The rope was so tight round sixteen-year-old Patricius’ wrists they’d bitten into the flesh. He no longer felt the sting of the saltwater from the wind-tossed waves splashing over the side of the boat headed back to the home of his Irish ca...
St. Patrick's Day is approaching, and Ireland is ramping up preparations for a colossal national celebration. There's the quintessential St. Patrick's Day parade, street parties and festivals around the country, and of course, the pubs of t...
Roses are red. Violets are blue.Stuff about Valentine, We wish we knew. All we can say for sure is that there was indeed a pastor named Valentine who became a martyr around AD 270. Beyond that, it’s legend and conjecture. But where facts a...
"The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believe...
"After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. 'Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and His mother,' the angel said. 'Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child...
"Then they opened their treasure chests and gave Him gifts of gold, frankincense and Myrrh" (Matthew 2:11). Perhaps each of these gifts from the Magi were simply their way of honoring this new “King of the Jews” by giving Him what was prec...
"Then they opened their treasure chests and gave Him gifts of gold, frankincense..." (Matthew 2:11). With gold, the magi recognized the “young child” as king. But their worship had only begun. The remaining precious substances presented to...
"Then they opened their treasure chests and gave Him gifts of gold..." (Matthew 2:11). As the mysterious Eastern visitors arose from the floor, they dusted themselves off, straightened their robes and began presenting tokens or “treasures”...
"And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother and fell down and worshiped Him" (Matthew 2:11). The Magi did what they told Herod they’d come to do. They had not come to worship him, the old king. The...
"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worshi...
"Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple...and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years. Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and nig...
"Jesus' parents were amazed at what was being said about Him. Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, 'This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, and many others to rise. He has been sent as a sign fro...
“That day the Spirit led [Simeon] to the temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, 'Sovereign Lord, now let your ...
“Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often” (Luke 2:19). All mothers keep “baby books.” But Mary’s journal of Jesus’ early (and adult) life was different than that of any other mom. There were many angelic visits...
“When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, 'Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.' They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there w...
“There were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them....
"And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for then in the inn” (Luke 2:7). I wrote a Christmas song years ago, imagining Joseph’s perspective. I was ...
“Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 'Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men'” (Luke 2:13-14). Few people knew He was coming. The world was taken by surp...
In the Greek alphabet the letter X (chi) may be used as an abbreviation for Christ, a symbol of the anointed Messiah. When you see X-mas, don’t think they took Christ (X) out of Christmas. Rather, think of the anointed X or "Messiah of G...
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him and without Him nothing was made that was made ... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among...
“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and shall bring forth a son, and shall call His name Jesus” (Luke 1:31). “She shall bring forth a Son and you shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:2...
"Joseph went up from Nazareth to Bethlehem with Mary his fiancée who was clearly pregnant” [paraphrase] (Luke 2:4-5). Note Joseph and Mary's experience. Whether they took the winding central route through Israel, up and down, over and arou...
“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder. And His name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And of the increase of His government ...
"'She will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.' … All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 'Behold, the virg...
“'I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The Messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,' says the Lord of Heaven’s Ar...
Every Christmas Santa gets more than his share of attention. He’s the star of television specials, movies and countless sequels! His picture appears on cards and wrapping paper; he can be found at every mall and downtown department store. L...
“All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. ...
“But You, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me, the One to be the Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2). We have cons...
“Therefore also that holy thing that will be born to you shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). That was the King James Version. Let me be quick to say all other Bible translations, translate the phrase “Holy thing,” either “Holy One...
“Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her” (Luke 1:57-58). Every child should enter the wo...
In part one of this series, we looked at the historical background that led to the feast of Hanukkah. A tumultuous period in Jewish history that climaxed with the Maccabean rebellion, rededication of the Temple, lighting of the Menorah, and...
“The angel said to him, 'Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer has been heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For...
As Christians around the world prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, we should remember that this momentous event is the culmination of a rich prophetic tradition, which has its roots deeply planted in Jewish soil. The birth of Jesus Chr...
“The people who sat in darkness saw a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned” (Matthew 4:16). Let’s do a bit of time travel and fast forward to our day. What has changed in 2,000 years? The...
“And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world would be registered. This census first took place when while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own ...
“And Mary said: 'My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.'” (Luke 1:46) What mission did Jesus come to accomplish? What was His target group? No guess work needed here. In Luke 19:10 Jesus said, “The Son of ...
“Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and ...
“The angel said, 'Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the...
“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to he...
“There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. They were both righteous before God, walking in all the com...
“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King, behold wise men from the East came to Jerusalem” (Matthew 2:1).These men from the East, veiled in layers of mystery, were perhaps the most intriguing charact...
“… It had been revealed to him [Simeon] by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:26).How much time passed from the giving of the promise to its fulfillment? Decades? Years? Mont...
“And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was with him. And it had been revealed to Him by the Holy Spirit that he would not...
“In the fullness of time, God sent His Son…” (Galatians 4:4). All the artwork in my home has disappeared. It’s still there, right where I left it, or hung it; but I don’t really see it anymore. It's just “there.” The photos from va...
“Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. The vision is for an appointed time, but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not t...