Monday, December 21, 2015
Devotion VIDEO here
That night there were shepherds staying in the fields
nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them,
and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel
reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he
said. “I bring you good news that will
bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born
today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips
of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly,
the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God
and saying, “Glory
to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is
pleased.” When the angels had returned
to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see
this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They hurried to the village and found Mary
and Joseph. And there was the baby,
lying in the manger. After
seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel
had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but
Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to
their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It
was just as the angel had told them. Luke
2:8-20(NLT)
The details are known by
anyone who has ever participated in a Christmas play. The shepherds returned to their fields, but they
went back as changed people, different than they'd been; they went back
rejoicing over the astonishing news they'd witnessed. And the primary difference was in that they shared
the story, probably quite often.
A beggar who finds bread
tells other beggars!
What change can the witness
of a child in a manger make? For these
shepherds we see that their lives were transformed.
Bret Harte, one of American
literature's great authors wrote about life on the American frontier. One of his most famous stories is about the
baby of Roaring Camp mine, about 80 miles out of Sacramento. A woman of questionable reputation named
Cherokee Sal lived in the camp, and she died, leaving a newborn baby. The rough and hard men said: We
have to do something with this baby.
They had a wooden crate for
a bed, but one of the men decided that it wasn't fit for a baby; so he sent to
Sacramento for a rosewood cradle. The
cradle was wonderful, but it highlighted the dirty clothes they'd dressed him in;
so, back to Sacramento for some nice clothes.
Then they saw that the floor was dirty, and they cleaned it; then the
walls, windows, and the ceiling.
And the baby had to have
some rest, so the carousing, partying and drinking ceased; they said: the baby's asleep, be quiet!
When spring came, they took
the child outside and up to the mine where they worked. But it was so bare, and dirty. So they began to clean up the litter, and one
planted flowers to beautify it.
Some of the men began to
shave regularly, and even wash up. In
short, the presence of one tiny baby transformed that old rough and wicked mining
camp into a beautiful place of changed people.[2]
This is what happens when
Jesus comes to a life.
When we give ourselves to
Him, that He might be Lord and Savior there is a change to life. We begin to live differently, and the changes
are seen. Our lives are different,
because He makes a difference.
For You Today
In a lot of ways our world
can be a Roaring Camp, dark, noisy, dangerous, and hopeless. But the GREATEST
NEWS is brought by a child that can change everything!
Christmas means you can be
born again....He can come into your heart....and change your world. We can say, "For unto ME a Savior is
born..."
[2]
The Luck of Roaring Camp, Francis Bret Harte, The Harvard Classics Shelf of
Fiction, Vol. X, Part 4. © 2001 Bartleby.com, Inc.
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