Jesus Paid It All

But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.  (Isaiah 53:5)

I think about that a lot, that Jesus paid it all for me.  That he was crucified, that he died so that I could live.  That my name was on his heart and mind when he cried “Father, forgive them.”  Yours was too, he paid it all for you as well.  I think about how he came down here to this broken world as a man, born of poor parents, humbled himself to become a simple carpenter’s son.  Yet his birth was announced by angels from on high to lowly shepherds tending their sheep.  It was announced to the three wise men from afar by a brilliant glorious star.  He was hated to the point of maniacal rage by an evil king and later by the Jewish leaders.  He was tempted, persecuted, abandoned, denied, rejected, murdered – he was wholly innocent, pure and free from sin, a perfect lamb to be sacrificed for the forgiveness of sin.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  (John 3:16-17)

He paid it all for us while we were yet sinners, still dead in our sin, still rejecting, denying, still holding the hammer in our bloody hands.

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  (Romans 5:8)

When we were lost in our sin we were just as responsible for every mark on our Lord’s body as those who actually beat, tortured, crucified him.  But he prayed to God for our forgiveness even as he was hanging from that cross on Calvary.

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.  (Luke 23:34)

Knowing that, really knowing it, in my heart, my soul.  I feel ashamed, ashamed of my part in his death – so nasty, so brutal, so undeserved.  I also feel immense gratitude, thankfulness, joy!  Because he loves me, always has always will, even though I rejected him for so long, denied him just as Peter did.  But one day I stopped denying, just for a second and that’s when it hit me, grace.  God came to earth, died and rose again on the third day to bring grace to the world.  A world that didn’t want it, but needed it in the worst possible way.  A world that all too often rejects the price Jesus paid on it’s behalf, sinners lost in their sin, in love with it, worshiping it and themselves.  When I realized that I was broken, I knew what I was, what I had done, and where I was headed.  I was utterly, wretchedly, hopelessly lost.  But this still small voice was whispering that yes on my own that was true there was no hope in the dark world where I had been living.  But if I just look up, look to the light then there is hope, there is forgiveness, salvation, grace!  Undeserved, unearned, freely given, a gift above all gifts, grace in the Lord Jesus Christ, the light unto the world that gave His life to save mine.  Jesus paid it all, to Him I owe it all!

Walk in the Light of the Lord

 

I love the book of Isaiah.  Something about the way he just gets right to it, right to the whole point, the whole reason, right to Jesus!  I love it.  For instance the passage I was studying tonight there were already hints in chapter 1 and then boom, chapter 2 gets right down to it.  In 2:2 the founding of the christian church of Jesus’s followers is foretold and that not only will it be for the Jews but all nations shall flow into it.  ALL!  That includes the gentiles.  Isaiah got it in a big way and knew how to tell it as such.  We should all be more like Isaiah.

And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.  (Isaiah 2:2)

The last days referred to here is two-fold.  First, it refers to the church age, which we are in now, where Jesus’ disciples preached the good news of the Gospel far and wide, as if from a mountain top.  The Gospel of Christ which is unshakeable as the mountains, as strong and sturdy, sure and true, yet it is greater than any mountain, more majestic, more thrilling, more life giving!  And of course it is for the whole world – all of it, all of us!

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  (John 3:16)

It doesn’t say that the Jews who believeth in Jesus, it says whosoever, that means all, any, me and you.

