14-Dec-14

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Luke 2: 15-20The shepherds heard from the angels about the birth of Jesus.  Why were these lowly men chosen to be the bearers of the good tidings?  They could have turned over after hearing the angels and gone back to sleep without the news ever going beyond the Judean hills.  They could have ‘ho-hummed’ the news away.  They could have said, Whoever believes that, I can sell him the Brooklyn Bridge.Instead they sauntered, no, they hurried off to find the babe in the manger.  Can you imagine the aura of joy and excitement filling the night?  Not only was the night made brilliant by the star, but the message itself was one of amazement.  Their message filled others with the same acceptance and joy as the shepherds felt as they told about the birth of Jesus.  They didn’t go to school and study to be excellent speakers for years, no, their message of the birth of Jesus was enough.  Can you hear person after person uttering the name, Jeshua, Jeshua, Jeshua until the night and day was filled with the whisper of angels?Then the shepherds returned to their flocks – praising and glorifying God.  The first authentic worship service rang out across the fields where even the sheep bleated their praise.  And Mary pondered all these things in her heart.David, years earlier understood — and worshiped the Creator, bowing down before our Lord who cares for us, His flock.  Let us open our ears this day and bow down in humility and joy.  Let us worship our Lord and Savior.  The whisper of, “Jeshua, Jeshua, Jeshua,”  fills the air around us as the angels rejoice with us.  Praise the Lord!The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice. Psalm 95:5-7