Strange Way to Save the World

Read: Matthew 1:18-25

For good reasons, Mary the mother of Jesus gets much attention in the Christmas story.  After all, the Gospel of Luke gives a number of details (throughout Luke 1-2) about Mary’s experiences while Jesus was in the womb and at His birth.  Further, it seems as though Joseph died by the time Jesus’ public ministry took off, while Mary lived on. Yet, it is important for us to think through Joseph’s experience in the story, for it is a remarkable testament to faith and faithfulness.

Matthew 1:18-25 relays Joseph’s experience during the time Jesus was inside Mary’s womb.  Joseph and Mary were betrothed, but not yet married.  This meant that they had made the commitment to spend the rest of their lives together, but they had not yet begun to live together and sleep together.  Two days ago, we looked at Mary’s experience from Luke 1 as God announced through an angel that Mary would be pregnant even though she was a virgin, and would have a Son who would be the Messiah.  This was HUGE news, and certainly difficult to believe for anyone who was not speaking with angels!  And at first, Joseph was NOT talking to angels.  God first brought the news to Mary before sharing it with Joseph.  So, with Mary pregnant, and Joseph looking only to natural explanations for this situation, Joseph decided to divorce Mary quietly – probably so she could then marry whomever was the child’s father.

But it was not God’s will that Joseph leave Mary.  Therefore, an Angel intervened and informed Joseph that Mary’s child was indeed supernatural, and that Mary was telling the truth that the Baby was the Messiah. 

In “Strange Way to Save the World,” we get to be a fly on the wall of Joseph’s room as he prays aloud, processing the news of Mary’s pregnancy and the Angel’s visit.  This fictional conversation is probably not far from what Joseph must have been thinking that night after the Angel came. 

As we listen to this song, may we ponder the things about God that don’t make sense to us.  Things we might wish to “dismiss quietly” instead of receiving as true.  Let this song remind us that though God’s ways are sometimes “strange” to us, there is salvation and blessing in God’s plans in this world.

Strange Way to Save the World

I’m sure he must have been surprised
At where this road had taken him
Cause never in a million lives
Would he have dreamed of Bethlehem

And standing at the manger
He saw with his own eyes
The message from the angel come to life
And Joseph said

Why me, I’m just a simple man of trade
Why Him with all the rulers in the world
Why here inside this stable filled with hay
Why her, she’s just an ordinary girl
Now I’m not one to second guess
What angels have to say
But this is such a strange way to save the World

To think of how it could have been
If Jesus had come as He deserved
There would have been no Bethlehem
No lowly shepherds at His birth

But Joseph knew the reason
Love had to reach so far
And as he held the Savior in his arms
He must have thought

Why me, I’m just a simple man of trade
Why Him with all the rulers in the world
Why here inside this stable filled with hay
Why her, she’s just an ordinary girl
Now I’m not one to second guess
What angels have to say
But this is such a strange way to save the world

Now, I’m not one to second guess
What angels have to say
But this is such a strange way to save the world
Such a strange way to save the world

 

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.

 

Mary Did You Know?

Read: Luke 1:26-38

In 1991, Buddy Greene and Mark Lowry wrote a Christmas song that has become a contemporary “classic.”  In its short history, this tune has been recorded by multiple artists and sung in many church services. 

The song asks a simple rhetorical question:  Mary, did you know who your Son was?  The question is expanded throughout the lyrics, citing both the salvation Jesus would bring and the miracles He would work.  Did Mary know while holding Him in Bethlehem’s barn who Jesus really was?

The question shines a spotlight on the paradox of the Sovereign God becoming a dependent baby.  But for all the song’s popularity and beauty, is it accurate?  Did Mary know?  If so, what did Mary know?

Mary certainly knew that Jesus was not a normal baby.  In Luke 1:26-38, Mary discovers she is pregnant through a conversation with the angel Gabriel.  During this exchange, she would come to know:

• She had found favor with God (1:28-30)
• She was pregnant with a Son, even though she was a virgin (1:31)
• Her Son would be the Son of God (1:32a, 35)
• Her Son would be the promised Messiah (1:32b)
• Her Son’s Kingdom would know no end (1:33)

For nine months Mary carried Jesus with the words of the Angel reverberating in her ears and heart.  Then, when Jesus was born, angels, shepherds, and Magi remind Mary of the supernatural nature of her Son.  As He grew, she continued to understand Jesus’ uniqueness.  She even had an expectation that He could do miracles like turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana. So, based on these verses, did Mary know?  Yes, I think she did.

