Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery

Read: Isaiah 55:8-9

Some presents are easy to box up, fitting neatly under the paper or in the gift bag.  Other presents, however, are hard to package due to their unique size or shape.

I was thinking about that reality as I listened to “Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery” by Matt Boswell, Michael Bleecker, and Matt Papa.  This song describes a number of the truths about Jesus that are hard for us to wrap up inside our logical minds.  Just a few of the “mysteries” of Jesus mentioned in this song:

• “The theme of heaven’s praises robed in frail humanity.” – The Son of God being hungry. The Son of God needing a nap.  The Son of God needing His mother’s care. 
• “In His living, in His suffering never trace nor stain of sin.”  – We do not know any person who is without sin . . . yet Jesus was perfect!
• “In the stead of ruined sinners hangs the Lamb in victory.”  – Calling the embarrassment and pain of a public crucifixion a victory seems crazy . . . until we think of what Jesus accomplished through that act  – the salvation of His people!
• “Slain by death the God of life.” – How does the eternal Son of God die?

These realities are rightly called a “wondrous mystery” by the hymn writers.  They also remind us that our brains are not smart enough to wrap up all of who God is in neat and logical packaging.  God is so great that His actions and identity simply are beyond our ability to completely understand.  Rather than throwing out the gift of Jesus because it does not fit neatly in a box, we are encouraged through this song to wonder at it – to embrace it by faith, and draw comfort from the fact that He is truly an awesome God.

Are you having a hard time reconciling God’s actions or identity today?  Does His timing seem off, His plans seem unwise, His identity seem illogical to you?  Rather than throwing Him away, sit in the mystery and worship the One who is greater than you.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the LORD.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery – Matt Boswell

Come behold the wondrous mystery
In the dawning of the King
He the theme of heaven’s praises
Robed in frail humanity
In our longing, in our darkness
Now the light of life has come
Look to Christ, who condescended
Took on flesh to ransom us

Come behold the wondrous mystery
He the perfect Son of Man
In His living, in His suffering
Never trace nor stain of sin
See the true and better Adam
Come to save the hell-bound man
Christ the great and sure fulfillment
Of the law; in Him we stand

Come behold the wondrous mystery
Christ the Lord upon the tree
In the stead of ruined sinners
Hangs the Lamb in victory
See the price of our redemption
See the Father’s plan unfold
Bringing many sons to glory
Grace unmeasured, love untold

Come behold the wondrous mystery
Slain by death the God of life
But no grave could e’er restrain Him
Praise the Lord; He is alive!
What a foretaste of deliverance
How unwavering our hope
Christ in power resurrected
As we will be when he comes

 

To access all 30 days of “The Christmas Carols” devotional in pdf format, click here.

 

To access playlists for all 30 songs and for more information about how to worship with Wildwood Community Church this Christmas season, click here.

 

Born to Die

Read: John 1:18; Mark 10:45; Matthew 16:21-23, 17:22-23, 20:17-19; Romans 5:8

John 1:18 tells us Jesus came to earth so that He might “make known” to us who God is.  In the miracles Jesus worked, we see that God is both powerful and compassionate.  In the sermons Jesus preached, we hear that He is wise and authoritative.  In the interactions with His disciples, we recognize Jesus’ interest in growing us and using us in His work.  Truly, we learn so much about who God is by looking at Jesus’ life.

However, Jesus did not just come to explain God to people . . . He also came to reconcile people to God.  In Mark 10:45 Jesus says, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give His live as a ransom for many.”  By giving His life for the many, Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice on the cross to pay the price necessary to set sinners like you and me free.

The death Jesus died was not a tragic accident, but an intentional plan.  Jesus was not the victim of a vicious plot by Jewish leaders or Roman officials.  If Jesus had wanted to avoid the cross, He could have.  Jesus was capable of slaying His enemies, outsmarting their schemes, and avoiding their pursuit.  But He chose not to do so.  Instead, knowing what lay before Him, He walked directly to Jerusalem to offer His life on the cross (see Matthew 16:21-23, 17:22-23, 20:17-19). 

This reminds us that Jesus was “born to die” as stated in Bebo Norman’s song lyrics.  We cannot rightly understand the birth of Jesus without reflecting on His death on the cross.  As Philippians 2:8 says, “And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”  That is the full extent of the incarnation.

