A Mother’s Teaching from 1897

Ma was telling us that there are always men rising up and declaring that Jesus could not be the Son of God, but was just a wonderful teacher. But she says not to let that bother us, for none of those men who undertake to explain all the works of God, have been able to … Continue reading A Mother’s Teaching from 1897

Christmas

There fared a mother driven forth Out of an inn to roam; In the place where she was homeless All men are at home. The crazy stable close at hand, With shaking timber and shifting sand, Grew a stronger thing to abide and stand Than the square stones of Rome. For men are homesick in … Continue reading Christmas

Where was the manger?

There are many supposed and real hints in the Bible of just how things will play out when our Lord returns. For centuries eminent scholars have scrutinized these hints and endeavoured to put together a coherent time line of that event. They have written many stories based on those searches; they all sound wonderful, but … Continue reading Where was the manger?

The Glory of God

God’s showed His presence with the children of Israel during the Exodus by a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night. There were special manifestations of the glory of the Lord, such as when it descended upon Mount Sinai and God’s voice spoke out of the cloud, calling Moses to come up … Continue reading The Glory of God

Hail the King of glory

  Gentle Mary laid her child lowly in a manger; There He lay, the undefiled, to the world a stranger: Such a babe in such a place, can He be the Saviour? Ask the saved of all the race who have found His favour. Angels sang about His birth; wise men sought and found Him; … Continue reading Hail the King of glory

How silently, how silently

How silently, how silently, The wondrous gift is giv'n! So God imparts to human hearts The blessings of His heav'n. No ear can hear His coming, But in this world of sin, Where meek souls will receive Him still, The dear Christ enters in. (O Little Town of Bethlehem, 3rd verse, written by Phillips Brooks) … Continue reading How silently, how silently

We need better Christmas stories

No, I don’t mean we should try to improve upon the stories in the Bible.  They are wonderful as they are, and true.  The problem I have is with the Christmas stories for children, and adults, that take some elements of the Bible stories, add lots of imagination and wind up sounding like fairy tales. … Continue reading We need better Christmas stories

The star, the king and the foreigners

While the children of Israel were trekking through the desert after leaving Egypt, the king of Moab called on Balaam to curse them.  Balaam found himself unable to curse them, rather pronouncing many blessings for them.  The most notable was the prophecy recorded in Numbers 24:15-19, where Balaam says “there shall come a Star out … Continue reading The star, the king and the foreigners