WILL YOU Have a Merry Christmas?

I went to see the movie, "TAKEN 2" last night.  I thought that is was great, but I especially liked "TAKEN"-Part 1. The whole thing started out with a loving dad, who is an exceptionally strong, spy kind of guy, rescuing his teen daughter from the sex slavery industry in Europe. Of course, the dad is always the hero! I love the dad's intense hatred of evil. The selflessness and determination he exhibits going after the bad guys is exhilarating! The purity of the love he has for his family is refreshing. The part I abhorred was the cold, wicked, and calculated evil that was exhibited by the sex slave operators.  It truly is disheartening to realize just how dark mankind can be. This world is in bad shape. We can look around us and see the atrocities on every hand.  Or, we can look around and see God. We can look for and see FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE.  We must be determined to have a MERRY CHRISTMAS! Some of you reading this may ask, "HOW? Are you kidding me?"  Having A MERRY CHRISTMAS can be deterred by entertaining DISAPPOINTMENT, FEAR, ANGER, FRUSTRATION, BITTERNESS, DREAD, ANXIETY, and other such things. But, FOCUSING on the Lord will cause the bad "things of earth to grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace" (This is a line from one of my favorite hymns: "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus"). One of my favorite Christmas carols is "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen".  The message in this song is simply amazing to me.  It's speaks of RESTING in God's PEACE and being MERRY or JOYFUL!  The writer exhorts, "LET NOTHING YOU DISMAY..." (alarm you or cause you to lose courage).  WHY?  "FOR JESUS CHRIST OUR SAVIOR WAS BORN ON CHRISTMAS DAY, TO SAVE US ALL FROM SATAN'S POWER WHEN WE WERE GONE ASTRAY..."  Satan is the father of evil in this world. He works through many people.  BUT, GOD'S HOLY SPIRIT is also in this world.  He brings "TIDINGS OF COMFORT AND JOY" through people.  We can choose to allow the devil to wreak havoc through us, OR we can choose to allow the PRINCE OF PEACE, the MIGHTY GOD, AND THE EVERLASTING FATHER to have His way in our heart and life.  I love the songs of the season.  I especially love "Handel's Messiah".    I went to UF last weekend to the "Songs of the Season" concert.  It was fantastic!  I'm brought to tears remembering the last song that they performed of the evening. It was the "Hallelujah Chorus" by Handel.  Immediately when this majestic song started, the audience rose to it's feet in reverence and awe. This was not in a church setting, nor was this a predominately "Christian" audience to my knowledge. But, you would've thought it to be at this point. When the song ended, the audience erupted into thunderous claps and exhilaration!  JESUS truly is the REASON FOR THE SEASON!  I so enjoy the fun that goes with Christmas, but I continue to be in awe every year at this time when I think about the love our Father God, exhibited in sending His only Son into this world to SAVE us all from Satan's power. Lastly, I want to encourage you with this: "HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS NOW"!