Jesus, the One who is God's Son....His Only Son...came into a world...much like ours today. It was a world full of conflict and full of poverty....a world where many religions had been around...for many centuries.
There were good people...and there were bad people; there were good causes to fight for...and there were others who supported rights and beliefs that caused questions to arise. There were crimes....women and children mistreated... and neglect of the elderly. There were murders...there was rape...there were injustices similar to what we hear today......
So...what did God plan to do...to change our world and all this pain....this suffering...this loneliness and rejection we all experience in life?....He could have sent one of His garrisons of His Warrior Angels...and wipe out mankind...start the whole thing over. He could have corrected all those doing shame and wrong...doing things His Commands tells us not to do. He could have established His Kingdom on earth, declared war on Evil, and began a Crusade that would eliminate anyone who opposed Him.
There were so many things He could have done...differently....but this was His Plan...and it is still in tact today. The announcement of His Plan...was to be passed on by a few shepherds...watching some sheep in a field...during the night. This announcement has now been given to us....and just like the shepherds...who received the "original message", we are to announce this message to those we are in contact with....and let God go on...with this Plan of His......
A Gleaning from Saint Luke 2:8-14
" In the area of Bethlehem...near the town of the great City of David....Jerusalem....the city where God's Heart lives!...were some shepherds....
These shepherds were living at the time under the "open skies", and were guarding a large field, taking turns by shifts....keeping guard over some....sheep.
It's possible that the sheep the shepherds were guarding were intended for sacrifices....sacrifices to God...in the Temple of Jerusalem...for Jerusalem...was only a few miles away.... and here s what happened one night.....
The shepherds on duty during the night watch were "combing" the field, when all of a sudden there appeared an angel...and this angel had been sent directly...to these shepherds...on the orders from the...Lord of Heaven!
As this angel of the Lord stood...among these shepherds on the night watch...there was this great radiance...like a blaze...a brightness...and it was soon to be discovered this "light" was the very Glory of the Lord of Heaven Himself!
These shepherds...were terrified!...This brightness was simply...incomprehensible!
Yet the angel...the one the Lord had sent, reassured these shepherds by saying to them: "Do not be afraid, I have come to you with Good News...this Good News must be passed on...to all people...throughout the entire world!"
After this opening remark by the angel of the Lord, the angel continues...
"The Good News from the Lord is this: The Savior, The Lord,...Yes!...The Messiah!...has been born here...today!...right here...in Bethlehem...in the "heart of King David's home!" He has come...to become...one of you!
Now listen, here is how you will be able to recognize Him; after you have searched a while, you will come across a "newborn"....wrapped in swaddling clothes....just like many newborns...but this one...you will find lying in a...manger...a feed trough full of hay! It is then your very own eyes will behold Him...the True Messiah!"
After the angel of the Lord had given these night shepherds these specific instructions...something happened again...but this time it wasn't so terrifying! For at that moment, after His Instructions had been delivered...this messenger...this angel of the Lord was suddenly joined...by a vast amount of other angels!....like a heavenly knighthood...a complete array of troops from Heaven itself! All these warrior type angels of the God-of-the-Angel-Armies were praising the very God of the Heavens...saying these words: "All Glory to God"...may the sounds and echoes of these very words reach the highest of His heavens!...to the very Home of the Great God Himself! All glory is given to the Lord of Heaven, and He has brought to the earth...His Peace...this very night...in Bethlehem...The Prince of Peace now lives and has become....one of you! May all those who seek His favor...welcome the Prince of Peace into their home...the home within their hearts."
There were good people...and there were bad people; there were good causes to fight for...and there were others who supported rights and beliefs that caused questions to arise. There were crimes....women and children mistreated... and neglect of the elderly. There were murders...there was rape...there were injustices similar to what we hear today......
So...what did God plan to do...to change our world and all this pain....this suffering...this loneliness and rejection we all experience in life?....He could have sent one of His garrisons of His Warrior Angels...and wipe out mankind...start the whole thing over. He could have corrected all those doing shame and wrong...doing things His Commands tells us not to do. He could have established His Kingdom on earth, declared war on Evil, and began a Crusade that would eliminate anyone who opposed Him.
There were so many things He could have done...differently....but this was His Plan...and it is still in tact today. The announcement of His Plan...was to be passed on by a few shepherds...watching some sheep in a field...during the night. This announcement has now been given to us....and just like the shepherds...who received the "original message", we are to announce this message to those we are in contact with....and let God go on...with this Plan of His......
A Gleaning from Saint Luke 2:8-14
" In the area of Bethlehem...near the town of the great City of David....Jerusalem....the city where God's Heart lives!...were some shepherds....
These shepherds were living at the time under the "open skies", and were guarding a large field, taking turns by shifts....keeping guard over some....sheep.
It's possible that the sheep the shepherds were guarding were intended for sacrifices....sacrifices to God...in the Temple of Jerusalem...for Jerusalem...was only a few miles away.... and here s what happened one night.....
The shepherds on duty during the night watch were "combing" the field, when all of a sudden there appeared an angel...and this angel had been sent directly...to these shepherds...on the orders from the...Lord of Heaven!
As this angel of the Lord stood...among these shepherds on the night watch...there was this great radiance...like a blaze...a brightness...and it was soon to be discovered this "light" was the very Glory of the Lord of Heaven Himself!
These shepherds...were terrified!...This brightness was simply...incomprehensible!
Yet the angel...the one the Lord had sent, reassured these shepherds by saying to them: "Do not be afraid, I have come to you with Good News...this Good News must be passed on...to all people...throughout the entire world!"
After this opening remark by the angel of the Lord, the angel continues...
"The Good News from the Lord is this: The Savior, The Lord,...Yes!...The Messiah!...has been born here...today!...right here...in Bethlehem...in the "heart of King David's home!" He has come...to become...one of you!
After the angel of the Lord had given these night shepherds these specific instructions...something happened again...but this time it wasn't so terrifying! For at that moment, after His Instructions had been delivered...this messenger...this angel of the Lord was suddenly joined...by a vast amount of other angels!....like a heavenly knighthood...a complete array of troops from Heaven itself! All these warrior type angels of the God-of-the-Angel-Armies were praising the very God of the Heavens...saying these words: "All Glory to God"...may the sounds and echoes of these very words reach the highest of His heavens!...to the very Home of the Great God Himself! All glory is given to the Lord of Heaven, and He has brought to the earth...His Peace...this very night...in Bethlehem...The Prince of Peace now lives and has become....one of you! May all those who seek His favor...welcome the Prince of Peace into their home...the home within their hearts."
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