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In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered….  And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. Luke 2:1-6             Of all the places on earth for the Savior, the Son of God to be born, why did God choose Bethlehem?             God didn’t choose Rome with its power and military prowess, nor Athens with its culture and sophistication, nor even Jerusalem, the center of the Jewish faith. No, He chose a little farming village named Bethlehem.             In Bethlehem, we see the power of God and the deity of Christ demonstrated. You see, hundreds of years before Christ’s birth, the Prophet Micah revealed that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. (Micah 5:2)             Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth, 70 miles north of Bethlehem, and they had no reason to leave home. So God provided one. Rome, which controlled Israel and most of the known world, was never reluctant to tax its subjects. Caesar Augustus ordered a census, with each man returning to the city of his ancestors.             Nine months pregnant, Mary could deliver her child almost any day. But she climbed aboard the family’s donkey, and Mary and Joseph traveled 70 miles on dusty roads before they finally reached Bethlehem. The trip must have been incredibly difficult and exhausting, but they trusted in God’s provision and fulfilled the prophesy.             God has a purpose for your life, too. You are a child of God, and He is moving in your life, whether you realize it or not.             Sometimes the journey is difficult and hard to understand. But God has a plan for you.

A Message that Cannot Be Contained

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay. For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him.”
Jeremiah 20:9–10

I read about a little five-year-old girl named Hannah who came to her mother one morning and said, “Mommy, I think Jesus has moved out of my heart.” The mother was concerned about her daughter’s understanding of salvation and security, so she asked the little girl where she thought Jesus had gone. Hannah replied, “Oh Jesus is still inside me. I think He moved to my throat because all I want to do is tell people about Him!”
There are some places in the world today where witnessing must be done with care and caution to avoid persecution or even murder. But that is not why most of us do not witness as we should. We face no serious harassment from sharing the gospel. Someone might say something unkind or even slam a door in our face, although even that is fairly uncommon. We are certainly not facing the kind of threats and violence that often greeted the early followers of Jesus when they told others about Him.
So why are so many Christians silent when it comes to the most important message we can share with others? While there are many causes, the root is found in the heart. If we have appreciation for our own salvation and an understanding of the fate of those without Christ, we will be motivated to be witnesses for Christ.
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

It is not laws that keep us from being faithful witnesses but coldness of the heart.