The Amazing Presence and Message of God

When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,  and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.  Luke 2:17-18 NIV

If you believe in Jesus, God is in you.  This amazing God has given you an amazing presence with an amazing message.  There are three steps to sharing God's amazing presence and message: 

1. Experience Jesus.
2. Spread your message. 
3. Spread God's message.

What happened with shepherds on the night Jesus was born illustrates these three steps.

EXPERIENCE JESUS
The shepherds saw an amazing thing:  an angel--a messenger from heaven.  The angel of the Lord emanated the glory of the Lord.  The shepherds were amazed, filled with terror.  Then the angel gave them an amazing message:  God has come to the earth, and you can go see Him.  So they went.  And they saw God.  They were amazed because they experienced the most amazing thing they'd ever experienced.  You have also experienced what the shepherds experienced.  Your first step is the same as theirs was on the night Jesus was born.

The first step to the amazing message God has given you is your own personal and real experience of Jesus.  You have God in you.  Nothing is more amazing.  You haven't just experienced God in the past when you accepted Jesus.  You are experiencing Him in you now, and in my words, which are based on God's words.  Having experienced God directly just as the shepherds experienced Him, you have an amazing message.  Like the shepherds, you must spread the word.

SPREAD YOUR MESSAGE
All the shepherds did was tell what they had seen and heard.  They couldn't help it.  They were amazed. So are we.  You and I have the Lord in us.  Everyone in our life experiences God when they experience us.  He's in us.  They can't help but experience Him.  So tell them what they're experiencing.  Most likely they've made comments about you and your life.  You know that what they're noticing is what God is doing to you and through you.  Tell them that.  But make sure you are saying what God has already said.  Like the shepherds, you should share the message of God, according to God's own words.

SPREAD GOD'S MESSAGE
The shepherds didn't give their own opinions about Jesus.  They told the people what the angel told them:  that the baby in the manger was the Savior, the Messiah, the Lord.  You should do what the shepherds did.  Your message, what you've experienced, must be based on God's message--His word, the scriptures.  For example, I'm studying Luke chapter 2.  I'm sharing with you from those scriptures what God's Spirit shared with me in those scriptures.  Everything I'm writing is based on my experience of the Spirit illuminating those words, the words in Luke 2:17-18. 

In the same way, when you pray, read scriptures, or follow the Spirit, you have a message based on the scriptures.  You're experiencing God, the God of the Bible.  Simply share with the people in your life what God has shared with you, in the same way the shepherds shared what God shared with them.

Monica's Key

Monica, will you marry me?

Don's eyes were dark, deeply piercing my eyes, and my racing heart.  We sat on a bench on our favorite nature trail, at the place where the path splits in two roads.  At the end of both roads were log cabins, and sometimes those who walked the paths rented the cabins. 

Now it was my life that was forking, and at the end were two cabins for me:
One with Don, and one without Don.

The key. 
I have the key.

It dawned on me.  This moment, the answer to Don's question, would begin a new life.  A new me.
I could become a wife, and then a mother, and bring into this world brothers and sisters who would not have been here before this moment.  They would be because of me.

The key. 
I have the key.

A simple, "yes," or "no."  An "I will," or "I will not."  I had the key to my life, and even Don's life.  They key to unborn lives.  It could begin with me.

The key. 
I have the key.

"Monica?"

His voice broke my trance.  But not for long.  Though I sat silently no longer than a minute, for Don I'm sure it seemed like an hour.  It seemed that way for me, the one with the key...to this life and eternity. 

Who gave me this key?
Don, in this moment.
But before this moment?
Who gave me the key to my femininity, to my womanly identity?
It had to be The One who made me.  I could feel him on the path, but even He waited for my answer.
Even He could not open the door.

"Do you need more time," Don asked.  His voice sounded sad, but more beautiful than ever.  I felt no pressure.  He loved me.  I knew this...because he waited.  I felt free to accept or reject his proposal. 

"My delay isn't an answer."
"I know.  You like to think before answering."

My heart melted.  He did know me.  And love me.  And like me.  I knew, loved, liked, and deeply admired my Don.  Yet the weight of this moment summed up every moment of my life before.  Though I was thoughtful, I never thought about each choice, each key given to me.  I vowed to never lose my keys again...then I looked into his eyes.

"Yes, Don.  I'm yours."  I gave my answer with a new power.

Don hugged me tightly and whispered in my ear,  "And I am yours Monica.  Always."