Jesus Is Born – Advent 24 and 25 What Gift is Better? This is not something I’m giving you, but a gift I’m telling you about, straight from God Himself. Jesus divested Himself of divinity and came into Mary’s womb as a tiny baby. How much humbler can you get?
Jesus Is Born – What Happened Leading up to Jesus Birth?
This excerpt from the Bible. I combined the four gospels into The Gospel Medley. What does it say happened the day Jesus was born?
The Birth of Jesus – Several Weeks Before
Luke 2:1–39; Matthew 1:25 1 Now in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. 2 This was the first enrollment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All went to enroll themselves, everyone to his own city. 4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to David’s city, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David; 5 to enroll himself with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him as wife, being pregnant.
The four icons of the four gospels
6 While they were there, the day had come for her to give birth. 7 She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them inthe guest room.9 25 He [Joseph] named him Jesus.
Jesus Is Born – What Happened? Part 2
8 There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. 9 Behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10 The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people. 11 For there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough.”
13 Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army praising God, and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, among men of good will.”
On The First Day of Christmas – What Happened? Part 3
15 When the angels went away from them into the sky, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem, now, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
16 They came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby was lying in the feeding trough.
9 The word used for “inn” in the Authorized Version is kataluma in Greek. It appears in Luke 22:11 and Mark 14:14 as well as here in Luke 2:7. In the other two passages, the Authorized Version renders it as “guest room.” Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, with Hebrew, Chaldee and Greek Dictionaries gives the definition as “lodging place, guest chamber, inn.” Since Joseph had relatives in Bethlehem, he and Mary likely stayed with them instead of in a rented room. For a rented room in an inn, Luke used the Greek word pandocheion in Luke 10:34. For these reasons, the phrase “guest room” is used (https://www.amazon.com/StrongsExhaustive-Concordance-Chaldee-Dictionaries/dp/B000AMQT0S/).
17 When they saw it, they publicized widely the saying which was spoken to them about this child. 18 All who heard it wondered at the things which were spoken to them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, just as it was told them.
Do You Know the Story of Before Jesus Was Born? Your Advent day 8 gift is here! Today, I give you an excerpt from The Gospel Medley. The excerpt will tell you what happened in the days before Jesus was born.
This is all part of my 25 days of Advent gift-giving to you until Christmas.
You can open this gift before Christmas! Watch the video excerpt below.
Luke 1:57–80 57 Now the time that Elizabeth should give birth was fulfilled, and she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had magnified His mercy towards her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him Zacharias, after the name of the father. 60 His mother answered, “Not so; but he will be called John.”
61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” 62 They made signs to his father, what he would have him called.
63 He asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, “His name is John.” They all marveled.
64 His mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue freed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65 Fear came on all who lived around them, and all these sayings were talked about throughout all the hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, “What then will this child be?”
What Happened Before Jesus? The Prophesy of Zecharias
The hand of the Lord was with him. 67 His father, Zacharias, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, 68 “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people; 69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David 70 (as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets who have been from of old), 71 salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us; 72 to show mercy towards our fathers, to remember His holy covenant, 73 the oath which He spoke to Abraham, our father, 74 to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, should serve Him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.”
The Prophecy Continues
The four icons of the four gospels
76 And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the dawn from on high will visit us, 79 to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death; to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 The child was growing, and becoming strong in spirit, and was in the desert until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
What Happened Before Jesus? Mary and Joseph go to Bethlehem
Luke 2:1–39; Matthew 1:25 1 Now in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. 2 This was the first enrollment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All went to enroll themselves, everyone to his own city. 4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to David’s city, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David; 5 to enroll himself with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him as wife, being pregnant.
Paranormal Privateers Is Your Wildest Ride–Get Your Free Excerpt! Why am I giving you this? It’s one of my favorite books. It’s my most complex and surprising. Please try it.
Note: This book is on sale for .99 from October 19-21. Then the price goes up to 2.99–which is still 50% off! Click here to get it. Sale ends October 26th, 2025.
Paranormal Privateers Is Your Wildest Ride – Why?
So what is it about and why do I like it? I give you a free sample below. It’s in a unique humorous zombie hero genre.
Diane Newby, in her natural environment.
But let’s start at the beginning: My Undead Mother-in-law,introduces the Newbys, a zombie family. The son, Don Newby, shows up in Zombie Turkeys. The family, led by the matriarchal undead mother-in-law Diane Newby, fights for zombie rights and any criminals that cross their paths. It helps that my zombies regenerate from injuries and get stronger each time.
This leads to Paranormal Privateers where the President has given them a letter of marquis to fight as privateers on behalf of the United States. They’re given assignments that are too dangerous or sensitive for the US to intervene directly. For example: they fight Somalian pirates in Somalia.
A heavy tread down the stairs announced George Newby. His eyes shone red too, but while Diane was built like a middle-aged woman, George was a classic wide-body. His shoulders filled the stairway. You’d think he was a truck driver or a lineman rather than an accountant.
