Matthew 2

¹Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

²Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

³When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

⁴And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

⁵And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

⁶And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

⁷Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

⁸And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

⁹When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

¹⁰When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

¹¹And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

¹²And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

¹³And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.

¹⁴When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:

¹⁵And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.

¹⁶Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

¹⁸In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

¹⁹But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,

²⁰Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.

²¹And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.

²²But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:

²³And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

Matthew 1

Matthew 1
King James Bible

1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; 3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; 4 And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; 5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; 6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; 7 And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa; 8 And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias; 9 And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias; 10 And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias; 11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:

12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel; 13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor; 14 And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud; 15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob; 16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. 20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. 24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

Bring My Children Home

I received a link to a beautiful song I'd like to share. "Son, Go Bring My Children Home," written by Jerry Thompson and performed by the Rex Nelon Singers.

The music might begin automatically for some of you, but it didn't in our browser. There is a little slidebar in the upper left of our screen. We clicked on the second button from the left to start or pause the music.

Enjoy!

Veteran's Day 2009

I wanted something appropriate as a tribute to our military, past and present, for Veteran's Day. I think this song, "America My Home," performed by Ricky David Tripp one month after 9-11 fits the bill.

We should stand behind our military. They help protect our freedom.

I am pleased to read of those serving overseas whose hearts reach out to help unwanted dogs and cats.



If the video will not play for you, click here.

A Minor Consideration

It's been quite a while since the last post, but not only have I been busy, I've been trying to decide what changes to make with Mercy and Percy. It will gradually assume its own identity again.

I am old enough to remember Paul Peterson of The Donna Reed Show. I also remember watching Rusty Hamer in reruns of The Danny Thomas Show. It was a surprise to learn in American Profile Magazine that Rusty Hamer committed suicide in 1990. And that his death helped spur Paul Peterson to found the nonprofit organization A Minor Consideration.

I googled the organization and applaud Peterson for investing so much of his time and talent into helping current and prior child actors. It has to be hard to be pampered and fawned over as a child and then dumped like a sack of spoiled potatoes when you're no longer "cute."

But the first link I clicked on from Google Search was a story on "'The 'Rape' of Dakota Fanning." I never watched the movie Hound Dog which starred 12 year-old Dakota Fanning as a rape victim and I'm sure glad I missed it! Because Peterson has a lot to say about any mother and movie set staff exploiting a child in such a graphic movie. And I, personally, don't understand why child pornography can be prosecuted and this type of exploitation isn't.

You can find the article here. But if you believe a child deserves a protected childhood, it will raise your hackles. Keep up the good work raising awareness of the problems child actors face, Peterson, as well as helping educate, legislate and whatever is needed to help child actors and former child actors survive in the business and transition into the real world.