Last week I was privileged to preach at Iglesia Oeste (West Church) in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  This outreach to the Hispanic community is led by a wonderful young couple, Pastor Mike Lobmeyer and his wife, Ruth.

What made this an especially moving experience for me is that Iglesia Oeste meets on the site of the church my dad, Warren Shibley, founded in 1955.  Gleaner Missionary Church was known as “the church with a missionary heart.”  Though never a large church, its influence was strong and reached to many nations.

From the first offering ever received until my father died in 1965, fifty percent of all money received at Gleaner Church went straight to missions outreaches.  This was my father’s heart.  He often quoted Romans 1:14-15: “I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise.  So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel…”  Referring to this verse he said, “Missions involvement isn’t sentimental philanthropy.  It’s just an honest man paying his debt.”

The gospel had reached him and changed him, so he felt a debt to get this Good News to everyone, everywhere.  With Paul, my dad saw no race distinction and no class distinction; everyone needs Jesus.

On July 18, I stood in the same church auditorium where my dad preached and faithfully pastored.  It was forty-five years and one day from the date of his death in 1965.  As part of heaven’s great cloud of witnesses, I know my dad rejoices that today Iglesia Oeste is truly a “church with a missionary heart.”  Not only are they reaching out to Tulsa’s Hispanic community, from their limited resources they are helping to support four missionaries.

The seeds my father planted fell on good ground.  A half a century later they have once again sprung to life.  Seeds are strong, and the seed of God’s word lives forever.  “You have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Pet. 1:23, NIV).

Thank you for helping provide seed for the sowers of the gospel.  Your prayers and financial support are putting everlasting seed in the bags of church and business leaders worldwide.  The seed you’re providing lives forever!

“God loves a cheerful giver.  And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.  As it is written: ‘He has dispersed abroad, he has given to the poor, his righteousness endures forever’  Now may He who provides seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness” (2 Cor. 9:7-10).

Last week I attended the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) in St. Louis. Formerly known as the Christian Booksellers Association (CBA) Convention, this annual event brings together a few thousand retailers, suppliers, authors, and artists who are involved in getting Christian products to the public, especially through Christian bookstores.

I’ve been going to these events off and on for over twenty years. Every time I walk into the exhibit hall that is filled with everything from religious trinkets to beautiful art to all genres of Christian music to the most scholarly Christian tomes, I have mixed emotions.

As I walk into the literal acres of Christian exhibits my first feeling is, “Maybe I’ve died and gone to heaven.” Few things are more relaxing for me than a stroll through a well-stocked Christian bookstore. This show is literally the “mother” of all Christian bookstores; much of what ends up in local stores is ordered at this show. I really enjoy seeing the new products (music, gifts, and especially books) that are being produced every year. I’m energized by being around so many creative, Jesus-loving people.

Then quickly other thoughts rush into my mind: I should never bring one of the frontline shepherds that Global Advance serves to this event, I remind myself. Pastors from developing nations would probably be incensed seeing the avalanche of Christian media that is so easily accessible to us, and yet is still denied to most of them.

The resources you, our partners, help provide Christ’s hidden heroes in underserved nations are literally treasured by them. When one of my books is translated into another language in a developing nation, it is often heralded as a major event in the Christian community there. Here in the States my books generally cause little fanfare among the thousands of new titles that roll off the presses every year. It’s easy to get lost in the deluge of many good books. And there are some new books that are marketed better than they’re written.

Another thought haunts me as I navigate this treasure trove of Christian media. How – in the midst of all this Christian knowledge – have we managed to produce the most biblically illiterate generation in America’s history? It’s not that the information isn’t accessible; the problem is that somehow that knowledge isn’t getting into the hands, heads, and hearts of those who need it most. We don’t have a publishing problem – we have a huge distribution problem.

I was grateful for the spirit of this year’s event. Phil Vischer, the brilliant inventor of Veggie Tales, spoke at the Sunday evening worship service that kicked off the gathering. He related how the last few years have pretty well knocked the wind out of the arrogance that was sometimes present in earlier, pre-recession years. Back then the crowds were bigger and Hollywood producers lurked in the halls, hoping to cash in on the Christian market. “I think we’ve matured to the place now where we would much rather the Holy Spirit showed up than some Hollywood producer,” Vischer observed.

