Luke 2:10-11, 16, "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.' ... So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger."

Think

"When we respond to what God says, we can receive what God sends." In today's social media-crazed world, birth announcements have taken on a life of their own. A quick search of birth announcement videos will reveal creativity, cleverness, and maybe a little bit of craziness. But can you imagine being present for the birth announcement of Jesus Christ? Put yourself in the shepherds' sandals. One minute you're tending your flock, the next minute you're face-to-face with an angel sent by God! You know they had to be thinking, "This is crazy!" They'd never seen anything like that before. But very quickly, they moved from "This is crazy!" to "This is amazing!" The Messiah that had been promised to them for thousands of years was finally coming! During that first Christmas, the world was given the ultimate birth announcement. The shepherds received it and responded. And today, we continue to celebrate that announcement and the fact that Jesus was born the Savior of the world!

Act

How do you respond when God speaks into your life? Do you receive the message and ignore it? Or, do you respond like the shepherds and take action toward what God has in store for you?

Pray

God, thank you for recording the birth announcement of my Savior, Jesus Christ. Help me to respond to your voice the way the shepherds responded so that I can experience all you have in store for me! Amen.