December 24 – Luke 2:8-38; Matthew 2:1-12
Jesus, our Savior King, we praise You for You are Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace!!!! We thank You for You secure our peace! We fall before You in worship and adoration. Draw near to us, Lord of all.
We have arrived at the Eve of Christmas!!!
The scene is set. A baby is born and set into a manger, cooing with the barn animals. Clothed in tattered cloth, seemingly camouflaged into His surroundings. Quiet. Unseen. Unheard. In the cover of night. Stealthy. The most extraordinary chess move played. A perfect move on the battlefield. Below the radar. Undetectable.
And yet…
To whom was this ‘covert’ mission revealed? The ‘unlikelies.’
Lowly shepherds. God’s chosen people? Yes. But people without shelter, watching their sheep out in the elements, watchful through the night, diligent in their duties. Diligent in their abiding. Like Moses and David before them, they tended their sheep. Like Jesus to come, who will attend to HIS sheep. The religious leaders were not called. The wealthy were not called. The teachers were not called. The historians were not called. But the shepherds were.
Wise men. Non-Jews, Gentiles, unchosen people. Far off. Likely, they were not worshippers of God, they who answered to a tyrannical human king. Those men… those men were called to follow the star that would lead to the King of Kings. Those men… those men were called to Hope Himself. God calls the least likely. It was a foreshadowing of what was to come. It was an announcement that Jesus was coming for all who hunger and thirst for Him.
Everything about that birth should have been on everyone’s radar. It was foretold… in great detail what it would be like. There was a play-by-play book, the mission plan unclassified, available to all. For generations, the prophecies were retold, recounted, and studied. People were looking and watching and studying for it. Yet, He was missed.
Notice what was not quiet? The praise and worship of the Prince of Peace. The angels announced His arrival, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. The skies were filled with light, and they filled the shepherds and wise men with great joy! There was a choir of angels praising God. There was a brightly lit shining star for the wise men guiding them to the precise spot Jesus was. It was loud and bright. Joyous and worshipful. What a contrast to the coming of Christ to earth!
Both groups of people’s response when experiencing the glory of God was to: haste, go, and worship. And they hasted and ‘goed’ until they found Him; when they did, they fell down and worshipped Him! May your Christmas be filled with wonder, awe, joy, praise, and worship for the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace, Emmanuel!
Peace be with you as you fall in love with our good, good Jesus all over again. And may you be so richly blessed.
Merry Christmas, Dear Ones.
My Verse: “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” Luke 2:7
My Response: God, You alone know me. You alone knit me together and breathed life into me. In You alone, I surrender it all. May the joy in my heart never dull as I remember all that You have done for Your children.
1 Comment. Leave new
Sharon’s Morning Thoughts: Oh Melissa, I laughed out LOUD at “they hasted and goed!!” May we haste and go, too, always nearer to the King of kings. And what a JOY that He came to the “unlikelies” !!
My verses. Yup. I chose three as God had me focused on light: Matthew 2:9b,10 ” …It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!” Luke 2:9 “Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified.” Luke 2:32 “He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people, Israel.”
On the darkest days of the year, we celebrate You – Light of the world – come to pierce the darkness, dispel the gloom, and reveal Your glory to humans. The announcement of Your coming was terrifying in its splendor to the shepherds and incredibly joy-filled as well (the wise men were “filled” with joy!). And your coming changed the landscape as that star shone bright and the angels glowed. And You, Lord Jesus change the landscape of barren human hearts that welcome You. You bring light, and joy, and love to us, Light of the world, I praise You!