This passage also refers to the coming messianic kingdom when Christ returns to set up His millennial reign.  For 1000 years Christ will rule from Jerusalem, the seat of His kingdom which will be established on Mt. Zion.  He will live and dwell among us and all nations shall go there yearly to worship the Lord.  From Mt. Zion He will teach, lead, guide, judge, rule.  He will be just and perfect and the earth will finally know true peace.  We know a type of peace now in that the Jews and Gentiles are united in faith in Christ and the love of God.  But it’s a fragile peace that only includes those of each group who are believers, not all those who reject God and or the Gospel.  So it is not the true peace yet to come.
And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.  (Isaiah 2:3)

During the 1000 year reign of Christ on earth He will judge the nations, we will finally know true justice.  He shall rebuke or punish many transgressors as he restores the world to the former peace and joy it was created with.  The nations will know peace, true peace the world over, and they will rejoice beating  their swords and spears into tools.
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.  (Isaiah 2:4)

So we are told to share the good news, the light, by proclaiming the gospels before the entire world.  We should be telling everyone we meet, shouting the good news every chance we get.  Whether it’s a clerk in a store or just the stranger beside you on the street.  Don’t hide the light of Christ, take it out and share it with the world.

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
(Matthew 5:14-15)

O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.  (Isaiah 2:5)

The Fear of the Lord

Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.  (Psalms 34:11)

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!  (Psalms 111:10)

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.  (Proverbs 1:7)

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.  (Proverbs 9:10)

That’s what God has done for me, taught me to fear him.  Not fear like cower in terror but fear as in respect, revere, look on in awe and wonder, honor, obey, strive to please.  I do truly fear the thought of displeasing God.  When I pray I always ask that he lead and guide me that my life might bring honor and glory to His name.  My greatest desire is to stand before Him when I am judged and hear Him say “Well done.”  I try to live my life with that goal in mind, because if I do so then I know that I am about my Father’s work, winning souls to His kingdom.

The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.
(Psalms 19:7-9)

It’s also something I try very hard to instill in my son, in fact my greatest prayer for him is that he his life be pleasing to God, wholly devoted to serving our father in heaven.  In fact each year when I plan our school year out I take that into consideration.  See we homeschool and that gives us the freedom to have God be the heart of our homeschool, after all the whole purpose of education is to know God and make Him known.  Since He is the creator of all things then He is at the heart of them as well.  That includes all the subjects we study – He is science, math, history, reading, writing, etc.  He is in it all, the author of it all, and without Him as the foundation then it’s empty, vain knowledge.  In fact if you remove God from His rightful place in education you are left with an empty, hollow, system which fails to give any true insight into the world and why we’re in it.  You can’t remove the Creator without harming the creation and you can’t properly learn about the creation without learning about, and knowing, the creator.

I have to admit it’s not always easy to be a christian homeschooling family – some people don’t get it.  And they don’t care to tell me that either.  But it’s ok, I know not everyone will get it and that some will be openly hostile to it.  That’s their problem, not mine. I am answering the call God has put on families and He is ultimately the only true authority to whom I am accountable.  Come judgement day when I stand before the throne I do not want to be asked why I disobeyed on a task and responsibility clearly given.  So over the last three years on this home education journey I have spent much time in the Word backing up this call with scripture, it is full of references and verses relating to a parent’s duty to educate their children.  Here’s just a few of my favorites.

 

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.  (Proverbs 22:6)

Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;  (Deuteronomy 4:9)

Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
(Psalms 34:11)

Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.  (Proverbs 9:9)

I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. (Psalms 78:2-3)

 

As you can see the Word is clear – we are to teach our children to fear the Lord, knowledge of the Lord, to teach them about God.  If you are a parent I ask you to dig into the scriptures, look for the numerous instances where parents are told to teach their children, train their children, raise them up and prayerfully study them.  Seek God’s will for your family and consider the call to bring them home to get a true education.  One that will bring honor and glory to God while leading your children in Jesus’ footsteps.  After all the hands the chubby little hands folded in prayer as you teach, read and lead today will be big teen hands in the blink of an eye.  Enjoy them now, make memories with them as you teach them and love them as only the family God chose for them can.

I will be posting on this subject periodically, as I know how challenging this journey  can be and I want to help others along it.  It’s not hard, believe me you can do it when you put God at the center and allow Him to lead and guide you.  Phillipians 4:13 is the motto around here!  Having a friend along the way to help keep your eyes focused on the Lord can really help though.  I will gladly be that friend to you all, if you have any questions, concerns, want to know more, whatever just comment on this post and I will be happy to help any way I am able and to pray for your family.

