Welcome to the first of December and this Christmas edition of Joni and Friends! Here’s a familiar carol sung in quite a different way…
Away in a manger, no crib for a bed
The little Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head.
The stars in the night sky look down where he lay
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.
Oh, what a peaceful, beautiful way to start the month of December. And, hey, you can never start celebrating our Savior’s birth too early, right? December is a whole month of commemorating that night when the angels announced “Peace on earth, good will to men.”
You know, that makes me think: the greatness of God's name is not magnified through war (although God is the victorious warrior and, yes, He defeated our adversary, the devil); but even so, with all that, God's name is great because His majesty and authority was glorified through peace. And when I say peace, friend, I don’t mean that the arrival of Jesus on earth was God's way of waving a white flag. No, His birth did not announce a ceasefire between God and man; rather, Jesus ushered in a true reconciliation, a restoration of our relationship with the Lord of the heavens. Once there had been enmity between God and man; once we were objects of His wrath — but now, now (all because of Jesus) we have peace. No wonder the angels sang that blessed night over the little town of Bethlehem, “Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth, good will toward men.”
Today though in our troubled world there are so many wars going on, aren’t there, and rumors of even more wars. We are on the edge of an outbreak of even greater hostilities — in fact, right in the land of Bethlehem! Even now, there are people trying to make peace. Well, they might negotiate a ceasefire but for there to be true and lasting peace, the warring parties would have to come to the table to seek a new relationship — a relationship around the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. That’s quite a vision for this season, for this world that seems to be splitting apart at the seams right now, that seems to be in nightmarish chaos, and that’s something to pray about as we honor the Lord Jesus, our Prince of Peace, born that night in the village of Bethlehem.
Friend, I hope you visit our radio page today at joniandfriends.org because I would love to give you a free CD of more Christmas music — like the song I just sang, “Away in a Manger”, so drop by today to joniandfriends.org, or you can always write us at Joni and Friends, Post Office Box 3333, Agoura Hills, California 91376. God’s blessings on you as you begin this wonderful new month of December. Remember, we shouldn’t just celebrate the Savior’s birth for a single 24-hours slice of time. No, it’s not — it’s too big just for celebrating on one day — let’s just enjoy this whole month of thinking about our Prince of Peace born into this dark and troubled world.
© Joni and Friends
Compliments of Joni and Friends
PO Box 3333 Agoura Hills, CA 91376
www.joniandfriends.org