Tag: Christmas

Why Shepherds?

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After Jesus was born in a stable, Mary wrapped Him up and laid Him to rest in the soft hay of a manger (a feeding trough). Then God once again did something unexpected. He sent an angel to announce Jesus’ birth to an unlikely audience – a huddle of shepherds watching their flocks in the darkness of a field:

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”*

Looking back, the story is so familiar that we hardly consider it, but a question remains: Why shepherds? After all, God had just performed something stupendous – He had manifested part of Himself in the womb of a virgin, who gave birth to a unique baby, a child who was actually God in human flesh. Emmanuel – “God with us.” Didn’t such a monumental event rate a bigger, more important audience than poor shepherds?

King Herod lived only 7 miles away, but God knew that ruler was unworthy of the angelic announcement. (Later, when news of a newborn king finally reached Herod, his instinctive reaction was an attempt to kill the child.)

Of course, there were plenty of influential people in Israel: religious leaders, scholars, craftsmen, merchants, Roman occupation troops… But God bypassed them all in favor of ordinary shepherds. Why? Perhaps part of the reason is found in the angel’s own words. These tidings of great joy were “to all people.” If the angel had made the announcement only to this world’s “elite,” then perhaps ordinary believers would feel like second-class citizens. But God worked in a way that shows He isn’t impressed by earthly wealth, fame, education, or celebrity status. 

Perhaps another reason God revealed His working to shepherds lies in another fact. When John the Baptist saw Jesus, he declared, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” The symbolism of God announcing the Lamb to shepherds is fitting.

Jesus willingly became the sacrificial Lamb, the sinless One who allowed Himself to be killed on a cross to take on Himself the punishment for people’s sins. 

Have you accepted His sacrifice? Have you placed your faith in Christ, the “Lamb of God”? If not, it isn’t yet too late. Join the shepherds and millions of others who have come to Christ!

*Luke 2:10-11

Defending Friends in Need

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In September of 1940, Nazi bombers and fighter planes regularly appeared over England. One day, Kathleen Rainer was working in a field in Sussex when enemy planes appeared. Fascinated, Kathleen watched as British fighters raced to engage the enemy. British Spitfires and German airplanes battled back and forth in deadly dogfights. Then, as Kathleen watched, a British plane took a deadly hit. The pilot bailed out. Kathleen sighed in relief when the parachute billowed open. Her countryman was safe. But then some German planes did the unthinkable – they flew straight at the dangling man, attempting to machine gun him as he hung defenseless in his harness! But moments later, Kathleen’s horror transformed into admiration:

“The other Spitfires began to circle the parachute, protecting the pilot from the German attack. As the pilot descended down, the rest of his squadron would spiral down with him, guiding him to the ground and protecting him.” *

World War II is long over, but life is still full of attacks. In this struggle, we can take “hits” from attackers, whether at work, on the ball court, even in the home. There are two ways to respond. We can live by the motto, “Every man for himself,” or we can imitate those brave Spitfire pilots who saw their sinking friend and rallied to his aid, even though they themselves became more vulnerable.

In this Christmas season, someone you know may be under attack by enemies. Sickness, loneliness, and heartbreak can hurt even more during holidays. Rather than shutting our eyes to enjoy our own holly jolly season, let’s be on the alert for those are sinking in silence. Your encouragement might be exactly what they need to survive!

*Kathleen Rainer, “Downed Pilots in Sussex,” www.bbc.co.uk.

Christmas Stories

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I admire the power of story. A well-told tale can pluck us from our current life then insert us into some totally different place and time. Along the way, the story can make us care about the hero/heroine and hope that person emerges victorious, whether the opposition comes in the form of bad guys, challenging goals, or a difficult situation. Through story, we can experience a wide range of emotions, almost as if we, ourselves, were living those experiences. A story that we truly enjoy will provide a feeling of satisfaction by The End. We may have even learned something about life.

As we approach the end of 2019, I notice several friends reminiscing about favorite Christmas stories, both books and movies. (A few confess already binging on Hallmark videos!) Does your own favorite story involving Christmastime include Dr. Marcia Fieldstone? Or romance? A Red Ryder BB Gun? Or maybe Cindy Who down in Whoville? 

Some stories we all know. But chances are you’ve enjoyed a Christmas story that isn’t familiar to everyone. One Christmas movie I’ve watched several times is The Christmas Card. In it, U.S. Army Master Sergeant Cody Cullen is serving in Afghanistan when a fellow soldier gives him a Christmas card from a church in that soldier’s hometown of Nevada City, California. Somehow, the sincere words of that card bolster Cody despite the violence around him. After the soldier who gave him the card is killed, Cody goes to visit his widow in little Nevada City and accidentally meets Faith, the woman who penned the Christmas card… (I could say more, but I don’t want to spoil it for those who haven’t seen it. Just trust me, this movie has a warm, feel-good ending.)

How about you? If there’s a book or movie involving Christmas that you especially like, please comment below. Give us the title, and maybe a brief word about why you like that story. Sharing now will give others a chance to see it in the 7 weeks before Christmas. 

P.S. In case you’ve never seen The Christmas Card, here are two links. The choice is yours: Watch it in English, or in Russian!

In English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GBAtOxyhEk

На русском: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzXMZ2AsGRk

The Author Who Entered His Own Story

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Like any novelist, I conjure the characters in my stories out of my own imagination. I decide what they will look like, how they will talk, and which talents and abilities each one will possess. In the case of my fantasy novel, Kiriath’s Quest,I even invented the world in which my characters live. But no human author can finish his manuscript and then “beam down” into his story to live inside it and talk among those characters he created.

God is an author, too, but He’s definitely not limited in the way human authors are limited. Out of His imagination, and for His own good pleasure, God imagined what we call “the universe,” and He created it! He further imagined inhabitants called men and women, who would have physical natures (bodies), and would also have non-physical natures (souls). It pleased God to manifest Himself to the first humans (Adam and Eve) and to fellowship with His created beings.

But there came a time when the first two humans decided to distrust God. They wanted to be like Him, to decide  good and bad, and to ignore His one prohibition and to eat the forbidden fruit. After their disobedience, their physical bodies looked the same, but they had corrupted their own souls. They lost the perfect communion they once had with their Creator.

But God—the Author of Creation—didn’t shred His manuscript. In order redeem and restore part of mankind, God did the unimaginable plot twist: He manifested a portion of Himself to “beam down”—to be born of a virgin (the first Christmas) and to grow physically and to walk and talk inside His creation as part of it. What a mind-blowing idea! This is why the angel who explained events to Joseph, Mary’s husband to be, told him the child would be called Immanuel, meaning “God with us” (Matthew 1).

While living on earth in human form, God (named Jesus in this form) taught people spiritual Truth and healed their afflictions. But more importantly, He lived a sinless life, and then permitted flawed and sinful soldiers to capture Him and nail Him to a cross for execution. (Just imagine—an author being murdered when the violent characters in his story rise up against him? Whoa!) In this way, God Himself—in the person of Jesus—voluntarily took on Himself the punishment for the sins of the human race. But humans can’t defeat God. Jesus rose from the dead. Ever since, any person who wants to be reconciled with God and to rejoin His family can do so. “…Whoever believes in him [Jesus Christ] may have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Believing in God is good, but that’s not enough. Do you believe and accept Christ’s sacrifice on your behalf? “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:18).

This Christmas, I wish all of you a wonderful, festive time with friends and family. But don’t let the whole purpose of Christmas slip by without recognizing its importance: our Creator did what no human could so that you and I could have cleansing from sin and rejoin His family forever. If you’ve never prayed and accepted Christ as Savior, let this be the year you do!