“Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.””
Luke 2:13-14 NLT
I think most people—even most Christians—are woefully ignorant of the office and operation of angels. For example, some people think that when people die, they become angels. That is not true. When people die, if they are Christians, they are with the Lord as a spirit and at some point will be given a glorified body in the resurrection of the dead. Angels, aren’t transformed people but rather are who they were specifically created to be.
“Are not all the angels ministering spirits sent out [by God] to serve (accompany, protect) those who will inherit salvation? [Of course they are!]”
Hebrews 1:14 AMP
Indeed, angels are the servants of God who perform His word.
“Bless the Lord, you His angels, You mighty ones who do His commandments, Obeying the voice of His word! Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, You who serve Him and do His will.”
Psalms 103:20-21 AMP
In our opening scripture today we see that after the angel gave the good news to the shepherds, he was joined with a heavenly host, a multitude of angels praising God.
Remember, any time we are giving the Good News concerning Jesus Christ, anytime we are lifting up praise and worship toward God, we can be sure that more than those people we see are with us. In fact, the heavenly host accompanies us in our praise, accompanies us in our evangelism, and will eventually accompany us in our future missions in the eternal kingdom of God.
For today meditate on the fact that angels are among us, waiting to hear God‘s word in order to perform it. When you speak the word of God from your mouth, while truly believing it in your heart, you will activate the angels to work on your behalf.
Additionally, be quick to share the Good News of Jesus Christ; that’s the quickest way you can gather a crowd from heaven.
Peace to you.
“And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
Luke 2:12 NKJV
Obviously, when we read stories from the Bible, we are not given all the minutia of the events. Basically, we are told what we need to know to be able to form a correct picture of what the Lord wants us to receive.
Additionally, we see that many major events described in the Bible have been prophesied at some other point in the Bible so that the events can be recognized and given due attention.
In our opening scripture we see that the angel—having told the shepherds the good news of Christ being born—gives them two signs indicating that they have found the One Who is Christ the Lord. First, the child will be swaddled in strips of cloth; secondly, He will be lying in a manger. Although swaddling was a common practice in those days (as is still today in some cultures), being accompanied with the fact that the newborn would be lying in a manger, basically would remove all doubt that they were seeing the Lord when they came upon Him.
Now, why is this important? You see, we have a large portion of what the shepherds probably had to do in order to find Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, left to the imagination. As we discussed earlier, Bethlehem was overrun with people because of the census. Indeed, so many that there was no place for Mary and Joseph to stay; therefore they were relegated to a barn of sorts.
Now, as we will see, the shepherds went to find Jesus. What we are not told in the narrative (as it is not essential to our understanding, but is obvious to our reasoning) is that they didn’t go straight and find Him. They probably went to any number of places throughout the city before coming upon the stable in which the Christ Child was born.
Our personal seeking for a savior can feel like a daunting task. So many voices offer relief; but there can be only One Savior. Indeed, God has given us sure signs that Jesus is the One Whom we seek in that He fulfilled every Old Testament prophecy concerning the coming Messiah.
The testimony of the shepherds to those they told the story of having seen the Lord, was reinforced by the important fact that the angel had told exactly where He would be and in what state He would be found.
Make no mistake, the Lord shepherded every detail concerning the birth—indeed, the life—of Jesus; every prophecy was fulfilled.
Our trusting Jesus as being the Savior sent from God is not baseless. God gave us clear signs that would accompany every aspect of His life.
For today meditate on the sure signs the word of God has given us concerning the identity of our Lord. Additionally, consider the signs given pointing to the time of the Lord’s return that we are seeing all around us even today.
Oh, what a wonderful assurance we have that the little boy sleeping in that manger on that starry night in Bethlehem was the Savior, Christ the Lord!
Peace to you.
“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. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
Luke 2:10-11 NKJV
In re-examining our opening scripture from yesterday, we find more about the reason we don’t have to fear anymore.
God, in His limitless mercy and love, has made good on the promise to send a Messiah to His people.
But here’s the thing, it seems that the people were looking for a Messiah who was going to primarily relieve them from oppression of their enemies. In actuality, the Lord had done just that all through the Old Testament. In fact, the enemy only gained the upper hand when the people of God were under judgment for their disobedience. They did not know that what they ultimately needed was a Messiah or Savior Who would deliver them from their own selves, that is, their own sin.
Several years ago the Lord spoke to me—calling me by name—and said, “You have to know you need a Savior to have One.” Now, The fact is, as long as I can remember I had thought of the Lord as being my Savior; I didn’t know any other way of thinking. But the problem was that I was somehow still trying to prove my worth to the Lord in a way that He must’ve seen as being prideful. Now, on the surface, I would never have thought that because I was often self-deprecating. But, that self-deprecation was often to get a laugh or to “unarm” people who otherwise might have rejected me. Oh, I don’t know how we get ourselves in such cluttered and messy ways of thinking and doing; but the Lord cut through all of that mess—and in that one statement—opened my eyes to the fact that I was helpless to save myself, and there was nothing I could do about that fact except to receive the free gift of God through Jesus Christ. Only in doing so, could I appropriate His blood for true freedom from my sin and all my shortcomings.
Oddly enough, as I come to more and more see my need for a Savior, I am more and more able to relax into His arms.
For today meditate on whether or not you are somehow trying to prove your worth to God, trying to “cover” for your own lack.
Additionally, if you feel like a naughty toddler sitting with a bowl of spaghetti on top of your head, now facing the glaring eye of your mother, understand that the Lord is the One Who came to clean you up, and not even fuss about what you’ve done!
The fact is: we need a Savior and we have One! Now, that’s the best news ever!
Peace to you.