Celebration Week 28

This week we celebrate Jesus’ birth with two great old Christmas hymns that you may not be familiar with. The first is In the Bleak Midwinter. Listen to the words of this hymn and take them to heart!

The second song this week comes from the last week and half of blog posts. Can you recall what all twelve represent? It's the Minions version, because...well, just because...hahahaha!

The 12 Days of Christmas—Days 11 and 12

“On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, eleven pipers piping…”

The eleven pipers represent the eleven faithful disciples. Of the twelve disciples, only Judas, who betrayed Christ, had fallen away. These disciples represent the faithfulness that is expected of us as followers of Christ. God’s desire is for us to follow Him with faithfulness and consistency. As you go about the rest of your holiday season, remember that God’s desire is for us to serve Him faithfully.

“On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, twelve drummers drumming…”

The twelve drummers represent the twelve tenants of the Apostle’s Creed. For those of you not familiar with the Apostle’s Creed, it states:

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, …
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.

These twelve truths are a strong foundation on which many Christians build their faith. They are a good reminder of what we believe, and what is important as we follow after God.

So as you go through the holiday season, remember the 12 Days of Christmas…and remember what they represent! And we’ll see you on Sunday!

The 12 Days of Christmas—Days 9 and 10

“On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, nine ladies dancing…”

The nine ladies mentioned here are representative of the nine fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These nine are things that are to be natural outcroppings of the life that is lived by the Spirit of God.

These nine things are things that are a part of the life of the Christ Follower. It’s not optional. If you are a Christian, there ought to be a concern in your soul if there is little or no evidence of these things in your life. The 9 ladies ought to remind you that if the fruit of the Spirit is not showing itself in your life, then you need to ask why that is, and take the necessary steps to make sure that this fruit is being born out in your life.

“On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, ten lords a-leaping…”

(I'm pretty sure the song isn't talking about SITH lords, but...)

The ten lords are representative of the Ten Commandments. These foundational laws from the Mosaic Law are the summary laws of the Old Testament, and reiterated for us in two commands given by the Lord Jesus. These ten commands given to us tell us how we should love our God and our neighbors.

The first four commands (No other gods before Him, no idols, don’t take the Lord’s name in vain, and keep the Sabbath day holy) all relate to how we show God we love Him. They have to do with the vertical relationship between us and God and are vital to our relationship with Him.

The last six commands (Honor dad and mom, don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t covet) all have to do with how we treat our neighbors. These have to do with the horizontal relationships we have with each other, and if we want to have healthy relationships, these six things ought to be regular parts of the Christian life.

So watch your life and see if you are living out the fruit of the Spirit and the Ten Commandments…and we’ll see you on Sunday!

The 12 Days of Christmas—Days 6, 7, and 8

“On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, six geese a-laying…”

The six geese represent the six days of creation. On these literal days, God spoke the very earth, universe and everything in them into existence. This also speaks to the fact that God created you and I. He loves us because we belong to Him. He will never leave those who have placed their faith in Him, and if you will, this same Jesus can and will be with you always.

“On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, seven swans a-swimming…”

These seven swans represent the gifts of the Holy Spirit, or the Spiritual Gifts as they are presented in the Scriptures. These seven gifts (Prophecy, Service, Teaching, Preaching, Giving, Leadership, and Mercy) are born out in different ways, but each gift will fall in one of these seven categories. What is your gift? Are you using it for the glory of God? Think about the answers these questions this year when you hear The 12 Days of Christmas sung this Christmas season.

“On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, eight maids a-milking…”

The eight maids were supposed to represent the eight beatitudes found in Matthew chapter 5. These eight “attitude adjustments” (as I like to call them) help us to remember who we are and how we ought to live. The priorities of our life ought to be reflected in these 8 godly attitudes. We are to have a dependence on God, spiritual sensitivity, gentleness, righteousness, mercy, purity, peacefulness, and a life that is so focused on God that those who hate Him also hate us. When you hear this song this year, think about these things, because they are important to how you shine the light of Jesus throughout the rest of the year.

Keep on shining and we will see you on Sunday!

The 12 Days of Christmas—Days 4 and 5

“On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, four calling birds…”

The four calling birds are the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These four were important to remember because it was within these four books of Scripture that we find out about Who Jesus was and is, how He lived His life, and what difference that makes to us today. Even now, here in the 21^st century, we still have these four books of Scripture to help us live life in such a way that reflects the passion and purpose of Jesus in our world.