Amen, brother.

Maybe you’ve noticed there is a changing American landscape – the “mom and pop” independent Christian bookstore is struggling to survive. In fact, many hundreds of these stores have closed in the last few years. I was in such a store in a remote Midwestern town a few weeks ago. Though small, the store is clean and well-stocked. I asked the manager-owner if she planned to go to the upcoming ICRS in St. Louis. “Well, our profit margin is really slim,” she said. “We just can’t fit it into our budget. Hopefully, we will grow enough where I can go to the 2011 Show.”

All of this musing leads me to make a request. Let me encourage you to visit – and buy from – your local Christian bookstore. I realize there are many ways these days to access Christian products. You can purchase Christian books from many websites (including ours). You can shop from catalogs. Some huge chains like Wal-Mart carry Christian titles. All of this is good. Let’s get the Word out by any and all means.

It would be sad – no, it would be tragic if Christian bookstores disappeared. Many seekers slip into Christian bookstores who won’t be showing up this week at church. Don’t expect the clerk at a mega-store to give you knowledgeable counsel on which translation of the Bible to buy, or why you should read Tozer or Lewis or Swindoll or Hayford. A Christian bookstore is a tremendous asset to the cause of Christ in any community.

So, my hat is off to the courageous Christian bookstore owners, managers, and staffs. Let’s encourage them, support them and help keep their businesses and ministries vibrant.

As we approach Independence Day, I thank God for the liberties we still enjoy in the United States. Those freedoms include freedom to evangelize without harassment – that is, the freedom not only to proclaim the Gospel but to urge people to repent and place their faith in Jesus Christ.

True religious freedom is not only the freedom to worship according to the dictates of one’s conscience. It is also the freedom to be exposed to any and all religious ideologies and either accept or reject their claims without fear of repercussions. This full expression of religious liberty is suppressed in nations where Christianity is not the dominant faith. Many Muslim nations promote sharia law, which imposes Islamic law and practices on everyone, even against their will. Anti-conversion laws are springing up in nations including Hindu-dominant India and Buddhism-dominant Sri Lanka. Even in a democracy like Judaism-dominant Israel, “freedom of religion” means freedom to worship within your own religion, not freedom to openly evangelize and encourage one to change his or her faith.

A dominant Christian ethic is the very best safeguard of liberties – not just for Christians, but for Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and the completely irreligious. Biblically informed Christians believe in freedom of conscience. Further, Christians are enjoined to love and protect even those who are hostile to them. Jesus taught, “Love your enemies” (Matt. 5:44).

Today, this basic human right to convert from one faith to another is under severe attack – even here in the freest nation in the world. There are those (some with very strong influence) who would bridle what we can say, or even what we think. Such repression is an assault against anyone who loves liberty. The First Amendment to the U. S. Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

In other words, the Government cannot mandate what we believe. Nor can it prohibit the exercising of our faith – including evangelism through what we say or write. This should be undeniable to any freedom loving person. Christian scholars Vishal and Ruth Mangalwadi, in The Legacy of William Carey, have rightly observed, “Freedom of conscience is incomplete without the freedom to change one’s beliefs, to convert. A state that hinders conversion is uncivilized because it restricts the human quest for truth and reform.”

It is clear why some would suppress the free and open proclamation of the Gospel: In the free exchange of ideas and ideologies the supremacy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ becomes compellingly obvious.

While I am completely convinced that Jesus and only Jesus is the sole hope of forgiveness and salvation, this belief does not give me carte blanche to disrespect others who disagree. On the contrary, my total confidence in the uniqueness of Jesus and the supremacy of the Gospel frees me to interact with love and courtesy toward all people, no matter what they believe. It is the Holy Spirit, not us, who brings about conviction and conversion to Christ. We are against heavy-handed manipulation that dishonors Christ and actually violates the work of God’s Spirit. But we strongly defend the right to urgently and passionately compel people to come to Christ. This is what Jesus taught: “Go out to the highways and hedges and compel them to come in” (Lu. 14:23).

