While they were there, the day had come for her to give birth. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:6 WEB

With his wife giving birth in a stable and the strong smell of farm animals permeating the air around them, Joseph had to contemplate his situation. I grew up on a farm and I know what the 'fragrance of nature' smells like. It is not a pleasant aroma.

On top of that, people talked about them and gave 'knowing' looks when they passed by because Mary had become pregnant before they were completely married. Now she went into labor and they could not even find a room at the inn for her to give birth. The baby Jesus was born into the world through very humble circumstances. Joseph had to think: 'God would never allow this to happen.'

Humble, Simple, Glorious, that is the way He rolls. God chose such an humble entrance for His precious Son that very few people recognized Him at all. Thousands of years in the planning, this was God's way of breaking the hold of sin that had held mankind since the first Adam. God so loved us that He gave His only begotten Son to redeem us, to buy us back, to do what we were unable to do.

Few people recognize the Lord when He shows up because they are looking over His head, or right on past Him. As a people we tend to like things that are shiny, powerful, and wealthy. The outcast, the downtrodden, the black sheep that we ignore, those are the ones that recognized Jesus. The sinners flocked to Him in droves. Let us never become so holy that we no longer recognize God, and His heart for reaching the lost.

Prayer: Heavenly Father please let me see the world through Your eyes and feel what You feel. Touch my spirit and heal me. Change my heart and let me never be the same. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray.

Note: Good morning! Just FYI, we are expecting effects from Hurricane Florence during the next few days. If the website is down during this time, it will probably be from a power outage. Thank you for your prayers, and we are also lifting up all who are in its path!

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