Hark! My Christmas Letter

Photo Courtesy of Sarah Whelchel

By now our family Christmas cards are reaching their addressed destinations, and, for another year I found myself unable to write a Christmas letter that sat well enough in my heart to be included.

What did I write about before?
Why can't I bring myself to write something which sums up our year and shares our lives?
How can someone who has so much to say (LOL) find no way to say it?

In recent years, when I try to compose such a letter, the words feel trite, or boastful, or redundant. So, I just stopped sending letters, and resolved to send a photo card with a Christmas greeting in hopes that it would be enough.

But today, I found myself filled with a message that I needed to share. The message started with a few lines in a very well known Christmas Carol, "Hark!" the Herald Angels Sing:

Mild he lays his glory by,
Born that man no more may die:
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the new-born King !"

In the form of an infant...helpless...exposed; the God of our Creation laid aside His due glory and came to earth. 

He came so that He could die...so that WE no longer would have to suffer that same type of death...

He came for US, the sons of earth...He, the one true GOD, came so that we may be born again in his SPIRIT. 

He came so that we could be free from our bondage to sin over and over an over again...He came so we could be made holy and have a close, personal relationship with Him. 

Hark! Listen! PAY ATTENTION!     

YOU  DO   NOT WANT TO MISS THIS.

In the Old Testament, God resided in one place...the Holy of Holies ... and ONLY the most High Priest could even approach Him! But NOW...because of Christmas, because of Easter...because of BIRTH, DEATH, RESURRECTION and ASCENSION... we have GOD with us every minute of every day...COMPLETELY accessible as a HOLY GHOST. 

AMAZING...He is always with us.

SCARY...He is always with us. 

OVERWHELMING...He is always with us. 

So, THIS is my Christmas letter...because what WE did this year is nothing compared to what HE did this year.

Oh, how He loves us.

Merry Christmas!!! 

Third verse better than the first...



I wish it were summer, I want to be warm again.

I think some of the best verses from Christmas carols are most often the ones that are omitted to save time!  (Or, in the secular world, to gloss over the true meaning; but that's a topic for another day.) In  order to pay due respect to many of these verses, I'm going to share them tonight.  Here we go, some of my favorite "mystery" verses from some of my favorite Christmas carols. Pay attention to the last one.  It's a DOOZY!

O' Holy Night

Led by the light of Faith
Serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts
By His cradle we stand.
O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wise men from the Orient land. The King of Kings lay thus
In lowly manger,
In all our trials
Born to be our Friend!
He knows our need,
To our weakness no stranger;
Behold your King!
Before the lowly bend!
Behold your King! your King!

accessed on 12/11/13 at http://www.carols.org.uk/ba32-o-holy-night.htm

 

Silent Night

 

Silent night, Holy night
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord at thy birth,
Jesus, Lord at thy birth!

accessed on 12/11/13 at http://gcarlmoore.com/2013/12/06/loves-pure-light/


Joy to the World

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.  

accessed on 12/11/13 at http://www.carols.org.uk/ba27-joy-to-the-world.htm

 

 

What Child is This?

 

Nails, spear, shall pierce Him through,
The Cross be borne, for me and you:
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

accessed on 12/11/13 at http://www.lyricsfreak.com/a/andrea+bocelli/what+child+is+this_20893161.html

 

 

Good Christian Men, Rejoice!

 

Good Christian men, rejoice
With heart, and soul, and voice;
Now ye need not fear the grave:
                (Peace! Peace!)
Jesus Christ was born to save!
Calls you one, and calls you all,
To gain His everlasting hall:
Christ was born to save! Christ was born to save!

 

accessed on 12/11/13 at http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/good_christian_men_rejoice.htm

Hark, the Herald Angels Sing!

 

Come, Desire of nations, come,
Fix in us Thy humble home;
Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed,
Bruise in us the serpent’s head.
Now display Thy saving power,
Ruined nature now restore;
Now in mystic union join
Thine to ours, and ours to Thine.

 

Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface,
Stamp Thine image in its place:
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in Thy love.
Let us Thee, though lost, regain,
Thee, the Life, the inner man:
O, to all Thyself impart,
Formed in each believing heart.

 

 accessed on 12/11/13  http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/h/h/a/hhangels.htm

 

I mean, come on...how awesome are those two verses from "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing?"  Those lines are straight out of Genesis and Romans.  I was overwhelmed when I found them, and wish so much that we included them more in our typical and contemporary "renditions".  The Word of God is so powerful, that if we sang it more frequently, it would have life-altering power. 

 

Adam's likeness, Lord, efface, Stamp Thine image in its place~second Adam from above, Reinstate us in Thy love. 

 

Yes, Lord, yes.