Bethlehem: A God of Surprises

"Tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you." Joshua 3:5

     Good Sunday evening! This is the second part of the first chapter from the book Meeting God in Holy Places by F. LaGard Smith. As I've explained, this book is a result of  LaGard's visits to the Holy Land. You may have to go back to my blog yesterday to pick up the thread of thought for this one, but putting the two together made it much  too long! If you remember, the point of this chapter is that God does everything differently from the way humans would do things because HE IS GOD. He surprises us with the  amazing ways He brings about His will. We--human beings that we are--would have used a more mundane and unimpressive way! So to continue with "A God of Surprises."

     Being a God of surprises, He gives us a different kind of story that turns our thinking on its head. No "Breaking News" alert. No bright cameras and lively interviews. Just an announcement from an angel to lowly shepherds that the Savior of the world was born! But what rejoicing by the heavenly hosts!

     Now think about it: When a  writer in Hollywood comes up with the idea for a script depicting the true story of the birth of God's Son, would it be the same scene? Lowly shepherds. Humble Bethlehem. Obscure virgin girl from Nazareth. Does this sound like a script you or I would write? God's divine drama is meant to grab our attention! It's meant to change our realities! It's meant to turn our values and preoccupations upside down! And surprise us! With God, almost nothing is as it seems.

     There are several people in the Bible who were surprised by joy: Abraham and Sarah, Hannah, and, of course, Mary, the mother of Jesus. Can you imagine the astonishment that Mary and Joseph felt? A virgin who was pregnant! And being the mother of the Savior, did she expect Him to be born in a dark, smelly pit in the earth? His bed a manger? Hearing his first cries, any disappointment she might have felt turned to immeasureable peace and joy! And joy is almost always a surprise--and almost never what we expect!

     What the unlikely circumstances of Jesus's birth tell us is that the God of surprises delights in bringing us unexpected joy. Whether it's in the middle of a crisis, or in the middle of our mundane days, God is likely to surprise us with a special gift, wrapped in a way that surprises us. Think about God's greatest gift, Jesus, who was the Son of God wrapped in ordinary human flesh, a gift which allows you and I to become extraordinary! Far from gold, burning tapers and treasured icons, the birth of Jesus was surprisingly unworldly.

     LaGard says: "But then, that's what is so fun about being one of God's children: just when we least expect it, God surprises us with pearls of joy gift-wrapped in plain brown paper!"

I hope you all have a wonderful week!
Blessings...Mimi

Bethlehem: Surprise

"Tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you." Joshua 3:5

     As I explained in my last blog, I'm going to be using Meeting God in Holy Places: A Devotional Journey by F. LaGard Smith to lift our spirits from time to time. I made an explanation for my long absence from my blogs on my regular blog: http://memosfrommimi.blogspot.com, so I won't repeat it here. But at this point, I'll remind you that this book gives us  an inside look at the HOLY LAND.  The first site is Bethlehem, and the chapter is titled "Surprise."

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     Our God is a God of surprises. Just when we think we've got Him figured out, He gives us what we least expect. I'm talking about the humble birth of Jesus. Read on to learn of some things that may surprise you. First, you'll be surprised to hear that when LaGard first saw the little town of Bethlehem, he was not only surprised, but disappointed. After seeing the  town where Jesus was born beautifully illustrated on cards at Christmas time all his life, seeing the real city wasn't anything like those pictures. Bethlehem is a  city which isn't sitting in a pretty little valley in stillness, but a city set above steps cut into a hill of olive groves. Buses, cars, tourists, noise and congestion are the main characteristics of this Israeli town.

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     Many tourists were there to visit the "massive, fortress-like Church of the Nativity." And even though no one knows exactly where Jesus was born, it was most certainly somewhere close--a fact "to take your breath away in anticipation." But going into the church through it's low doorway (built to keep marauding Turks on their horses out), there are some beautiful and ancient  mosaic tiles on the entrance floor. The church's antiquity is impressive as it is the oldest church anywhere, constructed by Constantine and his mother in A.D. 325.

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     But is that the point? For Christians who make the pilgrimage,  the point is to see the manger where Jesus was born. But there isn't an inn, or a manger, or straw and not even any  gentle animals. Like the icons dripping with gold in the entry to the chapel,  the place shown as Jesus's place of birth is a gaudy white, marble-lined niche in a cave wall that is dimly lit by hanging lamps, strange to those who had an entirely different picture in mind from reading the description in the Bible.
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     But more to the point, there may be some real surprises in regard to other ideas about Jesus's birth. It will disappoint those who haven't already learned that December 25 is not a likely time of year for the Savior's birth. The sheep grazing in the green fields and being watched by shepherds would have been there in the spring. And even though we speak of three wise men because there were three gifts, we don't actually know how many wise men came to visit the new king. And they didn't visit the manger, but went to visit the king six months later when the family was in a house.

