Thought for Friday, 15 December

Thought for Friday 15 December 2023

Luke 2:10-11

 

But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid.

I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

How did those shepherds really feel when the angel came into sight and said, ‘Do not be afraid.’ Would their hearts have been in their mouths? Would they have been ready to pass out with fright? Would they have told themselves, ‘I shouldn’t have eaten that last mince pie?’

What do you think you would have felt? I have often wondered how I would have felt, but it is one of those questions nobody could really answer without being there. Reading the verses in scripture, the shepherds did not seem to react with much surprise or shock. Of course, that could have been shock numbing their senses a wee bit.

The first thing they did was leave their flocks in the fields to walk to Bethlehem to see if it was true that there was a baby born there. Wow! It was true, but how did they know it was the Saviour?

Obviously Almighty God was at work in their hearts, convincing them of the truth. I imagine there may have been a feeling of great joy, as the angel had told them. Perhaps many of you still get that feeling at Christmas, when we make all the preparations for celebrating the birth of Jesus.

We will no doubt feel the joy of the season of Christmas because we are more aware of the significance of the special baby than a lot of the world. Those who are turning away do not appear to realise they are putting their eternal lives at risk. Joining the opposing belief will not bring them the JOY of seeing Jesus face to face and because of that we can only do our best to make them see how wrong they are.

Prayer, people. We need to pray for those we are losing but we must pray for ourselves and each other in case we too find it easier to walk away than to stand firm in our faith.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we come to You with grateful hearts. You gave us the first and best Christmas gift we could ever have hoped for. Not knowing what we were missing we would have just lived as the human race always had, but now we know what we would miss by turning our backs, we ask for strength to stay true. For those who have heard and listened to the whispers of Satan’s followers, we pray that they will find their way back to Jesus and You before it is too late. We know too that wars and natural disasters were prophesied so long ago but we ask that Your hand would be with Your children, keeping them safe from all harm. Spiritual and physical. Amen