Our Daily Bread -- The Smells Of The Stable

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Our Daily Bread -- The Smells Of The Stable December 25, 2014 Our Daily Bread is hosted by Les Lamborn READ: Luke 2:15-20 They shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, “God with us.” —Matthew 1:23 A stable? What a place to give birth to the Messiah! The smells and sounds of a barnyard were our Savior’s first human experience. Like other babies, He may even have cried at the sounds of the animals and the strangers parading around His temporary crib. If so, they would have been the first of many tears. Jesus would come to know human loss and sorrow, the doubts his brothers and family had about Him, and the pain His mother experienced as she saw Him tortured and killed. All these hardships—and so much more—awaited the baby trying to sleep that first night. Yet from His very first moments, Jesus was “God with us” (Matt. 1:23), and He knew what it meant to be human. This would continue for over three decades, ending at His death on the cross. Because of His love for you and me, Jesus became fully human. And being human allows Him to identify with us. Never again can we say that no one understands us. Jesus does. May the Light that entered the world that night cast its brilliance into the deepest corners of our souls this Christmas, giving us the peace on Earth of which the angels spoke so long ago. —Randy Kilgore Father, help our hearts to know the love of Christ and to honor Him with our unyielding devotion in this and every season. We love You. Jesus understands. Bible in a year: Zephaniah 1-3; Revelation 16 Insight The role of shepherd is one of the oldest occupations named in the Bible (Gen. 4:2). Shepherds were deemed irreligious and irreverent, because in taking their flock into the wilderness to find pasture, they could not perform their religious duties at the temple. And being in contact with animals (and dead sheep), they were considered “unclean.” That God would announce the birth of the Savior of the world to a group of shepherds is consistent with Jesus’ mission to save the poor and exalt the lowly (Luke 1:51-53; 4:18). It is interesting that Jesus is both the Lamb of God (John 1:29) and the Good Shepherd (10:11). Share your comments on today’s devotional at odb.org.   You can make a difference. Even the smallest donation helps reach people around the world with the life-changing wisdom of the Bible. Donate	Special Offer Subscribe Mail Receive ODB at home Podcast Download ODB on iTunes Mobile Get ODB on the go Facebook facebook.com/ourdailybread Twitter twitter.com/ourdailybread Instagram instagram.com/our_daily_bread Google+ Add us to your circle RSS odb.org/feed
To read today's Our Daily Bread online visit www.odb.org. Copyright © 2014, RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI 49555 USA. Written permission must be obtained from RBC Ministries for any further posting or distribution. RBC Ministries produces a variety of Bible resources, which are available for the asking. Many people, making even the smallest of donations, enable RBC Ministries to reach others with the life-changing wisdom of the Bible. We are not funded or endowed by any group or denomination. Write rbc@rbc.org for more information. Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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