Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

I'm Mike Whitmer, and I entitled today's reading, Room for Jesus.

I loved my weekend in New Orleans, happening upon a parade in the French quarter,

visiting the National World War II

Museum, and trying grilled oysters. But as I fell asleep in my friend's spare room, I missed my

wife and kids. I enjoy opportunities to preach in other cities, but I most enjoy being home.

One aspect of Jesus' life that is sometimes overlooked is how many of his most important events happened on the road.

The Son of God entered our world in Bethlehem,

and in calculable distance from his heavenly home and far from his family's hometown of Nazareth.

Bethlehem was overflowing with extended family in town for the census.

So Luke says there wasn't even a spare Cataluma or guest room available.

What was missing at Jesus' birth did show up at his death.

As Jesus led his disciples into Jerusalem, he told Peter and John to prepare for their

Passover meal. They should follow a pitcher-carrying man to his home and ask the owner for the

Cataluma, the guest room where Christ and his disciples

could eat the last supper. There, in barled space, Jesus instituted what is now called

communion, which foreshadowed his looming crucifixion. We love home, but if we travel with the Spirit of Jesus,

even a guest room can be a place of communion with him.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Luke chapter 2, verses 1 through 7.

In those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.

This was the first census that took place while Corinius was governor of Syria.

And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in

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