Erika Mathews's Blog, page 11

Great Tidings We Bring

Merry Christmas!

Today we are rejoicing in the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ: our Redeemer, our Life, our Friend, our Advocate, and so much more.

We’ve examined each of the fruits of the Spirit in light of the birth of Christ. We’ve seen how love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are worked in our lives through God’s act of sending His Son to earth.

Now how do we sum it all up?

I can think of no better way than in the words of the angel – the messenger from Almighty God Himself.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. ~ Luke 2:10-11

Good tidings of great joy! The Savior is born!

And with His birth comes every good fruit of the Spirit into our lives.

That’s the gospel. That’s not only good news; that’s great news.

As Mary, may we keep all the elements of this news and meditate upon it in our hearts.

Yet that’s not all. It’s news we can hardly keep entirely to ourselves.

As the angels and as the shepherds, may we preach the gospel to every creature.

And so, from our family to yours . . .

We wish you a merry Christmas.

We wish you a merry Christmas.

We wish you a merry Christmas,

And a happy new year!

Good tidings we bring to you and your kin.

Good tidings for Christmas and a happy New Year.

May you go forth in the great tidings of His birth and may you possess all the fullness of the fruit of the Spirit in your life this year and for eternity!

Merry Christmas! 

Find the rest of today’s Twelve Days of Christmas party posts here. 

Enter the giveaway here.

 

Not-So-Silent Night

Christmas Eve . . . and we’ve reached the final fruit of the Spirit: self-control, or temperance as it’s sometimes rendered. Today’s Christmas carol is a famous one: Silent Night.

But is it a Silent Night? And should it be?

Silent night! Holy night!

All is calm, all is bright

’Round yon virgin mother and child!

Holy infant, so tender and mild,

Sleep in heavenly peace;

Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night! Holy night!

Shepherds quake at the sight.

Glories stream from heaven afar;

Heav’nly hosts sing: “Alleluia!

Christ the Savior is born!

Christ the Savior is born!”

Silent night! Holy night!

Son of God, love’s pure light

Radiant beams from Thy holy face

With the dawn of redeeming grace,

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth!

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth!

Silent night! Holy night!

Wondrous star, lend thy light;

With the angels let us sing

“Alleluia” to our King:

“Christ the Savior is born!

Christ the Savior is born.”

What a beautiful, peaceful, idyllic picture is presented in this hymn. Inaccurate? Perhaps not. But perhaps the picture given here is incomplete. Was it peaceful? Undoubtedly. Where God is, peace is. Was there rest? Yes.

But was their tiredness? Was there pain? Were there unwanted interruptions? Was it messy? Were there inconveniences and tough decisions and improvising? Was there constant work to stay warm and fed and get rested? Were there adjustments with the birth and new baby?

Most likely.

It’s quite likely it wasn’t actually a totally silent night. Physically, there were probably cries of a baby and groans of a weary mother. Emotionally, there may have been much inner conflict. Spiritually, the heavens were awake and alive with rejoicing, the proclamations of the news by the angels, and the fierceness of the devil in his war against the Seed of the woman.

In the kingdom of God, this was the biggest night in history.

Yet even with all of this, it was a night of peace, of rest – of things being as they should be in the world, in heaven and earth, mingled with the anticipation of what would come after.

And I think this was exactly how it should be. I believe God designed it this way for a reason.

When His Spirit is in control, heaven and earth become united in a perfect harmony of rest and rejoicing, peace and anticipation, spiritual warfare and inner calm.

And that’s the final fruit of the Spirit – allowing His control in every area of our life.

Despite what we might think, we can never fully control ourselves. Even if we could, there are too many areas outside of our control that directly impact us in ways both major and minor. If we refuse to allow the Spirit’s control in our lives, we’re never totally controlled or totally free.

You see, self-control isn’t control by the self. It’s control of the self . . . by Another. By the only one who can truly control it. The Self is such a slippery, opinionated, willful, emotional creature that it takes a power greater than we possess in ourselves to maintain it.

