Devotional - June 28th, 2023
Scripture: Luke 2: 8-25 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
No, it's not Christmas. But, what kind of study of angels would be complete without a look at the angelic hosts. Some may be a bit disappointed we did not discuss those chubby little cherubs depicted in the Renaissance and Baroque artwork. Sorry..., they are not in the Bible, but you can have as many as you like in your heavenly visions. The angelic heavenly hosts play a part in both the Old and New Testament. In the Old, Elisha prayed that his servant could see the army of the LORD (2 Kings 6: 17). In the New, we have today's text and Jesus also refers to them in the Gethsemane (Matt 26: 53). They are even referenced in one of God's names, YHWH Sabaoth (LORD of Hosts - 1 Sam 1:3 & 11, Ps 46:7). But, why does God have them? Certainly, God does not need them. Yet, God creates with them looking on (Gen 1:26, Isaiah 6:8). Evidently, our God is a God of community. And like God, we too like to be in communities. Even the solitary loner usually has a pet of some kind or at least has plants. The concern I have about today's generation is the lack of diversity found within their communities. They don't live in community, they have their own community. I know I harp on this, but I find it even more concerning with the coming of AI. Folks can relate to a computer generated persona of their own liking and it will "relate" back to them in like manner. So, a person can literally build their own community that may seem real, but it is not. I think that is dangerous. We were never commanded to like each other, but instead to love each other (Mark 12:31), even those we really don't like (Matthew 5: 43-45). When it comes to being a Christian, this is where the rubber meets the road. It's not easy, but it is easy to fail at. Yet, it is our goal. Do we think the disciples all liked each other (Luke 22:24)? How about Paul, was he an easy guy to get along with? Paul sent Mark away (Act 13: 38-40 ) because of things he did not like about him and look how that ended (2 Tim 4: 11 and Mark wrote a book about Jesus used by the other Gospel writers). Do we think God always likes being around us the way we act sometimes? Not liking others is inevitable, but we need to think long and hard about not loving them, not treating them as we want to be treated. How many of us would like God to treat us as we treat those who we dislike (Matthew 6: 15). In some ways, when we as believers act on our hate, we invite the same back on us (Matthew 26: 52). What's good for the goose is good for the gander. God knows getting along with others is a challenge. God also knows, it is best for us to stay separate from some. But, when possible, we need to strive to stay in community (Romans 12:18) and benefit from all that God has given us in other people, even when we may not like their company. God does it. The angels do it. Our forerunners in the faith did it. We can too.
For the next two months, I am going to take a break from doing the Weekly Devotionals. Rev. Clyde Powell will cover them for me. Do enjoy!
Pray with me.., Gracious God, we confess dealing with others is challenging. Help us to discern the best way to relate to them. Help us to deal with what we do not like about them. Lord, hear us as we pray for our loved ones. Bless them, we pray, in accordance with their needs. Be with our church, guide us and be with us, as we seek to be Your people, in Jesus name we pray, Amen.
God's peace,
Pastor Brian
