The second important lesson that we can learn from the shepherds is that they Acted Quickly. (If you’re a note taker, you’ll recognize immediately that “quickly” starts with a “q” not a “c,” but it works phonetically). The shepherds not only had the message, but they obeyed the message. Verse 16 tells us that “they came with haste.” That means they were in a hurry. They did not look at each other and say, “Maybe we should go check that out tomorrow.” No, they heard, they got up, and they went. And as far as we know–as far as the Scriptural account indicates–the shepherds were the only people who went to see the Savior that night.

The shepherds were the first to hear the good news that the Messiah had been born, and certainly having the news announced in person by a heavenly host of angels would have been an awesome experience. However, we too have the message of the angels. We know the good news that the Messiah was born…and we have the rest of the story, too. We know that He lived a perfect, sinless life, that He died on the cross, that He rose again three days later, and later ascended into heaven where He sits today at the right hand of God the Father.

I am guilty, though, of not always acting quickly in response to the message of Christmas. I am careful to remember the real meaning of Christmas and to be sure that it remains at the center of our family celebration, but I do not always remember, or take time, to share that true message with others. Having the good news is wonderful, and remembering the true meaning of Christmas is imperative. But in and of itself that is not enough. We must not keep that message to ourselves…as we will see tomorrow in the final lesson from the shepherds.

Now that we have concluded our examination of the Dangerous Distractions that can prevent us from focusing on the Design of our Deliverance, I would like to look at three important lessons that we can learn from the shepherds. The shepherds who were tending their flocks in the fields outside of Bethlehem on that first Christmas night were the first individuals to ever recognize the Design of their Deliverance and the first to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.

Luke 2:15 reads, “When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.'”

The first thing we see about the shepherds is that they Attended Carefully. The word “attended” here means that they listened. The shepherds listened to what the angels had to say. They recognized that it was a messenger of the Lord who was speaking to them, and they listened carefully. There are far too few people today listening carefully to the message of Christmas. They think that the message is all about glad tidings and giving presents and Santa Claus and snow and fruitcake. And those things are all good and fun. (Except maybe fruitcake). But those things are not what Christmas is about. People who focus on these things miss the real meaning–they miss the true gift–because they do not attend carefully to the message of the manger.

With the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season it can be very easy to let the meaning of Christmas get drowned out by all of the noise and distraction around us. Even when we do pause to read or listen to the Christmas story from the Bible, we may even be tempted to let it go in one ear and out the other. After all, for many of us it is a story that is very familiar, and it can easily become just something else on our Christmas “to do” list. This year, let me encourage you to slow down, eliminate all distractions, and give your full attention to the wonderful message of the Christmas story. I am sure that if you will attend carefully to the message you will be blessed and encouraged by the reminder of the real Reason for this season.

While Luke’s account of the Christmas story provides us with several examples of Dangerous Distractions, it also provides us with the real meaning of Christmas–God’s Design for our Deliverance.

The Old Testament is full of prophesies that the Messiah would come–that God would provide a way for man to be delivered from the bondage of sin. As the song says, “Long lay the world/in sin and error pining/til He appeared and the soul felt His worth. A thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices/for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!”

So many people alive at that time, however–just like so many people alive today–chose to remain weary in sin and error, choosing to ignore that indeed it was “the night of our dear Savior’s birth.”

God designed a plan for sinful man to be delivered from sin and to have the opportunity to choose to spend eternity with Him. He had been providing advance notice of that plan for generations. And yet almost no one, as we will see over the next few entries in the blog, took any notice of this event.

If the Distance to the Destination, the Details of the Day, or the Demands of our Duties keep us from seeing God’s Design for our Deliverance then we too will miss the true meaning of Christmas. Our celebrations and parties and singing will all be for naught, it will all be meaningless and hollow with no significance beyond the pleasure of the moment. In the midst of a dark and sinful world, much of which is intent on denying the Reason for the Season, do not fall victim to the Dangerous Distractions! Remember the true message of Christmas! If you keep Christ at the center, I suspect you just might find that you have the opportunity to share that message with someone else, too. After all, could there be a better or more appropriate way to celebrate Christmas than to show someone God’s Christmas Gift?

