Tag Archives: God

“O Holy Night” ~ the gospel story

O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!

His power and glory ever more proclaim!

My favorite Christmas hymn, “O Holy Night.”  This song stills my holiday pace as I listen to the words that bring me joy and hope and a future promise.  This Christmas hymn directs my attention and helps me to focus on the true meaning of my life with Christ and in Christ.  The song is the gospel message.

Are you weary?  Do you feel alone and as if life is a trial and your journey confronts you with cliffs and chasms?  Sometimes there may be days that seem insurmountable and impossible and you wonder can I go on?  How do I do this?  How will I climb this cliff or travel that valley?  I have no energy left and I have no idea or direction in how to proceed . . .

Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

“Long lay the world in sin and error pining.”  Sin is defined as missing the mark.  Our earthly father, Adam, did indeed miss the mark by choosing to disregard God’s one restriction, to not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  (Gen. 2:15-17)  But the fruit was more than Adam could resist and by missing the mark in partaking of this fruit, Adam’s sin resulted in all of mankind being separated from God (Is. 64:7), the world was left to endure in darkness and  painful suffering. (Ro.  8:20-22)

But Christ appeared!  A renewed hope came to the weary world and the curse of Adam was redeemed by the gift of the coming of this babe.  (Ro. 5:17)  Yes, dawn broke into a new and glorious morn for all of mankind!  The curse of sin was broken and though all of us inherit Adam’s nature, we need not be a slave to this sinful nature, we have a saving grace through the redemption that came by this baby, Christ Jesus.  (Ro. 3:22-24)

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.

“His law is love and His gospel is peace.”  Christ was born and at the end of His earthly ministry He spoke saying, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”  (Jn. 15:12-13)  But not only did He command this, He exemplified this by the laying down of His life through death on a cross (I Jn. 3:16); He did this because He loved us and through His death He reconciled us to God (Ro. 5:10-11).

And because of Christ reconciling us to God, we have peace.  We have a perfect, eternal peace (Jn. 14:27, 16:33).  A peace that  transcends all our human understanding.  (Phil. 4:7)

Now each Christmas season I am reminded of a time in which I had no peace; I was scared and afraid.  You would think after having a rare cancer and surviving an aggressive treatment and being cancer free that I would have a joy that knew no bounds, grateful and living life to the full.  But I found myself fearful and unsure and sinking into a deep depression.

I felt alone in my suffering.  I know about trials and I know about cliffs and chasms.  I know about insurmountable and impossible and I know what it feels like to wonder if I could go on.  I had no energy left and I had no idea or direction; I was a lost soul.

Three years ago . . . I remember so well.  We were at church and the pastor asked a man in the congregation to come forward to sing “O Holy Night” accompanied by the piano.  The sanctuary was darkened, he began to play.  Listening to the song I loved so much, the words to the hymn broke the dam to the reservoir that held my unknown, frightened self.  As a torrent of tears ran down my cheeks I cried for what I thought could never be again, a carefree life.  God heard my cry and wiped my tears.  And the words brought a hope that was lost to me.

The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,

“He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger.”  This King knew my weakness.  This King who is called “King of kings” (I Tim. 6:15) knows our weakness and He knows our trials.  For He, Himself shared in our same weakness (Heb.  5:2) and our same trials (I Pet. 4:12-13); He came to earth just as you and I did and in His humanity He empathizes with us and remains compassionate to our frailties.  That Sunday morn, Christ knew my frailties and in His empathetic compassion He renewed my hope and gave me a direction and helped me to scale my insurmountable cliff.

Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!

A Merry and Blessed Christmas to you!

Which prayer? II Chronicles 7:14 or Revelation 22:20? I say Maranatha!

Yesterday, November 6th, a saint received his reward.  As a citizen of heaven, Pastor Bob Jennings passed from this life and moved into his eternal “home.”

I was notified of his passing as I was watching the results to our country’s election.  I was sinking deeper and deeper into the realization my favored candidate was not going to win the presidency.  I thought to myself, “Bob has gone to a better place.  He has changed citizenship and now lives in the ultimate country.”  I envied him.

I kept a few of his posts for this day.  One post in particular brought great comfort to me last night.  It is not about how to pray for our country or this election; he wrote it to explain the two types of prayer in the context of his cancer.

“Over the past two years, some have urged me to pray 1) importunately, that is, to pray to God desperately and persistently.  Some have urged that I pray 2) resignedly, that is, very simply to leave my state of affliction with God and resign.  What do the scriptures say?  We find both.  I have done both.  I know those who have counseled me would agree to both.”

This last year the religious community rose up and prayed earnestly for our country and the outcome of our presidential election.  I sensed from the urgent plea issued by the Evangelical community as well as the Protestant, Catholic and LDS communities, in order to turn our country back to our founding fathers’ original intent and design, we must pray II Chronicles 7:14 and pray with faith expecting God to answer His promise.