As serious Christians, an essential part of our faith is its proclamation to those who are not followers of Christ. We have been mandated by our Lord to proclaim the Good News about Him to everyone in the entire world. We must evangelize if we are to be true to our faith. I am grateful that, as of today, that freedom remains in the United States.

In the words of the missions document, The Millennial Manifesto:

“We affirm the right of the church to proclaim the gospel in word and deed to everyone everywhere. We reject all forms of coercive proselytism and manipulative pressure, but uphold the right of persons to become followers of Jesus in response to the conviction of the Holy Spirit.”

And I concur with the spirit of The Amsterdam Declaration:

“As we enter into dialogue with adherents of other religions, we must be courteous and kind. But such dialog must not be a substitute for proclamation. Yet because all persons are made in the image of God, we must advocate religious liberty and human rights for all. We pledge ourselves to treat those of other faiths with respect and faithfully and humbly serve the nation in which God has placed us, while affirming that Christ is the one and only Savior of the world.”

The greatest freedom of all is the liberty of spirit that comes from being rightly related to God. And that liberty was purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ. “If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (Jn. 8:36).

Last month Global Advance sponsored an historic Frontline Shepherds Conference in the Middle East.
According to the pastors who gathered, it was probably the largest single gathering ever of evangelical pastors who serve in Middle East countries. Outside of Egypt, there are only around 200 evangelical senior pastors in the entire Middle East. Right at 100 of them – half of all evangelical pastors in the Arab world – participated in our conference. They came from eight nations and from almost every Protestant denomination that has a presence in the Middle East.
I’m also happy to tell you that 68 pastors’ wives also attended and were greatly refreshed by the special breakout session. These precious ladies, who live under tremendous pressure, are a great key to the evangelization of women in the Muslim world.
Several pastors told thrilling stories of how more and more “inquirers” are showing up in their churches – because Jesus appeared to them in a dream or vision. Growing numbers of Middle Eastern people are searching – and our loving Jesus is revealing Himself to them.
Still, evangelical Christians currently number only about one percent in the heavily Islamic Middle East. Yet the courageous frontline shepherds and their brave wives who live and minister there continue to lift high the name of Jesus Christ – usually amidst hostile and sometimes threatening neighbors. Here are just a few of their stories (I will not give their names or nations to help protect them).
• Pastor A. was voted the “best bartender” in his country just a few years ago. Then, much like Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, he was literally apprehended by the Lord. In a single day he was dramatically born again and called to preach the Gospel. Today, as a missionary, he has gone to an even more Gospel-deprived Arab nation where he pastors the largest evangelical church in that nation!
• Pastor B. and his wife were interrogated and detained at the border of their nation as they attempted to travel to our conference. The harassment was so intense his wife fainted. They eventually made it to the conference, where he told me that the refreshing they received at the conference gave them the strength to continue pasturing. I was deeply humbled when he told me he prays for me and Global Advance every day.
• Pastor C. courageously pastors the largest evangelical church in a city where two other churches have recently been bombed. He said a tank pulls up outside their church before every service, supposedly to protect them from more radical groups. Pastor C. said his congregation literally takes their lives into their hands every time they attend church. Pastor C. loses 20 percent of his congregation every month because Christians are fleeing the country. Still, they maintain a ministry to hundreds of their city’s neediest children, and the joy of the Lord fills his countenance.
These are the quality of hidden heroes who look to Global Advance for encouragement, training, and resources. One of the team members who went with me said that hearing their stories was like listening to the Apostle Paul. I am so grateful to all our partners who made this strategic victory for Christ possible through their prayers and financial gifts.
What Paul wrote concerning Epaphroditus is clearly true of each of these frontline shepherds: we are to “honor men like him, because he almost died for the work of Christ” (Phil. 2: 29 NIV). Some Middle East pastors have already paid with their lives for their love for Jesus and the proclaiming of His Good News. Almost all of the pastors at Global Advance’s Middle East Frontline Shepherds Conference have been threatened. Some have been jailed for preaching the Gospel. All know that martyrdom is a real possibility.
One pastor told me that he had been imprisoned in Iraq under the reign of Saddam Hussein. His “crime”? He had planted a new church. Under intense interrogation he was ordered to divulge the names of his church members. He refused. Saddam’s prison guards took him down to the torture chamber and showed him the finger grinder. “Now, go back to your cell and think about whether you want to give us those names.” That night as he prayed in his cell Operation Iraqi Freedom began – and this pastor was liberated! Today he continues to pastor – amidst continual threats – in Iraq.
This weekend, we in the United States honor those who have laid down their lives to secure our freedom. We honor them and their sacrifice. We also remember our troops who are currently serving and pray for their safety and success. As we honor those who serve our country, let’s also honor those who put their lives on the line to serve Christ, His commission, and His eternal kingdom.

