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Two Caves Near Bethlehem
CONNIE: Hello, I'm Connie Jeffery.
LONNIE: And I'm Lonnie Melashenko.
CONNIE: Welcome to the Voice of Prophecy weekend broadcast.
LONNIE: And welcome to the month of December--Christmas
month.
CONNIE: And a special welcome as we begin our Christmas series called
AThe Story Behind the Christmas Story.
LONNIE: Our next four programs will break out of our usual sequence in
which we give an overview of a Bible book one week and focus on a gospel
story the following week.
CONNIE: We'll be totally focused on the gospel in these programs leading
up to the Christmas holiday.
LONNIE: We think you'll enjoy this special focus on God's gift of His
Son to the
world--and we'll be looking at some interesting sidelights to the story
that you've probably never heard before.
CONNIE: And along with that, we'll focus on some special Christmas music.
We'll be interviewing well-known musicians about their music, and their
personal appreciation of what Jesus has done in their lives.
LONNIE: Today we welcome Michael J. Harris to our studio. I met Michael
a few
years back, but it was just a few weeks ago that I was in a meeting where
you spoke, Michael. I was deeply impressed by your personal testimony.
MICHAEL: Thank you Lonnie, in fact I was born and raised in Chicago in
a very gang and drug infested community on the south side of Chicago.
I began to use drugs as a young man thinking I could pick them up and
put them down when I wanted to. I thought that I was in control of my
life. Then, I moved on and I was enlisted in the United States Navy. Trying
to get away from the lifestyle on the south side of Chicago and I continued
to use these gateway
drugs the alcohol, the marijuana, and the cigarettes, thinking that I
was in control. I thought I was living a dual lifestyle hiding my drug
and alcohol lifestyle from my superiors, but there was one whose heart
I was breaking each time I decided to use drugs and alcohol.
LONNIE: Someone who you couldn’t see, but He was there watching over.
MICHAEL: And He continues to love us even in spite of ourselves, you know.
LONNIE: What happened here is a dramatic moment that just rips my heart
when I hear you share the testimony that of whattook place that affected
someone else, in a very permanent way.
MICHAEL: Well, the Lord brought a very beautiful woman into my life by
the name of Amber. My wife is from the Fiji islands, and when I met her
I fell in love with her immediately.
My mother was traveling from Chicago to Las Vegas and my wife and I wanted
to meet her in Vegas. We jumped in our car and headed on our six and a
half hour journey to Las Vegas. Prior to getting in the car I smoked a
couple marijuana joints and had a couple of beers.
I had always drunk and drove at the same time and I
never had a problem with it. I thought I was in control again, but at
around two o’ clock in the morning while enrouted to Vegas I fell asleep
at the wheel of the car. I woke up and the car was rolling over several
times. When I looked around inside of the automobile finally after it
stopped rolling, my wife Amber was no
longer there with me.
LONNIE: Oh my!
MICHAEL: I jumped out of the car in a very cold dark desert at two in
the morning trying to locate her, but I couldn't find her for several
minutes, and when I finally found her she was suffering from a broken
neck. I ran into the highway immediately to try to get someone to help
me, but do you know that no one would stop for me in the darkness. By
now all I could do is go back to my wife with tears in my eyes and I said
“Honey no one is going to stop for
me.”
LONNIE: Oh my! Out in the middle of nowhere and she's dying and your not
able to get anyone to help you.
MICHAEL: And I cried out “Honey please don't die! I love you, and I'll
take care of you for the rest of my life.” And I know that God came into
my wife's heart and began to minister to her, because immediately she
looked at me with a big smile on her face even during this time of pain
and trouble for her. And she just said “Michael pull yourself together.
If you have to get run over by a car, get us some help.”
LONNIE: Hmmm.
MICHAEL: Well, I stood right in the middle of the highway and cars were
swerving around me it was a big commotion, but no one would stop for me.
