Thank you Pastor Richard Mansfield for sharing your wonderful Church sign with us!!! Merry Christmas to you and Cindy and your entire family and congregation!!! We love you all so very much! More than you know!
I love the writings of Henri Nouwen!
Here is one of my favorites by Henri: “Jesus refused to be a stunt man. He did not come to walk on hot coals, swallow fire, or put his hand in the lion’s mouth to demonstrate that he had something worthwhile to say.
Also…”It is Jesus who heals, not I; Jesus who speaks words of truth, not I; Jesus who is Lord, not I.”
More! “Jesus has a different vision of maturity: It is the ability and willingness to be led where we would rather not go.”
Jesus did not cling to power but emptied himself!
What I know is, since I keep growing closer to Jesus, I do less and less stupid things!
This was in an email I got this morning from Red Letter Christians:
Henri Nouwen reminded us that being and feeling alone is a human experience, but the experience of being alone can either become loneliness or solitude based our response. A virgin conceiving was within the realm of human impossibility. Similarly, the feeling that another can be fully with us in our experiences can also feel impossible. In this one verse, we are called to believe the impossible is possible. God became like me to be with me, and when loneliness looms, Emmanuel beckons me to respond to impossibility as if it is possible. Emmanuel beckons me to the discipline of solitude and vulnerability with the God that makes possible the impossible.
The Genealogy of Jesus 1This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham: 2Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. 3Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram.a 4Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon. 5Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, 6and Jesse the father of David the king. Next: David was the father of Solomon by Uriah’s wife, 7Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa.b 8Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah. 9Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. 10Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon,c 11and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. 12After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor. 14Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud. 15Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, 16and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. 17In all, then, there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ. The Birth of Jesus 18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with Child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly. 20But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus,d because He will save His people from their sins.” 22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23“Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel”e (which means, “God with us”f ). 24When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and embraced Mary as his wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a Son. And he gave Him the name Jesus. |
