I can’t even imagine the brightness of the angels in the sky. Their glory would only have been a fraction of what God’s glory will be like when we see Him in heaven. This scene shows God’s excitement and joy over the birth of His Son and the long awaited arrival of the availability of peace, hope, forgiveness and salvation for all people in Jesus.
Luke 2:8-14 “ And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was 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 those with whom he is pleased!”
The attribute that comes to mind when reading and visualizing this scene in my mind is Holy. God is holy and is high and lifted up. He is set apart from His creation. God is whole and perfect in goodness and righteousness. No one is like God. God sets apart His children , those who believe in Jesus, for Himself and desires, no commands us to be holy as He is holy. We cannot achieve holiness with Jesus. He is the one who washes us clean and presents us holy and acceptable before Holy God.
God’s holiness and brightness shine forth in various passages in the Old Testament. In Exodus Moses encountered God in a burning bush. Exodus 3: 2-5 “And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” Even the ground around the bush where God was speaking was considered holy ground. Isaiah had a vision of God’s throne room in Isaiah 6:1-3 “ In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” This shows us that the whole of heaven is filled with his glory and holiness.
Isaiah repeatedly refers to God as the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 43:3a “For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” Jesus speaks of God the Father as holy in John 17:11 “And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.” Jesus prayed for all of us to be united and work as one for Him. Knowing Jesus and being indwelt by His Holy Spirit we are anointed by Him. 1 John 2:20 “ But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.”
How are you seeking to be holy for Him? In Leviticus God has Moses tell the people, 19:2 “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.” God desires that we live a holy life. This is something we cannot do on our own. Through the power of the Holy Spirit within, we can seek to walk with Jesus and put aside sin. Paul explains the transformation we have through Christ to do this in Romans 6:1-4 “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Live the new life in Christ! You are a new creature, a new creation in Him according to 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” Live it today and claim His promised transformation in your life!
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
Linda
As I have only a few days left in this month, I wanted to go back and pick up a few names of God I have not written about before. The Lord of hosts is a name of God referred to in the Old Testament and first appears in 1 Samuel 1:3. “Now this man (Elkanah) used to go up year by year from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the 
Israel that God commanded many angelic beings and is similar to the reference to God as the God of Heaven’s armies. Jeremiah 15:16 NLT Lord of hosts acknowledges that God is Almighty, powerful and can command and use a host of beings to aid His children. I particularly love the story of Elisha in 2 Kings 6:15-17. The king was after Elisha as he had been giving information to enemy as the Lord had directed him. He and his servant had fled into the countryside to escape the king. “
young man cried to Elisha. 
every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” I can depend upon Him to be with me and carry me in whatever circumstances I find myself. Truly, He is the Lord of hosts the one who commands Heaven’s Armies and the whole earth is filled with His glory!
Both the Old and New Testaments, present God as Judge. He is the ultimate authority of all the universe He created both now and in the future. In Psalm 7:10-11 David tells us that God is a righteous judge who defends those who love Him and grieves over the sin of those who reject Him. “
We can trust God as the righteous judge as we know He is just, impartial and loves all those He created. God knows what He is doing and has proved himself to mankind in the past, 2 Peter 2:9 “ then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment.” Peter was referring to God rescuing righteous Lot and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. If he could do that for Lot, He is capable of handling anything. He is righteous and sees who we really are in our deepest being. We can rely upon His mercy, compassion and justice.
One of the most important Messianic prophesies in the Bible appears in Jeremiah 23. Jeremiah wrote about the King who would come to reign in wisdom and justice with the power to save. “Behold, the days are coming, declares the 
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31:13 God tells Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that 
Being holy is a life-time growing process that can only be achieved through faith in Jesus. It is not an option as God commands us “be holy because I am holy.” We can take heart in Jesus’ words, “But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26
Fearless Living 