House of Hope Online

December 21, 2025

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For the last two days, the baby toe of my left foot has been very painful.  One of the joys of getting old is not knowing where various aches and pains come from.  Leo, my oldest granddog, accidentally stepped on my toe a few days ago but I’m not sure that is the cause.  I hate to blame Leo; he has enough problems of his own.  I think he is my age in dog years.  Whatever happened, my toe is very sore.  It is painful to wear shoes or even certain socks.

Anyway, this morning I began praying and asking the Lord to heal my toe.  I felt the Lord saying “Don’t tell Me about your toe, I already know that.  Instead, tell your toe about Me because the toe doesn’t know.  The toe doesn’t know that Jesus, by His stripes, already healed your body, as well as your mind, will, and emotions.  The toe does not know there is coming an increased anointing for healing, an increased anointing for miracles.  The toe needs to be told, so, tell your toe that it is healed.”

Today, as I read the Luke 2 account of the birth of Jesus, I realized that only a few people had knowledge of the coming birth of our Lord and Savior, and the rest of us were like my toe – we had to be told.  The “good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people” had to be told to the people.

In Luke 2, an angel of the Lord spoke to the shepherds and gave them the good news.

Luke 2:

  10 And the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people;

 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

 12 “And this [will be] a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger.”

 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

 15 And it came about when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds [began] saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”

 16 And they came in haste and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.

 17 And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.

 18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.

 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.

 20 And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

I love this passage because it is so rich.  The angel comes with a word of knowledge that Jesus has been born.  And suddenly, a multitude of angels appeared and began praising God.  That had to have been an awesome move of the Spirit!

The shepherds immediately received that word of knowledge and purposed in their hearts to go straight to Bethlehem and see this wondrous thing that the Lord made known to them.  And not only that, but verse 17 tells us “…they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.”

The shepherds were burdened to share the word of the Lord that our Savior Jesus had been born.

Last week, we talked about Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, and how he had this to say about Jesus before prophesying over his son.

Luke 1:

  67 ¶ And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

 68 “Blessed [be] the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,

 69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of David His servant—

 70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old–

 71 Salvation FROM OUR ENEMIES, And FROM THE HAND OF ALL WHO HATE US;

 72 To show mercy toward our fathers, And to remember His holy covenant,

 73 The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,

 74 To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear,

 75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.

 76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; For you will go on BEFORE THE LORD TO PREPARE HIS WAYS;

 77 To give to His people [the] knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins,

 78 Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which the Sunrise from on high shall visit us,

 79 TO SHINE UPON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Zacharias was burdened to tell others about Jesus, that He is our horn of salvation, and that He will save us from those who hate us.  He prophesied that John would go before the Lord to prepare the people and to give people knowledge of salvation by forgiveness of sin, by the tender mercy of God, and that the Sunrise from on high, Jesus, will visit us.

A Message for Today

Just as the shepherds were burdened to make known what was told them about Jesus, and just as Zacharias and John the Baptist were burdened to tell about our loving Savior, so should we be so burdened to witness for Jesus.

Romans 10:

 11 For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”

 12 ¶ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same [Lord] is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon Him;

 13 for “WHOEVER WILL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

 14 How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GLAD TIDINGS OF GOOD THINGS!”

 16 However, they did not all heed the glad tidings; for Isaiah says, “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?”

 17 So faith [comes] from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Isaiah 6:

 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Isaiah was burdened to go and give the Good News.

Jesus is coming again soon.  There are many who do not know Him.  They walk in darkness.

John 1:

 9 There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.

 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.

 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.

 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, [even] to those who believe in His name,

 13 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

As Romans 10:14 asks: “How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?”

Let us tell them.  Open your spirit to the urging of the Lord.  Ask Him what to say, and to whom to say it.  Support ministries committed to spreading the Gospel. 

How can they believe if they have not heard?  Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Let us pray.

Father God, we praise and glorify You as the angels did when they visited the shepherds.  Thank You for prophesying the coming of our Lord and thank You for burdening us to tell others what we have been told about this Child.  We pray for Your wisdom and guidance as we witness for Jesus, as we tell others that He has come and will come again to save us from our sin, from our enemies, from the schemes of the devil, and from the wrath to come.  Show us those who walk in darkness because no one has told them, and let us be the ones who bring glad tidings of good things.  Amen.