Today I’m going to meddle: What do you do with your spare time? Are you redeeming it? Learning more for His kingdom?

²⁴ A discerning person keeps wisdom in view, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.

The word, “keeps,” is important in that it reminds us that we need to continue at the process. Once we read Proverbs in the morning, that isn’t the end of His lesson for us. He wants to teach us all day. He will, too, if we stay sensitive to His presence and participation in our lives. We all know it to be true, but do we do it?

We live in the age of information. We have SO MUCH INFORMATION at our fingertips on our phones, our computers, and TV’s that it’s hard to comprehend. I want to encourage you to dig deeper into a subject that will give you insight into:

• how to counsel people;
• things that are proving the Bible true in archeology, biology, astronomy, chemistry, etc. and sharing them with folks;
• what’s going on in the world concerning Christians, evangelism and persecution;
• how God is moving among the Jews and Muslims!
• creation and a young-earth biblical concept;
• an aspect of the Bible that interests you like “Heaven” by Randy Alcorn, “Unlocking the Secrets of the Feasts” by Michael Norten, anything by C.S. Lewis, etc.

Speaking of which, here is an excerpt from, “Unlocking the Secrets of the Feasts”, concerning Christmas that I found very interesting:

Let’s take a closer look at the lamb. A number of years ago I heard Jimmy DeYoung, an outstanding news commentator and Bible teacher, make a presentation at a Bible prophecy conference. Since it was during the Christmas season he was teaching about the birth of Jesus in the first chapter of Luke. He read to us Luke 2:8-12:

“In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. And the Lord 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; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger.’”

Dr. DeYoung then asked the audience a surprising question: “Did you ever wonder why this was a sign?” This left us all speechless. I had to admit to myself that I had never even questioned it. Why was it a sign? Dr. DeYoung had us turn to the book of Micah. We were all familiar with Micah 5:2, which prophesied that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, but many of us were not familiar with Micah 4:8, which prophesied that he would be announced at the tower of the flock (Migdal Eder). Dr. DeYoung, who had lived in Jerusalem for a number of years, told us that Migdal Eder there was a two-story tower that had been built in a pasture outside Bethlehem. The remains of the tower had recently been discovered.

Dr. DeYoung explained that the shepherds in the field had not all been the lowly shepherds that we had always assumed. They were actually priests from the temple who were doing shepherding work to assist in the birthing of the sacrificial lambs so that they would be unblemished for sacrifice. While the shepherds were keeping watch over the flock from the top floor of the tower, the shepherd-priests would bring the pregnant sheep in from the field to the tower’s bottom floor, where the sheep would give birth. As soon as the lamb was born, the priests would wrap it with strips of cloth made from old priestly undergarments. This was done to keep the lamp from getting blemished. The priests would then place the lamb onto a manger to make sure it would not get trampled. Wow! So, when these shepherd-priests went into Bethlehem and saw the baby Jesus wrapped in cloths, lying in a manger, they must have exclaimed, “There is the Lamb of God, prepared for sacrifice, unblemished!” They had to be excited beyond description, because they were the only ones who could have understood the sign. It was just for them from God. It was personal!

NOTE: Doing some research to verify this story. Always check our facts!

I challenge you to go outside your normal routine and find something to read or watch on YouTube, something that grows your faith. Ask the LORD to lead you to something that will infuse you with excitement concerning His Word, our current times, and even His future Return!

Abba, there is SO MUCH out there that proves You are God and that Your Word is TRUE. May we care enough and make the time to search for these hidden treasures. It’s so cool when we open them and feel the excitement of learning something new, as well as feeling Your pleasure. It’s just like Christmas! Continue to reveal Yourself to us, O LORD. Getting to know You is what a relationship with You is all about. Amen.