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Music and song have been part of the life of God's people, the Jews, since their recorded history. It is documented that the early Jewish Temple music consisted of an orchestra with twelve instruments and a choir of twelve male singers. Some of the orchestra instruments included a lyre, harp, shofar, ram's horn, cymbal and a type of pipe organ.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_music#Religious_Jewish_music_in_the_biblical_period Over the following days, we will look at four songs we find in Luke's account of that first Christmas. May I suggest you read the scripture several times? It might be helpful to record any thoughts God brings to you in a journal. These may be a truth God reinforced or a new lesson God has for you. Let us begin: Mary's Song Read: Luke 1:46-55 An Accurate Focus of Praise - verse 46 Mary begins her song as one of praise with her focus on God, her creator, and Lord. She seems to gain strength and confidence as she declares God's splendor, grandeur, and magnificence. Such a worshipful way to begin her song. Her prayer is simple and to the point but powerful. How do you begin your prayers and praise to God? When I come before Him, I must confess that I too often present my "laundry list" of items that I ask Him to clean up and repair. I rarely begin by acknowledging who He is. I rarely start by basking in His glory alone. * Take a few minutes to quiet your heart before the Lord. Think about who He is and what He has done for others in your life. Then write out a prayer of praise to God. The Proper Source of Joy – verse 47 Today's culture tries to confuse us and make us believe that our joy and happiness come from owning things or participating in certain activities. Mary found her joy in the simple act of focusing on her Saviour. *Think about where you spend your time, money and thoughts. These are often indicators of where we find happiness, but do they bring true joy? Ask God if there is something else you should be looking to that will give you joy and contentment. Write down things that come to mind that bring you true joy. A Balanced View of Self – verses 48 - 49 Achieving a healthy balanced view of self-worth can be tricky. Sometimes it is hard to see one's self-worth. It's easy to feel worthless because of social standing, education or physical appearance. Some folks don't know the value they bring to their friends and family. Some people, however, have too much self-confidence. Mary seems to have found a balance. She did not see herself as more important than others; Mary was humble. But Mary also realized she had been chosen for the most crucial role in human history; she would care for the God/man growing inside of her. Mary acknowledged her humble position in life but accepted God's task without pride. She also admitted that God was working in and through her. Where is God working in your life? How has He used you? * Take time to write out your thoughts and feeling and thank Him for working through you. An Appropriate Fear of God – verse 50 There are two definitions of fear; to be afraid of something or someone and to have respect and reverence for someone. We can understand the fear Mary would have had when she first saw the angel and heard the message given to her. Soon her behaviour reflected reverence and respect for the message, her God, and the task ahead of her. Are you able to point to a time when you were afraid of what God was asking you to do, but through God's mercy, you surrendered and were able to respect and revere what God was doing in your life? * Record those events in your journal. Write a prayer of dedication of your life for the future God brings to you. A Fitting Outcome of Pride – verses 51-51 In Mary's song, these verses remind us that God will eventually show His almighty strength by bringing down those who think too highly of themselves. Their proud thoughts will be humbled, and they will be removed from their positions of importance. God has given each of us an area of responsibility. He has given each of us a position of importance in Kingdom building. *Write down the task He has given you, and ask God to help you to keep a humble attitude. A Suitable Treatment of the Rich & Poor – verse 53 We may initially believe that God talks about material poverty and riches when reading this verse, but that is not the case. God is talking about the spiritual state of people. Those who come hungry for God will be filled, and those who come full of themselves will go away empty. * Are you able to pray this verse as your prayer to God? "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God." Psalm 42:1 Memories of Mercy and Help – verses 54-55 Through Mary's song, God reminded Israel that He had always taken care of them and showed them mercy many times. He reminded them of the promised Messiah with a hint that the time had come. * How has God given you help? How has He shown you mercy? Write a prayer of acknowledgement for these things.
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 Should followers of Jesus and believers of God’s Holy Scriptures celebrate Christmas? Sometimes I wonder. Should we celebrate December 25 as a special day? This week, my devotional reading brought me to a very convincing observation.
 The excitement and anticipation of opening gifts on Christmas morning is experienced by most children across Canada and the United States. Because our dad was a Detroit fireman, he often worked on Christmas day. We were used to opening our Christmas gifts on days other than the 25th. Sometimes we would open them on Christmas Eve before he left for work early the next morning. But once in a while it was the day after Christmas. From this we learned that it wasn’t the date we opened the gifts that was important but rather it was the act of showing our love to each other through gift giving that was the focus.
The practice of gift giving was probably inspired by the biblical account of the gifts brought to Jesus by the wise men from the east. "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”… And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. (Portions of Matthew 2:1-12 ESV) These men were scholars of scripture. They knew the prophecies that spoke about the coming King of the Jews, and had traveled for days, possibly months, following the star to find Christ. The purpose of their journey was to worship Jesus. Notice the words describing the emotions of the wise men. “When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.” When they found the home and saw young Jesus, they “fell down and worshipped him,” and then “offered him gifts”. These men were filled with gladness because they had found Jesus. They believed him to be the promised messiah, sent from God. They worshipped him first, and then offered Him their gifts, most likely the best of their earthly possessions. Today we have the benefit of reading the full account of Jesus’ life on earth. We are able to read of His miraculous birth, His powerful teaching and then of His sacrificial death and powerful resurrection. The whole purpose of Christ’s life on earth was for Him to die and take our punishment. His desire is to give us the best gift we could ever receive, the gift of forgiveness and freedom from guilt and shame. This is a wonderful time of year to accept His gift of Salvation to you, and for you to give Jesus the gift of your love, and devotion. A clear explanation of God’s gift of salvation and how to obtain peace with God is found at: http://peacewithgod.jesus.net/ My desire is that you will receive the Gift that Christ offers you today. My longing is that you will know Gladness like the Wise Men knew as they bowed before the King of Kings. And my prayer for you is that you will experience the Salvation Jesus has provided through His death, burial, and resurrection. |
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