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     Now, if these details disturb you, think of King Herod's surprise when he was asked by the Magi about the newborn king. He knew nothing about Micah's prophecy that Bethlehem would be the Savior's birthplace. Not only was he surprised by this news, but threatened. He didn't know anything about the God who fills our lives with surprises.
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    Now think of the shepherds in the field, how they were surprised by the appearances of the angel and the heavenly host! Their fear turned to joy when they found the baby "wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." They went from surprise, shock, fear, disbelief, hope, trust, and confirmation to--finally--indescribable joy! God came near, and these lowly shepherds were there to witness it. Lowly shepherds were the first witnesses to the one birth that gives meaning to all other births! Does that surprise you? Would you have presented this important event the way God did?


     Enough for today...I'll finish up this chapter tomorrow. I hope you're having a wonderful week!
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Blessings...Mimi

The Journey Begins...Meeting God In Holy Places ~

"Israel was holy to the Lord." Jeremiah 2:3 

It's been a while since I posted on this blog, but as I'm sure you know, I'm still working on a novel that I began last November. I have wanted to do something here that gives all of us an uplifting few minutes during our week. This time I'm going to  summarize each chapter of the second devotional book by F. LaGard Smith called Meeting God in Holy Places: A Devotional Journey, so that it's easier to understand. LaGard made several visits to the Holy Land, and the sites and sounds of those trips are shared with us through this devotional book. Once again, I'll be summarizing the chapters for you, as I did over a long period of time with Meeting God in Quiet Places: The Cotswold Parables. I'm partial to these two devotional books, and I feel close to all of you as I'm sharing them here. I hope you feel the same way.
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The first picture on here is of the Mount of  Beatitudes in the Spring. It is one of the places which we read about in the Bible, and one of the places that LaGard visited. He says: "Stand on the Mount of Beatitudes on a lovely spring day, and you're surrounded on every side by the 'lilies of the field' and 'birds of the air' of which Jesus spoke. Why, indeed, should we worry? Are you not much more valuable than they?" 

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Today I just want to give you the introduction and a few words about this book. It takes time to read and summarize, but it's just these kind of spiritual thoughts that I want to share with you. I usually take two blogs for each lesson because they are long and have so many gems of encouragement in them. I'll be hoping to put on a chapter a week, but that may get sidetracked until I finish the novel!
                                                                                                                        Mount of Beatitudes with view of Plain of Genesseret

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      On the inside cover, there is a description which lets you know what is in the contents of the book: 

"Imagine walking through the Holy Land, the people and places of Scripture coming vividly to life. Touch the stories in the valley where the boy David defeated the mighty Goliath. Visit the pool of Bethesda and ponder the healing power of Christ. Come closer to Jesus as He prays in agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. As these meditative parables lead you gently into the land of God's great promises, you'll discover a deep peace that comes from walking in a place like no other--a place that Jesus called home."
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I find the Table of Contents very interesting, as it contains such topics as Bethlehem, The Holy Sepulchre, the Valley of Gehenna, The Wailing Wall, The Dead Sea, The Ossuary, the Pool of Bethesda, Masada, Mount Carmel, Passover, Gethsemane, Mount of Olives, Judean Desert, Sea of Galilee, Jordan River, Mount of Beatitudes, Dome of the Rock, and the Bell Caves, along with a few others. If you love the Bible and places where its history took place, this is a way of connecting to those sites in a way that also moves your heart. We can meet God in holy places without actually making the trip!
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From Jerusalem, the City of David, to places of biblical events, such as the pools of Siloam and Bethesda where Jesus performed at least two of his many miracles of healing, to the Way of Sorrows, where Jesus walked to his crucifixion, and on to the tomb where He is believed to have lain. And there are also the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane. And who wouldn't want to visit the city where Jesus was born? The city where "God came into our world so that we might enter into his." And, in fact, the Holy Land is the place where God chose to reveal himself to us. It is a breathtaking pilgrimage through history--God's and ours.  

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If any of this sounds interesting to you, stay tuned. I'll get the first lesson on here for you to read very soon. In the meantime, keep God in your hearts and minds as you make this walk on earth!

Blessings...Mimi