December 25, 2022: Luke 2:20 - Eyes to See and Ears to Hear

“Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.” - Luke 2:20

“Eyes to see and ears to hear” is a common phrase in the Bible. These shepherds believed the angel’s report they had heard for themselves of Christ the Lord being born and went to see Him for themselves, with their own eyes. They believed what the angel had said, for if they had not, surely they would not have sought to see Jesus with their own eyes.

Hundreds of years prior to Messiah’s birth, the Lord God had told the prophet Jeremiah to proclaim to His people who had forsaken Him and served foreign gods - false gods: “Hear this now, O foolish people, without understanding, who have eyes and see not, and who have ears and hear not: Do you not fear Me?” says the Lord.

As Jesus grew and at age 12 went to the temple and sat with the Jewish teachers and listened to them, “all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and His answers.”

When Jesus began His ministry at about age 30, He taught in parables. His 12 disciples asked Him why He taught in parables. Jesus said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables so that, ‘Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.’”

How many today have hardened their hearts against God so that when they hear and see what He has told and shown them do not believe? Christmas is not about believing in Santa; it is about believing in Jesus Christ, the One who gave the greatest gift we could ever be given - redemption of all sins by believing in Him, just as the shepherds did whose hearts were not hardened by the world when they heard the good news. If you have not accepted Jesus as your Savior, today will you hear, today will you see, and turn to Him, glorifying and praising Him for all you have heard and seen? ✝️

December 24, 2022: Luke 2:19 - Let Us Ponder All These Things

“But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” - Luke 2:19

Oh, the things that Mary must have been thinking about! She had traveled with her betrothed husband Joseph to a place that wasn’t her home, and had given birth to her Son who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, as the angel Gabriel had told her she would. Gabriel had said, “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Gabriel had also told her, “…that Holy One who is to be born, will be called the Son of God.”

And now, shepherds from the fields had come seeking the Babe, who is Christ the Lord, whom an angel had told them they would find lying in a manger in Bethlehem, the city of David.

As a mother, I know that during pregnancy and after our children our born, we imagine all the things our children will experience as they grow. I wonder what Mary pondered about her Son. Oh, the excitement of seeing the prophecy fulfilled of conceiving a Child and yet her betrothed husband Joseph had not yet known her; the conception of a Child born of the Holy Spirit, the Child who caused her pregnant relative Elizabeth’s baby, who was still in Elizabeth’s womb, to leap with joy when he heard Mary’s voice!

Mary was chosen by God to bring forth Jesus - Emmanuel, God with Us - for she had found favor with God. Perhaps as she experienced all these things, she recalled what Scripture had also foretold, what Isaiah the prophet had written about as he wrote down words of prophecy from God Himself. Perhaps while gazing into the eyes of her newborn Son, she recalled and pondered upon what was written before His birth and what we read now in Isaiah 53: “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”

We don’t know what she pondered in her heart but I am so very thankful that “God so loved the world that gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Like Mary, may we ponder in our hearts all these things which we have seen and heard about Jesus. If you do not know Him as your Savior, I pray you will see that truly He is the greatest gift ever given to mankind. I pray that today, you will not despise this Man of sorrows but would turn to Him, accept His free gift of redemption of sins, given to you with incomparable love and mercy, and let Him give light to you to guide your feet in the way of peace, as He did for Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds in those days long ago. ✝️

December 23, 2022: Luke 2:18 - What Will You Do with the Good News of Jesus Christ?

“And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.” - Luke 2:18

Imagine being told of the birth of Jesus, Christ the Lord, not by the Jewish religious leaders at the time but by shepherds, those who tended to sheep in the fields. I have read that it may be that the shepherds to whom the angel proclaimed the birth of Jesus were the shepherds who took care of the temple sheep that would be sacrificed at the temple in Jerusalem. One thing I have learned with reading God’s word is that there is no such thing as coincidence. Truly, there would be no greater sheep that would be sacrificed to take away our sins than Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, and what an honor it would be to be told of His birth by an angel of God and to share the good news about Him!

