Devotional for Sunday, December 18, 2016
“We Carry This Treasure Within Us”
by Dona Hake
The other evening I took my Granddaughters to a live Nativity that a church was doing in a town nearby. The girls were filled with so much excitement and anticipation. On the way I decided to share with them about the story of the birth of Jesus. I was trying to help them envision what it must have been like for the shepherds out in their dark fields as they watched over their sheep and out of no where an angel appeared to them. Then we talked about the journey of the three wise men as they followed the star to the place where Jesus was born. I love interacting with children about stories in the Bible. It is so refreshing to my heart to hear their questions and reactions!
I too love pondering what it must of been like being a shepherd watching over my sheep, and in the dark of the night an angel of the Lord appeared out of nowhere to announce the birth of Jesus. I can only imagine what they felt, their excitement, amazement, and anticipation! Let us read from the scriptures about that glorious night.
Luke 2:8-18 Amplified
“In the same region there were shepherds staying out in the fields,
keeping watch over their flock by night.
And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord flashed and shone around them, and they were terribly frightened.
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold,
And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord flashed and shone around them, and they were terribly frightened.
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold,
I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people.
For this day in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior,
For this day in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord the Messiah.
And this will be a sign for you by which you will recognize Him:
And this will be a sign for you by which you will recognize Him:
you will find a Baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
Then suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of
Then suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of
the heavenly host angelic army praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,And on earth peace among men
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,And on earth peace among men
with whom He is well-pleased.”
When the angels had gone away from them into heaven,
When the angels had gone away from them into heaven,
the shepherds began saying one to another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem,
and see this wonderful thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”
So they went in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the Baby as He lay in the manger. And when they had seen this,
So they went in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the Baby as He lay in the manger. And when they had seen this,
they made known what had been told them about this Child,
and all who heard it were astounded and
and all who heard it were astounded and
wondered at what the shepherds told them.”
The shepherds had an immediate and decisive response…”Let us go, and see this wonderful thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us!” I can assure you that there was no doubt among them, and they began to seek that which they were told, and they did it immediately with great anticipation! I love how the scriptures say that they went in a hurry too. Wouldn’t you have gone in a hurry? If you were there among the shepherds, and saw this glorious angel of the Lord that just declared the birth of the Savior…would you have moved quickly to seek Him out? I know I would have!
Even though we were not there on that dark evening among the shepherds to see the Angel of the Lord hear of the proclamation of His birth, we have been given His light to flow from our lives, a guiding light that may lead someone to their Savior.
Will you be that Light to the one that needs to see hope? Will you be the vessel in which His words of wisdom can flow when He calls upon you to speak? I encourage you today to think about this as you think about the gift of God’s only Son. Think about how He desires to flow through you with His wonderful light that you also may lead someone to Him that their life can be eternally changed. We carry this wonderful light in earthen vessels, let us shine brightly for His glory for we carry this treasure within us!
2 Corinthians 4:5-7 Easy-to-Read Version
“We don’t tell people about ourselves. But we tell people that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we tell them that we are your servants for Jesus. God once said, “Let light shine out of the darkness!”[a] And this is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts to let us know that his own divine greatness is seen in the face of Christ.
We have this treasure from God, but we are only like clay jars that hold the treasure. This is to show that the amazing power we have is from God, not from us.“