The Old Shepherd

The little boy sat next to his grandpa and said, “Tell me again Grandpa about that night.” The old shepherd drew the little fellow close to him and began, “I will be glad to son because I never want you to forget it.” Pointing toward a hillside across from where they were sitting he said, “It was right over there on that hill about forty years ago. I was a young lad myself and was with my older brothers as we were keeping watch over our sheep as we had done a hundred times before. As we were getting ready to bed down for the night all of a sudden there was a bright light that appeared about a stones throw away from us. It was brighter than any light any of us had ever seen before. As we were shielding our eyes from its glow there appeared a man in the midst of it! We were terrified! Never had anyone seen anything like this.” The little boy asks, “Who was he Grandpa?” The old man smiled and said, “We did not know at first. We bowed our faces toward the ground in submission to him. He then spoke and said, ‘Do not be afraid. I have come from God to give you some Good News that will be for all people on earth.’ I raised my head and sat on my knees along with the others. ‘In the City of David, called Bethlehem, there has been a birth. For this night, a Savior, who is the Christ, the Lord, has been given to the world!’” The little boy asks excitedly, “Was he an angel from God?” The old shepherd said, smiling, “You know he was, as I have told you before.” The old man continued, “But we did not know that at first. Then he said, ‘This is how you will know this Child; He will be in a stable, lying in a manger, and will be wrapped in the swaddling cloths. His mother Mary, and Joseph, will be there with Him.’ Then at that very moment there was a multitude of angels, more than we could count, and they began praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God the Most High, and on the earth, peace and goodwill toward all people!’” The little boy said, “I would have liked to have been there! Then what did you do Grandpa?” The old shepherd said, “The angels then disappeared just as quickly as they had come. We then decided that we would leave a couple to watch the sheep and the rest of us would go down to Bethlehem to see this Child which the angel had told us about. We entered the city and began searching for a stable in which there would be a mother with child. When we checked the one behind the Inn, there we found them, just as the angel had said!

We stopped outside and bowed our faces to ground and told the couple how we had found them. Mary then motioned to us to come closer.” The little boy asks, “Did you see Him Grandpa?” The old shepherd, wiping away a tear from his old eyes nodded. Hugging his grandson close he continued; “As I looked into the manger upon that little face there was a peace that came over me that I cannot explain. For the first time in my life I was not afraid of anything. For just a brief moment nothing seemed important anymore, only this Child!” The little boy asks, “Did He look at you Grandpa? Did he?” The old man says, “I could barely see His eyes. But when there appeared a very small opening in them, I felt as though He knew me! I was lost in His presence for just a brief moment, but I would have liked to have stayed in that moment forever! We all bowed and worshipped Him and then we went into the town and began to tell everyone what we had seen and all that had happened to us!” The little boy then asked, “Did you know Him when he grew up Grandpa?” The old shepherd, smiling as some of the other younger shepherds came closer to hear, said; “I heard tell of Him. I heard people talk about John, the preacher that came from the wilderness areas, and how that he had baptized this Man named Jesus in the Jordan, and that He was the Lamb of God, the Promised Messiah!” I heard about all the miracles that He wrought among the people. That blind men received their sight; that the deaf was made to hear and the dumb to speak! I heard that He brought a little girl, a widow’s son, and even a man that had been dead for four days, back to life!” The little boy then asked, “Did you ever see Him again Grandpa?” The old shepherd, nodding and then lifting his eyes toward heaven said, “It was a month or so after they had crucified Him on a Cross. The religious leaders said He was a blasphemer and had Him put to death. His disciples then began telling everyone that He was resurrected three days later! It was true because He continued to tell hundreds of people about the kingdom of God again! Many did not believe it was really Him, but I do! Then one day as He and His followers were heading out of the city I was in the market as the crowd went by. I heard some say, ‘That is Him; that is Jesus.’ I turned and looked and then my eyes met His! At that very moment I knew it was Him! It was that same feeling I had that night in Bethlehem! He smiled at me as He made His way toward the gate along with the rest of His followers and I watched them leave.”’ The little boy asks, “Did you ever see Him again Grandpa?” The old shepherd said, “No. His disciples came back into town later and told everyone that He had gone back up into Heaven.”

