–Zechariah 14:20(ESV)
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               “Hark!  how the bells, sweet silver bells
               All seem to say ‘throw cares away.’
               Christmas is here
               Bringing good cheer
               To young and old, meek and the bold

               Christmas is here, bringing good cheer….”
                         –Peter J. Wilhousky

This is not one of my favorite Christmas carols, but there is a message here.  Bells!  Bells used to be commonplace.  They were used by communities to let the people know the time.  They were used to notify of emergencies–when the bells rang the community rushed to answer the call.  In fact, a symbol of our country is the Liberty Bell.  And right now, let me include here–the ringing of a bell does not mean that an angel has earned their wings.
       I read something the other day by Thomas Merton.  I don’t not agree with all of his theology, nor with all of his perspectives on life, but I do like what he wrote regarding bells.

               “Bells are meant to remind us that God alone is good, that we belong to Him, that we are not living for this world.
               They break in upon our cares in order to remind us that all things pass away and that our preoccupations are not important.
               They speak to us of freedom, which responsibilities and transient cares make us forget.
               They are the voice of our alliance with the God of heaven.
               The bells say:  business does not matter.  Rest in God and rejoice, for this world is only the figure and the promise of a world to come, and only those who are detached from the transient things can possess the substance of eternal promise.
               The bells say:  we have spoken for centuries from the towers of the great churches.  We have spoken to the saints, your fathers, in their land.  We called them, as we call you, to sanctify.”

Hmmm, perhaps instead of just hearing the bells ring, we should take to heart that last phrase.  When we hear the bells ringing we ought to think about our sanctification before the Lord.  Does it ring loud and clear or is there just a dull thud?  
       When I was thinking of the bells and how I might write about them, the first thing that came to my mind was the great poem by John Donne.

               “No man is an island,
               Entire of itself…
               For whom the bells tolls,
               It tolls for thee.”

It tolls, the bells ring, for thee.  Ahh, but what are they saying?  Are they waking you up in the morning?  Perhaps it is the last bell of the night watch telling you that day is over.  Usually when we hear bells ring there is a positive note, but as I said they may bring a warning that there is a dire need.  When the bells toll for you are they ringing out their last warning?  Today is the day of salvation.  
       Do the bells ring, “Peace on Earth”?  Or are they clinging in despair, “There is no peace on Earth.”  Listen carefully for bells call forth beginnings, but also endings.  They can call to order, remember the old pictures of school teachers ringing the bell to get students to class?  They can bring a command or a warning.  Bells can symbolize birth, death, or marriage.  Or it can be a summons.  When my Mom broke her foot we gave her a bell to ring whenever she needed something; let me tell you, I don’t think that bell stopped ringing.  What do you hear?

               “Then rang the bells more loud and deep
               God is not dead, nor doth He sleep
               The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
               With peace on Earth, good will to men.”
                           –Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Air Raid, Pearl Harbor.  This is not a drill!”

                    –Radio Message, 0758, Dec 7, 1941

 

       “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.  And the dead in Christ will rise first.”

                    –1 Thessalonians 4:16 (NKJV)

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“December 7, 1941 — a day that will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked.” –Franklin D. Roosevelt

       This was a day that would change the course of American history.  From that day forward the next several years blood would be shed to rid the world of fascism.  Our family was fortunate, for all of the fathers, uncles, and cousins that served during that horrible war, only one (that we can tell) died in the war on the beaches of Normandy during the invasion of D-Day.

       The “Greatest Generation” is mostly gone from us now.  Few remain.  This was the generation who had a tremendous work ethic and a dedication to their country.  Service was how the military was referred to for it was indeed service.  The world has turned over many times since that day.  The face of America has changed, and in some ways not for the better.  People have definitely become more self-centered, concerned more with their own wants, desires, and concerns.  