However, Mary was still human.  At one point, she and Jesus’ half brothers openly questioned His methods (Matthew 12:46-50).  After Jesus’ crucifixion, Mary was not outside the tomb expecting to see the stone rolled away.  She, like the other disciples, thought the Dream died on the cross.  So Mary knew, but she didn’t fully understand.

The question asked in this song reminds us that we can KNOW a truth about God yet still have questions.  Allow this tension to be an encouragement in areas of your life where you know, but in another sense don’t fully understand. 

Mary Did You Know?

Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water?
Mary did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered, will soon deliver you

Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God

Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know?
Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know?

The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dead will live again
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect lamb?
That sleeping child you’re holding is the great I am

Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know?
Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know?
Oh Mary did you know?

 

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.

 

Manger Throne

Read: Hebrews 4:15; Romans 5:8

I love our house at Christmas.  Meaningful decorations fill each room, including three nativities. One set is a Willow Tree nativity.  The faceless characters with long carved bodies evoke emotion like an impressionist painting.  A second is a Precious Moments nativity, a childhood gift to my wife from her parents . . . a different piece every year.  Because of that history, this set is a yearly reminder of the “good deposit” my wife’s family made in teaching her about Jesus. The third set is a Fisher-Price Little People nativity that we acquired when our son was a toddler.  It allowed him to play with the pieces while learning the Christmas story. Shortly after receiving this nativity, he relayed his version of the story using the figurines.  The angel came to Mary’s house and said, “Good news about Jesus.  He came to take away our badness.” Then the angel tackled Mary.

Despite the differences among these nativities, there is one striking similarity.  They all have baby Jesus asleep in a trough of hay.  Each year, I am awestruck again that the God of the universe would humble Himself to THAT extent.  The independent God coming as a dependent baby.  The One who sits at the Father’s right hand, lying in fodder.  It seems so drastic . . . and so odd.  Yet, there is a plan.  Jesus comes as a baby to fully identify with our experience (Hebrews 4:15).  Jesus comes in a mortal body to die to bring immortality to His people (Romans 5:8).

In the Old Testament, God’s presence hovered over the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies, a place of grandeur and formality  Because of this, it is surprising to find the Savior in the manger.  Perhaps Jesus was born in the stall to announce that the presence of God would no longer reside behind a curtain.  The Spirit of God was moving from a grand room that few would ever see, to a public location where lowly shepherds and foreigners could visit.  This move sets the stage for the Spirit of God taking up residence in the hearts and lives of believers today.  The same God who lay in the manger, now resides within us!

This awesome truth is spoken of in “Manger Throne” (by Third Day et al).  May we be reminded ”Our heart is a home for God’s own Son!”

Manger Throne

What kind of King would leave His throne
In Heaven to make this earth His home?
While men seek fame and great renown
In loneliness our King comes down

Jesus, Jesus, precious One
How we thank You that You’ve come
Jesus, Jesus, precious One
A manger throne for God’s own Son

You left the sound of angels’ praise
To come for men with unkind ways
And by this Baby’s helplessness
The power of nations is laid to rest

What kind of King would come so small
From glory to a humble stall?
That dirty manger is my heart, too
I’ll make it a royal throne for You

My heart is a throne
My heart is a throne for God’s own Son

 

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.

 

Anthem for Christmas

Read: John 1:1-4

Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem marked the beginning of many things, most notably the beginning of HIs earthly life.  However, Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem was not the beginning of Jesus’ existence.  His “beginning” goes way before that first Christmas.  John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  This verse is absolutely full of meaning:

• “In the beginning was the Word.”  That is, in the time that we know of as the beginning (referring of course to the events of Genesis chapter 1, and the creation of the world), the Word ALREADY “WAS!”  The One known as “the Word” was already in existence when everything was created.
• “The Word.”  John 1 lets us know that the “Word” is Jesus.  Words express things.  Jesus as the “Word” expresses to us who God really is.
• “The Word was God.”  Likewise, this verse lets us know that Jesus is God.  Therefore, Jesus not only did not have His “beginning” in Bethlehem, He has no “beginning” at all!  God exists eternally.  He was not created, has always been, and always will be.

