Matthew 1:20-21

"An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in....."

"As [Joseph considered breaking his engagement to Mary], an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph, son of David," the angel said, "do....."

Inspirational illustration of Matthew 1:20-21 -- 21 An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give b

"But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your..."

"She [Mary] will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

"When a person is dear, everything connected with him becomes dear for his sake. Thus, so precious is the person of the Lord Jesus in the estimation of..."

"Many persons, if they are asked what they understand by salvation, will reply, "Being saved from hell and taken to heaven." This is one result of..."

Would people really want to take Christ our the nativity? A preacher gets in trouble talking about Christmas on Sunday, but warns that the world will take Christ out of Christmas.

I've bet you have had a bunch of these moments at Christmas! Phil Ware writes about Christmas, Joseph and Mary, and the "You've got to be kidding me!" moments in the life of Jesus.

What in the world are you talking about wiggling and squirming? Russ finds out about a grandbaby because of a sonogram and the baby is wiggling around all over the place and reminds us that life begins in the mind of God.

Does God really have a bigger dream for you than He gave Joseph and Mary? Rick Brown shares an insight from the Westjet Santa Claus video and says we need to ask God for more and greater vision.

"Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced [when she became pregnant]. While he was trying to figure...."

Our prayer is that the Lord Jesus and his abiding presence can be real to you during this special season of grace and joy. Phil Ware shares a Merry Christmas greeting from all of the Heartlight.org and VerseoftheDay.com family.

Mary's simple life was about to come to a dramatic end! Phil Ware finishes the year 2012 with two powerful posts or articles about Jesus' birth and the people gathered around him, and emphasizes that God's greatest beginnings are found in hard endings.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This is the Biblical account of Jesus' birth from Matthew 1 and Luke 2 from the NIV 11 version of the Holy Scriptures.

"Dear Friend of God, Today, I AM asking you to do something important. I know you are busy with all your Christmas plans, but there is one important....."

How can God know experientially how hard life can sometimes be for us? James Nored and Phil Ware remind us to push past the glittering lights and see that God came to be one of us in the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.

Why all the talk about the Passion? God loves us so much that he sent his Son to save us.

"Dear Disciple, I know most of you hate tests! Some of those tests are medical tests which can be terrifying. Some tests are necessary to get you into..."

What do you do with your shattered dreams? Phil Ware talks about the recurring phrase in Matthew 1 and 2, in a dream, and how God fills the empty spaces left behind by our broken dreams.

Like Mary, we don't know fully what we are committing to do, but we know that our ultimate destination is Jesus. Phil Ware reminds us of the gritty reality of Jesus' birth and Mary choosing to accept the challenge of being Jesus' mother and reminds us of our need to commit to have Jesus born in our lives.

God didn't come to our world as a heavenly tourist with special arrangements to keep him safe and to give him special treatment in his journey through mortality with all its grit and danger. James Nored and Phil Ware remind us to push past the glittering lights of Christmas and see that God came to be one of us in the gritty and dangerous birth of Jesus of Nazareth to a virgin named Mary and her faithful to Torah husband to be, Joseph the car

We all have to decide what to do with Jesus during Christmas. There are a number of different ways to handle the Jesus question during Christmas. But you have to choose one.

Despite all the challenges, Mary and Joseph accepted their part in salvation's plan and their faith brought us God's gift of love, his beloved Son, Jesus! Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to call us to recognize God's great love in sending Jesus, the joy Jesus' birth brings, and the truth that Jesus is with us and for us in this

The cycle of violence is heartbreaking — will it ever end? Phil Ware reminds us of the simple, yet powerful words found in the hard story of Jesus' birth and Herod's attempt to murder him at Bethlehem -- But Herod came to an end.

Are you walking down the hard road alone? Phil Ware continues to share his insights on experiencing Jesus as Immanuel.

"Dear Child of the King, When you open your Bible and you see the appearance of angels, know that the Father is up to something special in your world...."

Jesus didn't come to earth to be protected from life's harshest realities, but entered into mortality to share it all with us — the good, the bad, the ugly, and the painful! James and Phil continue their series on The Story of Redemption by focusing on the birth of Jesus and what it means for us.

What else can you say, but thank you? Phil Ware shares a collection of Scriptures that talk about the significance of Jesus' birth.