       As mentioned I had one distant cousin killed on the shores of Normandy, but that is only one form of casualty.  A casualty is not only death, but also wounded, and that can include psychological as well as physical, MIA, and POW.  Each person handles the horrors of war differently, each copes or not, in their own way.  Once the Boomers are gone there will be few that remember the attack on Pearl Harbor.  The Greatest Generation experienced it, the Boomers were told of it by their parents or from the many movies that were made.  But now–those that follow, do they care?

       1942 was a year of fear and anxiety.  Would the Japanese invade Hawaii or perhaps make it to California?  Would the forces of the Third Reich finally conquer Great Britain?  Would freedom be lost and tyranny the victors?  NO!  There was a determination that has not been seen in this day and age.  The country united against the menace of fascism in whatever form it took.  

       But now, when we see that the youth of this country tend to favor terrorists like Hamas over Israel.  When there is a care of protesting for personal rights rather than the good of the country.  When media and politics are crooked and evil and there is confusion in many areas of government throughout the country with their own agendas rather than those of the good of the country.

       Should we be surprised?  Leaders of the Postmodern movement said forty years ago that they would not deal with those of my generation for we would soon die out.  Think of the future.  They are smiling.  Where are those who shed blood for the country?  The number is growing smaller and smaller.  Those who take a firm stand for our republic are fewer and fewer and the loud voice of anarchy is rising.

       It is becoming the same in the church.  One day, those who want the undiluted truth to be preached will be gone.  Those who want the truth of the hymns and the doctrines they teach will be gone.  Then the progressives, the “emergent church” will have control.  Paul warns that because of unrighteousness, when the lawless one is revealed, that “for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12, NKJV).

       Listen to me!  Stand firm in the faith.  Guard the truth!  As the call went forth the day after Pearl Harbor, so the call is continually going forth to hearken to the Word of the Lord.  Do not be deceived by shyster politicians, slanderous media, and slick preachers.  Do not be one of those who will fall away.  Listen, for soon the trumpet will sound…

                    –Psalm 95:1 (NKJV)
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               “Good Christian men, rejoice,
               With heart, and soul, and voice;
               Now ye hear of endless bliss:
                    Joy!  Joy!
               Jesus Christ was born for this!”
                         –Heinrich Suso

Joy, do you have it?  It is somewhat of a misnomer when you see a so-called Christian stepping on their bottom lip.  Yes, discouragement does come, read the Psalms, but overall we are to live a life full of joy.  Look at what Paul wrote.

          “Rejoice always.”  –1 Thessalonians 5:16   We should be in the habit of rejoicing.  Rejoice, if for no other reason than your name is written down in heaven.  This is not earthly joy, but spiritual, heavenly joy.  Joy that goes beyond understanding.  Joy that resides in the midst of sorrow and suffering.  Joy because of Jesus.  That’s why this is such a joyful season, Jesus came in the flesh; He came to redeem mankind.  Rejoice!

          Another thing that we are commanded to do is, “Pray without ceasing” –1 Thessalonians 5:17.  We need to live life “with a mindfulness of God’s presence all the time.  We do this by acknowledging Him throughout the day and developing a habit of talking to Him about every experience we have in life, whether it’s good or bad.” (Jack Graham)  There is a time for formal prayer.  There is a time for making your petitions known to God.  However, to develop a relationship with Christ there must be conversational prayer.  Just talking with Him, friend to friend.  During this Christmas season, take time to just talk with the Lord.  He came to earth to develop a relationship with each of us.  We must do our part to develop it.  Read what He has to say, then discuss it with Him.  People clamor that Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship, yet they will not take the time to develop the relationship.  

          “In every give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” –1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NKJV)  Listen, sometimes we must be intentional about being thankful.  We may sit down at the table and mutter a short prayer of thanksgiving, but what about the tough times?  What is there to be thankful for?  There must be a time when we contemplate the situation and then thank the Lord.  In the midst of life’s trials, sufferings, difficulties God is good.  The situation may not be good, but God is!  Therefore, no matter the situation you are going through, God is with you and God is good.  The Father sent His Son for us–if that isn’t “good” I don’t know what is.  While we were yet sinners He sent His Son to this earth for each one of us.  Think on that this Christmas.

