Author Archives: Brad Raby

The Baby born in a manger would one day bear the burden of our peace on His shoulders. He would embrace the war, strife and wrath our sin deserved. He would take that war to the grave. The war would stay in the grave, but He would not. Peace with God would again be possible.

The prophetic names of the coming Messiah, Mighty God and Everlasting Father are reminders that in some ways Jesus is nothing like us. And that is a good thing.

What makes someone a great counselor? The best counselors are the ones who have been where you’ve been, walked in your shoes and lived to tell you about it.

The irony of the Magi presenting gifts to Jesus was that Jesus Himself was a gift to those kings. And not just to the Magi, but to all of humanity.

In almost every depiction of the Nativity, the Inn Keeper is portrayed as a burly, inhumane grump who denies poor little Mary and Joseph a place to lodge. In reality the Inn Keeper is probably undeserving of such a bad rap.

The result of The Shepherd’s Obedience is that they experienced exactly what the angels said they would. They found Mary and Joseph and the Savior of the word wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

One morning outside of Bethlehem, a group of shepherds woke up to what they thought would be an ordinary day of sheep herding, but this day would not be like any other day of their lives.

The Christmas trick works just about every time. The commercials, the carols, the Christmas TV specials, and the gingerbread lattes all promise that this year will be different. This year will finally be perfect.

We live in a world plagued by fear. Fear is a commodity used like currency in our current social climate. Almost every political ad, consumer message, and newscast is saturated with fear, dread, and worry. Yet, when God sent word of the pending Incarnation to Zechariah, Mary, and Joseph – each announcement was accompanied by the same encouragement: “Do not be afraid.”

1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole empire should be registered. 2 This first registration took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So everyone went to be registered, each to his own town. Luke 2:1-3 Every great Fairy Tale begins the same way: “Once upon a time…” Whether it’s a Disney movie or aContinue reading “THE DEATH OF A FAIRY TALE”