Silent Night

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!

My Christmas Favorites – You will never hear on the radio

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Some of you who follow me know that I am a big fan of both the music and testimony of the Mullett Family. There is a simplicity and honesty about this video that makes me think a lot more about the real Jesus on the real Christmas than slick professional productions. I hope you are blessed with their rendition of the carol of all carols, “Silent Night.”

The second song in this play list may be a carol you have never heard, but it is hardly new. Most famously sung by Selah, it was written by Lowell Alexander in 1992. Though I have listened to this many times, I still shed a few tears each time I listen. I love singing this too, though I will not inflict my version of this stunningly beautiful melody and lyrics. I hope it touches you also and will draw you closer to Jesus.

I have a few more I can’t wait to share tomorrow, but I would love even more to know some little known artists or songs that have touched your heart over the years.

Silent Night and Communion at Nursing Home

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We had a wonderful time at Watermark Assisted Living yesterday afternoon. If you are interested at how we put things together for the nursing home outreach, I will be posting a few more of the videos of our caroling over at Walking With Lambs later on today. We had folks come from not only the assisted living, but also memory care and independent living. It was an especially touching experience, and I so appreciated all the new volunteers who showed up to make this possible (even Mr. and Mrs. Santa along with their granddaughter elf!)

In today’s crazy world, we need to rest in Jesus Christ, trusting that no matter what is going on, that in His presence there can still be a silent and holy night. We can still find the baby lying in a manger and we must still treasure those moments in our hearts.  

And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. Luke 2:16-19 ESV