And that’s where the birth of Christ on that not-so-silent night comes into play in the grand scheme and purpose in the kingdom of God.

Today, how can you allow Him to be Lord in your life? What normal, everyday areas can He take over and transform for His kingdom – perhaps nothing grand or earth-shaking, but equally important in His kingdom?

And then, perhaps even your not-so-perfect days and not-so-silent nights can become holy moments for the Kingdom of God.

Come back tomorrow for Great Tidings We Bring.

Find the rest of today’s Twelve Days of Christmas party posts here. 

Enter the giveaway here.

Let’s Call It Gentleness

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve . . . and today we’re zooming in on the second-to-last fruit of the Spirit and how it relates to Christmas.

This fruit is one we sometimes wish we could skip over – or at least agree mentally but ignore it in our lives. Yet without this fruit, our Spirit-filled living falls short. The Lord our God is One, and as we live in His kingdom, His Spirit works all aspects of who He is in our lives.

This fruit is, in essence, humility. Sometimes it’s rendered meekness, sometimes gentleness.

Yet gentleness in today’s culture has a very different meaning than either of the other two words. Gentleness implies more to do with the way we treat others – more like kindness mixed with a lot of tenderness and care. Meekness and humility, on the other hand, both center more upon our view of ourselves and acting in accordance with that view. Yes, they go hand in hand; if you’re humble, you’ll be gentle – but there’s more to it than just that.

In a way, calling it “gentleness” only tones down the “ouch”-factor of this fruit by making it more palatable to our flesh and our pride.

Instead of looking to the world’s definitions, however, let’s look to Jesus Christ, our example, and the ultimate person of humility.

He took upon Him the form of a servant . . . He was made in the likeness of men . . . He humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross. He is meek and lowly in heart. He gently leads His sheep.

And in utter humility, He – the fullness of God – contained Himself in a helpless human body. The greatest became the least.

This brings a new and humbling perspective on the familiar carol.

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,

The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head;

The stars in the heavens looked down where He lay,

The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.

The cattle are lowing, the Baby awakes,

But little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes.

I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky

And stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.

Take some time right now to meditate upon the Lord of all heaven and earth, the one who made the universe and everything in it – asleep in a manger – an animal feed trough. He was born in a borrowed stable to a couple who weren’t important as far as the social ladder went. From the moment of birth, He faced a life of temptation, sadness, pain, and sorrow unlike anything in heaven. Yet He willingly embraced all this – everything – because it was His Father’s will. And His Father loved us.

