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December 24, 2025

    Holy Night, Indeed

    Here is some trivia for you. Do you have any guesses about what may have been the first song broadcast from space? The crew of Gemini 6 snuck bells and a harmonica onboard. On December 16, 1965, after reporting a “strange object” moving in the skies from north to south, they played a few lines of Jingle Bells. You can click here to hear the astronauts.(1)

    Have you ever wondered what the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” was really about? “Though a host of modern internet sites and some magazine articles have tried to reduce ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ to little more than a silly Christmas carol, most scholars of the Catholic Church deem it a very important surviving example of a time when that denomination used codes to disguise their teachings in order to avoid persecution.

    They contend that it was “originally a poem written by Catholic clerics, and transformed into a carol at a time when celebrating the twelve days of Christmas was one of the most important holiday customs.”(2)

    The complete explanation of why each day’s “gift code” was chosen to represent the spiritual truth it pictures can be found through this link, but here is what each gift represented:(3)

    • The partridge in a pear tree represents Jesus.

    • Two turtle doves represent the Old and New Testaments.

    • Three French hens represent faith, hope, and love, and also the Holy Trinity: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

    • The four calling birds are the four gospels.

    • The five golden rings represent the first five books of the Old Testament, known as the Torah or the Pentateuch.

    • Each egg of the six geese-a-laying is a day in creation when God “hatched” or formed the world.

    • Hidden in the seven swans-a-swimming are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (as the Catholics count them).

    • The eight maids-a-milking represent the eight Beatitudes (from Matthew 5:3-10).

    • Nine ladies dancing were the fruits of the Spirit.

    • Ten lords-a-leaping were code for the Ten Commandments.

    • The eleven pipers piping signify the eleven faithful disciples.

    • The twelve drummers drumming are the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostles’ Creed.

    From my research, it doesn’t appear that this explanation can be proven, though it does have many believers. And it’s so good I’m just gonna go with it!

    O Holy Night

    And then there is my all-time favorite Christmas song, “O Holy Night.” Can there be more poignant words than these?

    “Long lay the world in sin and error pining,


    Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.


    A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,


    For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!”(4)

    And the moving third stanza, with the stirring words of love and freedom, reaches deep into the human soul. Here are the words of this wonderful song in their entirety, followed by a link to “The Nativity Story” with Josh Groban’s classic version of “O Holy Night.” Do yourself a favor: find a time when you can stop everything you’re doing, and both watch and listen to this five-minute video. It is NOT just him singing. You will be glad you did. This song will be today’s prayer and decree.

    O Holy Night

    “O holy night! The stars are brightly shining; It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining, ‘Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn! Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born! O night, O holy night, O night divine!

    Led by the light of faith serenely beaming, With glowing hearts by His cradle, we stand. So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming, Here came the Wise Men from 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 is no stranger. Behold your King, before Him lowly bend! Behold your King, before Him lowly bend!

    Truly, He taught us to love one another; His law is love, and His gospel is peace. Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother, And in His name, all oppression shall cease. Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we; Let all within us praise His holy name. Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever! His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim! His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!”(5)

    Click the link below to watch the full video.

     
     

    December 23, 2025

      The Unintended Christmas Carol 

      We are only a couple of days from Christmas. Many believers, like myself, are unhappy with much of the commercialization of Christmas. However, it is also true that there is no other time of year when Christ’s name and the glory of His birth fill the airwaves with such frequency. If we allow it, the season can be a great reset for us each year as we consider Christ’s great gift to us. As you listen to the Christmas Carols, here is some interesting information to consider about three of our favorites.

      Carol #1

      In 1719, Isaac Watts wrote what has been the most-published Christmas hymn in North America. However, it was not written as a Christmas carol but as a poem about the reigning King Jesus, based not on the birth of Christ, but on Psalm 98. “Stanza three…alludes to Genesis 3:17-19…speaks of Christ’s blessings extending victoriously over the realm of sin…Stanza four celebrates Christ’s rule over the nations…called to celebrate because God’s faithfulness to the house of Israel has brought salvation to the world.”(1) Here are the words to this famous hymn:

      Joy to the World

      “Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let Earth receive her King;


      Let every heart prepare Him room, And heaven and nature sing, 

      And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.




      Joy to the world! the Saviour reigns;
Let men their songs employ;


      While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains; 

      Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.



      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, far as the curse is found.




      He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove


      The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love, 


      And wonders, wonders, of His love.”(2)

      Carol #2

      “Phillip Brooks was a distinguished man of faith and intellect. A Boston-born Episcopalian preacher, he’d earned a Doctorate of Divinity from the University of Oxford, taught at Yale University, and publicly advocated against slavery during the Civil War. But he’s best known for penning a famous Christmas carol after a life-changing journey.

