Tag: faith

Christmas

The History of Christmas Carols

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The History of Christmas Carols

I cannot imagine Christmas without singing carols and listening to music everywhere. Our traditional carols often started as poems. The words were taken from the scripture and then published in prayer books before being turned into songs. Most of our old favorites were written before the 20th century. The Puritans tried to ban them in the 16th century altogether because they were thought to be too secular and frivolous. It is believed that the first Christmas carol service was invented in Truro England in 1880. But the the first “Christmas choir” is recorded in the gospel of Luke when the angels sang to announce the birth of Jesus.

Luke 2:8–14 (ESV)
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Many favorite Christmas hymns retell this part of the story. “ Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” was written in 1739 by Charles Wesley, “Angels frome the Realms of Glory” in 1816 by Scottish poet James Montgomery and “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks” by Nahum Tate (1700s). “Angels We Have Heard on High” is based on an old French carol that was first published in 1819 but probably originated long before that. The stanzas of each hymn were translated from various languages and the tunes were written and reaaranged by several musicians into what we have today. They are all steeped in scripture and deep theology that is often lost due to our illiteracy and understanding of the Bible today.

I enjoyed researching the history of our Christmas hymns. “Silent Night” was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818 in a small village in Austria. A young priest named Father Joseph Mohr wrote the words the year before. There was a flood that damaged the church organ so he brought the poem to organist Franz Gruber asking him to please compose a melody and guitar accompaniment for the evening service. So there you have it, the first guitars in Church!

Did you know that “Joy to the World” was not written as a Christmas carol? In its original form, it had nothing to do with Christmas. It wasn’t even written to be a song. In 1719, Issac Watts, one of our great hymn writers, published a book of poems in which each poem was based on a psalm. One of those poems was an adaptation of Psalm 98. Watts interpreted this psalm as a celebration of Jesus’s role as King of both his church and the world. More than a century later, the second half of this poem was slightly adapted and set to music to give us what has become one of the most famous of all Christmas carols.

One great Christmas carol is also a great reminder of our responsibility to tell others about the One who came to bring us Salvation. That hymn is “Go Tell it On the Mountain“. A negro spiritual dating at least to 1865 was written down by by a black educator named John Work, around 1907, who was not well received by the white establishment of the time.

Whether you are singing in your car or kitchen, out in the community or church choir, think about the words! Find a hymn book or google all the words because there are so many beautiful songs of joy and praise. The tunes may be familiar but the message may be new to someone you know. Share the angels song: the good news that a Savior was born for us. Share the shepherds story: how the experience of hearing the message and finding the Christ Child changed your life.

Go Tell It On the Mountain

Go, tell it on the mountain,
over the hills and everywhere.
Go, tell it on the mountain
that Jesus Christ is born.


Christmas

Is Your Creche More Than an Heirloom?

by securelyanchored2 Comments on Is Your Creche More Than an Heirloom?
Is Your Creche More Than an Heirloom?

Soon after Thanksgiving is over the fall decorations are put away and down from the attic come the boxes of Christmas decorations, lights and my Precious Moments nativty set. Since my set is porcelain the children weren’t supposed to play with it but they did. I would find the sheep had wandered to another part of the stable and one time a camel suffered a broken neck. After my now adult children have visited I will find a ball for baby Jesus or a small tree and one time Spiderman was hanging above watching over the cradle. I don’t mind though because they know the true story.

Tradition has it that St Francis of Assisi created the first creche in 1223 when he mounted a living nativity scene, consisting of a manger, an ox and a donkey. It was for the the Christmas Eve Mass he organized while visiting the mountain town of Grecio.

Ornate nativity sets are often passed down through families and I have visited large collections from around the world from small to life size. The word creche comes from Latin and means “a nursery.” In Britain, childcare centers are called a creche (I did not know this). When you set out your home collection is it just another decoration as a nod to the Biblical narrative? The real nativity (place of birth) for the Son of God was crude, noisy and smelly. So many people had packed into Bethlehem that the stable was the only private space the Inn Keeper could offer. Mary and Joseph were exhausted from a very long and difficult trip, estimated to be about 70 miles, and then the poor girl delivered a baby. I found the image below on Pinterest and I think it is a better representation of the scene.

Micah 5:2 (ESV)
2But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.

Isaiah 7:14 (ESV)
14Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Isaiah 9:6 (ESV)
6For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

It is believed that the wisemen were highly educated astrologers and astronomers that traveled from Persia which is appoximately 400 miles away. They saw a new star that signified a special, spectacular birth and they had studied the Hebrew scriptures. The new family would have only stayed in the stable a short time and Matthew 2 states “they went into a house” and worshipped the child. Some scholars estimate it may have been almost two years later, just before Herod tried to find and kill the new born King. The treasures the wise men brought were of significant value and prophetic importance.  Gold, highly valuable fit for a king and we are told in the book of Revelation that the streets of heaven are filled with gold. The frankincense was a fragrant spice used as incense in the Temple and the Magi bowed to worship the Messiah. Myrrh was a holy annointing oil for the priests and also used in embalming. This signifiesJesus’ role as our High Priest who would die for us.

