Corona Devo 3017

Quick!  Holiday hymn check: What's your favorite one?  

Okay, so picking a favorite Christmas carol or hymn is almost impossible for many of us (there are so many great ones!).  When we hear "Silent Night"...our favorite Christmas song is "Silent Night".  

And then when we hear "Mary, Did You Know?", (boom!) our favorite is "Mary, Did You Know?".  And so it goes: it is difficult to choose just one favorite Christmas song.

But have you heard "Go Tell it on the Mountain" lately?  It's my (current) favorite!  Can you guess why?  

Well, the title gives it away.  The title shouts it out.  The title of the song tells it.

Go tell it on the mountain Over the hills and everywhere Go tell it on the mountain That Jesus Christ is born!

If you know me, then you know that I like to tell it when it comes to many things...but especially when it comes to Jesus Christ. And this song gives us (happy) permission, and a melodic charge to...Go tell it on the mountain.

And so why don't we today?

This song gets us in the mood to be evangelists, and did we know that Jesus commanded those who follow Him (that's us!) to "go tell it on the mountain"?

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  ~Matthew 28:19-20

"Making disciples of all nations" involves us telling it (the hope, love, and salvation of Jesus!) to everyone we encounter: we must not be shy about telling all of the people on all of our mountains about Jesus Christ.

And Christmastime provides a more receptive season of the year and season of people's souls to invite them to church and to tell it on the mountain That Jesus Christ is born! People's ears are more spiritually open at Christmas, and so then is our door to share with them about who God is and how much He loves them.

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (27) So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, (28) and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. (29) The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” 

(30) Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. 

(31) “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him...

(35) Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.   ~Acts 8:26-31, 35

Philip went and told it on the mounta.in!  He wasn't afraid of what the Ethiopian eunuch would say.  Philip didn't worry that the Ethiopian would ask him questions about the Bible that he could not answer.  Philip did what he was supposed to do.

Philip told it on the mountain about Jesus Christ.  

Are we doing what we are supposed to be doing?  

The shepherds did what they were supposed to do.  The angels told them to go and see the babe in the manger, and they did.  And once they saw Jesus, they could not keep the (glorious) news to themselves.

The shepherds told it on the mountain about Jesus Christ. 

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.

(17) When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, (18) and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. (19) But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. (20) The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.  ~Luke 2:16-20

The Christmas season is the perfect season to Go tell it on the mountain, Over the hills and everywhere. Go tell it on the mountain That Jesus Christ is born!

Let's go tell it today.


Blessings,

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