LONNIE: They couldn't see your car. They didn't know you. They thought
you were some wild man out there.
MICHAEL: Yes, my car was hidden in a gully and the lights were out. But
as I said, this accident occurred two o’ clock in the morning, and by
the time Amber and I got in the hospital and got help it was-seven thirty
in the morning. Amber lay in the Desert for about five and a half hours
before she received medical attention, and when we got into the hospital
the doctor told Amber she had a one percent chance of ever walking again.
Immediately Amber
told the doctors “Who do you think you are? God? If my Lord and Savior
wills me to walk again, then you better believe it’s going to happen no
matter how you diagnose me!”
You know Lonnie, I was living my life in somewhat of a tomb, I had a lot
of past issues and I thought that the drugs and alcohol would take care
of all that pain that I was suffering. But, all I was doing was compounding
my problem and I was literally sealing my tomb by using drugs and alcohol.
LONNIE: Now the incredible part of the story is not that God worked some
miraculous magical wonder over the life over the physical life of Amber.
In fact she today is in a wheelchair.
MICHAEL: Yes, for fourteen years she's been in a wheelchair, but God has
blessed her so much that our marriage is more beautiful then it was in
the beginning.
LONNIE: And God has touched your life and has brought you out of death
and the tomb to resurrection and a whole new life and ministry never dreamed
possible.
MICHAEL: Well, you know what, I read somewhere that we are to be co-workers
for Christ and He says “Behold I stand at the door and knock, and if we
open the door and allow Him to come in we will begin to experience a joy
that surpasses all understanding.
LONNIE: Look at for how He answers your prayers and there is more than
one way. One of the big surprises that you discover in life with Jesus
Christ, out of the tomb. When someone said “Michael you have a great baritone
voice you ought to sing.” You never had sung in your life. You've done
a number of albums and you’re about to share, tell us about the song you’re
going to sing right now.
MICHAEL: I'm going to sing a song “Born to die”. You see because Jesus
left all of His glory above and He came down to this earth and he hung
on a cross. There are many people mourning and weeping because of His
death on the cross. But, that was the very reason why He came was to give
us all victory through His blood, and I have received the victory by the
way of the one step program through Christ Jesus that day on the cross.
MUSIC 1: “Born to Die,” Michael J. Harris
CONNIE: That was of course the rich baritone voice of Michael J. Harris
singing a different sort of Christmas song called ABorn to Die, Now Michael
you don't have a Christmas CD out do you?
MICHAEL: Well actually I do, but it's only on cassette I recorded this
album out two years ago.
CONNIE: And don't you have some other CD's available?
MICHAEL: Yes the album you just listened to was called AMerry Christmas
With Love, but I have six other albums on the Chapel label.
CONNIE: There are other CDs available, and information about them can
be found at our website, www.vop.com.
LONNIE: Along with many other resources, including our free Discover Bible
Guides series that many listeners take advantage of for their personal
Bible study time. So, if you're a web surfer, please stop by and look
around at our newly-updated site.
CONNIE: That's at www.vop.com.
Lonnie, the series we're beginning today, The Story Behind the Christmas
Story, has also been produced as a television series, hasn't it?
LONNIE: That's right, Connie. Last year Ken Wade and I took a camera crew
to Israel with us, and filmed programs on this theme at the very locations
where they occurred. It was a fascinating, busy time, and I must say I
learned a lot in the process of producing those programs.
CONNIE: Is there any way our listeners can view these programs?
LONNIE: In fact there are a couple of ways. They're being aired all this
month on the 3ABN satellite network that's available on the Sky Angel
system, Sunday mornings at 7:30 AM and Saturday mornings just after midnight
at 12:30 AM Pacific time.
CONNIE: So in Eastern time that would be 10:30 Sunday and 3:30 AM Saturday.
And that's on the 3ABN satellite network that's part of the Sky Angel
system.
LONNIE: Schedule information for all our broadcasts is also available
on our website at www.vop.com.
