How did Jesus see people?  And how did the way Jesus saw people differ from the way the religious leaders of his day saw people?  How do you see people today?  Is it more like Jesus saw them... or more like the religious leaders that had Jesus crucified at the hands of the Romans?  How we see people is the foundation for the gospel!

In Luke 2:36-40 we meet a very old widow and prophetess named Anna.  This significant person in the eyes of God reveals to us a pattern of how we should respond to Jesus.  Let's take our eyes and ears off the flashy and loud counsel of a world spinning out of control, and let's pay attention to Anna.  God speaks quietly but powerfully through her.  Merry Christmas.

Christmas is a time of great hustle and bustle.  When Jesus was a baby, Jerusalem was a hustling bustling place as well.  When Joseph and Mary took Jesus there at 6 weeks old to fulfil the law, someone was there waiting for them.  Waiting for the most significant event and person the world had ever missed.  How can we keep from missing the purpose and will of God amidst the hustle and bustle?

Luke 2:8-20 recounts the incarnation from the perspective of the shepherds.  But what kind of shepherds were they?  And what was this strange sign the angel gave to them?  And what do the details of Jesus birth mean, both to God's purpose and will, as well as to me today some 2000 years later?