December 2024 - Page 2 of 3 - Creation Beckons

Singing Angels

Luke 2:13,14 Singing Angels

“Suddenly a great army of heaven’s angels appeared with the angel, singing praises to God: ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased’” (GNT).

It wasn’t a solo; it was a choir, an angel choir, a large one at that—“a great army of heaven’s angels.” When we think of angels, we often picture them as beautiful benevolent creatures who float through the air with ease. Or, we think of angels as the warrior angels described in the Bible. When we join them together, we have a fantastic choir, every musical part sung with grace and power in full praise of our Lord. In this Scripture, the angel choir of fantastic beauty and outstanding musical talent sang of “Glory to the newborn King.” I’ve tried to imagine this choir of angels, and I am certain that all my imaginings fall far short of the actual choir. They didn’t sing in a stunning music hall, and they didn’t sing to an audience of affluent patrons who could afford expensive theater tickets. No, this amazing choir sang to a group of shepherds, the plain hard workers of the countryside.

Even though they sang to this small group of laborers, the song of “Glory to the newborn King” is for all of mankind from that day forward. They sang of the blessedness of all of mankind, for we have all had our sins forgiven by this baby born of a virgin. He came so that all nations can be joyful in His message of peace and forgiveness. “Christ the everlasting Lord” became one of us, a human being, in order to bring “light and life” to each of us. He laid His “glory by” and was “born that men no more may die.” He was “Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth.” So it is right and fitting that the angels should sing, “Glory to the newborn King.”

This event that took place quietly in a small town, the birth of our Lord—our Savior–was not noted by anyone but a small group of shepherds that evening. But it has grown to be a tumultuous cry to all mankind: “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28 NKJV). That message is sung to us by a choir of One, our Lord and Savior, Jesus, who was born quietly in Bethlehem that extraordinary night.

Not in a Castle

Luke 2:16 Not in a Castle

Then they hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger”(NLT).

The shepherds were told by angels who had just serenaded them that they would find the Savior, and the angels called Him, “Christ the Lord,” which meant to the Jews of that time, the “Anointed One, the Messiah.” They also told the shepherds where they would find Him, in Bethlehem. That’s good as far as it went, but where in Bethlehem? Did they have to search for mangers, and were there many places in Bethlehem where animals were kept? You know, it really doesn’t matter how long they searched. The important thing was that they found Him, and they found Him in an unusual place, in a stable where animals were housed—not in a palace, or even a mansion, or in the finest house in Bethlehem. No, they found Him in a stable with a manger for His bed. There was no finery at the birth of Jesus, just His mother and His earthly father, and some animals with their noise and smells. God went to extremes to show that His Son, the Savior of mankind, was meant to be for all men, even the lowliest—the shepherds. He is, indeed, our Savior, the Savior for every last one of us, even the people we don’t like.

I love the sweet way in which Jesus is portrayed in the Christmas carol, “Away in a Manger.” There is certainly much difficulty, anguish, and controversy to follow Jesus when He began His ministry. But, let’s take the opportunity to picture Him as God sent Him—a baby, one needing extensive care as He grows. No baby is more in need of care than a baby human. Was God giving ordinary people, people just like us, the opportunity and challenge of raising His Son? That appears to be the case, and He didn’t send teams of angels to help with this. He didn’t even send a midwife to assist with the birth. We still have responsibility for Jesus in our own lives. We can make Him the Christ, or we can ignore Him, or we can cast Him off. Yes, Jesus is as helpless in our lives, in our hearts, as the Baby Jesus was in the arms of his mother the moment He was born. Will I accept Him as the Messiah? Will I do whatever I can to encourage His growth in my heart and in my life? Will I help Him grow in me so that others can look at me and say, “I want Jesus?” That’s the responsibility and privilege that we have been given. So let us become good spiritual parents to Jesus “born in us today.”

Away in a Manger

Christmas Bells

Isaiah 9:5-7 Christmas Bells

“For every warrior’s sandal from the noisy battle, and garments rolled in blood, will be used for burning and fuel of fire. For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this” (NKJV).

It is unusual to include verse five in the passage above. When we read this section, we generally begin with, “For unto us….” For a discussion of “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” it is appropriate. This Christmas hymn came out of the anguish and despair of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, one of America’s best well-known poets.

In 1861 Longfellow’s wife’s clothing caught on fire. He was in a different room, and he ran to her aid, but was unable to distinguish the flames with a rug, so he threw his body on hers to put out the fire. Unfortunately, she was too badly burned to survive. She died the next morning. Henry was greatly depressed and submerged himself in his work. A few years later, his son, Charley, enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War. He contracted typhoid fever and was sent home to recuperate. After he recovered, he returned to the army. On December 1, 1863, Henry received a telegram telling him that his son had been severely wounded several days earlier. He was shot through the left shoulder with the bullet exiting under his right shoulder blade, nicking his spine on the way through his body. Now, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a widower with five children, and one of them was critically wounded. In these despairing circumstances He penned the words to “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.”

