Matthew 2:13

"After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother," the angel..."

Jesus' real-to-life circumstances, along with his dangerous predicaments caused by his divine reality, are comforting to me. Phil Ware reminds us that as we clean up from Christmas and New Year, the mess left after the holidays should remind us of the hard times Jesus and his family faced after his birth.

"Dear Holy Child of God, Many folks pause this time of year to remember My birth. That is a good thing. They rejoice with the angels singing praises....."

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.

"Dear Disciple, As your Christmas season comes to an end, you are left to clean up the messes — the leftovers in the fridge, the house after the..."

Christ Church takes the story of the flight to Egypt and uses it to make us think about what the “old, old story” of Jesus tells us about this very contemporary issue. Patrick Odum challenges us to think critically and lovingly in light of our new-found awareness of baby Jesus' status as a refugee from violence.

"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...."

Now that the Christmas lights are put away, aren't you ready to meet the real Jesus? The coming of Christ is a violent grace that heads to a violent end and if we listen to the birth stories of Jesus we can find there a real Savior who lived in our all too real world.

We sometimes forget that Jesus' birth, so wrapped in sentimentality at Christmas, was a real event when the Immortal God chose to wrap himself in the fragile face of a newborn child. Phil Ware continues his Christmas series, entitled "Give Me Jesus", focusing this week on the specific time, the then, of Jesus' coming.

"Dear Beloved, The story of My first two years speaks of vulnerability. I was born to a young woman far from home and without friends and family with...."

What gift at Christmas can get you in the most trouble? Rick Brown reminds us about dangerous Christmas gifts for kids and the most dangerous Christmas gift of all, 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.

12 days of Christmas are not about calling birds and lords a leaping, but about an extended celebration of Christmas. Phillip Morrison reminds us that the Magi, the Wise Men, came later on after Jesus was older; but rather than this putting a damper on our Christmas, we need to use this truth to extend our Christmas past the first of the year.