The Nature of the Nativity: Day 7 - The Innkeeper

Lucky number 7! We've made it a whole week which is almost halfway in our journey through the Nativity. For those who may be joining us for the first time, let's review what we've placed in our nativity scene so far.

• Day 1 - The introduction and truth behind the nativity
• Day 2 - The Table showed us that we need to make room for God in our lives.
• Day 3 - The Angels showed us that God's will will happen. He will guide us if we follow.
• Day 4 - Mary showed us that we have a duty to treasure the things that God has done in our life and to share what He has done with others.
• Day 5 - Joseph showed us that following God is more important than what other's may think about us.
• Day 6 - The Donkey showed us that if God asks us to do something, He will equip us to do it if we have the faith to follow him.

That brings us to day 7 and to the innkeeper. Some of you are piously talking to your screen, instructing me that there is no innkeeper in the nativity. My response back is, "There's no innkeeper mentioned in the Bible." In fact, some scholars say, if you look at the Greek word translated as "inn" or "lodging place" in Luke 2:7 you find it similar to the word that is translated "guest room" in other Bible passages. These same scholars postulate that it wasn't an inn that had a stable, it was a home...possibly even a relative of Joseph. Regardless of whether it was an inn or a home, I want to talk about the person. You see, no matter how you slice it, someone didn't have a room available. Someone let them sleep where he kept his animals. We will call this someone the innkeeper.

Juggling Honey

...a "quick " grocery trip...

My wife frequently takes me grocery shopping with her. Now, I love hanging out with my wife, but grocery shopping ranks pretty low on my list of things I want to do. Still, I get to spend time with my wife so I go and try to find ways to amuse myself (as everyone on my social media pages can attest to). The holidays are usually more fun because there is always an embarrassing hat I can wear around the store, or a holiday themed item I can make fun of. I am often amazed at some of the products that companies think people want to buy. I can almost hear them desperately working in some stuffy, windowless room during a week long planning session that has yielded no results.
                "Everybody loves Little Female Explorer Cookies, right?"
                "They sure do!"
                "And people love flavored milk, right?"
                "I like where this is going!"
                "Let's make Mint Cookie flavored milk!"
                "That's an awesome idea!"
And then room erupts into spastic high-fives and weird group hugs. This is how I amuse myself at that big chain store that I won't name for trademark reasons.

Tracking Hurricanes

Growing up in South Louisiana, you learn things you don't necessarily learn everywhere else. Some of it is practical experience, like what size alligator you can hit with your car and it not do damage. How fast a water moccasin can swim in flood waters. What is a  nutria exactly?(Google it; so nasty!) One of the things you learn in school is how to track hurricanes on a tracking map. Now, I was lucky that I've never experienced a major hurricane, but like you, I have seen the devastation that a hurricane can do. In the last few months, the US has seen out breaks of tornadoes that have done massive damage to people and property.  When viewing the aftermath of one of these storms, I would dare say it is impossible to not be awed at the power of wind.

The last few weeks we've been exploring God's character. We've looked at the attributes that make Him who He is, but we won't have a complete picture of who God is until we look at His capabilities.