The story behind the hymn “Silent Night” is a compelling picture for our Christmas season. 

It was on a cold Christmas Eve in 1818 that an Austrian pastor, Joseph Franz Mohr, carried a poem he had written years before to his friend Franz Gruber. The Christmas Eve service was only hours away and a flood had destroyed the organ at the church. The pastor hoped his friend could put his poem to music that could be played on a guitar.

That is how “Stille Nacht” began. The hymn has been translated and many of the lyrics were altered from the original, but the spirit of the hymn remained. There is something profound in the quiet beauty of a candlelit sanctuary filled with people singing the timeless carol “Silent Night.” That moment reminds us that Christmas is a holy season.

It’s no wonder that the world has turned the season into a long list of things to do. Jesus warned his disciples, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” Satan is the “father of lies” (John 8:44). I like to teach that Satan is also the demon of distraction. There are so many “good” things to do each Christmas that we sometimes get distracted from those things that are godly.

“Silent Night” has been a favorite Christmas carol since it was written. Somehow, even a flooded church couldn’t stop Christmas worship. God blessed one man with an idea and another with a melody and their song has blessed countless people since. Satan would have chosen to kill and destroy a worship service in Austria. Jesus decided to bring abundant blessing instead.

Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Jesus was born to defeat Satan’s claim on God’s people. Christmas was a miraculous, abundant gift from God. We should be careful to measure the abundance of our holiday by his standards. 

Satan would love to distract us by killing plans, stealing our joy, and destroying all that God wants to bless us with. If we allow Jesus to work, he can inspire and lead us to enjoy a blessed Christmas, filled with abundance. 

Wisdom is understanding that the gift of Jesus is our treasure. Consider the lyrics of “Silent Night” and make this night a calm, “holy night.” May your Christmas be abundantly blessed as a result.

Micah prophesied that the “ruler of Israel” would come from “Bethlehem Ephrathah.” Jesus, the King, was born quietly in a Bethlehem stable. He grew up in the home of a carpenter and lived his first thirty years in Nazareth as a tradesman. 

Except for his visit to the temple at the age of twelve, we know very little about the “ruler of Israel.” He amazed the priests at the age of twelve, but who else noticed Jesus wasn’t just another man?

Jesus impacted a small region of the world after his baptism. Many were healed, many were taught, and many experienced his miraculous power. But Jesus didn’t fulfill Zechariah’s prophecy until the week before his death.

Zechariah had written, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” The day Zechariah’s prophecy was fulfilled, the people shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9). Only a few days later, the shouts would change to: “Let him be crucified!” (Matthew 27:23).

The story of Christmas is a story of great hope, but so is the story of Easter. Jesus’ glorious birth was followed by a long period of day-to-day, natural growth. The story of Jesus’ earthly ministry was just about three short, busy years. The glory of his entrance into Jerusalem was soon overshadowed by his tragic death. But, just three days later, his glory was established forever. 

The hope of Christmas required a wait. So did the hope of Easter. Peter taught those early believers, and us, how to wait with hope. He wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:3).

The hope of Christmas is the hope of Easter today, but it is a living hope that dwells in each of God’s children. If you have the Holy Spirit of Jesus living in your life, you have that living hope because you have the promise of one day spending Christmas with Jesus in your eternal home. 

Wisdom is understanding that the gift of Jesus is our treasure. Treasure the living hope we have as believers today.

The Christmas season offers so many opportunities to lift up our faith to a world that doesn’t understand it but at least appreciates our Christmas story.

We can say “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy holidays.” We can wish someone a “blessed day” instead of a “good day.” We can decorate our homes, send our cards, post on social media, and prioritize our time with the goal of celebrating Christ with those we know. Peter taught that we should “honor Christ the Lord as holy.” I think Peter would encourage us to do that by keeping our Christmas celebrations “holy” as well.

Peter also taught that we should always be “prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks.” If you make it a goal to lift up the name of Christ, you will at some point be asked why you believe. If you are open about your faith, people will expect you to be faithful to Christ. Most people are looking for the hope we have, even if they don’t realize that our hope is in Christ. Are you ready to answer their questions and lead them to meet the baby of Bethlehem who was and is the King of kings?

Some of the world’s ideas about celebrating Christmas can seem pointless, absurd, and even offensive. Peter would encourage us to share the truth about Christmas with words and an attitude of “gentleness and respect.” Even when we aren’t given that same respect from others, we remember our accountability is to the Lord himself. Sharing the good news of Christ isn’t a debate; it is a delivery. We don’t hand them an argument for Christmas; we give them a gift from God.

If Jesus would leave the glory of heaven to be born in a humble stable, we can lay aside our personal “rights” in order to be righteous. Jesus deserves our humble service, and we should be prepared wherever we go to be his Presence, his voice, and his love through the power of his Holy Spirit. 

