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The search for the Christmas story and the missing manger

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Join me as we search for the Christmas story and the missing manger in the Bible and learn a simple way to remember what you find.

This podcast episode was inspired by a two-part blog series, “The Christmas story and the missing manger.” You can read the original posts here:

The Christmas story and the missing manger part 1

The Christmas story and the missing manger part 2

Another podcast episode with a Christmas connection:

Christmas carols in the Scriptures – Angels We Have Heard on High

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If we listen to the angels’ song in the sweet carol “Angels We Have Heard on High,” we just might hear echoes of the Christmas story throughout its verses and refrain.

Did you know this Christmas carol takes its cues directly from the nativity story found in the Gospel of Luke? Let’s take a closer look at the source of this song’s inspiration.

Angels We Have Heard on High

In a previous series of Christmas carols in the scriptures, I mentioned how sometimes my Bible study group would read a passage of scripture and try to remember which song had included those verses. With “Angels We Have Heard on High,” I went about it the other way around. I had been looking at the verses and refrain of the song when it dawned on me that this was a summary of part of the Christmas story.

Let’s connect the verses of the song to key verses in scripture.

You may find the angels’ song has more praises to sing than just the glorious refrain.

Christmas story in the carol

“Angels We Have Heard on High” is one of my new favorite carols. I’ve always loved this traditional Christmas carol, but this year I’ve grown even more fond of it.

While reading the story of the birth of Jesus found in the Gospel of Luke and practicing this carol for worship, I discovered something I hadn’t seen before. This traditional hymn is the account of a key aspect of the Christmas story – but maybe not what you thought.

I’ve always thought of it as the angels’ song with the “Gloria” chorus. When I looked at the words of the song in light of the scripture passage, I realized how truly connected they are. I also discovered this song is really the shepherds’ song, or at least covers the experience of the shepherds.

Want to see?

Gloria in excelsis Deo

Verse one introduces the “Angels We Have Heard on High,” sweetly singing, “Gloria in excelsis Deo.”

First of all, who heard the angels? Is that a general “we?” Could mean us, right? That we heard the angels singing “Gloria.” That’s how I understood the song whenever I sang it. More on that in a minute.

What about that Latin phrase in the refrain, “Gloria in excelsis Deo?”

We sang this song recently in church and somebody remarked, “I don’t even know what that means.”

First, how to pronounce it. Did anyone else learn to say the first part of “excelsis” as “eggshells”?

Glory to God in the highest

This phrase means “Glory to God in the highest” and leads us to our first scripture connection.

“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.’” Luke 2:13-14 NIV

Shepherds praising God

Verse two inquires of the shepherds, why so joyous? What’s this “gladsome tidings” or good news?

Luke 2:20 echoes back this verse.

“The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” Luke 2:20 NIV

The “Gloria” refrain of the song, “Glory to God in the highest,” also returns as the shepherds add their praises to the celebration of heaven.

These verses, from the Bible, and the song, capture the shepherds’ joy of all they experienced on that holy night. Let’s gather a few more details of their divine encounter.

Good news of a Savior

Prior to a whole host of heaven’s worshipers praising “Glory to God in the highest,” one angel of the Lord startled the shepherds out of their routine reverie of watching their flocks by night to tell them the good news of the Savior’s birth in Bethlehem.

“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.’” Luke 2:10-11 NIV

Shepherds go to Bethlehem

The shepherds decided to go to Bethlehem to see for themselves what the angel proclaimed. There they found Mary and Joseph, and the baby Jesus, the Messiah, who was lying in a manger.

After witnessing for themselves what the angel had told them, the shepherds told everyone along the way what they had seen first-hand.

Following their encounter with Jesus, the shepherds sang heaven’s song. The next two verses of the carol clarify what the shepherds experienced.

Come to Bethlehem and see

Verse three of the Christmas carol brings with it the invitation to “Come to Bethlehem and see” the birth of Jesus, who is Christ the Lord.

“When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.” Luke 2:15-16 NIV

The scripture passage reflects their decision to go to Bethlehem and see what the angels sang about, what the first angel told them.

Our invitation

Since the shepherds’ joy is already expressed in verse two of the Christmas carol, “Angels We Have Heard on High,” perhaps the next verse of the song, “Come to Bethlehem and see Him,” is our invitation to meet Jesus at the manger. Have you been? Have you met Jesus in this season and joined in the heavenly praise,

“Glory to God in the highest.”

