The Slimmest of Evidence

Many Nativity scenes show a tableau  of the Baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and the Magi otherwise known as the Three Wisemen. Everything looks serene with the cattle standing patiently on the sidelines and camels sitting on their folded legs on the outside of a rustic stable.

The problem with this scene is that the  Magi didn’t actually arrive until Mary and Joseph were living in a house somewhere in Bethlehem.1  I wonder did the little family get stranded in Bethlehem after paying their taxes during the census? After all Joseph was not a wealthy man. We know this because of the offering taken to the temple as a fulfillment of the law eight days after Jesus was born. Mary and Joseph could only bring a pair of doves or two young pigeons. A well to do couple would have brought a lamb for the purification rites.2   After paying his taxes Joseph may have needed to work to make enough money to go back to their former home.

The surprise visit of the Magi and their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh came just in time for the impoverished family. They would need it for the next part of their journey  their harrowing escape to Egypt from the murderous rampage of King Herod. More than the timing of their visit and gifts I am fascinated by the very little knowledge that prompted the Magi to undertake their arduous journey.

There is a disagreement from scholars and historians as to the length of the Magi’s journey. Estimates range three from months to two years. In other words it took effort and patience to make such a long trip.

I wonder did they know of the of a prophecy given, by the ertswhile prophet Balaam centuries before the day the star actually appeared? Balaam actually had a vision of a Star rising in the East signifying a royal birth that would happen in the Jewish Nation of Israel.3  The Magi were the learned men astronomers and astrologers most likely from Persia.(Present day Iran)  They belonged to the ancient Persian Zoroastrian religion.  It is possible this  prophecy made its way into their ancient writings. If so, this was a slim piece of evidence for a royal birth to take hundreds of years after it was first given.

In 2026 we have so much more information about Jesus' birth than the Magi.  There are scientists like Joseph Kepler who assumed that the star of the three wise men at the time of Jesus Christ’s birth coincided with the great conjunction of the bright planets.  We have the Word of God that show the fulfillment of the Scripture. There are so many data points that Jesus met that substantiated his birth. If the Magi had only a slim piece of information to get them to make a difficult journey, it's not a cliche to say that Wise People still seek Him. Personally  I've looked at the evidence and I am convinced, like the Magi,  that Jesus, Emmanuel is the Messiah for which  people were waiting since the Book of Genesis. Have you started on your journey to  investigate and to meet this Jesus, the Promised One? If not, why not begin today?  I suggest you start with reading the Book of John in the New Testament of the Bible. 

 

In 2026 wise men and women still seek Him.

1. Matthew 2:7-11
2. Leviticus 12:6-8
3. Numbers 24:17

( For clarification: Yes, there may have been more than three royal visitors or wisemen who visited the young Jesus in Bethlehem. We usually say three because of the three named gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh,  that are mentioned in the Bible.) 

God is With Us in 2026!

 

God is With Us!

 In the Old Testament  it’s recorded The Hebrews were slaves for 430 years.  Enforcing slavery over the descendants of Jacob was  the fulfillment  of a prophecy given to Abraham not some random act. Pharaoh and his advisors may have thought that this was their brilliant plan to subjugate the Hebrews. The Bible  records God told Abraham  hundreds of years before the beginning of the Hebrews being enslaved this would take place. 

Genesis 15: 12-16

12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”

 Pharaoh was never in charge!

Please allow me to use my sanctified imagination to describe the lead up to the Hebrews being forced into total slavery 

Hebrews would have seen their freedoms stripped away,

Maybe there were signs saying no Hebrews  allowed

Hebrew schools were shuttered

Hebrews could only shop on Wednesdays

Hebrews were  not allowed on the job sites.

Hebrews must stay in Goshen.

Hebrews food was rationed.

Hebrews had their movements restricted.

Hebrews  were starved into submission.

Hebrews watched themselves become  enslaved in real time.

Resistance was futile.

The powerful Egyptian army supported by most of Egypts’ populace supported the Pharaoh’s plan to enslave them. Pharaoh accused the Hebrews  in his propaganda campaign that they were not loyal to Egypt.  “These Hebrews are not like us, declared the Pharaoh.” 

It didn't matter that these Hebrews  were born in Egypt. 

