Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers inc. Wheaton, Illinois 60189, all rights reserved.
GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY
[Luke 2:8-14]That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angle of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened, but the angle reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savior--yes, the Messiah, the Lord--has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David! And this is how you will recognize Him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!” Suddenly, the angle was joined by a vast host of others--the armies of heaven--praising God: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors.”
When an angle of the Lord appeared to the shepherds in the field, he gave them good news of great joy for all people. The long awaited Savior was born. May I say, the good news they proclaimed that day had to do with much more that Jesus’ birth. It anticipated His sinless life, which qualified Him to be God’s sacrificial lamb. It looked ahead to His crucifixion and resurrection, which signaled the Father’s acceptance of Christ’s payment for the sins of those who receive the gospel message and place their trust in Christ and His merit alone, for their salvation. The announcement also encompassed the idea of His ascension into heaven. And it envisioned the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit would indwell and seal believers, as well as the time Jesus would return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The angles rejoiced because the day of salvation was here (see 2Cor. 6:2). The shepherds praised God. Have you thanked the Lord today for your salvation child of God? Let me encourage you to do that right now. May God richly bless.
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