The Greatest Gift

John Gray @ Lakewood Church

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will  be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, 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, goodwill toward men!"

Luke 2:8‭-‬14 NKJV

• A prophecy that had been whispered in the wind arrived under interesting circumstances and cultural significance.

• Jesus came from the line of David, a shepherd boy.

You were only allowed to shepherd sheep in the wilderness unless they were being groomed for temple sacrifice. Those shepherds grooming their sheep in such a way were allowed in the city limits.

Levites : 

Temple sacrifices were wrapped in swaddling cloth.

Swaddling clothes, were bands of cloth, probably cotton, not really "clothes," as in a garment. The custom of the East was to wrap the new-born in these strips of cloth after washing the body and protecting the baby with the healing properties of powdered salt. This binding prevented the baby from hurting himself by kicking or scratching or rolling over. Mary likely would have seen this done in Nazareth, but, if not there, she surely would have seen it done by the midwives at the birth of John the Baptist.

The Levites, descendants of Jacob's son Levi, were selected to serve G‑d in the Holy Temple. Most served in peripheral roles, playing music, opening and closing the gates, and standing guard. In the case of the portable Tabernacle(which preceded the Holy Temple in Jerusalem), they were responsible for packing up, transporting, and reconstructing the Tabernacle whenever the Israelites traveled to a new camp. The most sacred tasks, including bringing the sacrifices, were reserved for the kohanim(priests), descendants of Aaron, brother of Moses

• Wrap yourself in gratitude.

Gratitude is an emotion expressing appreciation for what one has. It is a recognition of value independent of monetary worth. Spontaneously generated from within, it is an affirmation of goodness.

• Wrap yourself in generosity.

Generosity (also called largess) is the virtue of being liberal in giving, often as gifts  

• Unwrap grace

Until we rock again,
🤘 P E A C E, L 💚 V E, & R⚡P S T⚡X 🤘

-Pound Pro Jenny