A Hand Along the Journey: Poems for the King from One Pilgrim to Another

A Christmas Card from Simeon (by Bill Hall) Luke 2:25-35 We waited and we waited. Moses told us of Him, and we waited. Joshua and the judges spoke of Him, and we waited. Samuel and David gave us hope in Him, and we waited. Isaiah, Ezekiel, Elisha, and Jeremiah, and many, many more, proclaimed Him. But we still waited. Year upon year, ages it seemed, passed without His coming. But, yet we were made to wait. Would it have been better if we hadn’t waited? Was it good for us? Maybe we needed the time. Maybe we were still too stiff necked. Maybe even now we were not quite ready. Oh, how we longed for Him! And yet we often forgot Him. Oh, how we dreamed of the day! And yet our dreams had changed somehow. We thought more of His force than His forgiveness, and His rule than His righteousness. Was waiting truly a matter of timing, or more a matter of testing? Could it be that waiting was the best thing for us? ‘They that wait upon the Lord,’ yes, that is what the prophet says. Can we...

A Christmas Card from Joseph (by Bill Hall) Luke 2:1-7 Some days I think I am crazy. Happy Christmas 2017, by the way. Anyway, sometimes I’m not sure if I’m coming or going. But, I’m sure that life just keeps going, whether I do or not. I remember one year, year one, it was like that, coming and going . . . going and coming. For one thing, I was engaged. Now that will put a lot on a fellow’s mind. Stress. About the most stressful thing I ever did. Totally worth it, of course. But then, this wasn’t going to be just ANY engagement either. Let’s just say it took much more than an act of congress to convince me this was the right step to take. God Himself moved me into this marriage. The whole thing was more than I could handle, and more than I would ever have expected. And, right in the middle of all that, Caesar has to come up with a brilliant tax scheme. Yikes! Could it get any hairier? What was life in this family going to be like? Would we always get shuttled around like thi...

Every once in a while I feature another author or style of writing. For today and the next two Sundays, I have the privilege to pass on to you, the reader, three very ancient, yet modern, Christmas cards I received from a gifted messenger, my favorite pastor. Hope you enjoy reading what Zacharias, Joseph, and Simeon would say if they could send us Christmas cards today... A Christmas Card from Zacharias (by Bill Hall) Luke 1:5-25, 57-80 I send you Christmas greetings on this 2017 year. I tell you what I have learned of Christ. In righteous works and deeds my hands were busy. About the works of the temple I was honored to serve. It was of a proud and special few that I was a member. And my turn for the dignity of offering the incense had fully arrived. And yet on this great day there lay deep in my heart a scar. I had not discussed it in quite a while. But still it broke me when I thought of it. Having been the servant of the Lord for many long years, the Lord had never bles...