The third example of Dangerous Distractions that can interfere with our ability to actively recognize the true meaning of Christmas is this: the Demands of our Duties.

Remembering our passage in Luke 2, just think about the innkeeper. This man was likely beside himself even before Mary and Joseph knocked on his door. His inn was packed full. There was NO vacancy. Surely he was overwhelmed, and likely asked himself at least some of these questions: How was he going to feed them all? Did everyone have a pillow? Should he have upped his rates in order to take advantage of the crowd in town? Where was he going to park all the donkeys and camels? This man made his livelihood running the inn, but he had probably rarely, if ever, had so many guests at once. And not only the inn, but the entire town was full of people. And let’s not forget that his family had to register, too. There were many duties demanding his attention. And he had no idea what was about to happen.

Sometimes today we are the same way. We let our duties, our jobs, our responsibilities occupy all of our time. We have things to do at work, at church and at home–and more than likely they are all very valid and even very important things. But if we are not careful, they can divert our attention from what Christmas is all about.

In his book God’s Gift of Christmas, John MacArthur writes about the innkeeper: “Not only did he turn Mary and Joseph away, but he apparently didn’t even call for anyone to help a young mother about to give birth. The Son of God might have been born on his property. But he missed Christmas because he was so preoccupied. There is no indication that he was hostile or even unsympathetic. He was just busy, that’s all. Millions of people today are consumed with activity–not necessarily sinful activity, just things that keep them busy. At Christmas, people are especially busy. Shopping, banquets, parties, concerts, school activities, and other things all compete for attention. And in the clutter of activity, many preoccupied people miss the Son of God.”

Thinking of my own current and past experience, I know that December is one of the busiest times of the year. Right now, as a school superintendent, I have a perfect storm of end-of-semester activities, athletic events for winter sports teams that just started their seasons, musical performances for the Christmas concert, and a Christmas program at church. That’s not including anything on a personal or family level. When I was at the children’s home it would have been typical for there to be a dozen choir performances and at least half a dozen Christmas parties between Thanksgiving and Christmas, plus a staff party and things at church. As MacArthur wrote, there is nothing sinful about any of these things, but they keep people busy. And when we get so busy that we lose sight of what Christmas is all about–when the Demands of our Duties interfere with celebrating the true meaning of Christmas–we have a problem.

So this Christmas season, be on guard against the Dangerous Distractions that so easily find their way into our lives.

In addition to the Distance to our Destination, we may also be distracted by the Details of the Day. Mary and Joseph, and probably most everyone else, would have been devoting considerable thought to what the day of the census would be like. Luke tells us that a decree had gone out from Caesar that the world should be registered, and that this was the first registration while Quirinius was governing Syria. That wording seems to indicate that this registration would have been a first-time experience for those impacted by the decree. So, putting ourselves in their sandals for a moment, it is easy to imagine what questions may have been going through their mind as they traveled to the cities of their ancestors’ birth. For example, where would they have to go in town in order to complete the registration? How many other people would be there? Would they have to wait in a long line? What kinds of information would they be required to provide?

Having never done this before they were undoubtedly unfamiliar with how it would work. This is somewhat difficult for us to imagine, because we do most everything by mail, telephone or the Internet. Can you imagine if each of us had to go to the city of our birth every so many years, or the city of our father’s ancestry? We don’t have these worries today, but just suppose the government decided to implement such a scheme? (After all, you never know what the government might do, right?) I was born in Washington, D.C. Traffic in and around Washington is bad enough on a “normal” day, but I cannot imagine what it would be like if everyone who had been born there had to return at a specified time. The numbers would be staggering. I was born at the Columbia Hospital for Women. The hospital closed in 2002, but it had been one of the oldest hospitals in Washington, D.C., having occupied the same location since 1870. It became one of the pioneering hospitals in many areas of obstetrics and gynecology, and more than 250,000 babies were born at Columbia. And that is but one of the hospitals in D.C. If such an edict were to be made that I had to return to Washington, D.C. for a registration I would certainly be asking myself many of the same questions that Mary and Joseph, and countless others, were asking…and I would likely have trouble finding room in an inn, too.

