God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Author Ace Collins explains
the history and meaning of  the beloved carol
"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen."

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen is one of the oldest Christmas carols, dating back to the 16th century or even earlier. In his book, "Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas," author Ace Collins provides a fascinating
perspective on the history of the song.

"Like so many early Christmas songs, this carol was written as a direct reaction to the music of the 15th Century Church. During this period, the songs of organized religion were usually written in Latin and their melodies were somber and dark, offering singers and listeners little inspiration or joy. In fact, though few admitted it in public, most church members secretly disliked the accepted religious songs of the day. Yet the laymen of the time had no power over the way they worshipped and had to accept things as they were. So, while they continued to go to worship, they created their own church music outside the walls of the cathedrals and chapels. In this way, the peasant class led a quiet rebellion against the tone of religious music by writing religious folks songs that were light, lively and penned in common language. Their Christmas folk songs became the foundation of what are now known as Christmas carols.

'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' was the most famous and most loved of all the early carols. Written with an upbeat melody and speaking of the birth of Jesus in joyful terms, the song may have shocked early church leaders, but it charmed their flocks. Not only did they sing to this carol, they danced to it.

'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' lyrics reveal that the song’s unknown writer knew the story of Jesus’ birth well. He included the high points of the gospel throughout the carol’s verses. The writer also fully understood the power of Christ and what His arrival meant to all who embraced it. In the case of this writer, comprehending the full and personal meaning of the birth of the Son of God brought forth enthusiasm and joy simply not found in any other church songs of the period. Though it might have been rejected by the church leaders, 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' better presented the message of the first Christmas and the life of Jesus than did many of the songs used in formal worship of the day.

'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' was sung for hundreds of years before it was finally published in the nineteenth century. By that time—thanks in part to Queen Victoria’s love of carols—the song found favor in the Anglican Church. Soon even the protestant English clergy of the Victorian era were enthusiastically teaching “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” to their parishioners. Crossing the ocean to both Europe and America, the carol became a favorite throughout the Christian world and it is still sung in much the same way as it was five hundred years ago. The only problem is that few of today’s singers fully understand the beginning of each of the carol’s many verses. This is a result of the evolution of the English language.

When modern people say “Merry” Christmas, the word merry means happy. When “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” was written, merry had a very different meaning. Robin Hood’s “Merry Men” might have been happy, but the merry that described them meant great and mighty. Thus, in the Middle Ages, a strong army was a merry army, a great singer was a merry singer, and a mighty ruler was a merry ruler.

So when the English carolers of the Victorian era sang, “merry gentlemen,” they meant great or mighty men. Ye means you, but even when translated to “God rest you mighty gentlemen,” the song still makes very little sense. This is due to another word that has a much different meaning in today’s world and a lost punctuation mark.

The word rest in 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' simply means keep or make. Yet to completely uncover the final key to solving this mystery of meaning, a comma needs to be placed after the word “merry.” Therefore, in modern English, the first line of 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' should read 'God make you mighty, gentlemen.' Using this translation, the old carol suddenly makes perfect sense, as does the most common saying of the holidays, 'Merry Christmas.'

You might wonder why, when most didn’t fully understand the real meaning of 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,' the old carol remained popular. The world’s love for this song is probably due to its upbeat musical piece paired with the telling of the most upbeat story the world has ever known. Those who sing it naturally get caught up in the celebratory mood of the message and embrace the same kind of emotions that those first to visit the baby Jesus must have felt. As the angel told the shepherds, 'I bring you news of great joy.' That joy and the power of faith can be felt and experienced in every note and word of 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.' You just have to know how to translate the words into the language of the day to have a very Mighty Christmas!" [From "Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas" by Ace Collins.]  

Absolute Truth

Truth is absolute, whether or not we see it that way.

Ignore it at your own peril. Embrace it and live.

In the 21st century, it seems like everything is relative. It all depends...we say. That's your opinion...we say. I believe...we say.

I put before you a simple statement: we must know - and live - the truth, or in the end, we will have a sad awakening.

Here's a silly example that I hope will help me make my point.

If I look at a chair and say that it is a treadmill, is that OK? I could stand on the chair and move my feet up and down, racking up as many steps as I wanted. "See," I say, "it is a treadmill." If I believe that it is a treadmill, and use it as one, does that make me right? No. It makes me foolish, ignorant, uninformed, and possibly stubborn.

Would I not be better off to ask myself, "could this be a chair?"
Would I be hurting my self image and worth by admitting that I may have missed the truth?