When the shepherds shared the good news with many, they marveled at what the shepherds told them. They were most likely Jews and had heard and read of the coming Messiah by the religious leaders, but what would they do with this news? What would they do with the proclamation that perhaps unlike their expectations that He would come as conquering King, instead He had come as a Child, born in meekness and humility in every way? Would they ponder in their hearts if this is Immanuel - God-With-Us - born of a virgin that the prophet Isaiah had written about so long ago? Is this the One whose name is called “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” and “Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end?”

They, like us today, had to decide what they would do with this good news. Would they believe in Him as Christ the Lord, sent by God above to offer a sinful world the way - the only way - out of its sin, out of their sins, out of our sins? Would they choose to believe, despite what others might say in unbelief? Yes, Jesus came the first time as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world for all who would believe in Him, but the Bible also tells us in many books of the Bible, including Revelation, that He is coming again, and this time, it will be to righteously judge those who rejected salvation and chose to remain in their sin. My question to you is, what will you do with this good news of Jesus Christ? ✝️

December 22, 2022: Luke 2:17 - Sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ

“Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.’ - Luke 2:17

The lowly shepherds had immediately gone to Bethlehem to seek the Savior, whose birth had been proclaimed to them by an angel, and they had found the Babe lying in a manger, just as they were told He would be. They heard the good news, they believed it enough that they went and sought the Lord, they found Him, and now they were ready to tell many others about Him.

This is the perfect example for the world today. Before I was saved by Jesus, I heard about God from my mother. It wasn’t anything in depth but I knew He was real and I knew about the Bible, His word. Growing up, I was always longing to know Him and I didn’t really know who Jesus was. We didn’t ever go to church, but I had this tug in my heart that wouldn’t go away. After getting married I was still seeking Him, going to a few churches along the way but left feeling empty and as though it was onlyour money they cared for and not the salvation of our souls.

In the meantime, my family had expanded with two children and I was struggling emotionally and spiritually. I was filling my life with everything but Him. Never feeling satisfied, I was filling my life with junk food when what I really needed was the bread of life. Over the years, I had started reading the Bible but had never made it past Genesis, till one day, I decided I would read the entire Bible for myself, no matter how long it took. I needed to know why Christianity is the only way to be saved; what makes it different from all the rest? It took me four years but I finally read the entire Bible, cover to cover. Yes, I was a slow reader but I was soaking it in, like a sponge, letting the living waters of life flow through me, reviving me.

I will always remember where I was, on a layover in Dallas waiting for my next flight for a work trip, when I first read Ephesians 6 that describes putting on the whole armor of God. That passage of Scripture really struck me like nothing I had ever read before. It made me realize that we truly are in a spiritual war for our souls. That is why God sent His beloved Son Jesus to offer all of us sinners a way out of our sin so that we can live a life in perfect peace with Him when we die. Our lives here on earth are but a brief stop on our way to eternity and we will spend it in one of two places: heaven or hell. For all who believe in Jesus, we will spend it in heaven with Him. For those who don’t, either by outright rejection of His free gift of salvation from sins or by not making a choice will spend it in a place called hell, eternally separated from God and all that is good, forever.

Finally one day, I accepted Jesus as my Savior. I truly believed in Him as Messiah. I finally understood what the Bible was all about: it wasn’t about knowing of Him; it was about knowing Him - Jesus. I was born again, and I was ready to share the good news with everyone I knew and even some I didn’t know. I wish I could tell you that when I did, that they all believed and turned to Him but they didn’t. I don’t know of a single one who has. Perhaps they are saved and I just don’t know, but God does.

