12/25/2019
Is there a place for Jesus in our heart? Have we called a feast today, killed the fatted Lamb, and made our own bed available to the Dove of Peace, or have we assigned Him a spiritual stable within our own soul’s Bed and Breakfast? Is Jesus the Lord of our heart, and life, or have we marginalized Him, and only call out to Him when it is convenient for us to do so... like at Christmas? Are we the innkeeper that found no room for Mary and Joseph, or would we yield the master bedroom to them... to the Christ Child?
“And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”
Luke 2:7 ESV
“JESUS HAS COME!”, and no matter whether we acknowledge Him, as all faithful should, or deny Him as Herod did, “HE HAS COME!”, and no power on earth could stop that. So just as His birth in Bethlehem was undeniably certain, so is His Lordship over our lives today. The real question is not of His legitimate rule because that can’t be denied, but of our personal realization, and acceptance, of the fact that He is our Redeemer... the Son of God.
“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39 ESV
So, today we celebrate the love of God that has been made known to us through the birth of His Son Jesus Christ, and an angel from heaven still announces Him as we celebrate. Listen, can you hear the echo of the angel’s voice, and as his voice calls out? How do you react to this good news? An angel, a messenger, announces Him to us, and the Holy Spirit draws us to Him... do we feel the great joy, and will we go to meet Him?
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." 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 among those with whom he is pleased!"”
Luke 2:11-14 ESV
As a child I would go door to door and sing Christmas carols with the other neighborhood children. Then I reached puberty and my voice changed... and all those notes that used to come so easily were lost to me, and I sang less. It was about this time that it dawned on me how many of the well-known songs we were singing had nothing to do with Jesus or His birth. We sang about jingling bells, white Christmases, Dashing through the snow, and other festive things associated with winter, but much less frequently about the true occasion if Christmas with songs such as Silent Night, or It Came Upon A Midnight Clear. Even in the 50s and 60s, and among Christians, we were beginning to lose the meaning of Noel, or Christmas, and yielding to the Hollywood version of gifts, and the merriment of the season. Now, in 2019, we have lost much more, and relegated the birth of Jesus to a far corner of our societal memory. In times such as this when the sacrifice has already been made for us, grace abounds, and we find great comfort has come, it is easy to forget how we came to be here; it has always been easy for that to happen! Listen to what is said in Deuteronomy...
“"Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,”
Deuteronomy 8:11-14 ESV
So today let’s make a point of singing songs that reflect Jesus. When we look at the nativity scenes, let’s do more than think about the animals and the manger, but remember who lies there within it. Let’s sit with our children, and grandchildren, and tell them the story of Jesus, the Angel, the wise men, and how He is the Son of God, who saves us. Let’s renew our faith, and sing about “Away in a Manger”. If we will do do these things then we can say loudly...
“MERRY CHRISTMAS ONE AND ALL!”,
and we can feel the joy, and peace in our hearts where Baby Jesus lays soundly, and the Holy Spirit tends to Him.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for this day in which we celebrate the birth of your Son Jesus Christ! Thank you Holy Father for the communion wine, and the unleavened bread that causes us to remember Him in His fullness each time we partake of it. Thank you for our thoughts of the Baby Jesus laying in a manger with no crib for a bed. Thank you for the prosperity you bring our faith and the eternity into which we will carry it. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God, whose Infant Son we long to hold in our arms today. Great are you Lord, who gave up your child on this day Long ago to suffering and death as He redeemed us from sin. We praise your name Merciful Father, and sing out in heartfelt, and glorious, hymns of our faith in you and Jesus the Christ. Hear us as we call out “GLORY TO GOD ON THE HIGHEST!” For in this way we give you all the glory we have come to know, and we do this for the amazing grace you have provided us through Jesus. Teach us today, as you would have us teach our children around the table of our Christmas feast... Jesus is Lord, the King of Kings, and He brings peace to the world. Hear us as we begin by telling our children the Christmas story in this way...
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother.......”
Matthew 1:18 ESV
Rich Forbes
MERRY CHRISTMAS ONE AND ALL!, and my God bless each of you, and your families!