Wisdom is understanding that the gift of Jesus is our treasure. Wisdom is being prepared and ready to share our treasure with gentleness and respect every time we are given the opportunity. 

Our culture has said that our Christian message is arrogant, narrow, and intolerant. People have pointed out the harm our faith has caused rather than accepting that a lack of faith is the source of the greatest harm. I’ve often said, “Our message requires us to live as the proof that God’s ways are best.”

Proverbs 22:4 says, “The reward for humility and fear of the Lᴏʀᴅ is riches and honor and life.” God cannot reward an arrogant faith because that isn’t a faith that will convince others that God is our King. When we “fear” God, holding him up in our lives with reverent awe, we exalt him and reveal him to those around us. 

The “riches and honor and life” God wants for us may be partially received here on earth but will be fully enjoyed in heaven. We can know this: whatever rewards we might receive on earth are a part of his perfect blessing upon our lives. Some of the finest Christians I know are wealthy because of their blessings, not their incomes. Some of the most effective and influential Christians I know have used their blessings to further God’s message. The common denominator in both the rich and the poor is that their rewards are the result of their humility and fear of the Lord.

You can please God with your life whether you have little or a lot. You can live a life of humility because you understand your existence is because of God. His abundance is our wealth, his love is our security, and his priorities are our purpose. 

Wisdom is pleasing God, and we are working to study and understand that wisdom matters. On this last day of August, at the end of another summer, will you examine your spiritual growth in the area of wisdom? Are you living with the rewards that come from a life of humility and fear of the Lord? 

Wisdom matters, and knowing how to please God provides his wisdom for each day.

Jesus taught us how to love God and one another. It was the most important focus of his teaching, which is why it’s the most important thing for us to focus on as well. 

God’s priorities have not changed from the beginning of time. Eve was created for Adam so they could love one another. But they sinned when they loved themselves and each other more than they loved God. Every sin known to man is rooted in the original sin, which is why the goal of pleasing God should be our highest aim.

The easiest way to please God can be summed up in the words “love God and love one another.” Those words are the theme of Scripture and should be the theme of our lives as his children.

If we truly want to please God with our lives, we need only examine the ways we have chosen to dwell in his love and share that love with others. Evangelism isn’t as complicated as we tend to make it. What is complicated is the work it takes to live with the simplified priorities of Christ.

God’s priority has been clear “from the beginning.” We are called to love one another. If we love others:

We will teach people that there is one Creator God and they can know him.

—We will tell them they are greatly and powerfully loved by their Creator and show them his love through ours.

—We will teach them God’s words of truth rather than encouraging them to live with the opinions of the world.

—We will want the best for their lives now, understanding that the best has an impact on their lives eternal.

Wisdom is pleasing God, and he has called us to love one another as Jesus has loved us. That has been his call from the beginning, and it always will be. We will please God when we share his goals.

Our evangelism pleases God when our evangelism is led by God’s Spirit. The final lesson Jesus taught his disciples before his ascension was a lesson of evangelism. 

He began that lesson with this important point: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” When Jesus used the word all, he was telling his disciples that, apart from him, they have no authority at all. It is crucial to remember that the only authority in our lives is Jesus himself. That statement is worth hours of thought and a lifetime of obedience.

The only people who are able to fulfill the next words of Christ are those who have submitted to Christ as the One who has all authority. Only then can they “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all” that Jesus has commanded.

Our evangelism pleases God when it is authored by our only authority. Jesus is the reason we “go and make disciples” because that is his continued ministry through his Holy Spirit in our lives. Jesus does the speaking. Jesus knows who is ready to listen and ready to receive their salvation. Jesus knows when we should love, share, teach, and encourage. Jesus knows when and how we are to share the gospel and make disciples of all nations. Jesus knows what we cannot because he is the One with all authority.

Pleasing God is wisdom, and God is pleased with our evangelism. Every Christian is called to make disciples of all nations. When we made Jesus our Lord, we invited him to be our Savior and Lord. We gave him authority over our plans, our schedules, and our message. He can interrupt our lives anytime to use us for his higher purpose. That is a life lived wisely submitted to Christ’s authority. That is a life that pleases God.

Popular thought teaches that we are to take care of ourselves and put ourselves first. The truth is, everyone matters, and no one matters more than another unless someone needs to matter more in that moment. We cannot live our lives to please God unless we submit our lives to the God we want to please.

We exist because of our heavenly Father, the one true God. We exist because of the work of Jesus Christ in our lives and the sacrifice he made for our lives. We literally owe everything we are and all that we have to our triune God.

After Paul had taught that lesson to the Corinthian believers, he discussed their differences. To sum it up, he said they were diverse in their knowledge of God, their strength in God, and in their discernment of God. The point was not to compare the differences; instead, it was to realize that every Christian has the same God who created them with some of those differences yet loves each with the same love. 

