Worth Repeating - Lessons from The Shepherds

Cade’s Cove, Tennessee (Great Smoky Mts.)

(Originally published Feb. 2012. Edited 2024.)

Not long ago I started reading the book of Luke again. John has been my favorite Gospel for some time now, but I’ve really been enjoying Luke more this time through it.  Not that I didn’t before, but the Lord has brought different things to my attention this time. Maybe the new Bible helps since it isn’t all marked up with previous thoughts. :-)

Anyway, the thing that particularly stood out to me in Luke chapter 2 this time through was God’s revelation to the shepherds. A number of things struck me, some I’d heard and thought of before. Some seemed new, though it’s quite likely that I’d heard them at some point from someone. I know they are not really “new.”

You might want to go read this passage in your King James Bible as it is rather long to post here, or you can read it on my husband's Bible page: Luke 2:8-20.

1. These shepherds were believers, of course. They were looking for the Messiah or the Lord would not have revealed this wonderful news to them, nor would they have gone so quickly to see it for themselves. It is interesting that so often it’s the people with simple, childlike faith who understand the great things God reveals. The high and mighty scholars often stumble over the simplicity that is in Christ. Luke 10:21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. 

2. We find the shepherds in the place where they were supposed to be, doing what they were supposed to be doing – keeping watch over their flocks. God doesn’t always reveal His great things to those who are in important places, nor to those who are doing supposedly big and important things. This is a good reminder to be faithful where you are and not despise the day of small things (Zech. 4:10).

3. God first revealed the Great Shepherd (Heb. 13:20) to shepherds. He revealed “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) to keepers of sheep, men who cared for lambs. There is something particularly sweet and wonderful about that.

4. Because they were shepherds, they weren’t  too persnickety to go into a humble place where a messy, “unclean” event had just happened. A manger was part of their natural sphere. Maybe it was even their own manger! (Wouldn't that be interesting!) These men would have helped their ewes deliver lambs, no doubt. Remember the story of the good Samaritan and how the priest and the Levite “passed by on the other side” rather than help a man who had been attacked by robbers. Luke 10:30-33. I can only imagine the response if one of them had been told to go to a manger to view a newly born baby.

5. They were quick to act upon the amazing revelation they had received. They didn’t “sleep on it.”  They believed and went.

6. They spread the news. These men were not afraid of what people might think. People talk about women gossiping. I suspect there was a reason that God reveal this event to the shepherds. They may well have been the “news agency” of their day. In meeting other shepherds from other areas out on the pastures, the news would have had a chance to spread far and wide.

7. They knew whom to glorify. Luke 2:20  And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

There are a lot of good applications here, but I’d like to condense it into a nutshell, so to speak. We need to…
 
1. Be faithful in the “mundane” things of everyday life, and be where we are supposed to be.
2. Believe God’s revelation to us (His word) and then act upon it.
3. Spread the good news of Jesus Christ.
4. Glorify God and praise Him for the things He has revealed unto us.

1 Corinthians 2:9-10  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

Worth Repeating - His Way Is Perfect

 

(Aug. 2013; edited Oct. 2022)

I read Psalm 138 this week and this last verse especially touched my heart.

Psalms 138:8  The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.

We all have our struggles in life. Some things that are struggles to one person may not be at all to someone else, but it doesn’t mean that those struggles are any less real to the person who finds it a trial. Many of us have challenges that worry, bother, or frighten us. But, here is the point – the Lord knows all about it and He will perfect those things in our lives as children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

I think it is interesting that the King James translators used the word “concerneth” here. The word no doubt means the things that pertain to us, things in our lives or that we are connected with. But, in modern times we use the word “concern” to speak of things that cause us worry or that we’re bothered about. So, to me this verse speaks a double meaning – both the things that surround me as well as the things that I’m concerned about.

Sometimes there are things in life that really worry us – things we’d like to do and are not able to do, things that we don’t want to do but we have to do. Sometimes there is a person we have to deal with or live with who is not saved or refuses to do right according to God’s word. All these things we can trust God to perfect!

To perfect as a verb means “Make (something) completely free from faults or defects, or as close to such a condition as possible.” What a wonderful thought! Of course, the scary part for us sometimes is that the situation might not be perfected the way we want to see it done. Maybe the Lord will remove someone from our lives whom we love, maybe He will take away possessions or people or situations in a way that is frightening to think about.

This brings us to the last two-thirds of the verse, …thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.

Our comfort in trusting Him to perfect those things which concern us is that His mercy endures forever! That’s a lot of mercy, friend. We can trust Him to be merciful in whatever solution He gives to our situation.  This should bring us peace.

Then too, the prayer is added that He won’t forsake the works of His own hands. We know from other scripture that He will not, so we can have complete confidence that He will not forsake us no matter what perfecting He gives us for our concerns. 

Hebrews 13:5  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Philippians 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

What sweet fellowship. What wonderful comfort. He is with us and He will work each concern out in His perfect way.

