Come on ring those bells! wait. I have a different song in mind.
Tomorrow marks the first Sunday of Advent season for 2017. Advent means "coming" in Latin. It is the period of four Sundays and weeks before Christmas and in this season, we Christians preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus. In church there is a reading from the bible and a candle is lit to honor the process of preparing for the holiday of Jesus' birth. We sing traditional Christmas carols and songs and we admire the festive decorations and we honor Him. This is a beautiful season for me. I love the traditions, the respect and the beauty of the holiday. I love Christmas.
My children are having a hard time coming up with some gift ideas. We don't go crazy with gift-giving but we do give gifts. Tonight Isaac said, "I have everything I need. I am happy. There is really nothing I need to ask for." What a beautiful thing for a 15 year old American kid to say. His needs are met. I asked Josiah's half brother what he wanted for Christmas recently. He didn't want any toys or things either. He just wanted to be in a family. There are children in this country and around the world today who only want to be claimed by a family for Christmas. Imagine it.
I lean in every year at the beginning of the Advent season, wondering which song God will highlight for me. I listen to the radio a lot as I drive around the county for work and taxi my children. Every year, He shows me a song with new meaning for me.....and a new lesson each Advent season, too.
This past week I heard a song that may be "the one" for me this year. The contemporary version is by Casting Crowns. It's called I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. The bells are ringing Peace On Earth.....Goodwill to Men. In despair I bowed my head. There is no peace on Earth I said. For hate is strong and marks the song of peace on Earth goodwill to men.....but the bells are ringing Peace On Earth....like choir singing...does anybody hear them.....then ring the bells more loud and deep God is not dead nor doth He sleep. The wrong shall fail the right prevail....Peace on Earth Goodwill to Men.....
This song....these words.....the prayer for Peace on Earth and Good Will to (men) all......this is my Advent worship. God is not dead nor doth He sleep is my inspiration to get up every day and walk out the work to be done.....God is alive and with us, Emmanuel, and He came to earth as a baby and grew up as a human so that he could understand what it feels like to live on Earth. We live in hard times, friends. The world is.....hard. Sin is hard. Suffering is real. ( Even in my precious home where no one needs anything this year for Christmas. ) For me this year, I will cling to the words that the wrong shall fail and the right prevail and there will one day be peace on Earth and Good will toward men.
I look forward to the day Jesus returns in His Glory and Power and Majesty to defeat satan and rule and reign over all the Earth forever and ever and ever. Come Lord Jesus. The sooner the better.
In the meantime....there is so much work to do. There are people who do not yet know about Jesus and how He came to earth to live and to die so that all may be saved. There are children who are fatherless, and without families. There are people who are being oppressed and abused and they need Christians to step up and get out of their comfortable recliners and card clubs and coffee dates and do something. Lets stop keeping track of how many nice and wonderful people we know and maybe start to be nice and wonderful to people who have no one.
God already knows about Peace on Earth....but do we? Will we? Lets ring the bells, shall we?
My children are having a hard time coming up with some gift ideas. We don't go crazy with gift-giving but we do give gifts. Tonight Isaac said, "I have everything I need. I am happy. There is really nothing I need to ask for." What a beautiful thing for a 15 year old American kid to say. His needs are met. I asked Josiah's half brother what he wanted for Christmas recently. He didn't want any toys or things either. He just wanted to be in a family. There are children in this country and around the world today who only want to be claimed by a family for Christmas. Imagine it.
I lean in every year at the beginning of the Advent season, wondering which song God will highlight for me. I listen to the radio a lot as I drive around the county for work and taxi my children. Every year, He shows me a song with new meaning for me.....and a new lesson each Advent season, too.
This past week I heard a song that may be "the one" for me this year. The contemporary version is by Casting Crowns. It's called I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. The bells are ringing Peace On Earth.....Goodwill to Men. In despair I bowed my head. There is no peace on Earth I said. For hate is strong and marks the song of peace on Earth goodwill to men.....but the bells are ringing Peace On Earth....like choir singing...does anybody hear them.....then ring the bells more loud and deep God is not dead nor doth He sleep. The wrong shall fail the right prevail....Peace on Earth Goodwill to Men.....
This song....these words.....the prayer for Peace on Earth and Good Will to (men) all......this is my Advent worship. God is not dead nor doth He sleep is my inspiration to get up every day and walk out the work to be done.....God is alive and with us, Emmanuel, and He came to earth as a baby and grew up as a human so that he could understand what it feels like to live on Earth. We live in hard times, friends. The world is.....hard. Sin is hard. Suffering is real. ( Even in my precious home where no one needs anything this year for Christmas. ) For me this year, I will cling to the words that the wrong shall fail and the right prevail and there will one day be peace on Earth and Good will toward men.
I look forward to the day Jesus returns in His Glory and Power and Majesty to defeat satan and rule and reign over all the Earth forever and ever and ever. Come Lord Jesus. The sooner the better.
In the meantime....there is so much work to do. There are people who do not yet know about Jesus and how He came to earth to live and to die so that all may be saved. There are children who are fatherless, and without families. There are people who are being oppressed and abused and they need Christians to step up and get out of their comfortable recliners and card clubs and coffee dates and do something. Lets stop keeping track of how many nice and wonderful people we know and maybe start to be nice and wonderful to people who have no one.
God already knows about Peace on Earth....but do we? Will we? Lets ring the bells, shall we?
Comments
Post a Comment