CONNIE: The programs are also available on video aren't they?
LONNIE: Yes, they can be purchased at our online bookstore at our website,
or by credit card at our regular request number 1-800-872-0055. And the
cost is very reasonable. Four half-hour programs shot on-location in Israel
just last year, exploring the story behind the Christmas story, and we're
making them available for just $20.00 to our listeners.
CONNIE: We'll mention this special offer again at the end of the program,
but right now Ken Wade is going to tell us a little about how this fascinating
series came about.
KEN: My wife and I had the privilege of visiting Israel for the first
time in
1983, and a serendipitous discovery while driving the back roads planted
the seeds of this program that we call ATwo Caves Near Bethlehem.,
We rented a little red Ford Fiesta to drive around the country, and early
one morning we headed for Bethlehem. But by time we got there Manger Square
was full of tourist busses, so we decided to explore the area around where
Jesus was born.
That's how we happened onto the place called Herodion. Our jaws dropped
as we rounded a corner and suddenly saw the volcano-like hill that King
Herod had hollowed out to build himself a palace. I had never heard of
the place--had never even seen pictures of it as I researched places to
visit in Israel. But it certainly seemed worth a visit.
Our little side trip had led us to what I still consider one of the most
fascinating
archaeological sites in all of the Holy Land.
It's a conical hill, chopped off at the top and hollowed out to form a
fortress-palace for King Herod, known to us as Herod the Great, the man
who tried to kill Jesus shortly after the Savior was born in Bethlehem.
We explored the site briefly, then went on our way. It wasn't until several
years later that I learned the real significance of the place, and what
part it plays in the Christmas story.
For, you see, it was there, beside that hollowed-out hill just a few miles
from
downtown Bethlehem, that Herod planned to be buried. In fact, preparations
for his burial were probably underway on the very night that Jesus was
born, for Herod was old and almost on his deathbed by that time. And though
his tomb has never been found, we can be sure it was no hastily-dug pit.
Herod was well known for the grandeur of the structures he erected, so
his tomb was probably an elaborate excavation that required several years
to fully outfit to receive his body.
Herod's last excavation--the Acave, where he was buried--has been lost
to history. But
there's another cave nearby that's one of the best-known, most-often-visited
caves on earth. It's the cave where a lowly manger--a feeding trough for
animals--cradled a tiny baby--no king with earthly pomp and power, but
a king nonetheless.
That humble cave was where it all began--a reign that would one day far
exceed any splendor Herod could ever have imagined.
CONNIE: Thanks Ken. You've whetted our appetite for the story of Two Caves
Near Bethlehem. Lonnie, share with us.
Two Caves Near Bethlehem
LONNIE: If you could choose how you would be remembered, how would it
be? What epitaph would you write for your life? What phrase could possibly
capture the fullness of who you are?
There's a tombstone in Cripplecreek, Colorado that summarizes one man's
life in just six words: AHe called Bill Smith a liar . . . --apparently
it was the last thing he ever did. You get the impression that Bill Smith
didn't like being called a liar, and--well, the rest is left to our imaginations.
Not much of an epitaph--not much of an accounting for a life, is it? But
then, most of us don't get to dictate how we'll be remembered.
But how about this gripping comment, engraved on a tombstone in Stowe,
Vermont:
I was somebody.
Who, is no business
Of yours
Such a terse dismissal of my curiosity gets to me--it makes me all-the-more
curious, how about you? Why does this person refuse to tell me who he/she
was? Does she have something to hide? Or is he merely content in knowing
that he lived life as best he could and has nothing to prove with boastful
obits?
Ah, here's an epitaph I could be happy with, it's found on a tombstone
erected in 1760 in Yorkshire, England:
Here lies John James Cook Of Newby
Who was a faithful Servant To his master
And an Upright downright
Honest man.
How do you want to be remembered? If you want to be remembered well,
it pays to live well.
