Daily Prayer 12/19/07

Luke 2:8-14 In the same region there were {some} shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. "This {will be} a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."

Some say this must have been spring because the shepherds were out with their flocks, but in fact Bethlehem was near Jerusalem and many of the sheep for the temple sacrifices would have come from the good grazing land around the area. You can not make any conclusions about the time of year, simply because shepherds were camped out in the fields.

This glory of the Lord is scary! It is obviously a powerful and impressive site. The poor shepherds who were used to the outdoors had never seen anything like this before! The city of David refers to Bethlehem where David was born, not the "City of David" on the southern slope of Mt. Zion.

A Savior, Christ the Lord. Three important titles. First one of only two times in the Gospels the word "savior" is used. Christ was the Greek equivalent of "Messiah" (anointed one). Lord could mean 'master' but here and in most of the New Testament uses, it refers to deity.

Suddenly very clear and visible, thousands of angels (did not sing) but said "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." Notice the peace on earth is not a peaceful earth, but peace between man and God. Peace is among the men with whom God is pleased (those who have responded to the Savior by faith). As Romans 5:1 says "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ". You see I SO often talk about God's wrath directed at sinners and how God hates the sinner and is ready to destroy the sinner (as scripture says clearly). This is why, we MUST understand that there is enmity between man and God....our sin does not place a "wall" between man and God but our sin places a hopeless chasm between us and we can only expect hell. BUT, God rich in mercy sent His Son to bear our punishment. That is why the whole host of angels said "Peace among men with whom He is pleased." Want peace with God, it can only come by faith in the loving way He has made for You in His Son Jesus Christ the LORD and Savior of the world.

Imagine history having longed for this promise since the promise of a redeemer in Genesis chapter 3! Now after SO long it has happened! What a HUGE thing! The promised salvation of the world had come! Since His death and resurrection from the dead and Ascension into heaven, it is quiet because it is finished and the work is all done, the world has been redeemed and the Lord will come again soon to make all things new again. If He comes today in power and might, will You be OK? Will Your faith be in His work, not Yours? I hope so......

Father, What an amazing day! For about 4,000 years the world lied in wait for the promised Messiah. Anticipation filled the earth like air filling a balloon. It grew and grew and on this day we see in scripture, the anticipation burst out into the reality of the coming of the Lord with the proclamation of the angels! What a day it must have been once word began to spread to Your people!

Now Lord again the earth fills with anticipation of the day He will return to make all things new again and set the earth right and take away all death and decay and sickness and tears. What a GREAT day that will be!!!! Oh, Lord I pray our anticipation is stretching tight the bands of time and they will soon snap and our Lord will come on the clouds with a might trumpets roar! Then we will all be with Him and the next great day will be here when we who are chosen by God and given the faith to believe will sing the great song of heaven!

Lord care for our temporary cares and needs until that day comes.

We are clay in Your hands and we strive to live well for the One who died our death. Amen