Their birthright citizenship was stripped away. It didn’t matter that for hundreds of years the Hebrews lived and worked peaceably with the Egyptians. It didn’t matter that  under God’s guidance one of the Hebrew ancestors, Prince Joseph, had saved the entire  Egyptian nation from ruin.  It didn’t matter that The Hebrews had never rebelled against Pharaoh’s government. Pharaoh accused the Hebrews as potentially being disloyal. Therefore they must be segregated and made slaves. 

I am sure many Hebrews prayed for freedom during their  four hundred years of enslavement  Surely some wondered why God did not answer their prayer.  ( They may have forgotten God told Abraham that his people would be held in bondage for four hundred years) God had a design to show the world His power and glory.

Therefore the Hebrews show us the way God has worked down through history. Even though they were praying:

God did not take the Hebrews  out of slavery.

God took them through slavery.

God did not keep  Shadrach Meshach and Abednego from the fire.

God delivered them from the fire.

God did not keep Daniel from the lion’s den.

God delivered him from the lion’s den.

God did not keep the storm from the disciples

God delivered and saved them through the storm.

God didn’t keep Lazarus from dying

God delivered him from death.

God did not save Jesus from the cross.

God resurrected  Jesus from the grave.

I am saying all this to say, in 2026 God may take us right into the trouble.

Don’t despair , get depressed or be defeated. God allowed us to get into this boat and sent us into year 2026. Now the storm is raging and the billows are tossing high. It may look like a ghost, but God is walking towards us.  Sometimes  it looks like  we are going down for the last time and we are leaning over the railing throwing up and can hardly stand. We  look to our right and see that Jesus is not worried.  

You may be saying how can Jesus sleep through this storm?

In 2026  Jesus may be asking  us where is our faith?

In 2026 we may be praying to get out of this mess.

However if I am reading my Bible right,

God  is saying to us I will bring you through this Mess.

Take courage my friend. Trouble don’t last always! 

The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.

Deuteronomy 33:27a

One Minute Later and Then Eternity!

 

The New Year of 2026 had barely begun. Then came the shocking news from the Swiss Alps  that 40 people lost their lives in a horrific fire in a popular nightclub. . It gave me pause to ponder the fact that we never know when or how our earthly journey will end.  It's a sobering thought that our lives are so fragile.  Do these tragic events give you pause to think about the next part of your journey? For me it does.  When we die we are not taking anything with us:Not a degree! Not a job! Not one award, No Money! No Cars! No jewels or furs! No spouses or children! No titles! No food! No Drugs! No disabilities! Everything to do with this body is staying here on earth.  We have evidence that the ancient Pharaohs tried to take their wealth with them. Today we call their attempts antiquities and we view those items in museums. 

All those things that we sweat and labor over are going to be left on earth. Earthly troubles, trials and solutions are going to be left behind too. Thank goodness!  All the things that entertain us are left here. Since all these things are going to be left behind I ask why  do we put all our energy into them? 

It should be plain to us that there is something else going on with us other than what adorns us or occupies our time. Since we can all observe that nothing goes with a person when  that person dies it should make us stop and think. Steve Jobs died and all his wealth stayed here. Paul Allen died and his billions of dollars, sports teams and property stayed here. Steve Brotman died and he couldn’t take one thing from Costco with him. 

Follow me.  According to the Bible there is an eternity after death.  Therefore  should we not concentrate on the greater part of our journey of what comes next?  Maybe you are an annilhilationist you say nothing comes next. This is all there is. If so then one may do what one wants in this lifetime with no repercussions or consequences. 

That means I don’t need a social contract with you or with  God. I am free to do whatever I want. If I want to kill you I can do so. No problem. The state may put me to death in return for my killing someone else. So what, I won’t know about it anyway because I’m gone. I just ceased to exist sooner than I was going to cease to exist anyway. Insert any other thing into this paragraph.  If there is nothing after this life we can all be free to act without boundaries, live how we want, violate you  anyway I  want. What’s the worse thing you can do to me anyway except to kill me. Again you just hasten me to nothing which I will not know about anyway.

I don’t know about you, but this  annihilationist view just does not make sense to me. 

Then there are the variations of reincarnation theories. That we are going to come back again and again until we reach this supposed perfected state. Well I can’t reconcile this to science. If one egg and one sperm make one unique individual how is this possible? How can two different humans living at different times make uniquely you all over again.  How is the same dna replicated in two totally different people  or insects or animals to form a “cognizant I remember being here before person” over and over again? I cannot get with that program either.The reincarnation view does not make sense to me either.