As always may the Lord bless and keep you.

Merry Christmas

It’s Christmas Day, the day we celebrate our dear Savior’s birth, our King’s birth.  The day we pause to ponder the significance of one tiny baby boy, dressed in rags, lying in a manger, born of a virgin in a stable.  Yet, foretold by prophets, announced by angels and a whole heavenly host, visited by shepherds and Magi.  Welcomed by a few, rejected by many, needed by all.  A tiny baby boy whose birth changed the world, flipped it upside down, turned the tables on the curse of sin and death.  Hope, pure love, eternal life, promise all in that tiny baby, Jesus.

I have thought a lot about that this year how God came down to earth, made himself human in the form of a baby.  A baby dependent on his sweet momma for nourishment, love, care, all those things we momma’s are so good at and his carpenter daddy for protection, strength, support, guidance, love, all those things daddy’s are so good at. 

I picture him growing up from the tiny helpless babe wrapped in swaddling clothes in the manger to a toddling, rambunctious tot to an inquisitive questioner anxious to learn all about his father’s world.  I think back to each stage of my own son’s life and know that Mary and Joseph must have had similar memories of their time with God’s Son.  Moments that made them laugh, cry, most likely yell a time or two but then again this is the Son of God, God himself so maybe no yelling.  Well, I would just about bet that there was yelling when He was found teaching in the synagogue at the tender age of 12 – father’s house or no I bet those parents were filled with fear, anxiety, doubt and yes, anger .  They were also filled with overflowing love, wonder at the way their boy taught, what he had to say, and the fact that they could no longer deny that their Jesus was God’s Jesus sent here to do His work.  They must have felt unimaginable awe, wonder and even fear at what the future would hold for this Son of God.  Their baby boy.

But mostly I think about the wonder of it all.  That God loved us so very much He humbled himself to become one of us, to experience life as we do.  I mean, he’s God he could have come at any age, but he chose to come to earth as the most humble, helpless, defenseless age – an infant.  That’s love.   We had messed up our chance to be near to him back in the garden so He decided to come here to be near to us, wash us clean, make us whole – but in doing so He did it in a way that let Him become like us, a perfect example for us to model our lives after before He became the perfect sacrifice for our sins, thus conquering death and the grave giving us eternal life with God, enabling us to be near to the Lord once more.  Giving us a million reasons to rejoice, shout Hallelujah, to praise God with our every breathe.  For our eternal salvation was once a baby boy!

Merry Christmas! Let’s rejoice for our King has come and will come again!

Nothing Will Be Impossible

For with God nothing shall be impossible.  (Luke 1:37)

That’s what the angel Gabriel told young Mary when he came to her announcing that she was favored among women by God and would thus bear His Son.

And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
(Luke 1:30-33)

Just picture this scene – a young girl, betrothed to her beloved but yet a virgin, is visited by the angel Gabriel. That’s shocking enough, I mean, have you paid attention to what it says in the Bible about angels, it’s gonna be a memorable day for sure if one shows up before you.  But not only did she get a visit by an angel but she was then informed she had found favor with God and was going to do the impossible, for her, have a baby.  Not just any baby though, God’s own Son, Jesus!  Now that’s a message fit for an angelic deliverer!  A message that we still rejoice and celebrate today.

We still celebrate it today because even though Mary was surely surprised maybe even a little frightened of her angelic visitor and certainly perplexed and confused by his message.  Being a virgin and all having a baby definitely seemed an impossibility to her.

Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?  (Luke 1:34)

But Gabriel was expecting that and he reminds sweet Mary that this is God, the Highest of High, the Most Mighty, the Creator of all – including Mary herself – and placing a special precious baby in a virgins womb is piece of cake for Him.

