A Very Blessed and Happy Christmas to You!

CAROL

Let’s reflect now on the three spiritual qualities that distinguish the Christmas season for us —God’s LOVE, God’s PEACE, and God’s JOY.

All 3 qualities are available to us each day of every year, 24/7.

But at Christmas, these gifts and spiritual qualities take on special meaning.

And special power!

During this past year, thousands of us have been directly affected by wars and violence in all their many destructive guises —violence in words, violence in thoughts, violence in actions.

As Christians, we consider every other person to be our brother or sister. Whatever negatively affects any person affects us all.

So even if we ourselves have escaped the direct effects of the wars and violence, we have nevertheless experienced them vicariously.

We know deep in our being that something’s very much askew in our world.

We know for sure that war and violence is not part of God’s kingdom.

For, as Paul the Apostle reminds us…

The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. . 

Romans 14:17 (My emphasis)

And, at Christmas, it’s THIS kingdom that we celebrate!

And since it’s this kingdom that we aspire to not just at Christmas but every day of the year, it’s helpful —sometimes even necessary —to reflect on the unique qualities that make God’s kingdom so life-giving and rewarding for each one of us.

Here now are 3 REFLECTIONS interspersed with a selection of Christmas carols.

REFLECTION 1: 

GOD’S  PEACE 

I believe it’s worth taking a few moments to reflect on Thomas Merton’s observation about the actual nature of peace.

Merton was a deeply holy man, a profoundly dedicated son and servant of his Lord and Saviour. And he was also a famous Christian monk and writer. His writings, and the many recorded teachings he gave to his fellow monks over many years, influenced and enlightened (and to this day still continue to do so!) the lives of untold thousands of ordinary men and women following the rampant spiritual, physical, psychological, and emotionl destruction caused by the Second World War.

Through his famous autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, Merton explained to the world that the REAL war is fought AND WON not with destructive external weaponry but with positive, holy, SPIRITUAL forces INSIDE our individual human hearts.

If we fail to understand and accept this, wars will continue to wreck our humanity, to say nothing of our universe.

Haven’t we all lived to see this for ourselves in this last year?

Just prior to his death, Merton also correctedly predicted the horrendous violence that would take place in America in the year of 1968.

Here now is what Merton said about the nature of PEACE.

Peace is not something you must hope for in the future.

Rather, it is a deepening of the present, and unless you look for it in the present you will never find it. 

Thomas Merton

In other words: You and I must never delay seeking peace.

You and I need to seek peace RIGHT NOW —IN THIS PRESENT MOMENT!

REFLECTION SONG

LET THERE BE PEACE ON EARTH

WORDS:

Let there be peace on earth

And let it begin with me.

Let there be peace on earth,

The peace that was meant to be.

With God as our father

Brothers all are we.

Let me walk wih my brother/sister

In perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me

Let this be the moment now.

With every step I take

Let this be my solemn vow

To take each moment and live

Each moment in peace eternally.

Let there be peace on earth

And let it begin with me.

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But, as Merton’s personal witness bore out, in order to seek genuine peace, you must KNOW —NOT merely ‘THINK’ or ‘HOPE’—that YOU ARE LOVED AND ACCEPTED BY THE LORD JUST AS YOU ARE —WARTS, SINS, MISTAKES, AND ALL — ZERO conditions attached!

And here’s the important thing:

This vast, unique, freeing brand of love comes ONLY from God Himself.

Mere human love is conditional and volatile. We cannot rely on human love to convince and demonstrate to us that we are loved just as we are —sins, failings, weaknesses, faults, and all!

ONLY God’s love is able to assure us of this.

 MIGHT THIS APPLY TO YOU?

Are you a dedicated Christian, but don’t HOW to experience the Lord’s real and profound love firsthand, directly, one-on-one?

Don’t worry. YOU’RE NOT ALONE.

And it’s not your fault.

