I will share about Christian books I have read or listened to.
I will be sharing about my life before and after Christ. I will include stories about my pet and other pets I have encountered.
Trusting God’s Story
Imagine Mary and Joseph getting ready to become parents. They probably asked a lot of the same questions expectant parents do today: Is the baby healthy? Are we prepared to care for this child? Where will we have the baby? Are we ready for the birth?
Near the end of Mary’s pregnancy, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that everyone within the Roman world return to their hometown for a census (Luke 2:1-4). This meant that Mary and Joseph had to leave their home in Nazareth to take the four-day journey to Bethlehem, the city of David, who was Joseph’s ancestor.
Because of the census, Bethlehem’s inns were full of people making the journey home. And so, when the time came, Mary gave birth to Jesus in the only place available to them: a stable. She placed him in a manger—a feeding trough—because that’s all there was. Surely this was not the birth that Mary would have planned for her firstborn child.
And yet, it was exactly what God had ordained. God showed us a lot about His Kingdom through the circumstances around the birth of His Son.
He showed us that Jesus is humble. Jesus was born in a stable and placed in a manger. The King of all Creation, yet such a humble beginning.
He showed us that the Kingdom of God is accessible. This King wasn’t tucked away in a castle or a mansion, separated from His people and surrounded by luxuries—shepherds and wise men alike were able to come visit Him.
He showed us that we can trust the story. Mary had to trust God’s story. Joseph had to trust God’s story. Imagine how the story would have been different if Mary and Joseph had demanded that room be made for them in an inn, shouting, “This is the Messiah, people! Make room!” But they didn’t do that. They accepted the situation in front of them, trusting God’s story regardless of how strange or undesirable the setting seemed.
And from that surrendered posture and strange set of circumstances, God brought forth His Son, exactly as He had planned.
We can trust the story because God is the Author. Jesus’ humble birth was not an accident—it was a message, a picture to all of us of what God’s Kingdom is truly like. It’s also an invitation for us to surrender our plans, our ideas of how the story should be, and trust the trustworthy hand of God in our lives. We can trust God.
Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia 8 AM Streaming Service
Pastor Joe Focht
Genesis 46
True Friendship
Would you rather have hundreds of “friends” who know you, but don’t really know you—who call you a friend, but only when it’s convenient? Or, would you rather have one true friend who always sticks by your side?
The writer of Proverbs, typically attributed to King Solomon, said this:
“There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.”
Proverbs 18:24 NLT
Some friends come into our lives because of proximity: you work at the same business, your kids go to the same school, or you frequent the same places. But just because you know someone’s name and follow each other on social media, doesn’t mean you’re true friends.
When it comes to genuine friendship, quality over quantity is key.
Even the truest of friends will occasionally let you down, because no one is perfect—except Jesus. He is the truest friend of all.
Learning from Jesus’ example, there are certain characteristics that ...
