- araratchurch
- Dec 18, 2023
- 3 min read
“Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.”
Luke 2:8-9 NKJV
Looking again at this portion of the biblical record concerning the birth of our Lord, we now consider the question: “Why shepherds?”
Of all the people in the world at that point in time, what was it about the shepherds that made them the appropriate recipients of the greatest announcement that has ever—or will ever—be made?
To digress for a moment, it is said that in the time of Jesus, Bethlehem was the place where the lambs were raised for Temple sacrifice. Indeed, every firstborn male lamb born in that area was considered holy and was to be considered for sacrifice. I say that it would be “considered” for sacrifice because the acceptable lambs had to be without blemish.
Now, whether or not it is the case that this was the area where the sacrificial lambs were raised, it does not take away from the fact that the people hearing this wonderful announcement were definitely shepherds.
And, consider that Jesus identified Himself with lowly shepherds when He referenced Himself as the Good Shepherd.
”“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.“
John 10:11, 14-15 NLT
Now, you are probably familiar with the story of Abraham. When tested by God, Abraham intended to sacrifice Isaac.
We know that when Isaac made the observation that they had all the wood and things needed to make the fire for the sacrifice, yet they had not brought a lamb to sacrifice, Abraham gives a very prophetic answer to his son’s question:
“But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.”
Genesis 22:7-8 NKJV
Yes, the Lord did provide a sacrifice for Abraham to offer; but that ram caught in the thicket was only a symbol of what the Lord would one day do to redeem lost humanity.
“And He [the Angel of the Lord] said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.””
Genesis 22:12-14 NKJV
Indeed, John the Baptist boldly declared that Jesus was the Lamb of God:
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
John 1:29 NKJV
Yes! The Lord provided for Himself a sacrifice by taking on flesh and living a sinless life so that He could be offered as the only sacrifice capable of atoning for the sins of the world.
For today meditate on the unfathomable love of our Father illustrated in His offering His only begotten Son as the perfect sacrifice to pay for our sins.
Additionally, consider how our Lord—appearing as a sacrificed Lamb—is the only one worthy to open the seals on the scroll, setting in motion the events of the Last Days.
“But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.” And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.”
Revelation 5:5-7 NKJV
Make no mistake, Jesus will soon return—no longer as a Lamb for the slaughter—but as the conquering King of Kings, the Lion of the tribe of Judah!
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Dec 16, 2023
- 2 min read
“Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.”
Luke 2:8-9 NKJV
I don’t know what we think needs to happen in order for the miraculous to be made manifest.
The idea that the miraculous is somehow always preceded by some eerie “otherworldliness” is not a biblical concept. Indeed, a thorough examination of the miraculous throughout the Bible illustrates that more often than not, the miraculous abruptly interrupts the monotony of the everyday lives of everyday people.
The most miraculous event to ever happen to man: the birth of our Lord, happened in a stable. He was placed in a manger, a feeding trough for livestock! As we have discussed, you can’t get more lowly or mundane than that.
And—to continue that theme—the first announcement concerning the Lord’s birth is given to lowly shepherds!
We will—over the next couple of days—discuss why the announcement was made to shepherds. For now we consider the unlikelihood of shepherds to see and hear an angelic host proclaiming the good news of the birth of our Lord.
I think it’s safe to say that most people—at one time or another in their lives—become tired of their daily existence. Some people respond to this scenario by surrendering to despair. Others may do ridiculous things to try to bring some excitement into their otherwise mundane existence.
Now, I am a person who appreciates the miraculous in the very creation surrounding us. As well, I am engaged by the miraculous in my own life, and am grateful for the things that are going right most of the time. I don’t entertain the option of boredom. To be honest, I think boredom per se, indicates a lack of gratitude for the fact that we have the “luxury” of being bored.
However, I do appreciate that it is easy to begin to think that your routine has become your destiny. Yet, in terms of our relationship with God in Jesus Christ, and all that He has for us, that could not be further from the truth. In fact, our routine—what we reckon as mundane—is that through which the Lord most often chooses to show His marvelous deeds, His miraculous doings.
For today meditate on the fact that the miraculous is indeed all around us all the time. In fact, your very life is miraculous. With that, it is important to remember that those exclamatory moments of life we all cherish, can be just moments away.
As you look to the Lord, meditating on His goodness, He may send a fresh reminder of the glory of His presence, the wonder of His love, the hope in His assurances. After all, the greatest Gift is always with us. We have but to pause and breath in the aroma of His goodness toward us to be too grateful, too in awe of Him, to ever count our lives as mundane.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Dec 16, 2023
- 3 min read
“And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Luke 2:7 NKJV
Many sermons, devotions, and lessons, have focused on the last part of our opening scripture. The point is made that the reason Jesus’ birth happened in a stable was because there was no room for Mary and Joseph in the inn. Generally, in concluding a talk on this topic, the question is presented: “Do you have room in your life for Jesus?”
Now, those who answer that question in the affirmative, may point to their church attendance, prayers before meals, wearing a cross, etc., or just the fact that they believe Jesus exists.
Those who can’t answer the question of whether they have room for Jesus in the affirmative may offer busyness or hectic circumstances as justification.
Let’s consider a few points before entertaining that question here.
As we learned earlier, Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem because of a required census. And, we know that this census was imposed on all the Roman citizens. Therefore, it followed that the inns were overwhelmed with people looking for a place to stay while fulfilling their obligation to the government.
In other words, the innkeeper didn’t turn Mary and Joseph away because they were rejecting them as people, or even because they didn’t have compassion on them. The fact was, the innkeeper, in attempting to accommodate a high demand, seemingly had no choice but to turn them away.
Face it, life happens. And with our daily grind come myriad demands on our time, attention, and money.
Certainly, the Lord can strengthen us to do what we need to do. He can even help us to do what we must, expediently. As well, He can teach us to be good managers of all our resources.
But, the fact remains, there are just so many hours in a day, a restricted amount of personal resources, and a limit to the number of things on which we can focus at one time.
In order for Mary and Joseph to have had a room in the inn, someone else would’ve had to have been kicked out.
What I’m saying is, if most of what we have in terms of time, energy, finances, attention, etc., is taken up by other things, and the room we have for the Lord is either nonexistent or less than broom closet worthy, then something’s got to be kicked out.
Obviously, we all have responsibilities we must meet; the Lord never calls for us to shirk our personal responsibilities.
But the fact is, people will somehow make room for the things that are really important to them. So, when we find ourselves having no time, no space, and nothing to give to the Lord, we have inadvertently given a window into what we hold dearest.
For today meditate on how the use of your time, attention, and personal resources reflects whether or not you have made room for the Lord in your life.
The Lord truly wants to come into our lives and abide with us. Indeed, His abiding Presence in us by way of the Holy Spirit is the only way in which we can be transformed into His very image.
Additionally, true fellowship with Him is the only way to access the many great and precious promises the Lord has given to us.
So, let’s pose this question to ourselves: Does the way we use all of your resources (time, attention, money, mental energy, etc.), indicate that the Lord has room to be born and grow in our lives? Or, are we offering Him that abysmal broom closet into which we expect Him to manifest His glory?
Maybe it’s time we kicked something to the curb…
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!