Meditate on that!

~~~

Then quietly pray the prayer of the third verse asking for intimacy with Him and His great humility for this moment and for eternity.

Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask Thee to stay

Close by me forever and love me, I pray.

Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care;

And fit us for heaven, to live with Thee there.

Come back tomorrow for Not-So-Silent Night.

Find the rest of today’s Twelve Days of Christmas party posts here. 

Enter the giveaway here.

 

Mirrored Faith

Today’s fruit of the Spirit is faith – sometimes rendered as faithfulness. Faith and faithfulness are both essential parts of the birth we celebrate at Christmas time.

Where is the faithfulness of God to mankind shown more clearly than at the manger? Faithfulness is a covenant term. It’s a declaration of steadfastness, reliability, trustworthiness. It’s a statement that the terms of covenant will be kept – that the covenant partner will be 100%, unquestioningly loyal to the other, that the partner will always be there.

Through sending His Son as the Mediator, that’s exactly what God was revealed to be. Through providing the one way for restored oneness with God (in spite of our unfaithfulness to the covenant and constant breaking of its terms), He sacrificed Himself to bring us to intimacy with Him.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel is a reflection upon His covenant and His faithfulness:

O come, O come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here,

Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free

Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;

From depths of hell Thy people save,

And give them victory o’er the grave.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer,

Our Spirits by Thine advent here.

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,

And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David, come

And open wide our heav’nly home;

Make safe the way that leads on high,

And close the path to misery.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,

Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai’s height,

In ancient times didst give the law

In cloud and majesty and awe.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

He is God with Us! He is the ruling Rod of Jesse. He is the Sunrise from on high, bringing the light of the morning. He is the Key of David that unlocks the kingdom to us. He is Lord and Ruler – and He has come, ransoming, freeing, dispelling darkness, unlocking doors, and fulfilling the law in us. He’s completed every aspect of covenant – it stands fulfilled and living in Him.

All we have to do is live in Him.

That’s faithfulness – the faithfulness of God to us!

And it’s now mirrored in our lives. “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20).

That covenant faithfulness of God is mirrored in our lives as the faith of the Son of God. The full faithfulness of the Father is also contained in the Son, and by the power of the Holy Spirit within us, it works its full fruit in our lives.

All faith that we possess is simply a reflection of the perfect faith of God.

Have you received that faith? Are you living in it?

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!

Sing, choirs of angels; sing in exultation;

sing, all ye citizens of heav’n above!

Glory to God, all glory in the highest!

O come, let us adore Him;

O come, let us adore Him;

O come, let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord!

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning;

Jesus, to Thee be all glory giv’n!

Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing!

O come, let us adore Him;

O come, let us adore Him;

O come, let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord!

Come back tomorrow for Let’s Call It Gentleness.

Find the rest of today’s Twelve Days of Christmas party posts here. 

Enter the giveaway here.

Every Night Holy

Goodness! Where does one start with this fruit of the Spirit? Perhaps the words of Jesus Christ our Savior Himself are best to begin with: “There is none good but God.” 

With this, we see immediately that we have no hope whatsoever of attaining this on our own. What goodness we may possess is still only “filthy rags” in the sight of God.

Perhaps we can best describe His goodness by meditating upon His holiness . . . the holiness that He allows us to fully share through the life of His Son.

And what better carol to assist us in our meditations than O Holy Night.

O holy night! the stars are brightly shining;

It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope – the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!

Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!

O night divine, O night when Christ was born!

O night divine, O night, O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,

With glowing hearts by his cradle we stand.

So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,

Here came the Wise Men from Orient land.

The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,

In all our trials born to be our Friend.

He knows our need–our weakness is no stranger.

Behold your King, before him lowly bend!

Behold your King, before him lowly bend!

Truly he taught us to love one another;

His law is love and his gospel is peace.

Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother,

And in His name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we;

Let all within us praise his holy name.

