Of all of the great Christmas classics that have been recorded over the years, the one that touches my heart, stirs my soul and often brings tears streaming down my face is Ave Maria. There were numerous versions that I wanted to feature, but I thought it would be appropriate to play one sang in Latin. When translated from Latin into English Ave Marie means “Hail Mary.” Whoopi Goldberg charcter uses a portion of this sang as she leads a group of nuns as their choir director in Sister Act.
And Mary said to the angel, How can this be, since I have no [intimacy with any man as a] husband? 35 Then the angel said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you [like a shining cloud]; and so the holy (pure, sinless) Thing (Offspring) which shall be born of you will be called the Son of God, Luke 1:34-35.
In the Christan film the Nativity Story, the 2005 version, there is an amazing scene without words that illustrates what Mary had to endure. A virgin seen pregnant in public will elicit gossip, judgment and stigmas. According to Gospel of Matthew, Joseph had plans to divorce Mary quietly because he thought like many others in his village that she had been unfaithful. This all changed when an angel appeared to Jospeh in a dream, Matthew 1:20-25. This is the inspiration behind Ave Maria.
I started working full time for Amazon in June of 2013. After a rough and tiring first few months, a couple of doors opened which led to the perfect job that matched my skillset. Subsequently, from October 2013 to June 2022, I was at peace with my position as a Field Representative working with customer and vendor complaints as a branch of customer service. Some nights I was an insurance agent and others a problem solver to ascertain what happened to a particular product and why. While my mind was overwhelmed on numerous occasions, my body was never challenged except for walking over 10 miles from time to time.
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will [o]ease and relieve and [p]refresh [q]your souls.] 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest ([r]relief and ease and refreshment and [s]recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. 30 For My yoke is wholesome (useful, [t]good—not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne, Matthew 11:28-30.
Beginning July 1st after taking a hardship transfer and demotion, the exact opposite is true. My mind isn’t asked to dig deep, but my body regularly participates in a series of workouts each quarter which may last from 30 minutes up to 2 hours and 30 minutes. The apostle writes to the Church at Corinth, a city which hosted a major track and field competition in the off years of the Summer Olympics. Paul gets into the minds of a few athletes in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. The point of Paul’s message is that premiere athletes push their bodies farther than anyone else, reaching heights few people thought were possible.
I am the Door; anyone who enters in through Me will be saved (will live). He will come in and he will go out [freely], and will find pasture. 10 The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it [b]overflows). 11 I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd risks and lays down His [own] life for the sheep, John 10:9-11.
As an old white man facing his second straight week of working 60 hours, I have aches, bones, and joint pain that I never knew existed until now. While my heart is restless, not knowing if my body will hold up for the final 3 weeks before Christmas, I need to regain that cross-country runner mindset that I possessed for nearly a decade. Christmas will arrive on time, December 25th as always, but will I fight through this pain to find peace on earth? I’ll let you know either way. Yet, for now Jesus wants you and I to lighten out loads and remove any heavy baggage so our souls will be refreshed. Join me on this journey to find peace when your heart is restless.
When I was a teenager, church groups would organize nights to sing Christmas carols in various neighborhoods. In the middle of my junior year, I attended a lock-in at a Methodist Church in Wilmington, Delaware. This event introduced me to people with similar interests, so I started to attending Sunday Night youth groups religiously. The following year I went to a local nursing home prior to Christmas to sing Christmas carols with the youth group. One of the songs we sang was Hark the Herald.
And in that vicinity there were shepherds living [out under the open sky] in the field, watching [in shifts] over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord flashed and shone all about them, and they were terribly frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people, Luke 2:8-10.
This Christmas Carol sets the tone for what really happened on that first Christmas. Angels appeared to lowly shepherds with a revelation that would change the world, John 3:16-17. While traditional choirs have disappeared at many churches today due to the popularity of contemporary worship music, I thought it would be nice to feature one that still exists. I hope you enjoy listening to the Spirituals Choir sing Hark the Herald “angels sing glory to the newborn king.”
The modern New Age Movement began in the early 1970’s. Hollywood played the role of the serpent as actors and actresses began to suggest that you can become like the God of the Bible. Sound familiar? The origin of the New Age Movement began in the Garden of Eden. Moses refers to the serpent mentioned in Genesis 3 as the craftiest of all the animals God created. The serpent tried to convince Eve that God was holding her back by denying her access to the Tree of Knowledge.
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and blessing and calamity you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die, Genesis 2:16-17.
