GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN

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!





1 - From the Internet:  http://www.sharefaith.com/guide/Christian-Music/hymns-the-songs-and-the-stories/go-tell-it-on-the-mountain,-the-song-and-the-story.html, 12/10/2015.

THE IMPORTANCE OF FAITH IN TODAY'S WORLD

John 16:25-33

History tends to "repeat" itself.  That is true for civilizations, communities, churches, and families.  That "repeat" is really a cycle of growth and decline.  It is a repeat of numbers and morality, faith and secularization, financial stability and poverty, political processes and procedures.  Each grows and declines - repeatedly.

One such repetition is what happens to the Church in the world.  Jesus warned his disciples that belief would be necessary - trust in Him - if they were to survive the world's opposition.  That eternal connection to Christ is far more than a title (being CALLED a Christian).  It is a spiritual connection that comes from trusting and serving Jesus Christ.  Being a Christian in name only will not work in a world that tries to find fault in your faith.  Only those whose faith rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ can endure the opposition of the world.  The time is upon us that we again face what Jesus promised would happen to his disciples.

Jesus told his disciples they would be scattered, unable to gather together (John 16:32).  In that time, they will not be able to gather with the man we know as Jesus, either.  He was speaking of the time he was to be arrested, falsely accused, and publicly crucified.  To be associated with him was to risk similar treatment.  The cycle continues, and again, Christianity is no longer popular - Christians will and are being scattered.  And yet, because of their relationship with Jesus, the disciples would be able to have peace.  The world would bring tribulation, but the heart would be full of peace.  The world might seem like it was winning, but it has already lost - to Jesus.  The world hopes to send people to God's judgment, but through the disciples' relationship with Jesus, that judgment will not happen - Christ's crucifixion paid that for all the disciples who trust and know Jesus.  Jesus promises it, and God backs Jesus in this (John 16:27). 

Of course, this passage reveals that it is more than just being CALLED a Christian, it is a deep awareness that Christ is ONE with God - He is Divine - MORE than just a man.  He came from God.  He is more than a good teacher, He is God.  He is more than a mere prophet, He came from God.  He is more than a platitude dispenser, good moralist, or powerful preacher - He is the MESSIAH promised in the Old Testament.  Therefore, we can trust Him completely.  He is not to be compared with anything in creation, for He is the Creator of all that is.  He is more reliable than the sunrise and sunset.  His words are Faithful and True.  And those who trust Him, His words, and His deeds do so because they know that He came from the Father as He said!  Serve Him alone, and His victory over the world will be yours.  And that is faith - serving Him.

Do you have faith?  It doesn't take a quantity of faith.  It isn't how much you believe.  It's the quality of your faith - who you trust and by your trust who you serve.  If you say you trust Jesus, then prove it by serving Him - no matter what.  In today's world, that means serving Him when the world says you are not allowed to.  It means serving Him when no one is watching.  It means serving Him when you are isolated from everyone.  It means serving Him when jail, job loss, or death may be the penalty.  Is YOUR faith of that quality?  Then you can have peace with God, for Christ promises you are loved by God!  As John later said, "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God." (1 John 5:13). 


Do YOU have saving faith?  Saving faith is serving faith!

And that's Just A Thot for today.  Please comment, share, and grow by it!

A Snapshot In Time

I know my blog is usually devotions. Good that it is. The focus should be on the Lord. But sometimes we need to see where we live - the Bible calls it "walking circumspectly." So I'd like to share with you a little of how un-Christ-like thins are today.

Scanning the headlines of my two favorite Christian Internet News Networks (CNSNews.com and OneNewsNow), I found the following headlines. They aren't much individually, but taken together, they can tell a remarkable story.

CNSNews Headlines:

• Morning News Shows "Promoting" Democrats, Study Finds - this should be a "no brainer, but I suppose seeing it in writing establishes the fact. We all know about liberal media bias. This just shows how "in your face" they can be.
• Controversial Arab School to Open Next Week - do you suppose a local government would also sponsor a Christian school? Not hardly! I guess we should just hand our nation over to the Muslims and be done with it.
• Anti-gay Remarks Cost Mayor His Seat on Tourism Board - Of course this just means that the homosexuals get to run our country while everyone else moves over. I guess it's not just the Muslims who want our nation. What's going to happen when the Muslims and the Gays have to duke it out for power?
• Lesbian Could Head Episcopal Diocese - So the mainline denominations have finally and completely put their Bibles away and decided that they want a religion rather than a relationship with Jesus Christ. The homosexuals love that. It's old news, but one "priest" has even said that she's both Christian and Muslim. I suppose this is a political move to keep her priesthood when the Homosexuals and Muslims start fighting for power. Either way, her job is secure. She's embraced both - for now!

OneNewsNow.com Headlines

• California Teacher Offended by 'Manipulative, dishonest' NEA Tactics - the educators of America are united in their secretly destructive philosophies to ruin our children through immorality, smut, and the homosexual agenda.
• Holiday Inn Dumps Christian Banquet; Group Says "Anti-Christian" discrimination at play - Just one more way to put down the Christian and promote the homosexual agenda.
• Illinois School Pushes Smut on Children - Is this really a surprise (See NEA above). But making this smut a requirement for summer reading - it's no wonder the homeschool movement is growing in our country.
• TV Ministry Watchdog Calls Televangelists' Divorce Terrible Testimony - and so do I. The attacks on Christians by unbelievers is strong - yes - but so are the attacks on the family by the unseen world. It almost seems like the enemy is winning. Fortunately we know the rest of the story. I only wish that so many people would not be put in doubt by these unfortunate events. This is why holy living is so important.

Some might think some of these stories to be a bit exaggerated. However, the sheer number of stories like this tell us that there is something bigger happening than any one of these stories tells. There is a spiritual darkening moving across the land. Christians need to not only live holy, but speak boldly. There is only one hope - Jesus Christ!

Bro. Greg