WHAT MADE THE ANGELS SING?

 

Sunday, December 22, 2024

 

WHAT MADE THE ANGELS SING?

 

Luke 2:8-10

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

 

          It was not glitter but glory that caused the angels to sing or, rather, to SAY. What might that have sounded like? Countless voices shouting in spontaneity regarding the wonder of the beginning of redemption must have been quite a hum.

 

          Oh, I am not condemning the attempt to remanufacture that at Christmas time. I am definitely not a humbug guy, but all our celebratory attempts fail when compared to that night on shepherds’ hill.

 

Angels we have heard on high

Sweetly singing o’er the plains

And the mountains in reply

Echoing their joyous strains

 

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

 

Come to Bethlehem and see

Him Whose birth the angels sing;

Come, adore on bended knee,

Christ the Lord, the newborn King.

 

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

 

Lord, although our attempts to sing glorias fail to attain the heights of those angels, let us lend our feeble sounds to theirs. Glory to God in the highest. AMEN

 

DEALING WITH LOSS AT CHRISTMAS

 

Saturday, December 21, 2024

 

DEALING WITH LOSS AT CHRISTMAS

 

Luke 2:33-35

33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.

34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;

35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

 

          Eight days after Jesus was born, He was brought to the temple for ceremonial circumcision. While there, the holy family was met by two unusual characters. Simeon prophesied that Jesus would bring the “fall and rising again” of many in Israel. It was not national but personal.

 

          My father-in-law passed away on December 7^th many years ago. We knew he had been sick in the nursing home and a gloom hung over us, but there we were at the local Christmas parade. It was a Sunday after church, and I was a pastor.

 

          My very kind church offered to either fly us home or buy new tires for my car. Being practical souls, we chose the new tires not knowing just how much they would be needed through the snow and ice of Ohio and Illinois. The danger accentuated our grief. One kind lady helped Irene clean and pack for the trip while I had the tires installed. It was all a blur. Our Savior was a “man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” He never left us without help and helpers.

 

          Acknowledge your grief and loss. Pretending to be jolly will not be very successful but avoid being gloomy. Acknowledge joy also. You will find it and it will find you. Cling to those that remain for they are grieving too. Acknowledge the Holy Spirit for He will surely be present to help you deal with the absence. Receive gifts and give them. They will have a special significance as time passes. Comfort yourself with positive “self-talk.”

 

Luke 2:18-19

18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

 

Lord, not all who approach these days do so with joyful abandon. Some are grieving and others have suffered loss of other kinds. Be very near to them and help them. AMEN

 

CHRISTMAS IN THE HEART

 

Friday, December 20, 2024

 

CHRISTMAS IN THE HEART

 

Eph 4:31-32

31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

 

          It was a cold and dour Christmastide in the counting house of ole Scrooge and Marley. Ebenezer hunched over his books making marks with an unsharpened quill. Bob stood at his upright desk too cold to work and too frightened to move. At home, what few things that Bob had was warm and welcoming. At home, the many things that Ebenezer had were covered in dust and disappointment. So, Christmas came to both. But each celebrated it, or didn’t celebrate it, according to his own heart.

 

             Does it not seem that the world is divided into those two characters? The one surrounded by unnoticed blessings and the other pinched by unnoticed want move through life in opposite directions. One seems destined for perpetual misery and the other singing like a bird in the rain. The difference is the heart, you see!

 

          The heart makes all the difference. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9) On the other hand “with the heart man believes unto righteousness.” (Romans 10:10) The heart colors and flavors all other circumstances. This is very noticeable at Christmas time.

 

          How about your own heart? Is it right with God? Make your complaints known to God and cry out for mercy because His mercy is from everlasting to everlasting. A broken and contrite heart He will not ignore. Let God change your heart. When that happens everything else will become new.

 

Ps 51:7-8

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

 

Dear God, don’t let my heart ruin Christmas for me and those around me. Change my heart, O God. Let me see the beauty that has been hidden from my eyes. AMEN