Registrations aside, though, we still get distracted by the Details of the Day today. Most of us have considerable traditions associated with our Christmas celebrations, and December is typically filled with lots of activity. As Christmas Day approaches, though, our minds may be filled with some or all of these questions…

* When will everyone arrive?
* Did I get all of my shopping done?
* Did I wrap everything?
* Does the tree look right?
* Is the house clean?
* Did I finish all of the decorating?
* When, and what, are we going to eat?
* Who’s bringing what dish?
* When will we open presents?

The Details of the Day can occupy our attention to the point that we forget all about the true meaning of Christmas. Most families make a big deal about Christmas. Family members get together, lots of food is prepared, etc. All of these things are fine. I love Christmas just as much as anyone else, maybe even more. (My collection of Christmas music is almost ridiculously large). But none of these things are what Christmas is all about.

Thinking back to that very first Christmas, no one knew that is was even about to be the first Christmas. Mary and Joseph had some knowledge, because they knew Mary was carrying God’s Son, but even they did not know exactly when Jesus would be born. To everyone alive at that time it was simply the night before another day. A day when they had to register, but other than that, just another day on the calendar. And unfortunately that is what Christmas is for many people today–just another day. It’s a day off of work, a day to get together with loved ones, a day to exchange gifts. But beyond the traditions and the time off of work, it is really just another day. The only thing that makes it any different is the Details of the Day, and so that is what becomes the focus of their attention.

Of course, it is the Details of the Day that account for the true meaning of Christmas, too. Only because Christ was born of a virgin in the city of David, lived a perfect life, suffered and died on the cross, and rose three days later does Christmas have any meaning at all. We just have to be careful to ensure that while we enjoy all of the fun details like food, family and gifts, we do not neglect the meaningful details of Christ’s birth.

As I mentioned yesterday, I am going to spend several entries looking at Luke 2, and doing so from what may be a different perspective than is usually taken. For the first three entries I am going to examine the Dangerous Distractions that can interfere with our ability to stay focused on the true meaning of Christmas.

In verses 4 and 5 of Luke 2 we read that Joseph, along with his betrothed, Mary, had to travel to Bethlehem for the census which Caesar Augustus had ordered. As you know, Mary “was with child.” Despite her condition, she and Joseph had to travel approximately seventy miles over rough, mountainous terrain. Given their means of travel–likely on foot or riding a donkey–this would have been a particularly difficult journey for Mary. With the roads and vehicles that we have today, a 70 mile trip is no big deal. It would take slightly more than an hour, and the travelers would be inside of a vehicle, protected from the elements and able to stay warm. They could listen to music if they were so inclined, and enjoy a relatively hassle-free trip to their destination.

Today, of course, most people travel at Christmas because they want to, usually to be with friends or loved ones. Yet, the Distance to our Destination can still occupy our minds and distract us from the real meaning of Christmas. Think about your Christmas travels. I think it is safe to assume that you likely have asked yourself at least one of these questions:

* How far do we have to go?
* What time do we have to leave?
* How much traffic will there be?
* Will the weather interfere with our travel plans?
* How long will we have to wait at the airport?
* What if they lose our luggage?

These are but a few examples of the many things we spend time worrying about when it comes to Christmas travel–and I didn’t even mention every child’s favorite travel question: “Are we there yet?” When these matters become the focus of our attention they cause the message of Christmas to be pushed to the back of our minds–if we stop to think about it at all!

