If we read the newspapers and watch the
news, we find enough wrong with this world to throw us into a fit of fears to
last a lifetime.
We fear beheadings, invasion from evil
empires, the ultimate monetary crash of all crashes, rising taxes, shrinking
income and rising prices at every turn. We
do have more than a few fears with which to ponder, don’t we?
And then along comes Christmas – the season
of hope, joy, and peace on earth good will to mankind.
Perhaps we ask the obvious question: Where is
hope and peace to be found?
It is in the manger in Bethlehem. The heart of the message of hope is found in
one key phrase in the carol O Little Town
of Bethlehem.
The hopes
and fears of all the years
are met in
thee tonight.
Even in the days before Christ’s birth, oppression
ran rampant, economic conditions were at a low ebb. People were discouraged. They had fears. They needed hope.
Sounds familiar doesn't it?
Note the phrase “of all the years.” Those years reach all the way to where you
and I sit today. God’s plan was not only
for the present day Bethlehem. It
included Seattle, Des Moines, Selma, Nashville, Rochester, Baltimore, Albuquerque,
Berlin, Baghdad, Dubai, Paris, Bombay, Hong Kong, and all other points east,
west, north and south.
The fears we face today, this very
moment, are met in the birth of Christ.
To borrow another phrase from a great
Christmas song – O Holy Night:
He knows our need,
our weakness is no stranger.
My message of hope is simple – We are
right in the middle of God’s eyesight.
He knows everything that is going on at this moment in every corner of
our world. He hears the cries of the oppressed,
the downcast, the imprisoned, the hungry and lonely, and the discouraged and
depressed soul.
Psalm 121:4 reminds us of this:
“He who
watches over Israel
will
neither slumber nor sleep.”
That reminds me of the great phrase in I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead nor doeth He sleep
In the middle of the chaos of our world,
take heart my friend.
God really does have it all under His
control.
Be encouraged and Merry Christmas!
And now, a musical moment on this beloved carol.
P Michael
Biggs
Offering Hope
Encouragement Inspiration
One Word at a Time
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