[Discoveries] 12-26-08 You never know -- Luke 2:5

[Inspiration in Your Inbox]

/*For those struggling financially ...*/
/*Proverbs 19:4 says, "Wealth brings many friends, but a poor man's 
friend [note the singular] deserts him." Financial struggle can be a 
lonely journey. Let me encourage you. I know the truth. I know that you 
work hard. I know that you make mistakes; yet all of us make mistakes. 
Even the wealthiest make mistakes. I know that you're smart. I know that 
it isn't your fault -- and, even if it were, who among us is exempt from 
blame for something? I also know that God has not deserted you even if 
your friends have. Keep the faith dear brother, dear sister. God still 
believes in you.*/

/*He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to 
him and was expecting a child. -- Luke 2:5*/

I never noticed this before, but I have a question for you: Did Mary 
need to make the trip? Were they officially married? Could she have 
stayed home with her parents? Or, now that she was pregnant, did she get 
kicked out of her home? What kind of rejection did she put up with? Was 
Joseph the only one who would take her in? They didn't seem to be in any 
hurry to return to Nazareth -- it looks like they spent the next two 
years in Bethlehem and then they took off to Egypt.

Here's the point. Look around you. You and I never know what kind of 
struggles other people are wrestling with. How many people around us are 
putting on a brave face, but inside are in turmoil?

May the God who has accepted us grant us the heart we need to accept 
others around us, even the "fringe" people whose eccentricities may make 
us feel uncomfortable. And rejoice with me! God knows all about us, and 
yet He calls us family.

I'm glad you are part of our family, my brothers and sisters!

Be encouraged!
Dwight

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