Advent Day #13
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:9-11
Our church’s orchestra and choir have been diligently preparing for this weekend’s Christmas cantata. Two nights are set aside to go through the entire presentation twice to ensure we are as ready as possible. Somewhere around 8:30 last night we sang about the joy and wonder of Jesus’s birth, but you would not know how joyous it was by our facial expressions. We were so tired and had sung the same words many times this week. Thankfully, our choir director encouraged us to smile anyway, greatly improving the choir’s enthusiasm for the words coming out of our mouths. Familiarity did not breed contempt, but it did help us forget our sense of wonder momentarily.
It would help us to try to remember how the shepherds must have felt that very first Christmas night. Humble awe that God would send His Son as a baby, and then the recognition that He would send angels specifically to men just watching their sheep, must have been a feeling that stuck with them the rest of their lives. I can imagine them telling their children and grandchildren over and over what they heard and saw that night.
The good tidings of great joy the angels spoke of are still available to us today. Who among us is deserving of the Gospel’s gift? How different it would have been if Jesus had come as He deserved, the rightful King of the Universe. We would have all been lost with no hope of eternity. We must guard against letting familiarity breed boredom or entitlement. Life would not be the same without that first Christmas.
And if you would like to tune in to hear our “angelic” voices sing about the wonder of that first Christmas, you can find our church’s live stream here. The presentation will take place at 6pm Eastern this Saturday and Sunday evening, Dec. 14-15, 2024. We are praying that it will truly encourage and minister grace to the hearts of all who take the time to listen.
His Song in the Night 
You mentioning the shepherds sharing their experience with their children and grandchildren reminds me how important it is to remember and share with family and friends all the blessings and times we know the Lord has worked in our lives. Too often we forget. I’m not good at being consistent in doing it, but this is why I think it’s good to practice some type of writing down of our blessings so we won’t forget. During this journey with cancer, the Lord’s love and faithfulness has been evident daily. I have written down just a handful of the times, but I do share several stories of how He has sustained me when giving my testimony.
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I love that different people find different things to takeaway from the advent devotions. I’m so thankful you are taking the time to write down some of your blessings!
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