December 26, 2024 Devo

December 26th, 2024

“It’s All About Jesus!”
The Birth of Jesus – The Shepherds
After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished. – Luke 2:17-18 (NLT)
“Come & See, Go & Tell!”

“Come and see; go and tell.” That is the basic calling of every Christ follower. The shepherds kicked it off in our passage today. They followed the angel’s instructions and came to where Jesus was. Then they went and told “everyone” what they had experienced. The first disciples did the same. They came to Jesus and then went and found others and told them. The angel at the tomb of Jesus after His resurrection gave the very same instructions. “Come and see where He was and go and tell what you’ve seen.” That was how the story of Jesus spread.
It’s also the way it STILL gets spread. People who encounter Jesus go and tell other people about what they’ve experienced. “I was lost, and now I’m found!” “I was bound by addiction, and Jesus set me free!” “I felt empty and without purpose, and Jesus gave my life meaning!” You can fill it in with whatever your own Jesus story is. But why do we stop “going?” Why do we seem to so quickly lose our fire and stop sharing what Jesus has done?
The answer is so obvious it hurts. We stop “going” because we stop “coming.” If we don’t have any fresh encounters with Jesus, we quickly lose our passion and run out of things to share. After telling everyone, the shepherds ended up going back to their fields. I wonder how many more people they told even a week after their miraculous encounter. Memories fade. Life moves on. New distractions capture our attention. Fire needs to be stoked. If you want to keep “going” you need to keep “coming.”
I hope this becomes your commitment for the New Year. Keep coming to Jesus. Keep setting aside time to meet with Him, listen to Him, cry out to Him, and reflect on Him. Let the scriptures fill your mind and soul with His life, His truth, and His heart. As you learn, you grow. As you pray, He answers. As you lay down your burdens, your fears, your sins, and your struggles, He heals, lifts, encourages, and forgives. Every one of those encounters becomes a fresh story you have to share with those who need to hear. Keep coming to Jesus and you’ll never stop having something worth telling. And THAT’S what He’s called us to do. That’s God’s Word for you today.