Category Archives: History

Go, tell it on the Mountain!

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 Did you know that Go Tell It On The Mountain has no published author, because it was passed down from plantation to plantation and never credited properly? John Wesley Work actually published it in 1907 and it has been a favorite Christmas carol for many decades.

He made me a watchman

Upon a city wall,

And if I am a Christian,

I am the least of all.

The story didn’t end for the shepherds, the Wise Men, for Joseph or Mary after the birth of Jesus. It didn’t even end 33 years later after His death burial and resurrection!

Here we are, ready to enter 2021. Did you know that He made YOU a watchman? He made ME a watchman! And if we are Christians at all, and we are friends, we are, we are the least of all, but He put us here to do a job.

So what did He leave us here to do?

Go tell it! Proclaim it everywhere you go!

We are to make His name glorious as we spread the Good News. Jesus Christ was born and it’s more than just a story. It’s not a fairy tale. It is for you, for your children, and their children too. Acts 2:39.

Are we moved with compassion to share this Gospel today? Are we willing in good times or adversity to share the story and our testimony?

Let us not hide it under a bushel. Let us not be so caught up in our plenty that we forget that our purpose on this earth is to reach others, not just to satisfy our earthly desires and wants.

He was born for a reason. He died for a reason. For you, me and all who would believe.

Let’s take this Good News, over the hills and everywhere!

While shepherds kept their watching
Over silent flocks by night,
Behold throughout the heavens,
There shone a holy light:
Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

The shepherds feared and trembled
When lo! above the earth
Rang out the angel chorus
That hailed our Saviour’s birth:
Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

Down in a lowly manger
Our humble Christ was born
And God send us salvation,
That blessed Christmas morn:
Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

When I am a seeker,
I seek both night and day;
I seek the Lord to help me,
And He shows me the way:
Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

He made me a watchman
Upon the city wall,
And if I am a Christian,
I am the least of all.
Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

Psalm 105:1 “Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done.”

Nannette-Christmas

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O Come, O Come, Emmanuel! The rich scripture and story behind the song!

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The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him ‘Emmanuel’, which means ‘God with us.’ Matthew 1:23.

In the Middle Ages, monks observed Advent as a time of and serious consideration of The Secondmeditation This beloved hymn was penned almost 1200 years ago by an anonymous monk in Europe. It is said to have come from a set of Latin verses called the “O antiphons“, performed in monasteries in the 8th century. An antiphon just means that two choirs sat opposite each other, singing the verses alternately.

The verses each referred to titles of the Messiah, telling of His coming. The five mentioned in the song are:

Emmanuel (God with us)-Isaiah 7:14 NKJV. “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.“
Lord of Might-Exodus 19:16 NKJV. “Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.”
Rod (Branch) of Jesse-Isaiah 11:1 NIV. “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” Isaiah 11:10. NIV.  “In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.”
Dayspring (Morning Star)-Numbers 24:17 KJV. “I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.”
Key of David-Isaiah 22:22 KJV. “And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.”

In 1851, John Mason Neale translated it from Latin to English and called it Draw nigh, draw nigh, Emmanuel. Eventually it became known as we adore it today, O Come, O come, Emamnuel.

God is with us...Emmanuel!

Today, we are cumbered about with many things during this blessed season. Sure, we have our Christmas music playing, some of it even includes beloved hymns. We attend church, if we aren’t quarantined, and hear about the coming of the Christ Child. Hopefully we take time as a family to reflect on the real meaning of Christmas. But seldom do we focus on The Second Coming during the Christmas season!

Wouldn’t it be good if, this year, we could not only look back at why Jesus came as an infant but we could look ahead at His ultimate promise?

The coming of the Lord for His Bride!

We can look around us and see how much things have changed in our world BEFORE 2020! This past year we can lay our newspaper (or tablet, etc.) alongside our Bible and be amazed as we watch prophecy unfold before our very eyes. Yet, we do not despair! We look up for we know our redemption draws closer every day.

We are blessed to have relationship with Him now, to know Him now, to celebrate His first coming…now.

This relationship is preparation for the coming of Christ, when we shall see Him face to face!

We invite Him to come!

I pray I won’t leave Jesus in the manger but realize His purpose in coming the first time was to conquer death, hell and the grave so He might come a SECOND TIME for us!

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.

Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.

O come, O Wisdom from on high,
who ordered all things mightily;
to us the path of knowledge show
and teach us in its ways to go. Refrain

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
who to your tribes on Sinai’s height
in ancient times did give the law
in cloud and majesty and awe. 

O come, O Branch of Jesse’s stem,
unto your own and rescue them!
From depths of hell your people save,
and give them victory o’er the grave.

O come, O Key of David, come
and open wide our heavenly home.
Make safe for us the heavenward road
and bar the way to death’s abode.

O come, O Bright and Morning Star,
and bring us comfort from afar!
Dispel the shadows of the night
and turn our darkness into light. 

O come, O King of nations, bind
in one the hearts of all mankind.
Bid all our sad divisions cease
and be yourself our King of Peace.

Nannette-Christmas 

Hanging on His every Word…

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Continuing with Holy Week Remembrances today! I would love to hear YOUR memories of Easter. Feel free to share! You can read Palm Sunday’s post here. Be blessed.

I can remember so many Easter Sunday mornings when I was a little girl. My sister and I loved to dress up! My mother or aunt always did our hair in long banana curls the night before. (Think Shirley Temple…or Nellie Olsen). We were all decked out in our little 1960’s white hats, white knee socks and white patent leather shoes. We were adorable. (Unfortunately I couldn’t get my hands on an actual Easter picture for this post. Boo.)

When I was very young, I was privileged to go to church with my cousins. Four sisters. Yes, four! They had one each in similar age as my sister and me, and two more for good measure. I loved them so! I can remember hunting for Easter eggs at the church and my grandmother’s house.

We would sit in church and listen to their father preach, everyone was hanging on his every word…some because they knew he was the only thing that was standing between them and a great Sunday dinner. Others were anticipating the big Easter egg hunt and as much candy as they could stuff in their mouths at one time.

Yet, we all knew Easter was about so much more than bunnies, colored eggs, candy and Easter baskets.

It was about Someone Else whose Words were so impactful that men dropped everything they were doing to sit at His feet.

It was about Someone Else whose Words were so powerful that He emptied a temple.

Jesus had just entered Jerusalem where the crowds shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

The next day He saw the money changers and sellers in the temple, desecrating the house of God.

“And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” Matthew 21:12, 13 ESV.

He emptied the house. But it didn’t stay empty.

“And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.” Luke 19:45-48 ESV.

Here are those that wanted to destroy Jesus, the Teacher. But they cannot do anything about it because the people were hanging on His words! They wouldn’t leave, they were at His feet, waiting to hear the Good News.

The King James Version says it this way, “And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him.”

Are we listening for His voice today? Do we cherish the Word of God? Do we look forward to being with Him, sitting quietly in His presence and soaking up the Bread of Life?

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” John 10:27, 28.

Come Resurrection Morning, no matter whether you are wearing your white hat and patent leather shoes or your best jeans and t-shirt, listen for His voice.

And may you find yourself hanging on His every Word.

Kingdom2