TYING UP THE YEAR

 

II Timothy 4:6-7
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Paul writing Timothy from a Roman prison.
Paul knows that his days are numbered and that he will never see Timothy again.
The entire book of II Timothy is like Paul's farewell letter to Timothy, encouraging him to be strong in the faith for the days ahead will hard and treacherous.
I think this is the kind of life I want for myself. One that sees life clearly and does not try to sugar coat it as being wonderful but, at the same time, has a realistic view of life.
Life is full of problems and pitfalls....
Snares and strongholds....
Life is messy, but was given to us by God to live.
We are to experience life at every level as we grow and mature in Him.
The message that I get from daily life is that I must find God for every situation I face.
I must seek Him daily for every decision that I must make.
I have to hear Him for direction for every circumstance, good or bad, that may come my way.
I think it is all part of that "Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me" deal we read about in Luke 9:23.

Paul could have written Timothy and told him that he just knew that God was going to free him from his prison. He could have painted an incredible picture of angels coming down...Roman guards falling down as dead men.....doors and locks broken and cast aside....and there striding triumphant from the place of confinement....the Apostle Paul. But Paul knew down inside that this would not happen. He knew that his days were numbered, and that he would give his very life for the cause of Christ and for His church. Why would Paul be so sure and set that this was the way his life would turn out/ Because I think Jesus showed it to him. In Acts 9:16, God is speaking to Ananias, a man that has been picked to take care of Paul after his encounter with Jesus. God says, "For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake." In spite of knowing what he would be facing, Paul chose anyway to follow Jesus, all the way to the end of his life.

2022 has been an incredible year.
A year of seeing God's hand (and plan) at work not only in my life, but the lives of many others.
There were many messages shared....many hours of study.
But here on the last day of 2022, I have got to answer a question that God has posed to me.
"Did you learn how to love?"
"Did you learn how to love those that have been marginalized by society and cast aside like garbage."
How do I answer that?
That I am not there yet, but I am moving forward.
It is easy to proclaim having a love for everyone...
Truth be known, it is hard to carry out.

I have found that this year has been a time of learning how to give away.
As the year has passed, I have found that I am quicker to not hold on to things.
I have found that we will always have the poor with us. I can't solve the hunger or poverty problem.
But I can feed and help the next one I meet.
I can clothe and love the next one who asks for help.
I can pray healing down on the one who can't afford to go the doctor.
I can tell them the good news that there is a God who loves them more than they could imagine, and desires to have a relationship with them.
I can be salt....
I can be light....
And that is what I want for 2023 more than anything.
I pray that God will let me sit here at this computer next December 31st, and post about how I have changed even more.

Have a safe New Years, and we will see you here tomorrow at the Greene Street Letters.
God on you...
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EVERYONE IS BORN TO HAVE A PURPOSE

 

Ephesians 1:5
Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will......

Every person born is done so with a purpose.
Maybe it's locked away inside our DNA.....
Maybe it's something that comes to us, from God, at certain points in our lives. Or maybe it is a circumstance that draws it out.....
Whatever it might be, I am a firm believer that we are born to do more than take up space, eat the food and breathe the air.
Do let me clarify one thing....
Whatever it is as to our purpose....
It will be found in God....
It will be directed to us by God....
And it will be for His good pleasure as we connect with God.

Moses had purpose....
God appointed him to be the deliverer of a people who were trapped in bondage with no hope of a future.

Noah had a purpose....
He spoke God's warning to a people in spiritual darkness, all the while building an ark.
Simple message....get in the ark and be safe...
Stay outside and perish...

David had purpose.....
Shepherd boy...anointed king...
Saves a nation by slaying Goliath the giant.
Endures hardship and threats on his life until he can take the throne of his nation.

Esther had purpose....
Her beauty put her into a position in the King's court that allowed her to thwart a plan to kill all the Jews.

I could go on and on with the purposes of those we read about in Scripture.
But not everyone is called to such major endeavors as these I have mentioned. Some are called to a much more simple purpose. 
A call to love and speak truth to others on behalf of God's Kingdom.