This verse places Jesus in an appropriately eternal context.  At Christmas we celebrate the Eternal God humbling Himself in a human birth . . . God became man so that man can be with God.  Michael W. Smith’s song “The Anthem of Christmas” tells this cosmic story – from creation to the cradle and beyond.  In this song may we all find the words to proclaim His love this Christmas.

Anthem for Christmas

In the space of the beginning
Was the living Word of Light
When this Word was clearly spoken
All that came to be was right

All creation had a language
Words to say what must be said
All day long the heavens whispered
Signing words in scarlet red

Some failed to understand it
So God spoke His final Word
On a silent night in Judah’s
Hills a baby’s cry was heard

“Glory!” sang the angel chorus
“Glory!” echoed back the night
Love has come to walk among us
Christ the Lord is born this night

All creation sing His praises
Earth and heaven praise His name
All who live come join the chorus
Find the words His love proclaim
Find the words His love proclaim

 

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.

 

All Praise to Thee Eternal Lord

Read: John 1:14-18

By the beginning of the 16th century, the Church was in desperate need of reform.  The Scriptures, songs, and liturgies that filled the worship services were in languages foreign to most people.  In the “high church,” God was kept distant from the people who were “lowly” and less educated. 

Though this was the pattern of the church in the middle ages, it was not the plan of God.  God does not require that we speak Latin to know Him or read His Word, and Martin Luther recognized this.  Luther set out on a mission to strip away the mystery of the church regalia and to return the beauty of the Gospel to the people.  He translated the liturgy, the Scripture, and the songs of the church from Latin into German — the language of his fellow countrymen.

One song that Luther translated was “All Praise to Thee Eternal Lord,” a Christmas song written by Gregory the Great in the sixth century.  One of the lines of this song states, “A little Child, Thou art our guest, That weary ones in Thee may rest; Forlorn and lowly is Thy birth, That we may rise to heaven from earth.”

These lyrics remind us that God has not stayed distant, speaking foreign languages.  He came to us in the lowest common denominator – a human baby – so that ALL of us may know who He is and have a chance to find rest and rise to heaven one day.

Luther translated “All Praise to Thee Eternal Lord” into German – what a gift!  Jesus “translated” an understanding of who God is to the world – what an unbelievable gift!  Today, sing a really, really old song and be thankful for the translation of God’s glory that Jesus has done for us:  because He came, we can know God.

All Praise to Thee Eternal Lord

All praise to Thee, eternal Lord,
Clothed in a garb of flesh and blood;
Choosing a manger for Thy throne,
While worlds on worlds are Thine alone.

Once did the skies before Thee bow;
A virgin’s arms contain Thee now,
While angels, who in Thee rejoice,
Now listen for Thine infant voice.

A little child, Thou art our guest,
That weary ones in Thee may rest;
Forlorn and lowly is Thy birth;
That we may rise to Heaven from earth.

Thou comest in the darksome night
To make us children of the light;
To make us, in the realms divine,
Like Thine own angels round Thee shine.

All this for us Thy love hath done;
By this to Thee our love is won;
For this we tune our cheerful lays,
And sing our thanks in ceaseless praise.

 

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.

 

Light of the World

Read: Exodus 13:21-22; John 8:12

3,500 years ago, God called His people out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and into the land that He had promised them.  This is the story of the Exodus, recorded in the second book of the Bible.  As the Israelites left Egypt, God led them at night, represented by a visible fire.  Like a child comforted by a night light, so the children of Israel were comforted in their journey by the fire in the sky, reminding them that God was with them.

