WEBVTT

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Day 288, or October the 15th. Everyone's included

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right from the start. Our thoughts today come

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from Luke chapter 2, verses 8 and 9. And there

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were shepherds living out in the fields nearby,

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keeping watch over their flocks at night. An

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angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory

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of the Lord shone around them, and they were

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terrified. And now the big picture surrounding

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these verses. Luke is a gospel written by a non

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-Jew who is a good friend of the Apostle Paul.

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It's the longest and most detailed account that

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we have of the life of Christ, and without it

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we would know nothing of the shepherds who worshipped

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the baby Jesus, the good Samaritan, the prodigal

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son, or Zacchaeus. Luke tells us right at the

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beginning that he has researched the facts as

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much as possible and then written everything

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down in the right order. He drops in historical

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names like Augustus Caesar, Tiberius Caesar,

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Governor Pontius Pilate, and Governor Quirinius,

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in order to root events in secular history. He

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gives us two long chapters describing the birth

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of Jesus. and other events surrounding it, including

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the birth of John the Baptist. And now, our action

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step for today. The Bethlehem hillsides are the

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pastures where sheep are reared for sacrifice

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in the temple in Jerusalem. What a lovely gesture

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from God that the first people he tells of the

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coming Messiah are the shepherds who will be

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out of work when this Lamb of God arrives, because

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sacrifices will no longer be necessary. Shepherds

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in the days of Jesus tended to be youngsters,

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mainly Gentile, with some Jewish. who didn't

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keep the purification rites of the Jews and were

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therefore available to stay out in the fields

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to care for the sheep 24 -7. God chooses the

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most unlikely people. Just look around your church

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next Sunday. The devil regularly rebukes you

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and me for our unsuitability to be followers

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of Jesus, doesn't he? Just remind him of these

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ragamuffin shepherd kids next time. and then

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thank God for taking a risk with you and me.