Christ is the Lord! O praise his name forever!

His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!

His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!

His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!

Listen to the gospel in this song – the good news. Sin, error, chains, oppression – and then Him. Jesus – and transformation. Wonder. Worship. Day by day, a new life of loving one another. Praising and proclaiming Him forever. Living in that continued life of holiness.

Truly the night we celebrate at Christmas time is a holy night, for it is a night when holy God touched sinful man, and sinful man was never the same.

Yet His purpose for us is so much deeper than one holy night.

A holy night is a night where we have invited the holiness of God to be present.

A holy night is a night when God touches us and makes Himself known.

Jesus came to set us apart. “And for their sakes I sanctify (set apart, make holy) myself, that they also might be sanctified (set apart, made holy) through the truth.”

Are you receiving what He has done for you? Are you living set apart from the world, the flesh, and the devil? He commanded, “Be holy as I am holy” – and this holiness is entirely possible through the life of Christ.

Prayer and intercession is one important way to live set apart. Another way is through getting alone with God, feeding on His Word. “Thy words were found, and I did eat them, and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts. I sat not in the assembly of the merrymakers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand.” (Jeremiah 15:16-17).

Through His holiness, the Spirit can indeed bear much fruit of goodness in our lives.

And through His power, we can live in the reality of every night holy.

Come back tomorrow for Mirrored Faith.

Find the rest of today’s Twelve Days of Christmas party posts here. 

Enter the giveaway here.

The Song of a Song

Did you ever stop to ponder that there’s an entire Christmas carol about a song? It’s a song sung by angels, heard by the world, caught into the hearts of mankind, and reflected by responsive hearts. This song is the entire theme of the Christmas season – for Scripture declares that the Baby whose birth we celebrate is our song!

This carol also perfectly encompasses the next fruit of the Spirit, which we’re examining on this seventh day of Christmas: kindness, or as some translations render it, gentleness. This kindness is the goodwill of God towards us channeled through us to others. It’s the message the angels brought: “goodwill toward men.” And where was this goodwill, this kindness, more perfectly demonstrated than through the birth of our Savior.

Today, let’s look a little deeper at what happened with that angel’s song, as told by It Came Upon a Midnight Clear. Examining the words of this carol provides valuable insight into a bit more of what we celebrate each December:

It came upon a midnight clear – that glorious song of old

From angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold:

“Peace on the earth, good will to men from heav’n’s all-gracious King.”

The world in solemn stillness lay to hear the angels sing.

The first verse introduces us to the song: “It came upon the midnight clear” sets the stage by describing the circumstances and setting for what follows. It is almost the equivalent of a story beginning, “It was a dark and stormy night…” However, this is a “midnight clear” – clear in memory, clear in its purpose, clear in its effect upon the hearts of men for centuries afterwards. There is no mistaking the words and source of this song!

What came? “That glorious song of old!” It was the song of Moses and of the Lamb, the song angels have sung around the throne since the beginning of time, the song the morning stars and sons of God sang the day the earth was formed, the song believers shall sing for endless ages of eternity – Yahweh is our song! This song has no beginning and no end; it grows evermore beautiful as years go by.

In this instance, the song came “from angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold.” Angels are merely messengers – ambassadors from God to mankind; and as such, the angels were singing the song of God Himself. Perhaps the harps may represent the hearts of men, silent to this point, until the angels set them ringing.

Furthermore, the song that they sung was heard by shepherds, recorded by disciples, and is today read by millions: “Peace on the earth, goodwill to men from heaven’s all gracious King!” Before the stunning beauty of the angels’ song, the world was silenced, touched by a solemn hush in the presence of the holy song from angels’ lips.

Have we spent time today hushed as the powerful song of Almighty God sings itself to us? Are we too rushed within our busy days to savor the stillness of listening to the angels’ song? Are we taking time to simply lay in solemn stillness, doing nothing but listening?

Sadly, few do:

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:

O hush the noise, ye men of strife, and hear the angels sing!

The Song is not without opposition. Sadly, the powerful forces of sin, strife, and wrong labor their hardest to drown out the song. Instead of resting bathed in Song, the whole creation groans and travails until now, waiting for the adoption and redemption of the body.

