Welcome to the Daily Blade. The Word of God is described as the Sword of the Spirit, the primary spiritual weapon in the Christians' armor against the forces of evil. Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson, and they stand ready to equip men for the fight. Let's sharpen up.

All right, day five, last day of our deep dive into Luke chapter two, as we are not just running by Christmas, but we're going to let an encounter with Jesus, the living Christ, change everything about everything, about everything. That's what it does for the shepherds. Luke 2, 15, 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 they 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. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, and here's what happened. And the shepherds returned, not to their shady life, not to them being participants of darkness. That's not what they returned to. When they returned, they were different. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen as it had been told to them. You see, an encounter with the living Christ changes everything about your life. Regardless of who you are, where you're from, what you've done, an encounter with Jesus changes everything. So let me ask you this. If you know Jesus, what needs to change in your life? Is it the way you spend your money? Jesus says the number one competitor for the human heart is money. Are you rich towards God or are you just rich towards yourself? Does it need to change your friends? The Bible says he who walks with the wise grows wise, but the companion of fools suffers harm. Does it need to change the conversations you have with your friends? You see, the shepherds made it known to everyone concerning this child. When we are changed by the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, then what we do with our friends is we don't just see what they can do for us, but we would love them enough to share our testimony, to share our story, to share an invitation to church, to share the gospel with these folks. Does it need to change your lifestyle? Are there some things in your life that you know you have been holding on to? And they are sin in your life. It's not a struggle, it's not just a temptation, it's an outright sin. And maybe what God is calling you to do right now is to change that, to lay that thing down because Christ is better. You see, one of the shepherds, I don't know how this goes down. The angels show up, they say, Fear not, for behold, we bring you good news of great joy, for unto you is born a Savior, Christ the Lord, in the city of Bethlehem. And then one of the shepherds says to the other one, Hey, let's go see this. Because they know that's God's will and God's plan for their life. Let me ask you this. What is your let's go? Is there something in your life that you know God is calling you towards? In John chapter 10, the Bible says that Jesus is our good shepherd, and Jesus says, My sheep hear my voice, the voice of a stranger they will not listen to. So what is it that the good shepherd is calling you to do? Because every time you take a step of obedience towards the voice of the good shepherd, it leads you to life and life abundantly. And every single time you reject the voice of the good shepherd, every single time you reject that, it leads to death and destruction. This is why the Bible says that the thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. But Jesus, the good shepherd, said, But I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly. In this new year, if you want to live the abundant life that Christ has for you, then be obedient to what he has called you to. Don't let your past define you, don't let fears define you, don't let what might people think about me define you, but you let Jesus define you. Because when you encounter the living Christ, it changes everything about your life. So let me ask you, what needs to change and why not now? Now is the best time to make that change, to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ, not so that he will love you, but because he already does. I'm praying that this is the year that your faith has feet, that you hear from God, you know his love for you because he sent his son to be the savior, the Christ, the Lord, and that you know Jesus as Savior, you surrender your life to him, as Christ, God's anointed one that he sent to reconcile us unto him, and even more importantly, as Lord, that you wouldn't just believe that he died on the cross for your sin, but you would surrender your life to his lordship and you would do whatever he tells you to do. I hope an encounter with Jesus changes everything about everything about everything in your life, just like it did the shepherds.

Thank you for listening to today's episode. Before you go, if you want to help equip other men for the fight, share this podcast around and leave us a five star rating and review. Stay sharp.