Run-on sentences are pretty cool. Paul pretty much perfected the art in his writings to the churches in the First Century. The poem today is a lot like that!
One of the greatest and most wonderful mysteries in our world is how God accomplishes His will in our world. He likes to use people, those things He created that are you and me, to effect change and win souls for His glory!
Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
Romans 6:13, ESV
the will of the Father
to be accomplished
works most efficiently
with acts of service
by His holy saints
redeemed by Christ
choosing Him over self
and living humble lives
This week I look at one of my newer favorites: “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”. I fell in love with this song in 2009 when I heard Casting Crowns’ version:
In truth, I had heard the carol when I was much younger, but I had forgotten about it.
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Till, ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And in despair I bowed my head;
‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said;
‘For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!’
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
‘God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!’
This carol relates the work of the Gospel of Jesus the Messiah:
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6
The great thing about this song is that it tells us that our Lord is greater than our circumstances.
When Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote his poem “Christmas Bells” on December 25, 1864, it was over three years since his wife burned to death in a freak accident in which he was injured trying to save her, and he had recently learned that his oldest son had been shot in back (fortunately surviving his wounds) during a battle in the American Civil War. This man had many reasons to feel sad and angry.
Yet, while he was sitting in his house that cold Christmas morning, he could hear the bells ringing down at the church. It reminded him that our “God is not dead” “nor doth He sleep” and will one day bring about “peace on earth, good will to man”!
Though we may face troubles, heartbreak, and pain, our Lord is able to overcome our situations and give us peace and joy, and One Day He will restore all of Creation including our bodies to perfection!
All we must do is completely trust Him and give all of our worries, pains, heartbreak, joys, dreams, and love to Him.
A danger in the life of the Christian is that we still live within our sinful flesh. This means we will have those times when we succumb to our sinful nature.
When we sin, as believers, where do we turn?
The poem today is about that very thing. We must always remember to turn to our Lord in repentance, seek His grace anew, and continue in His holiness.
Praise His name for that grace and holiness!
they call it stumbling
slipping in our faith
but it feels like failing
falling out of grace
we do not want to stray
to break this covenant
we struggle every day
trying hard to repent
we have heard Your words
Be holy as I am Holy
which makes it really hurt
when we act ungodly
yet there is a Way
a Man that offers help
His Spirit helps sway
our minds out of hell
we need assistance
that comes when we pray
finding repentance
by seeking His face
stumbling will happen
our flesh will betray
but by the power of the Son
we have victory
For the next several weeks, as we build to “the most wonderful time of the year,” I am going to look at some of my personal favorite Christmas carols. Why not start with my longest-running favorite?
Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum
A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum
Our finest gifts we’ll bring, pa rum pum pum pum
To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum
Rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum
So to honor Him, pa rum pum pum pum
When we come
Baby Jesus, pa rum pum pum pum
I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum
I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum
That’s fit to give our King, pa rum pum pum pum
Rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum
Shall I play for You?, Pa rum pum pum
On my drum
Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum
The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum
I played my drum for Him, pa rum pum pum
I played my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum
Rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum
Then He smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my drum
14 For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ 21 Well done, good and faithful servant.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.
29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Here is what I want to say, then, about the song:
We know that God has entrusted us with responsibility in this life. He has given each of us gifts, be they abilities/talents, understanding, or the fruit of the Spirit. It can come in any form and varies from person to person.
Like the Little Drummer Boy, there is something we are tasked with doing. (I am going to reveal a secret to you: no matter what, it includes sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ to increase the Kingdom of God!)
Like the Little Drummer Boy, if we do our something to the best of our ability to give glory to God and make Him happy, God will smile on us.
It does not matter if we are rich or poor, eloquent or a stutterer, well-known or easily over-looked; if our goal is to play our part for His pleasure, we will one day hear our Lord say “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Fall in love with some wisdom with the words over at Proverbial Thought!
As a friend of mine likes to point out, the term “falling in love with Jesus” is not found in the Bible. It is more of an inference from Scripture with a mix of our own reading.
The point is that He needs to become our “all in all,” our everything, just like when we fall in love with someone.
There is an objection to Christianity, or even within Christianity, which may be raised: the Doctrine of the Trinity.
There are various sources of this argument: Mormons (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or LDS), Jehovah’s Witnesses, Unitarians, Muslims, Jews, and many other sources including some people from church who may have doubts.
The biggest reason is that the word “Trinity” is not used in the Bible. The Trinity is the belief that God is one Being with three distinct Persons (not simply personalities): God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit.
This is true, but there are many things that are believed by Jews, Christians, Muslims, and various cults and belief systems that are not found in scriptures. They are inferred from readings. (One example could be “falling in love with Jesus”. Not in the Bible, but the phrase conveys the need to discover the truth, grace, and love of God that can change your life.)
However, the title says this is a simple look at the Trinity. Therefore, I will merely give a mental exercise which can also be used as a form of apologetics:
To the objection that there is no Trinity and Christians worship three gods:
Look at this man (any man, really). He is a father. There is his child. Do you dispute he is a father?
Look at this same man. Here is his father. Is this man also a son? How can he be two different people.
Look at this same man. He has a license to heal the sick and prescribe medicine. Is this man also a doctor? How can he be three different people.
Obviously I must be talking about three different men, right?
Please remember, there is no perfect analogy for describing/explaining God. This is not me trying to say I understand God. This is merely a tool to help us understand a little better how God can be three and one at the same time.
It is my prayer that this may help you in understanding your faith in a better way or in sharing your faith with others.
If you are not a Christian as you read this, I pray you may understand better what Christians truly believe. Naturally, I hope you would also come to believe as I do in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of the world!
12 Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end …
Hebrews 3:12-14, NASB
This will be short and sweet today.
Relationships are very important. The Bible is all about God’s desire for relationships with us through His Son!
Therefore, I encourage you today to encourage each other.
Call your friends and family to tell them you love them.
Share Christ with family and friends who may not know Him.
Lift each other up in prayer, and tell those for whom you pray that you are praying for them!
Be with friends (“in spirit” if need be) who need friends: an ear, a shoulder, a helping hand.
Just love those who are close to you!
Take the time today to show those who are close to you that you care!
Love the poem. Love the people more. Pray for Valerie Baker, Anthony, and their children. Though my only interaction with any of them has been through blogs and Facebook, I can tell you that they are pretty great people. Let us lift this family up to our Lord for strength, peace, and healing!
I don’t know what you know about fibromyalgia, but whatever it is, whatever causes it, my wife suffers terribly from it. Over the last several years it has robbed my wife of her ability to enjoy many things in life that we take for granted, like sitting, sleeping, getting dressed, washing one’s hair, or even being hugged.
So many people doubt fibromyalgia is real. They say that if it was a legitimate illness, then there would be clearly identifiable symptoms, specific medications or treatments that would work, and even a Jerry Lewis-like celebrity raising money for research. Unfortunately, the only real constant for my wife is pain, and all that comes with never getting relief.
Putting on a brave face is a daily occurrence. My wife was always the hard worker, the entrepreneur, and the aggravating “early riser” who would wake everyone else in the house with, “
Do we truly love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths? Maybe I can help with the mind part, at least! This is Daniel M. Klem, apparent poet, reluctant yet passionate Disciple (Peter?), and foolish man attempting to understand theology!
a simple man of God 