Unchanging Skies (con't)
On a particularly clear and pleasant night the shepherds were standing guard over their sheep and talking in quiet tones of what was going on in their lives. Certainly some were stretched out on the hillside entertained by the light show overhead. As shooting stars occasioned across the sky seeming to connect the twinkling starry specks and the fuzzy white patches of distant nebulae and great clusters in our own Milky Way, there were cries of wonder and awe as they witnessed the result of God's creative hand. They beheld the same nightly wonders much as we do today when we step outside and peer into the evening.
But on that night other uncommon visitors materialized. An angel of the Lord appeared, and the glory of the Lord shone around the shepherds. It was enough to frighten them out of their skins, but the first words of the divine messenger were, "Don't be afraid, because I bring you good news of great joy." And then an army of the heavenly host also appeared praising God and smiling on mankind. What a blessed night!
As you step outside on a cold clear night this month, take time to look overhead and study the stars. Get away from the blinding artificial lights, look to the east, and journey back 2000 years. In the stillness of the same patterns that you and I have also seen you can hear the gasp of the shepherds as they behold the glory about them, and you can share in those first exciting moments when God's messenger announced that His Anointed One, Christ the Lord, had stepped out of eternity into humanity for a few precious moments that would change us forever. No other news could be so good, and nothing else in all of creation could bring this kind of peace to men and women on earth. May you experience His peace.
Glory to God in the highest!
Steve & Barbara
John & Esther
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