And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."
- Luke 2:8-11
Shepherds and the glory of the Lord in the same sentence. Shepherds enjoyed a great heritage in Israel with Abraham, Moses, and David as notable shepherds and God being identified through Psalm 23 as a great shepherd. But by this time in Israelite history, they were not highly regarded. They smelled like sheep. They spent their time with sheep. They were not really clean and religious enough to be considered spiritual. So when God chose to announce the birth of Jesus to shepherds with his contingent of angels he makes his point clear: Everyone is loved by God, everyone has access to God, and everyone is! desired by God.
Spiritual Thoughts
. Jesus is the restorer of life.
. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1
. We know how much God loves us because He sent His Son to save us.
. Real doubt searches for the light; unbelief is content with the darkness.
. Jesus gave His all; He deserves our all.
'The Anointing'
But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. - 1 John 2:20-21
Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit, whom he called the Comforter (or Counselor or Advocate, depending on the translation), would come and lead us into all truth (John 16:13). The Spirit, who inspired the writing of the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16-17), is alive in us and helps us know, understand, and discern God's truth (1 Corinthians 2:10-16). The Spirit of the living God lives in us and is at work in us — in me and in you!
So each of us needs to ask ourself if we are inviting the Holy Spirit into our lives to help us know, understand, discern God's truth. Am I yielding to the Spirit and am I in the word of God seeking to be informed and transformed by the Holy Spirit? Am I asking the Holy Spirit to filter, correct, challenge, and redeem what I think, read, hear, and see? Rather than succumbing to the lie that all truth is subjective, let's subject what we think, read, hear, and see to the Spirit of truth!
- Luke 2:8-11
Shepherds and the glory of the Lord in the same sentence. Shepherds enjoyed a great heritage in Israel with Abraham, Moses, and David as notable shepherds and God being identified through Psalm 23 as a great shepherd. But by this time in Israelite history, they were not highly regarded. They smelled like sheep. They spent their time with sheep. They were not really clean and religious enough to be considered spiritual. So when God chose to announce the birth of Jesus to shepherds with his contingent of angels he makes his point clear: Everyone is loved by God, everyone has access to God, and everyone is! desired by God.
Spiritual Thoughts
. Jesus is the restorer of life.
. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1
. We know how much God loves us because He sent His Son to save us.
. Real doubt searches for the light; unbelief is content with the darkness.
. Jesus gave His all; He deserves our all.
'The Anointing'
But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. - 1 John 2:20-21
Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit, whom he called the Comforter (or Counselor or Advocate, depending on the translation), would come and lead us into all truth (John 16:13). The Spirit, who inspired the writing of the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16-17), is alive in us and helps us know, understand, and discern God's truth (1 Corinthians 2:10-16). The Spirit of the living God lives in us and is at work in us — in me and in you!
So each of us needs to ask ourself if we are inviting the Holy Spirit into our lives to help us know, understand, discern God's truth. Am I yielding to the Spirit and am I in the word of God seeking to be informed and transformed by the Holy Spirit? Am I asking the Holy Spirit to filter, correct, challenge, and redeem what I think, read, hear, and see? Rather than succumbing to the lie that all truth is subjective, let's subject what we think, read, hear, and see to the Spirit of truth!
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