Pastor’s Garage December 18th, 2020

Here’s another well written Pastor’s Garage from Pastor Mike!

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*Pastor Mike’s Garage, Dec 18, 2020*

Do you ever feel like an outcast? Like a square peg in a round hole?
Like something’s just not right? Whether it’s a matter of our personality,
appearance, outlook on life, personal opinions, social standing, financial
position, bad choices you might have made or any one of the many things
that differentiate who you are from anyone else, sometimes we all have
moments where we feel like we just don’t belong!

Sheila said something during one of our Sunday gatherings a couple
weeks ago that blew my mind a little bit. She just mentioned that if
Bethlehem was their hometown Mary and Joseph should have been able to stay
with relatives. I never thought of that before. Today the city of Bethlehem
is approximately 28,000 people but it is estimated at the time of Jesus’
birth it would have been between 300 and 1000 people. I am quite familiar
with what it is like to live in a community of that size! Everyone knows
who you are, what you’ve done, and usually ready to inform you of what
you’re about to do before you think of it! Tongues still wag in our day and
age when a young teenage girl becomes pregnant out of wedlock, let alone in
that culture when that would have been an unthinkable offence to God and
family! Ever wonder why our Heavenly Father chose to usher in the birth of
the saviour of the world in that specific fashion? Imagine if your
daughter, or any other teenage girl for that matter, came to you telling
you she was with Child by the hand of God……..yahhh sure! The reality is
that they would have had friends and family that should have been able to
give them a place to stay. Chances are that when the bible says there was
no room in THE Inn(in a town of that size there would have been only one
inn), it was not because of a lack of beds. Word would have gotten around
town that they were staying in the stable and probably more than one
“serves them right” comment would have been uttered! Yet this was the very
setting that God orchestrated to usher in the birth of His only son! This
started a lifelong journey for Jesus who would always be an outcast, never
really fitting in with the “in” crowd! Is it any wonder why the down and
outers were always attracted to him and felt comfortable around him?

What does this mean for us? At times we all feel despised, rejected,
forlorn, out of place, lost, alone etc, etc. Most of the time, for me
anyway, it is due to some of the bonehead choices I’ve made, but not
always! Sometimes we are caught in a cycle not of our own making or
choosing and feel helpless to break free. I will leave you with a passage
from the book of Hebrews. “Since then we have a great high priest who has
passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our
confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize
with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we
are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne
of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of
need.” Hebrews 4:14-16

My hope and prayer for you this Christmas season is that these words
would give you hope in the midst of whatever situation life finds you in
and that it would alter how we view and treat those around us who may also
be feeling like the outcast!

Pastor Mike