My prayer is that like the shepherds, I will continue to share the good news, unashamedly, planting that seed of faith, and one day, that seed will be watered by another believer, and then one day, another believer will see that person who heard the good news through a planted seed of faith will accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. Then they will tell others of the good news about Him, just like the lowly shepherds did. 🙏🏻✝️

December 21, 2022: Luke 2:16 - When You Seek Him, You Will Find Him

“And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.” - Luke 2:16

God’s plan for mankind will be fulfilled; no one and no thing will ever be able to prevent it from happening. Hundreds of years before the birth of Messiah in Bethlehem, the city of David, the prophet Micah wrote about it (Micah 5:2). How could that be, especially when Joseph and Mary were living in Galilee in the city of Nazareth, where Mary was great with Child? How could this be? The answer is God Almighty. He used a Roman Caesar, Caesar Augustus to declare at that time that all people in the world must be registered, everyone to his own city.

Since Joseph was of the house and lineage of David, he took his betrothed pregnant wife Mary to Bethlehem, the city of David, to be registered. It was there in Bethlehem where Jesus, Christ the Lord, was born, fulfilling just one of hundreds of prophecies written about Him that He would fulfill.

The Holy Bible, God’s Word, is the only book ever written that prophesies events long before they happen and fulfills them with stunning accuracy. This is because the Bible is not just a book; rather, it is God’s breathed word given to chosen men to write down to tell the world of Himself, His plan for all mankind, including His chosen nation, the Jewish nation of Israel, and the Gentiles (non-Jews), and His gift of salvation from all sins for all who would believe in His only begotten Son, Jesus, Christ the Lord.

The lowly shepherds to whom the angels had proclaimed the good news of Jesus Christ went to Bethlehem to see for themselves the arrival of Messiah. They found Him exactly where the angels said He would be - in Bethlehem, lying in a manger.

As God spoke to the shepherds then, He is speaking to us now, through His Word and His Holy Spirit. Are you listening? Are you seeking Jesus? If you are, you will find Him, just as the shepherds did, and your life will be forever changed, just as theirs were. ✝️

December 20, 2022: Luke 2:15 - Seek the Lord!

“So it was when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.’” - Luke 2:15

Oh, that the world today would be like these humble shepherds who when they heard of the good news of Christ the Lord’s birth, immediately got up from where they were, even in the night in the dark fields, and went to seek Him!

The Bible tells us in Jeremiah 29:12, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” In Isaiah 55:6, “Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.” And in Zephaniah 2:3, “Seek the LORD, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the LORD’s anger.”

Clearly these shepherds were seeking the Lord even before the angel and the heavenly host of angels appeared to them and proclaimed the birth of Christ the Lord. They could have called it “fake news” and “misinformation” and not believed their Christ had been born to them that day in Bethlehem, the city of David. They could have stayed right where they were and gone on with their lives, never experiencing the joy of a changed life in one who seeks the Lord with all their heart and who finds Him.

But no, they left immediately to go and seek Him. They did not wait until it was morning; they left immediately. How many people have waited until it was too late to seek Him? How many died in unbelief? We must seek Him while He still may be found, for when we die, if we haven’t accepted His free gift of salvation, it will be too late to accept it and we will be forever separated from Him for eternity. If you’re not saved by believing in Jesus Christ as your Savior, I pray that like the shepherds, you will seek Him while He still may be found and that today will be your day of salvation. 🙏🏻 ✝️

December 19, 2022: Luke 2:13-14 - Glory to God in the Highest!

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!’” - Luke 2:13-14

Now, the angel that proclaimed the good news of Christ the Lord’s birth to the lowly shepherds, is joined by a heavenly host of angels praising God, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

The Lord Jesus is the King of kings, Lord of lords, and Lord of hosts! The Hebrew word for “hosts” is “armies,” referring to the angelic armies of heaven. God’s hand of protection over Israel through His armies of heaven has protected Israel from the beginning. How many times has Israel been on the verge of being annihilated but God intervened to save a remnant. God will never be defeated, and He will never let His chosen people be destroyed completely. That is true then and that is true now. Satan knew that Jesus would be born of the Jews, and he did everything he could to try and stop Jesus’ birth by persecuting them, and he failed every single time.

