Month: December 2025

“And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appears to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.

“And the angel said to them, ‘Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.’

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among men with
whom He is pleased!

“When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.’

“And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it they made widely known the saying which had been told them concerning this child; and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.”
– Luke 2: 8-18

We can imagine the fear and confusion the shepherds experience when the angel appears to them. They are outside the safety of the city, tending to their sheep, in the middle of the night. First an angel of the Lord appears and speaks to them; and then a multitude of angels appear, singing and worshiping God.

Luke makes a point to say the shepherds were “filled with fear,” and rightly so! The conversation among the shepherds after the angels left must have been lively. Did an angel really speak to us? Or did we dream this? What will we find in Bethlehem?

We can also imagine the hope the shepherds feel stirring deeply within their hearts. Can it be coming true, what the prophets of old described centuries ago? Has the promised Messiah come at last?

“For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and over His kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time forth and for evermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.” Isaiah 9: 6-7

Whatever fear or uncertainty the shepherds feel during their heavenly encounter, they choose to follow the angel’s direction and go in search of the Christ child. We can imagine the wonder and joy the shepherds feel on that happy Christmas morning, when they find Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus. The scene is exactly as the angel describes.

As the shepherds observe Mary caring for the newborn Child, they witness Jesus showing us the truth about how to receive God’s Love:

Lift up your arms to the Love that is before you. Rejoice and be glad! A Love like no other has freely entered the world. All you have to do is reach for His Love.

Merry Christmas.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld His glory, glory as of the only-begotten Son from the Father.” John 1: 14

On the eve of Christ’s birth, let us remember that Jesus was born for us.

Jesus came for the one whose life seems hopeless.

Jesus came for the one who is addicted and separated from God because of sin.

Jesus came for the one who is abandoned and lonely.

Jesus came for the one who has lost faith in Him.

Jesus came for the one who is hurting and angry.

Jesus came for the one who doesn’t feel worthy of His Love.

Jesus came for the one who is spiritually weak and lame.

Jesus came for the one who is weary and longs for peace.

Jesus came for the one who doesn’t even know His Name yet.

Jesus entered our world, fully human and fully divine, because a young virgin, Mary, and her spouse, Joseph, believed in the messages of the angels and chose to place their lives completely in God’s Hands.

Jesus entered our world in a humble way, born in poverty, in a place that housed animals. Lying in a manger, Jesus received both the outcasts and the wise and powerful who came to see the Messiah. All are welcome by Jesus’ side.

Jesus came for the one who wants to know the truth about God’s love — the perfect kind of love that casts out all fear and fills hearts with grace and joy.

Jesus came for us.

“I will give thanks to the Lord, with my
whole heart;
I will tell of all Your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and exalt in You,
I will sing praise to Your Name, O
Most High.”

“The Lord is a stronghold for the
oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
And those who know Your Name put
their trust in You,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken
those who seek You.”
– Psalm 9: 1-2, 9-10

Each year as Christmas approaches, I enjoy listening to Enya’s album, And Winter Came. The album features a beautiful collection of songs from the Irish singer and songwriter.

One of my favorite pieces is titled, “Dreams Are More Precious.” The lyrics and a link to Enya’s inspiring song are included below.

I hear God in this song, calling us with much joy to see the incredible dream He brought to life through his Son, Jesus Christ … calling us to believe … calling us to place our own dreams in His loving arms so that He can give flight to these precious longings.

Sometimes I forget God is a dreamer too. He was the First to dream.

“Dreams Are More Precious”
by Enya

Come! See! High above.
Come! See! High in the heavens,
A new star shining bright;
Out of the darkness comes a light.

Come! Hear midnight chimes.
Come! Hear bells that are ringing.
And from some distant shore
Sounds of a journey echo on.

This is the night,
They say,
Everyone wants a dream.

This is the night,
They say,
Nothing is as it seems.

