2 in 2 for 12-8-23

By: Steve Huston

One of my favorite Christmas carols had its beginnings from the sadness and pain of the Civil War years; it’s from the pen of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and entitled I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.

With the darkness of the times, it’s easy for our minds to fall prey to Satan’s deceptive pit and say with Longfellow:

And in despair I bowed my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

But as our two Decency Minutes remind us (whether you click on the title and listen to Bill Johnson narrate them or you simply read them) and as Longfellow’s mind was transported to truth, let us sing:

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor does He sleep,
For Christ is here; His Spirit near
Brings peace on earth, good will to men.”

After spending time being encouraged by the truths found in our Decency Minutes, I would encourage you to enjoy an exhilarating rendition of I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day performed Edward K. Herrmann and The Tabernacle Choir. It includes the backstory of this song and its author.

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He has overcome the world

So much of the news today is of evil tidings, not good tidings – yet God is above it all and this month we celebrate the ultimate Good News – the birth of our Savior!   He breaks through the satanic assault spewing societal chaos, which seeks to undermine those who live for truth and who share God’s message of love and redemption.

On this very day, you may be going through sorrow or hardship, yet we have Immanuel – God with us!  Our circumstances may be difficult, but in Christ we are more than conquerors.  As our Savior told us, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.  In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world.”  John 17:3.

He has overcome the world!  Look to Him – our Savior, Helper, and Friend.

This is the Hope of Christmas

Martin Luther said this of the Incarnation of Jesus, “If Christ had arrived with trumpets and lain in a cradle of gold, his birth would have been a splendid affair. But it would not be a comfort to me. He was rather to lie in the lap of a poor maiden and be thought of little significance in the eyes of the world.”

God humbled Himself to walk amongst us and to die as one of us. One modern songwriter puts it this way, “I have no answers for hurt knees or cancers, but a Savior who suffers them with me.”

Christmas will be hard for some of us, but we must keep in mind 1 Corinthians 15 which says, “For Christ must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”

That is the hope of Christmas.

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The final three stanzas of Longfellow’s poem are rarely sung, but they are why we can have hope and “peace on earth, good will to men” in our own hearts. This is the transforming message of Christmas – of Emmanuel, God with us. This is the message of hope each Christian is called to herald, as did the angels of old on that hillside to some very unsuspecting, yet blessed, shepherds:

When men repent and turn from sin
The Prince of Peace then enters in,
And grace imparts within their hearts
His peace on earth, good will to men.

O souls amid earth’s busy strife,
The Word of God is light and life;
Oh, hear His voice, make Him your choice,
Hail peace on earth, good will to men.

Then happy, singing on your way,
Your world will change from night to day;
Your heart will feel the message real,
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Because of Christ, we are blessed. May we step into this weekend being a blessing to others and sharing the only Hope of Christmas.

 

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