The night Jesus was born shepherds were at work, watching over their flocks, when the glory of the Lord shone around them. The King James Version says they were sore afraid. We might say scared out of their freakin’ minds.

But the angel calmed them: Fear not; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.

Then the skies opened, and a huge host of angels appeared and praised God. For how long we don’t know, but eventually darkness returned. The shepherds wasted no time in hustling down the hill to Bethlehem, where they found Mary and Joseph and Jesus.

The shepherds praised the Lord, marveled at their good fortune and told everyone they could about Jesus and their heavenly visitors.

Why should we be envious of the shepherds? Because they saw Jesus first. Theirs were the first lives changed by Jesus stepping into this world.

Shepherds were ordinary guys, blue collar, not learned or wealthy. Plain folk in our eyes, yet God picked them to meet Jesus first. There are no plain folk in the eyes of the Lord. Which bodes well for you and me, especially when we feel unimportant or overlooked or lost in the grand scheme of the world around us.

Merry Christmas to you, and may the angelic blessing to the shepherds ring true for all of us this Christmas:

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Luke 2 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Jaka Škrlep

Lots of presents under Christmas trees today. It’s nice to give and receive. A true gift is handed off without the expectation of anything in return, but in many cases we give a gift to someone because they deserve it. My wife deserves every gift I give her (along with a medal), for living with me.

David pointed out gifts from God that we enjoy, but certainly did nothing to deserve:

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love…He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

I love the language used to describes these gifts. God’s love reaches as high as the heavens above the earth, a vast distance signifying his immense devotion. Then, he removed the stain of our sin as far as the east is from the west, which goes on forever and ever.

We deserve the worst, as our transgressions affront the most Holy God, but we receive the best. The Lord is a generous giver.

David pointed out a reality that only found its footing with the coming of Jesus. His death and resurrection removed the stain of sin and paid for our iniquities. The Lord showed his compassion and graciousness through the sending of his Son.

Truly a gift you and I do not deserve, but one we can gratefully receive.

Psalm 103 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Yana Hurska

This season of the year we celebrate Jesus, born into human flesh and laid in a manger. An incongruous arrival, the son of God delivered to poor parents on the edge of the empire. But of course that’s part of the mystique, the power of the event. God shows up in the most humble of circumstances. Just ask those shepherds jolted to the ground by the heavenly host.

Today we live in the in-between. Even though Jesus doesn’t walk among us, our Bibles end with the promise of Jesus returning to the earth a second time.

On his homecoming, everyone will experience the heavenly host. No one will need to search out the manger. He will return on a white horse leading an army of saints. No more doubt as to just who this man is.

At the end of the Good Book, Jesus confirmed his return with a simple statement: Yes, I am coming soon. John, the author of Revelation responded with Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Jesus’ second arrival promises our old world reformed into a new Eden. No more crying or mourning or suffering. The books are opened and justice served. All will be made right. The hope wrapped in swaddling clothes now boundless before our eyes.

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Revelation 22 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Greyson Joralemon

In this most wonderful time of year I’m reminded that I need more stuff. My wife and I watched a few minutes of a movie a couple of nights ago, one promoting Christmas as so much more than presents. But the ads interrupting the flow assailed us with the opposite. According to the retailers who paid for the commercials, Christmas is all about the merch.

Despite my mumbling, giving and receiving gifts remains a wonderful tradition, harkening back to three wise gift-givers who visited the young Jesus. I never want to lose sight of how this all started.

I also don’t want to lose sight of who all this stuff actually belongs to. The Lord spoke to Job and made that clear:

Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.

Everything is a big word, encompassing like…everything. All I see and touch and look upon is the Lord’s. All I cling to in my possession is actually the Lord’s. Everything includes my person as well. I’m not my own, but belong to God in heaven.

With this in mind gift-giving takes a different tack. I’m merely passing something of the Lord’s along to someone else. What God has given to me, I’m able to give to others. Or to put it in more religious (but appropriate) terms, the Lord blessed me so I may bless others.

Which is good for me to remember. Because giving and receiving in this mindset makes for a most wonderful time, any time of the year.

Job 41 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by freestocks