RECENT ARTICLES FROM THE NUGGET
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. (Isaiah 11:1) In my grandmother's backyard grew a beautiful orchid tree with white bark and leaves shaped like butterflies. Each Easter it was loaded with large,...
"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for Me One who is to be Ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days." (Micah 5:2 ESV) Have you ever noticed that God tends to choose...
"In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah .... And he had a wife ... and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child,...
"And the angel answered him, 'I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my...
"And when his time of service was ended, he [Zechariah] went to his home. After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 'Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach...
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light...
"He said to them, 'Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, "Move from here to there," and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.'" (Matthew 17:20 ESV) "You are...
"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'” (Isaiah 52:7 NKJ) "For nothing will be impossible with God." (Luke 1:37...
"In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16 ESV) "Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord." (Romans 12:11 ESV) Do you feel dull? Not...
"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up. Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm...
"And the angel answered her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the Child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and...
"And he [Gabriel] came to her and said, 'Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!' But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor...
And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:38b) That was that. Once Mary had said "Amen" to the wonderful thing the Lord intended to do through her, Gabriel left. The visit was over. The place that had held an angel now held what? Empty floor, maybe; a broom or a...