How about a man named Simeon....
We read about him in Luke 2:25-32
He lived in Jerusalem.
He was a just and devout man, whose mission from God was to wait and see the Consolation (deliverer / the Messiah) of Israel.
He was walked and lived under the covering of God's Holy Spirit.
God had revealed to Simeon that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
He was at the temple when Mary and Joseph came to Temple with Jesus.
Simeon took the child into his arms and spoke out a proclamation that was from God. A proclamation that was for all time and all people.
That was the purpose of Simeon.
We might not consider such as dramatic as what Moses did, or what David accomplished.
But Simeon allowed himself to an vessel...to be poured out as God desired.

What if your purpose, as directed to you by God, was to raise your children to be followers of Jesus?
What if your purpose was to simply love those you come in contact with and pray...I mean really pray...for them. Not a hurried, thrown to the sky prayer, but one that fills your heart and mind and you don't seem to be able to shake it off. 

What if your purpose was to speak truth to someone who has ran away from it. You do so with love and not condemnation, to draw them into a real relationship with Jesus.

I do know this.
You were created for higher purpose than addiction.
You were born to be filled with God's Holy Spirit and to simply be available when and where He needs you to be.
Sometimes it will be like a light coming on inside you. You'll find yourself in a situation that you really have given no thought to, and you'll suddenly have a knowing that you need to pray. It may be that you are to pray healing on someone. You suddenly have a knowing that God is at work and you are part of the equation. 

You see, when we pray the Lord's prayer (Matthew 6), there is a statement we all have said at one time or another....

Your Kingdom come...
Your will be done...

On earth...
As it is in heaven

Do you realize that when you pray this, you are asking God to use you to be the conduit through with His Kingdom will is carried out? Is that awesome or what? Me! With all my mess ups and wrong turns....with all my running away and insecurities....me! God would use me to enact His will through so that what is taking place here on planet earth is a revealing of heaven to those who can't see. Now that is cool.

Think on these things today!

God on you...

mb

FATHER MARTIN

 

Psalm 34:1-5
I will praise the Lord at all times.
I will constantly seek His praises.
I will boast only in the Lord.
Let all who are helpless take heart.
Come, let us tell of the Lord's greatness, let us exalt His name together.
I prayed to the Lord, and He answered me.
He freed me from all my fears.
Those who look to Him for help will be radiant with Joy.
No shadow of shame will darken their faces.

The path to sobriety...
The path to something greater than sobriety....
We seek, at first, only sobriety because of the destruction we have brought on ourselves.
But once the journey has begun, we discover that there is life that goes beyond the absence of drugs and alcohol.
We find that we are empowered by God to rebuild our lives.
That we truly do have a future and a hope found in Christ.
That we no longer have to dwell in shame and guilt, but can move beyond those deadly twins of addiction.

We stand in the light of a new day....
Embracing the call to repent, confess and receive, we find that we are filled with the very Power we have been searching for all along...
The Power and the Presence of God's Holy Spirit.
What is our part in all of this new life?
To simply cooperate and follow Jesus.

To embrace this new salvation and relationship we have found in Christ, and at every turn we surrender our will to live out His

I chose a Father Martin video this morning because of his honesty and ability to put in simple terms what recovery is all about.
I first learned of Father Martin during my time at Rapha. We had several video's we used in the classroom, and each time I watched one, I came away with the understanding that Father Martin was a very humble man. He could have used his sobriety and position to elevate himself, but chose not to. He became a voice in recovery that shared the Steps and his own personal journey whenever asked to do so.

So take a moment and listen to what Father Martin has to share.
May you find peace today...
May you find Jesus today...

God on you...
mbb

NOW WHAT

 

Jesus has been born....

Wise men came from the east to worship Him, but it also set in motion the dark heart of Herod the King to find and destroy this so called King of the Jews.

A generation of babies was destroyed because of this darkness.

God warned Joseph to get out of town and take his wife and son to Egypt, and remain there.

Eventually Herod dies, Joseph and family return to the region and life begins to fall into place as the baby grows.

Now we enter into a period of what I refer to as silence. We have very little information as to the young boy's growing up.

We see him at the temple, brought there by his parents to be presented to the priest to fulfill the law of Moses. But there were also two other people who showed up and prophesied over him........Simeon and Anna.

We then find the young boy, age 12, at the temple sitting among the elders asking and answering questions that were far beyond his years. After that the scripture is silent.

