December 2024 - Creation Beckons

O Come, All Ye Faithful

Luke 2:28-32 O Come, All Ye Faithful

“…he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, ‘Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and a glory to your people’” (ESV).

This well-known Christmas Carol has been around for centuries, and its authorship has been attributed to several people including John Francis Wade, John Reading, King John IV of Portugal, St. Bonaventure, and anonymous Cistercian monks. At least five different people have been credited with writing the tune. The earliest time listed as possible for the writing of this song is the 13^th century. In any case, we are blessed that O Come, All Ye Faithful has come from the mind of God to the pen of men.

The man mentioned in the Scripture above was named Simeon, a man who had been waiting to see the “consolation of Israel.” He had been assured by the Holy Spirit that he would see Christ before he died. On a normal day that quickly became a glorious day for Simeon, he was led by the Spirit to go to the temple. When he saw Mary, Joseph, and the baby, Jesus, “he took him up in his arms….” After Simeon spoke the words in verses 29 to 32, he again spoke to Mary, saying, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also) so that thoughts from any hearts may be revealed” Luke 1:34-35.

There was also in the temple that day, a prophetess, Anna. She was 84 years old and spent all her time in the temple worshipping, fasting, and praying. In verse 38 we are told that “…she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.”

These two faithful ones not only came to see Jesus, they were the first of the faithful to “come and adore Him.” And they were joyful and triumphant. Thanks to the writer(s) of this Christmas carol, we can all come and “…adore Him, Christ, the Lord.” We can join with the choirs of angels to sing in exultation to the glory of the Lord as the “Word of the Father” appears as human flesh. He became one of us.

O Come All Ye Faithful

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant

O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;

Come and behold Him born the King of angels;

O come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him.

Christ the Lord.

Mary, Did You Know?

Luke 1:28-33 Mary, Did You Know

“And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women.” But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name, JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father, David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end” (NJV).

In 1984 Mark Lowry was asked to write something as a bridge between well-known Christmas carols for a church program. “When I wrote this thing about Mary, I began by thinking I was interviewing her on her thoughts of being a mother to Jesus. A couple of the lines I wrote really stood out like, ‘when you kiss your little baby, you’ve kissed the face of God.’ I just thought this needed to be a song,” Mark explained. The melody was a bigger challenge. Mark asked one music writer to create a melody, and he did, but it didn’t feel right to Mark, so he tabled it for a while. In 1988 Mark got to know Buddy Greene and shared the lyrics with him. The result was one of the most blessed combinations of lyrics and music ever written.

Mary, Did You Know?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?

Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?

This child that you’ve delivered will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know that your baby boy will bring sight to a blind man?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with His hand?

Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?

And when you kiss your little baby, you’ve kissed the face of God.

Mary, did you know?

The blind will see, the deaf will hear, and the dead will live again.

The lame will leap, the dumb will speak the praises of the Lamb.

Mary, did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy will someday rule the nations?

Did you know that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb?

That sleeping child you’re holding

Is the Great I Am!

The answer to all these questions was probably, “No.” Did she have any idea of the joy and agony she would experience? Probably not, but Mary’s song in Luke 1:46-55 shows how much she loved her God, Jehovah, trusted Him, and how blessed and ready she was to do her Lord’s bidding. With Mark, I am captivated by the line, “And when you kiss your little baby, you’ve kissed the face of God.” But singing the song with the crescendo of the music at the end with the words, “That sleeping child you’re holding is the GREAT I AM,” sends shivers down my spine and joy to my heart as my hands raise in worship and wonder.

The Small Village, Bethlehem

Micah 5:2 The Small Village, Bethlehem

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf” (NLT).

O little town of Bethlehem

How still we see thee lie;

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep

The silent stars go by.

Yet in thy dark streets shineth

The everlasting light;

The hopes and fears of all the years

Are met in thee tonight.

A little village about six miles from Jerusalem, the capital, in a stable, not even a closed room, was the birth place of the most important man ever born, Jesus. God chose this town and this space, the only one left in the town, to send His Son, Jesus, as the Savior of mankind. Jesus was with God in the beginning, and it was known by both Father God and Jesus, that Jesus would need to come to earth as a human to provide a sure manner by which any man or woman could secure a guarantee of eternal life with God.

The only fanfare this Savior of mankind got was sung by an angel choir, not to a large gathering in a synagogue or even a large arena, but to a small group of shepherds in fields outside of town. The shepherds came to the village, saw Jesus, worshipped Him, and left. We are told in Luke 2:17,18; “When they had seen him, they spread the word what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them” (NIV). Their message had been somewhat forgotten, because in a few years a group of kings “from the east” came to see the one who was born “King of the Jews.” When the “Kings from the East” asked King Herod where they could find Him, King Herod seemed surprised, and he asked the Kings to let him know when they found him. I imagine that if the King had known that someone who was known as the Messiah had been born as “King of the Jews,” he would have been searching for him. (I’ve always wondered why “Kings from the East” were the ones to make the birth of the “King of the Jews” known to the ruler of Israel.)

Was God purposely keeping the birth of the Messiah low key? Those of the time who searched the Scriptures had many prophecies about the birth of Jesus. But they had no reason to think that the prophecies had been fulfilled until thirty years passed, and Jesus began His ministry. Then it was all public. Jesus, Himself, announced on several occasions that He was the Messiah, the one sent from God. The message that Jesus brought, that God loved them, that forgiveness of sins was possible, and that each person had the possibility of eternal life was to be the thing that brought men and women to God. People had to believe or not believe on the basis of Jesus’ ministry—nothing else. An open mind and mostly an open heart was needed to grasp this message of God’s eternal love.

We are drawn to Christ and salvation in the same manner. Unless we believe and accept the teachings of Jesus, we will not spend eternity with Him. The size of the church, the impressiveness of the church building, the degrees held by the pastors, and even the great oratory of some pastors are not the reasons for salvation. The only thing required is belief in Jesus Christ and acceptance of Him as Lord. The trappings don’t really matter except when they are involved in drawing us to Jesus. That is their whole purpose. So, whatever the reason you came to Christ, be thankful for it and for anyone who helped you to find Him, but mostly be thankful for and to Jesus for His sacrifice that atones for your sin.