Get ready to start a journey…a journey through the pages of the Bible and the pages of your life.
They were minding their sheep and minding their business when the angel suddenly appeared. In an instant, the darkness of night turned to brilliant light. The angel, coming from the presence of God, brought with him God’s glory and the place lit up! No wonder the shepherds were terrified. But the angel addressed their fears.
Without any pomp or circumstance, a royal baby was born. In the chaos of the Roman Empire, the Prince of Peace entered the human race. All heaven looked on as God wrote his story of love in living letters. Jesus became, in Paul’s words, “the image of the invisible God.”
In our busy lives, it’s hard for some people to make room for Jesus. They keep him at a distance. The things of life fill their hearts with temporary satisfaction. But sooner or later temporal things fail to satisfy. The heart of the person who makes room for Jesus is filled, changed, and transformed.
When God sent his Son into the world, he did not make it easy for the parents or the child. He stripped the Anointed One of every royal privilege. Already tagged as an illegitimate child, Jesus breathed his first breaths of air in a musty stable. Jesus learned obedience through suffering…all the way to the cross.
Maybe something has changed your plans this Christmas. A job that didn’t go the way you expected. An illness that showed up uninvited. A relocation. A separation. A broken relationship. The loss of a loved one. Sometimes things seem to happen so randomly. But for the believer, God is always in control. Hold on! He is using today to prepare you for tomorrow. He will never waste your time.
The sovereign God used Augustus to move His chosen couple from Nazareth to Bethlehem. As the Proverb says, “In the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him” (Proverbs 21:1).