Come! Sleep! Close your eyes.
Come! Sleep! Give me your sorrow;
And I’ll keep watch for you
Until the dawn is breaking through,
Until the morning wakens you.

Come! Dream, through the night.
Come! Dream, and then tomorrow,
You’ll see your heart will know,
Dreams are more precious than gold.
Dreams are more precious than gold.
Dreams are more precious than gold.
© 2008 EMI Songs Ltd./EMI Blackwood Music Inc. (BMI)

Remembering that it happened once,
We cannot turn away the thought,
As we go out, cold, to our barns
Toward the long night’s end, that we
Ourselves are living in the world
It happened in when it first happened,
That we ourselves, opening a stall
(A latch thrown open countless times
Before), might find them breathing there,
Foreknown: the Child bedded in straw,
The mother kneeling over Him,
The husband standing in belief
He scarcely can believe, in light
That lights them from no source we can see,
An April morning’s light, the air
Around them as joyful as a choir.
We stand with one hand on the door,
Looking into another world
That is this world, the pale daylight
Coming just as before, our chores
To do, the cattle all awake,
Our own frozen breath hanging
In front of us; and we are here
As we have never been before,
Sighted as not before, our place
Holy, although we knew it not.

From Wendell Berry’s 1987 Sabbath poems.

People, look east. The time is near
Of the crowning of the year.
Make your house fair as you are able,
Trim the hearth and set the table.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the guest, is on the way.

Furrows, be glad. Though earth is bare,
One more seed is planted there:
Give up your strength the seed to nourish,
That in course the flower may flourish.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the rose, is on the way.

Birds, though you long have ceased to build,
Guard the nest that must be filled.
Even the hour when wings are frozen
God for fledging time has chosen.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the bird, is on the way.

Stars, keep the watch. When night is dim
One more light the bowl shall brim,
Shining beyond the frosty weather,
Bright as sun and moon together.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the star, is on the way.

Angels, announce with shouts of mirth
Christ who brings new life to earth.
Set every peak and valley humming
With the word, the Lord is coming.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the Lord, is on the way.

This beautiful poem was written by Eleanor Farjeon (1881 – 1965). Eleanor was an award-winning English author of primarily children’s literature. Born into a literary family, she started writing when she was a child, ultimately producing more than eighty books of children’s stories and poems, adult novels, and other work, plus numerous school plays. This poem was paired up with an old French melody to create a beloved Christmas carol that first appeared in 1928.

When the angel, Gabriel, visits Mary, he shares two pieces of news — Mary, a virgin, will conceive and bear a son, whom she will call Jesus; and her cousin, Elizabeth, with her husband Zechariah, has also conceived a son in her old age and is now in the sixth month of her pregnancy. (Luke 1: 26-38)

The Gospel of Luke recounts that Mary leaves to visit Elizabeth as soon as Gabriel departs. When Mary enters the house of Zechariah and Elizabeth, here is what happens:

“And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the child leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb!'” Luke 1: 41-42

Elizabeth, of course, is carrying John the Baptist in her womb. The presence of Jesus in Mary’s womb causes John to leap for joy. John is the one about whom it is written in the Old Testament:

“Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you.” (Malachi 3: 1, Isaiah 57: 14)

In these verses, we witness the world preparing to receive a Love like no other — Jesus, the Son of God.

In response to Elizabeth’s greeting, Mary utters these words, acknowledging and delighting in the miracle of her virgin conception of Jesus:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him 
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.” (Luke 1: 46-55)

This beautiful prayer is known as The Magnificat Prayer, or the Song of Mary.

As Christmas approaches and the world again prepares to celebrate the birth of Jesus, may this prayer of joy and thanksgiving remain on our lips and hearts.

A Love, like no other, is about to enter the world.

Love, the Lord Jesus, is on the way.

Through His life, death and resurrection, Jesus fulfills hundreds of Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. And yet so many people missed the appearance of Jesus entirely, when He lived physically among us. In particular, the religious scholars of His day — the Pharisees, the ones who were supposed to be teaching people what to look for in the Messiah — did not recognize Him. Why?

