I had such good time in the
Word today and it was a great way to start the advent season. A lot of this is
from the devotion and my study Bible and not my own thoughts, but I just wanted to share.
The advent
devotion that I started this morning goes through "The Songs of Christmas."
I feel like knowing and spending time learning the meaning of the songs
I hear every season will give me a new view on these songs and be able to
worship Christ in a new way.
The scripture that went along with the devotion
was Luke 2:13-14 "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude
of the heavenly host (thousands of angels) praising God and saying
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He
is pleased!"
Jesus
kept me right here and I stayed in this passage for a while. This is a familiar text that is read during the advent
season, but God was gracious to give it new meaning for me today.
The notes for verse 14in my Study Bible:
Angels are proclaiming the news about Jesus.
He is the eternal, omnipotent, Son of God.
He is taking on the “form of a servant, being born in the
likeness of men.” Phil 2:7
The “fullness of time” has now come.
God has “sent forth His Son born of woman, born under the
law, to redeem those who were under the law.” Gal 4:4-5
Jesus is the “Prince of Peace” prophesied by Isaiah in
chapter 9 verse 6.
He is fulfilling promises by His birth!
The devotion material was on the Chris Tomlin song “Angels We Have Heard on High” and I just so happened to be already listening to it when I saw
that was the song for today.
His birth radiated glory. The glory was so bright that the
shepherds went to find the source. In Luke 2:15
they say “let us go over to Bethlehem
and see this thing…”
Shepherds why this
jubilee?
Why your joyous
strains prolong?
What the gladsome
tidings be
Which inspire your
Heavenly song?
So I’m reading this, and I’m like, wait. In the scripture it
says that Angels are praising, thousands of them to be exact, but what are the
shepherds doing? The song says they are singing. So I look back at the text in
Luke and Luke 2:20 says “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising
God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told to them.”
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always just sung that part
and never really listened to the words and sung from the heart. But now that I have spent time in that passage, I can!
Jesus entered the earth in the same way He enters our
hearts: right in the middle of the mess! You know, the manager, with the farm
animals, to Mary and Joseph. Just like He didn’t look for a palace to be His
birthplace and an earthly throne His dwelling, so does he not look for clean
hearts to come into of perfect people who have it all figured out.Praise the Lord!
He came for us, that He could dwell in our hearts. Ephesians
3:17 “…so that Christ may dwell in
your hearts through faith…” while we were still sinners. Romans 5:8
This is what He has been telling us since birth, an
invitation that never expires:
Come to Bethlehem
and see
Him whose birth the
Angels sing
Come adore on bended
knee
Christ our Lord, the
new born King!
Let us join with the shepherds and the Angels in the awe of
the birth of the humble Son of God that came for us!
Here’s the link to the Advent plan if you’re interested!
