Luke 2:16-18 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 

CAN you imagine the conversations the shepherds had with people after they had left the Christ child? “Listen everyone! We have some great news! Tonight we were working as usual, watching our sheep. Then suddenly an angel appeared in the sky. He told us the Savior was in a manger here in Bethlehem! Then we saw the most remarkable sight. The sky was filled with angels praising God! They told us to go see the baby born in a stable of all places. So we went to that stable just up the street. There he was. The newborn baby boy, just as the angel had said he would be. That baby looks like any other baby, but we know  he is our Messiah. The heavens have told us. He is Savior of the world!”
How do you think people responded to the shepherds’ remarkable news? We read all who heard it were amazed. It seems the Holy Spirit had given some people in Bethlehem a willingness to consider the shepherds’ news. When God wants a revival, he will make it happen. 
You can certainly imagine, too, many doubted the shepherds’ words. “Really? The Messiah is born in a stable? How can we believe such a thing? After all, you are only shepherds. What do you know? Someone could have been tricking you.” 
How do people respond to your good news when you tell them: “Listen, everyone, here’s some great news. God’s Holy Bible says that Jesus, the Son of God, was born in Bethlehem as a baby boy. He did this because we are born in sin separated from God. Still, God loves you to the full extent. He came to earth to save you from the inexpressible horrible penalty of your sins. The message of all the Prophets and the Apostles is that you can know that the baby Jesus grew to become the Savior of our souls. He showed and taught us God’s ways, so you can live in an eternal loving relationship with the holy God. Through his life, death and resurrection, Jesus offers to you a faith to cleanse your sins from your soul. Believe Jesus is God’s Son! You will be free to live forever in a true relationship of joy and peace with God! Praise God! Jesus is the way to eternal life!” 
This is amazing news, isn’t it? 

The prayer is from the 8th-century Alchoin (al cue in), an English scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher: “Eternal Light, shine into our hearts. Eternal Goodness, deliver us from evil. Eternal Power, be our support. Eternal Wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance. Eternal Pity, have mercy upon us, so with all our heart, our mind, our soul, our strength, we may seek your face and be brought by that infinite mercy to your holy presence through Jesus Christ, our Lord.” Amen.

Luke 2:15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
 
IN 2000 I had the opportunity to travel to Baltimore on business. The night I arrived was the night the Baltimore Ravens won Super Bowl XXXV. Two days later, the city had a parade for the Ravens to celebrate their victory. The parade route was on the street in front of the building where I was working. I was a football fan to some extent. This was a great opportunity to experience a moment of football history. But the truth is, I didn’t stop my work to go see it. I was too busy working. I have no idea what happened. I missed a touch of football history.  
   Suppose the angels had gone into heaven and the shepherds kept working? What if they did not “go to Bethlehem and see”? Of course, they would have missed the turning point of history. They would have missed Jesus.
   God commanded them to go, so they would experience the Savior come down to earth. God had given them the privilege to be the first people in the world to announce the Savior had come! Responding to God’s instructions, the shepherds experienced one of history’s greatest moments.
   God’s commands are one way he invites us into history – his story. Obeying God’s words almost always requires stopping what we plan to do, so we can go to do God’s will.
   One thing we must know is that God’s commands point us to his character. All he commands us to do is to help us know his love. To reject God’s commands is to reject the intimacy of his love.
   That is Scripture’s purpose, isn’t it? God wants us to truly understand the depth of his gift to us: “God so loved the world he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will be saved.” (John 3:16)
   When God commands, do you go in faith or stay with the sheep? Do you prefer to focus on your own work, or you go see what the Lord has for you?  
   God’s messenger today is the Holy Spirit. He comes from heaven to reveal Jesus to you. Unlike the angels that night, he does not literally shine into your dark nights. Instead, he comes in the Father’s love to open  your eyes to God’s saving glory. The Spirit today is the light of heaven who points us to the Light of the World.
   Thank God for his light, too, in friends who invite you to a Bible study. Thank God for his light shining from people who pray for you. Turn to the light. Trust the light. Know God’s commands. Stop the things you are doing that prevent you from obeying his directives. Then go, see God’s victory parade. He has won the battle for you.
 
Prayer: Thank you, Father, Son and Spirit for your victory over sin. Thank you for commanding me to the parade of life everlasting. Teach me to go, so I will see how much you love me. In your name I pray, amen. 

