“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
Luke 2:13-14
I was reading through Luke’s Gospel again, it was the Christmas story. Having heard it every year for over half a century and preaching on it for nearly 25 years, I am very familiar with it. This day however, I was struck anew with what the angels said, Yes, I knew they were praising God, but it was the next portion, “on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.” What amazed me was the thought that God still loves people. His favor still rests on people. People who reject Him, ignore Him, people who snub Him. It is not that we deserve His love, because we certainly don’t. It is because God is a God of love and He still loves His creation even when we don’t deserve it.
Consider Noah, the world at Noah’s time was corrupt and evil (worse than now) and because of one righteous man, when God destroyed the whole world and everything living in it, He spared Noah and his family. It was His great love for man that rescued mankind rather than just starting over anew.
In the evil days of the immoral Roman empire, when darkness reigned, and the religious leaders were more interested in themselves than truth, God still loved people, His great longing was not that man might be destroyed, but that he might be saved from death. At great cost, God sent His one and only son into the world that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. His great longing was that man may dwell with Him forever - God loves all mankind.
At a time when He could have tossed in the towel, when He could have said, 'That’s it, I have had it!," He once more reached out His hand to save a dying world. The Apostle Paul writes, Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. When we deserved death, He gave His son that we might have life.
Christmas is just around the corner, and amid all the hustle and bustle, remember "God’s favor" still rests on man. He still loves you. This is a reminder for each one of us. Perhaps you have gone through a tough year, and because of the painful trials, you are feeling God doesn’t love you. Maybe this year you have drifted away or even turned your back on God, ignoring His commands and word of truth. You may feel that your sins are so great that you are beyond the reach of the love of God. The Apostle Paul reminds us that we are still loved. He writes, “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?..... I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. You may feel far away, but God’s love is a light shining in the darkness of your life.
As Christmas lights light up the season, may it remind you that you are indeed loved by Jesus, the “Light of the World” As you search and purchase the gifts for the ones you love, remember the great gift you have been given, the sacrifice God made on your behalf, God gave His son because of LOVE, love for you and for me.
Pastor David
The Voice of the Shepherd
December 2025
The Voice
of the Shepherd
October 2025
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7
The Bible declares; “God is love.” Jesus declared, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends". It was God’s love for the world that sinned and had rebelled against Him that caused God to send His only Son to die on the cross for our sins. It is this sacrificial love that is the hallmark of Christianity. The followers of Christ were different from the people of the world in their day. They were known by the way they showed loved among themselves and for others. They were called to be like their Savior.
The Apostle John is adamant that the love of Christ should be seen in every believer. If a person were to claim to know God, then it should be evident in how they lived their life. If love was not seen, then their faith was only an illusion and they are blowing smoke. John writes: Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. A little later in the same letter he pointed to the love of Christ as our example that we are to imitate - Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. Love was not to be an option, but rather true love is the “measuring stick” of our faith and the evidence of God’s existence and presence in our lives. That love is seen by how we treat others. As John clearly said “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us… (1John 4:12)
The love we believers have, however, is not something we contrive by our own effort, but rather it is a gift from God. God took the first step in bringing sinful man back to Himself. He lavishes His love on people who don’t deserve it. John writes, We love because he first loved us. (1Jn 4:19) The love of God is so great and powerful that it enables us to love others far beyond our own abilities and even our own personal desires. The Apostle Paul took the Old Testament command “Love your neighbor as yourself.” and expanded it, He said, "Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." ( Romans 13:10)
The love of God is tangible. It touches people and lives, it calls us to step out beyond our own comfort zone and help those who are in need. Our giving and sharing are the testimony that God and His love lives in us. The Apostle John said, This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? (1John 4:16-17) To deny or ignore the cries of the needy and to show no care for the lost and dying is to deny the love of God.
As you grow in love, you will find Jesus’ love is more powerful than the hatred of the world. As Christ pours out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit we are enabled to love even our enemies. Jesus said, "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you……. Do to others as you want them to do to you." (Luke 6:27-28)
Our love for God and our charity toward others shows God lives in us. The antithesis is true as well. John says that anyone who hates his brother is still in the darkness. If you hate your brother you are guilty of murder and you know that no murderer has eternal life in Him.
Today, whom is God calling you to love?
Pastor David
updated December 2025