The view that makes sense to me is this one. There is a God who is ruler over all. According to  this God’s Divine will God  created us humans. I start with the premise that God is infinite and knows all things and is neither bound by human limitations. God knew that when He created us that we were going to have problems. How did God know this? God had seen it before he created humans.  One of God's previously created beings, Lucifer, Satan,  had tried to take the Creator down.  Therefore if  this usurper tried to dethrone the Infinite God he is not  scared to try and take another created being, a human, down. 

In fact this impostor, named Satan,  Lucifer, the Devil  was so persuasive he was able to convince one third of the heavenly beings, angels,  in his  environment to join him.  Well that didn’t work out for him?  God ejected Lucifer and his followers  from Heaven. They were never able to go back.  Well  Lucifer wasn’t going to be happy with his little tribe. When Lucifer aka Satan saw that God had created some other beings on a planet called earth, he went into recruiting mode. 

 This impostor, Lucifer,  didn’t go for a direct attack   He used the art of deflection and deception to get to Eve,  We know the story of how she took and ate  the forbidden fruit   Satan told Eve that God was withholding some great truth from her.  Lucifer told Eve she could discover this truth herself by eating fruit from the forbidden tree.  The Bible said that Eve was deceived.  Adam, the primary person who heard the instructions directly from God,  saw right through the ploy.  However Adam  decided  he’d take up the offer of the impostor knowing that it was not right. 

 God knew all this would take place-afterall He is God. Like the greatest chess master, no disrespect to God, He saw way down the road. God had a plan. That Plan was God/Jesus. He was going to take the penalty and consequence for Adam who was willful and Eve who was deceived otherwise we would be kicked out of God’s family forever.  If God had not had a plan we would  have had  to live with the impostor wherever he was going to live. I hate to bring it up, but that place is called Hell.  

I  am glad that in 2026 I have been given the privilege to live with God. You also have that privilege, if you accept it.   I have  embraced God’s plan by accepting  the fact that God/Jesus paid the penalty for my sin on the cross for me. I accept Jesus Christ's generous offer and acknowledge  that He is the only way to God. None of us know when that last breath will take place.  Now is the time to prepare for Eternity. 

Now this makes sense to me. 

Jesus said I am the way the truth and the Life. 

No man comes to the Father but by me. 

John 14:6

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Don't Be a Victim! Be Prepared!

I've  watched a lot of nature videos. I've watched how lions stalk their prey. They look for the young, vulnerable, weak or those not close to the herd. The stealthy lion quietly walks in the underbrush shadowing their quarry.  Then the  predator runs up on on the unfortunate victim and strikes it with fury.  If the intended prey detects the approaching lion and is able to escape and run the lion will pursue, but usually not for a long time.   The Bible cautions us to, "Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up." i Peter 5:8 Message Bible 

Our enemy Satan,  is looking for one of us to be his  next victim.  When he comes looking for us where will we be?  Will I be napping, ill prepared and weak?    Here are  three examples from the Bible of how we are pursued. We could be pursuing our normal life,  or it could be an employment issue. or it could be a betrayal in a friendship. There are many different ways in which we can be victimized. 

My first example is Job.  This man made prayer a daily duty and practice. He admitted that  he prayed  a just in case prayer for his  adult children.  He does not want to presume or to say that they wouldn’t  sin. He doesn’t pry or try to find out about his adult children's conversations or actions.  As an ancient patriarch Job required that they appear for themselves.  He prays for them in case they have done something offensive against God. Job's adult children respected him so much that they came and let their father pray for them. 

Job is a great model for parents.  In my job as  a principal and a teacher I don’t know how many times I‘ve heard a parent say my child would never do this or that. This may be even after I offered incontrovertible proof that their child did a particular deed. Job understood that even our adult children sometimes behave in ways that baffle us.  I’ve been that parent, so I can’t point fingers. I couldn’t believe what the teachers said  about one of my children. It took a look at report cards from several schools to see a pattern.  Please take my  free advice.  Don’t ever say my child would never, because they just might have or may do it.

When the enemy comes looking for you where will he  find you? The Bible tells us in I Peter 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.  Job had an active  prayer life  when the devil came looking for him.

