In the Zone

How cool of a story is Jesus's birth? A virgin gave birth. Angels filled in the sky. A star appeared that alerted the magi astrologers of the birth of a king. Shepherds came telling wild stories and worshiping. It really is a great story. It's a story most people would tell the rest of their lives. I mean, how can you top a story like that. It would be pretty hard. Jesus, though, did. The story of Jesus's birth is a tremendous story. For an encore, he gave us the story of his death. Tried illegally. Beaten within an inch of his life. Stripped naked. Nailed to a cross. Forgiving people as they mocked him and cursed him. Dying without a single broken bone. And three days later, he arose. The grave could not hold him. Death could claim no victory. Jesus is alive. As miraculous as the birth narrative of Jesus is, it is dwarfed by the truth of his resurrection. Jesus rose up from the grave. Only God can do that. He appeared to people after his death. Only God can do ...

As a kid, Christmas was always an exciting time. I remember, as child, being excited on Christmas Eve night that I could barely go to sleep. And when I did finally crash, I didn't stay down long. By 3 or 4 a.m. I laid in bed, wide awake, giddy with anticipation of seeing the tree filled with presents for me. As soon as any sliver of daylight cracked through the window, I was up, trying to rouse my parents so we could go to the tree and unwrap all the great gifts under there for me. Once I grew older, Christmas started to lose that excitement. Soon the presents under the tree were more practical things than toys. Then there were less of them. As I had kids, I began to realize how much work Christmas was. You worked a lot to afford presents for your kids. You also worked hard and wrapping them and placing them under the tree. Between office parties, gift exchanges, credit card bills, and the hassle of seeing all your family, Christmas lost a little bit of its luster. It just ...