Much can be said about the various verses of this carol, but I don’t believe that I am the one to add to the words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I doubt that many of us will hear all the verses of this carol sung, but I encourage you to read every verse, and read it aloud. When you do, you may feel as Longfellow did, despair, but the joyous resolution of the final stanza will lift your heart and hands in praise and thanks to our great God. I have got to quote the last verse here because it is the promise brought by the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. “Then pealed the bells more loud and deep; God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; the wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, good-will to men.”

Let Heaven and Nature Sing

Psalm 96:11,12 Let Heaven and Nature Sing

“May the heavens be joyful, and may the earth rejoice; may the sea roar, and all it contains; may the field be jubilant, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy” (NASB).

This well-known Christmas carol was taken from Isaac Watts’ paraphrase of Psalm 98, particularly verses 4-9, and as such, it really speaks more of Christ’s second coming than of His birth. The music is actually taken from Handel’s “Occasional Hymns and Hymn Tunes,” an arrangement by Lowell Mason, a Boston music educator in the 1800s.

It begins in verse one with a call to the whole world, including the heavens and the earth to receive her King with joyous song. It continues in verse two as the “Savior Reigns, and in verse three, “He comes to make His blessings flow.” In the final stanza, “He rules the world.” All of this is true and is certainly good reason to rejoice and sing, but it does seem more appropriate as a song of rejoicing at the second coming of Jesus Christ when He will become the ruler of the earth for a thousand years.

As a nature photographer, I am especially fond of heaven and nature singing, of fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains repeating the sounding joy of men singing jubilantly. Whenever I look at the beauty of God’s creation, all the fantastic variety of animals, plants, landforms, stars, and planets, I am brought close to my Lord, and my joy expands. Christmas time with the decorations, the singing of His coming, and the frequent messages of God’s plan to send His Son to provide for our salvation–our assurance of a heavenly eternity–brings peace to my spirit and heart as I wonder at His love. His love is above description, lasts forever, and is available to anyone who will accept it.

Joy to the World

Immanuel, God with Us

Matthew 1:22,23 Immanuel, God with Us

“So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us’” (KJV).

The text of this hymn goes back to the 8^th century and was used as a call and response during vespers. The original text contained a reverse acrostic, “ero cras,” which means, “I shall be with you tomorrow.” It was translated into English by J. M. Neale in 1851. Thomas Helmore adapted a 15^th century chant tune to this text in 1854.

O Come, O Come Immanuel

Israel was held captive as are we until we allow Jesus Christ to enter our lives and grant us forgiveness. We ask God Almighty, who has created the world, to teach us how to live. It is our prerogative to ask God through His Son to rescue us and give us victory over the grave. Asking God to show us the way, the road to heaven, is our great cry. We ask for comfort and that the shadows be pushed aside so that we can see the light. Lastly, we ask God to enter all our hearts and spread His love throughout the world so that war will cease, and we ask this in a cry for Him to come and be our “King of Peace.”

To all of these requests is the answer: “Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel shall come to you, O Israel.” But today we can confidently say, “Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel has come to all of us!” He came first as a babe in a manger, and we rejoice over that. But He shall come again, when all men will acknowledge Him as Lord, and those who have rejoiced because they have previously acknowledged Him as Lord will then be carried to everlasting joy and rejoicing in His company. See you there!

Peace on Earth

Luke 2:13,14 Peace on Earth

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men’” (KJV).

“It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” was written in 1849 as a poem by Edmund Sears. He originally wrote five stanzas, but most hymnals include only four, omitting the third stanza that speaks starkly of the effect on Edmund Sears of the turbulent times of his life. The war between the United States and Mexico had just ended, and there was much turmoil in Europe. Edmund was in a time of personal melancholy, so these difficulties preyed on his mind. The usual missing third stanza follows:

“Yet with the woes of sin and strife

The world has suffered long;

Beneath the angel-strain have rolled

Two thousand years of wrong;

And man, at war with man, hears not

The love-song which they bring;

Hush the noise, ye men of strife,

And hear the angels sing.”

Yes, the world has suffered 2000 years of woe, but it is woe we have brought on ourselves, and we haven’t heard the love song of God. We need to do as Sears says, “Hush the noise, ye men of strife, and hear the angels sing.” It seems that Sears was writing not only of his time, but for ours, also.

The angels came, and they sang, “Peace on earth, good will to men from heaven’s all-gracious King.” Where else are we to get peace and good will? Our hearts filled with jealousy, envy, and pride make little provision for “Peace on earth, good will to men.” Our source of peace and good will lies in the love of our Father God and in the sacrifice of His Only Begotten Son, Jesus. They have given all so that we could experience peace and good will. They have made it available to us, and it is up to us to ensure that with our actions and our words, we receive peace on earth. There is great joy in the gift of our Savior, Jesus, and that joy needs to shine through us every day. By living in the joy of Christ, we can offer peace and good will to those we encounter on a daily basis. In fact, we are told to do so in Romans 12:18: “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” It does depend upon us, so let us let the joy of Christmas jump forth from our words and actions this Christmas season.