About a year ago I wrote on the subject of biblical hope.  Since then, like many believers, we’ve been pelted with heartbreaking news.  Unexpected deaths of friends and ministry associates.  Cancer among our dearest friends.  Defections from the ministry.  Moral failures.  Bankruptcies.  Church splits.  Widespread disillusionment – even among veteran believers.  Over all of this there seems to be a virtual canopy of “dis-ease.”  Just as Jesus predicted, “People [are] fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world” (Lu. 21:26 ESV).

Hope is under siege.  Paul wrote that “faith, hope, and love abide” (1 Cor. 13:13).  Together these comprise the very essence of our new creation life.  So it should come as no surprise that the devil would aim to destroy these core components of our life in Christ.  We’ve heard a lot of teaching about faith, and about love – as well we should.  But if hope erodes, faith and love will not be far behind.

Of course, in the midst of it all God has been unfailingly faithful.  I remain firmly fastened to the grounded hope we have in Christ.  Don’t get me wrong.  I forsook humanistic-based optimism long ago.  But biblical hope will hold you – even in the 9/11s of life.  That Bible-based hope will keep you joyful, steady, and anticipating good things from our good God.

William Carey, the great missionary to India, gave wise advice: “Attempt great things for God.  Expect great things from God.”  This counsel came from a man who was blasted at every turn by Satan’s heaviest artillery.  Carey was a prisoner of hope.  You can be one too.  These prisoners – prisoners of hope – are the most liberated people on Earth.

Christians worldwide have just celebrated once again Christ’s resurrection.  That is the bedrock of our hope.  Peter wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pe. 1:3-4 NASB).

The intent of the original Greek reads more like this: “Impelled by His abundant mercy . . . .”  God’s very nature moved Him to redemptive action on our behalf.  We have been born again into a living, active hope.  The New Testament Greek scholar, Kenneth Wuest, observed that this hope is “an energizing principle of divine life in the believer.”  It is a mindset of expectancy – both of the future glories of heaven and present blessings simply because we are God’s children.

Wuest continued, “The Christian looks forward to the inheritance awaiting him in heaven, and a hopefulness of present blessings from God in this life in view of the eternal blessedness of the believer in the next life.  A child of God has no right to look on the dark side of things, and to look for the worst to happen to him.  As the object of God’s care and love, he has the right to look for the best to come to him and to look on the bright side of things.”

If you’re looking at life through the corrective lens of Scripture, things aren’t getting darker – they’re getting brighter.  “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter until the full light of day” (Prov. 4:18 NIV).

As I wrote in Living as if Heaven Matters, “I want to be very clear.  Christ is our hope.  His resurrection, His return, His glorious rule; this is our hope.  No Jesus – no hope.  With Jesus – great hope.  All our hope is wrapped up in Christ.  He is ‘the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope’” (1 Tim. 1:1).

Because our hope holds, let’s live every day in the joyful, healthy, dynamic tension of looking for the Blessed Hope of Christ’s return and going full throttle until He comes serving Him and His purposes in our generation.

“We rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom. 5:2-5 ESV).

Global Advance is celebrating twenty years of God’s faithfulness.  We’re grateful for the past – and we build on it.  We’re focused on the present – and we seize it.  We’re hopeful for the future – and we run toward it.

The world has been shocked to see the devastation of an entire nation as a massive earthquake seems to have had its epicenter in the very densely populated downtown area of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital city.  Already one of the poorest nations on Earth, this most recent horror has greatly compounded the agonies facing this island nation.

