The Blessing of Obedience

As we think about the Christmas story, the part of the story that seems minor is the shepherds.

The humble shepherds were doing what shepherds do;

taking care of their sheep.

Was it warm? Cold I have no clue.

I imagine that they were out there in the fields,

expecting things to be the same as they were every other night.

But... this was not going to be any other night.

Perhaps they sat around the fire sharing stories;

or maybe the night was so still that they sat staring at the stars in silence.

however it played out, they were out in the fields

when the angels light up the night sky and spoke their happy greetings.

Their instructions were simple.

Nothing hard or important;

go to Bethlehem and see the child.

Did others see the angels?

I don't know.

If they did, they did not go see the baby as the shepherds did.

For the lowly shepherds, obedience cost nothing but a little sleep.

Yet, the blessing they received from their simple act of obedience,

was one, that I imagine, they would remember for the rest of their life.

they were one of the few people to see the baby that night that would be like no other.

They were given a chance to gaze upon the savior of the world.

Obedience brings with it a unique blessing.

Don't miss the blessing of obedience.

Comments

Live Fearlessly

As I was driving home today, I passed a person walking on the side of the road. Since it was cold, and snowy, I thought I should stop and offer the person a ride. As I drove on by, I was irritated with myself for not stopping. I could have and should have but I didn't. Why? I was scared! Maybe that wouldn't bother you, but I'm willing to bet there are things that make you afraid. It may be snakes or spiders that send the ticker into overdrive. Or maybe it's your job and finances that keep you up at night when you should be resting. Then again perhaps it's relationships that consume your thoughts and energy. As followers of God, we know that we are told not to be afraid. Yet we often are afraid despite everything we know. As I was driving away from a misse...

Tragedy: A Christian Response

I want to start by telling you a story. We were new parents. When Our oldest, a son, was about eighteen to twenty months we had another baby, a girl with brown hair and huge eyes. One day as I went to feed her, my son who may have been two at the time wandered off to another part of the house. The next thing I heard was a thud. I grabbed my baby girl and ran to see what happened. There was my son with a table on top of him. He had pulled it over on himself and more blood than I had ever seen was running all over. We put him in the car and dashed for the ER. It was not a fun trip. He had a skull fracture and many stitches. Fast forward about fourteen or fifteen years, I’m at a stop light and watch my youngest daughter about ten start across a street on a bike start across a street just as a truck comes around a corner into the path of the bike. She hit the side of the truck and bounced onto the road....

Just A Word of Praise!!

On Sunday, after church, we went to a town about thirty minutes away. On the way we drove through an area where they were working on the road. It was no big deal. We had lunch, bought some food for the week, and drove back home. Later, as we were on our way to church for the evening service, I heard the ominous flapping sound that a tire makes when it’s flat. Yikes! I pulled over and while I was debating how I was going to change a tire. A car coming in the opposite direction drove by and stopped. As the driver appeared from the vehicle, I recognized him as a neighbor and fellow believer. He approached the car, and asked if I had an air compressor to inflate the tire. My answer, “Yes, but I’m not sure how good it is. I’ve never actually managed to inflate a tire using it. I may not be using it properly.” I produced it from the trunk of the car and handed it to him. Within...

Inspirations

Search This Blog