      “In 1865, Brooks rode on horseback from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, where he participated in the Church of the Nativity’s five-hour-long Christmas Eve celebration, complete with hymns. Returning home, this experience proved so profound that he channeled it into the song sung in churches to this day. Its first public performance was held three years after he wrote it, performed by the children’s choir of his church [The Church of the Holy Trinity in Philadelphia] on December 27.”(3)

      Until then, this musical was still only a poem. Brooks asked his organist, Lewis Redner, to write the music. Here is Redner’s interesting explanation of how the music came to him:

      “As Christmas of 1868 approached, Mr. Brooks told me that he had written a simple little carol for the Christmas Sunday School service, and he asked me to write the tune to it. Mr. Brooks came to me on Friday and said, ‘Redner, have you ground out that music yet?’ I replied, ‘No,’ but that he should have it by Sunday. On the Saturday night previous, my brain was all confused about the tune. I thought more about my Sunday school lesson than I did about the music. But I was roused from sleep late in the night, hearing angelic music whispering in my ear, and seizing a piece of music paper, I jotted down the treble of the tune as we now have it, and on Sunday morning before going to church, I filled in the harmony. Neither Mr. Brooks nor I ever thought the carol or the music to it would live beyond that Christmas of 1868.”(4) How wrong they were!

      O Little Town of Bethlehem

      “O 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 shineth 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 wond’ring love.O morning stars, together proclaim the holy birth,and praises sing to God the King, and peace to men on earth.

      How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is giv’n!So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heav’n.No ear may hear His coming but in this world of sin,where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.

      O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;cast out our sin and enter in; be born in us today.We hear the Christmas angels, the great glad tidings tell;O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!”(5)

      Carol #3

      Do you know what is the world’s most-recorded Christmas song, with more than 137,000 known recordings?(6)

      In 1818, “Father Joseph Mohr, in Austria, is preparing the music for [Christmas Eve] midnight mass and asks his friend Franz Gruber, a schoolteacher, to write a guitar accompaniment for a poem that he had written two years earlier. That night, the two men sang their brand new song at St. Nicholas church, and one of our best-loved Christmas carols was born. A version of the song recorded by Bing Crosby in 1935 sold a whopping 30 million copies.”(7)

      What prompted the song? “The words were written in 1816…not long after the Napoleonic wars had taken their toll. The priest went for a walk, and he looked out over a very quiet, winter-laden town. He was inspired...the town was at peace.”(8) And this provoked the classic, “Silent Night.”

      Silent Night

      “Silent night, holy night, All is calm, all is bright

      Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child, 

      Holy Infant, so tender and mild

      Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace.


      Silent night, holy night, Shepherds quake at the sight

      Glories stream from heaven afar

      Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia

      Christ the Savior is born, Christ the Savior is born.


      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.”(9)

      Do yourself a favor and use the link below the prayer to listen to Chris Tomlin’s version of Silent Night. You’ll be glad you did.

      Pray with me:

      Jesus, we thank You, along with Isaac Watts, for coming to earth and making Your blessings flow, far as the curse is found. Your right hand has gained the victory for You (Psalm 98:1), and You have made known Your salvation and revealed Your righteousness to the nations (verse 2). You tell us to “shout joyfully,” breaking forth with praise (verse 4); that the seas roar, the rivers clap, and the mountains sing for joy (verses 7-8) because Christ is coming to judge the earth with righteousness and equity (verse 9).

      As we ponder the wonder of Your great gift to us, Father, we thank You, along with Phillip Brooks, for the everlasting light that shone in the dark streets of Bethlehem. In that quiet town, on that night so long ago, the hopes and fears of all the years met in the birth of our Savior. Thank You for this great gift.

      Click on the link below to watch the full video.

       
       

      December 22, 2025

        A Fun Christmas Memory

        “In the same region, there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock at night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. And so the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army of angels praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among people with whom He is pleased.’” Luke 2:8-14 (NASB)

        “Great joy…for all people,” are some of the words spoken by the angel on the night of Christ’s birth. Today’s post is intended to stir up some joy in you.

        We live in precarious and perilous times, punctuated by evil dictators, corrupt governments, power-crazed politicians, woke educators, and God-haters. In the midst of evil and chaos, let me remind you that joy is a fruit of the spirit, not the emotions, and therefore is not based on circumstances. Happiness is based on circumstances which we can’t always control; joy, however, originates in our spirit and therefore flows from Holy Spirit in us (Galatians 5:22). In the angel’s announcement above, the word “great” is the Greek word megas, from which we get the English word “mega.” Megas means over and above, above and beyond, more than enough. 

