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← Return to The Great Hallthe surprise of God made small
Photos from the season of the Incarnation — the birth of Christ, the quiet of Bethlehem, the surprise of God made small.
20 posts
Post 41
"He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm." - Luke 8:24 He rebuked it. The word used-epitimao- is the same word He spoke when casting out demons. That's not coincidence. It's confrontation. Jesus wasn't soothing nat…
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Post 42
"He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned." - Luke 8:32 Decapolis-ten Gentile cities east of Galilee. Pagan worship, Roman power, animal sacrifice. It happened t…
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Post 43
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." - John 6:51 Jesus had just fed the 5,000. The crowd wanted more- more signs, more bread, more proo…
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Post 44
"I in them and You in Me-so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me." - John 17:23 Jesus prayed something staggering: the Father loves you with the same love He has always had for His Son.…
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Post 45
"As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them." Luke 7:38-39 She wasn't invited. She wasn't welcome. But she came anyway-past the whispers, past the shame. A w…
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Post 46
He didn't mean what you may think. "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." -Matthew 3:8 "Repent and believe the good news." -Mark 1:15 Insight Most people hear "repent" and picture behavior: Stop sinning. Start obeying. Turn around. Walk the other way. But the …
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Post 47
You May Not Know This About Jesus: He Compared Himself to the Serpent "Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in Him." -John 3:14-15 In the wilderness, venomous snakes swep…
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Post 48
You May Not Know This About Jesus-What He Brought With Him In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. -John 1:1-2 Insight John begins his Gospel by locating Jesus in eternity, present with the F…
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Post 49
"He arose and took the child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt." -Matthew 2:14 Let's consider Joseph. He didn't wait for the alarm. He didn't pack the house. He didn't warn his neighbors. There was no delay- like birds flying from a snare. One choice. …
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Post 50
"The angel told Joseph, 'You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.'" (Matthew 1:21) Centuries before Christmas, King Ahaz trembled. Two nations pressed his gates, 120,000 of his soldiers already fallen, Jerusalem under siege. God sent Isaiah-…
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Post 51
"He arose and took the child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt." -Matthew 2:14 No waiting for the alarm. No packing the house. No warning to neighbors. No delay-birds escaping the hunter's net. Why such urgency? Because danger was closing in. Herod wa…
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Post 52
"In My Father's house are many rooms? I go to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2-3) Joseph and Mary were betrothed- bound by covenant, husband and wife by law, but not yet intimate. Their future secured. Then Mary left Nazareth for Judea, nearly a hundred miles …
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Post 53
"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus" - Matthew 1:21 The whispers spread-an adulteress. The scorn lashed out in silence- a whip without words. The glancing looks cut deep- knives drawn in daylight. The honor of two families cut down …
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Post 54
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb. (Luke 1:41) Silence-in the womb. Two mothers carried mystery, two children carried promise. Mary's greeting broke the quiet, and Elizabeth gasped. Her child jolted inside her- not a flutter, a leap. It was John…
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Post 55
"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God." - Luke 2:13 The sheep were asleep, a quilt of white wool across the hillside, their soft shifting the only rhythm in the silence. Above us, the stars burned steady- silent heral…
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Post 56
"And behold, the star which they had seen in the east went before them until it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy." (Matthew 2:9-10) We've all seen it- a blazing star above a stable, shepherds and magi…
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Post 57
"For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:11 - From the beginning, Scripture spoke of the breath of God. His breath filled the heavens, ordering the stars- like a conductor raising his hands and filling the air with mu…
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Post 58
"And she gave birth to her firstborn son; she wrapped Him in cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." - Luke 2:7 Insight When Israel camped at Sinai, the mountain shook, wrapped in smoke, because the LORD descended in fire. Thunder rolled,…
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Post 59
"Simeon took Him in his arms and praised God, saying, 'Sovereign Lord, as You have promised, You may now dismiss Your servant in peace.'" -Luke 2:28-29 Christmas celebrates His birth- but you may not know this about Jesus: soon after, His parents carried Him to the temple.…
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Post 60
"A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." -Deuteronomy 19:15 Christmas is not a whisper- it's a verdict. The Father would not allow His Son's identity to rest on one fragile voice. He established it as the Law required- by witnes…
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Stay in Step
Quiet. No rush. Just walking a few pages with Jesus.