Luke 2:12-14 “This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
 
HAVE you ever wondered why God, the eternal Father and the Creator of the universe, reserved a manger and not a room in the inn to receive his Son? Animals drool into a manger. All manner of unseen creatures live in a manger. “Why the manger, LORD?”
   In truth, you could ask a number of “why questions” about Jesus’ life. For example, “Why was he born into a lower-class working family? Why did he grow up in Nazareth, a place of poor reputation? Why did Jesus wait until he was 30 years old to begin his ministry? Why did people hate him so violently? Why were some so eager to believe; but then, why did so many reject Jesus? Why did they kill you, Jesus?”
   Based on reading the entire counsel of God – that is, the Bible – the LORD God’s answer to us is something like this:
   “Why, you ask, did I cause my Son to have such a lowly birth, difficult life and tortuous death? My child, I did this for you. You see, my Son is my most treasured gift to you. Jesus’ life and his death is my demonstration of sin’s terrible, deadly assault on your life. My Son is also the visible display of the height, width, length and depth of my love for you. I sent my Son from his heavenly throne of glory and power to be a working man in a lowly place on earth, so you would know how to be a servant. When you join us in my kingdom, you must be humble to serve the world as Jesus did. Through Jesus’ life, I am directing you to do with me as I have done for you.
   “And do you know? I also sent my Son to a working life, so he more closely understands what life is like for you. As a man, he has experienced frustrations, temptations and pain. When you pray for protection and strength, Jesus knows your struggles and your deepest needs.
   “Yes, I sent Jesus into a suffering life. My Son was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and you esteemed him not. Surely, he took up your infirmities and carried your sorrows, yet you considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. He was even pierced for your transgressions; he was crushed for your iniquities. The punishment that brought you peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.  (from Isaiah 53:3-5)
   “Yes, this is all for you, my child. I am God, who walks with you everywhere, even when it stinks and is uncomfortable, even when it’s deadly. My Son has experienced this. He knows your needs. You can trust him in all things, and turn to him because he’s now praying for you. Know the glory of God has come to a manger, so you will know eternal richness in my new heaven.
   “Yes, what joy there will be when you trust my Son! I will welcome you into my home to know the glory the shepherds saw that night is your eternal celebration.”
 
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for your Son. He has come to dwell among your creation and personally in me. Teach me the humility I must know to faithfully believe and serve you. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Isaiah 62:11-12 The Lord has made proclamation to the ends of the earth: “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your Savior comes! See, his reward is with him, and his reward accompanies him.’”  12 They will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord; and you will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted.
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Luke 2:10-11 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. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”
 
THE LORD promises a new day will come to Jerusalem and ultimately to God’s new earth. In that day, no enemy will invade his Paradise. The LORD’s redeemed will enter into their heavenly home, and eternal peace will be on earth for his church – the true believers in Jesus Christ. 
   That’s why we annually celebrate, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” On that first Christmas day, a new day began in the world. How mysterious and wonderful to know God came from heaven to be born a man, so he could be our Savior. How great is such love that God so personally advanced his plan with his own presence as a man in the world.
   On one particular, preordained Passover week, Jesus entered Jerusalem to the praise of his faithful followers. On the Father’s schedule, the Son was crucified. He died and was buried. Then dawned the grand new days in heaven and earth as Jesus rose to life to be heaven’s King. He awaits the Father’s command to return to earth for the final glorious new Day of the Lord.
   How do you respond to God’s new plan? How do you prepare for his new day? Listen to 2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
   Are you in Christ this Christmas? If not, isn’t it time you confessed him as your Lord, Savior and King of your life? You must be redeemed in Christ to live a holy and godly life. Strive toward the Lord’s ways in love and joy. He has plainly revealed his love for you and the joy that awaits you as his own.
 
Prayer: Thank you, Lord God, for your Holy Word to reveal who you are to me. I pray I know, believe and live into your eternal gift. Amen. 

Isaiah 62:3 You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
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Luke 21:27-28 “At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
 
KNOW how precious you are to God. Saved in Jesus’ blood, you will be in the LORD’s enriching hands. You will wear your relationship with Jesus Christ as a crown of splendor, a royal diadem. His holiness will crown you to announce to the world, “I belong to the LORD God.” One day no one will oppose or accuse your new look because you are exhibiting God’s glorious splendor.
   “Stand up and lift up your heads,” says he Lord Jesus Christ. He is Messiah, who has come to die, so he can defeat death. He is the One who will come in power to declare his final victory. The world will know your King, his city and his church. When the Son of Man returns, you will eagerly raise your head to receive and experience his glory. With unblemished faith, your face, thoughts and righteousness will remain lifted up in eternal joy. God has brought you to his holy throne to be God’s own forever. (You) will see his face, and his name will be on (your) foreheads. There will be no more night. (You) will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give (you) light. And (you) will reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 22:4-5) Praise God! Sin’s shame is gone.
   Jesus’ crown of thorns has formed your crown of glory. You reign with him as he reigns from heaven’s power seat. Confessing Christ Jesus as your Lord, you are his own. Because of God’s perfect sacrifice, you know your crown is real and eternal.
   This is God’s amazing grace. Praise the Lord.
 
