As our world seems to be growing spiritually darker all the time plagued with anti-Christian fervor, moral reversals, injustice and terrorism abounding, the spiritual blessings of Christmas are brought to light in this carol - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. (If you watch the YouTube version below, a great history is presented along with the full lyrics - even if the recording only plays 3 of the 4 verses written out with the text of the video.) This particular song resonates with the heart that feels oppressed and seeks redemption and release. The lyrics are about the spiritual oppression of sin and the release that God has wrought through His Son, Jesus Christ as the Bible so clearly teaches. The minor key and happy rhythm reflect this oppression/freedom theme very well. Indeed, the carol is mentioned by Charles Dickens in "The Christmas Carol."(1) By the way, the link referenced below also includes far more verses than the YouTube video does. They will bless you, too! Do you ever feel like your sin has separated you from God? Does He seem a long ways off? Let this carol lift your hearts as you contemplate what God has done that first Christmas for you today. He has paid the price, sent His Son, and redeemed you from your sin. Satan has no more power over you if you will but allow Jesus to rule you instead! Jesus has overcome Satan! Let this be "Tidings of Comfort and Joy" - comfort for those times your feelings need reminded that Satan is powerless, and joy to last an eternity because of the freedom you now have been given through Jesus Christ! Now, as the Carol invites, sing praises to God for He has done this wonderful thing! Praise Him for His love and care - and invite all you know to join in the chorus of praise! Sing this carol together this Christmas and celebrate!
And that's Just A Thot for today! Merry Christmas!!
I have to admit, I was a bit surprised by the history of this song - but I was also delighted. Don't get me wrong. I love my country very much. But if I'm honest, we have some flaws. Slavery was one of them. But even out of those trials come some of the neatest things. Oppression often breeds faith. Negro slaves may not have had much going for them, but they did have faith. With that faith came music. With that music came wonderful expressions such as "Go Tell It On the Mountain." This extremely popular Christmas Carol was once a Negro Spiritual written by someone altogether unknown, but its infectious tune and lyrics that were pregnant with biblical truth offering a hope that only a heart of faith could know was soon spread throughout slavery. The author is credited to John W. Works, III. However, in 1907, as a negro professor, he compiled a book entitled "Folk Songs of the American Negro" in order to "preserve and promote African American Folk-Work."2 Dr. Works' efforts sent the song's popularity skyrocketing across the country and across the country's racial barriers. Music has a way of doing that, and knows no boundaries. The original song lyrics have been changed many times over. The lyrics of today's carol are not the only lyrics the tune knows. However, they are the most famous. Peter, Paul, and Mary rewrote the lyrics in the 1960's, and Simon and Garfunkel also have a rewrite out.2 Still, the version in the hymnbooks across America are the most widely known and faithful to both the Lord and the song's author.
DEVOTION
Put yourself in the place of the Shepherds and sing this song. Picture the the wonder of the annunciation, the spectacle of the angels, and the miracle of the virgin birth, baby in a manger, and prophecy all wrapped up in a single moment. Imagine the fear and trembling swelling up inside, then giving way to a delight and hope, and finally a sense that everyone needed to hear the news! Such a journey fills the heart of all who hear the story told by the Shepherds that night - a journey from fear and trembling to delight and hope that the Sovereign Creator God has given us His Son for a blessing and sacrifice for our sins! Indeed, we have been saved from our sins! Next, desiring that all might know this truth as we do - and trust Him for the forgiveness of their sins as well. Do YOU know Jesus as YOUR Savior and Lord? Do YOU delight in His Salvation like the shepherds did? It matters NOT what station you have in life. You have nothing but your soul to lose for keeping quiet. Proclaim Him to a world that needs Him. Go, Tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere that Jesus Christ is born! And that's Just A Thot for today! Merry Christmas!