Jesus, One with the Father stepped out of glory to come to earth to dwell with mankind and experience everything we do. He lived a sinless life with the purpose of one day offering Himself as a sacrifice for our sin so we can be forgiven, made holy and have a relationship with God.

It is my hope and prayer that as we look at a creche or visit a life size nativity scene this year that it will be more than one more thing on our “to do” list, more than an heirloom to put out. Because a creche is only a model of the beginning of the greatest story ever told.

from Amy Grant’s Heirlooms

Wisemen and shepherds
Down on their knees
Bringing their treasures
To lay at His feet
Who was this Wonder
Baby, yet King
Living and dying
He gave life to me

Time never changes the memory
The moment His love first pierced through me
Telling all that I come from
And all that I live for
And all that I’m going to be
My precious Savior
Is more than an heirloom to me

Difficult Circumstances, Encouragement

When Life Doesn’t Seem Fair

by securelyanchored1 Comment on When Life Doesn’t Seem Fair
When Life Doesn’t Seem Fair

Often when I hear news of someone’s else’s misfortune or I am going through a difficult time myself I think, ” life just isn’t fair”. When my kids were growing up sometimes they thought we parents weren’t being fair. But God never promised life would be. Does that surprise you? Jesus told His disciples that there would be trouble in the world. Reading the scriptures gives us a different perspective. I am using a different version of the bible in my blog today because we can discover deeper meaning by using different translations.

Psalm 37: 1–9 (Christian Standard Bible) A Psalm Of David.

1Do not be agitated by evildoers; do not envy those who do wrong. – The ESV version uses the word fret. The verb fret means to be constantly or visibly worried or anxious. Why should we not fret? 2For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender green plants. – it’s only temporary. Some of the synonyms for fret are agonize, mope, make a fuss, grumble and eat your heart out. It sounds like fretting would make us miserable and those around us also.

3Trust in the Lord and do what is good – we have a choice to do what is good and not grumble or try to get even. ;dwell in the land and live securely. – The ESV tells us to befriend faithfulness but my NIV uses the phrase “cultivate faithfulness” in place of live securely. Did you ever think about cultivating faithfulness? The word cultivate is a gardening term but also means to acquire or develop a quality, sentiment, or skill.

4Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. – This verse does not contain a promise to give us everything we want because you are such a good Christian. Psalm 119 exhorts us to delight in God’s word and Jesus told us to pray according to the Father’s will. When our desires are aligned with his He does bless abundantly.

5Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act, To commit to something or someone is to pledge or bind – devote, apply or dedicate. When we do this, we let God be God and trust Him take care of the problem. That trust will take a weight off of our mind by replacing it with peace.

6making your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday. Do you remember the old song “This Little Light of Mine”? The light of Jesus in our lives is hidden when we are agitated and worried.

7Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for him; I have a hard time being silent and still. To be honest, sometimes I like to explain to God how He should fix problems. do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way, by the person who carries out evil plans. I remember my mother saying, “you are only responsible for your own actions. God will take care of the rest.” I should be silent more often.

8Refrain from anger and give up your rage; do not be agitated—it can only bring harm. How did anger end up here when we are talking about worry? Often in the medical arena an agitated person (for whatever reason) necessitates de-escalation techniques before violence occurs. When we allow worry to control us we can end up in the trap of entitlement and feeling like a victim. Our negative feelings and thoughts can get out of hand if we do not give them over to God.

9For evildoers will be destroyed, but those who put their hope in the Lord will inherit the land. Our hope is not here on this planet. Our hope is in Jesus Christ and an eternity with Him.

Please read the rest of this Psalm on your own remembering that …v.24 The Lord is the One who holds your hand and choose wisdom over worry.

compassion, love

Is There Anything That Doesn’t Run Out?

by securelyanchored3 Comments on Is There Anything That Doesn’t Run Out?
Is There Anything That Doesn’t Run Out?

We have been blessed – spoiled! I never experienced empty shelves in the grocery store in my whole life until recently. America, the land of plenty, is feeling the crunch as much as the rest of the world. First we had the hoarding due to the unknown repercussions of the Coronavirus. Next came the shutdowns, backlog of ordered products and supply chain breakdown. I am flabbergasted as I stare at the empty rows . We have lived in a dispensable society and when something ran out we just went to buy more without a thought.

With Valentine’s Day around the corner everyone runs out to buy cards, candy and flowers. There are Hallmark movies galore and mushy sentiment oozes out for a few days. At least people will try to be kind. But human love is a fragile and fickle thing. True love isn’t based on emotions and material goods or well being. In the Bible we read story after story of Gods mercy, which is compassion in action and grace, all the blessings we receive and are undeserved.

The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love. 9 This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. 10 This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God. 1 John 4:8-10 (MSG)

We can understand the love of a mother for her newborn or the starry eyed love of a bride and groom. But our love isn’t perfect because we can become impatient, short tempered and selfish. Everything we know on earth will eventually get used up, run out or die. So it can be difficult to understand God’s sacrificial love that is offered freely, eternally and unconditionally. His love never fails, never gives up and never runs out on us.

