O Come All Ye Faithful

Most of us know this Christmas carol…or at least the first few words of it:

Oh, come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,

Oh, come ye, oh, come ye, to Bethlehem.

Come and behold Him, born the King of angels;

Oh, come, let us adore Him, oh, come, let us adore Him,

Oh, come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.

Over the years, as we sing this and other songs over and over, I wonder if the words get lost behind the familiarity.  I wonder if the meanings of the words in these carefully written songs are even pondered.  It seems there is a bit of a “movement” to put CHRIST back into CHRISTmas, and since singing these songs is a big part of our celebration throughout the season, maybe thinking about what we’re singing can help. 

I have picked out some of the words and/or phrases in this song in an attempt to bring them to life a bit, so to speak.  I hope they help you to remember and focus on the true meaning and reason of CHRISTMAS.

All Ye Faithful

Have you ever wondered who these all these “faithful” are?  That would be those who believe in God the Father and His Son, our Savior Jesus Christ!  The “faithful” don’t just profess love, allegiance and loyalty with their mouth.  That’s a great first step, but truly faithful people of God will be evident to the world around them by the way they live their lives; not in showy works that make themselves look good, but through loving actions that bring all honor to God above.  To be faithful is to be loyal and constant; to be true to one's promises and vows; to be devoted.  How do you show or express your faithfulness to Him?

Matthew 25:23 – Well done good and faithful servant!

Come…Let Us Adore Him/Come…And Behold Him

The song invites us to come to Him.  To adore Him.  Adoration is defined as follows:  paying honor; worship; reverent homage; fervent and devoted love.  How often do you go to God (it’s an open invitation!)?  And when you do approach Him, is it in adoration?  I hear about many who approach Him in desperation, but adoration isn’t always first priority.  Oh, most of us eventually get around to that part after we’ve listed all our needs and wants.  But I’m pretty positive we’ve got that twisted around a bit.  Adore Him.  Seek his face.  Behold Him.  Gaze upon it with great affection.

Psalm 95:6 – Come, let us bow down in worship (adoration),

let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.

Joyful

As we accept His invitation to be with Him, we can do so with great joy!  Even when our situations make us deeply sad, we can still be joyful in Jesus' presence.  Joy has little to do with US, and everything to do with Him.  To be joyful is to be delighted with something, jubilant and elated!  Just knowing that God is sovereign, and that Jesus has paid our ransom – that is pure joy. We can delight in that!

Psalm 37:4 - Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Triumphant

Oh, I think this is my favorite part…come to him triumphantly! Do you know why?  Triumph means victory.  And through Jesus’ blood, we already HAVE the victory over all that is evil, all that is sinful, all that is not of God!  Death has no hold on us.  By Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are redeemed by grace to our rightful place as co-heirs.  I think that is an amazingly exciting revelation and truth!

1 Corinthians 15:55 - Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?

King of Angels/Christ the Lord

Christ is our Lord and the King of Angels.  He lovingly reigns over all – He is in absolute control of everything.  I don’t know about you, but that is a BIG relief to me.  Because I know he has already claimed victory, there is no need for me to try to be in control of anything.  I can (and should) certainly do my part in the work He has set before me, but there’s no pressure to try to figure out the why’s or the how’s of it all.  The Lord and King above all has everything worked out already!

Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD;

plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

I hope this has inspired you some, so the next time you’re singing your favorite CHRISTmas hymn, you might stop and think about the words you’re singing.   Behind the pretty music, there’s a “reason for the season” and a message just for your heart!

Falling

It was a simple post on Facebook by a friend:

“Nothing like going out to dinner only to come home to

your 30 ft tall tree lying across the street.”

Just like that…unexpectedly, the tree fell over

and crashed to the ground.

Upon further investigation, they found that the tree – healthy looking with green leaves on the outside – had completely rotted inside.

There wasn’t enough IN it to sustain it.

I joked that there must be some kind of life lesson there. But is it a joke? What about us? Do we have enough IN us to keep us standing upright?

Or do we simply look good on the outside, while slowly – minute by minute – we are wasting away on the inside?

God tells us we have enough...

1 John 4:4 “…the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

and

2 Corinthians 12:9 “…my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

With our mouths we accept with a yes that seems sincere and heartfelt. On the outside we exhibit beautiful foliage…on the inside, we are dead.

We sink in the mire of our pasts…surely we can’t be forgiven of everything – especially “that” – but listen to what God says:


1 Jn. 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

We drown in the rapids of our present daily life, constantly worrying and we find ourselves making deals – “Lord, just get me through this and I promise…” – but read Matthew 6:25-34 and see what Jesus tells you.

We desperately grasp at the prospect of our future: will we ever *really* receive the desires of our heart?  Listen to these beautiful promises from God:

Jeremiah 29:11 - "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."


Psalm 37:4 – “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

It seems to me that we’ve made our Great God very small. Our mouths say that we believe, but our hearts remain hollow. We have become infested with lies and we have believed the “one in the world” over the promises of God.

As a result, we have come crashing down to the ground, much like my friend’s tree. People stare in wonderment, thinking “how could that happen? It (he/she) seemed just fine!” Ahh, but look there…it’s that little dark spot that starts in the center and slowly eats it’s way all the way through, until we can no longer stand on our own feet.

Unlike that tree, though, when we come crashing down (and most of us do at one time or another) we have the assurance of renewed life. It’s not a one-time deal either…it’s a forever deal. God is always there to help us, over and over and over, when we approach with sincere hearts.

God

…doesn’t leave us

…doesn’t forsake us

…goes with us every step of the way

We have to trust Him. We cannot try to understand his ways (Isaiah 55:8) and we most certainly cannot try to understand things from our very limited perspective (Prov. 3:5-6)

In my own life, things have not always been pretty, or easy, or good.  However, in retrospect I can see where God has had his hand on me through it all, protecting me, loving me, teaching me (oh, how tough love can hurt!). 

It is this knowledge that I now have, from those experiences when I was less mature, that encourage me to continue to move through this messy life; and when things get especially difficult, I know to lean all the harder into His wisdom, love and guidance.

So stand tall and beautiful, firmly rooted in His love. 2 Timothy 1:7 says “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of sound mind.” Those are not characteristics that correlate to being weak, empty, or hollow. YOU are filled solidly and stand firm because God’s Spirit lives in you. Reach your arms to Heaven and keep growing!

“Failure is not falling down but refusing to get up.”

--Chinese Proverb

Delightful!

Psalm 37:4 (New International Version)

Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

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I have heard so many people quote this verse, and I myself have read it several times. What a wonderful promise that is: "...he will give you the desires of your heart."

But it seems to me that we've all only been seeing THAT part of this scripture. Being human - and thus being selfish - I think the first part is glossed over with some kind of mysterious invisible ink.

Delight yourself in the LORD...what does that mean? The dictionary definition of delight is as follows:

to give great pleasure, satisfaction, or enjoyment to; please highly.
to have great pleasure; take pleasure

Do you take great pleasure in spending time with the Lord each day? Do you feel satisfied and highly pleased by your relationship with God? Is it your great pleasure to think upon Him in all things that you say and do? Is God DELIGHTFUL to you?