You see for hundreds of years, the Christian church regrettably failed to teach the full, accurate, and intended meaning of Jesus’ detailed teaching on prayer (see Matthew 6: 5 – 8).

As a direct result, we never understood how to pray in the way Jesus intended.

We have in fact, therefore, been unnecessarily cheated of the HUGE BENEFITS that are guaranteed us when we pray as Jesus intended.

His way of praying guarantees us an

• ONGOING
• ACTUAL
• TANGIBLE

…EXPERIENCE of the Lord’s PRESENCE AND HIS LOVE whenever we want or need it!

It’s only since the mid-1970’s that the church started to make sure that we fully and accurately understand and put into practice Jesus’ intentions for us in His teaching on how to pr ay

As a result, thousands of Christians from a wide variety of different Christian denominations continue to benefit from freely knowing and experiencing the Lord just as HE wishes us to i. e. at the most profound and most true level of our humanity!

Of course, this is not to say that you’ve haven’t experienced God’s love in many other ways and in many other forms of prayer!

But have you experienced it as directly and fully as the Lord intends and desires for you?

To make sure you are no longer deprived of your Christian due, I’ve created a FREE GUIDE to show you exactly how to pray and get to know and experience Him in this very simple way.

It’s titled:

How to Regain, and Maintain,

God’s Lasting Inner Peace and Joy:

A Guaranteed Way to Experience God’s Presence, Love and Rest One-On-One

You can get it here 

It shows you the 2 very simple steps to quieting yourself in order to receive the profound love that the Lord wants so passionately to reveal to you and give you.

Please let me assure you:

You’ll never regret learning HOW TO RECEIVE from God ALL the LOVE and PEACE and JOY that He has awaiting YOU and has always intended YOU to have!

You see, God LOVES YOU JUST AS YOU ARE!

He wants you to come to Him JUST AS YOU ARE.

 

So PLEASE don’t try to polish yourself up or put on your spiritual makeup before you approach the Lord! 

 

God’s not interested in that at all.

 He’s your Abba, your Dad. He wants to hold you in His arms, to protect and care for you  just as you are, NOT as you might wish or hope to be!

 

I’d also recommend my little PDF that accompanies the GUIDE. It helps you relax and quiet down and get a hold of your faith just before you enter into silent time with God.

It’s titled:

‘RELAX YOUR BODY’ PDF 

You can get it here 

 

REFLECTION CAROL

IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER

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REFLECTION 2: 

GOD’S  LOVE 

 

God’s LOVE is the highest energy there is.

And EVERY SINGLE ASPECT of your life depends on God’s love!

Only His LOVE is keeping you alive to read this article!

So this Christmas, let’s SHARE His love with ALL others —INCLUDING those who have done or do us wrong!

And since the spirit of Christmas never really ends, let’s share His love THROUGHOUT 2025, 2026, etc., too!!

You see, when we do, we neutralize the negative energy of evil that is present in our families, institutions, and world. And we replace it with the positive energy of LOVE —God’s healing love!

There’s only ONE way to love others: which is, to love them as Jesus loves YOU.

Take to your heart now the words of Jesus Himself:

‘And now I give you a new commandment: love one another.

As I have loved you, so you must love one another.’

John 13:34 Good News Translation (my emphasis)

And again:

If you love only those who love you, what credit is that to you?

Matthew 5:46 J. B. Phillips New Testament (my emphasis) 

And again:

Live out your God-created identity.

Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.

Matthew 5: 48 The Message (my emphasis)

REFLECTION CAROL

WHAT CHILD IS THIS?

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How We Can Stand with Our Sisters and Brothers who are Grieving this Christmas 

Christmas is a time for special rejoicing.

But for some of us, Christmas can be profoundly painful if we happen to be experiencing any kind of distress or tragedy or trauma.

So those of us who are not experiencing pain or loss are called to practice compassion and empathy, as Paul the Apostle reminds us:

Share the happiness of those who are happy, the sorrow of those who are sad.

