By SCOTT DONALDSON

Luke 2:8-11 (KJV) 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.

I cannot imagine what these simple, down to earth, men must have thought at the sight and sound of God’s angel and God’s glory suddenly being all around them. The last four words of verse nine let us know they were afraid, sore (very) afraid. But as was customary throughout the bible, God’s angel relieves their fear with simple instructions, “Fear not.” The angel goes on to let the men know of some very important GOOD news; the GOOD news of Jesus’ birth. The angel spoke of the birth of an innocent child who would grow up to be the savior of the world. The angel also told the shepherds where to find this newborn savior. This very strange and unusual event sparked a curiosity in mankind to know about Jesus that has yet to be satisfied. You see, Jesus is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Jesus’ birth was foretold by the prophet Isaiah many, many years before the actual event happened. Jesus was born of a virgin in a cow barn, wrapped in bandage like material that was supposed to help his arms and legs grow straight. There was no crib, only an animal feed trough for a bed. Jesus, the one true, perfect, savior of the world was neither rich, nor famous at the time of His birth. He grew up the Son a very humble, godly carpenter. He was kind, loving, and wise; the greatest teacher the world has ever known. He lived a perfect life, a life completely free of sin and all wrong doing. His whole life purpose was to bring glory to His heavenly father, to teach mankind how to live a life that is pleasing to God and then to die a disgraceful death on a cross between to common criminals. Sounds strange right, to be born only to die; but that was God’s plan of salvation for the whole world and all the people in it. You see, only a perfect, sinless sacrifice was sufficient to cover ALL the sin of men, women and children everywhere. Only the spilled blood of the perfect Son of God could undo the sin curse carried by ALL mankind since the devil tempted Eve in the garden. God loves us so much that He allowed His one and only Son to leave His place in heaven to be born of flesh in order to pay the price for yours and my sins. All we need do to accept this free gift of salvation is admit we are a sinners, (we are all under the sin curse from the garden- Romans 5:12 (KJV)12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:.) Next, believe that Jesus died on the cross to cover our sin John 3:16, 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Confess your sin to God and ask Him to save you. Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. You may do this in a simple prayer of faith from your heart.

If you do this with a pure desire of mind then the bible tell us that God saves you at that exact moment. Won’t you accept Jesus today? If you have questions or would like to talk to me about your salvation; my number is 334-464-6936, please don’t put-off eternity.

Scott Donaldson is pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in the Bullock community, just south of Brantley.