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible.
(Luke 1:35-37)

And Mary instead of saying “What! Are you crazy?  I am not having a kid, I mean what would people say?  What will Joseph say?  Uhn-huh!  Nope! No Way!”   That might have been what Mary would say today but girls were a lot different 2000 years ago.  A lot!  Mary had found favor with God though so obviously she trusted God, relied on God, obeyed God.  So she simply says ok Lord, your will not mine.

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.  (Luke 1:38)

May we all be like Mary everyday.  Because Mary said let it be according to your word we have hope, we have a promise, we have a Savior!

Victory

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:5-8)

Who God Is

One day when my son was younger he asked a hard question at the time.  Mom, who is God?  I was a new believer at this point and was still sorting that out myself so I hesitated a moment to give God time to lead me to the answer.  I asked why he asked that and he responded that his 1st grade teacher at the local public school had told him God and Jesus weren’t real, they were just stories like Santa, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy.  Ok!  Well, I had some damage control to do, and I again felt that we were not following God’s will by sending our precious son to public school.  I am stubborn though so it took me a while to head that call, sorry I digress, back to the question Who is God?

God is wisdom, love, knowledge, omnipotent, omnipresent, all knowing, all powerful!  The Creator of all that is, was, and will be.  He is our Father, our hero, our existence, our life, our sustenance  God is our friend, comforter, leader, lover, hope.  He is our judge, our law giver, our ruler, our source of all wisdom and knowledge.  Our fortress, rock, redeemer, strength, stronghold, unshakable foundation.  God is the Alpha and Omega, First and Last, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  He is, he is God, He is my God and that’s enough for me.

It was enough for that 7 year old boy too.  He went to his teacher the next day and tried in a child’s innocent earnest way to shake the scales of unbelief from her eyes.  Did she commit her life to God then?  No, but a seed was planted by one persons careless scoffing and 4 years later that same boy gave his life to the Lord!  Today he spends a good deal of his time studying the word and learning to defend his faith so that the next time he has an opportunity to speak truth and life he will be ready.

 

God is good all the time and all the time God is good

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Life is hard sometimes, full of challenges, worries, fears, doubts.  For instance the last few months we’ve had vehicle issues that have drained what little money reserves we had, add to that the rising cost of food in our area and having to drive our truck which has a rather large drinking problem and, well, our budget is stretched to the transparency point.  My husband has a good job, it suits him very well, and that job has played a major role to leading all three of us to Christ.  Being a facilities manager isn’t the highest paid job in the world however so when life’s little emergencies arise it is hard for us. In fact at the beginning of this month I was really getting worried about how I was going to fill the belly of my pre-teen, bottomless pit, eating machine boy.  So I prayed like always, prayed hard, prayed ceaselessly in my heart that He would be with us, lead us guide us, provide for our needs, that His will be done in our lives.  On the evening it was reaching critical point a dear friend and neighbor (who knew nothing of our situation) dropped by with 2 big boxes and a couple bags of fruits and vegetables that they didn’t need.  It provided exactly enough to carry us through with what we had on hand still.  God is good all the time and all the time God is good.

That night at Prayer meeting I offered praise to my Lord for His blessings and tender mercies for my family and I thought of all that He has done for us – not just my family but all of us, every soul who has ever lived on this amazing creation of His.  I serve a God who loves me, loves you, loves us!  He loves us so much He created an entire stunning universe in a single spoken sentence just so He could put our awe inspiring galaxy in the midst of it with the exact solar system needed for our breathtakingly beautiful planet built just for us to be our home custom designed to meet our every little need!  That’s love folks, that’s awesome, beautiful, stronger, more powerful than I can possibly begin to fathom love.  That’s the love God has for me, his creation.  For you, his creation.

