Christmas devotional

Jesus Loves to Hear us Sing!

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments 
I will be your God throughout your lifetime— until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you. Isaiah 46:4 NLT

A few Christmases ago, as we were singing “Silent Night!” at a nursing home; a soft unfamiliar voice began to join us. When I turned to see who it was, I was shocked to see it was a 103-year-old lady, who had never even spoken a single word over the entire year during which she had been wheeled into our services. Then, it occurred to me that some of my other friends there could no longer remember where they were or how they had come to live there. A few had forgotten their children’s names and one or two, could not even remember their own. Yet, the miracle was that as we sang Silent Night; most had no trouble remembering the words as we lifted our voices together in worship.

As those last notes faded away, that experience made me remember that what mattered was not about how smart any of us were, how much money we had in the bank or where we lived. All that really counted in the end, was that we mattered to God. God has promised to carry us, not only during our years of beauty and youth, but even through white hair and failing memory. His love is an eternal and unchanging commitment, and even when everyone else forgets us, Jesus will carry us for a lifetime: and no matter when we were born or where we are living, He still loves to hear us sing to Him today! 

God and Sinners Reconciled

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She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 
Matthew 1:21 ESV

Though it was released in 1946, the classic film, “It’s a Wonderful Life” continues to touch audiences, generation after generation. Though social mores, technology and politics have changed, the human heart remains the same. And of all the scenes in the film, perhaps none is more loved than the final minutes as an entire community comes together to help George Bailey. One by one, his friends, coworkers, neighbors (and even a few enemies), show up to donate the money needed to keep George out of jail on Christmas. Let’s listen to the words to the Christmas carol they sing: 

Hark the herald angels sing,  
Glory to the newborn King! 
Peace on earth and mercy mild, 
God and sinners reconciled!

Maybe we are moved, because deep within our hearts is a longing for reconciliation, and George Bailey is discovering the wonder of reconciliation for us all. He has learned to pray; He has learned to trust God and He has found that God has answered his prayers through the love of a community. Everything in George’s life suddenly looks different to him, because of reconciliation. Even the name “Jesus” means, “Jehovah saves” and part of that saving was His becoming the sacrifice for our sins so that when we put our faith in Jesus, then God and sinners just like you and me can be reconciled! Hark the Herald Angels Sing by Charles Wesley and George Whitfield. Music by Felix Mendelssohn 1739

Caligiuri, Peter. A Christmas Treasury: Large Print Edition (pp. 8-10). Kindle Edition.

One Silent Night

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Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Luke 2:8 NKJV

When I was growing up, I hated the rule at our dinner table that said, “Children are to be seen and not heard.” Now, today I realize that it wasn’t that our parents didn’t care about my sister and I, but that they wanted to talk with each other after a long busy day. So, as a young Christian, when I read things in the Bible like, “But the Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before Him.” (Habakkuk 2:20), I just figured that God also was not interested in what His children have to say. But, nothing could be further from the truth! In fact, in the silence of that first Christmas of sleeping sheep and shepherds, God sent them His message of joy. Because of the quiet, they could hear Him tell them that He had sent a Savior, and then that silent night didn’t stay silent for long! Those shepherds hurried to find the baby in the manger and their joyful shouts of praise woke up that whole little town of Bethlehem! Today, you might feel that all God wants is for you to shuffle into church on Sunday, sit silently in the pew and then go home. But the wonderful news is that God cares about every detail of your life. He listens to your heart and cares about your problems. The silence God asks us for is so that we can hear Him calling us to come to Him. He is longing for us to discover that He loves us so much that one day He stood silent before His accusers and then allowed them to nail Him to the cross so that His message of love could be heard around the world!