The popular, traditional Christmas carol, Angels We Have Heard On High, points out one the astounding claims made by Christmas -- that supernatural beings from God were communicating to humans and celebrating Christ's birth with them. The New Testament does not make these claims as myths or as tall tales, but as fact. The Christmas events involving angels either actually happened in the real world or didn't happen. The Bible claim leaves no middle ground.

An angel appeared to priest Zachariah and told him that he and his wife Elizabeth, who was childless and beyond menopause, would have a son and that they were to name him John. (He became John the Baptist) Although Zachariah saw and heard the angel, Zachariah didn't believe that having a son was possible. John was born 9 months later.

An angel appeared to Mary and told her the outlandish news that she would become pregnant as a virgin and have a supernatural son.
Of course, logically, Mary's fiance, Joseph, didn't believe her pregnancy was supernatural, so he was going to break the engagement. However, an angel appeared to him in a dream and confirmed to him that her pregnancy was by the supernatural working of the Holy Spirit.

The New Testament claims that "a multitude of the heavenly hosts" appeared to some shepherds (who by the way were considered to be among the lowest people in society) announcing and celebrating the birth of Jesus.
An angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, two more times, warning him to take Mary and Jesus and flee to Egypt and then telling them to return to Nazareth.
The New Testament claim of angels even extends beyond the Christmas period. The Book of Acts shows that many of the early Christians saw and/or heard angels. And The Book of Hebrews says angels can appear anytime: "Don't neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels without know it." Just think -- someone who you or I encountered may have been an angel instead of a human being.

Personally, I am not aware of ever having seen or heard an angel. However, I know several people who have encountered angels. A friend was experiencing a health emergency and a stranger offered to drive her to the emergency room. He walked her into the crowded waiting room and up to the counter. She spoke to the nurse and then turned around to thank the gentleman, but he was gone. She said to the crowd: "Did anyone see where the man who came in with me went?" Several people replied: "You came in alone."

I believe that the Christmas claim about angels is factual. And I believe that angels are still communicating to and interacting with humans.

It is easy to overlook some of the remarkable claims of Christmas. One such claim is that a young woman named Mary gave birth to a child without having had sexual intercourse.

I have noticed that this amazing claim is generally responded to in two ways. 1) Many people reject it outright. 2) Most Christians blindly accept it without ever thinking much about it. However, Mary, herself, was astounded by the claim. When she first heard it she said: "How can this be since I have not been intimate with a man?" (Christian Standard Bible)

Mary asked a fair question. She and others at that time were well aware of where babies come from. There were not ignorant of the scientific fact of procreation, as some skeptics suppose. They knew that for a virgin to conceive was an impossibility in their time. (That was before artificial insemination.)

So Mary asked "How?" She was told that it would be a supernatural event -- that God would by a miracle cause a baby to be conceived in her womb. But do supernatural events happen? That is another good question.

Personally I rejected the idea of a virgin birth when I was in high school. I could not conceive (excuse the pun) of how it could possibly happen, so I admitted to myself that I didn't believe it. For me to believe something, I have to be convinced of its truth.

A couple of years later I had a supernatural experience that convinced me that Jesus Christ is alive and introduced me to a personal relationship with Him. Since that time the supernatural has become a frequent experience for me. God, a supernatural Being, who created human beings, would have no trouble creating a baby in the womb of a woman using supernatural means.

As I began to read the testimony of Mary and others in the New Testament, I realized that they were not reporting or creating myths. They were making the claim that the amazing miracles of Christmas had literally occurred.

Luke (author of the Book of Luke) even says: "Many have undertaken to compile a narrative about the events that have been fulfilled among, just as the original eyewitnesses and servants of the word handed them down to us. It also seemed good to me, since I have carefully investigated everything from the very first, most honorable Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things about which you have been instructed."

The claim is that the miraculous events of Christmas actually happened in this space/time world. The Creator actually became a human being through a physical virgin birth.

Reading the claims of the New Testament writers, along with my personal experience of supernatural events, eventually convinced me that Mary did indeed conceive as a virgin. I believe the virgin birth of Christ is no myth, but that it really occurred as Mary and others declare in the Bible.

The virgin birth -- what an amazing claim! That claim should not be taken lightly with an "O sure, I believe that." It should be examined and explored and pondered and wrestled with. If it happened in space and time as the New Testament claims, then Christ deserves our total commitment and allegiance.

