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Tag: messiah

  • Voices of Angels for Shepherds near Bethlehem

    Voices of Angels for Shepherds near Bethlehem

    He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. – Isaiah 40:11

    In case you missed part 1 of our story, you can read about the shepherds of Bethlehem here.

    The Shepherds and the Angels

    Luke 2:

    8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

    13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

    14 “Glory to God in the highest,
        and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

    15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

    16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.

    20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

    An angel of the Lord approaches from the night sky with a message of good news. How will you respond?

    Fear first? Certainly! But this messenger of the Lord says, “Fear not.”

    Shepherds have never seen the king, even those those who serve the king. Heavenly beings now appear to shepherds on a hillside near Bethlehem. Why have angels come to lowly shepherds to proclaim the birth of the Messiah?

    Then the Angels tell these shepherds to see the Lord Incarnate with their own eyes!

    By their first witness, these most humble among men announce the arrival of the Most Humble Lord of Lords and King of Kings, born of a humble virgin and laid in a manger used to feed animals in this same lowly place.

    It would have been the pinnacle event of their lives to have witnessed angels, singing to the glory of God. Yet even more, the lowest proclaim first the birth of the Highest One to men not privileged to behold our newborn Savior, Jesus the Messiah, born a son of man to a virgin in lowly Bethlehem of Judea.

    “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
    for from you shall come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’” – Matthew 2:6

    A lowly shepherd tells us, “I have seen the Lord.” The Messiah is born to us in a manger. How unlikely, that God should send a Son to be born and sacrificed for our sins. Yet Shepherds and Magi have witnessed the glory of angels proclaiming this moment…

    And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

    John 1:14

    For God So Loved the World

    [ctt title=”“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” tweet=”John 3:16-17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ” coverup=”8N4eb”]

    18 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.

    Where is your witness this Christmas? Is your love for the Lord this same worship of the angels of heaven and redeemed lowly shepherds of this earth?

    Glory to God in the Highest and one earth peace, good will towards men, though Christ Jesus, our Lord.

    Amen.

  • The Voice of a Shepherd in the Wilderness

    A Flawed Shepherd

    We’re flawed – very flawed; you know what I mean?

    A Shepherd is sorta an outsider, you know. The people in town wear fine clothes, woven from the well-washed wool of our flocks, yet they turn away from us repulsed by the scent of our lowly work as shepherds.

    Hills near Bethlehem in 2016 palestinian region of Israel

    Mostly we live in the wilderness just beyond Bethlehem, grazing our sheep, sleeping in solitude under the dark dome of silent star-lit nights. At night I look up to the Lord in the heavens, remembering the words of my youth.

    Traditions from our fathers recall a shepherd-king, David, of generations long gone. The old City of David just up the mountain from Bethlehem became home to a couple of thousand people. Our little town of Bethlehem now swells to nearly a thousand due to Rome’s order for our families to return for a census. Jerusalem has grown to maybe 40,000, plus Roman centurions.

    Time of the First Temple – 957-586 BC

    Solomon, son of David, built the first Temple in Jerusalem with riches from other lands. Enemies destroyed the Temple and plundered our lands, because our kings refused to listen to the Lord. Isaiah and the Prophets repeatedly warned our kings not to turn against God. They promised us hope in a Messiah, a King who would lead Israel in righteousness: but first Babylon would parade our captive leaders into foreign cities to live.

    Bethlehem road, 2016 palestinian Israel

    Second Temple rebuilt – 538-170 BC

    They allowed some of our fathers to return and rebuild Jerusalem, just a short journey north beyond these hills.

    Alexander ruled over us and the entire world nearby while our fathers adopted the language and some of the culture of our Greek captors. Egypt ruled us once more after Alexander’s death, until an Alexandrian general of Syria conquered us again.

    Herod rebuilds the Temple and Jerusalem under Rome – 38 BC

    Our grandfathers told us stories of the revolt of the priests and Herod the Great recapturing Galilee with considerable help from Rome. Rome’s powerful peace rules over us now, enforced by legions encamped across our countryside; but shepherds have little to say in these matters of power.

    Life of a Shepherd

    Our days of drudgery drag on into senseless seasons of defeat and despair. Dreams discouraged — hopes of all the years abandoned in desperate darkness for distractions of days lost in silent surrender. When we were young, times of promise never escaped our self-confidence. Now scores of years reveal a flawed flesh and failing desires.

    What hope have we beyond darkness in times of sorrow? For our remorse reminds of a past built on foundationless self-made dreams and hopes of self-earned glory.

    I did not need God!

    Who can keep the Lord’s Law or live up to men’s visions? We blame our flawed upbringing on generations of our fathers who failed in advantage over other men. I was a self-made, flawed man, with a little of a flawed plan.

    Who needs the help of another? Yet what stiff-necked soul does not cry out to God in our failure?

    I cannot face a God who knows my sin nor can I face a punishment of a God who stands in holiness against our transgressions. What savior for me — what savior for me?