Jesus was born to die.  And His death was a beautiful expression of God’s love for us.  “But God demonstrates His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).  Will we receive His love this Christmas and allow His death to be the ransom to pay the penalty our sins deserve?

Born to Die – Bebo Norman

They never knew a dark night
Always had the Son’s light on their face
Perfect in glory, broken by the story
Of untold grace, come that day

Majesty had come down, glory had succumbed now
To flesh and bone
In the arms of a manger, in the hands of strangers
That could not know, just who they hold

And the angels filled the sky
All of heaven wondered why
Why their King would choose to be
Be a baby born to die

And all fell silent for the cry of an infant
The voice of God
Was dividing history for those with eyes to see
The Son would shine from earth that night

And the angels filled the sky
All of heaven wondered why
Why their King would choose to be
Be a baby born to die, be a baby born to die

To break the chains of guilt and sin
To find us here, to pull us in
So we can join in heaven’s song
And with one voice around the throne

All the angels filled the sky
And I can’t help but wonder why
Why this King would choose to be
Be a baby born for me, be a baby born
Be a baby born to die

 

To access all 30 days of “The Christmas Carols” devotional in pdf format, click here.

 

To access playlists for all 30 songs and for more information about how to worship with Wildwood Community Church this Christmas season, click here.

 

Hallelujah, Light Has Come

Read: John 1:4-5

Have you noticed that our world is dying?

• How many house plants have you seen turn brown?  
• How many of your kids’ gold fish have you had to flush down the toilet?
• How many trees in your yard could not weather the storm?
• How many pets have come and gone?
• How many funerals have you attended?

We live in a world where everyone and everything is dying.  This is one of the impacts of living in a fallen world, and it causes much sorrow on its inhabitants.

Additionally, we live in a broken world:

• What was the life span of your last computer?
• How often do you have to change light bulbs?
• How many roofs have you replaced due to weather damage?

Things once shiny and new are breaking all the time.  Lights that once shown brightly are extinguished with alarming frequency.

But . . . at Christmas time, we celebrate life and not death.  At Christmas time, we celebrate light and not darkness.  Why?  Because of Jesus.

Listen to John 1:4-5: “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”  This verse tells us that Jesus came as a giver of life, not a dispenser of death.  In a world of death, Jesus brings eternal life.  The Bible tells us that one day Jesus will return to the earth again and set up a kingdom that will never end, filled with people who are eternally alive, and inhabiting a world that is protected from decay.  Why?  Because “In Him was life.”

So to all of us living in a dying and broken world, there is good news of great joy this (and every) Christmas season.  Jesus’ birth brought Life and Light into the world.  Faith in Christ is more than a decision to follow a new religion. . . it is a step out of your dying and broken destiny into an eternally living and luminous future.  We have a living and bright future because Jesus will sustain it. That is why we can sing today’s song aloud, “Hallelujah, Light has Come!”

Hallelujah, Light Has Come – Barlowgirl

Heaven sent you to me
All the world’s been praying
Who will save?
But who am I
That here tonight
I hold the one
Who’ll bring us life

Hallelujah, we’ve been found
A child is born to save us now
Hallelujah, light has come
A Savior who will set us free
A Promise for those who believe

Do you hear the Angels
Sing for you my baby
Men and kings have come to
Bow to you
But here in my arms
So close to me
The son of God
Now all can see

Hallelujah, we’ve been found
A child is born to save us now, Jesus
Hallelujah, light has come
A Savior set us free

So praise to God on high
He has heard our cry
So praise to God on high
He has heard our cry

Hallelujah, we’ve been found
Hallelujah, we’ve been found
A child is born to save us now, Jesus
Hallelujah, light has come
A Savior who will set us free
A Promise for those who believe

 

To access all 30 days of “The Christmas Carols” devotional in pdf format, click here.

 

To access playlists for all 30 songs and for more information about how to worship with Wildwood Community Church this Christmas season, click here.

 

This Baby

Read: Luke 2:40-52

As we reflect on the miracle of the incarnation – when Jesus (the Son of God) took on flesh and was born in Bethlehem – it is remarkable to think of the humility it took for the independent and Sovereign God to become a fetus, dependent on an umbilical cord!  But as amazing as that is, it is also wild to imagine the commitment God showed to the incarnation AFTER Jesus’ birth.  He did not simply jump from birth to full grown man . . . No, He grew up in real time, just like any other child.