So often our culture is consumed with the ways people are different. Comparisons usually end with an opinion of who is right and who is wrong. The truth is, we are all both right and wrong. That’s why we aren’t called to please everyone. All people are called to please their Creator because he would be the common denominator for all our differences. 

Imagine a world where everyone had the same objective of pleasing God. How would that change our conversations, our friendships, and our sense of well-being? That is the culture that God would have chosen for everyone, but that culture isn’t possible apart from Christ. Everyone exists because of God, but not everyone exists for the sake of God.

Wisdom is pleasing God. It is wise to remember why we are here, where we are going, and to live alongside the One who created us. We exist today and eternally because of our one true God. It is him we should wisely choose to please.

Jesus was preaching to the crowds gathered at the Sea of Galilee. It has been said that every lesson Jesus taught can be traced back to his Sermon on the Mount. When we want our own lives to please God, we need simply to live the lessons Jesus taught that day. One of those lessons had to do with how we should value our possessions.

“You cannot serve God and money” is a familiar and difficult truth that Jesus taught. The key to understanding his message is to study the verb. Jesus didn’t say, “You cannot have God and money.” Christians just cannot serve money ahead of God. We cannot make our money our master.

Do we spend more thoughts on our money or on our faith? Do we value the “stuff” we own more than the opportunities our faith provides? What governs your list of priorities? If our money is our master, we cannot serve and please God.

We can be poor and value money more than we should. We can be wealthy and do the same. We can find our purpose in what we earn or what we are able to give. We can be devoted to our source of income or devoted to our source of life. 

None of us can live with God’s perspective on money unless Christ is our master, our King. That has always been true and will remain true until we are living in heaven. Gold is valued in heaven as pavement for the streets. We won’t need money for a house payment because we are given a mansion. We won’t need to pay for food because a banquet is provided. We won’t have to worry about serving two masters because we will always and forever have only One.

Wisdom is pleasing God. Is God your master, or is your money controlling too much of your life? We “cannot serve” both. Let’s wisely follow the teaching of Christ, repeating Joshua’s words and witness: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lᴏʀᴅ” (Joshua 24:15).

Our plans may or may not please God. Our good ideas might not be God’s ideas. Our daily lives will only be pleasing to God if we walk through the day “obeying the voice of the Lᴏʀᴅ.”

God has a voice. We have all seen the passages that begin with the words, “And God said.” How did they know it was God speaking? Should we be worried if we haven’t heard God’s voice ourselves?

God has a voice, and he still speaks to his children today, just as he did throughout the days of biblical history. God’s voice was and is somehow audible to whomever he is speaking but usually inaudible to others. His voice is real and his message is clear to the one who stands ready and willing to listen. Do you recognize the voice of God in your life?

God speaks today primarily through the words of Scripture. God will never speak a word to us that doesn’t align with biblical truth. We call our Bibles “God’s word” for a reason. Every time we read our Bibles, we are listening to the voice of God. But God also wants to remain in daily conversations with us as we live our lives. Our thoughts and prayers are often the way he “directs our paths.” 

Those who walk with the voice of the Lord are those who walk in obedience to his Spirit. “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.” It is always a mistake to think that we can obey God apart from his daily leadership in our lives. And we can’t please God if we do not obey his voice.

When my mom calls, she doesn’t have to say, “This is mom.” She just starts talking and I immediately know her voice. The same can be true of God. When you spend a great deal of time listening to someone, their voice becomes very familiar.

Wisdom is pleasing God. Our Bibles are God’s voice and God’s wisdom. We need only trust and obey his words to walk in his Spirit and please him. We will learn to recognize his voice as we learn to listen. Nothing would please God more.

The book of Zephaniah is rarely the subject of sermons or even Bible studies. Zephaniah wrote to the Southern Tribes of Judah about the “Day of the Lord” and the judgment that day would bring.

The Southern Tribes knew how and why God had judged the Northern Tribes yet had begun to think God would not judge them in those same ways. Zephaniah wrote his letter to tell them that God is fair, just, and unchanging. God will always judge what he has always judged.

Included among all of the “woes” and frightening words about God’s judgment, Zephaniah also included words of hope. The prophet wanted the people of Judah to understand that, while God will punish the sins of the nations, he will always be merciful to his people. Zephaniah said that Judah would fall but also that God would fully restore and redeem the faithful.

Those who will please God are never without hope, regardless of the circumstances that surround us. The godly Jews were taken captive alongside their ungodly brothers. Walking with God doesn’t mean we can avoid every diagnosis, be kept from every storm, or live with constant prosperity. It does mean that as we walk through the circumstances of our earthly lives, we are able to walk with Jesus and the hope of heaven’s perfection.

Zephaniah described the hope of those who walk with the Lord. He said, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” It is good to live a life that God will rejoice over.

Wisdom is pleasing God. That wisdom will carry us through this life with hope because we can know God is in our midst and he is mighty to save.