    A Shepherd Recalls Scripture from Isaiah

    In solemn silence my distraught heart, heavy with hopeless, strains for gentle words of comfort whispering deeply into my soul. Lord, help me – forgive me – I can’t quite remember…

    [ctt title=”Isaiah 7:14 לָכֵן יִתֵּן אֲדֹנָי הוּא לָכֶם אֹות הִנֵּה הָעַלְמָה הָרָה וְיֹלֶדֶת בֵּן וְקָרָאת שְׁמֹו עִמָּנוּ אֵֽל׃” tweet=”A Messiah, born to a virgin” coverup=”eEdCg”]

    [ctt title=”Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. – Isaiah 7:14″ tweet=”” coverup=”jLQN1″]

    Immanuel, God with us; how I could never bear the thought of standing near Almighty God. Who can stand before, “God with us?” I once believed I was better than most, but now I fall before Him.

    The Messiah will be born to a virgin, pure in heart and flesh and He will not disappoint.

    I could never be like Him. Yet a voice soft as the caress of a gentle breeze describes a Savior I could hear, the only compassionate one who perfectly understands a lowly shepherd like me.

    He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,

    Or make it heard in the street;

    A bruised reed he will not break,

    And a faintly burning wick he will not quench;

    He will faithfully bring forth justice.

    Isaiah 42:2-3

    Conviction and the Cry of a Repentant Heart

    Now that my days of self-deceit have passed, indeed I am a bruised reed. My heart burns faintly with what life remains in these flawed bones and failing flesh. I cry out to the Lord.

    O God, are you gentle as a baby born humbly to a poor virgin? Lord, would you have mercy on a lowly man who lives near the beasts of your barns? What would you say to a flawed one like me?

    But this is the one to whom I will look:
    he who is humble and contrite in spirit
    and trembles at my word.- Isaiah 66:2b

    To be continued Christmas day… 

     

  • and new things I now declare – 4

    Isaiah 48:

    3 “The former things I declared of old;
        they went out from my mouth, and I announced them;
        then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.
    4 Because I know that you are obstinate,
        and your neck is an iron sinew
        and your forehead brass,
    5 I declared them to you from of old,
        before they came to pass I announced them to you…

    The Lord Declared

    I told you this a long time ago and to your ancestors many times.

    How do you like that? The Lord calls His chosen people, Israel or Jacob as they are called, obstinate.

    “You stiff-necked people!” the Messiah would call Temple officials generations after Isaiah. “You with ears to hear,” declare the prophets. What an indictment of a holy people supposedly separated to the Lord and redeemed again and again!

     6 “You have heard; now see all this;
        and will you not declare it?

    [ctt title=” From this time forth I announce to you new things, hidden things that you have not known.” tweet=”for a Savior of Jacob and the nations is born – the Messiah Jesus” coverup=”Rf04b”]

    7 They are created now, not long ago;
        before today you have never heard of them,
        lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’
    8 You have never heard, you have never known,
        from of old your ear has not been opened.

    The Lord’s Call to Israel

    [ctt title=”Isaiah 48:12 שְׁמַע אֵלַי יַֽעֲקֹב וְיִשְׂרָאֵל מְקֹרָאִי אֲנִי־הוּא אֲנִי רִאשֹׁון אַף אֲנִי אַחֲרֹֽון׃” tweet=”Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel.. The Messiah I AM is Christ Jesus.” coverup=”j14zE”]

    14 “Assemble, all of you, and listen!
    Who among them has declared these things?

     The Lord’s Call to the Nations

    Isaiah 49:

    Listen to me, O coastlands,
        and give attention, you peoples from afar.
    The Lord called me from the womb,
        from the body of my mother he named my name.

    Matthew 1:20b-23

    … behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

    She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

    All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

    Isaiah 52:

    8 The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice;
        together they sing for joy;
    for eye to eye they see
        the return of the Lord to Zion.
    9 Break forth together into singing,
        you waste places of Jerusalem,
    for the Lord has comforted his people;
        he has redeemed Jerusalem.
    10 The Lord has bared his holy arm
        before the eyes of all the nations,
    and all the ends of the earth shall see
        the salvation of our God.

    The Sin-Bearing Servant

    Isaiah 52: NKJV

    13 Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently;
    He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.
    14 Just as many were astonished at you,
    So His visage was marred more than any man,
    And His form more than the sons of men;
    15 So shall He sprinkle many nations.

    Kings shall shut their mouths at Him;
    For what had not been told them they shall see,
    And what they had not heard they shall consider.

    An Advent Declared for these last days..

    New things we now declare; for the completion of these last days approaches with haste. The prophets and watchmen of the past have spoken what was and is and is to come. The LORD has revealed the hope of redemption for all who believe and the just punishment of souls tormented in the dust.

    Revelation 22:12-13 ESV

    [ctt title=”“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”” tweet=”An Advent Declared for these last days.. http://ctt.ec/o6OBb+” coverup=”o6OBb”]

    Have you prepared your heart for Christmas? Would you like to celebrate the gift of our humble Lord born a sinless Son of Man, to a virgin – our redeemer sacrificed on a cross? In the advent of His return at the end of these last days, do you bow before the Almighty, rejoicing in the light of His coming on the clouds?

    “You have heard; now see all this;
    and will you not declare it?

    Isaiah 48:6a ESV