According to some versions of the Bible, when Eve was being enlightened by the words of the serpent, Adam was right there with her. If this is indeed the case, Adam was informed a chapter earlier about God’s only rule in the Garden of Eden. Based upon Eve’s initial response, Adam did tell her the boundaries set by God. The serpent’s conversation with Eve then turns toward one issue, “what does God mean by the words you will surely die?”
But the serpent said to the woman, You shall not surely die,5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing the difference between good and evil and blessing and calamity. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good (suitable, pleasant) for food and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she gave some also to her husband, and he ate, Genesis 3:4-6.
Based upon Adam’s initial conversation with God, the consequence for breaking God’s only rule is death. If the creation of earth and human beings was designed to dwell and live forever, God is correct. However, the Father of Lies twists God’s words by planting a thought inside of Eve’s mind. The more Eve pondered the possibility of becoming like God, her eyes turned toward low bearing fruit hanging from the Tree of Knowledge. While all human beings will die in the end, disobeying God results in spiritual death, John 3:3-5. May today’s blog help you realize the need to be reborn this Christmas season.
The term melody if a sequence of single notes that is musically satisfying. However, as spontaneous worship montages have grown in popularity throughout churches across the country, it’s not uncommon for musicians to blend the end of one song with the start of another. This is what the Red Rock Worship team has accomplished in their featured selection: A Christmas Medley. A medley is themost common form of overture for musical theatre productions.
And listen! You will become pregnant and will give birth to a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great (eminent) and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His forefather David, Luke 1:31-32.
When I was younger, my musical tastes were secular in nature, always standing up for my favorite bands of the 1980’s like Boston, the Cars, the Police and U2. However, my college roommate Mike opened my mind to worship music. While most students at Delaware were out partying, Mike and I sat out in lawn chairs in our front yard Friday night listening to Christian music and talking. May listening to A Christmas Medley get your soul ready to worship Emmanuel, God with Us.
The origin of the expression the“ third times a charm ” dates back to the17th century in Great Britain. Likely based upon their spiritual heritage and knowledge of the Bible, the English believed the number “3” was lucky, bestowing fortune on a person when they encountered it in their life. This couldn’t be more evident when you consider the third boy mentioned in the Bible. While Jude mentions that Enoch was seven generations from Adam, the rest of Adam’s descendants are skipped by Moses, Jude 1:14.
And Adam knew Eve as his wife, and she became pregnant and bore Cain; and she said, I have gotten and gained a man with the help of the Lord. 2 And [next] she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground, Genesis 4:1-2.
The first child born to Adam and Eve was Cain which means “I have gotten and gained a man with the help of the Lord.” This help was followed by Abel who went on to become a successful shepherd before his life was cut short, murdered by Cain. Despite receiving harsh punishment from the Lord, Moses does mention his family lineage beginning in Genesis 4:17. Cain was allowed to have a wife who gave birth to Enoch. While Jared was the father of the second Enoch, but Cain was so proud of his son that he built a city and named it after Enoch. Perhaps Jared named his son after the first Enoch.
[Prompted, actuated] by faith Abel brought God a better and more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, because of which it was testified of him that he was righteous [that he was upright and in right standing with God], and God bore witness by accepting and acknowledging his gifts. And though he died, yet [through the incident] he is still speaking. 5 Because of faith Enoch was caught up and transferred to heaven, so that he did not have a glimpse of death; and he was not found, because God had translated him. For even before he was taken to heaven, he received testimony [still on record] that he had pleased and been satisfactory to God, Hebrews 11:4-5.
One of the first three boys mentioned in the Bible end up in the Hall of Faith. While Hebrews 11:1 and 11:6 receive most of the headlines in sermons, the passage above highlights the faithful nature within Abel and Jared’s Enoch. As a parent who understands the power of prayer, I’m sure Cain’s daily prayer for Enoch and his other children was to avoid the same errors, mistakes, and sins he committed. Rather than write a book like Proverbs, Cain invested his remaining days on earth to become a godly father. May the story of Cain and Enoch inspire you to not give up on your own children, intervening daily like the persistent widow in Luke 18.
Rush Limbaugh introduced me to Mannheim Steamroller as it was one of his favorite groups to play on his radio show every Christmas season. O Holy Night was one of the Carols my parents church in Ohio would sing annually as part of their midnight mass on Christmas Eve. The service began at 10:30 p.m. with singing the first half hour. Following this time of worship, a tradition Catholic Mass lasted an hour as the final hymn ended right around midnight every year.
Now in the sixth month [after that], the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 To a girl never having been married and a [v]virgin engaged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, Hail, O favored one [[w]endued with grace]! The Lord is with you! [x]Blessed (favored of God) are you before all other women! – Luke 1:26-28.