Unfortunately, too many men and women have been completely deafened to the love song of Father that the angels bring to earth. Their ears are closed and they cannot hear. Only through the quickening and loosening work of Jesus Christ can their ears be opened to hear the Song. During His life on earth, He proved repeatedly that He is able to unstop the ears of the deaf.

This is not only for unbelievers; we are dependent upon His listening power every moment of the day. Each moment that we receive that grace and power from Him, we are enabled to hear His song. Are we receiving that hearing power from Him?

All ye, beneath life’s crushing load, whose forms are bending low,

Who toil along the climbing way with painful steps and slow,

Look now! for glad and golden hours come swiftly on the wing:

O rest beside the weary road, and hear the angels sing.

Is this a fitting description of your life? All of us, at some time or another, are bent low beneath life’s crushing load, toiling along the climbing way which is appointed for us. Each one of us is, at times, nearly overwhelmed by the necessary things of life – not to mention the burdens we place upon ourselves of those things in life that are not necessary. If you have ever for one second in your life felt this way, this message is for you! Jesus calls, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest!”

What is the call? It is to look! “Look now!” “Look unto Me, and be ye saved!” It echoes the example in the wilderness of the brass serpent on the pole, which, if anyone looked at, he would live and not die. Those who looked received immediate rest and relief.

“Look now!” Why continue to suffer in weariness when you can receive the ability to hear His Song this moment? Look now! “Glad and golden hours come swiftly on the wing.” What are these glad and golden hours? The glad, golden hours are the hours of “resting beside the weary road and hearing the angels sing.” It is a choice: continue to toil on your own way, burdened by your own life and pained by cared, or else simply look and rest beside the weary road.

This is a beautiful picture of the strait path to which Christ calls us. The strait way is actually “resting beside the weary road and hearing the angels sing.” The broad way is continuing to toil painfully through our own way. Because human nature likes to “do” rather than to “be,” many there be which go in at the broad way. Relatively few choose to take the narrow way of surrendering all to Him in rest.

This is exactly what Mary did. While Martha was cumbered with many things and busy and troubled with much serving, Mary chose to rest and listen to the Song. Jesus commended her, saying that she had chosen the one thing needful. Martha, on the other hand, chose to continue carrying her burdens on the weary road – which led to frustration, condemnation, feelings of injustice, and a rebuke from Jesus.

Because we are so busy, distracted, and pained by toiling along with our own burdens, we cannot hear the love song from Father brought to us by the angels. When we choose to rest beside the road, our ears can hear the song – and the Song grants us the strength and grace we need both to keep resting and to live life. Which do you choose?

Why should we choose to rest and listen? It is because “the days are hastening on” – the days which prophets spoke of. These are the days spoken of in Peter: “Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” (I Peter 1:10-11). The days that the prophets foretold – the days that were, at this point, hastening on – are the days of the kingdom of God! That is what the Song is about!

The carol goes on to describe these days:

For lo! the days are hast’ning on, by prophet bards foretold,

When with the ever-circling years comes round the age of gold

When peace shall over all the earth its ancient splendors fling,

And the whole world give back the song which now the angels sing!

The kingdom of God is peace – peace resting in the Holy Spirit! When we “rest beside the weary road” and listen to the Song, allowing it to pervade and control our lives, we live within that peace. The kingdom has come in our lives.

However, the song does not stop with the angels! When we choose to stop and rest and listen to this powerful, life-giving, beautiful, perfect, loving Song, the Song echoes itself in our hearts! Now, because the kingdom of God is present in our lives, we give back the song the angels first sang!

We become (take on the identity of) messengers of God – messengers of the covenant and the life.

The Song brings extraordinary results in our lives, allowing us to live in God’s love, peace, rest, and kingdom. It replaces our cares with His care for us. However, it is not just for us. Even though we are to rest beside the weary road and soak in the fullness and beauty of the Song, we are not to keep it for ourselves. God designed us to repeat the Song to those around us. He desires everyone to enter into the fullness of the rest in His Song – and for some, that will only happen as we repeat the Song.

The sin, strife, and care of this world blind men to the song when the angels sing it – but perhaps they may hear the song as we sing it. The question, then, for us is – are we faithful to sing it?

The heart of this song is first to rest – first to rest and listen, then to sing to others. It does not matter if you do not think that others can hear it – sing anyway! Sing for pure joy of the Song in your life. Sing for Him. He is the focus – and He will echo and re-echo the song as He chooses.

That is the message of Christmas time – the message of the song. Rest – and sing – for Him!

