Happy Sabbath and Merry Christmas friends! I hope you all had a blessed Christmas whether it was with family, friends, pets, etc. Christmas is a beautiful reminder of the birth of Jesus, and that God sent His One and only Son on this earth to atone for our sins. What a gift of abundant and everlasting love that is! This message will be on the longer side as we are covering the final two parts of the Christmas story since I ultimately forgot to post a blog two weeks prior to this one. My sincerest apologies for those who were looking forward to a post that weekend, but the finale of the Christmas story is finally here! I pray this message brings upon a blessing to your life, as it did mine.
“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 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.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.”
Luke 2:1-21 NIV
What a blessing! The angel sent from the Lord spoke all these things, and it all became a reality. This story really speaks on the fact that whatever the Lord commands, will be the way everything plays out. This fact can be proof that we can put our complete trust in Him to carry us through, because He commanded that He would never forsake, nor leave us.
“No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Joshua 1:5 NIV
I love that as soon as God’s word was brought to fruition, the shepherds went to spread the good news of Jesus’ birth to all. Isn’t that what we should do when we encounter a miraculous moment with Jesus? We shouldn’t feel ashamed to talk about our Heavenly Father because He has always been there for us. He has never forsaken, nor left us. We should be like the shepherds when they saw the birth of Jesus come to fruition as the angel of the Lord said before, and share the good news! The whole world is deserving to know the everlasting love of our Lord Jesus.
“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.””
Matthew 2:1-13 NIV
Now just because something good happens in your life, doesn’t mean that the bad will completely go away (unfortunately). Even though a miracle occurred with the Virgin Mary giving birth to our Lord Jesus, King Herod was full of jealousy and hatred because of his fear that Jesus would overthrow him as king. Some may think that once they give their hearts over to Jesus, that life will be easier, but unfortunately that is not the case because we are always facing a spiritual battle each day with the devil. Satan does not want us to have a close relationship with Jesus, and he will do everything in his power to separate us from Him, and even stop us from spreading the good news of Jesus. We should not give satan that power and allow him to separate us from our Heavenly Father. Instead, we should cling onto Him, and allow Him to guide us along the narrow way. Just as the angel of the Lord warned Joseph to protect Jesus as King Herod had plans to kill him, our Lord Jesus will warn us of danger when it approaches and we have a choice whether to listen to Him, or to not.
“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.””
John 10:3-5 NIV
As children of God, we are His sheep, and we should open our hearts and minds to our Heavenly Father so He can guide us along the narrow way, and protect us from any danger that may be up ahead.
I pray that during this Christmas season we are overwhelmed with the love of our Heavenly Father. I pray that in this season, we praise Your name, Lord Jesus, as You came into this world to save us. We are sinners, and yet, You died for us. I also pray that we resemble the same actions the shepherds upheld, and when we are experiencing the love of Jesus that we are not ashamed to spread the good news to everyone around us. Thank you, Jesus, for everything. You truly are the greatest gift of all.
Merry Christmas to all who are reading this message. May God be with you all, always.
Amen.
Saved By His Grace 
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