Two thousand years ago at the birth of Jesus, the One who provides the only way of redemption from sins for both Jews and Gentiles, God’s glory had come to the earth! What goodwill, love, and mercy God has shown to us sinners! Jesus truly is glory to God in the highest, for it is only through God’s goodwill that true peace - peace between each individual and God - can come and that is by believing in Jesus as who He is: God’s only begotten Son sent by God to offer salvation from sins for all who would believe.

Jesus Messiah, Emmanuel, God with us, is the only way to God the Father. Let us who believe in Him join with the heavenly host of angels and proclaim, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” 🙌🏻✝️

December 18, 2022: Luke 2:12 - Born in Humility

“And this will be the sign to you: ‘You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.’” - Luke 2:12

This is what the angel told the lowly shepherds to look for as he proclaimed the arrival of Messiah, Savior, Christ the Lord. Did Jesus arrive in birth in a grand way, surrounded by family members held in high esteem by all, in a warm cradle, with all that He could ever need?

No, Jesus arrived in such a way that would distinguish His birth from all others. Born of a virgin, in a place that wasn’t His parents’ home, and in a feeding trough for animals, for the inn was full. Jesus was wrapped in swaddling cloths, not fine garments of royalty.

From His humble birth to His last breath on the cross, Jesus lived a life of humility. His life is the complete opposite of the Devil, which is all about himself. That is how he appeals to so many, for he appeals to self and self-aggrandizing. How is our world so like him today?

Self, self, self. The “me” and the “selfie” generation. “Listen to your heart and do whatever you want as long as it makes you happy.” The Bible tells us the complete opposite. Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Look at our world today and see what living for self instead of living for Jesus has gotten us. A world of skyrocketing crime, wholesale slaughter of the unborn, perversion beyond compare, addiction, depression, suicide, emptiness. This is what the Devil wants.

Jesus left His heavenly home to come to a place that wasn’t His home, to be born in a feeding trough for animals, and to live a life of humility. His birth wasn’t in a palace or a castle, surrounded by people held in high esteem, in a warm cradle where His every need was met.

When He grew up and started His ministry of telling people the good news of His free gift of salvation of sins, through belief in Him as Messiah, He walked, talked, ate, and slept like us. He had no place to call His home.

Jesus wore no priestly garments adorned in such a manner to distinguish Himself from the “common people” as so many religious leaders did then and to this day.

From His first breath to His last, Jesus lived a life of humility. Humility is something that is rejected in our society today. Pride is the opposite of humility and pride I believe is the greatest stumbling block that keeps people from turning to Jesus.

How I pray that if you are not saved by believing in Jesus as your Savior, that you would turn away from the lies of the Devil that only lead to destruction and turn to Jesus and be saved from all your sins. Don’t let pride be that great chasm that separates you from Him forever. ✝️

December 17, 2022: Luke 2:11 - The Savior is Born

“For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” - Luke 2:11

Bible prophecy that has been fulfilled is what convinced me the Bible is real, and that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and that no one comes to God the Father except through Him. Only through Jesus can we get to heaven when we die.

Hundreds of prophecies about Jesus were made hundreds and sometimes thousands of years before He came to earth the first time. In Micah 5:2, the prophecy of Jesus coming from Bethlehem, the city of David was fulfilled when Jesus was born there.

Micah 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”

Though Joseph and Mary lived in the city of Nazareth of Galilee, they had to go to Bethlehem because of Caesar Augustus’ decree that all the world should be registered. Joseph’s lineage was of the house of David. Thus they went to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem.

There, Joseph was registered with his betrothed wife Mary, who was with child. While in Bethlehem, she gave birth to Jesus, who is Christ the Lord.

Per gotquestions.org, the specificity of “Bethlehem Ephrathah” is important because when Micah wrote this, “there were two locations known as Bethlehem.” And “it specifies the Bethlehem in Judah.” Joseph was of the house of David the tribe of Judah.

https://www.gotquestions.org/Micah-5-2-Messianic.html

Micah 5:2 also indicates “The One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” This ties to John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.”

