April 24, 2024

Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem

December 24, 2014 by

phssChristmasgraphic2014

Oh, little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shine
The everlasting light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight

For Christ is born of Mary
And gathered all above
While mortals sleep the angels
Keep their watch of wondering love
Oh, morning stars together
Proclaim thy holy birth
And praises sing to God the king
And peace to men on earth

Traditional hymn written by Philip Brooks and Lewis Redner
Arrangers for Elvis Presley: Steve Abbott / Ian Tilley / Martin Neary

     *    ♥  ~  ✝  ~  ★    *

I love this song! It makes me think of the peacefulness of that night…and what Bethlehem was like. And what Mary and Joseph were thinking as Mary awaited the birth of Jesus. Here is some interesting history I found on what Bethlehem may have been like all those years ago:

“ ‘O Little Town Of Bethlehem’ is one of the most famous Christmas hymns. Bethlehem has become almost a mythological place. Children imagine it with a few “huts,” a few camels and the Holy Family. At the time of Jesus, Bethlehem was a little town of 300-1,000 inhabitants. What people might not know is that the city of Bethlehem today is not in Israel but in Palestine, and that it is a bustling city with 28,000 people.”

(Click here to read the entire article: Bethlehem, Then and Now)

Let’s look at how the Scriptures describe that night:

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod,
wise men from the east arrived unexpectedly in Jerusalem, saying,
“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?
For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
Matthew 2:1-2

I love the part in the song about ‘…Yet in thy dark streets shine the Everlasting Light.’

The sun will no more be your light by day,
nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the LORD will be your Everlasting Light,
and your God will be your glory.
Isaiah 60:19

Jesus is our Everlasting Light.  Praises be to the Father for this precious Gift!

But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to His mercy He saved us,
through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
Whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
that having been justified by His grace
we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Titus 3:4-7

“God’s gift to us, however, was a complete surprise. It was not expected, and as you examine it more carefully, you realize how great a gift it actually was.
Second, God’s gift came to us in the humblest of wrappings. What would you think if you saw a gift under your Christmas tree that was wrapped in newspaper and tied up with string? At first, you would probably assume that a guy wrapped it.
But think about God’s gift to us. Jesus was not born in a palace of gold; He was born in a stable. He was clothed with rags. He was laid in a feeding trough.
Yet these things do not, in any way, diminish the story of Christ’s birth. If anything, they help us realize the great sacrifice God made for us. God’s gift to humanity, the ultimate gift of eternal life through His Son, Jesus Christ, came in the simplest and humblest of wrappings.”

(Click here to read “The Greatest Gift“)

   *    ♥  ~  ✝  ~  ★    *

Father, thank You for the most precious gift of Jesus. May it never be something we take for granted and may we daily remember the great sacrifice for such a precious gift…In Jesus’ name. Amen !!

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

If Every Day Was Like Christmas

December 12, 2014 by

phssChristmasgraphic2014

I hear the bells
Saying Christmas is near
They ring out to tell the world
That this is the season of cheer

I hear a choir
Singing sweetly somewhere
And a glow fills my heart
I’m at peace with the world
As the sound of their singing fills the air

Oh why can’t every day be like Christmas
Why can’t that feeling go on endlessly
For if everyday could be just like Christmas
What a wonderful world this would be

I hear a child
Telling Santa what to bring
And the smile upon his tiny face
Is worth more to me than anything

 Performed by Elvis Presley ~ Written by Red West

*    ♥  ~  ✝  ~  ★    *

What if every day we could be more Christ-like…and treat people with kindness and good cheer everyday…and not just at Christmas?

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up,
as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by Whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you,
along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:29-32 ESV

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love,
a tender heart, and a humble mind.
Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling,
but on the contrary, bless,
for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit;
let him turn away from evil and do good;
let him seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and His ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
1 Peter 3:8-12 ESV

Christmas-time should not be the only time to help someone else in need.  We should be aware every day of those who God places around us that need something we have to give.