~~~

Come back tomorrow for Every Night Holy.

Find the rest of today’s Twelve Days of Christmas party posts here. 

Enter the giveaway here.

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. ~ Luke 2:13-14

Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the LORD, to the mighty One of Israel. And the LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones. ~ Isaiah 30:29-30

And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.  And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. ~ Revelation 14:1-3

His song shall be with me. ~ Psalm 42:8

Everyday Christmas

‘Tis the sixth day of Christmas in our countdown to Christmas Day, and today’s Christmas carol goes hand-in-hand with patience, or longsuffering as it’s sometimes translated. The word indicates forbearance, fortitude, perseverance, endurance.

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.

Christmas on earth – how quiet is the scene that is set! For hundreds of years, the world has groaned and travailed for some Redeemer to loose it from the sin that runs rampant throughout its lands and borders. All elements are here: the patience, the endurance, the fortitude, the long-suffering.

So often we want to escape that suffering – or at least shorten it. “If I must suffer, hurry up and get it over with.” Yet it is through the perseverance in the trials God allows that works in us complete dependence upon Jesus Christ. It’s how we enter into the fellowship of His sufferings.

In the midst of whatever difficulty you are facing just now, look to the Everlasting Light that beams even in the darkest places.

For Christ is born of Mary and, gathered all above

While mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wond’ring love.

O morning stars, together proclaim the holy birth,

And praises sing to God the King, and peace to men on earth.

While the first verse gives the perspective of Bethlehem itself, verse two speaks of the view from heavenly places. Wondering love! Careful watch! Proclamations of joy! Songs of praises! Declarations of peace! Think how the angels themselves must have anticipated this moment.

How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is giv’n!

So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heav’n.

No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin,

Where meek souls will receive Him still the dear Christ enters in.

Again perseverance and patience play out here. We desire immediate change. We want the saving event revealed and fully embraced at once. We want the fullness of the vision of glory right away – yet “how silently” God works! As Jesus declared, “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20-21).

Rest, dear child, and embrace the silence and secrecy of the kingdom of God.

Where children pure and happy pray to the blessed Child,

Where misery cries out to Thee, Son of the mother mild;

Where Charity stands watching and Faith holds wide the door,

The dark night wakes, the glory breaks, and Christmas comes once more.

All this isn’t just for Christmas Eve. It’s here. It’s now. True Christmas is the entering in of Christ into our hearts and lives every day. Where Charity stands watching – where Faith holds wide the door, darkness cannot stand in the glorious light of the gospel! That’s when the Spirit of Christmas – the Holy Spirit sent by Jesus Christ, born as a baby, grown into a man, and ascended into heaven – reveals itself in everyday life.

All the “good feelings” and “warm wishes” of the season may be nice, but ultimately they will fade if initiated by the will of humans. Even though that may feel like “the Christmas spirit,” in reality it is only a cheap, flesh-made counterfeit – a paltry imitation of the true Spirit sent to us, the true Spirit that desires to live itself within us every moment. Why be content with an imitation penny when the infinite riches of the Kingdom are at your disposal!?

This Christmas – today – embrace the Spirit of God, the Spirit whose fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, and more we will yet explore. Let that Charity of Christ watch over your life; let the Faith of the Son of God live itself through you, and you’ll be surprised to discover just how much richer Christmas can be.

The final verse of this carol is our prayerful response to Him:

O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;

Cast out our sin, and enter in; be born in us today.

We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell;

O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!

Be born in us today! Amen! May it be – abide with us this day, Emmanuel, that the fruit of the Christmas Spirit may abundantly crowd our lives every moment of every day, and every morning as we awake and find ourselves still with Him, we can truly say that Christmas comes once more.

 

Come back tomorrow for The Song of a Song.

Find the rest of today’s Twelve Days of Christmas party posts here. 

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The Peace of Our Daily Chaos

It’s day five of the twelve days of Christmas series, and today we’re looking at the third fruit of the Spirit: peace – another foundational element of the Christmas season. “Peace on earth,” was the proclamation of the angel who carried the birth announcement from heaven to earth. “Prince of Peace” was Jesus’ prophesied title: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.”

Yet so often “peace” seems like a foreign concept in today’s world. It’s a rush from one thing to another: paying the bills, working jobs, preparing meals, caring for family members (children or elderly), keeping the house warm, making sure the clothes are clean, battling pests, dealing with broken appliances, upgrading things around the home, decluttering, managing the checkbook and the calendar, keeping the car running, participating in social commitments, making sure children are properly educated, helping out friends, planning family gatherings, remembering special occasions, making phone calls, staying on top of social media, shopping, indulging in hobbies, and everything else that makes up “modern life” and fills up daylight hours.

With lengthy to-do lists comes heightened stress.

Plus, every day is filled with the unpredictable. Someone called in sick. A toddler used your furniture for a drawing board. The dinner burned. The car won’t start. You’re out of tape.

Sometimes life just seems like a series of dealing with one stress factor after another.

Yet Christmas offers us the reality of a glorious hope of something more.

Peace. 

Peace in our daily chaos.

But how?