Romans 12: 15   J. B. Phillips New Testament

We must be able to mourn with our brothers and sisters worldwide, regardless of whether or not they are Christian or identify with a completely different faith tradition —or neither!

This is what geuine Christian LOVE demands of you and me.

One way to do this in person is to hold the grieving person’s hand without saying anything. Or, when not in person, to organize with like-minded others an ongoing intercession for them, letting them know you are doing this.

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For Those of You Experiencing Loss, Trauma, or Any Kind of Deep Inner Pain this Christmas

If you are experiencing ANY kind of tragedy, distress, inner pain, or trauma this Christmas, please don’t run from your pain.

The Lord, you see, is your Father, your Abba.

And YOU are His Daughter.

So here’s something from Scripture that I pray you will keep in the forefront of your mind, take to your heart, and come to fully make your own:

In the story of the woman who came to Jesus for healing (Mark 5: 24 -34), we miss an important point in the typical English translations:

He (Jesus) said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” 

Mark 5: 34 NIV 

I want you, please, to note that the Aramaic word for ‘Daughter’ that Jesus used when speaking to this woman means FAR MORE than the English word ‘daughter’ implies.

A more correct translation would be:

‘You are the one who I…

• love
• care for
• protect

So Jesus is telling YOU exactly the same thing at this very moment —namely that He…

• LOVES
• CARES FOR
• PROTECTS

  …YOU, His cherished daughter.

That’s right, YOU —not somebody else!                                   

So…

• PLEASE invite the Lord to enter with you INTO your pain
• to do this, spend just 5 -10 minutes each day in His presence* *

* * NOTE (To discover how to do this, get the FREE GUIDE mentioned in REFLECTION 1 and see also the section immediately following this next carol):

REFLECTION CAROL

AWAY IN A MANGER

 

But you ask me:

‘‘Jan, how on earth do you expect me to do this when I’m hurting so deeply?”

Here’s my answer:

God has given you and me a ‘measure’ of faith:

God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

 Romans 12:3 American Standard Version

When you are in pain of any kind, you have to exercise at least a tiny part of the faith you’ve already been given!

So… take a tiny leap of the faith the Lord has already given you and do the following 3 things in the few minutes of silent time you spend with God

• Try to BELIEVE that the Lord honours the time you’ve put aside to spend silently in His presence.
  Believe me, He DOES.
• Try to BELIEVE that the Lord honours your decision to let go of the usual words and thoughts.
  Believe me, He DOES. 

• Try to TRUST that the Lord is ENFOLDING you in His healing LOVE and PEACE and JOY right smack in the midst of your deep pain.
  Believe me, He IS.

You don’t have to DO anything.

You don’t have to THINK or SAY anything!

In fact, when you wish to pray/spend silent time with the Lord in this special way, you first make a deliberate choice to LET GO of the usual words and thoughts that you use in other forms of praying.

You see, we tend to assume that when we pray, we are the ones who must do all the TALKING. 

Nothing could be further from the truth!

We haven’t quite understood that there are times we NEED to pray WITHOUT words and thoughts 

We don’t understand that talking all the time prevents you and me from receiving all that God wants so passionately to give us: namely…

• His LOVE
• His PEACE
• His JOY

You see, it’s IMPOSSIBLE to be deliberately silent in the Lord’s presence and NOT receive His love!!

Why? Because the Lord’s very nature IS love:

God is love. 

1 John 4:16 NIV 

Please note…

At the beginning, it’s very possible that you won’t ‘feel’ the Lord’s love at the level of your emotions.

God’s love, you see, is FAR too deep for that.

But as you start to accept His love using the tiny bit of your faith that I just mentioned, you can be CERTAIN that, gradually, but extremely certainly…

• God’s love
• God’s care
• God’s protection

…WILL gradually make their presence felt DEEP in your being.