If He loves us so much He created an entire universe, a universe so large we can’t even begin to truly know just how big it is, so gloriously stunning in it’s beauty, then why do we try so hard to handle it all on our own, do it all ourselves.  Why do we even think we can?  That’s not what God wants us to do.  He didn’t create us so we would spend our days worrying, struggling, fighting, sliding, depressed, fearful, hopeless, lost.  No, He created us so He could shower us with His blessings, His grace, His kindness, His love!  He provided for our every possible need, knew it from the beginning of creation, and set it in place before molding man and breathing the breath of life into his nostrils.  He even provided for our entertainment, you ever just looked up at the sky at night, it’s astounding the beauty of the heavens.  They truly do declare His glory!  Trust me if He thought of all that, we have nothing to fear or worry about.  I know that my God, my Creator, my Savior has got this all in the palm of His hand and he is not gonna let it drop!

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
(Matthew 6:25-34)

 

Rejoice!

For several weeks our Sunday school teacher has opened with this verse as a gentle reminder that we need to thank God for our blessings not grumble about our trials.  I always whisper it along with him, smiling over every word.  It’s long been a favorite go to passage of mine.  Every since I opened a carton of eggs one day years ago to scramble some for breakfast and glanced at the carton.  There on the inside of the lid was these words of hope, joy, promise and celebration!  I wasn’t rejoicing that morning, far from it, seemed everything was off, nothing going quite right.  But I read that verse, saying it softly to myself, then I looked out the kitchen window as I thought about it for a second.  Right then I saw the momma robin who’d built her nest above our back porch light perch on the edge of the nest as three fuzzy, hungry little beaks reached eagerly for the worm she was about to puke into their mouths.  Right then it hit me – rejoice! God’s got this, He’s in control, it’s all His plan.  Stop whining over spilled milk, smile, know God loves you… and thank Him that you aren’t having to puke up worms to feed your baby.

Sometimes life is hard, messy, not a lot of fun.  But no matter how hard it gets we still have so very much to rejoice about.  We’re alive, we are drawing breath into our lungs, smelling the smells around us.  We have a God in heaven who created us, who loves us who sent His only son to save us.  We have a Savior who obeyed his Father, took our place on the cross and died for us.  That right there is reason enough to rejoice!  Jesus paid our debt, set us free, offers us mercy, grace.  Through him we know we can face each and every day.

No problem is too big, too hard, to painful for God to bring us through it when we place our trust, our hearts in His loving hands.  For we know that:

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.  (Romans 8:28)

Smile, know the Lord loves you, for…

This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.  (Psalms 118:24)

 

King of Kings, Wrapped In Rags

A few nights ago I shared on of my favorite songs, Mary Did You Know, and asked you to listen to it and really think about what it’s saying.  Did Mary really know that that sweet, precious baby was God come to earth!  Did she get it, realize what was to come?

Did she know that that cooing, squirming innocent one was the Innocent one who could take our sins, her sins?  That He would one day be mocked, tortured, beaten then mercilessly hung from the cross, crucified, to pay a debt He didn’t owe.  As she heard his first whimpers and cries did she know that one day He would cry out to God His father to forgive those who nailed Him to that tree at Calgary, by the way He didn’t just mean  the Romans or the Jews, He meant me and you too.  Or did she look at the perfect gift from God and just feel the love all mama’s feel for their perfect little ones?  Did she hold Him close, breathe that sweet pure baby smell, nurse her child, rocking him gently as she pondered all that being the mom to the Son of God meant, all that her child, her sleeping bundle of joy would do in His 33 years?

