Shepherds and wise men are coming to worship Jesus. It happened 2,000 years ago. It’s happening today in Iran. Hassan and his family are sheep farmers. This year, they came to faith in Jesus and are faithfully sharing the Gospel with the shepherds who work for them. At night, Hassan sits out in the fields with the shepherds and shares about Jesus with them. One elderly shepherd particularly loves to hear Hassan read the New Testament out loud. When Hassan finishes, the old shepherd nods, saying, “This is the truth.” I love picturing these shepherds in the fields, hearing the Good News of Christ proclaimed, just as shepherds heard from the angels on that first Christmas. Around the time we heard about these shepherds, we also heard the extraordinary news that a mullah had come to faith in Jesus. For security reasons, I can't share much of his story, but this cleric is growing in his new faith and has even started carefully sharing Jesus with fellow clerics in Iran. As I heard these stories recently, I was struck again by the beautiful truth that the message of Christmas is for everyone, from the shepherds to the 'wise men' of today's world. From cold fields at night, to the halls of power and influence, and everywhere in between, I pray that after a challenging year we would find new hope in Jesus, our Immanuel - God with us. Thank you for praying with us, for:  Our shepherd and mullah friends as they celebrate their first Christmas; Courage for Iran's church this Christmas - you'll see below that persecution often intensifies at this time of year - as they share Jesus with many. *A pseudonyms has been used. Image for illustration. Photo by POOYAN ESHTIAGHI on Unsplash.