Living Unfiltered for God

It startles me to think of how many Christmas Eves I've experienced in my life. My how the years pass by quickly. There are different kinds of Christmas Eves... Joyous ones, sad ones, those that cause us to be tentative. Our circumstances and situations have a lot to say about our feelings on this night. But one thing never changes - the reason we are celebrating - the birthday of our Savior. Like so much and everything else, circumstances change, our feelings change, our situations may be in constant Flux, but Jesus - He stays the same. Our loving, grace-filled, hope-instilling Savior... He NEVER changes. We can always count on Him to be exactly what He has always been and ever will be. Our Savior. Those two words: But, Jesus. What is on your heart tonight that can be soothed by those two words? "Lord, my finances are a mess." But, Jesus. "Father, I'm worried about my child's salvation and future." But, Jesus. "Lord, my parent is in very ill health...

While reading one of the Advent devotionals through the YouVersion Bible app this morning, I came across this commentary… Luke 2 says that when the angels told the shepherds the Good News about Jesus’ birth, they “hurried off” to find Him. Instead of waiting around and letting doubt creep in, they responded immediately. This took great faith! Certainly, they wanted to meet Jesus, but they also had earthly concerns. What would they do with their flock? Should they tell their families first? Were they dressed appropriately? Were simple shepherds really worthy of meeting the King of Kings? They didn’t let any of the questions we might have asked in the same situation keep them from quickly responding to God. I immediately thought, what a great example of living unfiltered for God! It is this kind of behavior that I have been trying to practice myself and encourage in this space for a while now. How amazing was it that these shepherds heeded the call, no questions asked? It makes ...