        Recalling pleasant memories of past Christmases is a wonderful way to awaken joy during the holidays. They can be from when you were a child, or even as a parent or grandparent, spending time with family. The memory/memories could be of a gift you gave, or one you were given. Maybe it’s a sleigh ride, a ski trip, a family trip, watching the Nutcracker, or Christmas movies with mom, or a football game with dad. Think of something and let it unlock some joy.

        Laughter is good. God said it’s like a medicine (Proverbs 17:22). Think of something from a Christmas past that’ll make you laugh. Here’s one of mine.

        We once had a dog named Mercedes. Sadie, as we called her, was a Boxer. God used Mercedes greatly in my life. She taught me patience, humility, poop-scooping, and the price of dog ACL surgery. I didn’t actually mind the poop-scooping in and of itself; it was the mocking laughter I could see in her eyes as I did it that irritated me.

        We bought Mercedes–yes, I paid for these lessons–because we moved to a rural area where coyotes and foxes could endanger our two other smaller dogs - they needed a bodyguard. Besides, everyone needs THREE dogs! The plan backfired. Mercedes took over our home. Ceci and the girls actually went to obedience school with her a few times. That helped - Sadie learned to sit. She came home and asserted her dominance by sitting on my chest. Seriously. I was stretched out on the floor watching a football game with a nice fire in the fireplace, when she looked proudly over at the girls and sat on my chest. “Good girl. Good sit,” they said, through uncontrolled laughter. True story.

        Then there was the time she TP’d (toilet papered) the backyard. Yep, she did. We had a fenced backyard, so at times, when we left the house, we’d leave the back sliding door open a foot or so to give the dogs some freedom. Upon returning home from church one Sunday, there was a trail of toilet paper from the powder room (for all you guys, that’s the half-bath you keep clean for guests) leading through the family room, out the back door, and into the yard. Once in the backyard, it seemed that Sadie’s creative side kicked in. She went over, under, around, and through, making circles, figure 8’s, and more. Then she did her “business” while I cleaned up the toilet paper. And if you don’t see the cruel irony of that, then you’re pretty slow. I swear she was laughing. True story.

        But perhaps my most humiliating experience with Mercedes was when I had to chase her around on the roof of our two-story house. I was hanging Christmas lights–you thought I had gotten off the subject of Christmas, didn’t you–and with the house layout, it was easy access to a portion of the roof from our daughter’s bedroom casement window seat. From there, I could walk to the remainder of the roof, even the higher parts. Of course, I left the window open. 

        I was on all fours, carefully placing hooks for the lights on the gutters, when suddenly I heard a noise behind me. I turned, and there was Mercedes–she had joined me! I panicked. If she fell off this two-story roof and hurt herself, Ceci and the girls would never forgive me. My tone of voice and panicked attempt to grab Sadie scared her. She, of course, began running around and wouldn’t come to me. So I chased her, which caused her to run more…Kevin Costner became known to the Native Americans as “the man who dances with wolves.” I became known in our neighborhood as “man who dances with dog on roof.” True story.

        Remember something today that makes you laugh. If you can’t think of anything, picture me with a 70-pound, well-trained, obedience school graduate Boxer sitting on my chest. The Message version of Proverbs 17:22 says, “A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.” Laugh. It’ll do you good.

        Pray with me:

        Father, in these precarious and perilous times, punctuated by evil dictators, corrupt and power-crazed politicians, terrorists, woke educators, and God-haters, we can still have joy. Cause the spirit of joy to rise up in Your people today. Even those in difficult circumstances, may the strength that results from joy arise in them. Temper their grief with moments of joy. If it needs to be a supernatural impartation, please do that.

        Thank You, Father, for sending Jesus, who brought us mega joy. “Joy to the world, the Lord has come.” Because of Him, we can rejoice. Remind us to remain focused on Him this Christmas season.

        And we pray for our nation. Please deliver our nation from evil doers; expose terrorists and their plans. Deliver us also from the devastation our sin and turning away from You has caused. Give us the joy that comes from true revival. Cause the awakening to create a national deliverance and turn millions toward righteousness. This has begun, but we need it to become a tidal wave! We thank You for all of this, and ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

        Our decree:

        We decree that “joy unspeakable and full of glory” is ours today through Christ. (1 Peter 1:8)

        Click on the link below to watch the full video.


         
         
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