This week we are looking at the shepherd’s response to the news of the birth of Jesus,

according to Luke 2:8-20.

In today’s verse, we discover what the shepherds did after their visit to the manger: The

shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and

heard, which were just as they had been told. (Luke 2:20)

The shepherds had been out in the fields doing their shepherding on a quiet, ordinary night in

the small village of Bethlehem – when they received from the angels the most important

message in history. This message was delivered to them alone in those fields – no one else

heard the angels. When they came to Bethlehem, everyone was amazed by their message. No

one else knew about it until they shared what they had encountered.

The shepherds saw the Messiah face-to-face. What an experience!

Then the shepherds returned to their work; but as they did their work, they were praising God!

They had had an encounter with God – and when you encounter God, you are going to be

changed!

The same Messiah that the shepherds saw grew and became an adult and said these words

about a cheering crowd one day as He entered Jerusalem: “I tell you, if they were to keep

silent, the stones would cry out.” (Luke 19:40)

As you might know, the leaders in Jerusalem were less than pleased.



When people encounter Jesus, they are going to have to “deal with it” -- they are going to have

a reaction one way or the other.

The Christmas season is the time of year when we encounter Christianity the most. There are

religious songs and messages in the media, new movies about the birth of Jesus, and people

are more willing than usual to accept religious well-wishes. Although the Christmas season will

end, we will have had an encounter with Jesus – especially if we are intentional and take

advantage of the opportunities to fully embrace this gift from the heart of God. What will we do

about it? Will we, like the shepherds, continue to obediently do our work glorifying and praising

God? Or will we return to our duties and pretend nothing happened?

By Jason Grace

Jason is a software engineering manager. He and his wife, Karen, have two children and have

been active members at Immanuel for over 22 years. His service includes roles in the deacon

ministry, children's ministry, technical team, financial coaching, and leading Bible studies. He

loves traveling with his wife and family throughout the US.

Your Daily Missions Moment:

 If you have a group that would like to serve,  the mission needs volunteers to sort donations. You can come as often as you like to help with this. They also look for volunteers willing to help move furniture for homeless clients moving into their first permanent home. https://lexingtonrescue.org/volunteer/