmas carols ring through my soul and cheer up each Advent season. Don’t you love the faint whispers of angels singing while shopping in crowded stores? The concept of the Christ child as Savior of the world, while known in theory, became true in practice for me during my fifteenth Christmas. I’d begun reading the Bible that fall and…
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Vickie McDonough’s The Fruitcake Bride should be fully seasoned and rich by Christmas! The author of many novels set in the old west, particularly in Texas, Vickie McDonough had no problem choosing a time period for her 14th novella. “I love reading novels set in the late 1800’s, and it’s the time period that most of the books I’ve written…
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God often uses dreams in the lives of Biblical characters. Two Josephs were the most famous dreamers: Joseph of Nazareth and, Joseph, the son of Jacob. (Joseph of Nazareth, by the way, also was the son of a Jacob). Dreams are what prompted the comparison, but a closer inspection showed many other similarities between the two men. (I’m grateful to the…
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In the third week of Advent, we turn to Joseph, the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus. So, who was this man and how did he find himself in an impossible situation orchestrated by God? The book of Matthew gives us a genealogy and several interesting points about him. A descendant, like Mary, of the great King David, Joseph was…
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