The Angels and the shepherds
What an incredible experience those shepherds had-they had just been visited by angels! But notice what they did after the angels had gone, because the real test of the Christian life is not how well we handle the occasional spiritual highs, but how well we function during ordinary times.
They personally examined the evidence. They didn't say to one another, "Let's send someone to see if there really is a baby in a manger." Instead, "The shepherds said to one another, 'Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened."
Is bigger always better?
Mark 6 records the feeding 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish. Twelve basketfuls of leftovers were collected. But Mark 8 relates an occasion when Jesus fed 4,000 people with seven loaves. This time when all had eaten, only seven basketfuls were left over.
Was Jesus a poor showman? A performer always moves from the lesser to the greater, from the easy to the more difficult. A magician saves his most dramatic and spellbinding trick for the last. A circus entertainer saves the most death defying act for the grand finale. Fireworks always conclude with the loudest and most spectacular display. That’s the way you impress and maintain a crowd.
Children Speak
But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant. MATTHEW 21:15
The religious leaders of Jesus' day did not like the fact that children were shouting praises to him. The Scriptures tell us they were indignant. The Greek word translated indignant is an old word that originally brought together two words: much and grieve. I'm sure you get the picture. The term was often used to describe physical pain.
I want to recommend “Prayer, Piece in the Presence of God.” A 30 day journey to experience the Saloma of Jesus by David Butts from prayer shop publishing company. Terre Haute, Indiana.
Prayer, Peace and the Presence of God is not designed to be read like a book. It is a 30-day prayer guide, designed to be taken in daily doses. Chew on the content of each day, pray over it, let the prayer and prayer point each day sink in to your soul. After doing that, throughout the day as the Lord brings back to mind what you read, continue to process it through prayer.
Dave Butts writes, My encouragement to you is that as you lay your burdens and stresses at the feet of Jesus, you will experience God's peace and God's presence as a regular part of your ongoing walk with Jesus.