Jesus had a mother and father, siblings, and friends.  Jesus learned a vocation.  Jesus went through puberty.  The One who walked on water, once had a “first step.”  Jesus was once a middle schooler.  Amazing, right?  Adding some imagination to this notion, Steven Curtis Chapman wrote the song “This Baby” to flesh out the full implications of the 30+ year duration of Jesus’ life.

This notion is confirmed by Luke 2:40, 52, as it says, “And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom.  And the favor of God was upon Him . . . And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.”  Matthew’s and Luke’s Gospels jump from the birth of Jesus to His public ministry.  Mark simply begins with Jesus’ baptism.  The lack of what was written about Jesus’ growing up years should not trick us into thinking that Jesus did not have an adolescent period.  The “Major” was a “minor” at one point.  But why?

Hebrews 4:15-16 explains, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  This verse reminds us that Jesus can fully identify with us in our human experience, and can provide the help we need in every stage of life. 

Take a moment today to listen to Chapman’s “This Baby” and reflect on the full implications of Jesus’ birth .  . . and life.

This Baby – Steven Curtis Chapman

Well, He cried when He was hungry,
Did all the things that babies do;
He rocked and He napped on His mother’s lap,
And He wiggled and giggled and cooed.
There were the cheers when He took His first step,
And the tears when He got His first teeth;
Almost everything about this little baby
Seemed as natural as it could be.

But this baby made the angels sing,
And this baby made a new star shine in the sky.
This baby had come to change the world.
This baby was God’s own son, this baby was like no other one.
This baby was God with us, this baby was Jesus.

And this baby grew into a young boy,
Who learned to read and write and wrestle with dad;
There was the climbin’ of trees and the scrapin’ of knees,
And all the fun that a boy’s born to have.
He grew taller and some things started changing,
Like His complexion and the sound of His voice;
There was work to be done as a carpenter’s son
And all the neighbors said He’s such a fine boy.

But this boy made the angels sing,
And this boy made a new star shine in the sky.
This boy had come to change the world.
This boy was God’s own son, this boy was like no other one.
This boy was God with us. This boy became a man,

And love made Him laugh and death made Him cry.
With the life that He lived and the death that He died,
He showed us heaven with His hands and His heart,
‘Cause this man was God’s own son.
This man was like no other one,
Holy and human right from the start.

This baby was God with us, this baby, this baby was Jesus!

 

To access all 30 days of “The Christmas Carols” devotional in pdf format, click here.

 

To access playlists for all 30 songs and for more information about how to worship with Wildwood Community Church this Christmas season, click here.

 

We Three Kings

Read: Matthew 2:1-12

Most boxed nativity sets include three “wise men” or “magi” which is actually quite surprising.  The Magi were an ancient order of star-gazers from Babylon who made a living interpreting dreams and foretelling the future. By the first century, their reputation had deteriorated toward “snake oil salesmen” who told customers what they wanted to hear in order to make a buck.  Most people did not view them as honorable, and certainly, no one viewed them as godly.

The Magi WERE NOT in the same “box” as Jesus. Their travels to the manger were far both physically and spiritually. Yet in God’s mercy, they arrived due to a carefully constructed divine plan.

• • 1400 years before Jesus’ birth, Balaam issued a prophecy about a star rising for the Messiah.  This led Jews to expect a real star would one day be a sign that Messiah had arrived.
  • 700 years before Jesus’ birth, Micah prophesied the Messiah’s birth in Bethlehem.
  • 600 years before Jesus’ birth, the Jews were conquered by the Babylonians whose foreign policy was to take the best and brightest captives back to Babylon to work for the improvement of their culture.  One such captive was Daniel.  After demonstrating his ability to interpret dreams, Nebuchadnezzar promoted Daniel to overseer of the Magi (Daniel 2:48).  In this position, Daniel would have shared his understanding of Jewish prophecy, which would have then been passed from generation to generation of Magi.

In contrast to the Gentile Magi, the Jewish priests and scribes WERE in the same “box” as Jesus. They were physically just down the road from Bethlehem and spent hours studying scripture, yet they missed the manger.