Prayer: I am yours, Jesus, saved in your gracious blood, cleansed with your power to forgive and resurrect. I stand to display your splendor. Thank you for the crown of life. Amen.

Isaiah 62:2 The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow.
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Luke 24:47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
 
A name is a powerful word. We may pay little attention to a group of people in conversation, but if one person in that group speaks your name, you are instantly aware. Your name matters because it is you.
   We get this from God. His name is holy to him. His name must be holy to us. When we speak, “God” we need to know we speak the almighty authority over our lives. He is not the “man upstairs” or some other minimal words too many people use to refer to God. He is Creator, Love, Joy and Hope. He is Alpha and Omega, and is some 20 more names define the LORD’s essence.
   God has also given us three names in Scripture to point us to his promise of eternal redemption. The first is Israel. God changed Jacob’s name to Israel because he wanted Jacob and his descendants – the nation Israel – to possess the hope of God’s promise that they will ultimately prevail through their turbulent history: Genesis 32:28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.” When God’s faithful people said, “We are Israel.” they expectantly awaited God’s power to overcome their enemies.
   In a like manner God named his Son “Jesus” to assure us we have the sure hope of a redeemed life.  “Jesus” means “savior”. “Jesus” is the focal point of our eternal life. Each time you speak the Name, you must be mindful God has acted to give you the way to overcome sin and death. “Jesus” is God’s grace to redeem the cost of your sin.  
    “Jerusalem” means, “possession of peace”. “Jerusalem”, too, directs faithful minds to the New Creation. Sadly, the Old Testament history is a tragic story of violence from within and without the city. We still think of conflict when we say “Jerusalem” today. But then, we must remember “Jerusalem” points to the hope of a new day when God’s people Israel will have struggled and won, when they have overcome the world that has so strongly, hatefully opposed them.
   The scripture is a summation of God’s will to redeem the name of Jerusalem with the power of the name of Jesus, brought forth to the world through the overcoming nation Israel. As forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, one day the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, (will come) down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. (Revelation 21:2-3)
   God promises the very character of Jerusalem and of the world will completely reflect God’s righteous peace attained through Jesus’ righteousness.
   Are you named “Christian”? Then know you are of Christ. By grace you are intimately related to Jesus. Through Jesus the Father has given you a new life. May your life display Jesus has given you the power to overcome sin, so you will forever live in Jerusalem.
 
Prayer: Thank you, God Almighty for fulfilling your Promise to give me Jesus to overcome sin, so I will dwell in the new Jerusalem forever. Amen.
 

Isaiah 62:1 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.
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Luke 19:39-40 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” 40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
 
GOD the Father speaks in Isaiah with an unrelenting purpose. For Zion’s well-being, for Jerusalem’s sake, for the salvation of his chosen people, God will speak his righteous truth. No force will stop the Father to call his people home to his kingdom.
   The Father is so determined to his purpose, he even promises and then sends his Son into the enemy’s stronghold. There will be no silent, holy night until the King of Kings reigns. The Almighty God will thwart any attempts to silence his purpose. His creation will not allow it. The stones will cry out. Indeed, “Let heaven and nature sing” (from Joy to the World) because the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. (Psalms 24:1)
   God’s unrelenting voice continues its unassailable power to re-capture his world into his glory. Throughout the Old Testament, into the New and now to today’s world, a Satan-influenced world has loudly attempted to silence heaven’s Good Word. “Scholars” and “experts” discredit the Bible, wanting to turn our faith into dust. Godless leaders of nations and other religions silence, imprison, torture and kill God’s people who speak his righteous love. Even many who say, “I am a Christian.” want to silence truth that intrudes into their desires. Some say they don’t want to tell people what to think and do. Yet, God’s voices continue to cry out, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38) This is the message of hope, joy and promise the world must hear.
   How’s your voice? Does the unrelenting, loving God cause you to cry out, “Forgive me, Lord.” Does God’s glorious love and justice cause you to sing the songs of his peace. Do you shout above the world’s loud discords? Some people say, “I have a quiet faith.” But we ask, “Where does God instruct us to be quiet about him?”
 
Prayer: Lord God, thank you for the constant sounds of your salvation. I pray I will “Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.” (Psalm 96:2) Amen.  

Isaiah 61:11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.
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Luke 8:15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. 
 
