The angels sing, “on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” My bible says they were experiencing a time of external peace (Roman peace) but the angels proclaimed a deeper, more lasting peace of mind and soul only made possible by Jesus.
In 2 Samuel 15 we read of a gittite who says to David, as the LORD lives, I will follow my lord (David). The gittites were philistines from gath, where Goliath was from! And yet this gittite has found faith in the LORD Yahweh, which means he has a personal relationship with the one true God. Beautiful how God saves Gentiles in the Old Testament.
As I prayed for revelation of The Lord from this reading I saw the way people physically humbled themselves before addressing their King. The thanks and adoration and praise they gave as they were allowed to speak before him. Sometimes I forget that I’m not only praying to the Spirit who is my Friend but also Christ who is my King and the Father who is my God.
It really struck me in this reading how David essentially completely pardoned Absilom Then Absilom almost immediately disrespects the value of that gift and takes actions to show he believes he is smarter than David- his king and father. He takes control- sets himself in rebellion. – This just hit home for me as I have been guilty of something very similar with God. In Absilom’s story it looks so appalling! Now i can see how ugly it must be in my own life towards God as well.
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Jesus was born and it began! We are saved! Love reading about the birth of Jesus.
We moved over the last month and I got really behind on my reading. Over the past few days I have read all of 1 and 2 Samuel and I have really enjoyed it! I found myself reading on because I was curious how David would respond. And it has been really neat catching up on David’s psalms that match up with the story!
I really love reading jesus birth in June. I feel like sadly I only ever read it at Christmas with all the hype and fun holiday times going on. I find it hard some years to really focus on jesus because of what Christmas has become and because it’s my favourite holiday. I may have given Christmas a bigger spot in my heart than I should have and idolize it in a way.
This was just such a sweet reminder and at a perfect time of year to really absorb it and process it without the holiday hype.
Praise God he is so good all the time.
The birth of Jesus is amazing and I’m so thankful for it. It blows my mind every time I really think about it.
2 Samuel is reading like an action packed story, also makes me laugh how many times David has been hit with the hypothetical: “I have this ‘friend’…” when everyone just wants David to see the error of his ways.
Yeah 2 Samuel is pretty action packed! And after being forgiven or reconciled with David, absalon wants to steal the throne? Human nature is very raw here
Don’t you wonder if these shepherds ever returned years later to listen to Jesus teaching? How amazed they might have been and that they knew him first as a baby!
Luke 2:18-19 “and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Does anyone have insight about Mary’s reaction here? The shepherds are confirming what Gabriel said about Jesus in Luke 1, so I guess she isn’t as surprised as everyone else. But the shepherd’s excitedly praise God for his faithfulness and Mary’s reaction is so quiet & reflective in comparison.
I guess if you think about if you were in Mary’s place, it would be very intimidating. She knows that it is God doing these things but when it happens to her, she has to reflect and take a deep breath. I know if I was her then I would definitely need to process it before I could jump and sing praises.
Maybe that was just Mary’s personality. She seems pretty calm when Gabriel appears to her in Luke 1, at least I see her being pretty calm. Maybe she was the type of person who did a lot of reflecting and internal praising. :-)
My NLT study bible explains: Perhaps Mary reflected on the significance of these events and wondered about Jesus’ destiny. It is also possible that Luke says this because Mary was his source of information on these events
Lk 2:10-11 “And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord’.” Once again … “Fear not!” It was not a message of condemnation … but a message to give hope and joy to a despairing world.
❤️
❤️
❤️
Even though David might have messed up, he still was consistent on his devotion to God
Mary treasured all theses tings in her heart
♡
Niki Bibb. H
✅
The angels sing, “on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” My bible says they were experiencing a time of external peace (Roman peace) but the angels proclaimed a deeper, more lasting peace of mind and soul only made possible by Jesus.
