"A SAVIOR IS BORN"

Dear Friends,

The story I'm about to share with you has been handed down for 2000 years. No doubt you have heard the story before but this time it will be told from a small little donkey's point of view. I hope you will share it with your little ones this Christmas Season and if they look close enough they might find me near the babe.

The Christmas Donkey

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him "Immanuel" - which means, "God with us." Matthew 1:22-23 NIV

A SAVIOR IS BORN

I know you remember hearing about that small little group traveling on the road from Nazareth to Bethlehem in late December almost 2000 years ago. Something set the man and woman and that little donkey apart from the other people who were traveling the same journey. What was so different about them to set them apart from the rest of the travelers? Let me try and share some light on the story.

The young woman, heavy with child, was seated upon the back of another small donkey. Her husband walked beside of her with his shoulders slightly slumped as if he was carrying a great weight on them. They needed to get to Bethlehem as soon as possible.

The little donkey was so tired. He carefully placed his tired little feet upon the uneven surface of the road. He knew somehow that the weight he was carrying was very precious. Although he had made this trip many times, he knew this time it was different. He didn't think he was very important but this small, little donkey would be remembered throughout history. His part in the story would be retold over and over.

As they traveled down the dusty road, the woman would pat the little donkey and speak soothing words to him. She knew how heavy the load must be for such a small donkey. Although he was very tired he felt new strength coursing through his tired small body each time the woman comforted him. He began to walk a little faster but always remember to watch where he placed every little foot in the loose pebbles. He couldn't take a chance on stumbling.

The man walking beside the donkey picked up the pace as he noticed the donkey walking a little faster. The man seemed to be very tired himself. He was a carpenter by nature so the donkey knew he had to be a very strong person. But for some reason he seemed weighed down. What heavy load was the man carrying? What could be bothering him?

The little donkey knew that the man had chosen Mary as his wife and as most men do...he dreamed of the strong sons and lovely daughters that they would raise together. The little donkey knew she was already with child. Could this be the problem? Was the man thinking of putting her away so the people would not gossip about her? He knew it wasn't his child but yet he knew her to be a virgin.

The little donkey then remembered hearing how an angel had come and given the man a special message. The lady on his back was Mary, God's chosen one. She was to be the mother of the Messiah!

Realizing that Mary's time was almost upon her and she might not be up to the hardships of the trip the little donkey hurried even faster. He felt that Joseph might have wanted to leave Mary behind but realized how hateful the townspeople could be. The little donkey knew too! He had the scars to prove it.

The little donkey could see the lights from the city of Bethleham. He knew it would be hard to find a place for Mary and Joseph to stay. Joseph hadn't realized how hard it was going to be. He only wanted to find a room at the Inn so Mary could rest while he went to register them for the census. What would they do if they couldn't find a room the little donkey wondered to himself?

He could feel Mary shifting her weight on his back to try and be more comfortable. He knew she had been scared several miles back because she had felt the first pains of her beginning labor. The little donkey carried her with gentleness down the sloping hillside to Bethlehem. He knew that shortly she would become the mother of the Savior and all the world would call her blessed. What an honor it was to carry this precious woman and her unborn child.

As they entered Bethlehem they saw the streets were very crowded. There was activity going on everywhere the little donkey looked. But the little donkey raised his head high as the people stared at the man and woman and small little donkey. The people must feel something different because even the little donkey knew that royalty was in their midst. Why couldn't they see it he thought to himself. He also knew that later another donkey would carry this baby but that is another story.

As they approached the Inn the little donkey knew there would be no rooms available. Once again the little donkey felt Mary have another pain and this time it seems even harder for her to bear. It was time! Time for God's Son to be born!

The little donkey carried her into the stable because there was no room at the Inn. There was a strange hush inside the stable that night. As the Christ child was born the animals bowed their heads and the little donkey went to his knees on the stable floor. Mary wrapped the babe in cloths and placed Him in a manger because there was no room for them at the inn.

The animals were listening and it seemed that music came straight down from Heaven. The animals had seen a miracle that night. "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace and good will to men," the Heavenly choir sang.

"Did Mary know that her child would one day save the world from its sins by dying on a cross?" the little donkey wondered to himself. Oh the heartache that she will encounter one day. But that too is another story.

My friends, you have read the story that the little donkey has shared with you about the birth of the Christ child. One day we will too take a journey although it won't be from Nazareth to Bethlehem on a small dusty road. All you need to do is hear, believe and receive...Are you ready to step out in faith and ask Jesus into your heart? He's waiting right now for you to invite Him in. Please don't wait. Isn't it time to open God's Christmas gift that He has for you? That gift is Salvation.

GOD BLESS YOU AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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