“Hi, Karen. Hi, Ron,” he rumbled. He hugged his daughter, as if he held a baby bird, and shook my hand without hurting me in his bratwurst fingers. His bright red eyes looked squarely into mine.
“Sharon Windham – tall blonde bodyguard from England. “Her eyes shone bright red under a broad brow, with blonde eyelashes and a square chin. She could be a marble idol from a Greek temple. A zombie goddess”–from Paranormal Privateers
She was a former crime lord bodyguard who switched alliegiance to Diane Newby. Former Crossfit athlete, model, and competitive swimmer.. She deamt of becoming a UN translator. She speaks 11 languages: English, French, German, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Chinese, Korean, Arabic, Hebrew, Greek, and Russian. Trained in katana, nunchuks, and naginata.
Darkly beautiful bodyguard from Acapulco Mexico. 5′ 4″ Former cliff diver and rock climber. Former crime lord bodyguard, now protecting Diane Newby. Former MMA fighter and bodybuilder. Trained in katana, nunchuks, and naginata.
I examined my cell methodically. A drainpipe, two inches in diameter. A toilet. A hard bed. A steel door with hinges on the outside. I’d probably need to escape from somewhere other than this cell. Once they established a routine with my interrogation, I’d look for escape routes.
I chuckled to myself. Synthia Smith was my true name, in the sense it matched my birth certificate and other current identification. Before Synthia Smith, I was Rachel Rathbone, and before that Quinella Quincy, and so on, through the alphabet. My earliest memory was a toddler named Betty Botter. I had to be cute and pick pockets. Who knew what my original name was? Changing identities was a standard procedure for me with each new assignment.
This had been my most challenging operation, and I’d almost pulled it off. Those damn zombies! Had I blown up Harrods, the demands for billions in exchange for each national landmark’s safety would have been credible.
They had no idea of the bigger picture—and they wouldn’t get it. My terrorist cover story was completely true, but neither the terrorists nor Scotland Yard knew they were merely a means to an end. It was the truth: total subjugation of the United Kingdom was a reasonable goal for one like me, a child of the world’s greatest criminal.
I knew more about Papa Smith, my ostensible grandfather, than any of my siblings. I think I actually touched his feelings as a loving granddaughter, and I believe he shared more with me than with any of his other crime-lord grandchildren. Of course, he might be manipulating me, just as I tried to manipulate him. That was the most reasonable assumption, especially if we were actually related.
What Is Paranormal Privateers All About? – Synthia Smith, Part 2
Regardless, I felt fond of him. When I overthrew him and took over his crime empire, I thought I’d keep him alive. I enjoyed our talks via our secured video line. When he’d shared Sid Boffin’s failure with me, I clapped in delight as he praised me for staying in touch with him. I think that was genuine emotion and not an act. It was hard to tell sometimes.
A motion on the floor caught my eye as I sat on the bed. A cockroach crawled up the drain and onto the floor. Surprising. Usually, Britain kept their prisons pest-free. Then another. Then a dozen more. And then, hundreds.
This was not normal cockroach behavior. They did not come into the light in hordes. I sat cross-legged on the bed and watched the swarm with fascination. They climbed the door, walked its steel perimeter, and went back down the drain as others came up.
Curious, I nabbed one using my lightning reflexes. Examining it, I saw a metal dot under its thorax and a narrow tube attached to its abdomen. A pungent, acidic smell came from the tube. I looked back to the door. The acid ate a narrow trench in the door’s perimeter, right where the cockroaches still marched. Near the ceiling light, I saw mist curl away from the door.
Synthia Smith, Part 3
Modified and controlled cockroaches—like Sid Boffin’s cyborg-controlled animals. I’d read his Ph.D. paper as well as the Midley Beacon‘s declassified reports on his battles with the zombies. Since Sid was dead at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, this could only be one of my siblings or Papa Smith trying to rescue me.
Using my perfect memory of the twists and turns when they’d led me here hooded, counting my steps, and remembering the doors, I was confident I could retrace the route.
The last of the cockroaches marched around the door, leaving its trail of acid. They etched the door perhaps a centimeter deep. Couldn’t be much left.
I knocked on the door. Yes, it felt like a centimeter thick, and it echoed like it was almost cut through. Then someone knocked back, much harder.
“I’m here!” I called. I assumed this was my rescuer.
“Step back,” grated a curious, tinny voice, like it was coming through a small radio.
I stepped away.
CLUMP! CLUMP! Two metallic thunks hit the other side of the door. Then, SKREERK! The door tore off like the lid of a tin of meat.
I didn’t expect what I saw. A male silverback gorilla filled the doorway and the whole hallway beyond. Thick armor covered his body. Casually, he placed the door scrap against the hall.
This series is the first I have read of Andy Zach’s and I am glad I picked it up! The series continues with lots of action, characters continue to be developed, humor, and the zombies are still not mindless shells ambling around awaiting an axe to the head. Still a refreshing take on zombies as a whole. I look forward to what Andy writes next! Audio Version: Phil Blechman and Raven Perez do a great job with their respective characters and the overall narration.
The cover of my third novel Paranormal Privateers. Click to get yours.
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