In the Silence

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 
Luke 2:8 ESV

Have you ever wondered why God sometimes requires our silence? When I was small, my parents had a dinner table rule, “Children were to be seen and not heard!” Today, I realize that it was because they needed time to talk with each other after a busy day, but at the time I hated it! It felt like my mom and stepdad were only interested in themselves, and that we kids were second class citizens. So, when God asks for our silence, we might feel the same way, but it isn’t true. God is looking for us to be quiet so that He can tell us what is on His heart.

In fat, it was on that first Christmas, that God came in a moment of quietness to shepherds, who were watching their sheep. When God broke their silence, it was with the message of “Good news of great joy, that will be for all people!” In the darkness and the silence, God came to show us all, that He: the Good Shepherd, was watching over us, His sleeping sheep. Today, He invites us to come into His presence, in Heaven, where we will never be silent again, but there we will worship Him with shouts of praise for all eternity!

“In the holy hush of dawn – I hear a voice
I am with you all the day – Rejoice! Rejoice!”
L. B. Cowman - Streams in the Desert November 28

With Us Always!

While we sat together in our favorite restaurant after the Christmas Eve service it was hard to imagine (or even remember!) that we have celebrated 48 Christmases together. Through both the wonderful and the most difficult times God has shown us that He is good. He has been faithful and because He chose to come to Bethlehem, He has been with us.

But God with us is only good news because of grace. If He came only with justice then Emmanuel – God with us- is very bad news indeed. But He came to seek out and save us if we will only stop running and allow ourselves to be found. So, Merry Christmas and may His grace reach down to wherever you are and remind you that He came for you as well. Nothing more important was on His agenda that first Christmas morning and nothing matters more to Him today than your soul and your heart. He is our Emmanuel – God with us – both now and always!