“The purpose of life is not to be happy.
It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate,
to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Are we too busy to notice those who God places around us?  Do we brag to others when we do help someone in need as to bring glory to ourselves?  God has much to say about this.  In Matthew 6:1-4 (NIV) it says,

Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them.  If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men.  I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
so that your giving may be in secret.  Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

When God calls us to help those around us…if our heart is to self-glorify then that is the only reward we will receive.  So be careful your heart is in the right place when you are helping those in need around you.

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10

This Christmas season, let’s remember the true reason for the season and the sacrifice that Jesus made.  To get outside of ourselves and pay attention to those in need around us everyday of the year…not just one season.

*    ♥  ~  ✝  ~  ★    *

Heavenly Father, thank You for the opportunities You give each of us everyday to love and help others as Jesus has loved us.  May we have the right heart in doing so.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Amazing Grace

March 25, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Amazing grace, oh, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found was blind, but now I see

When we’ve been there ten thousand years bright shining as the sun
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise then when we first begun

Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come
‘Twas grace that brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home

Amazing grace, oh, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found; was blind but now I see (was blind but now I see)

~  Sing this song with me as our prayer and worship today.  ~

Amazing Grace!  How sweet the sound!  Oh, YES, the sound of grace has been so sweet in my life.  I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see….

Grace is the word that God gave me as ‘my word’ for this year 2014.  Grace is something I am so very thankful for in my own life and something that God expects me now to give to others.  What God has so freely given you…you must now pour out onto others.  Let’s explore the meaning of the word grace.

“Grace means to get something that you do not deserve; unmerited favor. Mercy means you do not get a punishment that you do deserve; compassion, forbearance. God is abundant in grace and mercy; we can read about it in the Bible. His greatest act of grace is the gift of salvation that is available for all people through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). When the gift is accepted, eternal life is promised to the recipient. This eternal life is a promise of a home one day in Heaven with God. The promise to the believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit as a guarantee that one day Jesus the Christ will return to earth to claim His purchased possession (Ephesians 1:12-14; 4:30).  Jesus purchased every sinner with His own blood on the cross at Calvary.”   Read the rest of this article at What Christians Want To Know

I really love how this sums it up: I am not capable of loving anyone, without God’s grace. When I give grace to others, it is not my grace. I’m just passing along grace that God has given me.

We also give grace to others by forgiving them.  Everyone fails sometimes.  The church needs to be a safe place to come back to, even (especially!) when you’ve blown it.  Forgiveness doesn’t mean that the other person hasn’t hurt you. It means she has hurt you.  But you are choosing to release that hurt, and that person, into the grace of God given through Jesus Christ. After all, your sins have been forgiven. If God’s grace is enough to make forgiveness a reality in my life, it should be enough to make forgiveness a reality in the life of the person who hurt me.

Grace and forgiveness go hand in hand.  We must give the grace to others that we have so freely been given and we must forgive others as God has forgiven us.

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you
Matthew 6:14 ESV

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * 

Heavenly Father, I thank You for the Amazing Grace that saved a wretch like me.  I thank You that once I was lost and now I am found.  I thank You that I was once blind but now I see.  Please empower us through the Holy Spirit to pour out to others the AMAZING Grace and forgiveness that You have so freely given to us.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN!!!