Then pulling his little grandson close and looking him in the eyes the old shepherd said, “But do not ever forget; we will all see Him again one day son!”


May the Christ of Christmas shine in your hearts!
In Christ: Br Mike <><

Fear Not

Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people."*


She watched intensely as the man came to open the door to let them in the store. “They will sell out before I get one” she thought. He sat in the office waiting for the report from his tests. “Its cancer, I just know it is” he thought. Two different people, two different situations, and two different worries but both based in the mental monster that we face often; fear. Fear tell us that we will never have enough or that we will not pull through. Fear tells us that things will never be the same and we can just quit thinking they will get better. Fear tells us that there is no hope and we just need to put an end to the misery our life has become.

Thank God for the message from the angel! Jesus emphasized this statement again and again to His disciples. They thought they were going to drown but they didn’t. They thought the Jews or the Romans would kill all of them for this new movement they were starting, but they didn’t. They thought their Leader was dead, but He wasn’t! What we think and what God can do is totally two different things. Fear comes naturally and is an attribute given to us by God for a specific purpose; to protect us. He never intended for it to rule us or to paralyze and torture us mentally. We should never allow it to divert our attention away from Him. Little birds are not afraid that they will not find food but they watch for cats. Jesus said we are of much more value to Him than they are. Where Jesus is there is always hope! Our church mission statement is, “A House of Prayer giving Light for today and Hope for tomorrow!”

I don’t know what you fear today but God does. You know, that message the angel gave to the shepherds was not just for them but is given to you as well: Do not fear Jesus is here! Good news for everyone, now and forever! Tell Jesus what you are afraid of and He will take care of it. Pray now and fear not.

Father God, thank You for Jesus! Lord strengthen my faith and it will weaken my fears! Joy to the world, the Lord has come! Thank you Jesus!

In Christ: Br Mike <>< (brmike@ntelos.net)

* The New King James Version. 1982 (Luke 2:10). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Teach the Teacher

Then Agrippa said to Paul, *“You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”

Hannah got in the car at school when I picked her up: “Dad, Miss (Wahwah) needs Christ!” I could tell she was upset with Miss Wahwah about something serious so I asked what happened. She did not go into detail but said again, “She needs Christ.” Let me give you some background information on Miss Wahwah. On orientation day when I met her she had an inappropriate wall paper picture on her computer monitor which everyone coming into the room could see. There were about twenty kids and parents in line with us waiting to talk to her. I requested a sidebar and asked her if she thought it was a good idea to have such a picture displayed with all the problems with sexting in the schools. She told me a student had set it and she did know how to change it. I told her I could change it for her but she then said she had called the techs to do it. She did turn it around. After school started the next week Hannah said she had changed it.

Now you know why we have the issues among our youth that we do. We no longer have the morale role models we once had in our schools. I had a little book I received from Billy Graham with Christmas devotionals in it. I gave it to Hannah and told her to pass it on to Miss Wahwah. “She don’t need a book she needs Christ!” Hannah said. I told her that she knew that and I knew that but unless Miss Wahwah came to that conclusion on her own, she would never accept Him. “Give her the book and we will pray that God will use it to speak to her heart,” I said. The Apostle Paul knew that King Agrippa needed Christ too but the king’s answer gives us insight on how others perceive our witnessing. I would love to be able to persuade Miss Wahwah to become a Christian but the truth is unless she decides on her own to accept Christ she will never do it. Only the Holy Spirit can change hearts and then only if the person is willing to allow their hearts to be changed. We have to let them know that Christ will do for them what He has done for us and pray that they will be convinced just as we were. As much as we would like to, we cannot force Christ upon anyone.

Father God I pray for Miss Wahwah. I hope she will listen to Your Holy Spirit as You speak to her heart. Thank You Lord for Hannah and her desire to see people saved! Jesus, I come in Your Name!

In Christ: Br Mike <>< (brmike@ntelos.net)

* The New King James Version. 1982 (Ac 26:28). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.