Word for Today, Tue, 5 Dec 2006, Roof Repairs and Shepherds

#1 · December 5, 2006, 10:35 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on December 5, 2006, 10:35 pm
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Word for Today, Tue, 5 Dec 2006, Roof Repairs and Shepherds

Dear friends,

I have not had much evening time to write messages recently, and my
day job certainly keeps me busy (and we are not allowed to use Web mail
based Email, such as Yahoo or Gmail), so I have had to, out of
necessity, write much less frequently.

My friend Larry Davies still writes a weekly devotional series. I
first connected with Larry way back in 1998 when I had a prayer
request, and we ended up swapping our devotional messages because we
discovered that each of us had been writing messages and sending them
out on the Internet since the mid nineties. Larry's list, of course,
is significantly larger in scope and depth than any of my works, and
he is both insightful and entertaining in his presentation.

Therefore, I'd like to share another of his weekly messages with you
once again and remind you to regularly examine yourselves in this
season of preparation - the Advent Season, as we eagerly await His
coming.

Children await the coming of Christmas for Santa Claus and the gifts,
but those who know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior
await the Day when we will see Him face to face. Whether we are taken
up in the clouds as described in 1 Thessalonians 4 or whether we are
put to rest in the ground, only to have resurrected souls, we shall
one day give an account for our lives. Will it be at the Great White
Throne judgment, or will it be at the Judgment seat of Christ?

If you don't know what either of those terms mean or where they come
from, let me just tell you that both of them come from the New
Testament in the Bible, and I urge you to personally hunt them down.
The Internet is a great resource to help you.

Yours in Christ,
Brian

Sowing Seeds of Faith... by Rev. Larry E. Davies

"Roof Repairs and Shepherds"

Just when you begin to accept your life the way it is: busy yet
comfortable. God sends a messenger turning everything upside down. You
are forced to reexamine yourself, change directions but then you
amazingly discover the miracle of the Christ child. But, if you miss
the message, you miss everything.

A woman with a damaged roof and no money needed help. Our church often
repairs houses for those in need. In addition, her church offered to
provide volunteers. I made the phone calls and arranged the work to be
done on Saturday... or so I thought. Early on Saturday morning I
received a phone call: "We can't find anyone," said the person in
charge of volunteers.

"That can't be. I promised the woman and the other church that we
would have the materials and a work crew there at 9:00 AM this
morning." I stammered, sensing trouble. "I am sorry," she
responded. "I've called everyone but the only one who can come is our
supervisor, Frank."

Frantically, I called potential volunteers but no one was home. We had
to help this woman today. What would I do now? A voice inside me said:
"Larry for a preacher, you can be pretty dumb. You go!"

"That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village,
guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord
appeared among them..." (Luke 2:8-9)

"But Lord," I replied. "I'm pastor of a big church with huge
responsibilities! Preachers don't do roofs! We pray for people who do
roofs! What if I fall off and get hurt? What if they ask me to
actually work?"

Do you ever wonder why God appeared to shepherds? Why not the inn
keeper? It was his property. Why not the local religious leaders? They
were looking for a Messiah. Why not a few of the local visitors in
town for the Roman census? They didn't have anything else to do. Why
shepherds?

Maybe God did appear but...

* the inn keeper missed the birth of Christ because he was too
busy. There were customers to care for, meals to prepare and rooms
to get ready: Christmas can be a busy time.

* religious leaders missed the event because they had their own
version of the Messiah which didn't include a baby born in a water
trough: Christmas is often misunderstood.

* townspeople missed the birth of Jesus because they were
celebrating a census. There were parties to attend, dinners to
enjoy and gifts to open: Christmas is more than a celebration.

God's angels appeared before the shepherds because unlike everyone
else in Bethlehem, they were ready and willing to respond. In other
words, a lot of folks missed the miracle of seeing the Christ child.

"When the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other,
'Let's go to Bethlehem and see this wonderful thing that has
happened, which the Lord told us about.'" (2:15)

God occasionally offers "shepherd like" moments in the midst of
everyday lives. My moment came on a Saturday morning just before
Christmas. I drove to the house half-heartedly and resentful but I
went. Then, I met the woman, toured her house and saw the damage. I
knew this was where I needed to be.

"They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the
baby, lying in a manger." (16)

Only Frank, our supervisor knew how to repair a roof but somehow our
motley group of volunteers managed to work without anyone getting
hurt. Frank measured and rolled tar paper while others nailed it
down. We were having so much fun swapping stories and making fun of
our lack of carpentry skills that the morning flew by and the repairs
were completed. As we came down, we were greeted with hot coffee, ham
biscuits and a warm hug from a grateful woman who called us her
"angels of mercy."

"Then the shepherds told everyone what happened and what the angel
said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds' story were
astonished..." (17-18)

Just when you begin to accept your life the way it is: busy yet
comfortable. God sends a messenger turning everything upside down. You
are forced to reexamine yourself, change directions but then you
amazingly discover the miracle of the Christ child. But, if you miss
the message, you miss everything.

More Devotional Material by Larry Davies

"And the Real Reason for Christmas: The Story of the Christmas Child
Fund."

