Praises of Christmas
“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples!’ ‘I tell you’, he replied, ‘if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.’”1
Last week my family and I were watching a Christmas special on television. It was a two-hour special with numerous vocal artists singing a variety of Christmas songs. After watching, we had an interesting conversation about the words of the songs we heard. These songs are filled with praise to God for the birth of His Son, Jesus. There was one song and artist that stood out to me the most. This artist does not say to be a Christian, nor do they necessarily live a life that would indicate they are followers of Jesus, yet they wholeheartedly sung out the lyrics to “O Holy Night”, which clearly says:
“O holy night, the stars are brightly shining,
it is the night of our 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 world rejoices,
for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Chorus
Fall on your knees, oh hear the angel voices!
O night divine! O night when Christ was born.
O night, O holy night, O night divine.”
This professional singer may not have paid attention to the meaning of these beautiful lyrics, nor realized what they were doing, but they were praising God. This led me to think of today’s verse. God will use whomever he wants, and whatever means he wants, to bring honor and glory to Himself. If we, His children, don’t sing out in praise, then the stones will cry out (which in this case was a non-Christian singer)!
As we prepare our hearts for Christ’s birth this Christmas Eve, let us remember that it is all about HIM. It is not about the gifts we give or receive or the decorations. Christ was born! Let us come together to praise God in loud voices for His indescribable gift to us.
Suggested prayer: “Dear God, we praise you for the indescribable gift you gave us in Jesus. Amid all the celebrations that take place at Christmas, I ask that you help me be intentional about where I place my focus. It is all about you, Lord. Only you deserve the praise, honor, and glory forever! Thank you for the reminder that our lives are to be an act of worship to you. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Luke 19:38-40 (NIV).
All articles on this website are written by
Richard (Dick) Innes unless otherwise stated.