 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35,37-39 (NLT)

The old hymn The Love of God was written by F.M. Lehman in 1917 when he was working in a citrus packing plant. But the third verse actually came from from the pen of and eleventh century Jewish poet in Germany named Meir Ben Isaac Nehorai. The words beautifully describe the immeasurable love of God.

Could we with ink the ocean fill and were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade,

To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry,

Nor could the scroll contain the whole though stretched from sky to sky.

Many people do not feel loved or worthy of love but the fact is that God does love you no matter where you live, where you have gone or what you have done. He wants a relationship with each and everyone of us and He is patiently waiting for us to run into His arms. Accept the free gift of salvation through Jesus and celebrate real love this Valentine’s day.

Christian Living, Encouragement, faith

Seeds of Potential

by securelyanchored4 Comments on Seeds of Potential
Seeds of Potential

There is a bumper crop of apples in New England this year.  The too hot and too wet weather for people was great for the fruit trees.  Each seed has potential for life and growth and an abundant harvest. Each apple has the potential to be used in a lot of ways….eating, baking pies, muffins, pastries, making cider, applesauce, decorating and the list goes on.  An apple tree takes eight years of growing before it will bear any fruit and then varying amounts each year. How many apples will there be in its lifetime?

IMG_0909

Did you know that apples are not native to the US? They were introduced to North America in the 17th century by European colonists and their descendants.   Most stories about the American folk hero John Chapman, aka Johnny Appleseed, are more fiction than fact.  Born in  Massachusetts, he planted apple orchards as far as the Midwest. He  never married, lived a very simple life and shared the message of God’s love to everyone including native Indian tribes.

The word potential means, “ having latent qualities or abilities that may be developed and lead to future success or usefulness”.   Synonyms for potential are possibilities, prospects, promise, capability and capacity.

The Bible tells us that most of the twelve disciples were hard working but uneducated men.  They were trying hard to understand and follow Jesus’ teaching but questioned how they could possibly do what He asked.   5  The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.         Luke 17:5-6 (ESV)

We serve a God with Whom nothing is impossible.   When the Hebrews were taken out of Egypt – God parted the Red Sea.  When David faced off against the giant Goliath – God took him down with a stone and a slingshot.  When Daniels friends refused to bow to the kings statue  – God rescued them from the fiery furnace.   Jesus fed 5000 people with only a little boys lunch.  

 For nothing is impossible with God. Luke 1:37 (NLT)

Since we don’t have any mustard trees in New England, can I use the term “apple seeds of faith”?  Is your faith as small as an apple seed?  Every person has potential and so does each day. We need to find our gifts and abilities to develop and use them by reading the Bible – God’s manual and by talking to the Master Gardener.   Every day we are given new opportunities and choices to share our faith with a lost and hurting world.   Just think of all the possibilities!           

Whatever circumstance you may face today ask God to show you the potential within and take a small step forward even with “faith like an apple seed”.

 
 
soul care

Seasons of Refreshing

by securelyanchored5 Comments on Seasons of Refreshing
Seasons of Refreshing

The ladies at my church recently held a day retreat to come together and share some hard things as well as how God has worked throughout the past year and a half. Now that restrictions have been lifted here in Massachusetts it felt so good to be with sisters face to face. I am an extrovert and love to chat with people and I didn’t realize how much the “Covid rules” affected me until after our retreat. My soul needed this time of spiritual refreshment; the fun, food, laughter, prayer, singing and reconnecting with friends.

In 1 Kings chapter 18 and 19 we read about the prophet Elijah having showdown between God and the prophets of Baal. In a nutshell, God won and the false prophets were all killed. Now the wicked King Ahab and his evil wife Jezebel were furious. Elijah is burnt out and very afraid so he runs to the wilderness where God provides a nap and some food. Refreshment. God had another assignment for him but first he needed some physical and spiritual fortification.

The word refresh means “to give new strength or energy to; reinvigorate”. With technology we refresh our devices – we restore their settings and clean out clutter so they function better. We need to refresh and restore our souls so we function better. Everyone around me is looking forward to having vacation or family reunions but now that we are free to enjoy life “as we think it should be” how will you refresh your soul? We dare not jump back on the hamster wheel of life.

Here are ten of my favorite suggestions to refresh your soul I gathered from the internet.

  1. Get outside and enjoy some vitamin C – God’s feel good medicine.

2. Now that we can (with consideration of others feelings) give your family and best buddies a huge hug.

3. Cut out the background noise and the distractions including the phone.

4. Put some uplifting music on.

5. Take a walk and stretch your body.

6. Read a good book and get lost in the words.

7. Take time for your hobby or try something new. Being creative feels good.

8. Pamper yourself.

9. Check Your Attitude! Have you allowed negative or false thoughts to invade your soul? Ask God to forgive and cleanse your heart and mind.

10. Make a list of things you are grateful for.

For a season of spiritual refreshing get your soul into a place where you can receive God’s peace and renewal. Spend time reading scripture, calm your spirit and pray.

Be still, and know that I am God. Psalms 46:10 (ESV)

Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, Acts 3:19-20

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Psalms 51:10,12 (ESV)

…they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 (ESV)

God’s promise to us,