               “He hath ope’d the heav’nly door,
               And man is blessed evermore.
               Christ was born for this!  Christ was born for this!

                    –Zane Grey  (Under the Tonto Rim)

       “So that Satan will not outsmart us.  For we are familiar with his evil schemes.”

                   –2 Corinthians 2:11 (NLT)
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Many years ago I was dealing with a mother and her wayward, troubled son.  While counseling in my office, I finally said, “You need to put your son in God’s hands.”  I was shocked, it was early in my career, when she replied sharply, “I can’t do that.  I don’t know what God might do to him.”  If we cannot trust God, then we are indeed in bad shape.  He is fully trustworthy.  God is good and He is always faithful.  However, as this portion of Psalm 106 points out, we/mankind mistrust, compromise, worship false gods, give our children over to the world system, and shed innocent blood.  How can anyone, remember these are God’s people, get so far from God?  It all begins with disobedience.

          32 — They angered Him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses on account of them;
          33 — Because they rebelled against His Spirit, so that he spoke rashly with his lips.
          34 — They did not destroy the peoples, concerning whom the LORD had commanded them,
          35 — But they mingled with the Gentiles and learned their works;
          36 — They served their idols, which became a snare to them.
          37 — They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons,
          38 — And shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood.
          39 — Thus they were defiled by their own works, and played the harlot by their own deeds.  (NKJV)

       Oh, we may not place our children in reality upon the altar of Baals, but perhaps we do it more subtly.   We allow them to listen to the world’s music, spend endless hours on the phone, playing video games–are they not being sacrificed upon the world’s altar of entertainment and technology?  I am going to borrow a story from William Petersen to illustrate the idols that we so innocently play with.

                    After church on Sunday, the young couple climbed into their classy sports care and began the drive home.  “So what did you think about the pastor’s message?” the husband asked, turning on the radio.
                    “Well, it was interesting,” the wife replied, “but I don’t think it really applied to–ooh, turn the radio up, I love this song.”
                    “Don’t you love this car’s sound system?” he added as the music swelled.  “I paid an arm and a leg for this car, but it’s worth it.”
                    She suddenly thought of something.  “Honey, could we swing by my office?  I need to pick up some reports to work on this afternoon.”
                    “Working again?” he chided.  “You never rest, do you?”
                    “Well, I assume you want to keep making the payments on this car.  Besides, you work as much as I do.”
                    “Not today,” he countered.  “Football season is starting.  I’m going to camp out on that sofa all afternoon.”
                    “Oh, yeah,” she said, “I forgot.”  Then, as her favorite song ended, she asked, “So what did you think about the pastor’s message?”
                    “Well, it was all right, I guess.  But I wish he’d make it more relevant.  I just don’t see what idol worship has to do with us today.” (The One Year Book of Psalms)

       This portion of Psalm 106 is an indictment against the people of Israel, but read it again.  Is the finger pointing directly at the United States?  Have we, the people of God, mingled with the pagans and adopted their evil customs?  How much blood has been shed in the feminist pro-choice movement?  How much more will God tolerate?  How many sons and daughters have been given over to the pagan customs of our land?  Look at the curriculum being taught in our schools, look at how the media portrays gay rights and transgenderism.  We are sacrificing the blood of our sons and daughters.
       Verse 39, from the NLT — “They defiled themselves by their evil deeds, and their love of idols was adultery in the LORD’s sight.”  What idols are prevalent in America?  How about in your family?  In this wonderful Christmas season guard yourself that you do not fall into the easy trap of material idol worship.  Instead remember the word of the Lord, the value of family, and most of all, the reason for the season.  Do not allow yourself to be given over to idol worship at the altar of money, wealth, fame, career, sports and entertainment, and maintaining a certain lifestyle.  The Lord wants us to walk humbly in His sight.  (contemplate 1 Corinthians 10:19-22)

                    “His mighty works and ways
                    By Moses he made known,
                    But gave the world his truth and grace
                    By his beloved Son.”
                            –Isaac Watts