Love Comes Near: An Advent Bible Study, Dec. 17th Read Luke 2:13-18 Write Luke 2:14 Luke 2:14 -- "'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'" "The angels are bursting at the seams, in praise of God. Thousands of them, singing together this message of glory to God and peace to mankind. Can you imagine the drama of this moment? "I love that God holds nothing back in announcing the birth of his Son. A proud Daddy. "What words would you use to describe the angel's announcement?" Joyful, triumphant, proud. "What action did the shepherds take after the angels left the scene?" They went to see for themselves what the angel had told them about, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all peo- ple. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." (Luke 2:10-12) ----- Love Comes Near "So the shepherds told a few locals about the event. But, it didn't start an uproar in Bethlehem. "The angel's visit wasn't about the shepherds. And it wasn't about starting some large scale campaign. It was about the praise God deserved. While earth didn't yet know what hit them, the heavens erupt in praise. Heaven knows. "I love the contrast between what is happening on earth and what's happening in heaven. On earth, his entry is humble in every way you can imagine. But, heaven cannot contain its excitement." ----- "Have you ever been witness of something profound from God? A miracle or a clearly divine affirmation of His goodness?" I remember two times when I felt touched by the voice of God, while I was a- wake and praying. They were both awesome. In one instance, I grew somehow proud, feeling touched by a whisper from God, and may have grown arrogant, which I am sure He didn't intend. The 2nd occurance I was just taken by awe. "How did you see God's purposes fulfilled in what you experienced? How did you/ can you give God the glory for what you witnessed?" I was in a graveyard in the first occurance in 1981. I was 21, attending Cen- tral Methodist College. I was feeling somewhat dejected, but it was a beauti- ful sunny day, and it was as if all of a sudden God said to me, "Behold!" And everything looked twice as beautiful, as if a veil had been lifted from my eyes and I was taken aback. I think though that those were days when I was somewhat an arrogant person (or at least more arrogant than I am now), and ended up mak- ing a lot of mistakes in my relations with others, particularly with my bro- thers in Alpha Phi Omega. I did things that made a lot of people mad at me. I was going through some mental illness at the time I think -- I remember feel- ing suicidal various times that fall. That was when I had my first two-month visit to a psychiatric ward in Kansas City, withdrawing from college then. I am not sure how the net result was of God's purpose; I was dreadfully unhappy in that psychiatric unit ... but I was able to get out and get a job as a pro- grammer at a church with the help of a godly man, Jack Heffelfinger. It was like I was given a 2nd chance, and I bloomed in 1982. Maybe I was meant to go through those painful times at Central Methodist College and then in the mental ward, to learn some lessons. ----- "When God shows up, and we stand as witnesses, it's never a celebration of our worth, but His." I don't think God's worth and my worth are mutually exclusive. We as humans need to feel worth and worthy, need to have some self-esteem to be able to function as good and productive people in our world. So I think that some- thing that celebrates my worth is not a bad thing as long as I don't let it go to my head and use it to hold over other people's heads. I believe in hu- mility, but worthiness, and in giving thanks to God for helping me to be a worthy citizen of earth, as Jesus taught.