“And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.“ Luke 2:7 Long, long ago in a place much like here, only not, the baby Messiah, Jesus, came to live among us.  Caesar Augustus decreed a census, requiring everyone to return to their birthplace to be counted. Mary was ready to give birth when she and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem for the census, yet they were sent away—away to a manger.  Anyone could have given up their place for Mary.  Yet, no one did.  From the very beginning, Jesus was cast aside.   Isaiah 53:3 says,  "He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.  We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care." In John 3:18-20, Jesus tells us,  "There is no eternal doom awaiting those who trust him to save them. But those who don’t trust him have already been tried a...