Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, dear sister in Christ!
My birthday arrives during Epiphany, right after Christmas. As a young child, I always felt the bummer that I was on winter break from school, so I never got the same birthday attention my friends did. I always missed the party hats and bringing cupcakes to delight friends in class, the classic birthday song sung by the whole class, the wrapped locker with cards and decorations. My parents, friends, dear husband, and daughters have always worked to make it a very special day. My sweet family just threw me an early surprise party of celebration and I will forever treasure the gift of being with grandchildren to celebrate this year’s birthday!
Having lived through so much illness and suffering, I now see the immense gift of each grace-filled breath and certainly another year of life on earth with loved ones. Every day truly is a gift, even when a birthday is a quiet one of knowing He has gifted me with life itself. In the midst of a pandemic and global suffering, we hush as we realize the Lord’s grace and power in sustaining life.
Power and glory of Jesus in sanctification
Obviously, I’m still thinking about gifts this week. How might His greatest gift of Jesus Christ be shown in our suffering? It is permanent, eternal, holy. It is through His blood shed (Heb. 10:10; 13:12). It’s filled with His continual power and glorious reign as the Lord provides our entire earthly life with His sanctifying work, setting us apart for Him, until we are living in His presence with glorified bodies forever.
In your suffering today, as you proclaim and trust His power and glorious reign, I’m praying that God will bring you great comfort, quiet knowing, a deep sense of hope in His sanctifying work in your life, and profoundly sustained joy as you endure pain and loss. I know it’s hard, so I am writing to walk alongside you as you seek to glorify Him as you suffer, dear sister in Christ. I also know that He enables us to endure by praising Him in song and meditating on His Word, activities He gives to us as means of His grace-filled love for us. This too is such a gift, especially when we are suffering on earth.
So, let’s start the New Year 2021 by singing “Oh, Holy Night” and praying related Scriptures back to Him this week, as a praise interruption into any of today’s suffering. I’m praying this mini-worship moment is a joy-filled comfort to you this week and that my accompanying playlist will fill your voice and heart with joy as you sing to Him. Let’s celebrate and proclaim Jesus, born as a baby but now reigning as LORD in power and glory.
Singing praise and thanks to Your powerful name
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we;
(Cappeau, P., 1847. Trans. Dwight, J.S.)
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises! (Ps. 98:4 ESV)
I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,
and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High (Ps. 7:17 ESV).
I am singing praise to Jesus every day in the New Year 2021
Let all within us praise His holy name.
I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever (Ps. 145:1-2 ESV).
I am praising You for Your glorious name and unchanging character
Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever!
On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 19:16 ESV).
God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:11 ESV).
I am proclaiming and praising Your reigning power and glory forever!
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!
[Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together (Col. 1:15-17 ESV).
But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom (Heb 1:8 ESV).
O Holy Night
As a closing thought, I pray you will be deeply blessed by a literal translation of the original French for “O Holy Night.” Scholars suggest this text:
Midnight, Christians, it is the solemn hour,
When God as man descended unto us to erase the stain of original sin and to end the wrath of His Father.
The entire world thrills with hope on this night that gives it a Saviour.
People, kneel down, wait for your deliverance. Christmas, Christmas, here is the Redeemer!
May the ardent light of our Faith guide us all to the cradle of the infant, as in ancient times a brilliant star guided the Oriental kings there.
The King of Kings was born in a humble manger;
O mighty ones of today, proud of your greatness, It is to your pride that God preaches.
Bow your heads before the Redeemer!
Praising Jesus for His power and glory in the New Year 2021
Dearest friend, I’ve prepared one last Christmas-into-Epiphany-inspired YouTube playlist that takes us into the New Year, 2021, with an intentional praise-filled purpose of daily glorifying and enjoying God, into our suffering.
Would you be helped as 2021 begins, by specifically singing of the power and glory of Jesus Christ who lives and reigns right now, in your life and in the world?
Sign up here if it would bless and strengthen you to sing these Scriptural truths back to Him this week.