Calamities prompt us to ask, “Why?”  There are no pat answers.  A complete answer will come in heaven when all our questions will be fully resolved by our Father who loves us.  Until then we may not be able to understand fully why such tragedies occur, but it’s important that we anchor our attitudes in Scripture.  Here are several heart attitudes we should maintain.    

1. Show compassion. Christians need to be the first responders in any crisis.  God’s heart is for people.  Every human being should feel a natural humanitarian impulse to help.  But compassion is compounded in us as believers because “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit” (Ro. 5:5). The Bible calls us to identify with those who suffer.  We are to “weep with those who weep” (Ro. 12:15).  

Christians should lead the world in responding to human need – and we do.  It is a dazzling testimony when Christians rush to meet the needs of all who suffer, no matter what their faith.  At the same time other religions are often sluggish in aiding their own adherents, if they respond at all.  Our love speaks volumes.  Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Mt. 5:16).

 2. Be slow to judge.  In the wake of the earthquake in Haiti I heard some people say this was judgment on the nation.  That is not for us to determine.  It is true that two places in the Western Hemisphere that have been hit hardest by natural disasters – New Orleans and Haiti – are also the two areas where the occultic practice of voodoo has been most prevalent in the Western Hemisphere.  And it is true that in 1791 a group of Haitian slaves plotting revolt against the French officially dedicated the nation to Satan.  But it is also true that in 1997 many Haitian Christians gathered to renounce this act with repentance, prayer, and fasting.  Today, statistics indicate that at least 22 percent of Haiti’s people are evangelical Christians, and the number is rising.  We need to remember that many Christians as well lost their lives in this disaster.  I know of one Bible school in Port-au-Prince that lost 30 students.   

We seem to need a place to pin the blame for tragedies we cannot understand.  This was the case when the disciples saw a blind man and immediately assumed his condition was because of someone’s sin.  “Who sinned,” they asked Jesus, “this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  Jesus replied that the man’s blindness was not because of the man’s sin or his parents’ (Jn. 9:1-3).  It is humanity’s great thief, the devil, who comes “to steal, kill and destroy” (Jn. 10:10).

3. Be quick to repent.  Too often we cast aspersions on others without examining our own hearts.  It was a common belief in Jesus’ day that the men who suffered sudden death when a tower fell on them were worse sinners than others.  Jesus rejected such twisted reasoning.  “Do you think they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?  I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Lu. 13:5).  These are tough words from our Lord.  But they call us to examine our own hearts before we judge the spiritual condition of others.

4. Remember that the earth is under the curse of sin.  Not only did man fall with Adam’s sin but the earth itself was affected.  The Bible says that the world “groans and labors in birth pangs” (Ro. 8:22).  The result is the actual shifting of the earth that produces natural disasters.  The fact is our planet is not yet restored.  We look toward Christ’s coming rule when there will be “new heavens and a new earth” (2 Pe. 3:13).  

5. See natural disasters as a “wake-up call”.  Jesus promised there would be an increase in natural convulsions just prior to His return.  These phenomena would include “earthquakes in many parts of the world” (Mt. 24:7 NLT).  These tragic events call us to “prepare to meet your God.”

 How should we respond to large-scale human disasters? 

 • Pray for those who suffer.  Just as this earthquake caused shockwaves throughout Haiti and the neighboring Dominican Republic, your prayers can reverberate to the ends of the earth.  There is no distance in prayer.  The Bible says to “open your mouth for the speechless, in the cause of all who are appointed to die” (Prov. 31:8).  Your prayers can truly make a world of difference.

 • Give generously.  An important way to show heart-felt compassion is by giving to help alleviate suffering.  When disasters strike, we honor the Lord by giving financially to Christian relief organizations that provide humanitarian aid to the victims.   Compassion is measured in tangible ways such as giving and volunteering to help meet the needs of the victims of calamities.  “As we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:10).  

• Pray that God will use this tragedy to bring people to Him.   Many survivors are groping for answers.  Those without Christ not only have been stripped of life’s basic necessities, they also have no hope.  In tragedy’s aftermath many hearts are open to Jesus.  He is the great “shelter in the time of storm” (Psa. 61:2-3.)