 My second example is Daniel. He was a high government official when the devil came looking for him.  This story is actually begins with an employment issue. Daniel’s enemies were  his colleagues, other   government executives in the same building.  These were the men all presumably making in the same six figures as he was making. They were scared of Daniel.  Most likely they were  jealous and scared  because the King was going to make Daniel their boss.  The king had seen Daniel's returns on his investments for the king were much higher than those other executives.  If Daniel  became their boss he would look at their record keeping and see that they had been skimming profits for themselves. They knew their  positions were in jeopardy if Daniel was promoted over them.

Daniel 6:3 Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. 4 Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.

These government officials had secret exclusionary meetings to plot and plan how to destroy Daniel, a man of excellence.  A lesson to me is that just because people are in authority doesn't mean they are using their authority in the right way.  This passage tells me if you are a standout on your job some people will want to put you out. Do good anyway.  When you do your job in an excellent manner it can make mediocre performers feel threatened. They didn’t just want to tarnish his reputation, they wanted  Daniel dead and gone.

 After they had secretly scrutinized and audited Daniel’s books and balance sheets they couldn't find one penny missing from his accounts.  They probably  got one of the judges to authorize  a search warrant for his home to check from top to bottom to see if anything belonging to the king was in there. Nothing. They checked houses of prostitution to see if he used their services. Nothing. They looked at his reading material. Nothing. They looked to see if he had cheated anyone. Nothing. He was clean as a whistle, nothing. There was not a hint of wrongdoing in his life.

These Executives had to move to plan two.  By using cunning and deceit they  deceived the king into signing an order that specifically targeted Daniel.  This order made  everything nice and legal. The order said that there  was to be  no praying to any god. Citizens could only pray to the king,  In order to get Daniel they had to have proof. So they spied on him in his house.  Here's my imagination in play. They had the Persian version of the FBI rent the house across the street with a higher balcony and set a watch to surveil Daniel's house.  Was Daniel worried. No! 

"Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before." Daniel 6:10

Well it wasn’t long.   Daniel was just following his normal practice. They saw Daniel  praying to God. When they had their  eyewitness evidence  they pounced. Daniel was found praying when the devil came looking for him. When they came looking for you where will you be?  Just in case you are not familiar with the story this led to Daniel being put in the Lions' Den.  God delivered Daniel and the lions did not harm him.  However those double dealing deceitful executives and their families were destroyed by the lions.

 The third example is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  This story is betrayal by a friend. We know the story. Jesus was in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas knew Jesus’s habits. He’d traveled with Jesus. He knew where Jesus spent time with his disciples. Judas put his plans in place. When the devil came looking for Jesus in the person of Judas and the others, Jesus  was just finished praying.

The commonality in these three examples is prayer. Each of these three examples had an vibrant, active prayer life.  Jesus, Daniel and Job were in frequent contact with our Heavenly Father.  Now here we are in this present age in 2025. The Bible says Satan is on the prowl. He’s looking for the vulnerable ones. On the day that Satan shows up on your doorstep or peers in your window what will you be doing?  Will you be in prayer, just finished  praying, and be in your armor girded with prayer to God.

Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. 

This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.

 I Thessalonians 5:17

If you'd like to more about these stories  you will find them in Job 1; Daniel 6 and Matthew 26:14-29

Put Your House in Order!

 

In the Bible in II Kings is the story of the great King Hezekiah. God sent the prophet Isaiah to give the King an important message . 

 “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”

 We should all pay attention to this Scripture because we are all going to die.   I ask you this  question, “Is your house in order?”  In the church I attend the choir in which I participate sings for funeral services. Therefore, I’ve attended many funerals and celebrations of life services. I’ve read  dozens of obituaries of people I have known and I have not known. I’ve heard the tributes for the recently departed. My question as I listen to these tributes or read the obituaries is, “Was their spiritual  house in order?”

I don’t mean did they leave a will or have a paid up insurance policy. Although those things are important, good and in many cases necessary.  I am looking for any thing  written or said that demonstrates their eternal soul was in right relationship to God. One obituary I recently read talked about how the person loved their family, the Philadelphia Eagles, fishing, and loved good food. All of those things are nice and  there’s nothing wrong with them.  Even King Solomon says that we should be glad that we can eat and enjoy the fruit of our labors. However the one thing for which I was reading I did not see.

Nowhere did it say that the person loved God. No where did it say that the person had even taken time to darken the door of a church. The closest it got to anything remotely religious was that he was friends with a particular pastor and his wife. 

