Mary and Joseph

Marry Christmas from from the Knoblochs' in Olney IL.

It's hard to believe how much the world has changed in just my 39 years, so I can't imagine all the changes you older folks (men of course, cause there is no such thing as an old woman) have witnessed. I sometimes wonder if our kids or the little ones at church grasp how amazing the Birthday account of Christ really is. It is all so distant to us now days. Why did they have to travel Bethlehem for the census? Couldn't they just log-on to the government page, lie about reading the terms and conditions, and fill out a form? Why wasn't there room in the inn? Didn't they make reservations on priceline or hotels.com? Why didn't Joseph call the Maury Show to confirm that the Holy Spirit was "Indeed the Father" and shut those doubters up? When the Angel told him to travel home by another way because the King wanted to kill Jesus, why couldn't they check it out on www.snopes.com? Maybe they wouldn't have had to flee to Egypt. Even if they did, why didn't they use their GPS and cell phones to keep tabs on Cesar? Wouldn't that have been easier?

The reality of it is that Joseph and Mary were rebels in their time. They pushed the envelope by speaking the truth, that Mary had become pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Joseph chose not to put her to death, to put her away, to take the blame. Rather, he had faith and trusted God, and lived his life, with all the turmoil, stress and tragedy with an unshakable faith in God. We look back and know the plan. I don't believe Joseph and Mary had all the details.

With all the technology that we have at our fingertips, we are exposed to so much information & data that makes it hard to accept the simple, simple message of Christmas and more importantly of Easter. The History Channel (or the producers behind their shows) have spent millions trying plant that seed of doubt in our minds that the Christmas and Easter Stories are not entirely real.

Jesus said that if we have faith as a mustard seed, we could move a mountain.

"You don't have enough faith," Jesus told them. "I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible." Matthew 17:20 NLT

What seeds have been planted in our minds lately? Is it the simplicity of the Christmas and Easter Stories or the distractions of our daily lives that keep us from experiencing the very presence of God like Mary & Joseph did?

So, what mountains have I moved lately? What mountains have you moved lately?