Daily Bible Verse - 12/24/2007 - Luke 2:14

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." (NIV)

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (KJV)

"Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." (NASB)

Luke 2:14

Commentary

peace. This is not to be taken as a universal declaration of peace toward all humanity. Rather, peace with God is a corollary of justification (see note on Rom. 5:1). goodwill toward men. Note the marginal rendering. The Gr. word for "goodwill" is also used in 10:21. The verb form of the same word is used in 3:22; 12:32. In each case, it refers to God's sovereign good pleasure. So a better rendering here might be "peace toward men on whom God's sovereign pleasure rests." God's peace is not a reward for those who have good will, but a gracious gift to those who are the objects of His good will.

MacArthur, J. J. (1997, c1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (Lk 2:14). Nashville: Word Pub.

Apollo 8 Christmas Eve Broadcast
Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the Moon, entered lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1968. That evening, the astronauts; Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders did a live television broadcast from lunar orbit, in which they showed pictures of the Earth and Moon seen from Apollo 8. They ended the broadcast with the crew taking turns reading from the book of Genesis. Borman then added, "And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you - all of you on the good Earth."

The Apollo 8 Christmas Eve Broadcast Video

http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo8_xmas.html

Daily Bible Verse - 12/23/2007 - Micah 5:2

"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. " (NIV)

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. (KJV)

"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

Commentary
The birthplace of the Shepherd-King would be the city of Bethlehem. King David, a man after God's own heart, had been born in Bethlehem centuries before. The intervening kings had failed to follow the Lord. By predicting a new King from Bethlehem, Micah was invoking the covenant God made with David (2 Sam. 7). Centuries later when Jesus was born, this prophecy was quoted in answer to the question of the wise men concerning where the Christ was to be born

(Mic. 5:2; Matt 2:1-6).Thomas Nelson, I. (1997, c1995). Woman's study Bible . (Mic 5:2). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Did you know?
Since there were two Bethlehems in the Holy Land, Micah specifies Bethlehem Ephrathah, six miles south of Jerusalem.

MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Mic 5:2). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.