  • Recommit to the urgency of evangelism.  Suddenly lives can be snatched into eternity.  This should press us to do all we can, while we can, to reach people for Christ.  There is always a holy imperative in evangelism and missions.  “Night is coming when no one can work” (Jn. 9:4). 
 
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled . . . Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psa. 46:1-2, 10).

* * *

This article is based on a previous article written in January 2005 in the wake of the tsunami that hit twelve Asian nations.  Global Advance is monitoring the situation in Haiti through two trusted missions organizations, one based in Haiti and the other in the Dominican Republic.  As a missions organization ourselves, we are sending funds to be utilized for relief through these two on-site ministries.  We will seek ways to encourage and equip Haitian pastors and Christian businesspersons in the days and months ahead.

God’s love is at work now in all your tomorrows.

We enter this New Year with all its possibilities, perplexities, and uncertainties.  Life will see to it that you will walk through a myriad of experiences in 2010.  As I’ve prepared my heart for the coming year, I’ve been struck with fresh wonder at the incalculable love of God for us.  

What’s in store for us in the next twelve months?  Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, mockery – even martyrdom?  These trials are surely in store for multitudes of our brothers and sisters worldwide.  According to the apostle Paul (who tasted all of these), none of these assaults can separate us from the love of Christ.  “Despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us” (Ro. 8:37, NLT).

Neither death nor life can sever us from His love.  Not angels, not demons, not hostile authorities, not the pressures of the present, not the concerns about the future (my paraphrase of Ro. 8:38).

God’s love overarches the pinnacles of our victories, overshadows the depths of our defeats, and overcomes every created thing in between (my paraphrase of Ro. 8:39a). “Absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us” (Romans 8:39b, The Message).  It is the strongest bond in the universe; an indissoluble union.

Throughout 2010 the love of God for you – expressed in Jesus our Lord – will be the capstone for every joy and the cure for every pain.  No matter what life hurls at you this year, tether to the love of God.

“In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. . . . We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:9, 19).

It’s pretty gloomy out there.

Usually there seems to be a general optimism toward the New Year.  But, frankly, I don’t sense that this year.  Most prognostications do not indicate that the coming days will be merry and bright.  With so many families fractured, jobs lost, and hopes destroyed, some pensive Christians wonder if it’s appropriate in our tortured world to be celebrating – even at Christmas.  

But we have every reason to rejoice.  Jesus invaded a world much like ours.  The world was blanketed in repression, despair, and darkness.  But then – “the people who sat in darkness [saw] a great light” (Isa. 9:1).

Everything surrounding the Incarnation bubbles over with joy.  When the angel Gabriel brought his annunciation to Mary, he said, “Rejoice, highly favored one” (Lu. 1:28).  When Mary extolled the Lord in her Magnificat she said, “My spirit has rejoiced in God, my Savior” (Lu. 1:47).  When the pre-natal John the Baptist encountered the pre-natal Christ, his mother said, “The babe leaped in my womb for joy” (Lu. 1:44).  When the wise men saw Jesus, “they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy” (Matt. 2:10).  The angels said to the shepherds, “I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people” (Lu. 2:10).  

Why all this joy?  “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Lu. 2:11).  We were doomed – but God has come to save us!

No religion in the world comes even close to the Christian faith when it comes to music.  No religion has reason to rejoice as we do.  We know God is with us.  We know our sins are paid for.  We know our Redeemer lives.  The only rational response to this Good News is to rejoice, praise God, and worship.

Do you know what a “carol” is?  It is a song or dance of joy and praise.  Listen to those old Christmas carol lyrics again (all the verses).  You have something to sing about!

Isaac Watts was the Matt Redman of his time.  He called on all creation to rejoice – because God has come to us in Jesus Christ.  God is with us!  God is for us!
Let all humanity rejoice in the Incarnation!  
Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature sing.

Let the creation rejoice in Jesus, our Savior and Lord!  
Joy to the world, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy.

Rejoice that sin’s curse is broken by our almighty Christ!
No more let sin and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessing known
Far as the curse is found.

Rejoice that Jesus reigns supreme!
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love.

It’s time to sing!  It’s time to dance!  Rejoice – the Lord has come!