Why Do We Sing Christmas Songs?

I've had a thought brewing off and on since around Thanksgiving: Why is there so much Christmas music? Think about it. There is no other holiday that has anywhere near that much music devoted to it - combining both religious and secular - yet year after year artists come out with new Christmas albums.

Why? Why do we sing about chestnuts roasting on an open fire, having ourselves a merry little Christmas, and grandma getting run over by a reindeer? And we love it! (By we, I am including myself.) Nearly everyone goes to some sort of Christmas concert whether they are celebrating the birth of Jesus or not because music just goes with the season.

The first question I feel must be answered is why music in itself so important. Music is truly universal. Technically we don't need it, but we all crave and desire it. Here is an excellent article by pianist Dr. Karl Paulnack which explains beautifully the need for music from a purely human standpoint. Even those who do not recognize God as our Creator understand that music is a intricate part of who we are. Scientists realizing it's importance even came up with a title for the science of human music in the mid 1990's: Biomusicology.

So, we see that music is not just recognized as uniquely human by religious groups but by humanity as a whole: But how does God view it? Singing has been around since the dawn of creation. God is speaking to, or rather fussing at, Job in Job 38:4-7 and mentions the morning stars sang while He laid the cornerstone of the earth! We are also told over and over throughout the Bible to sing praises to God and are given examples of those who do. Psalm 47:6, Colossians 3:16, 1 Chronicles 15:27, 29. And there is even a whole book of the Bible - Psalms -  dedicated to praises sung to the Lord. The book of Revelation tells us of songs yet to be sung in Revelation 5:9, 14:3, and (this is my personal opinion) will be sung by Jesus, the Bright Morning Star! (Revelation 22:16 in reference back to Job 38:7)

It is just the way God wired our souls to speak. Emotions run so strong in song that a single measure can conjure images and emotions long forgotten. Music can bring us to the heights and depths of the indescribable longings of our spirit. Often when words fail us, music will not.

What does this have to do with Christmas music? Christmas is the celebration of the birth of our Salvation. The Creator of this world. The Word. I believe it is wired into our DNA to sing about it, or like Jesus said in Luke 19:40, "He answered, 'I tell you, if they were to keep silent, the stones would cry out!'"

Now Satan can't have that can he? So what does he do? He encourages humans to write as many X-mas songs as possible. Please understand that these songs aren't a sin. I love singing the 12 Days of Christmas and Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer. It's just that they allow us to sing the praises of the season instead of the Savior. When the God shaped hole in all of  us is longing to find Him during the celebration of Jesus birth, we are now given much silly putty to choose from instead. In fact, I think the fact that there is so much secular Christmas music attests to the reality of God.

How would its popularly stand the test of time otherwise?

Labor Pains

There is a blog I have been wanting to write for a few weeks now, but the time was not right. It's nothing earth shattering - just something that occurred to me, yet I have not been able to bring it to fruition. Yesterday, however, I began on it and hope to have it posted tomorrow.

I found this Psalm today which I thought was excellent for explaining the importance of waiting and reflecting on the Lord to get it right: Even if it's induced by Him. This Psalm reflects my moods lately as well, and our need to praise Him for who He is. Pay particular attention to verses 6 and 12, they stood out to me specifically. I pray they are an encouragement to you as well.

Psalm 77:1-20
1.   I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and He will hear me.
2.   In my day of trouble I sought the Lord. My hands were lifted up all night long; I refused to be comforted.
3.   I think of God; I groan; I meditate; my spirit becomes weak.
4.   You have kept me from closing my eyes; I am troubled and can not speak.
5.   I consider days of old, years long past.
6.   At night I remember my music; I meditate in my heart, and my spirit ponders.
7.   "Will the Lord reject forever and never again show favor? 
8.   Has His faithful love ceased forever? Is His promise at an end for all generations?
9.   Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger withheld His compassion?"
10.   So I say, "It is my sorrow that the right hand of the Most High has changed."
11.   I will remember the LORD's works; yes, I will remember Your ancient wonders.
12.   I will reflect on all You have done and meditate on Your actions.
13.   God, Your way is holy. What god is great like God?
14.   You are the God who works wonders; You revealed Your strength among the peoples.
15.   With Your power You redeemed Your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
16.   The waters saw You, God. The waters saw You; they trembled. Even the depths shook.
17.   The clouds poured down water. The storm clouds thundered; Your arrows flashed back and forth.
18.   The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; lightening lit up the world. The earth shook and quaked.
19.   Your way went through the sea, and Your path through the great waters, but Your footprints were unseen. 
20.   You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Those Who Enjoy Unrighteousness

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12
"...They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth in order to be saved. For this reason God sends them a strong delusion so that they will believe what is false, so that all will be condemned - those who did not believe the truth but enjoyed unrighteousness."

