Misha's Story: Room In The Manger

 Dr. Mike Murphy

December 15, 2022

1991 changed the world as we knew it.  With the fall of the Soviet Union much of the world began to change, and the opportunity to spread the Good News presented itself to many Christian missionaries.  The newly formed Russian government even began to invite many American Christians in to teach ethics and morals based on Biblical doctrine.  It is here that our story begins, as two Americans accepted this invitation and found themselves at an orphanage in Russia as Christmas Day approached.

They began telling the story of the Nativity to the children and staff of the orphanage. This was the first time most of these had heard of Jesus, much less the story of Christ’ birth. As they heard the details that forever changed the world that night, they sat fixed on each word as the story unveiled itself.  They were told of Mary and Joseph traveling to the small town of Bethlehem, finding no room at the inn and having to take what room they could find in the stables, and how when Jesus was born he was placed in a manger.

At the conclusion of the story, each child was given three, small pieces of cardboard so each could build their own manger.  A yellow napkin was torn into small strips so each child could fill their manger with straw.  Small squares of flannel were cut from an old, abandoned nightgown so that each manger would have a baby blanket.  Finally, the two missionaries cut a small baby for each child from a piece of tan felt they had with them.

The two men walked around to each child offering to help as they constructed their manger.  All was going well until one of the men noticed a six year old orphan boy named Misha was sitting alone.  Misha had finished his manger, and when the man looked at it closely, he noticed that Misha had placed two babies in his manger.

He asked Misha if he had fully understood the story, and without hesitation, Misha began to quote it back to him with incredible accuracy.  He was amazed at how well this young child knew the story after hearing it for his first time.  That was until Misha came to the part where Mary placed Jesus in the manger.  It was here that Misha’s story began to take a different direction.

Misha told the missionary that when Mary laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked over at him and asked him if he had a place to stay.  Misha told him that he did not have a mother and father, so he did not have a place to stay. Jesus told Misha that he could stay with him.  But Misha replied to Jesus that he could not stay with him, because he did not own or have anything, having no gift he could give him like everyone else had.  

But Misha so badly wanted to  stay with Jesus, that he thought really hard of anything he could give as a gift.  Finally, Misha thought of one thing he might be able give.  He knew that it was cold that night, so he thought maybe he could keep Jesus warm.  That would be his gift.  So Misha asked Jesus, “If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift?”  Jesus answered, “If you come close and keep me warm, that is the greatest gift anyone could ever give me.”  So Misha said he climbed into the manger, and as he did, Jesus looked over and told him that he could stay with Him forever.

After being told this story, and getting the lump out of my throat, a Bible verse quickly came to my mind.  Luke 18:17, “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all”. 

My life has been blessed to be able to preach God’s Word, to have been a part of discussion panels about my faith, and to teach studies about the Hebrew and Greek meaning of Bible verses.  But in that moment, I realized that the words of a young, orphaned boy rang stronger with truth than all of my cumulative words combined.  In his simple words rang a simple truth, a truth that is all that matters.  It is not what we have in this life, but WHO we have in this life.

It is time that we, the Church, got back to the simple message of this child. God chose to come into this world that night with the most humble and basic of beginnings.  He was born in a small town that probably did not appear on many of the maps of the day.  He was not born into the royalty of this world, but to simple, everyday people.  But the Lord knew that only from such humble beginnings would come a way to reach all mankind.  A simple message of salvation everyone could understand.  And the stories that surround that night prove it.  We see the richest of kings men, and the poorest of shepherds both find their way to the feet of this Child!

As you read the Christmas story this year, I hope each of you will remember the beauty of that simple message the Lord brought to us that amazing, incredible night so many years ago.  And I pray that in this coming year, that we, the Church, will find our way back into that manger with Misha.  That we will show the world just how comfortable and welcoming that manger can be. And just like Misha so quickly desired and understood, there is room in that manger for each of us to share with Christ forever. 

And I want to wish a very special thank you to an extraordinary, young orphaned boy named Misha.  You reminded me what is most important in the Christmas story, and the message the Lord introduced to the world that incredible night.  You truly taught this old dog the most priceless of new tricks!

Hope each of you this Christmas finds your way into that manger!

The Innkeeper( Do You Have Time For God This Christmas?)

 Dr. Mike Murphy

December 11, 2022

“I just do not have time for all this!  With all the people pouring into this town, I have to make the most of each minute.  I have to strike while the iron is hot.  It would just not be good business to do otherwise.  This census has brought me an opportunity that I may never see again.  Every inch of space in this town is needed right now, and I can get whatever price I want for the space I have.  Now is not the time for me to be giving out free rooms!  Not even to a couple with a wife who is pregnant.  They do not realize just how lucky they are to have met me.  Most others would not have even given them the time of day, but at least I let them stay in my stables.  They should be thanking me they do not have to spend the night in the street with the rest of this useless crowd.  At least they have a roof over their head and some straw to sleep on, unlike most of these ungrateful peasants.  Why me Lord?  Why, with all that is going on, do I have to deal with this?  You know I just do not have the time!”