SO what does this mean to us here today? Well, we have just celebrated His birth. From this point we push on into the next year, hopefully wiser and more mature in Him as we grow. Growth with Christ chronological, but rather attaining wisdom and insight as we rely on Him more and more in our every day life. I pray that I am wiser than I was at this time last year. I pray that I see the Scripture in a way that I didn't last year. I pray that the prayers I pray have moved beyond being a celestial shopping list of my wants and desires, but rather fall into the simple place of asking, "What would you have me do Lord?"

You see there were approximately 30 years of silence before Jesus steps on the scene as a grown man. And in those 30 years I have often wondered what happened to all those people who we read about at the birth of Jesus.

What about the shepherds? Did they hold on to the faith and truth of what they had been told and seen about the birth of a Savior, or did they fall back into old ways, old thoughts.

The wise men: What happened to them? When they returned home did they spread the news of what they had seen and experienced in their journey to find this baby and worship Him? Or did they go back to their home towns and lived out their days in a quiet and simple life.

The list could go on and on, but the heart of what I am feeling this morning is that the call to follow Christ is not dependent on my circumstances or situations, but rather on the faith and hope that Christ is who He claims He is, and His promises are yes and amen.

So here in 2022, we have celebrated the birth of Christ. Now what will you do as the new year approaches?

God on you....

michael b

DARK TIMES

 

Matthew 2:16 /  Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise mne, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all the districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he determined from the wise men.

What must it have been like to be  mother on that night as the sound of horses drew near your home. The panic that filled the hearts of countless couples as Herod's minions went house to house searching for babies.

The night was filled with weeping and wailing as a generation simply disappeared from the earth. Where were the fathers? We are not told. I am sure that some women not only lost their children but also their husbands. Such as these events do not fit into our Christmas scenario's do they. 

It's all suppose to be bright nights and huge stars....Shepherds and sheep...wise men traveling on camels, and all the things we attach to the event of Christ's birth. But we need to tie to this event another portion of scripture.

John 3:19 / And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

John 1:10-11 / He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not  know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

Such is why the world wants to celebrate a Christless Christmas. That small baby born on Christmas night grew to be a man and as a man, His mere presence uncovered the hearts of those He came in contact with. Not to shame them, or belittle them........no! But to offer a life and salvation that no one else could. He truly is the Messiah, the deliverer, the Christ.

Keep Him close in your heart as we move beyond Christmas 2022.

Let His words feed your soul and draw you back from the pit of despair and hopelessness.

Give yourself daily to follow Him, asking that He truly would guide you....

God on you, and blessings for the upcoming year....

Mbb

DECEMBER 1981

 

I try to post this each year at this time. Not because I am sad or depressed, but because death holds an incredible promise for those who are saved. Thanks for stopping by today, and may this be a time to reflect upon our own lives, seeking the one who has given us life.

Merry Christmas!!

It was Christmas eve, 1981 and we lived on 4th street in Gadsden.
It was after 11 p.m. and both my sons were asleep down the hall with the proverbial dreams of "Sugar plum fairies dancing in their heads." My wife, Vicki, had retired some time back and was fast asleep also. I had finished putting out the presents, locked the doors and was headed to bed myself.

As I entered our living room, I stopped for one last look at the tree. Bynum tradition stated that the Christmas tree would remain lit on Christmas Eve. The lights, the ornaments, the tinsel all draped over our tree. There was one memory that flooded me at that moment. This was the first Christmas since my mother's death in May of that year. My mom loved Christmas because it was truly a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but also to celebrate one of God's gifts to us........family. She loved her family and Christmas was the perfect time to let this show. Mom always went overboard for Christmas with gifts and food and making sure that everyone had a great time. We always kidded here about this because she would huff and puff about how much work it took. Everyone knew that this was a labor of love for her. It was a time when she truly let the love in her heart for her family pour out through the things she did for us. She never expected anything in return.

As the thoughts of Christmas' past flooded my mind, tears welled up and I began to weep. It was an all too real pain of grief and the thought of Mom not being with us. I sat down in the floor and let the tears come even harder. In the middle of this pain, a quiet voice came to me. "Don't cry! She is with me." I knew that God had spoken. Peace. Peace came over me and my thoughts changed to the incredible realization that as much as my Mom loved Christmas, she was going to celebrate it with One who Christmas is all about. Jesus. She would be celebrating her first Christmas in heaven. I took up some paper and a pen and began to write down some words which later would become a song...............You've Gone Home For Christmas.