Sometimes, history swallows up the facts for future generations. Some things simply come about without record; nothing is known about them. The origin of today's Christmas Carol is just such a thing. The tune and original words came from somewhere, but it seems history has swallowed up the facts about where. However, the modern version of the carol is not the only version. In the 17th Century - 1823, William B. Sandys (1792-1874), and Davies Gilbert (1767-1839) edited and added lyrics to create the version we sing today. This carol seems to have stemmed from France, and then came to England - and so we have two spellings of the word "Noel" (Fr.) - "Nowell" (Eng.). Indeed, there seem to be three varieties of the lyrics. However, most of our Hymnals contain the English version. DEVOTION
What I like about the carol is it's rolling tune and articulate lyrics. Simply put, the joy of the first Christmas is melded together with the wonder of it all! God has come in the form of a person! He has done so to save us, to unite us, and He announced it through a host of Angels to a field of poor shepherds. Have you heard the story? I know you have - at least you've heard the carol, most likely. What I mean is this, "Have YOU experienced the joy of knowing Jesus has come to YOU?" It's never enough to have Jesus come to someone you know or love. God wants peace with YOU! He sent His Son to YOU! He wants to cleanse your heart of YOUR sin. He wants to live forever with YOU. That first Noel, the star shone the light, pointing to the True Savior of the world. I know we have plenty of people who do not believe that God exists, much less that He cares enough to choose a means of showing it that is far better than a Hallmark Card. God, did, however, send the very best. Faith is not what makes it true or not. Faith is only the means by which we choose to receive what is already true - Jesus Christ! Such darkness of unbelief is only dispelled by the light of Truth! Will you not simply believe with your head, but also your heart? Will you follow that star to the Shining Star of Bethlehem - Jesus Christ? And that's Just A Thot for today. Merry Christmas!
Q: What does the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 have to do with Christmas Carols?
A: It inspired the now-famous carol of today's blog-post - "Do You Hear What I Hear?"
Wikipedia reports that in a musical plea for peace, the song written by Noel Regney and Gloria Shayne Baker, husband and wife a the time, the song came upon an invitation by a record producer for a Christmas song. Not first sung by Bing Crosby, his rendition made it a hit. Since then, it has sold millions of copies and been released by many artists all over the world.
The world was (and it seems always has been) in chaos, filled with violence and fear. But the Nuclear threat at the time of its writing had never been greater in America. Today, terrorism has replaced the nuclear threat, and peace still seems so far away from so many, making the song very popular 50 years later.
But the song points to the only peace any heart can know - the peace of God that passes all understanding. That peace comes to us through Jesus Christ. At His annunciation, the angels said in Luke 2:10-14 (NKJV) "10 Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"
The news was then, and still is this: God desires to have peace with mankind. He sent His Son to make that happen. His Son is Jesus Christ. Jesus was born that first Christmas so He would die that first Good Friday, and rise again that first Easter! This is God's Peace Offering. No one need to fear the judgment and wrath of God if they will but receive the Son of God, Christ, to be their Lord!
Do you hear what I hear? I hear the Father in Heaven pleading with you to take His peace offering to be YOUR Lord today! He will set you free of sin, and forever unite you in love with God the Father. Simply forsake your sin and turn to Jesus - the resurrected Savior - and make Him your Lord.
And that's Just a Thot for Today. Merry Christmas!
When it comes to Christian music, interestingly enough, the tune (melody) is not always originally “Christian.” Sometimes tunes are borrowed and new words (Christian lyrics) are sung instead of the secular lyrics. Today’s Christmas Carol – “Carol of the Bells” – is one such song.
“Composed by Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych (1877-1921) in 1916. Originally titled Shchedryk, this Ukrainian folk song is about a sparrow and the bountiful year that awaits a family. It was first performed in the Ukraine on the night of January 13, 1916, on the Julian calendar this is considered New Year's Eve. In the United States the song was first performed on October 5, 1921 at Carnegie Hall.[1]”
Originally, the song was sung in April as a welcome to Spring. Girls would go house to house singing the well-wishing song in exchange for baked goods. When the world (including the Ukraine) switched to the Julian calendar (the one we use now) this spring song was sung as a New Year’s song.[2]
The words were changed to Christian words – the lyrics we know today.
"Peter J. Wilhousky (1902-1978) wrote these new lyrics based on the melody of Shchedryk in 1936. He copyrighted it and the song is what we now know as "Carol of the Bells." As the title implies, this hauntingly beautiful song is about the sound of bells come Christmas time."
Lyrics (Excerpt): Hark how the bells, sweet silver bells, all seem to say, throw cares away
Christmas is here, bringing good cheer, to young and old, meek and the bold, …1
DEVOTION
Wishing one another a Merry Christmas in such a way as to allow the meaning of Christmas and the love of the season to “ring on” in our minds is a true blessing as we live in a day when it seems evil crowds out peace. Carol of the Bells is a beautiful way to share Christmas with one another. The full lyrics conclude with the following lines:
The four notes live long in our ears after they have actually stopped striking our eardrums.
