***Go and Tell of a King***

Where do you like to worship? Some prefer large cathedrals , others a simple chapel. But would anyone's first choice be a stable? Yet, after hearing the message of the angels, the shepherds' first response was to find the stable where Mary had given birth to the Savior.
To me, this only confirms that our God is the God of the unexpected. And few things could be more unexpected than the King of Heaven being born in a stable. (Luke 2:15-16)
I've often heard people use this expression,"You are not defined by what happens to you, but by how you respond to what happens to you." This is true, I suspect, in areas of life both good and bad, both joyful and painful,both exciting and terrifying. How we respond measures us in ways that words fail to express.
The shepherds response was, first, to worship, and second, to tell what they had seen.(Luke 2:17-18)
This is true worship---to kneel before the Christ so that you are then able to stand before others and proclaim His glory and salvation...
To think that all this burst forth from a worship experience in a most unlikely place , on a most unlikely night,involving some most unlikely men.(Luke 2:20)
Two thousand years later, we continue to celebrate the Lamb,and we join the shepherds who were the first to do so...

May God Bless You All as we Worship our Savior at this time of the year.
Paul P

# Identity Settled #

When you know who you are, taking BIG risk makes sense... (1Timothy 6:11-12)
Paul knew that the quickest and most effective way to pull greatness out of his pupil Timothy was to remind him of who he really was . He might be tempted to be someone else, but Timothy was God's man-- that was his identity. In Timothy's life it meant fleeing inconsistent identities, fighting hard for what he believed, and being loyal to his calling as God's man.

In the same way, Jesus pulled His guys in tight to emphasize that their identity meant lining up on the right side of the ball.(John 15:19). The crystal clear message : -----blending in with the world is not the mark of His men...

Here is a fact---We risk more for God when our identity is firmly in God...

Are you on His team? (Luke6:46)
PaulP