When I read the gospels, I often ask myself, how the Pharisees could have been so blind. Couldn't they see that Jesus was the Messiah? Did they ever stop and ask themselves, "could Jesus be THE ONE spoken of by the prophets?"

I recently finished reading the book "Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus" by Nabeel Qureshi. Born into a devout Muslim family, Nabeel found himself searching for the truth during his college years. That search eventually led him to the truth: Jesus is the Son of God and the only way to salvation.

Eventually, the truth will find us, whether we seek for it or not. 

Do you know the Truth? Jesus said, "I am the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE." Seek the truth and you will find Him. Or, close your eyes and keep walking in ignorance. The choice is yours.

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/69065182@N00/11435153375">Tell the Truth</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)</a>

Fearless

Back in April I heard Todd White speak at the FCA Convention. Todd is a man of moderate height, built like a Mack truck, with dreadlocks cascading most of the way down his back. He was an atheist and drug addict for 20-some years before being radically saved by Jesus while in Teen Challenge. He now travels the world, in his words, "destroying hell for a living." He prays for nearly everyone he encounters, flows in more or less nonstop words of knowledge, and has seemingly endless energy for spreading the gospel from one end of the world to the other. He is a Holy Spirit wrecking ball on a mission to bring the Lost into the kingdom. At the end of his sermon on the first night of the convention he said, "Is everyone in here a Christian? You should be by now." Then he pointed to a guy halfway back on one side of the auditorium and said, "You, in the red shirt, you don't know Jesus. Get down here right now." The guy walked down front and fell into Todd weeping as a phalanx of Christians surrounded him and prayed with him.

The point is this: I have never met someone as fearless as Todd White. It wasn't all hunky dory at the convention: Todd ruffled quite a few feathers with his intensity, and some of his unorthodox doctrine. But for me, the meat and potatoes of what he was saying was this: "There is a whole world of people who are living in despair, self-hatred, bondage, and depression, and they are desperate for you and me to manifest the love of Jesus that is in us." In his view, this is normal Christianity. Laying hands on the sick, operating in words of prophecy, sharing the love of Christ with everybody - all this should be normal Christianity. 

The thing is, none of this is possible without spending time communing with the Holy Spirit. We have to see the value in being Mary, and just being with Jesus, instead of being Martha and working, working, working for Jesus at the expense of relationship with Him. We have to let his love seep into our pores, or we're never going to care about the Lost, much less put our pride on the back shelf long enough to share Jesus with someone. Sharing your faith, especially in this era, is a very vulnerable thing, and if you don't have an overwhelming urgency for the lost, birthed in you by the love of God for the broken, it will be very hard to overcome your innate desire to be well-liked by everyone, all the time; to not upset the apple cart. 

So I realized, at the convention, that I want those things. I want a relationship with Jesus that isn't about my doing, but about just being with Him, letting him restore my soul. I want to have a burden for people that don't know Him; certainly a more intense burden than I've had the first 31+ years of my life. I want to be fearless in the face of what people will think of me. What about what God wants, and what He thinks of me? 

Twice this summer I have gone with some of the youth to Bemidji to try to find people to pray with. Why Bemidji, you say? Well, because praying for people in Fosston, Bagley, Erskine, McIntosh... - people you may know - is extremely intimidating, and when you've been afraid your whole life, you need to start out small. The first trip, Brady Finseth, Sam Marx and I felt like we struck out. Sure, we talked to a guy in Office Max about Jesus, but he was already a Christian. Sure, we got up the gumption to walk into Planned Parenthood and talk to somebody about Jesus, but it was closed. We were driving home feeling discouraged, until we started thinking, "Hey, we did get to lay our hands on Planned Parenthood's building and pray for an end to abortion. And that guy in Office Max? Maybe he'll feel compelled and encouraged to share his faith." The second trip was last week. Brady, Breanna Carroll and I went, again, to Bemidji. This time we asked a couple people in the mall if we could pray for them. Both immediately said no, and bristled at the suggestion, but as we talked to them they seemed to open up a little. We ultimately didn't pray with them, but we ambushed them in the spirit afterward:), and rejoiced at feeling even a small measure of rejection for the kingdom's sake. We also got to pray with a homeless guy named Gary, who was outside of Walmart, as well as bless him with a food card. Then inside Walmart a cashier said, "Hey, were youse the ones praying with that homeless guy out at the stoplight?" which led to a conversation and some prayer requests from her (Deb) for her husband, Paul, and his health. It's not exactly earth-shattering evangelism, but it is chipping away at our pride and our fear, and what could be more necessary? 