It is my hope that all of us will not only read the four “calling birds” but also live by them. That these will call to our hearts each and every day to be better than we were the day before. Because, as my father always used to say, “There is always room for improvement!”

“On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, five gold rings…”

The five gold rings represented the first five books of the Old Testament, or the Pentateuch, as it is called. These first five books of the Bible are important in that they teach us the Mosaic Law, the history of the world and the Israelite nation, and the origin of nations, peoples and how God worked within them. It teaches us of God’s special choosing of Abraham and how He began to have a special relationship with him. These first five books were (and still are) what Hebrew children were taught in Synagogue, so that every person knew their history, their Laws and how they should live by them.

The five “gold rings” are important for us today because they remind us of Who God is and how He works within the framework of His people, which we have become by virtue of Christ’s sacrifice and work on the cross. We now have the right to become His children as well, and we live by the grace that He offers!

So live in grace today, and we’ll see you on Sunday!

The 12 Days of Christmas—Days 2 and 3

“On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, two turtledoves…”

The two turtledoves that the song references are the two Testaments, or Covenants that we find the in Bible…the Old Covenant (Testament) and the New Covenant (Testament). These are distinct in some ways and similar in some ways. Let’s look at the similarities:

The Old and New Covenants are similar in that they both have their origins from the Lord Almighty. In the Old Covenant, God the Father initiated contact with Abraham, He initiated life itself when He created the world, and He initiated the Covenant with Israel through the Law of Moses and throughout the history of the nation of Israel. In the New Covenant, God the Father initiates contact with the waiting world by the sending of His Son, Jesus through the virgin birth.

God’s initiation of the Covenants means much to us. It means that He is not separated from His creation. It means that He cares about that which He has created, and He loves each of us. His love for us burdened Him to send His Son so that we might have relationship with Him. If anything, these two Covenants tell us that God is not finished with either Israel, or the rest of mankind…not yet. And so, we must remember Him for Who He is!

“On the third day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, three French hens…”

These three represent the final three things that remain following the coming of the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul states that prophecies, tongues, and special knowledge will all pass away. But the three things that will remain are faith, hope and love. These are what are represented by the three French hens.

Faith, the belief in and placing trust in another person or thing, is what brings us to God. We place our faith in Him and He is the one who brings about the changes in us.

Hope, in Biblical terms, is not a wish that something will happen, but rather a guaranteed future blessing that we are confident in and waiting for. Therefore, when we hope in the Lord, we know that He is coming for us, and that we do not need to fear like the rest of those who do not have this same hope.

And love is that which will never fail. It is, as 1 Corinthians 13 states, never failing and the greatest of the three. When there is love, there is purpose, there is commitment, there is perseverance, there is decency, there is protection, and many other things. We know that the love of Jesus caused Him to give up His rights as God and become like one of us so that we might have the opportunity to live with Him forever. What a blessing.

Now live this out today, and we’ll see you on Sunday!

The 12 Days of Christmas—Day 1

“On the First day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree!”

No, not that Partridge!

Have you ever wondered the meaning behind this song? I’ve been told, and I’m not exactly sure if it is true, that this song, The 12 Days of Christmas, was actually written to be a pneumonic device to help children learn about the Bible. Again, I have no idea if it is true, but I’d like to delve into the symbolic pictures of this famous Christmas song.

The partridge in the pear tree was a symbol for Christ on the cross. The partridge is a bird that will protect her young by feigning injury in order to draw a predator away from her young. This symbol for Jesus is appropriate because of the fact that Jesus, while not “feigning” anything, but truly suffering on the cross, still gave His life in exchange for ours. His sacrifice is what guarantees our salvation. He paid the price. He rose again. He is the one who loves us.

In fact, Jesus’ sacrifice, not only at the cross, but at His birth (remember, He gave up all of His rights as God to empty Himself and be found in human likeness—Philippians 2:1-8) demonstrated just how much God loved and cared for His people.

With that in mind, as you celebrate this Christmas season, remember to rejoice in the gifts that Jesus has given you. And as we celebrate, let’s remember that God’s gift of Jesus was the greatest gift of all!

Merry Christmas, and we’ll see you on Sunday!