It  caused me to wonder if the person was prepared for eternity and to ask myself did he have his spiritual, eternal house in order? Only God knows the answer to that question.  Some people think that they will get a second chance like King Hezekiah.  Some believe that in those last hours on their sickbeds that they will be able to get things quote, "Right with God," close quote. Although we have all heard of cases of instant death it seems most think they will have a few minutes to decide their eternal destiny before they cross that great divide between life and death.  However that is not necessarily the case. 

For example I had the unfortunate case of my next-door neighbor.  Earlier this year, one Sunday evening I received a knock on my front door. I opened it and it was one of my neighbors to tell me that they feared something happened to my next-door neighbor with whom I shared walls. I live on a street with attached row houses. I went over to the my next door neighbor's door. I looked through the partially opened screen door. There laying face up  prone on her back was my neighbor. In my neighbor’s hand was mail and mail strewn on the floor. Death had sneaked up on my neighbor without warning and the she was gone. It didn’t look like  she had an opportunity to bargain with the grim reaper to give her a few more minutes of life to get things in order. 

No King Hezekiah’s experience was not my neighbor’s experience and it probably won’t be yours  or mine either.

That’s why I am here to tell you how to get your house in spiritual order. First, recognize your mortality.  There is no one alive who was here two hundred years ago.  Death is a fact of life. We are leaving this earth sooner or later,  but we are all going to die.  We are all sinners and we are going to meet God the Maker of us all.  The Maker of us all is a Holy God. In our natural state we are sinners.  We can’t stand before a Holy  God. We can’t make ourselves acceptable to God no matter how nice we are.

God has made a way that we can meet Him and live with Him.  We can prepare to meet God  through Jesus Christ who died on the cross and opened a way for us to meet God and for our sins to be forgiven. The only thing we have to do to be prepared to meet God is to acknowledge  and accept the wonderful gift God has given us. This will get your house in order.  John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 

Now if you decide well I don’t believe a word you are saying,  then I cannot help you. Unfortunately,  you will not be able to live with the God  whose gift you reject. There is an alternative, and this is the truth. There is a place called Hell . We don’t like to talk about it or think about it. However the great God who loves you is not going to force you to live with him.  God does not send anyone to Hell. You volunteer to go there when you say I don’t accept God’s condition to live with Him. So you get to live without  God  in that awful place. However, you have to make a choice now. So again I ask, "Is your house in order?"  As I said at the beginning  what we all know is that  we are all  going to die. It’s just where do you want to live after the inevitable happens?  I made my choice. I hope you make the right choice. 

Just as people are destined to die once and after that to face the judgement

Hebrews 9:27 New International Version of the Bible 

Land Swaps Or Else!

 

King Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 1:9 History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. (NLT)

The Bible tells a story about King Ahab who wanted to take over  his neighbor Naboth’s vineyard. Ahab tried to get Naboth to compromise and take another piece of land in exchange for what he wanted. Naboth did not want to do it. The King Ahab sulked. His wife Jezebel saw him sulking and asked him what was wrong with him. 

“ He answered her, “Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, ‘Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”

“But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors.” 

You see Naboth was obeying God's law. He could not be enticed to give what God had given his people.

Jezebel in her desire to placate her husband devised an elaborate scheme to get  the vineyard for her covetous husband. It ended up with Naboth being  falsely accused of blasphemy against  God. This was a crime which ended up with him being executed by the State.  After her sycophants did her dirty deed then Jezebel saw that the land was deeded to her husband. The public saw Naboth's execution as justifiable.   Her wicked little plan worked. No one outsIde of her tight little innercircle was the wiser. “EXCEPT,” God saw it all. God saw her plan as premeditated first degree murder. 

If you know anything about Jezebel’s end it wasn’t pretty. God pronounced judgement on her and her husband. However she in particular was given a harsh sentence. Close your ears and stop reading if you have a weak stomach. She ended up being thrown from a window and the dogs licking up her blood off the street.  Those that helped her had an ignominious end too.

Now if I were a person in government I would not be insistent that another nation give up their land. Why? Acts 17:26  From one man He(Talking of God) made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.

Boundaries are there for a reason. No man has the right to force another nation to adjust their boundaries so that another nation can dominate them.  Solomon was right what we are seeing today is not new. Learning from history could save a lot of trouble. 

Read the Story for yourself in in I Kings 21 and Jezebel’s end in II Kings 9:10-30