IT ALL CHECKS OUT
Opening Prayer
“Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psa. 34:8).
Read Luke 2:15–20
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.”
16 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. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Consider the tangible ways God has shown you his goodness.It was an ordinary night—the flocks were quiet, the air was still. And then: blazing light, a terrifying, glorious angelic figure addressing them, them—lowly shepherds—and the sky filling with more of these beings, making an unearthly sound that they could somehow understand, announcing the arrival of the Messiah in a town a stone’s throw away. And then the inky darkness once more, the sheep settling down, silence ringing in their ears.
They set off to verify what they’d been told. Somewhere in Bethlehem, if this whole story was to be believed, there would be a newborn baby in a manger of all places. Sure enough, there he was. They saw him with their own eyes.
There is nothing abstract about God’s interaction with his world. It is local, specific, concrete and very, very real. As the shepherds heard and then went to check it out, we are invited to experience a direct relationship with God too. And then pass on what we’ve found to be true to anyone who will listen.
Apply
Are you satisfied with second-hand accounts of who Jesus is? Remember your character sketch of God? What do you know about Jesus from his biography? How can you know him more?
Closing prayer
O Jesus, I want to experience Your presence. Thank You that You are here with me now.
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