- araratchurch
- Dec 20, 2022
- 2 min read
“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
On that special night in Bethlehem, the news to the shepherds that the Savior has been born, begins with some of the most needed words anyone will ever hear: “Do not be afraid.”
We are living in the Last Days before the coming of Jesus Christ; we see the fulfilling of the prophetic word concerning how this time would be characterized:
““And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.””
Luke 21:25-28 NKJV
Fear abounds in the hearts of men as we see our way of life collapsing as lawlessness increases. But, just as the angel tells the shepherds not to be afraid because he is bringing good news, we can know that we share in that same good news! Therefore, we should not fear!
But wait, there’s more! We also have the promise that these times of great fear will be abruptly ended for us when the Lord says, “Come up here!”
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
John 14:1-3 NKJV
Remember, an important part of preparing for the celebration of the Lord‘s birth and His Second Coming is to remind yourself that God keeps His promises. And, just as the Lord was faithful to His promise in sending the Messiah to be born of a virgin, we can be sure that our Lord will soon come again in the greatest rescue mission ever and take us to be with Him forever. So, do not fear!
Peace to you!
- araratchurch
- Dec 19, 2022
- 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 at the same portion of the biblical story concerning the birth of our Lord as yesterday we now turn today to consider the question: “Why shepherds?” Of all the people in the world—great and small—at that point in time, what was it about the shepherds that made them the appropriate recipients of the greatest announcement that has ever been 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 in that area was considered holy and was to be considered for sacrifice. I say that it would be “considered” for sacrifice because the lambs ultimately used 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.
Many of you are familiar with the story of Abraham: how—being tested by God—he 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
Indeed, 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 do to bring lost humanity back into fellowship with Him.
“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
John the Baptist made the pronouncement that indeed 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
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 in offering His son to be 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 to set 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
Ultimately, He will 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.
- araratchurch
- Dec 18, 2022
- 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 will illustrate that more often than not, the miraculous abruptly interrupts the monotony of everyday lives.
The most miraculous event to ever happen to man: the birth of our Lord, had just happened in a stable and 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—in the next couple of days—discuss why the announcement was made to shepherds; for our purposes now we look at the unlikelihood of shepherds to both 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 life—become tired of their daily existence. Some people respond to this scenario with a surrender of despair; others can 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, the miraculous in things actually going right most of the time, and so on. I tend away from boredom. However, I do appreciate that it is easy to begin to think that your routine has become your destiny. However, 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, illuminating the darkest night.
Peace to you