Thought for December 21, 2023

•  1872: Phileas Fogg completes his trip around the world in "Around the World in Eighty Days"
• 1891: First basketball game played under Naismith rules
• 1898: Pierre and Marie Curie discover radium
• 1914: First feature-length silent film comedy released--"Tillie's Punctured Romance" with Charlie Chaplin and Marie Dressler
• 1929: First group hospital plan offered
• 1937: "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" premiers
• 1941: BBC airs first play in a series by Dorothy Sayers about Jesus--"The Man Born to Be King"
• 1959: Tom Landry becomes coach of the Cowboys
• 1968: First appearance of Crosby, Stills & Nash
• 1970: Supreme Court lowers voting age in federal elections to 18
• 1988: Pan Am 103 destroyed over Lockerbie Scotland--258 killed
• 1989: Vice President Dan Quayle sends Christmas cards with a misspelling
• 1995: Bethlehem passes from Israel to Palestinian control
• Born: Thomas Becket, Roger Williams, Benjamin Disraeli, Walter Hagen, Josh Gibson [American Negro League], Paul Winchell, Joe Paterno, Phil Donahue, Jane Fonda, Frank Zappa, Chris Evert, Ray Romano, Florence Griffith Joyner, Kiefer Sutherland, Karrie Webb
• Died: John Newton ["Amazing Grace"], James Parkinson [Parkinson's disease], F Scott Fitzgerald, George Patton, Dick Enberg

Thought:

Have you ever thought about "why Bethlehem?" The easy answer is the Bible tells us. In Micah 5:1-5 we are promised that the King will be born in Bethlehem, originally called Ephrath in Genesis 35. A few facts about Bethlehem:

• It means "House of Bread", how appropriate that the Bread of Life would be born in the House of Bread.
• Caleb's son Salma is called the "Father of Bethlehem" in 1 Chronicles 2:51. The faithful Caleb who filed the minority report with Joshua is  connected to Bethlehem. Caleb was ready to enter the Promised Land trusting God for the victory. The One who will lead us into the Promised Land is born in Bethlehem.
• Rachel is buried in Bethlehem. The mother of Benjamin and Joseph and beloved wife of Jacob. Joseph saved his people from famine and preserved them while dwelling in a foreign land. Jesus saves His people while we dwell in a foreign land.
• Ruth returned to Bethlehem with Naomi where she met Boaz and became the mother of David's grandfather, Obed. And thus she entered the line of Jesus. The Moabite who was faithful lived in Bethlehem. 
• David was born in Bethlehem, son of Jesse. One of my class asked why the shepherds went to Bethlehem when the angels said go to the city of David. Jerusalem was called the City of David, but for a birth, they went to where David was born.

This takes me to Philip Brooks carol, "O Little Town of Bethlehem." Brooks was a ninth generation Puritan serving as pastor at Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia in 1868. He had been to Jerusalem and Bethlehem at Christmas 3 years earlier. He decided to write a hymn for the children to sing at the Christmas Eve service. He handed the 5 stanza poem to his organist Lewis Redner to write the music. Lewis struggled trying to compose the music but on the 23rd he woke in the middle of the night with the tune. Six teachers and 36 children sang it on Christmas Eve. I like the line, "the hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight." Think about that. Jesus is the One where all our fears meet eternal hope. And His hope defeats all our fears. His strength replaces our weakness. His love transcends our understanding. Those in darkness and fear see a great Light that casts out all fear. Now our prayer is "cast out our sin and enter in be born in us today." May today Jesus live fully in each of us. 

Blessings

Larry