Jonathots Daily Blog
(3530)

A baby being born in a sheep stall in Bethlehem of poor Palestinian parents is not difficult to believe. After all, poverty extracts much of the comfort of good cheer.
Maybe the angels seem a little far-fetched to you (but you know how it is with stories about your young’uns.)
Believing that a year-and-a-half later, a troop of astrologers made their way into town to proclaim this child the hope of the world and the King of the Jews does seem highly unlikely–yet there are always people who have their eccentric ways and live them out because they have enough money to fund them.
Comprehending that there could be a leader of a nation who was so insecure that he was frightened of any competition, and scared a young family away, fearing for their lives, does not seem improbable. Matter of fact, it could be ripped from the headlines. One more refugee family ending up in a foreign land where they have neither kin nor kind is certainly well within the grasp of reality.
Having that young boy return to his alleged home town at age seven, carrying all the trappings and mannerisms of the heathen, would certainly make growing up difficult, not to mention the colliding wills of an every-growing collection of siblings.
Thinking that this boy would have no interest in carpentry, but instead, a precocious passion for humanity and the things of Spirit, is not implausible. After all, he’s the ugly duckling, whom we assume might one day become a swan. He grew in wisdom and stature, and even though he was a foreigner, gradually gained the favor of his neighbors.
It’s not difficult to believe that he lost his Papa, his only real connection with the village of Nazareth, and like many young men, launched out to find some purpose, ending up at the Jordan River, interacting with a wild and wooly cousin named John.
You can certainly believe he got baptized, and probably went out into the wilderness for a while, just to find himself, coming back with claims of interfacing with the devil. You might even forgive his youthful explanation, knowing that to some degree, we all wrestle with our demons.
But the story stalls.
He is rejected by his home town, moves to Capernaum next to the Sea of Galilee, encompassed by a sea of apathy, picks up some friends and followers, and starts traveling the countryside. It is hit-and-miss at best.
It is at this point that many folks who consider themselves to be intelligent and reasonable become cynical about a miracle-worker who calms the waves and casts out demons. But to a certain degree, even those sardonic souls might be able to explain away this and that, but still maintain their interest in the story–especially since he begins to hammer away at religion, loses the favor of the crowd and opens the door of the hierarchy to plot against him, find a betrayer, try him, beat him, nail him to a cross and kill him.
If the story ended there, the baby born in Bethlehem had a life that was a complete failure. His friends are scattered in every direction, his movement was about to become a joke–a piece of farcical history.
So this is where faith comes in. That’s right–you don’t really have to use much to this point. You can just glide along with the story, picking and choosing at will.
But the tale that unfolds, spoken of by those who claimed to be eyewitnesses, is that this baby of Bethlehem rose from the dead.
Now … faith is in full function and also full demand.
Did Jesus of Bethlehem, Egypt, Nazareth, Jordan River, wilderness, Capernaum and Mesopotamia end his life as a failure, beaten down by his critics?
Or did God, the power of the Ethos and the Spirit of the Universe, choose to resurrect him to give the message one more chance?
It’s a very important decision.
It changes this story from a baby shower to a heaven-ordained miracle.
For as we know, several weeks later, a hundred and twenty people in an Upper Room believed it was true. Twelve disciples gave their lives as martyrs, insisting they had witnessed a resurrection.
And at last count, 2.2 billion humans still living two thousand years later have taken their faith beyond the crib, past the crypt … and placed it in the Christ.

The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity
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G-Poppers … December 2nd, 2016
Jonathots Daily Blog
(3143)
G-Pop was wondering what it would have been like if Facebook had been around for the birth of Jesus.
What would have grabbed the attention of the average Facebook reader in Judea?
Let’s look at the classic elements of the story:
These would more than likely have been deemed boring, averaging seven likes, zero comments and no reposts.
Even if someone had inserted the statement, “a baby was born in a manger,” the single repeating comment would have been, “Come on, Joseph. Get a job.”
Facebook demands drama.
Facebook seeks attention.
Facebook feeds off frenzy.
Facebook is selfish.
No, for the Christmas story to have worked on Facebook, one would need to hand-select the elements, and twist them a bit to make them of interest to the market:
“Pregnant teen and her boyfriend snub traditional marriage”
“Bonnie-and-Clyde-style crazy kids hold shepherds hostage in stable”
“Foreigners, astrologers, wanted for questioning by authorities for smuggling in unknown drugs”
“Lights in the sky! Could it be aliens?”
“And here is a picture of my ‘fur son,’ Jehoshaphat, the cat, as he rubs up against a little immigrant boy in the barn. Isn’t he cute? I mean the cat.”
G-Pop contends that we have become a society of “I’s” who include a few “we’s” if they agree with “us.”
To get likes, shares and comments, the entry has to be insipid enough to have universal appeal to those who find most of the universe unappealing.
But there will be a persistent few who insist on planting the notion of salvation, joy, humanity, brotherly love and peace on Earth.
And who knows?
Maybe in two thousand years, if that is done, they might call us Wise Men.
Don’t let another Christmas season go by without owning Jonathan’s book of Christmas stories
Mr. Kringle’s Tales …26 Stories ‘Til Christmas
An advent calendar of stories, designed to enchant readers of all ages
“Quite literally the best Christmas stories I have ever read.” — Arthur Holland, Shelby, North Carolina
Only $5.99 plus $1.25 shipping and handling.
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Tags: a Savior is born, aliens, angels on high, astrologers, birth of Jesus, Bonnie and Clyde, brotherly love, Christmas story, Facebook, fur son, G-Pop, glad tidings of great joy, immigrant, Jehosophat, Judea, likes comments and reposts, manger, peace on earth, pregnant teen, Prince of Peace, rejoice, salvation, smuggling drugs, star of David, wise men