Aaron Galvan

Hi, my name is Aaron Galvan. I’ve been a member of BCF church for the last 17 years. My wife, Leslie, and I serve as leaders in Celebrate Recovery.

God has invited each of us to love Him, honor Him, and to be His children.

Christmas in Brownsville is a time of lights, gifts, tamales, and the hope of a good cold front. Christmas is also a time for gatherings: work parties, Ugly Sweater parties, and family get-togethers. The first Christmas ever celebrated was over two thousand years ago, and the guest list was anything but conventional. God, in His infinite wisdom, invited a group of men known as shepherds.

In the same country there were shepherds in the fields. They were watching their flocks of sheep at night. The angel of the Lord came to them…. Luke 2:8-9 (New Life Version)
    
Shepherds were the furthest you could get from acceptable company at any party, and yet, “the angel of the Lord came to them.”  Why? I believe God orchestrated the Christmas season for one purpose—to invite each and every one of us to follow Him, through the gift of His Son, Jesus. God is calling out to us, and every day He is looking for people who will answer this call.

We’re given a perfect example of the response that most pleases the Lord in what happens next:

…The shepherds said to each other, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see what has happened. The Lord has told us about this.” They went fast and found Mary and Joseph. They found the Baby…. (Luke 2:15-16, NLV)

The shepherds didn’t merely follow the angel’s instructions, “they went fast.”

I remember the first time I really understood God telling me to do something. I was spending the summer at home, eagerly waiting for my next year of college. As I sat in the audience at church that Sunday, I felt God speaking to me, and what He had to say was the last thing I ever expected.

The conversation went something like this:

God: Aaron, I want you to stay in Brownsville.
Aaron: God? You’re talking to me!  Wait, what?
God: I want you to stay in Brownsville.
Aaron: But why? I have plans to go back to college. I’m already enrolled for the first semester.
God: I want you to stay in Brownsville. I have plans for you here.

I left church in tears. Yes, I was sad I wouldn’t be returning to college in Indiana, but I was thrilled that God had spoken to me. My response was immediate, and my life was forever changed.

1. Have you accepted God’s invitation to trust Him with your life?
2. What has God been calling you to do? Are you afraid to do it?