Tuesday's Christmas Thought of the Day !!

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” – Luke 2:8-12 (ESV)

Imagine a dark night lit by only the stars and a campfire or two.  Into the darkness suddenly a great light appears and there before you is an angel.  Often times angels are thought of as gentle creatures sent to care for us.  Actually, the term angelos, from which we derive angel from, means messenger.  And these messengers are rarely if ever seen as gentle loveable creatures when seen in the Bible.  For every time I can think of off the top of my head the first words from their mouths are “Do not be afraid.”  This particular angel declared to the fear-filled shepherds that his message was one of “good news of great joy.”  Then the angel was joined by a whole host of others.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,

     and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” – Luke 2:13-15 (ESV)

           

The angels praised God as a form of worship.  They came to the shepherds sharing the Good News.  Then they sung praises to God giving Him the glory for all that He’d done and would do. 

Many people today are still in need of the Good News.  Their lives haven’t turned out the way they thought they would.  They’ve lost their way and can’t seem to find their way back.  Or maybe they’re just going through a rough spell and need to know that God still cares. 

           

Part of finding your joy this Christmas comes through praising God at Christmas.  It’s a decision made to take anything that the world is throwing at you and finding God in the midst of it all.  Then as we praise Him for all that He has done and will continue to do, our joy will be found in Him instead of whatever might be happening in our lives.  The bad won’t seem so bad and the good will be even better. 

Praise God this Christmas for all that He has done, starting with giving the gift of a babe in a manger over 2000 years ago.

In the love of Christ,

greg