The Words of Christmas

Christmas is two weeks away as I write this, yet I’ve been celebrating Christmas in my heart for a few weeks now.  With my new schedule I have the golden gift of a couple of hours in the morning before heading out to the rest of my day.

Here is what I hear as I ponder Christmas.

In the beginning was the Word; the Word was with God and the Word was God.

The Word became flesh and He came and lived among us.

This Word was full of grace and truth.

Let every heart prepare Him room.

O come to my heart, Lord Jesus; There is room in my heart for you.

How silently this wondrous gift is given

So God imparts to human hearts

the blessings of His Heaven

No ear may hear His coming,

but in this world of sin,

Where meek souls will receive Him still,

the dear Christ enters in

O holy Child of Bethlehem

descend to us, we pray

Cast out our sin and enter in,

be born in us today.

Silent night, holy night

Son of God, love’s pure light

Radiant beams from Thy holy face,

With the dawn of redeeming grace,

Grace dawned – Grace burst forth

Redeeming love,

a love that knows no limit;

Redeeming love,

a love that never dies;

Down in a lowly manger

the humble Christ was born,

And brought us God’s salvation

that blessed Christmas morn

Then rang the bells more loud and deep

God is not dead, nor does he sleep

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail

With peace on earth good will to men

And the angel said to Mary

– For with God nothing shall be impossible.

Good news!  Noel!  Christ is born!

P Michael Biggs

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Chaos Can't Stop Christmas

In spite of the history … in spite of the ancestry … in spite of anything that had gone before … God brought Christmas to the world. 

CHRISTmas came.

Look at what happened prior to the birth of Christ.  Meet some of the seedier side of the ancestry of Jesus.

Ruth was a foreigner.

Rhab a harlot.  Read about her in Joshua 2:1-24 and 6:1-25

David was an adulterer.

Oh, there are others – less respectable – less reliable – yet they were a part of the line of the Christ.

My point … Chaos can’t stop Christmas.

Bad seed can’t.

Bad choices can’t.

Bad moments of one’s life can’t.

God works through all things to bring His glory forth.

Romans 8:28 is a famous address for one of God’s promises. 

“All things work together for the good

of those who love God, to those who are

called according to His purposes.”

Jesus is the son of God.  God had a plan all along, you see.  And in spite of some corrupt, dishonest, and sometimes deceitful actions of His ancestors, He still came as the Messiah, the Savior, the Baby born of a virgin in a manger.

What chaos might be going on around you this week?  With what troubling relationships are you wrestling?  Are you troubled over some world political situation? 

The good news of the Christmas story is this … God brings confidence out of chaos.  He brings good out of the daily grind. 

He works in all things, through all things, with all things and He uses all kinds of people.

Yes, God even works through you. 

So, whatever chaos you may be facing, hold fast to the story of the baby in the manger.  He maneuvered his way through a lot of bad seed and disappointing activities to get to us.

He brings Christmas to our chaotic world.

He IS CHRISTmas.

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O Little Town-The Story

One of the great Christmas carols is O Little Town of Bethlehem, written by Phillips Brooks.  Here is the story of how this carol came to be.

… On Christmas Eve in 1865, Phillips Brooks rode through the dark streets of Jerusalem on horseback.  He was headed to place above the town where he was told the shepherds had gathered with their sheep some 1800 years earlier.

After returning to his church in Philadelphia, he wanted to capture his thoughts from that night in Jerusalem and the result was this poem.

A few days before Christmas in 

1868, he asked an organist, Lewis Redner, to put the poem to music.  He wanted to use it at their Christmas service. 

Redner tried but failed to successfully create a melody for these lyrics.  On Christmas Eve, feeling he had utterly failed, he went to bed. 

Mr. Redner later related, “I was aroused from sleep in the night.  I heard what I consider to be an angel-strain.  I picked up a piece of score paper and jotted down the melody of this tune as I heard it in my head.”

And that is how this song came to be.  It was a moment of inspiration that inspired the lyrics upon reflection, and it was a divine moment when the melody suddenly came to Mr. Redner. 

Those are the two elements we think of most when we consider the Christmas message – inspiration meeting a divine moment.

Merry Christmas!

Enjoy this video version  

O Little Town of Bethlehem - Burl Ives

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

For Christ is born of Mary

And gathered all above

While mortals sleep, the angels keep

Their watch of wondering love

O morning stars together

Proclaim the holy birth

And praises sing to God the King

And Peace to men on earth

How silently, how silently

The wondrous gift is given

So God imparts to human hearts

The blessings of His heaven

No ear may hear His coming

But in this world of sin

Where meek souls will receive Him still

the dear Christ enters in

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!

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