This Christmas, are you FAR from the Savior?  Do you realize that God has been working since the foundation of the world to get the message of salvation to you?

Or, have you grown up inside the church and NEAR to the Savior?  Do you realize that it is possible to look like you belong, but lack a genuine relationship with Christ?

Whether you are FAR or NEAR, the life of Christ, the preservation of God’s Word, the sending of the Holy Spirit, and the influence of others has served as a “star” to invite you to the manger.  Will you follow the signs God has given and worship Jesus as “King, and God, and sacrifice?”

We Three Kings

We three kings of orient are,
Bearing gifts we traverse afar
Field and fountain, moor and mountain,
Following yonder star.

Oh, star of wonder, star of night,
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide with thy perfect light.

Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain,
Gold I bring to crown him again
King for ever, ceasing never,
Over us all to reign.

Frankincense to offer have I,
Incense owns a Deity nigh
Pray’r and praising, all men raising,
Worship him, God most high.

Myrrh is mine: its bitter perfume,
Breathes a life of gathering gloom
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,
Sealed in the stone-cold tomb.

Glorious now behold Him arise,
King and God and sacrifice;
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Sounds through the earth and skies.

 

To access all 30 days of “The Christmas Carols” devotional in pdf format, click here.

 

To access playlists for all 30 songs and for more information about how to worship with Wildwood Community Church this Christmas season, click here.

 

Go Tell it On the Mountain

Read: John 10:10-11

From a secular, American perspective, Christmas is a marketer’s dreamland.  Beginning in early November, targeted marketing campaigns convince us of the gifts – trinkets, toys, bling, and tech do-dads – that we and our loved ones “need”.  However, at some point the happiness we thought we were buying often turns out to be just a bill of goods.

The first Christmas gift ever given was provided by our Heavenly Father to mankind.  The gift was the baby Jesus, born in Bethlehem, and God launched a “marketing campaign” to announce His arrival.  Angels appeared, advertising the birth of Jesus to certain shepherds and explaining the Good News.  About this same time, God also placed a marquee in the sky, illuminating the way to the Savior for those in the East.  This star would be a cosmic press release announcing His coming to a set of gift-bearing star gazers.

Now, because of our past experiences with marketers, the language used above might seem crude and insincere when applied to God’s announcements.  However, this illustration is important because marketing a product that is actually necessary is not self-serving, but loving. On the night of Christ’s birth, God launched a loving media blitz to remind the people of their need and to illustrate how Jesus was the One who could bring them joy.

Since the needs Christ addresses are not imagined but actual, and since Jesus’ provision delivers all it promises and does not disappoint . . . the marketing of the coming of Christ is a blessed thing!  Can you imagine if scientists discovered the cure for cancer but never told anyone?  That would be crazy!  We would want them to market that cure because its provision is so important and its need so real.  In the same way, the arrival of the Savior of the world is not a truth to keep quiet but one to shout from the mountaintops.

Think about that as you consider what God wants you to do with the good news that the baby in Bethlehem is the One who saves us from our sins.  God wants us to be part of His marketing campaign, spreading the good news to all whom we interact with.  God began this campaign on the first Christmas, and is continuing it through us today. “Go tell it on the mountain!  Jesus Christ is born!”

Go Tell it on the Mountain

Go, tell it on the mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, tell it on the mountain,
That Jesus Christ is born.

While shepherds kept their watching,
O’er silent flocks by night,
Behold, throughout the heavens,
There shone a holy light.

Go, tell it on the mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, tell it on the mountain,
That Jesus Christ is born.

The shepherds feared and trembled,
When lo! above the earth,
Rang out the angel chorus,
That hailed the Savior’s birth.

Go, tell it on the mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, tell it on the mountain,
That Jesus Christ is born.

Down in a lowly manger,
The humble Christ was born,
And God sent us salvation,
That blessed Christmas morn.

Go, tell it on the mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, tell it on the mountain,
That Jesus Christ is born.

 

To access all 30 days of “The Christmas Carols” devotional in pdf format, click here.

 

To access playlists for all 30 songs and for more information about how to worship with Wildwood Community Church this Christmas season, click here.

