Posted on Leave a comment

Rejoice with the Shepherds

by Julia M. Bruce, MSPC, Mental Health Coach,
Keynote Speaker, CEO, Wellspring Christian Ministries

Week 3 of Advent: Rejoice

Let’s Go See!

As soon as the angels left, the shepherds didn’t sit around debating about what had happened. They looked at each other and excitedly said, “Let go see this thing that’s happened!” It wasn’t enough to just hear the good news – they wanted to see it with their own eyes. The wanted to experience the reason the angels rejoiced. In fact, they were so excited to see the baby that the Bible says they “made haste.” They didn’t dawdle – they took off running because if what the angels said were true, the Messiah had come. If the Messiah had come, then they too had reason to rejoice.

We find their reaction to the angels’ news in Luke 2:15-17:

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.

The Shepherds found Mary, Joseph and the Baby

Sure enough! Just as the angels had said, there was the sleeping baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Everything the angels had said was true. The excitement of the angels was contagious and now the shepherds are as excited as the angels were. The shepherds now had reason to rejoice. However, they didn’t rejoice by breaking out in song – they did what everyone of us ought to do.

The Shepherds rejoice and share the Good News

When you have good news of great joy, you don’t keep it to yourself. You want to tell everyone you see and that’s just what the shepherds did. The Bible says, “they made known.” In other words, they told others about Jesus. And that is what we should do – tell others about Jesus so they can experience Him for themselves. As a result, every person the shepherds told wondered about their news. The shepherds introduced the people to the Savior of the world, but each person must decide for themselves what they will do – will they just wonder about Him or will they go with haste to see for themselves this Jesus who is Christ the Lord? However, they will not know, if we do not tell.

The reality of having an encounter with Jesus should be the same as the Shepherds. Being the Jesus’ presence should cause us to rejoice and want everyone to know about Him. We should rejoice with so much joy, that we just can’t contain it. It should spill over into everything we do and splash onto everyone we meet.

This Christmas, we will tell someone about Jesus and why He came to earth? Will you rejoice exceedingly with great joy so that it can’t be contained?

Rejoice! The Messiah, Jesus, the Christ, the Savior of the world, the Lord has come. Joy to the world!

Click here to listen to our daily devotions on Spotify – and be sure to follow us on Spotify

Visit our three retail experiences:

Bible study and Self Care Resources
Christian Tees, Bags, Mugs & More
We are an affiliate of CBD. We earn a commission on any purchase you make when you enter the store through this link. However, your CBD price is the same. Visit CBD for Bibles, Bible studies, gifts & more

Our Christmas tees are back in the Spreadshop Store

Do you have an event on the calendar and need a speaker?

We’re offering 30% off our speaker fees as our gift to you if you book any 2022 event with us by December 31, 2021. Call today and use the discount code: CHRISTMAS2021. .

We’re thankful for the opportunity to be a part of your ministry and can’t wait to see you – no matter what size your event.

904.239.8937


Help support our ministry:



Need some music to get you through the day? Check out one of our Playlists on YouTube

Ready for Christmas music?

Christmas YouTube Playlist

We’ve created a YouTube Christmas playlist (click here) of both Christian and fun Christmas music to enjoy while you decorate for the holidays and help you get those gifts wrapped, cookies baked, and all the other preparations you are doing this holiday season. So click the link and listen to our Christmas playlist in the car, at home, or while you work.

Need some relaxing Christmas tunes? Here’s a smooth Jazz playlist to sit back and with it quietly in the background while at the office, wrapping gifts, or decorating the house. We hope you’ll enjoy the songs of the season – jazz style.

Click here for the Contemporary Christian Playlist
Click here for the Southern Gospel Playlist
Or Click here for the Hymns Playlist
Animated videos that dig deep into God’s Word

You can also watch our animated devotionals on the YouTube Channel


God, Love and Marshmallow Wars by Julia M. Bruce

What’s Inside God, Love and Marshmallow Wars?

God, Love and Marshmallow Wars is a book that includes 365 daily activities and takes you on a guided journey through Biblical principles about Godly marriage that you can then apply to your marriage, as well as helping you talk through concepts that can help you develop a solid relationship. Inside you will find simple, quick activities that include:

  • Scripture to memorize and meditate on.
  • Conversation Starters.
  • Concepts from the Bible on Godly marriages.
  • Romance Builders.
  • Relationship Builders.
  • Personal reflections.
  • Date ideas.
  • Group date ideas for you and other Christian couples.

Available in hardback, paperback and ebook from Westbow Press Bookstore, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. Click the icons below to purchase from your preferred bookstore. Now also available at WalMart online.

WestBow Press logo

Bible Studies, Bibles, Books & More

Christianbook Distributors logo
Everything Christian for less!

Looking for a Bible Study, Bible, book or Christian gift? We are an affiliate with Christianbook Distributors and receive an 8% commission on any item purchased through one of our links. However, the commission never increases your cost of any item. View some of our favorite items by clicking on the logo and thank you for supporting our ministry.

Christianbook Distributors Search:
Christianbook.com

Wellspring Christian Ministries receives an 8% commission on any purchased made from Christian Book Distributors through any affiliate link on this site. Your price for any item is the same as purchasing from CBD directly.


Here’s some of our recent posts.

904.239.8937
A non-profit ministry located in Jacksonville, FL 

Follow us on:

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is FB-logo.png
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is linked-in-logo-1.png
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is twitter-bird.jpg
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is instgram-logo.png
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is pintrest-logo.png

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.