Sing a New Song to the Lord

Psalm 33: 1 - 1 (NIV): 1 Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. 2 Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. 3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. 4 For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. 5 The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. 6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him. 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. 10 The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. 11 But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. 

    There is power in the spoken word. God spoke the universe into existence with the word of his mouth. And we have the privilege of praising him with ours. But our praise should extend beyond what we say or sing, it should be a part of who we are. This psalm says to "play skillfully", to give God our best in church and out. I encourage you to give God your best this new year. Don't just phone in your worship, put your heart into it. After all, he has been so good to us. He created us and sustains us by his power. He is faithful to watch over us.

    Sing a new song to him. Introduce new songs into our worship services, sure, but also realize that our relationship with God is alive and active. We don't just remember a good man and give him our respects, we have fellowship with a Savior who is central to our lives. We worship a God whose mercies are new every morning. I like listening to Christian radio stations to see if I can hear a new song that expresses how I feel and how much I love God. 

    This passage also reminds us that God's will is always done. He is God and he gets his way. He allows us freedom to choose and live our lives, but ultimately, his will is done. Only a powerful God could do this, and our God is a powerful God. This new year, give him your best and tell him how you feel about him so he will know, and so the whole world will know.

The Prince of Peace

Luke 2: 8 - 14 (NIV): 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." 

    We think of peace as the absence of conflict or the absence of stress. We say our country is at peace if we are not at war. We think of being at peace if all is well and we are not stressed. How has your Christmas season been so far? Stress free? How could Jesus bring us peace if the holiday celebrating his birth brings so much stress, strife and conflict?
    There must be more to peace than just the absence of conflict. Jesus said (Matthew 10:34) “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” This sounds like a contradiction. Jesus was proclaimed the "Prince of Peace" and he said he was bringing a sword instead. What gives?

    Peace means more than the absence of conflict or stress, it means wholeness. It means we have found what we are looking for. It means we are now complete because we have found God and are no longer in conflict with him. We each have a "God shaped hole" in our hearts and we have now filled it. Our search for meaning and purpose is over and that gives us a peace that the world cannot give. Even when we are in conflict; even when we are stressed, we are satisfied because we have found rest for our souls.

    But there's more, we couldn't have peace with God without Jesus because Jesus satisfied God's wrath toward our sinful rebellion (Ephesians 2: 3-5). We will still experience conflict, stress and yes, even war, but because of the Prince of Peace, we are at peace with God, we are at peace within our souls, and we can have peace with one another.

Advent – God’s Good News is for All People

Luke 2: 4 – 11 (NIV): 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

    8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

    The people in this story are celebrities today, but not at the time. They were witness to the most joyful event in history, but it wasn't easy. Mary had the privilege of holding the infant Jesus in her arms. Think of the joy he brought. But she had to suffer through the pains of childbirth to receive that joy. Often the suffering we experience today is preparing us for a future blessing. And she would not have been chosen as the mother of the Christ if she had not been righteous. May we never forget that God seeks clean vessels to use for his most blessed purposes.

    Joseph also received the joyful gift, but only after showing tremendous faith. He believed the angel's report about Mary and her miraculous pregnancy. It is impossible to receive God's full blessings if we do not trust and obey him. Joseph is a great example of that.

    The shepherds received the joy of seeing Jesus, but only after being terribly afraid. Often we are frightened when God intervenes in our lives, but God always brings good news and great joy. The shepherds were the first to hear the good news, yet they were in such a low class of society, they were not allowed in the temple. God's good news is for all people.

    This passage ends with the people of Bethlehem hearing the good news and being amazed. Yes, they received the joy too, but only because the shepherds told them what happened. The only way our community is going to hear the good news is if we share it.

Prepare the Way

Luke 1: 76 - 80 (NIV):  76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, 77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace."

    This passage is the second half of "Zechariah's Song", which Zechariah said after the miraculous birth of his son, John the Baptist. Yes, John's birth was a miracle, but so is every birth. God, and only God, gives life and we should recognize this. And John was born with a purpose: to prepare the way for the Lord.

    We, too, are born with a purpose. John the Baptist helped prepare the way for Jesus' first coming, but we are preparing for his second. We do so the same way John did, by calling people to repentance and preaching that God will fulfill his prophecies and promises.

    The Bible had foretold that a light would dawn on people living in darkness (Isaiah 9:2). God would shine his light of hope and love, guidance and salvation on people living in distress. We can take comfort that God fulfilled this promise. Jesus was born just where the prophet Micah said he would be, then he grew up and began his ministry in Galilee, where Isaiah said he would. Jesus brought light to all who believed. He brought salvation through his sacrifice. He brought hope to the world. And he brings peace – with God, with each other, and within ourselves. Now, it is our privilege to prepare the way for his return. And we begin by preparing our hearts this Advent Season.