The song, the shepherds, and our Savior, invite us into the story of Christmas, of Christ’s birth which brings the good news of Jesus to us as well. Come, see what the shepherds saw and add your praise to the celebration.

Glory to God in the highest.

Looking for other Christmas carols in the scriptures?

Christmas Carols in the Scriptures – O Holy Night

Christmas Carols in the Scriptures – Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Christmas Carols in the Scriptures – The First Noel

Christmas Carols in the Scriptures – O Come O Come Emmanuel

Two simple strategies to lighten your load

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Need to lighten your load? Consider these two simple strategies.

Too much on your plate

Have you started a week with too much on your plate, worry filling your head with all you needed to accomplish, and no idea how to get it all done?

Ever consider offloading some or all of it to Jesus?

Yeah, me neither. At least not very often, but this week I had another opportunity to do so with encouraging results.

Today I’ll share a few strategies you can implement immediately. That’s what I did.

Two strategies to lighten your load

I came into this week with a lot on my plate. On another occasion, I might have become a bit anxious or worried. This week I took a different approach. I focused on Jesus instead of my full plate.

I want to give you a couple of strategies to help bring your own days into perspective if needed.

Seek His face always and pray continually

Seek Jesus’ face always and pray continually.

Seek His face always.

Pray continually.

The first part comes from the book of 1 Chronicles chapter 16 verse 11 (NIV) in the Old Testament of the Bible. The second passage is from 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 17 (NIV) in the New Testament.

Want an even simpler way to remember this?

Focus on Jesus and pray.

Prayer is connection with God

Now if perpetual prayer isn’t your thing, I want to share something else to consider. I like to think of prayer as an active connection with God. When I’m praying or even just about to pray, I am postured toward God. I’m thinking about Jesus, and am either about to speak – or about to listen.

Speaking to God

For today’s example, I’ll focus on the speaking part. Some of the previous episodes give some insight into the listening side. In this case, I have a problem, or a potential problem, and I’m looking for some assistance. I’m sharing my struggle with Jesus in hopes of receiving a solution.

Simply share your thoughts

New to prayer? Just think of it as communicating with God, sharing your thoughts out loud, on paper, or in the quiet of your heart.

Continuously

So here’s the key to this kind of prayer. It’s continuous. This isn’t the one and done prayer, like running an errand, or checking an item off your list. This is an “at any moment you are sharing your thoughts with God” kind of prayer, letting Him know what’s on your mind whenever you want.

Isn’t that comforting? I don’t know about you, but often if I have something weighing me down it’s a constant barrage of unsettled noise and worry. What I’m worried about stays on my mind most of the day.

Tell God how we’re feeling

Praying constantly means we can keep God up to date with how we are feeling about something. Isn’t it nice to have someone to talk to?

Comforting presence

Like a child on the playground whose parent sits nearby. An occasional glance up and the child makes eye contact, remembers the parent who loves this child deeply and is nearby at all times. A comforting presence.

Call out to Jesus

So if something crops up, we can call out to Jesus. Which leads us right into the first phrase, to seek His face.

When we seek His face, we focus on Jesus.

Focus on Jesus

When we focus on Jesus, we aren’t focused on our problem or struggle.

Recently I found myself momentarily dwelling on an extensive to do list.

I consciously shifted my thoughts to something like, “Hey Jesus, this is too much. Can you hold these for me?”

Share what you feel

Admittedly, I didn’t say those words out loud. What I want you to see is that I said it how I was feeling it. When you’re bearing your heart to Jesus, just share it as you feel it. That’s what the Psalmists did in the Bible, raw emotions and all.

Psalm 25

Take this example from Psalm 25, a Psalm of David addressed to the Lord. From verses 16 and 17 of the New International Version:

“Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
Relieve the troubles of my heart
and free me from my anguish.” Psalm 25:16-17 NIV

So in that moment when I was overwhelmed, I shared how I felt.

Peace

And there it was. A pause. A moment of silence from the onslaught of tasks, responsibilities, and self-imposed expectations.

Instead of stress, I had a moment of peace.

There’s a verse in the Bible about that too, Psalm 46 verse 10.

“Be still and know that I am God.”

Be still.

Pause.

Feel the peace that comes with releasing the burden of whatever was weighing you down.

May you always remember Jesus is ready and able to lighten your load.

Recent episode of the Encouraging Voice Podcast:

A simple way to listen for and recognize God speaking

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Have you ever paused to take in a view of a beautiful sunset, felt a refreshing breeze, or received a word of encouragement from someone at just the right moment?

