A new take on the Christmas story

You must listen to Greg Koukl's podcast from December 20 (found on str.org or my redirect page).  He discusses the historical account of the Christmas story, and suggests that instead of the traditional village inn, Mary and Joseph stayed at a relative's house.  The Greek word that has been translated as 'inn' is actually the same term used for 'the upper room'.  Bethlehem was a tiny village and likely didn't even have an 'inn'.  Most guests would stay in the upper room of a relative's house, and the animals were kept in the lower area.  However, if Mary and Joseph were late in coming to Bethlehem, and their relative did not have room left in the upper room, they would have had to stay in the lower room of the house, not necessarily a cave.  The idea that they stayed in a stable cave didn't come up until the 3rd century, probably shortly after such caves came into existence.

Micah and Jesus

Key verse
Micah 6:8 - He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah
It's amazing that Micah could give the word of the Lord to his hearers regarding Jesus' birth in Bethlehem hundreds of years before it actually happened.  Micah's word of encouragement concerning little Bethlehem in Judah gave hope that God would not abandon his people (see Micah 5).  This Christmas season, don't get caught up in presents and gifts and trees.  Dwell on Micah's words that spoke of a man who would stand in the strength and majesty of the Lord and rule his people in peace.  Let's stand in God's kingdom and help extend this peace in our areas today.