Pastor Mike Nodland

My wife gave live birth three times, and we share the grief with those who’ve lost a child. Yet, as a child is born, there is the woman’s pain of giving birth, yet instant joy with that first cry of the newborn.

Few women ever experience a “normal” child being born. With our first child, my wife hemorrhaged, and nearly died. With the second child, she developed pre-eclampsia. And with the third child, she had to be flown to a hospital that specialized in high risk deliveries. But with the birth of each child, there was tremendous joy!

I cannot imagine Mary and Joseph having their child in a manger. Was the place cold, drafty, odorous, and dirty? What struck me is the fact that this child, named “Immanuel,” came to save us from our sinsborn to die! Even more unusual is that the exact location of where He was to be born was predicted hundreds of years earlier. I can’t even tell you where I left my glasses or the car keys 5 minutes ago! But Jesus wants to tell you His story. Read it today in the Bible: Matthew, chapter 1God loves you immensely!