Those who didn't believe the truth.
Those who enjoyed unrighteousness.

I'll be honest, I have nothing to say about this other than it breaks my heart.

Have you ever wept over the lost? If not, is your passion for reaching them near what it should be?

Oh Father, break my heart so that I have the passion to be bold in spreading the truth of the Gospel to a world who desperately needs to accept the love of the Truth.

Striving To Be Like King Nebuchadnezzar

Many of us know the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the book of Daniel, and how King Nebuchadnezzar of the Babylonians sent them into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow down and worship the 90 foot golden statue he made of himself. When seeing four men walking around in the fire and calling the three back out, the King showed respect and awe for the "Most High God" (Daniel 3:26), "the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego" (Daniel 3:28). However, this respect hadn't turned into his own personal faith - yet. So the Lord got his attention.

For now, I'd like to focus on verses 1 & 2 of chapter 4, but take some today to read all of Daniel 4:1-37. (It's one of my favorite chapters in the Old Testament because of the unique way God works to bring to Him the ones He desires.) "King Nebuchadnezzar, To those of every people, nation, and language, who live in all the earth: May your prosperity increase. I am pleased to tell you about the miracles and wonders the Most High God has done for me." Now, if you've read the rest of the chapter, you might wonder why the King doesn't say "what the Most High God has done to me" instead of "for me". Why? Because Nebuchadnezzar recognizes a principle the write of Hebrews shares with us; "For the Lord disciplines the one He loves..." Hebrews12:6, 10. Too often we become so focused on what has happened to us, we miss the blessing of what has happened for us.

King Nebuchadnezzar is willing to tell everyone what happened to him as well; all for the glory of God. He could have just told the world that he had been restored to power, that he had had a little illness, or even that he got a little too big for his britches, but that he now had it under control. But that's not what he did. The King humbled himself before all for the love and glory of The Most High King. Not only that, but he was pleased to tell all.

How often are we willing to lay our lives open before the masses to bring glory to God? We should, for we are here to glorify Him in everything. Do you love Him enough and your pride little enough to do so?

Jeremiah 13:16 "Give glory to the Lord your God before He brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the mountains at dusk. You wait for light, but He brings darkest gloom and makes thick darkness." 

No, I'm Not Perfect... I'm Just Always Right.

How often to do you ask God if you are wrong?

I'm not talking about whether you are in sin or not. I'm talking about an attitude of the heart. When you are obeying what God has called you to do for a season, is your heart in the right season as well? I ask this because we are always asking God what we should do: How often do we ask Him what we should feel, or how we should act? Trust me when I say I am stepping on my own toes on this one as well.

Recently, I was in a situation where no matter what I told someone, they believed it was a totally different scenario. They believed what they wanted to believe I was saying, no matter what angle I came at it. Why? It most likely was easier for them to accept, but I can't really say for sure. They assumed something that wasn't true so that they didn't have to deal with a bigger issue. It's not just me either- others have confided the same.

So how do we make sure we don't fall into this trap? I think the first step is prayer. David says to the Lord in Psalm 139:23-24, "Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way." We must ask God to reveal it to us. Remember: That's the point of needing to be searched- we don't realize it's there.

The next thing is to practice humility. The best way I've found to do this is by serving others- FIRST. This isn't easy, but when we are serving others in righteousness, we seldom have time for self-serving righteousness.  As Christians, we often need to pray for the Spirit to keep us righteous on the inside as well as the out (Matthew 23:28). It would be so easy to become like the religious leaders in Jesus' time if we did not humble ourselves before the Lord and before others often (Matthew 23:13-33).

Please take some time today to listen to the Spirit's guidance as you ask God to search your heart for any offensive way. Ask His forgiveness and then make it right-eous again.