DATE WRITTEN: Sunday, 2021-07-11
WRITTEN AT: Kingman, AZ

SCRIPTURE FROM: Luke 2:16-20
TRANSLATION: The Voice (VOICE)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹⁶ ….. After they saw the baby, ¹⁷ they spread the story of what they had experienced and what had been said to them about this child. ¹⁸ Everyone who heard their story couldn’t stop thinking about its meaning. ¹⁹ Mary, too, pondered all of these events, treasuring each memory in her heart.
²⁰ The shepherds returned to their flocks, praising God for all they had seen and heard, and they glorified God for the way the experience had unfolded just as the heavenly messenger had predicted.

APPLICATION: Before you begin to wonder, this is not a re-post from a Christmas time post! When reading through the Bible, we will come to passages that refer to all season off the year and of life itself. My current reading plan has me in Luke, but I believe there are some very important pieces of this story that might minister to our lives even today. Notice that the shepherds:
a). Obeyed the heavenly messenger regardless of their status in life – I don’t know about you, but there are times that one can easily be intimidated – around the rich; the highly educated; the poor, even though many of you and myself might think we are extra poor. But the shepherds were considered outcasts because of their jobs and their position in life. But notice that they didn’t question the angel, instead they obeyed and immediately started out on a journey to find the newborn King. Our lesson – enough with the excuses, do what God orders us to do. No need to feel unworthy, too poor or invaluable to God, for we are children of the King;
b). Were persistent in their search for the baby Jesus – Notice how much faith is involved here. If they chose to ignore God’s messenger, they would never have made the first step in their search. If they didn’t find Jesus where they thought a King would be, they could easily have given up on their search. Jesus wants us to be persistent in saving the lost. Do we have the faith to follow His commands and be a witness?
c). Shared their experience joyfully – imagine the joy of seeing God’s promise come true and experience the joy of others as you share your ‘Story’ with them? Mary was touched by the Shepherds, and so were the people that they shared their story with. Perhaps instead of being timid about sharing our story, we should prepare ourselves for a time of celebration as we see God work through us in touching lives for the Kingdom!
d). Returned to their flocks rejoicing and praising God – Imagine our weekend services if we truly rejoiced in God our Father for all His wondrous works in and through us during the week? Will there be an unsaved person in your sanctuary who would leave unconvinced of the awesome works of our God? These poor shepherds had reason to return filled with joy and worship to our Lord. So do we dear friend! It’s not the joy for seeing our friends, or the pastor, or what everyone is wearing that day. In fact, we may not see any of those things if we truly concentrated on praising God for His wondrous works to even us – simple poor folk depending on God every day.
It’s Sunday dear readers and listeners, a day that many of you will find your way thru the doors of a church. What’s your purpose? Did you, like the shepherds, see Jesus this week, and you are anxious to tell your good news, that will surely encourage the saved, and open the eyes of the unsaved, present in your church?

BLESSING(S) NOTED: The shepherds believed, obeyed, worshiped, told their ‘Story’ and returned to their pastures praising God! So should we as we experience our risen Lord!

PRAYER: To God be the glory for the great things You have done! Thank You Lord for making me a part of Your kingdom, and I am thankful for all my readers and/or listeners who also serve You faithfully. The shepherds had so much to praise You for, but today we remember how very grateful we are for all that You do for us also. May we be faithful in praising You and lifting Your name on high every day for the awesome work that You do in our lives. May our worship be so focused on You that others might be encouraged to totally surrender to You and follow You faithfully for the rest of their lives. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!