Go Tell It on the Mountain

Isaiah 40:9 Go Tell It on the Mountain

“Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voices with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God!” (RSV)

“Go Tell It on the Mountain” was one of the songs used to save a university. In 1871, Fisk University was deep in debt and desperate for supporters and funds. A ten-member singing group, called the Fisk Jubilee Singers, left on a fund-raising campaign. When they left, they took with them the entire university treasury to cover their travel expenses. Their very successful tour helped Fisk University survive, and “Go, Tell It on the Mountain” became one of their mainstay songs. For that reason alone, it is a very important song. But this spiritual arouses many through its words and its demand that we “Go tell it on the mountain” and everywhere, that “Jesus Christ Is Born.”

Go Tell It on the Mountain

Isaiah 40:1 tells us to lift up our voices with strength and announce, “Behold your God.” This spiritual does just that. It seems that the chorus gets louder and more robust each time it is sung, as it should. Each time we announce the arrival of our Lord as the Baby Jesus we should be shouting, and with each shout the joy of His coming increases in our hearts. If we shout it loud enough and long enough, all the world will come to hear our proclamation. And then each man and woman will have to make the most important decision of his or her life—whether to accept Jesus as Savior or not. It is a fateful decision that will determine where each one of us will spend eternity. Please accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. If you do, I will get to greet you one day in eternity.

From Manger to Cross to Empty Grave

1 John 4:9,10 From Manger to Cross to Empty Grave

“God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as a sacrifice to take away our sins” (NLT).

“What Child Is This?” was written by an insurance salesman. Well, by the time he wrote this soul-searching Christmas hymn, William Dix was the manager of an insurance company, and a successful one at that. But Mr. Dix had an avocation; he was a writer whose favorite form of writing was poetry. Most of his poetry was kept at home in his writing desk. After a serious illness and a prolonged recovery period, Mr. Dix penned the one piece of poetry that he felt should be shared. That one piece of poetry was “What Child Is This?” When paired with the classic melody, “Greensleeves,” it eventually became a Christmas classic.

In twenty-four lines, the hymn takes us from the birth of Jesus through His crucifixion to His resurrection.

In verse one we find Jesus asleep on Mary’s lap, while angels and shepherds guard, sing, and praise Him. In the second verse Jesus’ meager earthly beginnings lead to God’s silent, for the moment, Word, the Christ Child, pleading for the souls of men. The horrific torment that this little babe, grown into Jesus, our Savior, endured for me and for you is made manifest. In verse three we are brought to the knowledge that this little Babe has become the King of kings, who brought salvation for us, and for this, we, today sing praises to Him for He has brought us great joy. And, finally, we are reminded that this King of kings, the savior of all mankind, left the glories of heaven to come to earth as a human babe in order to bring us all to eternal life with Him.

Perhaps reading silently and thoughtfully through this poem written by William Dix brings the meaning of the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus closest to our hearts.

The First Noel

Matthew 2:9-11 The First Noel

“After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh” (NLT).

“The First Noel probably began in the 1400’s as on oral song. Some believe that it began in England, while others claim a French beginning. It was not published in English until the 1800’s. This is another great example of God’s words being put on paper by some fortunate man or woman, and we have been blessed.

The song begins with an announcement to shepherds, but quickly, in the next verse, it turns to the wise men from the east and the star they followed. Verse by verse, from verse two through verse five, the song closely follows the Scripture quoted above.

What a wonder this is—kings from the east came to see the child who was born to be the king of the Jews. We are told that they traveled several years, leaving their own kingdoms to visit a baby. He was, even in their eyes, many years from becoming king, yet they travelled a great distance to see Him, who was born to be King of the Jews. They had to have known that Israel was ruled and held captive by Rome. How did they recognize that this strange. new star was the one that would lead them to the King of the Jews?

And the star led them to the very house where Jesus was. I can find my way across North America to visit someone on the other side of the country, but I have maps, and I know exactly where I am going, and I know personally the person I am going to see. They had a star, and they didn’t know where it would lead or how long it would take to get there. I need to have the faith of the wise men—belief that whatever God says,I must follow if I want to have blessings. The kings weren’t Jews. Jehovah was not their God. I wonder—did they continue to worship from afar after they left Bethlehem on their way home? Were they the first Gentiles to believe in Jesus?

We have an advantage that they probably never had, the New Testament, the writings of the apostles who lived with Jesus for several years. We can read what the apostles experienced while with our Lord and Savior, and we can read the very words spoken by Jesus. We know His message, His love, and His sacrifice, and we have the assurance that we can live with Him forever because of His message, His love, and His sacrifice. They saw Him for a very short time. I have wondered if these three wise men who visited Jesus at His birth ever got to hear of His life and message. I thank God that I got to hear it, and now I know Jesus personally even though I did not attend Him at His birth. Thank you, Father God. Thank you, Jesus.

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.