Can I pray for you in any way?
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com
In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk
** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of
The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn
** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy
word.
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 2:16-20
This ends
today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
We have been on a journey through this
holiday season.
We started with the angel Gabriel telling
the priest Zechariah that his wife would have a son despite her advanced age.
His disbelief landed him in trouble as Gabriel brought muteness on him until
the time would come for the son to be named and you’ll recall the angel gave
Zechariah the name John to give the boy at that moment.
We then moved with Gabriel as he
transitioned to a young, Nazarene virgin teen named Mary who was betrothed to a
man named Joseph. We watched where Gabriel told Mary that she would conceive,
not by man but rather by way of the Holy Spirit and the very power of God
Himself. He finished by telling her that her son would be named Jesus and that
He would be the Son of the Lord Most High. You’ll remember Mary answering these
words by simply submitting herself to be the Lord’s servant, allowing Him to do
to her as He wished.
Next, the very busy Gabriel visited Joseph
after Mary had become pregnant. Upset about what had happened and knowing he
wasn’t the father, Joseph had in mind to quietly divorce Mary and end their
engagement but the angel convinced to do otherwise, explaining how Mary had
come to be with child and exhorting him to not abandon taking Mary as his wife.
Joseph honored that request.
Just as Mary was reaching full term, the
Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus, ordered a census to be taken, commanding
everyone to go to their own towns to register. Since Joseph was of the line of
David, he was to register in Bethlehem, the city of David. And so he and a very
pregnant Mary made the difficult sojourn to the city where Mary would give
birth to their son Jesus in a lowly stable because there was no room for them
in the inn.
Just outside of Bethlehem, shepherds were
minding their flocks by night when an angel suddenly appeared to them,
announcing Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem and calling Him Savior and Messiah. As if
this wasn’t spectacular enough, a company of the heavenly host appeared singing
glory to God and proclaiming peace to all on earth.
It was an amazing experience for the humble
shepherds and they decided to go quickly to Bethlehem to see for themselves
what the angels had announced. We noted how expedient and excited they were
when they learned of Jesus and how we need to be the same as we come to Him.
That’s what we continue to look at in today’s
devotion as we carry on with the shepherds and see the impact they had on Jesus’
parents, especially Mary. Look again at today’s scripture passage:
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 2:16-20
To recap, two of the first ways we should
come to Jesus is expeditiously and excitedly. After all, He is the only One who
can bring us to God the Father (John 14:6), the only One who saves us from our
sins and brings us hope, not just in the now but forever.
What else should we do after looking at the
main characters in this passage?
1. We should make sure we tell others about
Jesus. This is at the heart of evangelism as we respond to Jesus’ command to:
“…go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
Matthew 28:19-20
The shepherds had not only received the
message about Jesus’ coming from the angel. They had been eyewitnesses to the
truth that the Messiah had indeed been born. They saw Him with their own eyes
and so they went about spreading the word “concerning what had been told them
about” Jesus. Their words left all who heard them amazed. Indeed, any words we
share about Jesus are amazing because they are about a perfectly amazing Lord
and Savior.
How many people have you talked to about
Jesus since Christmas?
2. Looking at Mary, she was treasuring up
everything that had happened to her and pondering it in her heart.
Jesus is everything to everyone. He came to
save every single person on earth and there is no greater or more significant
person to mankind than Him. He should be at the center of our heart’s pondering
and our greatest treasure. Period.
Jesus would grow up and deliver His first
extended sermon, during which He said this:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures
on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But
store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not
destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart
will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21
Mary’s treasure was her child Jesus and her
heart was centered on Him.
How much of your heart is centered on your
Savior? Is He the treasure in your life, greater than any earthly values?
3. The shepherds eventually returned to
their fields but they had been changed.
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things
they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Before they ran off to find Jesus, they
encountered the company of the heavenly host glorifying and praising God for
Jesus’ coming. Once finished, the angels returned to the heavens and were
replaced by the shepherds who were now the ones doing the glorifying and
praising. They had not just heard of Jesus but they saw Him for themselves.
Indeed, the long awaited Messiah had come.
Looking as ourselves and the way we have
responded to Jesus since Christmas, have we glorified and praised God daily for
the gift of His Son? Have we allowed ourselves to be overcome by joy, reminded
once again that we have the promise of everlasting life because God sent Jesus
to us to bear the cost of our sins?
How should we react to Jesus’ coming?
Mimicking the actions of the shepherds and
Mary would be a great start.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com
No comments:
Post a Comment