“Peace on earth” and “Prince of peace” might seem like the furthest possible reality from our daily life. But . . . the incarnation of Christ upon earth isn’t just about God taking on a human body. It’s about Christ being born in you and in me – about Him taking over our daily lives, fueling every action, encompassing every thought.

That’s peace. Peace from our self-life. Peace to let Him rule.

And that’s not just something that impacts our daily life; it’s something that stretches for eternity, long after the cares and stress of today are past. Ponder the words of today’s Christmas carol:

Break forth, O beauteous heavenly light,

And usher in the morning;

O shepherds, shrink not with afright,

But hear the angel’s warning.

This Child, now weak in infancy,

Our confidence and joy shall be,

The power of Satan breaking,

Our peace eternal making.

 

All blessing, thanks and praise to Thee,

Lord Jesus Christ, be given;

Thou hast our brother deigned to be,

Our foes in sunder riven.

O grant us through our day of grace

With constant praise to seek Thy face;

Grant us ere long in glory

With praises to adore thee.

 

On the fifth day, make devoted time to seek Him. Spend time in His presence, your thoughts fixed on His word. When His word rules your thoughts and your life, then you experience true inner peace – peace even amid daily chaos.

Come back tomorrow for Everyday Christmas.

Find the rest of today’s Twelve Days of Christmas party posts here. 

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Why So Joyful, World?

The second fruit of the Spirit is, as much as love, a characteristic of the Christmas season. Joy! Joy everywhere! Joy to the world, in the words of the hymn. Even the very tune of this Christmas carol speaks of joy. Read again the lyrics in light of the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. Each verse contains a declaration of TRUTH and REALITY of Jesus Christ, and the rest of each verse is our response to that truth.

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare Him room,

And heaven and nature sing,

And heaven and nature sing,

And heaven, and heaven and nature sing.

 

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!

Let men their songs employ;

While fields and floods,

Rocks, hills and plains

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

 

No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessing flow

Far as the curse is found,

Far as the curse is found,

Far as, far as the curse is found.

 

He rules the world with truth and grace,

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders, wonders of His love.

 

The response to the Good News was joy from the beginning. Even the famous side characters of the Bible story – angels, shepherds, and wise men – responded that way:

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. ~ Luke 2

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. ~ Matthew 2:10

Joy to the World! Yet . . . why so joyful? What is there about this event, this birth, this news to elicit such joy?

The curse is broken. When sin entered into the world and death by sin, the world was cursed. In some mysterious fashion beyond the comprehension of human minds, God was born as a baby to bring total restoration of covenant. With God and man rejoined, the curse holds no power over us.
Forgiveness. We’ve all made wrong choices and done something contrary to the nature of God. Yet we don’t have to suffer the ultimate consequences of our actions. God becoming man . . . this wonder produced a Baby who grew up able to receive the consequences of our actions in our stead. “Wow” is about the only response I can muster to that. That, and “Thank you!”
Death, pain, and tears have a deadline. These things aren’t eternal. Through the birth of Jesus, the spiritual realm declared to the sorrows and hardships of the physical realm, “You do not reign. You are under Jesus’ feet. You shall end.” In turn, this grants us a steady, living hope through the sufferings of this life. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s an eternal light from the Throne and an amazing new heaven and earth we can’t even begin to imagine!
Freedom! True freedom is the ability to say no – to your self. When we can actually tell our flesh “no” instead of inevitably giving in to our desires, we are truly free. And this is completely possible through Jesus Christ who became a man.
Relationship. Unfortunately, sin spoils relationships first. God and mankind, humans with humans – every relationship suffers the pain of misunderstanding, selfishness, pride, and so much more. Yet through God becoming man, relationship is restored between the loving Creator and His creation . . . and through this, finally there is hope for loving relationships between humans. We are doomed to tolerate the bad with the good in this blessing of relationships God has designed. There’s a way to truly live in joyful earthly relationships as He designed, and it starts with His birth in us.
Abundant life. Jesus said it Himself: “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Scripture also says, “This is the record, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.” We can live a full life – it’s exactly what God has designed for us. He is life, and He wants more for you than sin and sadness, or conflicts and struggles, or just getting through each day. Through His power, we can enter that state – in spite of struggles and tears.
Victory. The Creator wins! He didn’t design His creation for a bad purpose or a bad ending, despite our wrong choices on the way. It’s the enemy who wants destruction, pain, and rebellion against God. He comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. Yet through the Baby, God wins. There’s a “happily-ever-after” for Earth, and that begins now. At the foot of the manger, at the foot of the cross, at your feet as you make your daily decisions.