THE human heart longs to return into God’s presence in the perfect Garden. The Father created us to live in his glory; our hearts want that again. Sin has made our souls as a restless wanderer on the earth. (Genesis 4:12)
   Jesus came to offer you God’s rest. The Son’s mission was to points you to God’s Garden again. Jesus, the Living Word, spoke several Garden illustrations describing the kingdom of God. Here’s one: John 12:24 “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels – a plentiful harvest of new lives.”
   Do you hear that? If a seed is not planted, and it does not die, it remains alone. Expanding, restorative kingdom power can only come to you when you die to the sin-shackled life. Jesus is the living illustration of his teaching. He died, so he could came out of the ground into the Resurrection Garden! From that single day, the gospel seed has been planted into the world. The apostles received Jesus’ glory, and they followed Jesus with a noble and good heart. In the rich soil of their love for Jesus, the apostles taught many new disciples to hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. The harvest had begun.
   One day God will welcome the faithful into his glorious fruit-giving Garden: Revelation 22:1 Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations. 3 No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
   Fruit was the object of the first sin. God’s new Garden redeems the fruit trees, so they will be symbols of his forgiveness to heal the nations. God’s righteous Garden is your eternal home.
   How is your gardening? Are you seed-planting disciple? Do you expect – pray for – a harvest? Are you eager to return to Eden?
 
Isaiah 51:3 The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.
 
Prayer: Lord, make my heart like the garden of the Lord. May joy and gladness, thanksgiving and the sound of singing be found in me. Amen. 

Isaiah 61:10 I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
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Luke 24:49 “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
 
WHAT do you wear to worship? It used to be the phrase “Sunday best” in America meant you were wearing your best clothes. We’ve seen that across the world, too, as people dress with their best clothes to attend church.
   But “Sunday best” in the U.S. has become “Sunday casual”. Perhaps that is one symptom that the church in the U.S. generally seems to be more casual about Jesus. True, our outer dress is of no consequence to our salvation and fruitful living. After all, it’s about being clothed in power from on high, isn’t it? But would it be more appropriate for our clothes to reflect the garments God bestows upon our hearts?
   The Holy Spirit has taken Jesus’ blood to wash you clean. Saved in Jesus, you are as a lavishly dressed bridegroom. God’s holiness marks you as he is. The Spirit jewels of knowledge brighten your countenance. You become as a bride in the view of a husband’s loving, devoted eyes.
   The apostles certainly knew this. When the Spirit dressed them in God’s power, they quickly showed the world their new clothes. With salvation on their lips and healing in their hands, the apostles began to dress the world with Jesus’ life-giving blood. The gospel’s garments of praise and robes of righteousness continue to fashion the world into God’s design.
   Dear Christian, do you know what you are wearing? Are you aware God has so lavishly dressed you? What would happen if “Sunday best” became your heart’s “Daily Best”? How would your life change if you joyfully wore God’s gracious love and righteousness each day? Would people see your garments of praise in the way you live? Would they know God covers you with his power? Would you know it?
   And maybe you could wear some really nice clothes to church periodically, so you would demonstrate the Lord has clothed your heart.
 
Prayer: LORD God, I thank you for the new clothes of my salvation. Keep my heart and mind diligent to dress in you each day, so the world will see your garment of praise covers my life. May I always be particular about the way I dress my heart for you. Amen.
 

Isaiah 61:2a-3 and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion, to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.
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Luke 3:16-18 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” 18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them. 
 
WE remember Advent is a season to both celebrate the Lord Jesus has come to earth and to rejoice in the promise Jesus will return in glory. The Father has a purpose with each of the Son’s incarnations.
   The Father first sent the Son to save you from sin’s curse. Jesus focused on that purpose when he announced to the Nazareth synagogue he had come “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:19) Favor is God’s grace to end the grief of sin’s curse. Jesus often confirmed his salvation purpose as in John 12:47 “I will not judge those who hear me but don’t obey me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it.”
   Isaiah and John the Baptist tell us the Father’s second purpose to send Jesus: Isaiah 61:2a and the day of vengeance of our God. And John promises and warns, “His winnowing fork will gather the wheat – the redeemed. Then Jesus’ winnowing fork will burn up the chaff – the unrepentant with an unquenchable fire. Are you excited for Jesus’ winnowing fork? Do  you pray he will come quickly? You should be so hopeful and prayerful.
   After all this the joy of your salvation, isn’t it? When Judge Jesus has finished his winnowing work, gladness will reign over all the redeemed. All prophecies will be complete. Beauty will crown your redeemed soul. Aromatic healing oils will anoint you with heaven’s sweet aroma. Praise will flow from your mouth. Joy will break forth when you worship the king. Despair is done. It will pass completely from your consciousness.
   You thank God for the Son’s first coming. He has made the way for the Spirit to birth your sinful souls into a new life now and forever. How marvelous it will be on the day Jesus welcomes you into his home! God’s Favor will be complete in you forever.
 
Prayer: Lord God, your favor is displayed in your very personal plan to save me. I anticipate with joy you are coming to judge the world, and I may live eternally with you. Amen.