As we find ourselves in the middle of the Christmas Season, nothing becomes more valuable than our time.  We often find ourselves with more to do than we have time to do it. We soon come to realize that the one thing we count more than our dollars is the minutes of the day.  Time becomes our currency, and we find ourselves being far more frugal with our time than we do with our credit cards.  Time that is consumer driven, and finds us unwilling to wait as we rush from store to store.  Time that is God-given, but not God focused.  And as you stand in line at Walmart, wondering how much time you will still have to shop at Best Buys, ask yourself one question.  How much time do I have for God this Christmas Season?

As history has progressed, our connection to time has not changed.  And as we glance back on history, we soon see that it was time that we were always the most concerned about.  And if we take the time to look back at that miraculous night our Savior came into this world, we see the struggles many were having with time.  

Many look at the innkeeper, and think it was room he did not have for Christ.  But room was just a byproduct of the real problem, the real struggle being time.  If the innkeeper found himself spending time with God, he would have remembered the promise that Micah had proclaimed of his town.  “"But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity."(Micah 5:2).  The promise that from his small town, Bethlehem, the Messiah would be born.  If he had time for God, he would have remembered the words of Daniel, proclaiming the years in which he then lived would be the time for His people to be looking for the Messiah(Daniel 9).  And if he had spent time with the Lord, he would have felt the Holy Spirit reach for him, as a needy, pregnant, young wife and husband found their way to his door.

Although we are never told his name, we can all look in the mirror and see the innkeeper's face.  He turned away a man and his pregnant wife that night, not because he did not have the room, but because he did not have the time.  He was busy.  He was swamped by the crowds in the middle of a census. His lodge was probably the only one in that tiny town.  He had rooms that needed to be cleaned, food that had to be made, and the needs of people that he had to meet.  He was being so pulled in a millions directions, he did not have time to look in the One direction his eyes were most needed.

But the innkeeper was not alone in his struggle with time, Israel was a nation filled with people just like him.  The Romans had a rebellious nation they needed to keep in order, they did not have time for the One who could have brought them true peace.  Herod, was a king of old age, whose death was growing near.  A dying man, who found himself propped up on an unstable throne.  Time was precious to Herod, and he did not have time for a “child” who might be born as his people’s King.  There was the people of Israel, who grew tired of living under the Roman oppression.  With each day, they found that oppression grow, and felt time was not on their side.  They only had time for a Deliverer, one who would break them from the yoke that Rome had placed on them, and would set up an earthly kingdom where they would rule.  They did not have time for a Suffering Servant, who would establish for them an eternal kingdom.  And then there was the priests and scribes, who each day had time to read the promised prophecies, but never found time to take a single word to heart.  Theological experts, and the “defenders” of spiritual truth, who never took the time to travel the few miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to find out for themselves if the promised Messiah had indeed been born.  Religious leaders, who did not have time for a Savior, because nowhere could they see how they would ever be in need of one.  Christ came into a world that had been created by His hands, to a people that had long proclaimed His arrival, but to an earth that did not have time for Him.

Time.  What if God has said He did not have time to come to this earth so He could offer hope and a future to the lives of such a rebellious and sin-filled people?  What if He had said, “These people do not have time for Me, so why would I even think of making time for them?”.  But praise the Lord, Christmas is not about the Lord not having time, but about the Lord making time, and coming to this world at the precise time.

A verse from Galatians explains it better than I ever could.  Galatians 4:4 tells us, "But when the set time had fully come, God sent His Son”.  For all of us, God made time, and at the exact right moment of history, God came to this earth on time.. God did not say He did not have time, but because of His endless love for us, He gave us far more than time ever could.

As I think about it, I realize the innkeeper, the Romans, Herod, the people of Israel, and the religious leaders, are not that much different from each of us. On that first Christmas, they were so consumed with the commotion, that they forget what time it was. They got so caught up in the world around them, that they found themselves too busy for God.  They found it easier to make God an afterthought that first Christmas, instead of making Him the forethought that time requires for Him to be.

This Christmas, as you find yourself in the hustle and bustle of the Season, stop and ask yourself a couple of questions.  How much time have I made for God?  If God has so lovingly made time for me that first Christmas, how much time can I make for Him this Christmas?  Let us not forget, God came on time that first Christmas.  And one day soon, whether we have the time or not, He will be coming on time again.

Give your family, your friends, and yourself the greatest present you can give this Christmas.  Give time for Christ.  Set aside precious moments each day when you can spend time with God.  Cherish each moment as you read His Word, and hold tight to each word you speak to Him in prayer.  Treasure and adore each of these moments, knowing that each minute you spend with Him is time that you can never place a dollar value on.  Watch as not only your life, but the lives of those around you, are changed in ways no credit card could ever pay for.  And with each moment of time you spend with our Lord, look into your heart. You will see all the room you have for a needy husband and his pregnant wife with Child as they knock on your door.

Give the Lord the greatest of gifts, give Him your time this Christmas!