When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us”.  Luke 2:15

Yours truly is probably the world’s worst about “thinking through” something before responding to a statement or situation.  I know, and really do understand, the frustration this often causes for people in my life.  Poor Connie, of course, has to deal with this more than anyone else.  No wonder she so often feels the need to look at me and say, “What are you thinking?”.  I’m also reminded of my friend and former business partner, Dr. Phil Gault.  He has a great gift for understanding people and soon picked up on this particular trait of mine.  Thankfully, as only he could do, he saw the humorous side of such a trait and for that I am grateful.

Of course, the verse you see above clearly shows me there are times when I do not need to “think through” a new revelation.  Notice in particular “…and see this thing that has happened…”.   There was no need for them to analyze or discuss what “…the Lord has made known to us”.  We can see their faith.  They knew what had already happened before they saw the evidence.  God said it.  His Word is truth.  They believed it.  Period.  There is no indication of any hesitation whatsoever.  Wow, what a lesson for us all!  We have so much more than those shepherds had even when they witnessed “…a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God…” ( verse 13).  We have the complete Bible.  Thirty nine Old testament books and twenty-seven New Testament books filled with His Word.  His Word is truth.  His Son is Truth.  I believe it. Period.

Please read Genesis 1:1; Luke 2:11; John 3:16; Romans 3:23; Romans 5:8; Romans 6:23; Romans 10:9-10; Ephesians 2:8-9; I John 1:9.

And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. Luke 2:16

You may have asked yourself why in the world would I place a picture of a bookshelf as the header on my blog.  For one thing, even though it probably is a little hard to see, there are several translations of the Bible as well as numerous Bible commentaries strategically placed near my desk.  It’s hard for me to sit in my study without noticing them.  Before you jump to any conclusions, let me assure you this fact is very convicting for me.  You see, I realize all too well that I know so much more about what the Bible teaches than what I put into practice.

The shepherds of Luke 2 did not hesitate to take action on their faith.  Can you imagine how quiet their familiar hillside must have been once the heavenly host of singing angels went back into heaven?  Did any one of them say, “Did you see what I just saw?”.  They could have decided to do an in-depth study of what God had said.  They could have even formed a committee to decide the next best course of action.  Maybe one of them could have been like me whose default reaction is to think it through before responding.  Don’t miss this: they IMMEDIATELY acted on what God had made known to them.  AND, they found His Word to be EXACTLY and COMPLETELY true!

PART IV will bring into focus the reason for the title of this series of blogs.