In Philemon, Paul says (v. 6), "...and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ." My friend, Ben Clark, says he believes that Paul is saying to Philemon here that there are certain things we can't know about the heart and character of God until we begin sharing the good news of the gospel of Christ with others. And I want to know the heart and character of God. What's more, I want to have the heart and character of God, which means I want to feel the way He feels about the Lost, and be compelled by Love, not by fear, when it comes to sharing faith. 

"In the end," says the ever provocative Todd White, "I will not be standing before my Father next to a line of people I could have affected for the kingdom but didn't because I was afraid." A resounding AMEN to that, and also to this: that my spiritual wish list, for the rest of my life, would include, instead of anything self-gratifying, simply this prayer: "God, make me FEARLESS for the gospel today, that someone may hear of Your love, and turn and be saved."

TODD WHITE VIDEO

Playing Every Note

Make every note count.

A single note doesn't amount to much. Or does it?

I began taking piano lessons when I was ten years old. That's a long time ago. My love of playing piano has only deepened over the years. You would think that after 45 years of playing an instrument that one would stop learning, but that isn't true. I keep learning, keep pushing, and continue to be amazed by the power of music.

Lately, I've been enjoying playing the song "Morning Has Broken." It is a great way to start the day, reminding me of the Lord's mercies, boundless and fresh each and every morning.

As I was playing this week, the Lord showed me something. If I sat down at the piano and attempted to play the song, it was less than it could be - less than it should be.

I found that when I focused on playing each and every note with passion and feeling, the end result was different. It was special. It was beautiful.

There is something better than playing the song - it is playing every note. 

So it is in life and in our walk with the Lord. We give our lives to the Lord, and want to make our lives count for Him, but it is in the days and in the moments where real beauty lies and where we can really LIVE. 

The moments are important. Make yours count today.

Like a Flower in the Field

The blooms of a China Rose tree are beautiful, but they don't last long.

Spring is beautiful. Each day, as spring takes hold, we can see buds swelling, tender green leaves emerging, and with each sprinkle of spring rain, an aroma sweeter than the finest French perfume. It is a season of new beginnings and abundant promise.

We know from watching spring after spring over the course of many years, this tender season will soon give way to summer, summer will wind down into autumn, and once again, a blanket of snow will cover what was once green.

The turning of the seasons is a perfect picture of both the brevity and the sweetness of our lives here on this earth.

As the Scriptures say, "People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades." (1 Peter 1:24 NLT)

The China Rose tree is one of the first shrubs to bloom each spring. When it blooms, it is literally covered with delicate, crepe-like pink blossoms. The flowers only last a few days, but what glorious days they are! Once the shrub is done blooming, there is nothing to recommend it in the landscape - no interesting shape or attractive foliage. In fact, it is a shrub that goes unnoticed if it is not blooming.

One spring day several years ago, as I was driving to church, I noticed a China Rose shrub in full bloom - a glorious symphony of delicate pink. The next time I drove past, less than a week later, it was plain green. The beautiful blossoms had already dropped to the ground.

Is a flower any less beautiful because it is perishable? Certainly not - in fact, if anything, it is more beautiful, more amazing, and more appreciated.

I remember well both of my grandmothers, steadfast, faithful women of God. When I was young, it seemed as if they had lived, and would live, forever. While they will certainly live forever - it is not on this earth. They are now gone and their memory is precious - like petals of a China Rose tree.

Do you ever wonder what you will leave behind? When you are only a memory on this earth? With all my heart, I want to do something that counts, something that makes a difference.

At the same time, I know that God has made me for a unique purpose. I can only be what He has made me to be. Anything that I try to be beyond that can only amount to nothing. To be fully alive in Him, fulfilling His purpose for my life, is everything.

If that means one glorious day of being in full bloom - so be it. May I bloom happily for a day.

There is an old saying, "bloom where you are planted." How often have you felt that you wanted to bloom somewhere else? That you were a different kind of plant, entirely? From our physical appearance to our finances, our career or whatever situation we may find ourselves in, we usually want something else.

Paul said, "Godliness with contentment is great gain." (1 Timothy 6:6 NIV)

Oh that we may be content, to bloom for a single day like the China Rose tree, to simply be what God has intended for us, and in that surrender to bloom our hearts out - even as we know we are perishing, our bloom is fading, and with it, all the glorious beauty, that we have come to know.