"Checking Your Christmas List"

Read Sowing Seeds of Faith...
everyday! Click here:

www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/Devotions.htm

Are you receiving prayer concerns from around the world? Join our
prayer team today. Check it out by clicking here:
www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/sign-up.htm

Jesus said: "You are the light of the world -- like a city on a
mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your light
under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine ! for
all." (Matthew 5:14-15)

--
Brian Masinick, masinick at yahoo dot com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

____________________________________________________________________________________
Want to start your own business?
Learn how on Yahoo! Small Business.
smallbusiness.yahoo.com/r-index

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

I have not had much evening time to write messages recently, and my
day job certainly keeps me busy (and we are not allowed to use Web mail
based Email, such as Yahoo or Gmail), so I have had to, out of
necessity, write much less frequently.

My friend Larry Davies still writes a weekly devotional series. I
first connected with Larry way back in 1998 when I had a prayer
request, and we ended up swapping our devotional messages because we
discovered that each of us had been writing messages and sending them
out on the Internet since the mid nineties. Larry's list, of course,
is significantly larger in scope and depth than any of my works, and
he is both insightful and entertaining in his presentation.

Therefore, I'd like to share another of his weekly messages with you
once again and remind you to regularly examine yourselves in this
season of preparation - the Advent Season, as we eagerly await His
coming.

Children await the coming of Christmas for Santa Claus and the gifts,
but those who know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior
await the Day when we will see Him face to face. Whether we are taken
up in the clouds as described in 1 Thessalonians 4 or whether we are
put to rest in the ground, only to have resurrected souls, we shall
one day give an account for our lives. Will it be at the Great White
Throne judgment, or will it be at the Judgment seat of Christ?

If you don't know what either of those terms mean or where they come
from, let me just tell you that both of them come from the New
Testament in the Bible, and I urge you to personally hunt them down.
The Internet is a great resource to help you.

Yours in Christ,
Brian

Sowing Seeds of Faith... by Rev. Larry E. Davies

"Roof Repairs and Shepherds"

Just when you begin to accept your life the way it is: busy yet
comfortable. God sends a messenger turning everything upside down. You
are forced to reexamine yourself, change directions but then you
amazingly discover the miracle of the Christ child. But, if you miss
the message, you miss everything.

A woman with a damaged roof and no money needed help. Our church often
repairs houses for those in need. In addition, her church offered to
provide volunteers. I made the phone calls and arranged the work to be
done on Saturday... or so I thought. Early on Saturday morning I
received a phone call: "We can't find anyone," said the person in
charge of volunteers.

"That can't be. I promised the woman and the other church that we
would have the materials and a work crew there at 9:00 AM this
morning." I stammered, sensing trouble. "I am sorry," she
responded. "I've called everyone but the only one who can come is our
supervisor, Frank."

Frantically, I called potential volunteers but no one was home. We had
to help this woman today. What would I do now? A voice inside me said:
"Larry for a preacher, you can be pretty dumb. You go!"

"That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village,
guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord
appeared among them..." (Luke 2:8-9)

"But Lord," I replied. "I'm pastor of a big church with huge
responsibilities! Preachers don't do roofs! We pray for people who do
roofs! What if I fall off and get hurt? What if they ask me to
actually work?"

Do you ever wonder why God appeared to shepherds? Why not the inn
keeper? It was his property. Why not the local religious leaders? They
were looking for a Messiah. Why not a few of the local visitors in
town for the Roman census? They didn't have anything else to do. Why
shepherds?

Maybe God did appear but...

* the inn keeper missed the birth of Christ because he was too
busy. There were customers to care for, meals to prepare and rooms
to get ready: Christmas can be a busy time.

* religious leaders missed the event because they had their own
version of the Messiah which didn't include a baby born in a water
trough: Christmas is often misunderstood.

* townspeople missed the birth of Jesus because they were
celebrating a census. There were parties to attend, dinners to
enjoy and gifts to open: Christmas is more than a celebration.

God's angels appeared before the shepherds because unlike everyone
else in Bethlehem, they were ready and willing to respond. In other
words, a lot of folks missed the miracle of seeing the Christ child.

"When the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other,
'Let's go to Bethlehem and see this wonderful thing that has
happened, which the Lord told us about.'" (2:15)

God occasionally offers "shepherd like" moments in the midst of
everyday lives. My moment came on a Saturday morning just before
Christmas. I drove to the house half-heartedly and resentful but I
went. Then, I met the woman, toured her house and saw the damage. I
knew this was where I needed to be.

"They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the
baby, lying in a manger." (16)

Only Frank, our supervisor knew how to repair a roof but somehow our
motley group of volunteers managed to work without anyone getting
hurt. Frank measured and rolled tar paper while others nailed it
down. We were having so much fun swapping stories and making fun of
our lack of carpentry skills that the morning flew by and the repairs
were completed. As we came down, we were greeted with hot coffee, ham
biscuits and a warm hug from a grateful woman who called us her
"angels of mercy."

"Then the shepherds told everyone what happened and what the angel
said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds' story were
astonished..." (17-18)

More Devotional Material by Larry Davies

"And the Real Reason for Christmas: The Story of the Christmas Child
Fund."

"Checking Your Christmas List"

Read Sowing Seeds of Faith...
everyday! Click here:

http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/Devotions.htm

Are you receiving prayer concerns from around the world? Join our
prayer team today. Check it out by clicking here:
http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/sign-up.htm

Jesus said: "You are the light of the world -- like a city on a
mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your light
under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine ! for
all." (Matthew 5:14-15)

--
Brian Masinick, masinick at yahoo dot com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/

____________________________________________________________________________________
Want to start your own business?
Learn how on Yahoo! Small Business.
smallbusiness.yahoo.com/r-index