These are a few of the ways God speaks to us.

Hearing God speak into our lives

I’ve had conversations with friends about hearing God speak into our lives. Usually someone wants to hear Him more but isn’t sure how to go about it.

God is speaking

Did you know God is always speaking to us? So it’s not whether or not God is speaking, but whether we hear Him when He does.

A simple way to listen and recognize God speaking

So today I wanted to share a simple way to listen for and recognize when God is speaking to us that will hopefully help you hear Him more in your own life as well.

Let me share with you one way I seek to hear God speak. Maybe you’ll find something that works for you too.

Listening to God

I spoke on a panel about listening to God and was asked what that looks like for me. I shared the example of a gift bag.

A gift bag

When we receive a gift bag, often two factors come into play:

Who it’s from

What’s in it

Maybe you, like me, at one time have been surprised to receive a gift bag and didn’t initially know who it was from. A quick glance at the tag tells us who it’s from. A look inside shows us what’s in it. Isn’t it true that sometimes there’s more than one gift inside?

Good gifts

How about when we recognize the name on the tag as someone who gives really good gifts? We’re excited to receive the gift before we even know what’s inside. And as we open it, we might even anticipate there to be more than one gift.

This is how I like to think of listening to God.

He gives good gifts and there’s always more if we keep looking.

God gives good gifts. There’s always more if we keep looking.

How to recognize God sent it

So back to the tag on the gift bag. It tells us who it’s from. So in order to know we’ve received a gift from God, we have to recognize that He’s the one who sent it.

How do we do that?

Practice and remembrance

Through practice and remembrance. We make a habit of listening for God and take note of the moments when He does say something to us. This provides us with a foundation of what that looks and sounds like. Then we’re more apt to look for or notice when it occurs.

Repetition brings familiarity

Repetition brings familiarity. The more we listen the more we’ll hear and discover various ways God speaks to us whether through circumstances, people, or our Bible, just to name a few.

Expectation invites opportunity

Expectation invites opportunity. If we approach our day expecting to hear from God, we have a greater chance of observing when He does.

A recent gift

Here’s one example:

Recently God showed me the gift of timing. One day my schedule unexpectedly changed which beautifully orchestrated running into a friend I hadn’t seen in a while. It also provided an opportunity to encourage someone. Rather than be disappointed with the change in my day, I saw the gift of this unforeseen schedule shift as a divine appointment.

Recognize the gift

Here’s a side benefit. Once I recognized this gift of timing, I was open to the possibility of other perfect timing moments in my day.

God did not disappoint.

Some were little, like reading a page in a book that connected to an experience in real life. Others were more significant, like an opportunity to speak encouragement into another person’s life. I also heard back from people I had reached out to – which was encouraging to me.

What gifts have you received?

How about you? Have you ever noticed the gift of God’s timing in your life? Did you recognize it to be a gift from God?

What other gifts have you received from Him?

Gospel of John

The Gospel writer John shares the words of Jesus in chapter 10.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” John 10:14 NIV

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27 NIV

And John should know. He spent a lot of time with Jesus as one of His disciples.

Know God’s voice

In order to know God’s voice, we simply familiarize ourselves with it. One way is through the Bible which is God’s Word. What better way to know it’s His voice than to receive it straight from the source?

A quick view of the Bible

If you’re not sure how to go about approaching the Bible, I have a handy quick view of the Bible. It’s a tri-fold brochure that doubles as a bookmark, offering a quick overview of the whole Bible.

Bible quick view

Expect God to speak

If we approach our day expecting God to speak to us, we are more likely to recognize when He does.

The more we listen for Him to speak, the more aware we are of His voice, and the more likely we are to hear Him. We discover He’s been speaking to us all along. Then we can open our hearts to hear what else He has to share with us.

How has God spoken to you?

I think we can help each other through example. What are some of the ways God has spoken to you?

When we express gratitude to Him for the gifts we’ve been given, we begin a conversation with God.

May you notice additional ways God is already speaking to you.

More thoughts on how God speaks:

How to hear from God – where to look

Are we listening for ways God is speaking?

Recent episode of the Encouraging Voice Podcast:

Unexpected way Holy Spirit speaks

Are you thirsty? Find refreshment in the Word

Are you thirsty and in need of refreshment? Is the hot sun or are the details of the day beating down on you? Have you been working hard or just been so busy you haven’t stopped to hydrate?

