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Nancy Parker Brummett

Nancy Parker Brummett

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Bethlehem Bound

December 23, 2021 by Nancy 12 Comments

I haven’t been able to write lately, but I’m hoping for rejuvenation in the new year to introduce this new website and The Hope of Glory, Volume II, coming out in March! Meanwhile, here is a Back Porch Break Christmas Classic along with my sincere hope that you and yours have a blessed and Merry Christmas!

Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened…Luke 2:15

How often we look back on the way God orchestrated something in our lives, something so totally opposite from what we had planned, and say, “But, of course, it had to be just as it was.” Such was the case when Mary and Joseph traveled over rugged trails into Judea to the little town of Bethlehem. Certainly Mary didn’t expect to be having a baby so soon, and definitely not so far from home. But the journey fulfilled prophecy, for it is recorded in Micah 5:2: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel.”

Surely the shepherds didn’t expect to be visited by a heavenly host that starry night either–nor to travel to Bethlehem to worship a newborn King.

As Christmas comes this year, the question on our hearts needs to be “Where are you leading me, Lord? What plans do you have for me that I don’t even know about yet?” When we ask those questions sincerely, we can celebrate Christmas Bethlehem bound, ready to go where He leads and ready to humbly worship at the feet of our Lord.

My husband and I were privileged to travel to Israel in 1998 and Bethlehem was one of the stops along our way. We were somewhat surprised by what we found there—not the idyllic scene portrayed on greeting cards, but an enormous, ornate Greek Orthodox church, the Church of the Nativity, built over the spot where Jesus was said to have been born. Pilgrims to Bethlehem step down cavernous steps inside this church into a small enclosure made even closer by the many tapestries and incense-burning lamps hanging all around. In turn, each traveler gets down on hands and knees to peer into a grotto of sorts where a 14-pointed star is embedded in the floor to “mark the spot” where Jesus was born. Jewish tradition ensures this spot is accurate, but it’s now so different from what it once was—and from what we expected.

At another stop along our tour, we saw a typical manger from the time of Jesus’ birth. It was not a wooden structure filled with hay, but a chiseled stone watering trough. Thinking of these things now, I realize there’s no better time than Christmas to set aside all our preconceived ideas. Rather than celebrate just as we always have, let’s open our hearts to the plans the Lord has for us this Christmas. Like Mary and Joseph may we be, in heart and spirit, Bethlehem bound.

(Painting shown is “Adoration of the Shepherds” by Rembrandt.)

 

Filed Under: Back Porch Break Tagged With: Bethlehem, Birth of Jesus, Christmas, Israel, Jesus Christ

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Alice Scott-Ferguson says

    December 23, 2021 at 2:53 pm

    Love this! I revel in the calm of His ways which are ALWAYS higher than mine. So beautiful is our Father/Mother God! Thank you Nancy🎈

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      December 25, 2021 at 4:47 pm

      Thank you, Alice, and Merry Christmas!

      Reply
  2. Peggy Lovelace Ellis says

    December 23, 2021 at 3:10 pm

    Nancy, great as always! I like your new website. Your comment about preconceived ideas reminds me of a Reformed Church pastor whose work–devotions, poems, researched articles–I edited many years ago. According to him, stables were not the mess we have believed them to be. He said animals were so important to people that the owners kept their space clean. I wish for you and yours a joy-filled Christmas and a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2022.

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      December 25, 2021 at 4:48 pm

      That’s an interesting thought, Peggy. And good to know for Mary’s sake! Merry Christmas.

      Reply
  3. Cheryl says

    December 23, 2021 at 4:08 pm

    Merry Christmas

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      December 25, 2021 at 4:48 pm

      And the same to you and yours!

      Reply
  4. Beth Lueders says

    December 25, 2021 at 11:53 am

    Nancy, I love your timeless counsel here to be expectant of God’s good gifts as we are Bethlehem bound.
    A peaceful and joyful Christmas to you and yours, my friend.

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      December 25, 2021 at 4:49 pm

      Thank you, Beth. May He continue to lead us both into this new year with more faith and hope than fear. Merry Christmas!

      Reply
  5. SHEETS NANCY says

    December 26, 2021 at 6:05 pm

    Beautiful message. I pray fervently that my mind be opened and changed, if my way of thinking is not in the spirit of God. He lives in my heart, always🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻.

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      December 27, 2021 at 9:32 am

      My prayer is so similar, Nancy. Happy New Year!

      Reply
  6. Beth Lueders says

    December 26, 2021 at 9:51 pm

    Amen on your prayer for our new year, Nancy!

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      December 27, 2021 at 9:32 am

      May it be!

      Reply

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