{"id":13653,"date":"2024-11-18T02:45:51","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T02:45:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hatfieldroadmethodist.org\/?p=13653"},"modified":"2024-12-19T10:03:14","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T10:03:14","slug":"day-19-luke-2-verses-1-5-guide-our-feet-lord","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.hatfieldroadmethodist.org\/?p=13653","title":{"rendered":"Day 19 – Luke 2 verses 1 – 5 (Guide our feet Lord)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/h3>\n

Bible Reading Luke 2 verses 1 – 5<\/h2>\n

2\u00a0<\/span>In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.<\/span> 2\u00a0<\/sup>(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)<\/span> 3\u00a0<\/sup>And everyone went to their own town to register.<\/span><\/p>\n

4\u00a0<\/sup>So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.<\/span> 5\u00a0<\/sup>He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.<\/span><\/p>\n

Opening Prayer<\/h2>\n

Lord, we thank you that in the journeys we do not want to make you are always with us. We rejoice that we are part of your family. We pray that we will hear your voice on our Advent journey as you lead us once again to your side. Help us by the power of your Holy Spirit to travel filled with hope and expectation. Amen<\/p>\n

Reflection<\/h2>\n

It is 90 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem and about a 4 day walk. Even when not imminently expecting a baby. Mary would not have been counted in the census so it is interesting to ponder why she travelled with Joseph to Bethlehem. Perhaps Joseph wanted to have Mary with him so that there would not be any unpleasant gossiping about her whilst he was away. Perhaps the fact that the Prophets had indicated that the Messiah would be born in the town of Bethlehem played its part. What ever the reason Mary finds herself on the road\/<\/p>\n

I wonder if you have ever been made to do things you did not really want to do. If you did maybe good things came about as a result. We are fortunate in the UK that we generally are not forced to do things. It is not a difficult thing to look into the world and see where this is not the case. People displaced by climate change, economic pressures, war, violence and oppression. Caesar Augustus wanted to make sure he was extracting as much tax as possible from the population so that he could remain in power. Some of our world leaders have not learnt the lessons Jesus came to teach us.<\/p>\n

A time for your own reflection<\/h2>\n

Read the passage again and spend a little time thinking of how the passage speaks to you. The wonder of scripture is that there is always something new to discover and each passage speaks to us in our own need and circumstances.<\/p>\n

Only if you feel you want to – share your thoughts with someone. God inspires our thoughts and you never know, the person you share with may be waiting to hear what you have to say.<\/p>\n

Song<\/h2>\n

Here is the next song –<\/p>\n

“Guide our feet Lord”<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Today’s song came about when Gerry showed me a short poem \/ prayer he had written at one of our Create and Celebrate services. Val suggested that I would probably turn it into a song – which I did. It seems an appropriate song for today as we think about journeys. Starting each day as a fresh new start.<\/p>\n

I produced a slightly pop version as well as the original I created for Gerry.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Title: Guide our feet Lord<\/div>\n
Acoustic version<\/div>\n
Words: Chris Hancock<\/div>\n
Inspiration: Luke 2 verses 1 – 5
\nMusic: Generated on Suno.com<\/div>\n
\n