Your Daily Devotional for December 18, 2006

 

December 18, 2006

 

 

The Presence of God

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

“And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.”

 

Luke 2:15-18

 

In this passage of Scripture we see the story of the shepherds who went to see baby Jesus after He was born. Verses 8-14 of this passage say, “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 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. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

 

The shepherds went to the manger immediately upon hearing the news from the angels. Christ Jesus had finally come! He was on earth! The Bible says that after the shepherds saw Jesus they went and told everyone of His birth. They were so eager for others to know that the Messiah had come! They had been in Christ’s presence and couldn’t help but spread the news.

 

When we experience the presence of God, we cannot go away unchanged. These shepherds were probably not the most eloquent speakers or the most refined men, but that didn’t keep them from telling everyone of Christ’s birth. They left everything to tell others of Christ.

 

I heard of a woman who had left her husband. The husband called the police and filed a missing persons report. A few weeks later the police found her a few counties over. By now the husband had realized how poorly he had treated his wife, so he decided to write to her. He did this for months with no reply. Finally, Christmas came, and he went to see her. He asked her to come home and she did. On the way home he said, “I’ve written you for months, why did you come home so easily?” She replied, “Because those were just letters. This time you came in person.”

 

Christ came in person to die for our sins. It is our job to get that word out to those around us. Just as the shepherds, we can have an impact on our world if we will spend time in God’s presence. When we spend time with God, we will find the strength we need to tell others of Him. When was the last time you spent time in the presence of God?

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