[Dailydevo] Daily Devotion Thursday December 22, 2005

[Barry Ludwig]

Daily Devotion Thursday December 22, 2005

The devotions this week are written by Pastor Ludwig. He explores the
message of the angels who announced to the shepherds that the world's Savior
has just been born.

 

 Luke 2:8-14

And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping  watch
over their flock by night.  And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and
the glory of the Lord  shone around them, and they were filled with fear.
And the angel said to them, "Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you  good
news of a great joy which will come to all the people;  for to you is born
this day in the city of David a Savior, who is  Christ the Lord.  And this
will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in  swaddling cloths
and 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 among those with whom he is pleased!"  

 

A Sign

We like signs. Faith-filled people are always looking for signs. And God is
happy to give them. The problem is that our definition of "sign" and God's
definition are usually not the same. We tend to look for signs in disasters
don't we? After the Tsunami, I received dozens of inquiries from people
asking, "What is God trying to tell us?"  After Katrina, a number of
media-based preachers hyped that it was God's judgment against America.  We
like signs and we like them big and apparently we like them destructive.

 

God gives signs, but it would seem that he likes them quiet and redemptive.
The angel-warrior announces that the sign that God has come to love the
unlovable, find the lost, forgive the unforgiven and bring home the prodigal
creation is a little baby born in an animal stall in an out-of-the-way town
called "House of Bread" (Bethlehem).  God likes signs that reveal to us His
plan of grace and mercy. This Christmas may we be looking for God's signs in
the right places.

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://zlc-aa.org/pipermail/dailydevo_zlc-aa.org/attachments/20051222/64c93160/attachment.htm