Advent
December 20, 2017
Scripture Reading: Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26
I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever;
with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
I declare that your steadfast love is established forever;
your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens. Psalm 89:1-2
I rose from my chair to do my steps just as a commercial playing Jingle Bells began. Walking to happy familiar music lightened my step and brightened my day. My dad played the guitar and sang almost every day of my childhood. I went to sleep to music many nights. I find myself singing familiar hymns as I am praying. They just seem to fit at times. I do think I will sing of Gods steadfast love forever.
Tell it on the Mountain* is our choral call to service at Christmas. Not only are we to tell Christ’s story from the mountain tops but also over the hills and everywhere. We do that not only with our words but with our lives as examples. I am now caught up in the busyness of the season, and sometimes, if we let it, that busyness can crowd out the joy we experience in welcoming Immanuel, God with us in human form.
Intentionality is a word I now add to my worship lexicon. It applies to all aspects of our lives with Christ. Building worship into my everyday life is key to maintaining my relationship with God. Singing the old familiar songs gladdens the heart. Singing a new song brightens the future.
Refrain:
Go, tell it on the mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, tell it on the mountain,
That Jesus Christ is born.
While shepherds kept their watching
O’er silent flocks by night,
Behold, throughout the heavens
There shone a holy light.
The shepherds feared and trembled,
When lo! above the earth
Rang out the angel chorus
That hailed the Savior’s birth.
Down in a lowly manger
The humble Christ was born,
And God sent us salvation
That blessed Christmas morn.
Prayer: Immanuel, write on our hearts a new song of love as the message we can proclaim to future generations. Amen.
*http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/Go_Tell_It_on_the_Mountain/