Phil, like the song says, in a cave. Just
because the Word says, manger, people assume
stable. I read somewhere that swaddling clothes could be a sign of death.
earlier, Phil Scovell, wrote:
>I've posted this before but it's time to do so again.
>
>Bill Rice has been dead for many years. He was a cowboy early on in his
>life. He later went into ministry work. When he died, he owned a 1500 acre
>ranch out east in one of the Carolinas, as I
>recall, but his full time ministry
>had turned into a ministry for the deaf. Every summer, about 1500 deaf people
>came to his ranch and would spend two or three weeks on the ranch. They rode
>horses, camped out, sat around huge bond fires, and those trained in sign
>language would translate everything, including the Bible studies they had, and
>the preaching services.
>
>Bill went to the Bible lands once, maybe more than once, but this one time
>I know about, he said, during an off time, he asked the guide to take him to a
>place that he, the guide, thought was like where Jesus was truly born. The
>guide explained to him that throughout Palestine, especially in those days,
>they didn't need stables or barns because of all the thousands of small caves
>throughout the countryside. Of course, many
>were likewise buried in such caves.
>Anybody come to mind right off whom you can think of? Jesus for example?
>Anyhow, before speaking on this same topic today at church, I read through the
>Christmas stories, so called, and realizing I didn't see the word "stable" in
>the stories, I did a computer search. I was positive that I had read the word
>"stable" in the birth of Jesus passages of Scriptures. Guess what? The word
>isn't even in the Gospels. Yes, it says he was
>wrapped in swaddling clothes and
>laid in a manger, but it says nothing about a barn or a stable.
>
>Bill rice said the guide took him to a cave which had been used once as a
>stable for farm animals. The cave was empty at the time so Bill asked the man
>if it was ok for him to go inside. The guide said that there was no light but
>he was welcome to enter. Bill said when he stepped inside, the smell nearly
>knocked him out. This was coming from a cowboy who was used to being around
>such smells. Secondly, Bill said that the animal manure he stepped into came
>nearly to his boot tops. The entire cave was like this. He moved around and
>examined the manger that was there. He stood in
>this cave and realized for the
>first time in his life, this was really like the
>true humble birth of the God of
>the universe. He said it changed his life just thinking about it. It has
>changed my life since I heard this story, too. I trust it will change your
>thoughts about Christmas and who Jesus really is. Think of it. If this was
>like the place Jesus was born, that is, in a
>cave, he was also buried in a cave,
>and rose again from a cave. Go Jesus. Show 'um.
>
>It Sounds Like God To Me
>WWW.SafePlaceFellowship.com
John
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