From Cradle to King

(The Crown Series)

FROM CRADLE TO KING

By Ronnie Dauber

Copyright © 2016 Ronnie Dauber

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used by any means, graphic, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and book reviews.

Printed in the United States of America

2018

All scriptures referenced are quoted directly from the New King James Bible unless otherwise specified

Author Credits:

Author of:

God’s Calling: It’s for You (2016)

NO Compromise, Biblical Answers to Some of Today’s Issues (2015)

Let Faith Arise (first edition 2012)

Let Faith Arise (revised edition 2016)

Books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

Smashwords at http://smashwords.com

or

Ronnie Dauber’s website

http://www.ronniedauber.ca

or

at all Amazon stores

ISBN - 978-0-9949370-2-5

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my husband and best friend, Eric Dauber, for his love and support that encouraged me as I wrote this book.

I’d also like to thank my dear friend and professional illustrator Mishel McCumber for her fantastic creation of the book cover that so clearly sets out the story within its pages.

I’d especially like to thank the Lord for choosing me to write this book to further His gospel, and for giving me the opportunity to share His message with children, teens, adults and new believers alike.

Praise the Lord!

Dedication

To all of my children and grandchildren, that they will realize the unconditional love that God has for them.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Table of Contents

Introduction

Ice Cream, Lucas and a Bribe

A Perfect World

The First Sin

The First Lie

A New Life

Sin Spreads across the Earth

A King is Born

The Long Journey

Noise, Peace and a Clear Sky

The Night Jesus was Born

The Wise Men

Revenge of an Angry King

Jesus Goes Missing

They Meet at the Jordon River

The Three Temptations of Jesus

Jesus Picks His Disciples

The Sermon on the Mount

The Miracles of Jesus

The Parables of Jesus

Angry Leaders

The Last Supper

An Hour of Agony

Jesus Dies on the Cross

The Greatest Miracle of All

Jesus Goes to Heaven

A King is Coming!

The Sinner’s Prayer

Welcome…..

Introduction

There have been many books written on the life of Jesus and some of us might cringe at the thought of another one being published. But this book is different! You are going to love it!

It’s written with simplicity and easy understanding so that you can enjoy the story and learn the truth about Jesus along the way! No big theologian explanations and no guesses by an author that doesn’t know the facts. I have studied the Bible intensely and written prayerfully so that the biblical events in this book are accurate and supported by scripture—and I’ve used my imagination in its presentation so that you’ll enjoy the story as told by Grandpa.

This is the story of Jesus and it begins in the garden with Adam and Eve. I did this so that readers can make the connection between the promise of God to Eve, and the birth and death of Jesus our King. And again, it’s written so anyone can understand it so there won’t be any misunderstandings or confusion with the biblical truth.

I started writing this book for children, but soon realized that teens, young adults, and new believers could also benefit from reading this book. In fact, anyone who doesn’t know the Bible or who is searching for the truth of who Jesus is will be blessed and will learn about our Lord. Sometimes new believers—and even old stubborn ones—don’t want to study or don’t know how to study the Bible, and they rely on others to teach them. So what better way to get them introduced to the truth than to give them a book that’s fun and easy to read, and explains it!

This book is a story within a story as Grandpa reads it to his grandson who has a million questions—and as many obvious modern-day suggestions. This is my way of explaining the biblical truth about Jesus and helping readers learn that a compromised gospel or modern religion is not the same as good old-fashioned gospel truth. And it’s my way of keeping the readers in tune with God so they can learn to separate fact from fantasy.

I believe that this is an excellent book because it will help readers understand the when’s and why’s and who’s of the Bible; the details that many don’t pursue on their own and that they need to know. And through it, readers will learn the reality of God and the love He has for us.

And to make the read more interesting, there’s the innocence of a child’s questions mingled with a bit of humor as Grandpa explains some of the details. And his explanations really help to give credence to the reality of the life of Jesus.

I hope that you will enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. So get comfy and dig into the adventure, From Cradle to King!

…Ronnie Dauber

Chapter 1

Ice Cream, Lucas and a Bribe

Hi, Grandpa! What’s in the bag?

Grandpa smiled at Lucas as he closed the bedroom door quietly behind him.

Give me a second. Let me get my coat off first and then I’ll show you.

Grandpa put the brown paper bag on the edge of Lucas’ bed and then took his bulky trench coat off and laid it across the footboard. By the time he had pulled the chair closer, Lucas was sitting up in his bed and straightening the sheets.

Is it for me, Grandpa? Did you bring me a present?

Grandpa chuckled as he opened the bag slowly just to bug Lucas. Are you getting enough ice cream, Son? Because I heard that ice cream really helps to heal the throat when you’ve had your tonsils taken out.

Oh, yeah! Lots of ice cream. That’s all I eat. I never thought there was a good side to this. Mom just keeps bringing it in.