So this year, whether you are traveling 7, 70, 700 or even 7,000 miles, be sure to keep the message of Christmas in mind. Don’t let the Distance to your Destination and the many questions and concerns of travel interfere with what Christmas is all about.

It is Christmas season! And since it snowed a bit last night it is also “beginning to look a lot like Christmas.” I love Christmas–the food, the music, the gatherings…all of it! I do prefer to wait until after Thanksgiving to start listening to Christmas music, though, and I must confess it bugs me to see Christmas “stuff” out in the stores as soon as they clear out the Halloween stuff.

Unfortunately, we live in a culture that often neglects or even blatantly refuses to acknowledge the true meaning of Christmas. You may recall the post from a few weeks ago in which I discussed the letter I had received from the Anti-Defamation League. That is one example of the attempts of many in our country to remove any reference to God or Jesus Christ from the public sphere. (By the way, I received a letter back from the ADL in response to my letter. It was very short: “A letter regarding the December holidays was inadvertently sent to you last week. This letter was intended for public schools. We apologize for any inconvenience.”) I never expected any response at all, but the response includes further evidence of my point: the continued use of “December holidays,” for example, and the refusal to acknowledge that perhaps the “guidelines” provided in the original letter are absurd even for public schools. Not that I would expect otherwise from the ADL.

We also hear every year about stores that instruct their personnel to use “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” when speaking to customers. An acquaintance of mine was recently up in arms over what she considers the foolishness of some people refusing to shop at a store that won’t say “Merry Christmas.” Her position was that with the economy in the shape that it is in right now it is ridiculous to draw lines over something so silly. She went on to say that she does not find “Happy Holidays” offensive anyway, so people should just get over it.

Now, believe it or not, I opted to stay out of the discussion and keep my thoughts to myself. (Aren’t you impressed?) Of course, I am now going to lay out my position for all the world to see! (I have high expectations for the readership of this blog, huh?) I do not find “Happy Holidays” offensive, either. If someone says that to me, or sends me a card that contains that wording, I am not going to be offended or get upset. What does offend me is when any organization, institution or person establishes a policy that it will not, and its employees cannot, say/print/display “Merry Christmas.”

Why do I find this offensive? Because it is just one example of the intolerance of those who love to wave the banner of tolerance. If you look up the definition of “tolerance” you will find something similar to this definition provided by dictionary.com: “a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc., differ from one’s own; freedom from bigotry; a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward opinions and practices that differ from one’s own.” The idea of tolerance has tremendous popularity today, and yet those who yell the loudest in favor of tolerance are the same ones who are so adamantly intolerant of Christianity. Do I think everyone in the United States has to celebrate Christmas? Nope. But do I think that real tolerance would include respecting the right of any individual to say “Merry Christmas” to any other individual? Absolutely.

I do not have a problem with a school–public or private–teaching its students about other December holidays. After all, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are holidays celebrated by other people, and they have the same right to celebrate those holidays as I have to celebrate Christmas. I do have a problem with any person or organization saying that a school (or other government entity) cannot teach Christmas, have a Christmas party, display Christmas decorations, or even use the word “Christmas.” (This actually leads to a very interesting discussion about the prescience of the Federalists and the unintended consequences of the Anti-federalists’ insistence on the addition of a Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution, but I will reserve that discussion for another day).

So many of those who champion tolerance want tolerance only for their views. They want people to be able to say anything they want, so long as it isn’t the message of the Bible. They want a clear separation between the public square and any religious influence, failing to grasp that an attempt to eliminate all reference to God or Christianity is itself the imposition of a religion.

Anyway, I am starting to get carried away, so I better get off of my soap box now. It’s starting to get depressing anyway! Over the next six or seven entries I am going to take a different look at the Christmas story in Luke 2. I am going to point out the things that can interfere with the true message and meaning of Christmas, and then look at what we can learn from the shepherds. So stay tuned… And Merry Christmas!