They penetrate to our hearts a sense of joy and hope when the Christian lyrics are hung upon them. Our hope that Christ’s coming will cheer our hearts with hope in a hauntingly dark world seems to swell within us.
It is not so much that the song fills us with false hope in Christ, but that the song stirs within us a real hope based on a True Savior who has, as the Angel Host in Luke 2:14 proclaimed, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” It should move us as it did the Shepherds that day to proclaim to everyone the great thing God has done for us all!
And that’s Just A Thot for today. “Merry, Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas!”
(Zechariah 14:7) But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
How do you feel about "old age"? Is it something you relish? Do you look forward to it? Perhaps, you are already there. Are you enjoying it?
"At evening time it shall be light" to those who believe, to those who trust in the Lord. Light may not come in the form of comfort. The joints may ache, and the pain of failing body strikes chords of gloom. Though the sense of coming darkness meets the eyes, the soul and spirit should rejoice that the light is all the nearer. The peace of Heaven, the tranquility of eternity, and the splendor of the Savior should become all the more welcome in such a time as this. Do not let your latter years overshadow your nearness to the bright paradise that Jesus Christ has built for you.
As the day of crossover comes, the light brightens. Faith replaces fear, and the shadows depart with radiant glory. The face of the Father is before the child of God, smiling and glowing with a pure light that is greater than any eye has before beheld. The angels surround you with their wings and expressions of wonder as another of Christ's Redeemed enter into eternity to worship the Savor with them. The pearly gates open to golden streets, leaving behind the cobblestones and dirt of the mortal life forever. The pain is past, and the peace passes all understanding!
May our eyes always be on this goal - for in such a place as this, where the light is so beautiful, the night time is no longer, and our Savior is waiting with open arms to receive His own, to dwell eternally with them. The love of our hearts is fulfilled forever with this union. Home. It may be where we hang our hats on earth, but it is where family is in Heaven. Yes, the light of the evening is the light of home!
Bible Reading: (Zechariah 1:8)I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white.
They Myrtle trees in this prophecy, might well be a picture of today's church - that is believers congregated together. With the coming storms and clashes of the world, the myrtle tree continues to grow, bloom, and leaf out - untouched by the harshness of the world around.
That is because the myrtle tree is both hearty and it thrives in seclusion, protected by crags and valleys. Though the mountainous terrain above experiences terrific and bitter winds, the myrtle tree stands untouched. Its glory is rarely seen, yet it remains. But when the bitter cold arrives, as it does from time to time, the myrtle tree is tough enough to withstand it. Indeed, the church has bloomed the best when under duress and difficulty.
Does this not speak of the victory that lies ahead for all who are believers? How marvelous it is to have a splendor and glory for all to see, yet reserve the best for the Savior and Creator! We may sing praise to the Lord that He has endowed us with certain triumph in the end and peace along the way.
(Romans 8:37) Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Bible Reading:Jeremiah 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
Some things are special, and reserved for those who are Christians, those who are close to the Lord. They are not experienced by the common man - though they are available to be experienced by him if he should accept Christ as Savior and Lord. These things are deeply intimate, and private - though the effect of them may be displayed on the Christian's face for all to see. Do you, dear Believer, know of some of these things?
Do you know of a peace which passes all understanding?
Do you know of the privilege to lean upon the bosom of Christ?
Do you know of the confidence of having truly sought the Lord by Prayer and heard His voice in response?
Do you know of the overwhelming desire to shout, "Hallelujah!" because of the joy of being completely forgiven of your sins?
These things may, perhaps, be imitated, but the genuine thing is reserved for those who are calling unto the Lord. What joy, splendor, and assurance is shown to the disciple of Christ! How He shows you marvels of His glory, delights to your soul, and wonders that only the eyes of the redeemed can behold.
Do you long for more than mediocrity in your worship? Do you desire greater and greater things in your devotions? Would you have a deeper understanding of the Bible? Then look to Christ; call unto Him until He answers. There is no conjuring, no manipulating, no majic formula for such things; for they come only by the hand of the Lord which cannot be forced. Wait on Him with obedient heart, and you have His promise of much greater things.