Before moving to Cleveland, I focused on the commercialism and gifts that I received Christmas morning. Yet, this 90-minute service every Christmas Eve helped turn my attention away from what was waiting for me under a tree at home and toward that holy night more than 2000 years ago. As you listen to today’s feature song O Holy Night, may the lyrics help prepare your heart to make room for Jesus this season and throughout 2023.
Human nature has a way of viewing God like a strict disciplinarian who forbids any moments of having fun. According to the apostle Paul, this flawed mindset is hostile toward God, Romans 8:5-8. This is one of many ungodly beliefs that the father of all lies places into your thought life, John 8:44. Subsequently, when you blatantly since against the Lord in one form or another, you may come to the conclusion that God is done, finished with you. This is how Cain felt after killing his younger brother Abel.
And [the Lord] said, What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground. 11 And now you are cursed by reason of the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s [shed] blood from your hand. 12 When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength; you shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth [in perpetual exile, a degraded outcast], Genesis 4:10-12.
Besides dealing with the curse placed upon his father Adam in Genesis 3:17-19, Cain was forced to live as a vagabond, spending the remainder of his days on earth in perpetual exile as a social outcast. Surely, God was finished with Cain based upon his reckless act of disobedience to erase the source of his jealousy. However, this isn’t the end of this nightmare. According to Moses, Cain was allowed to marry and have children.
So Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod [wandering], east of Eden. 17 And Cain’s wife [one of Adam’s offspring] became pregnant and bore Enoch; and Cain built a [f]city and named it after his son Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael the father of Methusael, and Methusael the father of Lamech, Genesis 4:16-18.
Long the days before King Solomon who had 700 wives and 300 concubines, Cain didn’t need to write a book like Proverbs to warn his first son Enoch of all his careless mistakes of the past. Rather, Cain appears to have raised and taught Enoch to walk with God daily, Genesis 5:20-22. While Cain may have given up on himself, the Lord was not done with this sinner. Cain emulated Proverbs 22:6 before it was ever written. Although Cain wasn’t a perfect father, he must have done something right. Enoch became the first and only human being not to experience death, an ironic ending to the son of a convicted murderer.
Based upon a recent survey, 13 percent of residents in the United States speak Spanish. As migrants from Central American countries continue to flock to the United States border with Mexico, this number will likely continue to climb. As someone who took two years of Spanish in high school and another two classes in college, I thought it would be appropriate to feature my first Spanish artist Sarai Rivera.
Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk [ever] come out of your mouth, but only such [speech] as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God’s favor) to those who hear it, Ephesians 4:29.
The song I selected is Suelto which translates into English means loose. Like any word, you have to know the context in which this word occurs and takes place. While my Spanish is still pretty rough, Sarai’s song brought me to the passage above. The apostle Paul calls the Church at Ephesius to avoid being loose with their words. Meanwhile, anyone who may be hindered by some sort of a speech impediment can be loosed and set free by the power of the Holy Spirit. May Suelto speak to your heart.
Greek Mythology refers to soulmates as two halves of the same person who were separated by the Greek god Zeus due to jealousy and fear. While the Bible never directly mentions the term soulmates in the Bible, Genesis 2:24 and Matthew 19:4-6 suggests that the person you decide to marry should be a complementary helper. Based upon the passage below, God thought Adam might find a best friend like a dog from one of God’s created animals placed in the garden. Yet, no helper was found.
Now the Lord God said, It is not good (sufficient, satisfactory) that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper (suitable, adapted, complementary) for him, Genesis 2:18.
King Solomon devotes a portion of the Book of Ecclesiastes to highlight why two people are better than one. Solomon provides a couple of examples in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. This complementary helper may serve as a listener one day, a source of encouragement as well as challenge you so that you might reach your full potential. While some individuals search for a soulmate who may be identical, others pray for someone who complements their weak areas in life.
Then Adam said, This [creature] is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of a man. 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall become united and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh, Genesis 2:23-24.
Adam’s personality is not detailed by Moses in Genesis. However, in the passage above Adam gets emotional as he is overwhelmed by God’s creation of Eve. After feeling his side, the place where God removed his rib and some flesh, a complementary helper of the opposite sex stood right in front of him. While Adam and Eve’s family got off to a rough start following Abel’s murder by their oldest child, this couple spent 900 years together on earth. Although it’s not mentioned in the Bible, I’m sure Adam and Eve learned how to become to complementary helpers through the years. A goal worth shooting for.
ExpressYourself4Him 