“and may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you.” -ellie
In 2 Samuel 15 we read of a gittite who says to David, as the LORD lives, I will follow my lord (David). The gittites were philistines from gath, where Goliath was from! And yet this gittite has found faith in the LORD Yahweh, which means he has a personal relationship with the one true God. Beautiful how God saves Gentiles in the Old Testament.
As I prayed for revelation of The Lord from this reading I saw the way people physically humbled themselves before addressing their King. The thanks and adoration and praise they gave as they were allowed to speak before him. Sometimes I forget that I’m not only praying to the Spirit who is my Friend but also Christ who is my King and the Father who is my God.
It really struck me in this reading how David essentially completely pardoned Absilom Then Absilom almost immediately disrespects the value of that gift and takes actions to show he believes he is smarter than David- his king and father. He takes control- sets himself in rebellion. – This just hit home for me as I have been guilty of something very similar with God. In Absilom’s story it looks so appalling! Now i can see how ugly it must be in my own life towards God as well.
❤️
Today is my due date, and I’m in early labor. Such a special time to read about Jesus’ birth!
How exciting, Jessica! Praying for you and your baby tonight. Early congratulations!
❤️
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Jesus was born and it began! We are saved! Love reading about the birth of Jesus.
We moved over the last month and I got really behind on my reading. Over the past few days I have read all of 1 and 2 Samuel and I have really enjoyed it! I found myself reading on because I was curious how David would respond. And it has been really neat catching up on David’s psalms that match up with the story!
I’m playing catch up after a move, too Stacey… Nice to not be alone ;)
I really love reading jesus birth in June. I feel like sadly I only ever read it at Christmas with all the hype and fun holiday times going on. I find it hard some years to really focus on jesus because of what Christmas has become and because it’s my favourite holiday. I may have given Christmas a bigger spot in my heart than I should have and idolize it in a way.
This was just such a sweet reminder and at a perfect time of year to really absorb it and process it without the holiday hype.
Praise God he is so good all the time.
The birth of Jesus is amazing and I’m so thankful for it. It blows my mind every time I really think about it.
2 Samuel is reading like an action packed story, also makes me laugh how many times David has been hit with the hypothetical: “I have this ‘friend’…” when everyone just wants David to see the error of his ways.
I am really enjoying 2 Samuel as well, Agatha!
Haha! That makes me laugh too!
Yes, it’s like today… We see better from the outside at times.more objective
Yeah 2 Samuel is pretty action packed! And after being forgiven or reconciled with David, absalon wants to steal the throne? Human nature is very raw here
Like 2:18 … “And pondered them in her heart”. I call these heart pictures. Times you capture without a camera!
I love that!
Don’t you wonder if these shepherds ever returned years later to listen to Jesus teaching? How amazed they might have been and that they knew him first as a baby!
what a cool thought!
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” How wonderful our Christ came to be our Saviour!
Luke 2:18-19 “and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Does anyone have insight about Mary’s reaction here? The shepherds are confirming what Gabriel said about Jesus in Luke 1, so I guess she isn’t as surprised as everyone else. But the shepherd’s excitedly praise God for his faithfulness and Mary’s reaction is so quiet & reflective in comparison.
I guess if you think about if you were in Mary’s place, it would be very intimidating. She knows that it is God doing these things but when it happens to her, she has to reflect and take a deep breath. I know if I was her then I would definitely need to process it before I could jump and sing praises.
Maybe that was just Mary’s personality. She seems pretty calm when Gabriel appears to her in Luke 1, at least I see her being pretty calm. Maybe she was the type of person who did a lot of reflecting and internal praising. :-)
My NLT study bible explains: Perhaps Mary reflected on the significance of these events and wondered about Jesus’ destiny. It is also possible that Luke says this because Mary was his source of information on these events
Lk 2:10-11 “And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord’.” Once again … “Fear not!” It was not a message of condemnation … but a message to give hope and joy to a despairing world.
Amen.