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Verse of the Day
"And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 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. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, 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, goodwill toward men!’"
~Luke 2:9-14
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Today's Devotional Thought
December 09, 2010 by Rachel Piferi
Fear Not
Have you ever noticed that angels are very busy in the Christmas Story? As you read through the accounts in Matthew and Luke, you see that the Lord is sending messages via angels to everyone in the Christmas Story. An angel tells Mary that she is carrying the Messiah. Joseph gets a message that it is okay to marry Mary. The Wisemen are told by an angel to return to their country without visiting Herod again after they have visited and worshiped Jesus. And, probably the grandest display of angels came to the Shepherds during the night of Jesus’ birth.
One thing that we often see throughout the Bible when an angel appears to someone is that they usually say, “Fear not.??? And, the characters in the Christmas Story had a lot to be afraid about. The shepherds were afraid because they had just been startled while hanging out on a quiet night. Mary was afraid because she was getting news of her selection to be the mother of the Savior. And, Joseph was understandably afraid about how his life was going to change.
Are you afraid of something this Christmas season? Is there something in your life that has you feeling afraid? Your job? Your relationships? Your children? Your future? Or maybe you are afraid and you don’t know exactly why.
If you are afraid of something this season, I want to share what the angels shared with the Shepherds on the night of Jesus’ birth. First, the angel told them to Fear Not and shares the good news of Jesus’ birth. And then, the magnitude of angels appeared, praising God. And, it is the message that this host of angels bring that we should hold on to today: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men.???
Are you afraid of something today? I urge you to fear not. As the angels told the shepherds, Jesus has come to bring us peace on earth. He can bring you peace. But, please don’t think that the peace will come quickly or easily. I am sure that the Shepherds, Mary, nor Joseph stopped fearing instantly. But, when you start feeling afraid, just say to yourself, “Fear Not??? and remind yourself that Jesus can replace your fears with peace. Turn your fears over to Him today and ask Him to give you that peace this season.
Memorize this verse today:
"And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 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. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, 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, goodwill toward men!’"
~Luke 2:9-14
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December