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Gleanings From The Word

Tag: Gleanings

  • Lessons in obedience

    What the shepherds tell us

    Merry Christmas. Okay, perhaps not yet, but I was reading the Advent story in Luke’s gospel when something struck me afresh. It’s a very familiar passage. Perhaps too familiar, as we can skim over it easily without thinking. The shepherds give us a lesson in obedience here.

    And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 

    And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

    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.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. Luke 2:8-20 ESV

    Old ground, right? An angel appears and proclaims the event, and the heavenly host (the armies of God) rejoice. The shepherds choose obedience. They go to see and tell others what they saw. The others wonder, and the shepherds return home.

    What didn’t happen? The people of Bethlehem wondered, but there is no indication they believed. They didn’t go see for themselves. Perhaps a few believed, but it makes me wonder. If someone told me God appeared just down the block, I’d certainly be inclined to go take a look, if for no other reason than curiosity or to prove them foolish.

    The shepherds were obedient. They believed, and they worshipped.

    God didn’t hold them accountable for not producing results. Our task is obedience; God produces the transformation in others’ hearts.

    There was joy and worship in simply knowing and being obedient. They don’t seem to have worried about what others thought or believed. They did what God asked and praised His name.

    Obedience to the Lord and praise are their own rewards. They are opportunities and gifts for believers alone.

    Perhaps there is a lesson here for us. If we walk in obedience and praise God, there are blessings. The Scripture is full of promises of blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience.

    Let’s strive to follow the Lord and give him glory.

    God’s richest blessings,

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    I was struck afresh reading the familiar Christmas story in Luke 2: the shepherds heard the angel’s news, believed it, and went in obedience, even though what happened next wasn’t up to them. Their example reminds me that our part is simply to walk in obedience and give God the glory, and to trust Him with the results in other people’s hearts.

    TAKEAWAY

    The shepherds responded to the angel’s message with immediate obedience, going to Bethlehem without hesitation or proof.

    The people of Bethlehem “wondered” but there’s no indication they believed; the shepherds weren’t responsible for that outcome, only for their own obedience.

    There was joy and worship simply in knowing and obeying, without the shepherds worrying about how others would receive it.

    IMAGE NOTES

    Today’s image is: Shepherd & flock, Sinai (matpc 09668), American Colony/Matson Photo Service, between 1898 and 1946. No known restrictions on publication. Library of Congress Colorized 2026

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  • Jesus: The Fountain of Living Water in Jeremiah and John 

    artists representation of the throne of God

    I was reading in the Old Testament book of Jeremiah yesterday when a pair of verses popped out and reminded me of something in the New Testament. God is confronting Judah’s sin with some serious warnings.

    A glorious throne set on high from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water. Jeremiah 12:13-14 ESV

    Those who have turned away are destined not to see His throne. That includes all of us sinners, except for His intervention and the gift of faith to accept Him by grace

    There isn’t a direct connection between the verses other than I see some parallels. Not enough to build a theology on, but enough to ponder.

    In John 7, Jesus makes it clear that He is the Fountain of Living Water. Jesus is our sanctuary.

    On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:37-39 ESV

    In John 8:1-11, we find the account of the woman caught in adultery. The Pharisees bring her before Jesus to test Him and condemn the woman. The results aren’t what they expect.

    This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.  And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” John 8:6-11 ESV

    We don’t know what Jesus wrote in the dirt, but the parallel to the Jeremiah passage pops out. The self-righteous Pharisees and teachers of the Law are putting Jesus to the test, and He writes in the earth. They are rejecting Jesus, the Fountain of Living Water.

    The warning in Jeremiah was clearly for the people of Judah, yet its overtones carry on to everyone. Without Him, there is no way they will ever see the throne of God. That’s true of all sinners; none of us will see that heavenly throne unless we come to him in faith by grace.

    Heed the warning, and walk with Jesus by faith today.

    May God richly bless you today,

    Kevin

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    SUMMARY

    I was reading in Jeremiah when two verses stopped me and carried my mind straight into John’s gospel. I share how God’s warning to Judah about forsaking the fountain of living water echoes forward into Jesus’s own words and the story of the woman caught in adultery.

    TAKEAWAY

    Jeremiah 12:13-14 warns that those who forsake the Lord, the fountain of living water, will be written in the earth and never see His glorious throne.

    In John 7:37-39, Jesus stands up and declares Himself the fountain of living water, offering the Spirit to all who believe.

    In John 8:1-11, Jesus bends down and writes in the dirt before the woman caught in adultery, an image that echoes Jeremiah’s warning to those who turn away.

    Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)