Pastor's Column 12/1/2024

PASTOR’S COLUMN

“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past… And He will stand t0 lead His flock with the Lord’s strength, in the majesty of the name of the Lord  His God. Then His people will live there undisturbed, for He will be highly honored around the world. And He will be the source of peace…” Micah 5:2; 4-5a, NLT

 “The Greatness In Small Things!”   

There can be great power in opposites. For example, how often has the proverbial “under dog” team ended up winning a competition against a proven and predictable winner. In many cases, supporters of the presumed winner will complain that the favored team “Just didn’t show up that day;” or “The team could not find its accustomed rhythm.” There often is a deafening silence from the loser, admitting the other team outplayed them. Recently, amid the barrage of opinions and excuses of one team that was favored to completely wipe out the opponent, their Coach was more honest. He simply said, “We stunk ,they outplayed us; they were destined to win.”  I thought about the Coach’s word, “destined.” At the core of our Biblical faith, we are made aware that God has fore ordained His will to be manifested in divine events. No force in history can prevent from occurring what God has destined for our good. The blessed Birth of Jesus – God coming to us in human flesh – could not have been prevented. The circumstances of the Messiah’s birth could not be planned, nor arranged by mere mortals. Prophecies communicated the promise and place of where Jesus would enter the world. The fears of King Herod reflect the consternation of the human mind. People seek to manipulate life events and history. People fear what they don’t have a voice in, even if it is beyond their purview to do so. It matters not how great or small the event is, or its venue. When a person is insecure, they will do what they can to prevent what threatens them. The Messiah would come as an infant. He would be born in Bethlehem, a small town of wheat farmers. The city was in an obscure part of the Galilee region. Micah boldly announced: Although Bethlehem was small, greatness - the Messiah- would come from this ancient town!