Angels We Have Heard on High

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 that will cause great joy for all the people." -Luke 2:8-10
 
  Why were the angels chosen as the first to hear the good news of the birth of the Savior? After all, they were considered unclean because of their work, outcasts of society. Warren Wiersbe writes that it was a revelation of God's grace to mankind. Jesus did not come to "call the rich and mighty; He calls the poor and the lowly." 
 Jesus was not only called the Good Shepherd; He was also the Lamb of God who came to be the final sacrifice for the sins of man. "It was fitting that the good news about God's Shepherd and Lamb be given first to humble shepherds". (WW)
"'Fear not!' is one of the key themes of the Christmas story. Literally the angel said, 'I announce to you good news, a great joy which shall be to all the people.'" The gift of the Savior is for everyone! What an amazing gift!
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

5 Benefits of Being a Child of God

Image
In her book "Breaking Free", Beth Moore writes about five benefits God intends "to be the daily experience of every child of God." (p. 23) The first benefit is to know God and believe Him . Beth Moore writes that "one of your chief purposes on this planet is to know God intimately and with reverent familiarity. That intimate relationship begins, but was never intended to end, with what we call the 'salvation experience.' So the first question to ask yourself is, Have you received Christ as your personal Savior?" "One of the most beautiful elements of salvation is its simplicity. Christ has already done all the work on the cross. Your response includes four elements: 1) Acknowledge that you are a sinner and that you cannot save yourself. 2) Acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and only He can save you. 3) Believe that His Crucifixion was for your personal sins and that His death was on your behalf. 4) Give Him your life and
Read more

Fuel Up with the Holy Spirit

Image
 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” John 14:26 Once we decide to get on the road with Jesus, we discover that the Bible is like a road map for our journey; helping us to live in a way that pleases God. If we spend time in the Word everyday, we will grow to be more like Jesus. A car needs gasoline in order to work. In order for you to keep going, you have to fill the tank up. Well, just like our physical bodies need food for energy, and cars need gasoline in order to go, our spiritual bodies need a kind of fuel too. This "fuel" is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom and energy for life. We know that God created us. We know that Jesus saved us. But you might wonder who the Holy Spirit is. In John 14:16-17 we see that before Jesus was going to die on the cross, He told the disciples that God would send another Helper to help them. This w
Read more

The First Four Commandments

Image
The first four commandments tell us how we are to conduct ourselves before God. We can fulfill these first four commands by praying about our needs, thanking and praising God, using God’s name respectfully and taking time to rest and meditate on God’s Word.  –Exodus 20:1-8 The basic code in Israel’s divine law is found in Exodus 20:2-17; elsewhere it is called the Ten Commandments. The Hebrew words for Ten Commandments literally mean “Ten Words”. (Study note for Exodus 20:1) The Ten Commandments begin with the statement “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” (Exodus 20:1) Warren Wiersbe points out that the phrase “I am the Lord your God” is used five times in this section (vv. 3, 5, 7, 10, 12) to show that God is the authority behind these commands and they weren’t just Moses’ opinions. The study note for Exodus 20:2 tells us that the Ten Commandments reflect the structure of the treaties of the time period. First there was a preamb
Read more