It's the time of the year

When the world spins in cheer

thoughts turn to family and friends

Of snow covered nights

and bright colored lights

and the things that the world adores

but you....

you've gone home for Christmas

to celebrate Emmanuel's new birth

you....
You've gone home for Christmas

left His peace with your family here on earth.

Look beyond the presents

Look beyond the bustle of shopping and buying

Look to the manger and the precious gift it held that night long ago in Bethlehem.

For today in the city of David, there has been born for you a Savior,

who is Christ the Lord!

Merry Christmas From the Bynum's

God on you....



VICTIM OR VICTOR?

 

Luke 9:25
For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?"

In the spiritual darkness we call addiction, everything is turned upside down.
We loose everything, yet in our minds consider ourselves to be living a life of gain.
We just don't understand that pain is the No.#1 gain. This is followed closely by emptiness which, in turn, sends us out looking for more drugs or alcohol. The opening words of Luke 9 read, "What profit is it..." . Well, in addiction, there is no profit. The only one who profits from our pain and misery is the devil.

Have you ever really thought about the two....
Jesus and the devil?
Jesus is all about life. In fact John 10:10 gives us the conflicting characteristics between Jesus and the devil.  The thief (devil) does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I (Jesus) have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

The devil lays the "victim" label on those who choose to remain in darkness. You know, when we think of ourselves as being a victim, it is easy to remain in that dark place. After all, a victim is someone who is suffering because an outside influence has enacted their will on him, causing great pain and hardship. I don't have to take responsibility for my actions if I am a victim. When I don't take that responsibility, I open myself up to embrace more darkness. After all, I'm not responsible......I am a victim. 

Jesus came to removed the "victim" label and replace it with "Victor".
Jesus is the Power that has the authority to rip the victim label from our very core, and crown us with the ever lasting name of Victor.

I believe that this coming year is going to be a year of battle. A year of spiritual warfare in which we are going to see Jesus in ways we never have before. A year of rescue for those who are living in addiction. You may be saying, "But isn't that the same thing that been going on since ever someone discovered they could alter their mood through alcohol or a drug?" NO.  I have been hearing John 4:35-36 over and over for some time. 
"Do you not say, 'there are still four months and then comes the harvest? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields. For they are already white for harvest"

Now more than ever, this coming year will be a "Step #12" year where we take not only the message, but the power and authority to take back those who are under the rule of the devil. To offer real life.
To exercise the Power of the Kingdom of God. We have been given the incredible right and opportunity to cooperate with God in seeing lives changed.
So we are going to learn how to pray effectively.
We are going to learn how to hear God so we can move at the slightest whisper of His Spirit and follow Him.
We are going to ask, as Peter did, for holy boldness to tell others that they have been living under a lie.

2023 will be a year where our prayers should be  "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." 
To see God exercise His power because we have answered the call to go into the fields and harvest.

God on you....
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John Piper reads "The Innkeeper"

Some years ago I found this poem by John Piper. A poem that reveals another side of our Savior that we might not have ever considered.

In an age of hurry, hurry, hurry....I urge you to take 11 minutes to watch this. More than watch, let the words fill your heart. Let them cut through all the hustle and bustle that this world has placed on this time we call Christmas.

May we all truly find that which this past year has stolen from us. Stolen from us and left only despair, gloom and hopelessness.  Let the story of the birth of Christ burn fresh in your heart.

And may God bless you!

Merry Christmas from Vicki and Michael......the Bynum's

UNWRAPPING CHRISTMAS PAST

 

I have the most wonderful memories of Christmas.
God has been good in this area to me and my family.
I am grateful for the good people of Gallant First Baptist for it was they who shaped and loved me and showed me the heart of God, as a young boy growing up in that community.
People like:
W.A. and Geneva Lutes (along with Ronald and Nancy). They had a huge impact on me as a boy.I saw in them what a family should look like. They truly enjoyed each others company and yet at the same time, there was great respect for each other and the role they played in the family.

Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Whisenant. Mr. Whisenant was probably the most humble man I know. When he would lead a prayer at church, it was if heaven stopped to listen to this man pray. It was eloquent or flowery. When Mr. Whisenant spoke to God, it was one friend to another. Mrs. Whisenant was the epitome of the word "gentle". 

Kenneth and Linda Chandler- They were my training union teachers all through my teenage years. I saw what a marriage was suppose to be like. I saw a man who loved his wife and worked hard for his family. I saw God bring two together and make one.

Charles Bryson - He encouraged me to sing. Charles was an incredible talent and was gracious enough to sing at my mothers funeral. Charles was the choir director and really fueled my love of music.

Reverend Lewis Woods - He was our pastor and the one who lead me to Jesus. Back when it wasn't against the law, Bro. Woods came to our school and spoke. At the end of the talk he told of what Jesus had done because of my sin. I sat there heart beating out of my chest, and I knew that I was lost and was very much in need of a Savior. May of 1961, I gave myself to Jesus and I haven't regretted it ever.

Mr. Vivian Phillips - Mr. Phillips was instrumental in creating a love for the Bible in me. He did odd jobs around the house my parents rented (we rented from Mr. Phillips) so I had a lot of contact with him. I remember him sharing stories from Scripture and questioning me as to what I believed. Mr. Phillips did not treat me like a "little boy" but rather as a pupil.

Reverend Don Gentry - Brother Gentry showed me that the body of Christ was larger than Gallant First Baptist. When I was in the 7th grade, Bro. Gentry would show up at Alma Hinson Jr. High every Monday and load all us "Gallant Boy's and Girls" up in his car. We would then drive to a local church and visit. Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist, Church of God, Episcopalian. We visited them all, one a week. The pastor, priest, Rector would share with us the beliefs and traditions of that particular faith. We even visited St. James Catholic Church as well as Temple Beth Israel. Pretty heady stuff for a young boy from the country, but it made a huge impact on me and how I viewed the Body of Christ. It was much more than our simple church in Gallant. 

I guess the one man who had the greatest impact on Vicki and I would be Rev. George Creel. Vicki and I were coming out of a long 7 year journey of being away from God. We knew we needed to go to church for the sake of our children (or at least that is what we were telling ourselves) but we didn't know which one.
Vicki's mom kept after us to visit Central United Methodist and hear Bro. George. Well we did and the rest is history. Never, never, never had we ever heard anyone teach the Bible like this man. I remember the first message I ever heard him preach, I sat there dumbfounded as the Word of God poured over me. From then on it standard practice to take Bible, Notebook, Pen with us to each service. 

I am a blessed man and during this Christmas season I think back to all these people and so many more I did not have the time to mention. I truly am a composite of each of these folks as they gave of themselves to me.
I carry around a little piece of their spiritual DNA that has helped me to see God in a way that I probably would have missed. During this time, I am very grateful for the spiritual heritage that God has given to  me throughout my life. Now, I pray that I give away pieces of my Spiritual DNA to others that God would work in the them the same as He has worked in me. 
I am blessed.

Merry Christmas...
God on you.....
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THE LORD GOD OMNIPOTENT AMONG THE PEOPLE

 

Isaiah 12:3-6
Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And in that day you will say, "Praise the Lord, call upon His name. Declare His deeds among the peoples. Make mention that His name is exalted. Sing to the Lord for He has done excellent things. This is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, O inhabitants of Zion. For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!"

Usually such songs as "Handel's Messiah" are found in great concert halls and churches around the world. Accompanied by musicians, choirs fill these halls with the sound that, to me, is as close to heaven as I think a body can come without dying. How can you not hear the majesty and honor directed toward a loving God and not be stirred. I am not.......I am not an expert on "high" music. Classical music. But I know what I like, and I know what stirs me deep inside. Whenever I hear Handel's Messiah, I am taken out of my problems and out of whatever trials I am currently going through, and I am transported into the presence of Almighty God. I am aware of my humanness in the light of His divinity. I am overcome with gratitude and thankfulness that He didn't give up on me and that His love was extended to me through Christ.

I chose this video to present Handel's Messiah because of where it took place. The glory of God presented and declared in the middle of a mall food court. The awesomeness of God declared among "the people". Watch the look on peoples faces as the music unfolds and the words begin to hit home. God manifested Himself in that food court as the song was given as an offering to Him.