Centuries after Jesus lived, died and rose again — and after countless stories of people coming to know Christ — we still fail to recognize Jesus. Why? In some cases, we choose to deny the truth of His promise. What is Jesus’ promise? That if we love God and love one another, we will share in the Kingdom of Heaven. (Luke 10: 25-28)

Is Love really that powerful? The Bible shows us that God’s love for us is never-ending — and that His Love cannot be quenched. (Song of Solomon 8: 7) The Bible tells us that plainly God’s Love is more powerful than any force. (Colossians 3: 14) Jesus Himself shows us that Love has the power to cover a multitude of sins so that we may move forward in our lives toward goodness. (1 Peter 4: 8)

Still, we sometimes choose not to believe in the power of Love.

At other times, we decide that loving the way Jesus loves is too difficult. Jesus’ kind of love asks us to place the needs of others before our own. (Luke 10: 25-37) His kind of love pushes us to embrace God’s plan for our lives instead of our own plans. (Ephesians 2: 10) And Jesus’ love is always grounded in humility. (John 13: 1-20) In a world growing noisier by the minute, it seems counterintuitive that quietly loving and serving others can bring us peace and fulfillment and joy.

Sometimes we fail to recognize Jesus simply because we are looking for Him in the wrong places. We are actively seeking Jesus and we want to know Him; and we are also expecting big things from Him — an undeniable, large sign in our physical world that proves Him to be near us. But Jesus is not in the big things — He is in the stillness and smallness of life:

“And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not there; and after the wind, an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.” 1 Kings 19: 11-13

It is in the stillness — and sometimes even the darkness — of our lives that we find Jesus. Why? Because when we step away from the physical distractions of our lives, we are able to connect with Jesus heart to heart, and spirit to spirit. We also find Jesus when we look for Him in the small things of the world.

A beautiful story about this can be found in the book titled, Mister God, This Is Anna. The book follows the adventures of a young runaway named Anna. A kind man named Fynn finds her on the docks of London, and takes her in. As the man cares for her, Anna teaches Fynn about finding and knowing God.

One night, Anna and Fynn meet an old man named Woody, who lives in a shanty-town part of the city. It’s late, but this part of town is alive with people. Woody invites Anna and Fynn to sit with him by the fire. Anna asks Woody why he likes living in the dark. Here is his answer:

“‘In faith, I do not love thee with mine eyes, for they in thee a thousand errors note; But ’tis my heart that loves what they despise.’ His nut-brown chuckle broke the spell. ‘Do you know that one? It’s one of Shakespeare’s sonnets.’

“‘They,’ he said, and his arms swept to embrace the world, ‘will tell you and encourage you to develop your brain and your five senses. But that’s only half of it, that’s only being half a human. The other half is to develop the heart and wits.’ He ticked them off on one old gnarled hand with the end of his pipe. ‘There’s common wit, there’s imagination, there’s fantasy, there’s estimation, and there’s memory.’

“Old Woody’s face turned upward, his spirit danced and was warmed out among the stars, while his body remained with us and was warmed by the old tin-can brazier. ‘Never let anyone rob you of your right to be complete. The daylight is for the brain and senses, the darkness is for the heart and the wits. Never, never be afraid. Your brain may fail you one day, but your heart won’t.'”¹

This book excerpt reminds us to step away from the physical distractions of the world so that we can know and hear Jesus. Jesus speaks to us in the quiet of our hearts. Sometimes we miss Jesus because we look for Him only in the physical things of life. Jesus comes to us in the stillness.

This Christmas season, I hope we can all make extra time to be alone with Jesus. He is waiting for us so expectantly, in the quiet and stillness. He has so much to tell and show us.

Jesus loves you very much.

¹Sydney Hopkins, writing under the pseudonym “Fynn,” Mister God, This Is Anna. (New York: Ballantine Books, a division of Random House, Inc., 1974), pages 151-152.