Matthew 1:25

"[The angel's assurance to Joseph that he should marry Mary] occurred to fulfill the Lord's message through his prophet: "Look! The virgin will..."

"Dear Friend, I want you to know Me. I'm not talking about knowing more about Me — although that is a good thing and something I invite you to....."

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.

"Dear Friend, You just have to love the apostle Levi! You may know him better as Matthew since that is the name of the first gospel in your New..."

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.

What do we say and do in today's charged climate of expectation and demand? Phil Ware begins a seven week series of posts called Fifty Shades of Grace and will focus on Scripture and the Bible and God and the holy plan for fulfillment and sexuality in Scripture.

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 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..."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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