There is a daily living and dying that holds us tightly in its grip. The eternal sings in our hearts while mortality nips at our feet. "While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it's not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life." (2 Corinthians 5:4 NLT)

A Poem for Bikers

There's no better way to view the beauty of God's creation
than from the seat of a motorcycle.

At Bethel Assembly's first Blessing of the Bikes, Canadian biker Keith Braun shared an original poem, "This Biking Life." Enjoy.

As we cruise along for just the ride
Down roads alone or with friends beside
Basking in the sun and breeze
The filtered light through all Your trees
Help us Lord to understand
While we travel here across Your land
That we’re also here at Your command.

On broad avenues or down winding lanes

The rumble of engines like distant trains

The sound and wind that lullaby

The ride and bring that biker’s high

Create for me a two-wheeled hymn

Keeping soul and mind in trim

And showing me that it’s from Him.

All this world’s made at Your pleasure

For all Your creatures in equal measure

Help us then as we cross Your realm 

To keep You firmly at the helm

Of our two-wheeled chariots on the road

Remind us Lord that which You told

That in serving You we shall be bold.

Your Son’s command, before He went

Was that we should be willing to be sent

As you go, share what you know

Giving to others as you grow

Sharing the truth that our God is here

On the winding road, free from fear

Knowing You long to hold us near.

On through the curves we love to glide 

And up across that next divide

Soaring through the sun-drenched day

Wishing all the same could stay

Riding with brothers and sisters too

Who love You just the way we do

Knowing that You are forever true.

Help me Father to share Your light

With those You bring into my sight

Help them to see Your love and grace

With which You meet us face to face

Show me along the road today

Some friend, and tell me what to say

To share Your love in a healing way.

May Your light shining through the trees

Again help to bring us to our knees

And in visiting this great creation

Keep us yet in adoration

In thankfulness for all You’ve done

For sending us Your only Son

And for Your Spirit who makes us one.

By Keith Braun

Perspective is Everything

My Dad, the man with the HUGE shoulders.

Perspective is everything. Those of you reading this blog who know my family know that my father would never be described as a physically large or imposing man. At only five feet, four inches tall, he would easily be described as a short man by most any standards.

But even a short man may be perceived as large in stature, depending on the perspective of the person considering him. When I was in first grade, I idolized my father. (I still do.) I vividly remember describing him to my classmates.

"My dad is really strong," I said. Reaching my arms out as far as I could, I exclaimed, "his shoulders are HUGE." I tended to be rather dramatic in those days, and my words created quite an impression within my circle of friends. I had given them the idea that my dad was some sort of Super Hero, beyond the bounds of the average mortal man.

Imagine my surprise when one of my friends saw me with my dad in town. "Your dad isn't big!" she said. "He's short. I thought you said he had HUGE shoulders!"

Of course, I was only about three feet high myself at the time, and when I looked at my dad, I had to look up to see his impressive five foot, four inch frame. My perspective had a lot to do with my perception.

There is an old cliche that says, "You can't see the forest for the trees." When we are in the middle of the woods, all we can see is one tree after another. It is hard to grasp the breadth and depth of the entire forest. It is only when we place some distance between ourselves and the trees that we can actually see the forest. We are missing perspective.

As the current of life sweeps us along, lack of perspective can lead us to questions and uncertainty, but the simple truth is that we are not seeing the big picture. All we see are the many small events and the multitude of pieces that comprise the whole.

God does not have that problem. In speaking of Himself, he says; "For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:9 NLT)

His ways are higher. His thoughts are higher. To say that His perspective is higher is not really accurate, because He does not see things from a singular angle or vantage point; what He sees is nothing less than the absolute truth.

Paul said "we see through a glass, darkly." (1 Corinthians 13:12) The New Living Translation reads like this:  "Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely."

Hold on for a minute. God knows me completely?

Do you ever think about the fact that God sees through all the extraneous stuff of your life? He sees through the facade, the pretense, and the attitudes, to the very heart of you -- what makes you tick, what drives you, what makes you cringe, what you want to hide. He sees the burden you are carrying, the hurt that is ravaging your heart.

He also knows the ending. We do not.

Do you trust Him? I mean REALLY trust Him, even in the middle of life's challenges?

It is only by looking up that you will see His HUGE shoulders -- the only way you will see His arms reaching down in love.

Open our eyes, Lord. Help us to see -- to see You, and to see the things of life as You see them.