 

O Holy Night

Read: Philippians 1:15-18; Mark 9:38-40

In 1847, a French Catholic Priest commissioned a Christmas poem from local winemaker Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure who penned the words to “O Holy Night.”  Cappeau believed these verses would do well set to music and approached noted composer Adolphe-Charles Adam.  The finished product was first sung at Christmas Eve Mass in 1847 and quickly became popular throughout France. However, when Cappeau left the Catholic Church to become a socialist, and when it was discovered that Adam was actually Jewish and did not believe Jesus was the Son of God, the church banned the song.

The song may have never reappeared had it not been for American John Sullivan Dwight, an abolitionist, who held a special affinity for the verse that says of Jesus, “Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother, and in His name all oppression shall cease.”  He translated the song into English and on the verge of the United States Civil War, introduced the song to American churches where it gained quick acceptance in the North due to its anti-slavery message.  The song then exploded in popularity around the world!

This reminds me of Philippians 1:15-18 and Mark 9:38-40 which show that God does not use perfect people to accomplish His plans.  In fact, He does not always even use believing people to accomplish His plans. God can call forth praise for Himself from any vessel He chooses.  In the case of “O Holy Night,” God used a Socialist French poet and a Jewish composer to inspire praise and worship among His people.  Now THAT is sovereignty.  If you are a believer in Christ rejoice as you hear “O Holy Night, “ knowing God’s gracious intentions of using fallen people to accomplish His grandest plans.

One last note . . . in 1906,  Chemist Reginald Fessenden (working with Thomas Edison) turned on a microphone on Christmas Eve, read from Luke 2, then picked up his violin and played “O Holy Night.”  This was the first broadcast of music over the new technology of radio.  Telegraph operators on ships and in newspaper offices around the country, instead of hearing their usual codes of clicks and pops, heard clearly the words of the Bible and the beautiful tune of Cappeau and Adam.

O Holy Night

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here came the wise men from Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our friend!

Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His Name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy Name!

Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!

 

To access all 30 days of “The Christmas Carols” devotional in pdf format, click here.

 

To access playlists for all 30 songs and for more information about how to worship with Wildwood Community Church this Christmas season, click here.

 

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Read: John 4:19-24

When the story of 18th century western church history is told, there are three names that simply must be included:  John and Charles Wesley and George Whitfield.  Growing up within the Church of England, these three men each came to a genuine faith in Christ later in life.  After their conversions, these men followed Christ in a radical way, spreading the knowledge of Christ to the common people.  These three men were some of the early fathers of American Evangelicalism because they had an interest in taking the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people wherever they were.  Instead of staying inside large stone cathedrals, these men took to the open air, holding outdoor revival meetings and church services where thousands were in attendance.  In a day before microphones and high tech audio/visual equipment, Whitfield alone preached to as many as 30,000 people in one audience!

Given their common threads, it is not a surprise that these men were friends and had a great deal of respect for each other’s ministry, even though they had some theological differences.  Charles Wesley wrote over 7,500 hymns in his lifetime.  Some of these hymns were incorporated into Whitfield’s open air revival meetings.  One of Wesley’s hymns that Whitfield used was a hymn Wesley titled, “Hark, How the Welkin Rings!”  (The word “welkin” means “vault of heavens”.)  This song had the same tune as another famous Wesley hymn, “Christ the Lord is Risen Today!”  Whitfield loved the song, but did not care for the opening line.  He changed the opening line to further connect this song with the birth of Christ.  His new first line was the now famous, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing!”  Whitfield made this change, but never asked his friend Wesley for permission to do so.  This outraged Wesley.  Even after Whitfield’s version grew in popularity and became very well know, Wesley refused to acknowledge or sing the Whitfield abridged version of his song.  Can you imagine that?  The author of one of the most famous Christmas songs ever written never sang it!  About 100 years later the tune was changed to the current form by Felix Mendelsson.

What are your Christmas traditions?  What do you do every year at Christmas time that you would be very upset if it changed?  For some it is the day and time that presents are opened.  For others it is the songs that you “should sing” in church or on Christmas Eve.  For others it is a particular service (and time) that must be attended or a particular passage of Scripture that must be the text for that service.  Whatever it is, there are somethings that just “have to happen” in order for it to be Christmas for you.  What happens if your form changes?  What happens if you open presents on Christmas day instead of Christmas Eve?  What happens if you sing “Manger Throne” instead of “Silent Night”?  What happens if the “wrong passage” is preached at the Christmas service?  If these changes happen, will you refuse to sing?