Fast forward 1,500 years to the time of Jesus.  While the rest of the Israelites were celebrating the Festival of the Tabernacle (remembering when God led them like a fire at night), Jesus makes an amazing assertion.  He says in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  Jesus was making a few VERY important points:

• Jesus is the Light.  During the Exodus, the people saw a fire cloud in the sky, but this presence did not talk or provide a 3-D example of what God is like.  Jesus is our reminder that God is with us, a living Light!
• Jesus is the Light of the World! Additionally, the fire was only for the people of Israel.  However, by calling Himself the light of the world, Jesus was pointing out that ALL people, regardless of nationality can be encouraged by His presence.
• Jesus invites us to follow Him. Jesus’ light is not just meant to comfort, it is meant to direct. 
• If we follow Him, we will not walk in darkness. Jesus will never lead us to sin.  He only leads us towards righteousness, for He desires our growth, not our destruction.
• If we follow Him, we will have life.  Darkness leads to death.  Yet, Jesus is the Light of life . . . He came to give us life, not take it from us!

At Christmas time, we often place lights on our landscaping and homes.  This is appropriate because, as Lauren Daigle’s song reminds us, Jesus is the Light of the world!  As we sing this song, or look at Christmas lights, let us remember God’s presence with us, and His desire that we walk in obedience following Jesus’ commands and example.  If we do, we will have life as God intended!

Light of the World

The world waits for a miracle
The heart longs for a little bit of hope
Oh come, oh come, Emmanuel
A child prays for peace on Earth
And she’s calling out from a sea of hurt
Oh come, oh come, Emmanuel

And can you hear the angels singing

Glory to the light of the world
Glory, the light of the world is here

The drought breaks with the tears of a mother
A baby’s cry is the sound of love
Come down, come down, Emmanuel
He is the song for the suffering
He is Messiah, the Prince of Peace has come
He has come, Emmanuel

Glory to the light of the world

For all who wait
For all who hunger
For all who’ve prayed
For all who wonder
Behold your King
Behold Messiah
Emmanuel, Emmanuel

Glory to the light of the world
Glory to the light of the world
Glory to the light of the world
Behold your King
Behold Messiah
Emmanuel, Emmanuel

The world waits for the miracle
The heart longs for a little bit of hope
Oh come, oh come Emmanuel

 

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.

 

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

Read: Romans 6:5-11; Isaiah 9:6-7

The very first churches I knew were Methodist.  Most every Sunday for the first eighteen years of my life, I could be found somewhere around East Cross United Methodist Church in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.  One of the many blessings I received from that heritage was a knowledge of John and Charles Wesley.  Though the Wesleys never set out to start “Methodism,” God used them to reform the Church of England and call it to both passion and application.  If Luther’s reform in Germany was about orthodoxy then the Wesleys’ reform in England 200 years later was about orthopraxy . . . as much about what we do as what we believe.

While John Wesley preached, Charles Wesley was best known for his hymns.  One of the eighteen Christmas carols Wesley wrote was “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.”  This song not only laid out sound theology and Scriptural references, but called followers of Jesus to act in certain ways.

The first verse points out that Jesus has released us from our “fears and sins” (Romans 6:5-11).  This is a theological truth . . . but the application of this truth is that we would find “our rest in Thee.”

In the second verse, Jesus is described as “a child, and yet a King” (Isaiah 9:6-7).  Charles takes the next line, though, and drives it home, stating that Jesus was “Born to reign in us forever . . . Rule in all our hearts alone.”  The application is not just to say that Jesus is the “King of Kings,” but to have Him be our King – the ultimate authority in our lives. 

This Christmas, as we sing Wesley’s song, may we have a reformation of our practices, and find our rest in Jesus, the ultimate authority in our lives!

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

Come, thou long expected Jesus
born to set thy people free
from our fears and sins release us
let us find our rest in thee
Israel’s strength and consolation
hope of all the earth thou art
dear desire of every nation
joy of every longing heart

Born thy people to deliver
born a child and yet a King
born to reign in us forever
now thy gracious kingdom bring
By thine own eternal spirit
rule in all our hearts alone
by thine all sufficient merit
raise us to thy glorious throne

You draw the hearts of shepherds
You draw the hearts of kings
Even as a baby
You were changing everything
You called me to Your Kingdom
Before Your lips could speak
And even as a baby
You were reaching out for me

And now we are awaiting
The day of Your return
When every eye will see You
As heaven comes to earth
Until the sky is opened
Until the trumpet sounds
The bride is getting ready
The church is singing out

Come, thou long expected Jesus
born to set thy people free
from our fears and sins release us
let us find our rest in thee
Come Thou long expected King

 

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.