Indeed, JOY TO THE WORLD! Joy to you, joy to me! The Spirit of Jesus Christ living within us IS joy! Embrace it this season!

 

Come back tomorrow for The Peace of Our Daily Chaos.

Find the rest of today’s Twelve Days of Christmas party posts here. 

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That Mystery of Love

Love: the first fruit of the Spirit, the great mystery of the ages, incomprehensible to the human mind – the pinnacle of the First Christmas, the intangible essence to physical senses yet profoundly evident to the soul.

Love is everywhere at Christmas time, the very nature of the Christmas Spirit itself.

Yet the mystery of love is none other than the Baby in the manger.

How strange it is that the mystery can be spoken and revealed in a single sentence so simple as that one, and yet the depth of that sentence encompasses all time, space, emotion, truth, and reality of the ages. Even the wisest earthly sage cannot fully unravel the mystery, and yet even a small child may know it.

Truly the Kingdom of Heaven and earth unite in this moment. As the Baby is born, Deity transcends Heaven and enters Earth. Love is truly born to that humble Jewish couple. All love on earth originates in the Person of that Child.

All the kind deeds, all charity, all benevolence, all generosity, all tender feelings under the name of Love stem from the person of Love. When He was born on earth, Love touched us. It unified its kingdom – for His kingdom is one of love – with the earth that was originally designed to breathe and live and cycle Love yet through sin severed the love-cord binding it to its Source.

Think of the matchless sacrifice of Jesus Christ in this act. He left the face to face presence of His Father to be born on this earth – this earth with its pain, grief, misery, and sin. He took upon Him the form of a servant, was made in the likeness of men, and became obedient to the death of the cross.

This is Love.

He is Love.

And we love because He first loved us.

That’s the spirit of Christmas. That’s the spirit of heaven. That’s the Holy Spirit manifesting Jesus Christ through us.

And how beautifully that is summed up in this old Christmas hymn from the 1700s:

Christians, awake, salute the happy morn

Whereon the Savior of the world was born.

Rise to adore the mystery of love

Which hosts of angels chanted from above;

With them the joyful tidings first begun

Of God Incarnate and the Virgin’s Son.

Then to the watchful shepherds it was told,

Who heard the angelic herald’s voice, “Behold,

I bring good tidings of a Savior’s birth

To you and all the nations upon earth;

This day hath God fulfilled His promised word;

This day is born a Savior, Christ the Lord.”

He spake; and straightway the celestial choir

In hymns of joy, unknown before, conspire;

The praises of redeeming love they sang,

And heaven’s whole orb with alleluias rang.

God’s highest glory was their anthem still,

Peace upon earth, and unto men good will.

To Bethlehem straight th’ enlightened shepherds ran

To see the wonder God had wrought for man

And found, with Joseph and the blessed maid,

Her Son, the Savior, in a manger laid;

Then to their flocks, still praising God, return.

And their glad hearts with holy rapture burn.

Oh, may we keep and ponder in our mind

God’s wondrous love in saving lost mankind!

Trace we the Babe, who hath retrieved our loss,

From His poor manger to His bitter cross,

Tread in His steps, assisted by His grace,

Till man’s first heavenly state again takes place.

Then may we hope, th’ angelic hosts among,

To sing, redeemed, a glad triumphal song.

He that was born upon this joyful day

Around us all His glory shall display.

Saved by His love, incessant we shall sing

Eternal praise to heaven’s almighty King.

 

Come back tomorrow for Why So Joyful, World?

Find the rest of today’s Twelve Days of Christmas party posts here. 

Enter the giveaway here.