But King Herod had other plans. His actions in life hadn't been the kind
that would endear him to many people. And of course the main thing many
people remember about him today is that he had all the children of Bethlehem
killed shortly after Jesus was born.
Still, he had a plan to be remembered well. He would set his name in
stone, not just in an engraving over his tomb, but in massive monuments.
He's
known to history as one of the greatest builders of all time. He erected
monuments to himself and to his friends all over the Roman Empire.
And to honor himself, he named one of his great constructions Herodion.
Surely this rock-solid hilltop-fortress, hewn from the solid stone of
a hilltop, would stand forever and remind people of what a great monarch
he was!
He originally built Herodion to commemorate a great victory he won on
that spot even before he was king. But as his life drew to its close,
he decided that it would be the most appropriate location for his final
resting place. The
accomplishments of his life would live on, perpetuating his memory at
his
namesake hill. And so he set his stonemasons to work on constructing what
must have been a magnificent tomb commemorating his life.
You can still visit Herodion today--thanks to the work of archaeologists
who have painstakingly dug its remains out of the sands of time. But most
people who visit Israel don't bother to go there. Their tour busses leave
Jerusalem, heading south toward Herodion, but stop a few miles away, at
a different stone edifice. This one a natural stone cave, where many believe
Joseph and Mary stayed on the night when Jesus was born.
No great effort went into constructing this cave. It's simply the work
of
water seeping through limestone year after year.
No jewels or ornaments or lofty inscriptions adorned this spot. It was
merely a humble, smelly hovel where cattle and sheep could find shelter
on a rainy winter night. No pomp or ceremony attended the arrival of the
Christ child, He was greeted only by His parents and the wondering stares
of animals.
So, why is the cave where He was born more popular, more-often visited,
than the magnificent palace and fortress where Herod was buried? Why is
it that the ages have maintained a record of where Christ was born, but
the exact place where Herod was buried is long forgotten?
The contrast between these two sites is seen in the contrast between how
the two men lived their lives.
For Herod, it was all about power and pomp, bribing those above him and
trampling on, enslaving, or killing anyone below who threatened to sidetrack
his mad scramble to the top.
For Jesus it was just the opposite. He didn't come to enslave, but to
serve.
The path to greatness in His kingdom ran 180o opposite to Herod's path.
One day, when He knew His disciples were scrambling for powerful positions,
He called
them aside and gave them this little lecture:
"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and
their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead,
whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever
wants to be first must be your slave--just as the Son of Man did not come
to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
(That's found in Matthew 20:25-28, NIV)
But it wasn't just in His teaching that Jesus was different from Herod.
It
was in the way He lived His life. As the apostle Paul put it, even though
Jesus was God and in every way equal with God, He made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And
being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient
to death-- even death on a cross!
(Philippians 2:7, 8, NIV)
Yet this Man, who made Himself nothing, who wouldn't resist His
tormentors even as they drove the nails through His hands, lives on in
history as One who has done far more for the world than Herod. All of
the palaces and
fortresses the king built have crumbled into ruins. But the words and
deeds of
Jesus live on, not only in the stories written about Him, but in the ongoing
saga of Christian men and women who take His teaching to heart and live
out the Jesus lifestyle, asking AWhat Would Jesus Do?, of every situation.
The cave where the helpless baby Jesus was born continues to command
the world's attention, especially in this Christmas season. But the cave
just down the road, where the rich and powerful Herod was buried, is lost
to history.
Friend, what would you like to leave to the world when you're gone?
Would you like to be remembered well? Then consider this epitaph, found
on the grave of a woman who died in 1923:
She thought of others ever Herself never We can't forget But let's not
think only of how to leave the world. Let's think of how to live in the
world. Come, let's go to Bethlehem. Let's visit the place where Jesus
was born. Let's consider how He lived--and how He died--and resolve anew
to let Him live His life in us.
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