O’ Holy Night…O’ Holy Life!
O holy night the stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new glorious morn
Ponder those words, the lyrics to a favored Christmas song. But should it be a song for the Christmas season only? It is such a beautiful song, the lyrics are so heartfelt. A beautiful expression of worship to the King Messiah that came solely to die to save the world from sin and reconcile mankind back to The Lord.
Perhaps that is why it is still a weary world. So much of JESUS Christ has been removed from our world. Yes, as the song lyrics say “a weary world rejoices”, that is those of us who really on purpose, make every effort to live a life pleasing to The Lord God, according to the Scriptures. We rejoice!
His Deity, His purpose, His love for us, and His peace on Earth, didn’t change, mankind did!
Once I learned of Him and what salvation is, you know my story - it doesn’t change, I jumped in with both feet and never looked back! And for me, and my household, Christmas - celebrating Jesus with our lives- is every day, not just December 25.
It is heartbreaking to me and very frightening, that Jesus, the mere mention of His name, is frowned upon in schools, in the workplace, and prayer is all but an offense punishable with the threat of litigation (lawsuit). And yet, how many school lockdowns have there been due to weapons found in backpacks and how many school shootings have occurred here in the United States in the past month? We don’t have to even look over the past month, how many over the past week? This country is foolish to have taken Jesus away from the children…our children! Especially where He is needed most…in the classroom! My husband and I taught ours to know Him for themselves and how important it is to pray. Therefore, they pray and cover themselves at all times, not just over meals. And of course we are praying for them and with them as well.
14 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:14
This country had better let the children (schools) come to Jesus! There is so much power in His name!
Philippians 2:10-12 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The rejoicing of Jesus Christ's gift to the world has been forgotten. Put away every year till next Christmas or next Easter, like the elf of the shelf and all the rest of the Christmas decorations and/or Easter baskets.
The weary world rejoices…we have hope because we can hope not only in eternal life with Jesus, but also we get to have a full, rich, and abundant life here on Earth! Hallelujah!
John 10:10b- …I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Do you know what I know? That Jesus came to set the captive free? “What does that mean Apostle Connor, because that is easy for you to say, you don’t ever have a bad or sad day?…”, you ask. And to that, I say, “that is not quite accurate, in some instances it’s quite the contrary…”. I have learned humility, and most importantly to pray and cry out to My Heavenly Father. I have not-so-great days, bad days, as one might call them, they just don’t have me! And because they don’t have me, no one ever knows if my days are less than favorable because I don’t “wear” my challenges for the world to see and bear the brunt of my anger, frustration, sadness, sorrow, etc. And I certainly don’t gossip and tell everyone my side to any challenges I may be faced with, that is where my level of faith is. I trust in the Lord with all my heart!
Jesus is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and He had some pretty challenging days while on Earth. And yet it did not cause Him to lose focus of His purpose. You should really think about that. His adversity did not deter Him, and it could have - He faced many tough challenges. For example, like when He had just fasted for 40 days and was hungry:
Matthew 4:2-11 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”
5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:
‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”
8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
That had to be rough for our Lord. He was tired, hungry, and probably a bit nauseous from weakness and lack of food. And yet here comes Satan to tempt Him and try to get on His nerves.
Or how about the time when Jesus’ best friend Lazarus died and Jesus knowing He was going to raise Him from the dead, was over come with emotion and cried! He wept! While the gossipers and talebearers did what they always do, talk about Him and judge Him not understanding there was wisdom and purpose why He was what they deemed as late or after the fact.
John 11:35-37 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”
37 And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?”
And probably, what one would think to be the worst day of His life here on earth, turned out to be the absolute best day for not only Jesus, all of Heaven, and most assuredly mankind, that is you and I!!! That is those last six hours on earth hanging nailed to the cross:
Psalm 22:15 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.
As He hung on The Cross, His mouth was so dry that his tongue clung to his jaws!
Matthew 27:50 - 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.
I can’t even write this without tearing up. If you truly understand what Jesus Christ did for us, you too should be weeping tears of joy and gratitude! But the truth is, not everyone has the revelation of what the Crucifixion means for mankind and that is why so few make it into Heaven and have eternal life. (You know the scriptures, I share them constantly!)
The shame He endured being publicly whipped and spat upon! And He was not tied with ropes, but spikes pounded into His flesh to secure Him to The Cross. Oh my gosh…My dear Lord! He did that for me…you as well!
And He did this while we were still sinners, while we still wallow in our mess, He said, “I am come to reconcile you to My Father, YOUR Creator!” It’s not required that you forsake all and follow Me, but if you do, life as you knew it, gets a whole lot better because I have granted you spiritual gifts to use as spiritual weapons against the adversary, gifts to edify yourself and others, and I have given you hope of eternal life.
Oh, what a friend WE have in Jesus!
O Holy Night when Christ was born!
O Holy Life when we were born again because of Christ!
Live this Christmas and every one that follows, from this day forward, as more than a day and a season - live it as your lifestyle! Live it with the Blessed Assurance of who you are in Christ Jesus!
That baby came into this world to defeat Satan and give us an opportunity for salvation and eternal life in Heaven with our Heavenly Father!
Merry Christmas!
From my family to yours and from my heart to yours.
Apostle and Prophetess Wendy Connor
Copyright 2021