It is moments such as this that define Christmas for me, and remind me of the Christmas Story. I'm not talking just about the birth of the Christ child. To me the entire Bible is the Christmas story. How can you take one event from Scripture and make it stand alone. Christ came to earth in the form of a baby because there was a cross in His future. He walked in the garden, in the cool of the day, because He knew that man had disobeyed and was in need of a Savior. To pull one event out of Scripture and hold it up as a single entity, is like pulling that loose thread on a sweater. The entire sweater begins to unravel. So, yes, while we do celebrate the event of Christ's birth...remember that it is only one part of a magnificent declaration that sin has been defeated.

Merry Christmas from the "B's" in Attalla.

GREAT DARKNESS IS OVERCOME BY LIGHT

 

If ever there was a time of spiritual darkness, it is happening today. There are those who would scoff at such statements, click their tongues and say, "We are not like the savages that ruled the earth eons ago."
Oh, we may have more technology and we may indeed have gained much more knowledge, but the base character of humanity has not changed. In fact, it may have gotten worse. How can I say this? Because our society has chosen to push God from its collective conscience.

We have erected temples to pleasure and self-fulfillment. We have filled our dark souls with chemicals in an effort to change our reality and alter our moods. All because deep inside, we have a vacuum that can only be filled by God. It's like trying to carry water with a bucket that has no bottom.. No matter how much water we scoop up, it flows out the bottom, so that our thirst is never quenched. We live in an age of self-will run riot, as the big book of A.A. states.

Sounds hopeless doesn't it? It's not. The answer is there right in front of us. It's been there since the fruit was eaten in the garden long ago. The very essence that would sooth the unquenchable thirst produced by the vacuum we carry around. This new way of living is found in a person...Jesus Christ. Not the Jesus of the church, or the Jesus that we think we know. He is so much more than that. When I wrote "Jesus of the church" I am speaking about the concepts and ideas we gather from going to church. He IS so much more than that. I run into men who have been in church all their lives and yet they are totally tore up because of their drug use. 

They will show up to my Bible study and try and impress me with their knowledge of the Bible and everything Jesus. I will usually stop them as they are speaking and ask them, "What happened?" They look puzzled as if to say, "What do you mean, what happened?" "Your Jesus ain't to hot! I don't know if I would want your Jesus...He ain't working to good, is he?" They begin to get mad and want to debate. Then I give them the truth...."If your Jesus is so great and wonderful......why are you sitting here in rehab?"
Truth is I want them to see that their views of who Jesus truly is are not right. I want them to meet the real deal Jesus, not the flannel board one we saw in Sunday School.

This is the season that we need to share the hope of Christ with those who are still in spiritual darkness.
Share the real message that you can have life now and live after.
If we can give that to someone, we will have given them the greatest Christmas gift they will ever hope to receive.

Merry Christmas from the "B's" in Attalla
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WHO WERE THEY?

 

We don't know their names....

Just a collective group of men doing a job....

A group of men outside the city on a hillside....

A group whose very lives reflected this truth of being "outside"...

They did not fit into the mold of being great men....

We don't even know their names.

Some may have had families......wives and children...

Others may have been single....

Being a shepherd was a lonely, hard job...

that usually gave birth to lonely, hard men...

We don't know their names....

Looking forward to the night....

they settled down for a meal and to share the warmth of

each others company and the fire in their midst.

Conversation of what might have been instead of what was....

We don't even know their names....

We not know their names....

but God did!

He specifically sent angelic messenger to them to announce

the birth of His Son, Jesus.

TO reinforce this announcement, the host of heaven (other angels)

joined in a collective praise to God
We don't even know their names.

The very first persons who knew of the culmination that would be the birth

of Messiah, the Christ, the anointed one...

Outside of Mary, Elizabeth and Zacharias and Joseph.....

were shepherds.

The very ones that were "outside" the city.

There was life in the city.

There was religion in the city.
There was culture in the city.

There was commerce in the city.
But God was outside with the Shepherds.

We don't even know their names.

I guess if I could take anything away from this story,

it would be that being on the inside does not always tie

you to God.

Sometimes, it is being on the outside...

the fringe....

that is where you find God.....

We don't even know their names.....

Merry Christmas!

mb