Focal Passages: Luke 2:8-20,
33-35
When I share Christ, I
neither mention my being a minister’s wife nor do I discuss the church.
Instead, I focus on Jesus and explain how to become a Christian. When people
receive Christ, I encourage them to find a church and begin to grow
spiritually.
As Jesus commanded His
followers to go into all the world with the Good News of Christ, He included
you and me (Matt. 28:19-20). I can’t pass my responsibility on to someone else.
(Billy Graham doesn’t live on my street.)
Not everyone will accept the
gospel message, but we can’t use their opposition as an excuse not to share
Christ. Like the shepherds of old, you and I have a testimony to share, and the
Christmas season is an ideal time to share our faith because hearts and minds
are more open to Jesus than at other seasons of the year.
The shepherds in our
Scripture were lowly men, perhaps unable even to read and write, yet they
became powerful witnesses for Christ.
Imagine their sharing the
drama of that first Christmas service where they formed the small congregation
on a Judean hillside.
The preacher, an angel of
the Lord, appeared and delivered the shortest sermon perhaps ever preached:
“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 Savior, which
is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe
wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger” (v. 9-12).
Suddenly the choir appeared
and burst forth with the anthem: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth
peace, good will toward men” (v. 13-14).
The shepherds responded to
the sermon, saying, “Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing
which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us” (v. 15). That’s
witnessing — sharing what we have experienced concerning Christ and leaving the
results to God.
Father, Your ways are higher
than ours, for who among us would have planned the first Christmas service as
You did?
Warm our hearts, Lord, and
send us forth like the shepherds, glorifying and praising You. In the name of
the Babe of Bethlehem, amen.