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

He Touched Me

March 13, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjvShackled by a heavy burden ‘neath a load of guilt and shame
Then the hand of Jesus touched me and now I am no longer the same

He touched me, oh! He touched me
And oh, the joy that floods my soul
Something happened and now I know
He touched me and made me whole

Since I met this blessed Savior
Since He cleansed and made me whole
I will never cease to praise Him
I’ll shout it while eternity rolls

~  Sing this song with me as our prayer and worship today.  ~

)

Performed by Elvis Presley and The Jordanaires
Songwriters: Gaither, Youmans, Rose, Eliscu

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Can you even begin to imagine touching Jesus or being touched by Him?  Even now, my eyes well up with tears at the very thought!  “Oh! the joy…”  But here is the Truth: physically touched by or touching Jesus was never the determining factor of healing in any of the Gospel records.  What was needful was faith.  Listen to this record of faith:

And behold, a woman who had suffered from a flow of blood for twelve years
came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His garment;
For she kept saying to herself, If I only touch His garment, I shall be restored to health.
Jesus turned around and, seeing her, He said, Take courage, daughter!
Your faith has made you well.
And at once the woman was restored to health.
Matthew 9:20-22

This is such an inspiring account recorded in the Gospels. Picture this for a moment—a day or two in the life of our Lord: He had been teaching the crowds over on the other side of the Galilean Sea.  What He shared that day we know as the Sermon on the Mount.  (Great, incredible, life-changing truths He taught them!)  He came down the mountain, “and great crowds followed Him” (chapter 8, verse 1).  Amongst the people Jesus would encounter this day were folks who were waiting for Jesus’ “touch.”  They had faith that He would and could make them whole…physically, and mentally.

  • A leper (verses 2 and 3)

And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

  • A centurion (verses 5-13)

A centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.” Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”
Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed that very moment.

  • Peter and his mother-in-law (verses 14 and 15)

And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever; He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and served Him.

  • His disciples (verses 24-26)

And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!”
He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.

  • A paralytic man and his friends (chapter 9, verses 2-7)

And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.” And some of the scribes said to themselves, “This fellow blasphemes.”
And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’?
But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.” And he got up and went home.

  • A synagogue official (verses 18 and 19)

While He was saying these things to them, a synagogue official came and bowed down before Him, and said, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.” Jesus got up and began to follow him, and so did His disciples.

  • But wait, on their way to the centurion’s home, an ailing woman (verses 20-22)

And behold, a woman who had suffered from a flow of blood for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His garment; For she kept saying to herself, If I only touch His garment, I shall be restored to health. Jesus turned around and, seeing her, He said, Take courage, daughter! Your faith has made you well. And at once the woman was restored to health.

  • Back to the official and his daughter…(verses 23-25)

And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making an uproar and din, He said, Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping. And they laughed and jeered at Him. But when the crowd had been ordered to go outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.

  • Two blind men (verses 27-30)

As Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed Him, shouting loudly, Have pity and mercy on us, Son of David! When He reached the house and went in, the blind men came to Him, and Jesus said to them, Do you believe that I am able to do this? They said to Him, Yes, Lord.
Then He touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith and trust and reliance [on the power invested in Me] be it done to you; And their eyes were opened.

  • A man unable to speak (verses 32-33)

Behold, a dumb man under the power of a demon was brought to Jesus. And when the demon was driven out, the dumb man spoke;

Each of these people had observed or heard of ‘this Jesus,’ and quite obviously had determined in their minds that they COULD and WOULD receive healing from him.  We know that the woman who suffered from hemorrhages kept encouraging herself by saying, “If I only touch His garment, I shall be restored to health.”  Note that she never voiced this; Jesus never heard her say this. He knew her heart and her need…and He knew her faith.  And when He turned to her, He told her that her “…faith has made you well.”

Jesus is the same today!  He is the same to us!  He knows our need.  He knows when we have faith.  He touches us with His grace, His blessings, His healing.  He touches us when we had given up hope!  He touched us when we were dead in our trespasses and sins.  He touched us when we were lost and in need of a Shepherd.  He touched us when we thought that we were so far gone that nothing and no one would ever want us!  He touched us…and made us whole!

It is just as the song goes, “He touched me…oh, He touched me! And oh! the joy that floods my soul!  Something happened, and now I know—He touched me and made me whole!”  Let’s shout it now…and, when He returns, we will be able to “shout it while Eternity rolls!”  Amen?

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,