Dear Lord Jesus,
Words are so inadequate.
I want to thank You for Your willingness to come to earth in human form, to feel hunger and weariness and pain, to experience rejection and betrayal.
I want to thank You for Your willingness to feel the lash of false accusations, to suffer the thorns, to endure the whip, to bear the nails.
I want to thank You for Your willingness to be the sacrifice to cover my sin.
Most of all, I want to thank You for Your willingness to be my living Savior, to walk alongside me through the valleys and atop the mountains of my journey.
I want to thank You for all of this, Lord Jesus.
But, again, words just seem unable to express what's in my heart this Christmas Day.
So one last thank You: Thank You for Your willingness to know what's in my heart and know what words just can't convey.
I love you, Lord Jesus. My Savior, my Redeemer, my gift at Christmas.
Amen
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Silent Night
It's the time of year when I'm surrounded with music of the season. I love it! No matter where I go--the grocery store, the mall, my local Target--songs play that speak of Christ's birth. At no other time of the year do we hear such words in public places.
But this morning as Christmas music played in the background, I realized how often the music can become "white noise" and I fail to really think about the words.
My very favorite Christmas song of all is Silent Night. I love to sing it, love to listen to it.
Over the last several days, I've been blessed to sing this song at the end of some speaking engagements. I asked the ladies at the events to sing along, and the last time (mainly because I'm fighting a cold and my throat was pretty sore) I stopped singing and just listened to them sing in lovely harmony.
For the first time in a while, I just listened.
The final verse proclaims:
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.
Jesus is the Son of God! He is love's pure light! He is our Redeemer!!
Next time you're listening to your favorite Christmas songs, stop. Really listen to the words that sometimes just become . . . well, just words.
Remember again why Jesus came: To give us peace and joy and, most importantly, redemption!
But this morning as Christmas music played in the background, I realized how often the music can become "white noise" and I fail to really think about the words.
My very favorite Christmas song of all is Silent Night. I love to sing it, love to listen to it.
Over the last several days, I've been blessed to sing this song at the end of some speaking engagements. I asked the ladies at the events to sing along, and the last time (mainly because I'm fighting a cold and my throat was pretty sore) I stopped singing and just listened to them sing in lovely harmony.
For the first time in a while, I just listened.
The final verse proclaims:
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.
Jesus is the Son of God! He is love's pure light! He is our Redeemer!!
Next time you're listening to your favorite Christmas songs, stop. Really listen to the words that sometimes just become . . . well, just words.
Remember again why Jesus came: To give us peace and joy and, most importantly, redemption!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)