And of course you lay it on her that the throat hurts more than it does, right?

Lucas giggled. Maybe a little, but she doesn’t know. She thinks I’m still in so much pain and then just keeps giving me more.

Grandpa reached into his bag and pulled out a tub of double chocolate ice cream. Well, this is your lucky day because I brought this for you.

Lucas’ eyes lit up and he immediately reached for it, but before he could touch it Grandpa pulled it away.

Ah-ah! Not so fast. It’s a lot of ice cream and I thought you could eat it slowly while I read you a story.

Lucas cringed and then whined, Not another medieval story about a princess.

You don’t have much confidence in your old grandpa, do you?

Well, it’s just that…

Yeah, I know. You want a story with lots of action, and a bit of suspense, some emotion but not too much, right? No kissing or stuff like that. And you want it to have a happy ending. Well, I have the perfect story for you.

Grandpa leaned over to his coat and pulled out a book from one of the pockets. He held it with both hands in front of Lucas and grinned from ear to ear as he nodded. Lucas gasped and his eyes bugged out.

Grandpa, this isn’t a story; it’s a book! You’re going to read me a whole book?

Well, why do you think I brought you so much ice cream?

This is a bribe, isn’t it Grandpa? If I want the ice cream I have to listen to the whole book, right?

Yep!

Why do you always do things like this?

Like what? I thought you’d like me to read you a story since you’re locked away in this bedroom all by yourself, so bored and too tired to read by yourself.

Lucas scrunched his face. Well, what if I don’t want to hear the story?

Grandpa shrugged his shoulders and raised his eyebrows. Then he reached for the brown paper bag and shook it open. Lucas began to flap his hands anxiously.

No, no. Grandpa, it’s okay. I’ll listen. I’m sorry. Can I have the ice cream now?

Are you sure? Because I don’t want to force you to stay awake if you really just want to be alone in this quiet bedroom all by yourself with no ice cream.

Lucas glanced at his favorite flavor of ice cream and then looked up into Grandpa’s big brown eyes and smiled. Okay, but make it sound exciting, okay?

That’s better. Okay, here’s your spoon. Are you comfortable?

Yeah, I am. Oh, this is so yummy. You bring good ice cream, Grandpa.

Good. Okay then. Let’s get started. This book is called, From Cradle to King, by Ronnie Dauber. Okay, before I go any further, you should know that this author is a Christian. She likes to write books to help people know about God, and this book is her very first book in a series of books about Bible characters. See her picture? Let me read you a bit about her.

It’s okay, Grandpa. I believe you. Can we just start with the story?

Oh, okay. Well, this book is about Jesus, about Christmas. He was born in a manger and was destined to be our king. Good so far?

Yeah, but Grandpa, I already know this. I go to Sunday school, remember? He was born in a manger with animals all around him and people said he would grow up to be a king.

"Yes, but you’ll learn some things from this book that you might not have learned in Sunday school. Lots of details about Jesus and His birth that you probably don’t know. And I bet when we’re finished reading this book, you’ll be glad you learned them because there’s a lot more to Jesus than most of us know about.

Like what?

Well, did you know that this little baby grew up and did all kinds of miracles? I guess most people would call it magic, but it’s not magic. It’s bigger than magic.

Wow! I didn’t know that.

And did you know that He came from Heaven and that He’ll come back one day to get us and take us to Heaven?

He will?

And one day he’s going to be king and…..never mind. Don’t answer with your mouth full ‘cause you’re going to get ice cream on the sheets and you’ll get me in a lot of trouble with your mom. Just sit back; enjoy the ice cream and the story.

Chapter 2

A Perfect World

Many years ago, God created a beautiful garden and He called it Eden. He planted this garden in the Middle East somewhere near the country of Iraq, close to Mt. Zion. No one today knows the exact location, but the Bible tells us in Genesis 2:10-14 that a river ran through Eden and then divided into four rivers. These rivers are the Pison, the Gihon, the Hiddekel and the Euphrates. This gives us a general idea of where God planted this earthly paradise.

Grandpa, if we know the names of the rivers, why can’t we just look on a map and find Eden?

One sentence into the book and you’re already asking questions! It’s because rivers change over the years, Lucas. You know that stream at the back of my house, the one that changed its direction a bit after we had that really big storm last year?

Yeah, the one with the awesome rocks!

Yeah, that one. Well, that happens to big rivers, too. And you remember the story about Noah and the Ark, and how God made it rain for a long time and the whole world was covered in water because of a flood?

Yes, we’re doing a project on Noah in Sunday school.

"That’s good. Anyway, when the rain stopped and the floods finally disappeared, these big rivers changed their direction a bit, too, because the ground all around them changed. They may have even changed a lot so they aren’t in the exact same place or flowing in the same route that they did before the flood.