 

Joy to the World!

Read: Psalm 98

When is it too early to listen to Christmas music?  Halloween?  Thanksgiving?  Black Friday?  December 1?

Whenever you change your playlist, at some point, most will begin listening to Christmas music by the time December rolls around.  However, one Christmas carol was intended to be sung in July . . . and April . . . and February!  It is the most popular Christmas song in North America, “Joy to the World!”

In 1719, prolific hymn writer Isaac Watts wrote this song, and published it in his book, “The Psalms of David: Imitated in the Language of the New Testament.”  Yet, roughly 3,000 years before Watts arranged it with a Christian perspective, the Psalmist wrote the message in Psalm 98.  Interestingly, Psalm 98 is not about Jesus’ birth.  It is a psalm about when the LORD will come “to judge the earth . . . with righteousness, and the peoples with equity” (Psalm 98:9).

The earth celebrates with joy, in Psalm 98 and in Watts’ hymn, when the Messiah comes in righteous judgment.  This reference is clearly NOT to Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, but to Jesus’ return at the end of the world as pictured in Revelation 19:11-21.  The earth rejoices on that day because sin and sorrow will finally and fully be dealt with.  Jesus will rule the world with truth and grace, and all will see the “wonders of His love” (see Revelation 20).  After the establishment of this Kingdom, Jesus will also usher in a new heaven and a new earth that will make His blessings flow upon the earth in opposition to the effects of the curse (compare Genesis 3:14-24 with Revelation 21-22.) 

Knowing this background, is it wrong to sing “Joy to the World” at Christmastime?  Absolutely NOT!  This song is great any time of the year, including Christmas.  When we think of Jesus’ birth, we also can sing for joy at His coming, when the full effects of what this song promises will be felt upon the earth.  The historical reality of His first coming is a down payment on the reality of His second!  Just as Jesus brought forgiveness for our sins and revelation of who God is at His first coming, He also will bring judgment and righteousness at His second coming.

So, join the world in singing JOY this year . . . knowing that God’s redemption is coming.

Joy to the World

Joy to the World , the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the World, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His 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.

 

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Read: Romans 8:19-25; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23

Some songs are old, having been sung for decades.  Then there is “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”  This song has a history that dates all the way back to the eighth century – over 1,300 years ago!  The words were originally written as a poem and not arranged to music as a Christmas carol until the twelfth century.

What causes a song to endure that long?  Why do we still sing it?  Though the music is beautiful, there are many beautiful songs.  I think the enduring nature of this song is found in its message of hope. 

The song is really a beautiful expectation.  In fact, the poem on which it was based is arranged as an acrostic that spells the phrase “ero cras” which translates to “I will be with you tomorrow.”  The underlying theme of the song is that the world is not yet what it will be.  Drawing its imagery from the nation of Israel in the Old Testament days waiting for the arrival of the promised Savior, these lyrics speak of the arrival of God the Son (Jesus — “Emmanuel” means God with us), who began to make good on a number of promises God had made to His people. 

As we sing this song, we still have a sense of expectation.  The world still is not yet what it will be.  We still live in a world of sin, pain, violence, illness, etc.  We long to see this world changed . . . to be redeemed and restored (Romans 8:19-25).

So as we listen to “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” this Christmas, may we remember the first fruits that came from Jesus’ first coming at Bethlehem.  May that bring hope that “He will be with us tomorrow.”  And, when Jesus comes again, our bodies will be redeemed and the world will be restored.  Therefore, we sing (and wait) with a patient hope.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o’er the grave
Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel

O come, Thou Day-Spring
Come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadows put to flight
Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel

O come, Thou Key of David, come
And open wide our heavenly home
Make safe the way that leads on high
And close the path to misery
Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel

O come, O come, Thou Lord of might
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai’s height
In ancient times did’st give the Law
In cloud, and majesty and awe
Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel

 

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.