Sometimes we are concerned about the decisions or actions of other people and how those things affect us or will affect our future. J. Hudson Taylor said something to this effect, “It may not have been God’s will for him to do what he did, but by the time it reached me, it was God’s will for me.” I would amend that to say that it was God's will for me to honor Him in how I respond to it or handle it. God is not limited by the sins of others in His care for us, but we may indeed suffer from the bad choices of others. 

This reminds me of Romans 8:28, And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Some situations are so horrible that it is hard to imagine how God can work them for good or perfect that thing for us. In this day and age when victimhood is a common complaint, I'm sure some people find it insulting even to suggest that their hard trial could be worked for good. But, think of Corrie Ten Boom and the terrible things she saw and went through at the hands of the Nazis. Think of Richard Wurmbrand and the horrors he experienced in Communist prison in Romania. Think of Annie Johnson Flint and Martha Snell Nicholson - two women who suffered greatly due to their physical health. Yet all of these poured forth the sweet and precious comfort of God and the determination to keep going with God no matter what into the lives of millions, and they keep on doing so to this day though they "being dead yet speak." Nothing is wasted with God, even when it seems impossibly hard. 

It is good to remember that the Lord will perfect all things for us according to His mercy and good pleasure, even those things that are brought to us through the sins of others. And, He won’t forsake us, or any of His children, in the process.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

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Better than My Best – a poem by Annie Johnson Flint

Thoughts from the Past - Fat, Fruitful and Flourishing

(Photo taken in Frozen Head State Park, Tennessee.)

First published July 2010.  Edited.

Psalm 92:12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13 Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; 15 To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

J. Vernon McGee had a few useful sayings. One of them was something to the effect that “It’s not how a man starts his life that counts. It’s how he ends it.”

The above verses support that thinking. The righteous are compared to trees, and are said to be planted in the house of the Lord. We might say today that they are planted in the Lord’s ways and word since we no longer have a geographical “holy place” (John 4:21-24) and are in fact the “house of God” ourselves (1 Cor. 3:16, 1 Peter 2:5).

This is not a literal thought – we aren’t excused for being literally fat in our old age if we’re still “bearing fruit”. (For one thing, if you make the fat literal you will need to make the fruit literal and that could get a bit awkward at some point.)  The idea is of trees that are big, healthy and fruitful even to a ripe, old age. Thinking of trees in old age we think of trees that are large in girth, perhaps tall; and healthy trees will still be bearing fruit. Perhaps it is a big, old pecan tree that is still producing nuts or a huge avocado tree that is still bearing fruit.

The reason that these “trees” are still fruitful is because they have their roots in the right place – the place of growth, as it were. A couple other passages of scripture come to mind.

Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

When we keep ourselves in the love of God (Jude 1:21), and, thus, in the source of the water of life, we should exhibit this flourishing fruitfulness into old age. Our “trunk”, as it were, will not become decayed. There will not be dry rot, nor hollow centers as some old trees develop. And, there will be a continuation of the fruitfulness – spiritually. I think of a very old, gnarled apple tree on an old semi-abandon farm where the roots are still in good soil; and the tree, though broken and twisted by the hardships of life, with what strength it has left is producing apples – fruit.

I’m also reminded of this verse, Hebrews 13:7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.

It's how we end that counts. And, there is a very important reason for ending well. As our starting passage says, To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. Psalm 92:15

In the end, it’s all about glorifying the LORD!

Breakfast Rambling -- Depression: Failure of the Brain – A Part of the Flesh

Here is the first Breakfast Rambling post that I ever made.  It was originally posted on June 7, 2010.  I have edited it slightly. :-)

[Note: These observations are just things that I thought about in my breakfast Bible reading. They are not intended to be commentary on the “meaning of the text”. They are my *thoughts*, in any case not doctrine. If you don’t agree, that’s fine. Please don’t make a big issue out of it.

I usually write these thoughts down in a blank book, and this is the source of most of the items I’ll be posting here under this category.]

Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.

Notice that the flesh and heart may fail, but God is the strength of our heart. Christians understand mind (brain) failure when it is Alzheimer's or something of that nature. But, sometimes (too often), they think failure of the brain to produce chemicals needed for mental/emotional health is different because it leads to depression, anxiety or even insanity. They look only on the outward appearance and not on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7) and conclude that the sufferer is “not right with God” or maybe not even born again.

Yet, we know the brain is part of the flesh.

Somehow in people’s thinking the brain is different because it is strongly associated with the mind, thinking, reasoning and emotions (in western culture). But, our brain doesn't go with us to heaven when we die. It is part of the flesh that awaits resurrection, and it is left behind till that glorious day.

1 Corinthians 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 

It cannot be perfect now in its corruption, and in that state it may cause many problems while we live. True, there are choices that lead to certain difficulties, and some of us must make the effort to live differently in order to live peaceably within our limitations. But, sometimes something is defective or missing that can be at least partially replaced by man-made or natural remedies – things that have a chemical or other effect on the brain to correct imbalances and such.