Quote To Float Your Boat:

"I had to learn to tune out negatives. For every success I've had in my life, there was someone telling me that I couldn't accomplish my goal." --Rolanda Watts

Thoughts About Boat-Floating Quote #3:

Nay sayers abound. Someone is always ready to tell you that you cannot accomplish something -- and to give you several dozen reasons why. However, if you listen to and take in their negativity, it will sink your chances of achievement.

So don't pay attention to the gloom gushers. Instead, learn how to disregard and how to tune out the quick quitters. Don't allow other people's pity parties to puncture your persistence.

Just as a bird uses the resistance of the air in order to rise and fly, you can use can't-do-it comments to develop your determination. Automatically respond to can't by saying, "Of course I can."

Everyone of us is capable of far more accomplishment that we realize. Our possibilities are almost limitless. Don't let the hope hurters hobble your plan. Hope on. Press on. Rise and achieve your dream.

Shoes flew when President Bush visited Iraq this recently. It was the ultimate shoe sail. Although he was in Iraq, President Bush probably felt like he was in front of a rack of shoes during an earthquake. That is because he was confronted by an Iraqi two shoes.

A news report put it this way: "An Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes across the room at Bush and called him a 'dog,' the height of insults in the Arab world. The shoes slammed into the wall behind Bush and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who proceeded to take questions from other journalists after the assailant was wrestled to the ground and taken away."

We should all be glad that the man decided to choose shoes to get his hostility across, rather than a bomb or bullets. Maybe that is a first step toward (relatively) non-violent free expression in Iraq.

I wonder what questions the Iraqis asked President Bush after the sailing two shoes buzzed by. Here are some possibilities: "So, Mr. President, are you ready to walk a mile in our shoes?" "Do you think there is any kick left in the anti-American sentiment here in Iraq?" "What do you think about our soles?" "Aren't you glad those shoes didn't give you a shiner?"

Unfortunately, our actions in Iraq continue to stir up much anti-American feeling in the Middle East. Perhaps we should follow the advice of Peter Yarrow, who said: "We Americans are world leaders and we must lead by example - particularly in times that require careful deliberation before any precipitous action - lest we fail to walk in the shoes of those we might injure."

Mahatma Gandhi would have advised Bush (and the rest of us) to pick up those flying shoes and put them on. Gandhi said: "Three quarters of the miseries and misunderstandings in the world would finish if poeple were to put on the shoes of their adversaries and understood their points of view."

"Berry Street healed my loneliness." Those words stuck in my mind.

I received an amazing phone call last night from someone I'll call Ann. She is a single woman who is retired and living on a fixed income. Ann spent a lot of the day yesterday helping a woman I'll call Lynn.

Lynn and her 22 year-old son who has sickle cell anemia became temporarily homeless about a week ago. They have both been a very important part of a new non-traditional church (called Berry Street Worship Center) for the past six months.

It has been amazing how people have rallied to help them in their time of need. Someone from Brentwood who heard about them offered to pay for a motel for a week. Several of our regulars at Berry Street have helped them with encouragement, food, prayers, and a little money. A young adult group from a church in Brentwood heard about them, took up an offering, and brought it to them on Sunday.

Yesterday at Berry Street a group of Vanderbilt students came and prepared a hot meal for everyone present. Then they took what was left to people who live in the neighborhood.

I heard someone telling a visitor yesterday, "This is the strangest church I have ever been to. But it is the real deal. People really love each other here." And they do.

People arrive early for coffee and donuts. Then we sit in a semi-circle and sing. After the music we open up for people to talk. Some tell the good things that God is doing in their lives. Others talk about their struggles. We often stop and pray with someone in the middle of the meeting. We usually end by having someone give a "featured testimony" where they tell (for about ten minutes) about how Christ has changed their life.

It has been amazing to see how this open format knits people's hearts together and helps people grow both personally and spiritually. The transformations in people have been amazing -- which brings me back to last night's phone call.

When I answered, Ann said; "Steve, I've got to tell you what Lynn said to me today." "Okay," I replied.

Then Ann continued; "Lynn said, 'Berry Street healed my loneliness.'" There was a pause and I could tell Ann was getting emotional. In a broken voice she said, "And it has healed mine, too."