Say
Hello to friends ya know and everyone you meet!!! Welcome to Tuesday
and the Christmas Musical Notes!! Now that we have the song in your
head...let's just let the Sam sing it to us. From the 1964 Christmas
television special, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, here is Burl Ives as Sam the Snowman and the rest of the Red Nosed Reindeer gang:
Johnny
Marks wrote the original song of about Rudolph in 1949 and with the
genius of Rankin/Bass productions brought it to life in the very first
stop motion animation presentation. It told of the adventures of the Red
Nosed Reindeer and how he came to save Christmas. This form of
animation would become cherished by children and adults world wide and
is anticipated each year as Christmas specials begin to populate
television line ups. Part of the of appeal these
specials is their positive story lines and the nostalgia provided by
the stop motion animation. In a world of CGI and 3-D Computer graphics,
these specials from the 1960's have become to our generation what
silent movies were to thirtysomethings in the 1940's and 1950s. They
provide us with a moment to reflect and remember cherished times. It
seems especially fitting around Christmas to pause and take a stop
motion minute to reflect from whence we came, where we may be heading,
and what we are doing now to impact the next generation. Hopefully for
you....those will be holly, jolly thoughts filled with joy. Because
Christmas is supposed to be a time of good tidings and great joy!!!
One
of the criticisms that people give for not reading the Bible or even
paying it any mind at all is that it is a critical book that doesn't allow any fun in our lives. Maybe this is something you
have even thought. If so, I would highly recommend reading the Bible
cover to cover over the course of the next year or so. You might find
your perspective changing about the "tone" of the Bible. Something
interesting happens when you do a word search on the words "joy" and
"sad" in the New American Standard Bible. If this isn't your Biblical
preference, the same thing happens search the same words in the King
James Version of the Bible. When you do the same search in the Biblical
paraphrase The Message, the results remain consistent with the
findings of the other translations. In the best selling Bible
translation, the New International Version, the results are the same.
The word "joy" is mentioned far more than the word "sad".
(NASB joy -
211, sad - 12, KJV joy - 187, sad - 10, The Message joy - 124, sad - 13 NIV
joy - 242, sad - 9).
This is does not seem like a book that is
detailing the life of its disciples as sad, bad lives, but it
seems to me it is more descriptive of a holly, jolly life. In fact,
this time of the year with its gift giving, Christmas trees, Santa
Claus, and even red nosed reindeers, started out with a proclamation of
joy:
Luke 2:9-11
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
9 And
an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the
Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
The
angelic shouts of joy regarding this baby would continue at an empty
tomb where another angelic proclamation would announce the opportunity
for restoration of the God/man relationship that was severed in Eden:
Matthew 28:7-9
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
7 Go
quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and
behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him;
behold, I have told you.”
8 And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.
As you can see the Bible is a book that mentions joy quite a bit. Especially when referring to Jesus. As His disciples, why should we go around with any other kind of demeanor?
So as the shopping deadlines loom...have joy! When you can't find a
parking spot, or someone takes the one you have been waiting for...have
joy! When you don't get everything on your Christmas list...have joy!
When you say "hello" to friends you know and everyone you meet...have
joy! As you sing carols announcing His birth...have joy! As you
witness childlike innocence on Christmas morning...have joy! As you
reminisce about stop motion Christmas specials...have joy! When you are
surrounded by those who may or may not be kin, but love you
unconditionally...have joy!!! As you go about this season, unmistakeably reveal Jesus by having joy!!!
Then, share that joy with others and when asked the reason for your joy,
be prepared to explain the restored relationship that Jesus brings and
the hope and joy that comes with our salvation. This Christmas
season...have joy... and in case you didn't hear, Oh by golly, have a
holly, jolly Christmas this year!!!
"Joy! (to the World)" - Avalon
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy
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