May we learn something from Wesley’s folly.  May we learn that most of the traditions we embrace today have evolved over time.  Santa Claus has not always been at the mall, Candles weren’t always a part of Christmas Eve services, and at one time, it was the “Welkin,” not the “Herald Angels” that were ringing/singing.  At one time, maybe the greatest Christmas hymn in existence today sounded like an Easter song to our modern ear.  The key is not the form, but the spirit behind it.  Whitfield and Mendelssohn improved Wesley’s hymn.  Is it possible that God might be using some of the changes in your Christmas worship celebrations to increase your soul’s rejoicing this season?  Don’t refuse to sing.  Join the angel chorus and worship Christ the new born King!

Hark, How All the Welkin Rings! – Wesley

“Hark, how all the welkin rings,
“Glory to the King of kings;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
Universal nature say,
“Christ the Lord is born to-day!”

Christ, by highest Heaven ador’d,
Christ, the everlasting Lord:
Late in time behold him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb!
Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see,
Hail the incarnate deity!
Pleased as man with men to appear,
Jesus, our Immanuel here!

Hail, the heavenly Prince of Peace!
Hail, the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings
Risen with healing in his wings.
Mild He lays his glory by,
Born that man no more may die;
Born to raise the sons of earth;
Born to give them second birth.

Come, Desire of nations, come,
Fix in us thy humble home;
Rise, the woman’s conquering seed,
Bruise in us the serpent’s head.
Now display thy saving power,
Ruined nature now restore;
Now in mystic union join
Thine to ours, and ours to thine.

Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface;
Stamp Thy image in its place.
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in thy love.
Let us Thee, though lost, regain,
Thee, the life, the inner Man:
O! to all thyself impart,
Form’d in each believing heart.”

Hark, The Herald Angels Sing! – Whitefield

“Hark, the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the new born King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With the angelic host proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”

Christ, by highest Heaven ador’d,
Christ, the everlasting Lord:
Late in time behold him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb!
Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see,
Hail the incarnate deity!
Pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.

Hail, the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail, the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Risen with healing in his wings.
Mild He lays his glory by,
Born that men no more may die;
Born to raise us from the earth;
Born to give us second birth.

Come, Desire of nations, come,
Fix in us thy heavenly home;
Rise, the woman’s conquering seed,
Bruise in us the serpent’s head.
Adam’s likeness now efface;
Stamp Thy image in its place.
Second Adam from above,
Work it in us by thy love.

 

To access all 30 days of “The Christmas Carols” devotional in pdf format, click here.

 

To access playlists for all 30 songs and for more information about how to worship with Wildwood Community Church this Christmas season, click here.

 

Angels We Have Heard on High

Read: Luke 2:8-16; 1 Peter 1:8-9

On that first Christmas night, the shepherds could not have imagined the sight they were about to behold.  Angels appeared in the sky, singing “Gloria in excelsis Deo” and instructing the shepherds to go to Bethlehem and see the baby who was the Savior of the world.

Imagine the shepherds’ conversation on the way.  “What will He look like?  What does this mean?  Did everyone get this same announcement? How long will we wait in line?” 

Upon arriving, I am sure the shepherds were scratching their heads.  There was no line of government and religious dignitaries. The stable smelled of animals, not temple incense.  No halo circled the baby’s head. Given the disparity between what they saw and what they expected, the shepherds were being asked to take God at His Word.

It is tempting to think that if everyone could see what the shepherds saw then everyone would believe that Jesus is the Savior.  The reality, though, is that it took LOTS OF FAITH for the shepherds to believe.  In fact, they lacked many of the benefits we have today.

When the shepherds saw Jesus in Bethlehem, they had never heard Jesus preach or seen Him work miracles. They had never imagined the cross or conceived of the empty tomb.  They were asked to take God at His Word (through the angels) and trust Him. Today, we have records of Jesus’ preaching, miracles, death and resurrection.  We have the testimony of 2,000 years of Church history and corroborating evidence of ancient historians.  We are asked to take God at His Word (through the Bible) and trust Him.

