Dec 24th....

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

And there were in the same country, shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night.

 And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, 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.

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, good will toward men.

- Luke 2: 8 - 14, KJV

Not a Friday Faithfuls post...but the passage that is the theme of the day.  Most of us can quote this, thanks to Linus....and Charles Shultz, who stood up to the network executives who were reluctant to include scripture in their Christmas special.  Shultz was adamant, the powers that be reluctantly agreed, and now a whole generation...or even two, at this point...recognizes that passage as 'That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.' 

Even though we know that Jesus likely wasn't actually born on Dec 25...but probably in the spring.  And the Wise Men from the east (Persia?)  didn't show up at the manger at all but came to town about two years later.  The important thing...Jesus was born.  Wise men from the east saw the signs...but I think the Holy Spirit gave them the conviction that what they saw was worth investigating so that they did show up, giving another validation to the story later on...maybe when Mary and Joseph were caught up in parenting and...surviving...and the night of Jesus' birth and the wonder of the shepherds felt rather unreal.  Because their lives were upended again with the sudden flight into Egypt.  The wise men were both the reason Herod was a threat and, I believe,  the warning that protected the toddler from his murderous actions. They no doubt told the little family of Herod's interest in them, and their plans to avoid him on the return trip...so Joseph took the warning in the dream seriously and they left before the soldiers came with their swords.

All of that came later.  But on that night...angels sang and shepherds marveled.

God had come to us.

And that's what Christmas is all about.

Wishing all my friends a blessed Christmas full of His Presence.