I can tell if I’ve gone too long without stopping for a sip of water. I don’t do it on purpose. When I move from one activity to the next, I don’t notice the need until my system cries out in protest craving something to refresh. Does that happen to you?

Does a simple glass satisfy or do you find yourself in search of something to stay with you to quench a deeper thirst?

When parched

If I’m really thirsty, a glass of water just won’t cut it. A piece of fruit satisfies and refreshes more fully when I’m parched. How about you?

Satisfy thirst more deeply

When I was a kid, I used to eat grapefruit a lot. I even have one of those spoons that thinks it’s a knife with the serrated edge to cut the citrusy goodness out of the confines of the shell. It’s a lot of work to eat a grapefruit that way, painstakingly cutting around each individual section to loosen the pulp and free it from the three walls that hold it in place. But each juicy bite that emerges tastes tart and fresh, satisfying thirst more deeply than a simple glass of water or fruit juice could.

Sometimes I enjoy grapefruit in a fruit salad someone else has prepared, whole segments accessed simply by spooning them into my bowl. But there’s something about extracting the sections of grapefruit yourself. And afterward, once each bite has been cut free, squeezing each half to release the remaining juice into a bowl to drink up the last of the nourishing offering.

When spiritually thirsty

As I enjoyed a grapefruit this morning, a much-needed dose of hydration after a walk in the sun, I reflected on the similarity to reading my Bible. When I open my Bible, I often look at one small section. The process to get something nourishing out of it can feel painfully slow, especially if I am spiritually thirsty. What do I mean by that? It’s those times when I know I’ve disconnected from any sort of quiet time with Jesus where I can gain a healthy perspective on my life or circumstances. When I can tell I’m caught up in and distracted by challenges or situations that drain my sense of peace.

Dig deep for thirst-quenching refreshment

When we’re parched, it might be easier to let someone else do the heavy lifting. We could listen to someone else teach on what’s in the Bible or could read a devotion and see what someone else has learned from reading the Bible. Those are both really good activities to engage in. But don’t let that be where we stop. The fulfilling reward comes from digging deep for the thirst-quenching refreshment ourselves. What we discover and internalize takes deeper root in our own lives.

What we discover and internalize takes deeper root in our own lives.

It’s one thing to hear about someone else’s experience. It’s another to encounter our own.

Here’s one benefit to digging deeper ourselves. I don’t know about you, but I’m lousy at memorizing Scripture. I discovered however that I internalize it. When I take the time to focus on a small passage of Scripture, something stays with me even if I don’t realize it in the moment. Has that ever happened to you?

Anchor ourselves in the Word

When we reflect on a few short phrases of Scripture, we anchor ourselves in the Word. That simple phrase may come back to us later in the day or sometime during the week. By pausing long enough to grab hold of a morsel of what’s in the Bible, we nourish our spiritual life one small step at a time.

We nourish our spiritual life one small step at a time.

Do you want to give it a try?

Even if we’re sporadic at best with our Bible reading, whenever we take a moment to focus on a section of Scripture, we grab hold of something to stay with us longer than if we relied on someone else’s study time. What do I mean by that? Devotions are the result of someone else’s personal time with Jesus. My goal here is to help us find a foothold into our own experience.

Don’t worry, we’ll start with a short segment of Scripture. Here’s a portion of Psalm 143.

Psalm 143

“I spread out my hands to you;
I thirst for you like a parched land.

Answer me quickly, Lord;
    my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me
    or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
    for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
    for to you I entrust my life.” Psalm 143:6-8 NIV

A word or phrase that caught your attention

Take a moment to read this passage and see if any words or phrases stand out to you, for whatever reason. Do the words you noticed speak to your situation? Describe how you’re feeling? Remind you of something good about God? Whatever the reason, focus on the phrase that caught your attention.

Invite Jesus to speak

Does it feel like a prayer or plea to God? A conviction to invite more of Jesus into your life? This is the cool part. Invite Jesus to show you what He wants you to know about the phrase you selected. Ask Him to speak into your life through the highlighted phrase.

Listen for a response

Then pause. Listen. Wait a moment for a response to come into your heart. You might even decide to write down what you hear. Not sure you heard anything? That’s okay too. Writing down the phrase you noticed or repeating it a few times to yourself may help create a space in your heart for God to show you something later. Sometimes the verse itself is the blessing that stays with us throughout the day.

Whatever your experience, let this be a first step toward satisfying a deeper thirst.

No time to open your Bible? Try this:

Don’t open your Bible, at least not yet

Which word or phrase caught your attention? Share in the comments.