Good News!

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation. Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7 NKJV

This Tuesday, I stopped to see my friend Don and his wife Lorna, who recently been admitted to a nursing home in our area. This facility was new to me, and I have never held any services there, so I brought along copies of our weekly newsletter. ,,, Go to Walking With Lambs to read the rest of the story.

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Third Shift Shepherds

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  Luke 2:8 KJV

When I briefly worked from 11pm till 6 am, I found myself suddenly a part of an exclusive group of people who only see the world from mid-night till dawn. On the night that Jesus was born, just above Bethlehem were shepherds who were the third shift workers of their day. The more important shepherds got the first shift jobs. But in the darkness of that night, those unnamed and seemingly unimportant third shift shepherds were about to become the first people on earth to hear the good news of Jesus Christ! That message was that God had remembered His people, He remembered Bethlehem and He even remembered shepherds whom everyone else had forgotten.

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Did you ever stop to think that God also remembers you? He is not satisfied to visit only the better homes in the better neighborhoods with the biggest churches with their beautiful appearances. Just as the shepherds were watching their flocks at night so God watches over us when we are going through the darkest moments of our lives. He knows right where we are. He hears us and He still sends angels with His message of good news. There is no better place than right where you are to hear the news; that Jesus Christ came to bring hope and salvation to us all: even to third shift shepherds out in their fields at night!

Silent Night – Mary’s Treasure

Luke 2:19-20 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Of all the songs that I relate to Christmas I find that Silent Night is the one that brings me closest to that scene with Mary, Joseph and the Shepherds gathering in amazement and awe around the child sent from God, lying in a manger. In that hush (Though I am skeptical about the line “No crying He makes) there is the true worship that God intended when He sent the Good News of great joy. I pray you will have a wonderful Christmas season sharing that joy with neighbors, friends and family. We now have the job the angels have so today consider going out and looking for some shepherds who are out in the fields and invite them to come and worship Christ the new born king! I hope you will like my rendering of this song written 200 years ago in German by Joseph Mohr with music from Franz Gruber. Its simple beauty still stirs my heart every time I sing. Have a blessed week-end everybody!