Christians are willing to understand the failure of the flesh in many areas and many ways: back trouble, heart attacks, broken bones, deficient eyesight, strokes, dental problems, cancer, vitamin and mineral deficiencies – the list goes on and on and on. It is time to realize that the mind – really the brain – is part of the flesh and can be physically as well as emotionally affected by the curse of the fall. We all die in Adam – we all suffer the curse of death in our physical bodies. This may cause us considerable trouble in this life. But, thank God that in Jesus Christ we are made alive and our vile flesh can and will be redeemed and made perfect through Him!

Philippians 3:20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

Breakfast Rambling - God Can Grow His Own Kids

1 Corinthians 1:3-5  Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;

Paul was about to rebuke the church at Corinth soundly on more than one count.  Yet, in spite of that he thanked God on their behalf and believed that they were enriched by God in all utterance and knowledge.  If the Apostle Paul had this confidence in this group, we ought not to be despising and condemning people for far less “offenses” and “faults”.  I have noticed a tendency to think that if someone is living in a way that we see is biblically wrong, we are inclined to judge them as incapable of understanding anything in the Lord.  This is not what scripture teaches here.

In addition to this, it’s interesting that Paul said they were enriched by Jesus Christ in all utterance and all knowledge.  He does not make them dependent upon the “preacher”, pastor, bishop or apostle.  Even though he’s writing to correct some things through his authority as an apostle, he does not make them beholding to himself, but to the Lord.  In the big picture, I think this is because Paul’s confidence was in the Lord Himself and the grace He gave them in Jesus Christ.  His confidence was not in man – either the church as a whole, the elders/leaders, or individuals.  When we can grasp the greatness of God’s giving to His children, we can know that every believer has access to all the utterance and knowledge that he or she needs.  Now, with the complete revelation of scripture, we each have so much more than they did even then.

For my own part I want to trust the Lord’s ability to lead and instruct His children where and how they need it.  While pastors and teachers are good and useful blessings to the church, as we’re told elsewhere, ultimately we need to put our confidence in the Lord to teach other believers what they need to know in their walk with Him.  Yes, Paul needed to rebuke the Corinthian church at this point, but he also had confidence that the Lord would give them grace and enrich them.

Psalms 118:8  It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.

1 John 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

A Breakfast Rambling that grew: Royal Wedding – A Shabby Affair?

2Corinthians 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

This started out to be a Breakfast Rambling in a way since this verse that got me started was from my morning Bible reading.  However, as I wrote it turned out to be so long, I had to move it to the web site where it seems more appropriate. :-)  This item will probably stir the waters a bit, so try to go into it without wearing your feelings on your sleeve. ;-)

Here’s the start of it:

“It is wonderful the way God uses His word to direct our thoughts.  After the big hoopla over the Royal Wedding on April 29th I was quite disturbed about how some Christians responded to it.  It made me sad, and frustrated in a way.  I couldn’t understand entirely why they were so eager to participate in the media feeding frenzy, and even to go so far as to grant some approval to the wedding.

First of all, let me say that my grandmothers were both ‘royal watchers’.  My mother was for a while as well, but she laid it aside years ago.  At one time I was a Diana worshipper.  Yes, you read that right.  It was idolatry.  I admit it and call it what it was…”

Continue reading:  Royal Wedding – A Shabby Affair?

Breakfast Rambling – Not unto us, O LORD…but unto thy name give glory… A brief study of Psalm 104

This post got so long that I decided it should be a Bible study on my web page.  Please read it here:

 Not Unto Us, O Lord

After you have read this please answer this by leaving a post below:  What can you say in worship and praise to God today that does not reflect upon your own needs or blessings?

Breakfast Rambling - Loving the Laodiceans

Psalm 85:8 I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.

It is amazing how much folly there is in the Lord’s church today. There is such worldliness and tolerance of unbiblical practices and traditions that it is appalling. Yet you can see that at least some of these people want to be known as Christians and to appear to stand for something.

The Laodicean church of Revelation chapter 3 was still discernibly a “Christian” church. We see that God did and does still love them and want them to repent for He says in Revelation 3:19, As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. And, this despite the fact that He had just told them they were, “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked”! (Rev. 3:17)

Though we cannot join them nor approve their ways it behooves us to remember that “whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth”! (Hebrews 12:6 – emphasis added.) He does still love these believers and desires to see them turn from folly. Those who try to avoid the spiritual “pollutions of the world” (2 Peter 2:20) should too. Rather than feeling self-righteous, we should be grieved and our hearts should hurt to see those whom God loves walking in ways that are contrary to His word. Sometimes it is hard because they don’t understand the error of their ways and are offended if we extend a rebuking observation toward them, but it is keeping with the mind of Christ for us to maintain godly love toward them.

1John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.