Like us, first generation Christians had the testimony of eye-witnesses and Scripture, but had not physically seen Jesus.  The Apostle Peter celebrates such faith! (1 Peter 1:8-9) Furthermore, when we believe in Jesus based on what we know (but have not seen), we reap the same benefits as His first followers, “an inexpressible joy” and “the salvation of our souls.”

At first glance, it appears we have little in common with the shepherds, but we actually share the same invitation — to embrace by faith that the child born in Bethlehem is Christ the Lord.  Will you believe in Him based on what you know, trusting Him with things that are harder to understand?  If so, then joy and salvation await. 

Angels We Have Heard on High

Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o’er the plains
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains
Gloria, in excelsis Deo
Gloria, in excelsis Deo

Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be
Which inspire your heavenly song?
Gloria, in excelsis Deo
Gloria, in excelsis Deo

Come to Bethlehem and see
Him whose birth the angels sing,
Come, adore on bended knee,
Christ the Lord, the newborn King.
Gloria, in excelsis Deo
Gloria, in excelsis Deo

See Him in a manger laid,
Whom the choirs of angels praise;
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,
While our hearts in one we raise
Gloria, in excelsis Deo
Gloria, in excelsis Deo

 

To access all 30 days of “The Christmas Carols” devotional in pdf format, click here.

 

To access playlists for all 30 songs and for more information about how to worship with Wildwood Community Church this Christmas season, click here.

 

It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

Read: Luke 2:14; Isaiah 9:1-7

Some songs are as powerful today as they were when they were written hundreds of years ago.  Great music transports us to a place beyond time, where lyrics and melodies can speak to many generations at once.  However, because of music’s timeless quality, we may forget that songs are written inside of time.  The setting and context into which a hymn is composed often provides insight into the meaning of the lyrics.  

“It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” was written in 1849 by a pastor from Massachusetts, Edmund Sears, as he reflected on the tensions rising around him.  The United States was just twelve years from the Civil War, and trouble was already brewing.  Out of this context, Sears drew comfort from the words the angels spoke to the shepherds on the night of Jesus birth, declaring “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests (Luke 2:14).”  In the dark of night, a new light shone that would provide peace for the people on the earth.  This song begins 2,000 years ago with the angels, “bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold.”  It continues to talk about the contemporary experience of mankind who are “beneath life’s crushing load, whose forms are bending low.”  The song climaxes with a look at the future where “the whole world sends back the song which now the angels sing.”  In other words, the promise of the angels of peace on earth will ultimately be fulfilled when Christ returns.

Think of all the wars that have been fought all over the world since the time of Christ’s birth in Bethlehem.  The earth has hardly been a peaceful place for the last two millennia.  However, the promise of the angels will ultimately be fulfilled.  Upon Christ’s second coming, peace will fill the earth for those who trust in Him.  We look forward to that day . . . and we sing.  May the latest conflicts in Israel and Ukraine not obscure the reality that the Prince of Peace will one day reign, and earthly armies will forever rest. Sing “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” as a cry for peace this year.

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth,
To touch their harps of gold;
“Peace on the earth, good will to men,
From Heav’n’s all-gracious King.”
The world in solemn stillness lay,
To hear the angels sing.

Still through the cloven skies they come
With peaceful wings unfurled,
And still their heav’nly music floats,
O’er all the weary world;
Above its sad and lowly plains,
They bend on hov’ring wing,
And ever o’er its Babel sounds,
The blessed angels sing.

Yet with the woes of sin and strife,
The world has suffered long;
Beneath the angel strain have rolled,
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not,
The love-song which they bring;
Oh, hush the noise, ye men of strife,
And hear the angels sing.

And ye, beneath life’s crushing load,
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way,
With painful steps and slow,
Look now! for glad and golden hours,
Come swiftly on the wing,
Oh, rest beside the weary road,
And hear the angels sing!

For lo! the days are hast’ning on,
By prophet seen of old,
When with the ever-circling years,
Shall come the time foretold,
When Christ shall come and all shall own,
The Prince of Peace, their King,
And saints shall meet Him in the air, And with the angels sing.

 

To access all 30 days of “The Christmas Carols” devotional in pdf format, click here.

 

To access playlists for all 30 songs and for more information about how to worship with Wildwood Community Church this Christmas season, click here.