Archive for the ‘ Gospel ’ Category
“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:21, ESV
Trust the promises of God. Like Mary did, we can trust that the One who saves is returning!
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Romans 1:16, ESV
Do not be intimidated with sharing the gospel or that you believe.
You should be ready to explain why you believe, but it is okay (as a young Christian, at least) to admit you are not entirely sure of all of the reasons.
Just share how you came to faith.
My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
Isaiah 26:9 ESV
Do you yearn for and earnestly seek the Lord?
One of the reasons we see unpleasant things happen in this world is that He allows or even orchestrates them for our righteousness.
Case in point: Jesus was born to die on a cross.
Continuing our journey through the songs and hymns that have had an impact on my spiritual life, we now turn to another of those famous Christmas carols.
O Come All Ye Faithful
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him,
Born the King of Angels;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.O Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing all that hear in heaven God’s holy word.
Give to our Father glory in the Highest;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.All Hail! Lord, we greet Thee,
Born this happy morning,
O Jesus! for evermore be Thy name adored.
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
In all of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it can be too easy to forget to stop and worship our King.
We must remember that this is a time of joy. Our Savior has come!
Some may get caught up in the materialism. Get past it.
Some may get caught up in the idea that angles do not sing. I like what some teach, that they did sing at Creation (Job 38:7) but stopped singing at the Fall. However, perhaps they did sing at the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:13-14), for God joined His Creation to save sinful humanity.
Regardless, let us come together and adore our Savior and King!
As we continue looking at the hymns and songs that had an impact on my spiritual life, we move into controversial territory. What is less controversial about it is that I at least waited until Thanksgiving weekend.
Yep. Christmas music! And here is one of my top all-time three.
God rest ye merry, gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember, Christ, our Saviour
Was born on Christmas day
To save us all from Satan’s power
When we were gone astray
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
In Bethlehem, in Israel,
This blessed Babe was born
And laid within a manger
Upon this blessed morn
The which His Mother Mary
Did nothing take in scorn
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joyFrom God our Heavenly Father
A blessed Angel came;
And unto certain Shepherds
Brought tidings of the same:
How that in Bethlehem was born
The Son of God by Name.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
“Fear not then,” said the Angel,
“Let nothing you affright,
This day is born a Saviour
Of a pure Virgin bright,
To free all those who trust in Him
From Satan’s power and might.”
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
The shepherds at those tidings
Rejoiced much in mind,
And left their flocks a-feeding
In tempest, storm and wind:
And went to Bethlehem straightway
The Son of God to find.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
And when they came to Bethlehem
Where our dear Saviour lay,
They found Him in a manger,
Where oxen feed on hay;
His Mother Mary kneeling down,
Unto the Lord did pray.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
Now to the Lord sing praises,
All you within this place,
And with true love and brotherhood
Each other now embrace;
This holy tide of Christmas
All other doth deface.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
Why is this one of my all-time favorite Christmas carols and songs? It is the Gospel laid out.
Words have meanings. Whether “rest” meant “keep” or “make”, or whether merry means “mighty” or “joyful”, the song still works. If it is “God keep you joyful, Gentlemen” or “God make you mighty, Gentlemen” or even “God keep you mighty” or “God make you joyful” … IT JUST WORKS!
Through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, one can be made mighty for God and joyful in grace and forgiveness. The main point of the entire song is that when we put our faith in the risen Lord, Jesus Christ, we are saved from the ravages of sin, saved from the loss of relationships with other people and with God, saved from eternal death, and saved from God’s wrath and the schemes of the Devil.
Also, it tends to be a dang happy song! (Sorry for the language.)
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
Psalm 9:1, ESV
God has done amazing things.
If you are saved by grace, give Him thanks and share it with the world!
Is there any more reason more worthy of thankfulness than this?
But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
Acts 20:24 ESV
Our fullest calling in and greatest meaning to life is to glorify the Father by sharing the gospel of His Son with our fallen world.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1, ESV
We do not have a blind faith. We have the historical, prophetic, and biblical evidence, with the ultimate proof of our faith being the real and physical death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14 ESV
To know Jesus is to know truth and find all grace. He came to us, and His life, death, and resurrection prove the truthfulness of the Bible and that God desires loving relationship with us.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 1:5 ESV
Christian believer: we are not all called to be Prophets, as Jeremiah, but God set up from eternity that we should go to the world and declare the Gospel for our Great Prophet and saving Lord Jesus.
a simple man of God 