God has really laid this on my heart this Christmas, that Mary was just a young mom, with an awesome responsibility – to birth and raise God’s son!  Maybe it’s because this year my own son gave His life to the Lord and is quickly moving from a child to a preteen and I am remembering my sweet baby bird, who’s now as tall as me!  But Luke 2:19 speaks to me, it tickles the back of my mind and my heart, almost makes me weep for sweet Mary.  That young mother so wonderfully happy, beautifully exhausted, lovingly terrified, who has just given birth to God’s own son in a lowly stable because she and her espoused husband Joseph were poor and in a town not even their own, at the end of a long and wearisome journey to be taxed and counted in Bethlehem.  They arrive with Mary ready to deliver the Mighty God upon whose shoulders the government shall one day rest and they can’t even find a proper bed for her to labor in.  No one would open their doors or their hearts to this poor young family, for the coming king!  So they did what they had too, I imagine her time was drawing nigh and Joseph was desperate to find a warm, dry place to give his beloved a place to give birth and somewhere the tender new babe would be safe and secure.  All he could find was a stable, it would have to do.  Her son whom God had entrusted to her out of all the women on earth and she gave birth to him with the cattle.  Then she wrapped the perfect, precious babe in swaddling clothes, that’s a nice way of saying rags ya know.  That’s right the King of Kings, Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, Savior of the world was born in a barn, wrapped in rags and slept in a manger.

 

Not exactly the entrance into this world you would think of for the most memorable, amazing, revolutionary, radical person to ever live.  Yet, it’s perfect, after all Jesus was a radical teaching things like the first would be last and the last first.  He was a revolutionary talking of a kingdom no eye has seen where He is going soon to prepare a place for us.  A stable, rags and a manger somehow it was just right.  God’s funny that way, he works wonders in the humblest ways.  I mean when I really think of it, if they had been in an inn it sure would have been harder for the shepherd’s to reach them, all tucked away in a crowded building with people everywhere.  People and noise and chaos – not exactly a peaceful place to deliver a child.  On the contrary the stale was quiet, the animals all gathered round, curious yet gentle as the new family shares it’s first moments together.  Gentle moos, baas, and brays were the accompaniment to Mary and Joseph’s first tender, loving lullabies that our new born Savior heard.  Sweet smelling hay was a warm snug bed once the wee one had fed and was sleeping soundly, wrapped in those rags.  Rags that were worn soft with age and use but clean, easy to wrap around the tiny arms and legs, against new baby soft skin, and warm.  That night those rags were fit for a King.  The scene was perfectly set for the new family to catch their breathes, maybe a little rest, and just bask in those first precious moments with their son, God’s Son.

Moments that were short, fleeting because even as they are tasting love, trust and hope outside town God’s own heavenly host is spreading the good news to some visitors to come welcome His boy to the world.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  (Luke 2:8-12)

See the perfect place, God always has a plan.

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, good will toward men.  (Luke 2:13-14)

Can you just picture the sight, a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, proclaiming His glory, announcing His Son.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.  (Luke 2:15-16)

They came with haste, quickly, sparing no time, rushing, excitedly.  They had just been visited by God’s own angels and told that they need to go meet His own Son, I bet they came on the run alright.

And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.  And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.  (Luke 2:17-18)

Those simple shepherds were the first preachers, they were the first to share the good news, the Son of God, Prince of Peace, Savior of the world.  Whom they just saw in lying wrapped in rags.  The King of Kings, wrapped in rags, come to this sin cursed earth to be crucified on a tree for the sins of the world, laid to rest in a tomb in a garden to rise up resurrected on the third day offering the world eternal life through faith in Him.  The same God that rose Him from the grave created us, loves us, wants to be in fellowship with us.  But ever since that fateful day in the garden of Eden when Adam sinned and brought death into the world, we’ve been separated from God, our sin, rebellion, keeping us apart from our Creator, our Father.  It broke His heart that there was a veil keeping us from drawing near one to the other in closeness, fellowship, relationship.  So He fixed things, made them new, right.

God the Father sent his Son so you don’t have to die.  You too can have the gift, the grace, the mercy, the hope, the joy, the peace of eternal life.  Simply believe.  Believe in that sweet baby.  Born in the lowly stable, born in poverty, not even a proper bed.  But born with a mighty purpose, a mission to fulfill.  Born with angels from heaven proclaiming the good news, literally shouting with praise and glory!  Born to obey his Father even unto death, conquering death, defeating death – giving life!  Offering every soul on earth mercy, grace, rebirth through repentance of sin and faith in Christ.  Be born again this Christmas in that manager beside the King!