In the eyes of the world, Mary was a nobody living in a nowhere town. She expected her life to take the traditional trajectory. She would marry young, have children, and live a quiet life of servitude, eventually fading into obscurity.
But the Lord foresaw a different trajectory for her life. He would grant her the highest honor among women. She, a (more…)
Imagine being a woman who has lived blamelessly before the Lord all your life, yet you are looked upon with scorn and suspicion. The reason: You are childless in a culture that views barrenness as God’s judgment. And now you are old, beyond childbearing years.
You are destined to die in your disgrace, a shame so great that even having your husband, (more…)
If you’re like me, you admire some famous person about whom you find yourself thinking, “Imagine what he or she could do for God with that kind of talent.” But the people God uses aren’t necessarily powerful or prominent or popular. They’re ordinary people who demonstrate extraordinary faith and faithfulness. And because of that, God shows them favor.
In the days of (more…)
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called (more…)
And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. – Luke 2:7
Mary and Joseph had traveled about 70 miles from their hometown of Nazareth to Bethlehem for the very untimely census – untimely because Mary was very pregnant.
She wasn’t at the (more…)