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Personally, I had a hard time “claiming” this verse for the United States of America.  This verse was spoken to Israel, God’s chosen people.  I felt it a little narcissistic believing this was a promise spoken to any other country other than Israel.  It might be a principle in how to pray but certainly not a promise for God to fulfill concerning the USA.

My conflict with this verse is based on the Apostle John’s plea found in Revelation, the second to the last verse closing the Bible and ending the earth as we know it.  Apostle John writes, “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.‘  Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus.”  (Rev. 22:20)

So my conundrum was what to pray?  The way of the religious community or to pray for the return of the Lord Jesus?  Both prayers are correct; the first is a principle and the second is a plea.

Don’t get me wrong, I am very thankful I live in this free country of ours and we, the people of the United States, have the liberty of  freedom of speech and a democracy in which to vote.  But I do believe as Christians we can place our hope (and peace) in these rights rather than in our God and I am reminded all too often in the Old and New Testaments of  the Bible that God is God, He is the beginning and the end, the great I AM.  God is God and to Him “nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales . . .”  (Is. 40:15 – for that matter, read ALL of Isaiah 40, it is very comforting and reassuring!)  God has a much bigger plan in mind than establishing the United States as the greatest country in the world.

Do I pray for our nation or do I pray for the return of the Lord Jesus?

Utmost, I will pray for the return of  the “Alpha and Omega, the First and Last, the Beginning and the End . . . the Root of David, and the bright Morning Star.”  (Rev. 22:12, 16)  Second, I am instructed to submit to the rulers God has instituted over me.  (Ro. 13:1, Tit. 3:1, I Pet. 2:17)  And in submitting to my government, I will pray for my government; I will pray for my government always remembering that, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.”  (Pro. 21:1)

So as Pastor Bob wrote, I will pray importunately and resignedly regarding Christ’s return to earth, Maranatha!, the future of our country and the unfolding events in the world.
 

Which Prayer?

The doctors had given me one or two days, and it has now been 14, by the great mercy of God, as it is written, “Great are Your mercies, O Lord; revive me according to Your ordinances,” Psalm 119:156.  But the songwriter says, “Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day.”  I must now use a walker, and barely can use that.  I am glad to have the Lord, Shepherd, Savior, Friend, Redeemer.

Over the past two years, some have urged me to pray 1) importunately, that is, to pray to God desperately and persistently.  Some have urged that I pray 2) resignedly, that is, very simply to leave my state of affliction with God and resign.  What do the scriptures say?  We find both.  I have done both.  I know those who have counseled me would agree to both.

Importunate prayer:

  • Jacob:  Jacob wrestled with God, “I will not let you go unless you bless me,”  Genesis 32:26.  He got the blessing.  Why?   Persistence.
  • Moses:  Moses broke all theology.  God told him, “Let Me alone…that I may destroy them.”  But Moses entreated the Lord anyway and the Lord “changed His mind,” Exodus 32:11-14.  Why?   Moses’ persistence.
  • King Joash:  Joash was reproved by the prophet for not striking the arrows to the ground more, as it is written, “So the man of God was angry with him and said, ‘You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Aram until you would have destroyed it. But now you shall strike Aram only three times,’” 2 Kings 13:19.  He did not push it hard enough.
  • Bartimaus: Everyone told blind Bartimaus to be quiet.  But he “cried out all the more,” Matthew 20:31.  He was healed.  Why?   Persistence.
  • Hemorrhaged woman:  A woman with a hemorrhage broke through the opposition and got in touch with the Lord, as it is written, “After hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak,” Mark 5:27.  How?   Persistence.
  • Canaanite woman:  This courageous woman prevailed and received demonic deliverance for her daughter after 1) silence from Christ, 2) after the disciples’ displeasure, and 3) after being called (in effect) a goat and a dog by the Lord.  How?   Persistence.
  • The widow:  This woman got what she wanted even though the judge was unjust, Luke 18:1f.  How?   Persistence.
  • The friend:  He got bread loaned to him from a friend for a friend, not because of the friendship, but “because of his persistence,” Luke 11:8.
  • Your faith:  The Lord Jesus gave the centurion these amazing words, “It shall be done to you according to your faith,” Matthew 9:29.

Resigned prayer:

  • Paul:  “Concerning this (thorn in the flesh, a demon, an angel of Satan) I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me,” 2 Corinthians 12:8.  Paul was denied, but given compensating grace.  He was “well content.”
  • Paul:  He was “hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart.”  But he was content to remain and serve the saints, Philippians 1:23f.
  • The Lord Jesus:  After strong cryings and tears to escape the cup, Hebrews 5:7, yet He resigned with these famous words, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will,” Matthew 26:39.

Ultimately we must rest right there, knowing that we are God’s property, bought with a price, and our times are in His hand, Psalm 31:15.  Anything further and we would lose our mind trying to twist God’s arm and wondering if, if, if we’d only done more what could have been.  And the Spirit of God is a promised helper, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, Romans 8:26.  My love, Bob J.

Rest, Pastor Bob,  for you are now where your heart desired to be!