Isaiah 9:6-7, 42:1, 53, and 62:1-3 were fulfilled when Jesus Messiah was born. I ask you this: if He fulfilled all these prophecies and more, will He not fulfill the ones yet to be fulfilled, the ones of His second coming when at that time, He won’t come as a Lamb but as a Lion.

Jesus came the first time as a Lamb to offer salvation from sins to all who would believe in Him as Messiah. The second time He comes, it will be as a Lion to righteously judge all who rejected Him and believed Satan’s lies. I pray you accept Jesus’ gift of salvation today. 🙏🏻✝️

December 16, 2022: Luke 2:10 - Good Tidings of Great Joy

“Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.’” - Luke 2:10

An angel of the Lord appeared not to the Jewish religious leaders but to humble shepherds, keeping watch over their sheep, to bring to them the good news of the birth of Messiah, the good shepherd, the One who would give His life for the sheep.

The shepherds were chosen first to hear the good news about Jesus the Christ because as with them, whose flocks knew their voice, and they knew their sheep, and their sheep followed them, so would Jesus know His sheep, and we who know Him know His voice, and we follow Him.

This chapter of Luke lovingly demonstrates that religion can’t save anyone. Only the good shepherd can save us. Religion puffs up but faith in Jesus Christ humbles, for no matter how “good” we think we are, we are filthy compared to the glory of Jesus.

Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, is the greatest gift ever given to mankind. He is our good news, for He offers salvation from sin. He breaks the bondage of sin that keeps us from living our lives the way God planned it to be, both here and in eternity.

Is Jesus your good shepherd? Have you accepted His free gift of salvation? Does He know you? Do you know Him and His voice? Are you following Him or are you like so many who are like sheep without a shepherd and who have gone astray?

I pray you cry out to Him like a lost sheep, listen to His voice as He calls you safely to the shelter of His rod and His staff that will comfort you, and follow Him all the days of your life, where goodness and mercy will follow you, and you will dwell in His house forever. 🐑🙏🏻✝️

December 15, 2022: Mark 6:31

“And He [Jesus] said to them, ‘Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.’” - Mark 6:31

Jesus loved His disciples then, and He loves His disciples now. He took care of them and knew when they needed rest. Jesus cares not only for our spiritual needs but also our physical needs.

When we rest our earthly bodies and meditate on God’s word, it refreshes our heart in the Lord. Life in this world is difficult, even for believers in Christ, perhaps more so because we walk in darkness, shining His light among the mockers and scoffers, as in the days of Noah.

Let us not grow weary and remember to take time to rest in Him, letting His Holy Spirit revive us and prepare us for another day of sharing the good news of Jesus the Christ, Emmanuel, God with us. ✝️

December 14, 2022: Psalm 32:1

“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” - Psalm 32:1

In this psalm, David contrasts a life with and without confession of sins to God. In verses 1-2, he acknowledges the blessings that come from being forgiven of sins by God. It truly means to be blessed.

David knew what it was like to be deep in sin and not confessing it to God. His sin drained him, taking his vitality from him. That’s what sin does. It might seem fun at first, but sin is a destroyer, draining the life from us. How many of us have been there?

How many of us wanted to do it our way? After all, there was even a hit song written called “My Way.” God will let us do it our way, for He will not harness us like a horse or mule to do it His way. He will let us experience the consequences of our sin, like any good Father.

And when we finally get to the point when we realize what a mess we have made of our lives, and sadly most never reach this point, when we turn to Him and ask Him to forgive us, His grace, mercy and love are poured out on us. He was there waiting for us all along to turn to Him.

He was waiting for us to see that oh how we need Him in our lives, every day, every hour, every minute, every second; oh, how we need Him. Have you been blessed by God’s forgiveness of your sins? Have you been freed from the weight of sin? If not, I pray you turn to Him today. ✝️