You WILL come to know deep in your being that you ARE loved, cared for, and protected by God with a PROFOUND, VAST, UNIQUE LOVE —and without any condtions.

When you FULLY ACCEPT and FACE your pain and distress and trauma in this special way of silence in God’s presence for just a few minutes each day (letting go of all the usual words and thoughts!!), you give the Lord the green light to HEAL it!

Sounds too good to be true?

I don’t bame you.

When I first learned about this way of healing prayer 41 years ago, at a time when I myself was experiencing deep pain and urgently needed God’s healing help, I had the same doubts. But gradually, yes, ALTHOUGH VERY SURELY, I came to discover that this special way of prayer DOES get results. It works!!

And you’ll discover that when the Lord heals, He heals FOR KEEPS. And when pain or tragedy hit your life again, you’ll have a way to deal with it that guarantees lasting healing.

My Christmas Gift to YOU 

Here’s my Christmas gift to you.

As you start on the HEALING adventure of spending a few minutes of silence each day with the Lord, I promise to…

• intercede to the Father on your behalf
• specially pray that in your few minutes with God you will —gradually , yes, but VERY surely —encounter DIRECTLY your Healer, your Saviour, your Friend and Brother

Jesus knew that you would have troubles in this world. But He promised to provide you with the strength to overcome them!

Let’s Now Enter Into that Supremely Holy Night of 2,000 Years Ago! 

REFLECTION CAROL

O HOLY NIGHT

Let’s Now Celebrate Jesus’ Mother, Without Whom There Would/Could/Can be No Christmas!

Mary agreed to CARRY Jesus within her own womb.

Mary’s obedience has provided YOU AND ME with the amazing opportunity to come to know Jesus as our

• Lord
• Saviour
• Brother
• Healer of our mind, body, spirit and emotions
• Protector
• 24/7 Dependable Friend

 

So this Christmas, let’s follow Mary’s example. Let’s carry Jesus inside us 24/7 so that folk can meet Him not just by us talking to them about Him but by ACTUALLY EXPERIENCING Jesus’ presence THROUGH OUR OWN PRESENCE!

And to honour Jesus on His birthday, let’s express our profound gratitude to HIM for providing you and me with an ETERNAL mother —HIS OWN MOTHER! 

 Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing by her side, and said to her, “Look, there is your son!” And then he said to the disciple, “And there is your mother!” And from that time the disciple took Mary into his own home.

John 19: 26 -27

J. B. Phillips New Testament (My emphasis)

REFLECTION MUSIC

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FINAL REFLECTION:

GOD’S JOY 

The Lord’s gift of joy makes YOU spiritually STRONG! (Nehemiah 8:10 NIV).

God’s JOY is built on the twofold foundation of His LOVE and His PEACE.

Without His love and peace, you can’t know or experience genuine joy.

And like God’s love and peace, His joy is a direct fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22).

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So let’s now join the Salvation Army Band and Singers and their audience to express God’s great gift of JOY! 

 CAROLS TO CELEBRATE!

0.00 CHRISTMAS MEDLEY (SALVATION ARMY BAND)

9.56   JOY TO THE WORLD (CHOIR)

19.00 O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL (CHOIR)

28.56 WHILE SHEPHERDS WATCHED (CHOIR)

1.31.33 HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING! (CHOIR)

And is it Time Perhaps to Dance? 

And is it Time Perhaps to Dance?

GO TO POINT 1.05.39 IN THE VIDEO BELOW!

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FINALLY, LET’S SIT BACK AND TRY TO QUIETLY TAKE RIGHT INTO OUR HEARTS, MINDS, AND SPIRITS THE SCARCELY BELIEVABLE GIFT OF CHRIST’S BIRTH…

CAROL

UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN

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May the joy of the angels, the eagerness of the shepherds, the perseverance of the wise men, the obedience of Joseph and Mary, and the peace of the Christ child be YOURS this Christmas!