To Bring Him Joy

“ And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.” Nehemiah 8:9-12 ESV The women's ministry in our church, like many other churches, has women's Bible studies throughout the year. Recently, I had the honor of leading a small group discussion on our study through Nehemiah. Nehemia

  "And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way." Matthew 2:12 ESV As I told you in my previous post, I've been trying to read the story of the birth of Jesus around Christmas time for over thirty years now, asking God to show me something new.  I'm hoping to share some of those things with you over the next few weeks.  I'm so excited as I have been reading and remembering different things that the Holy Spirit has spoken to me about through His word and this particular story over the years.  I want to say that just because I call it a story does not mean that it didn't happen. It is not a fairy tale. It is a biography, the story of the living God that He has chosen to reveal to us in written form. Wow, what a blessing that He would want to share His story with us and even more that He would want to share Himself with us. Of course, this is why He wrote this history. The whole Bible has been written