Let's Go!
Opening Prayer
O Lord, help us to leave everything behind and pursue You with everything.
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. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Are you ready to hear God's voice and respond?The shepherds needed no encouragement to go to Bethlehem to see what had happened. They were off like a shot (16)! But how would they find the baby? The angel had given them three clues: the baby was newborn, he was wrapped in the strips of cloth which peasants would use, and he was lying in a manger (11,12). So far so good.The manger was almost certainly in a peasant house, not a stable or a cave. The latest NIV rightly says that this was because there was no guest room (7)–no room in the inn is a mistranslation. So it was a question of finding a newborn baby in a manger. And what did the shepherds do when they found him? They told everyone they could find (17), leading to all-around amazement in Bethlehem (18). Then it was back to the sheep, praising God along the way. Here’s a pattern for celebrating Christmas. How are you sharing the news this year? And when will you be praising God? It really did happen (20)!
Apply
Follow Mary’s good example to “treasure up all these things and [ponder] them in [your] heart.”
Closing prayer
My beloved Lord, let me find those riches so sweet that there is no other response but to treasure them in my heart.
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