E mmanuel from Pastor Kurt Busiek

A group of young people kept stealing the baby Jesus from a small town manger scene. Unsure how to stop the annual vandalism, the town decided to equip their baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph all with Global Positioning devices. A GPS device would allow the police to track the stolen figures and find the culprits. The plan worked and the stolen manger figures were tracked to a nearby garage.

Dina Cellini, a town official, commented in an interview: “It’s sad that we have to rely on technology to save our Savior." First of all, the real Jesus doesn’t need saving. He came to save us. And secondly, I find it interesting that these young people are intrigued enough by the baby Jesus that stealing his figure has become an annual event. I wonder if somehow these young people sense that Jesus came to offer them something important; that maybe there’s something about Christmas that is bigger than their annual prank?

This Christmas, let's reflect together on the four statements the angel said to the shepherds at the first Christmas in Luke 2:10-14: 
The first thing we learn is that Christmas is a time to release our fears! The first thing the angel said was, "Do not be afraid!" Fear is our greatest barrier to knowing God and fulfilling his purposes for our life. Fear is a self-imposed prison that keeps us from living the life God intends for us to live. So whatever you are afraid of today, Christmas is the time to let it go. The Bible contains 365 "Fear nots," one for every day of the year! It's time to stop worrying and start worshiping. Stop tensing up and start trusting God.