December 3
(Luke 2:8 NIV) “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.”
(Luke 4:18 NIV) “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,”
(Psalms 23:1-4 NIV) “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. {2} He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, {3} he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. {4} Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
It is noteworthy that the first people to receive official notice of Christ’s birth were some minimum wage shepherds. One would think that the King of kings would warrant a royal reception in some opulent hall. But the Lord of lords had come to preach good news to the poor, and so that is where He started. In the dark of night, a Savior was born to shepherds and emperors alike. To those with power and to those with none, God sent His Son. But on this night, it was to the powerless that God sent notice of a birth in Bethlehem that would change the world. Perhaps the shepherds heard first because God has a shepherd’s heart. King David, a former shepherd boy himself, recognized this and wrote a song about it, which begins, “The Lord is my shepherd”. Christ came to gather the lambs that His Father provided. Are you one of His lambs? Have you answered the shepherd’s call? -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day
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