December 25, Day 359 – Good, Pleasant, and Fitting

Nehemiah 1-2; Psalm 147:1-11;

Revelation 16

Today is Christmas Day, 2025, and I want to wish you a very blessed, Merry Christmas!  After reading our texts for today, I want to frame my reflections within the following context:  our God – with His unfailing love – compassionately looked down upon us from heaven and saw what we ourselves are often unwilling and unable to see.  He saw us – in the midst of our greatest needs – for salvation, for redemption, and for reconciliation.  Sin has so perverted our hearts and blinded our eyes from seeing our own hopeless condition that we can only receive the truth by revelation from a Source that is completely external to ourselves.  Plainly, God tells us that “He so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (cf., John 3:16).  The Giver of life gave us the greatest Gift of everlasting life in the finished work of His Son – Jesus Christ – on the cross at Calvary.  We must never forget that Jesus really is the Reason for the season.  On this Christmas Day, 2025, may we thank God and praise Him for His unfailing love to us expressed in the Person and work of God’s Son – sent into the world to save us from sin, eternal death, and hell.

In Nehemiah 1-2, we see Nehemiah’s personal concern for the city of Jerusalem and his prayer of praise, confession, and seeking the Lord’s favor and His unfailing love.  Such a prayer should encourage us to approach God in the same way.  Nehemiah, who was the “cupbearer to the king” (1:11), held a comfortable, responsible, trustworthy office that he was willing to exchange for the hardships of serving a greater King – the God of Israel – and to become directly involved in His service to rebuild Jerusalem.  In chapter 2, we see Nehemiah’s request of King Artaxerxes, who, under the sovereign control of God, granted Nehemiah permission to go and carry out this mission.  Of course, opposition to God’s work always obtains, but unmoved by it, Nehemiah says, “The God of heaven will give us success” (2:20).  Neither God’s Word nor His work can be hindered.

Psalm 147:1-11:  In this Psalm, we find another answer to our question from yesterday, “Why Should We Praise God?”  The Psalmist writes, “it is good, pleasant, and fitting to sing praises to our God” (verse 1).  The LORD is worthy of our praise.  Again, we see some of His deeds:  He “builds up Jerusalem; He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds; He determines the number of the stars and calls them by name – great is our Lord!” (verses 2-5).  Who among us is able to do any of that?  The Psalm continues with many other glories of our God, but then, in verses 10-11, we read that “His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse or the legs of the warrior.  His delight is in those who fear (i.e., revere) Him; who put their hope in His unfailing love.”  God has created man – even in all our own, so-called “glory” – to be sensitive to love, beauty, grace, tenderness, and deep-seated joy, even though sin has hardened man into a creature of hate, ugliness, clumsiness, harshness, and melancholy.  Truth be told, these are “man’s glories,” and today, mankind is self-righteously proud of them.  Without God, this is what we have become; this is who we are.  But the God Who “covers the skies with clouds” (verse 8) sent His Son into the world to redeem us from “our own glories” and return us to the sensitivities of love, grace, and beauty – if only we will place our faith in Him.  What a blessed hope!

In Revelation 16 today, we read John’s description of the seven bowl judgments which will eventually lead to the conclusion of God’s program here on earth.  These judgments include ugly, festering sores on people who took the mark of the beast – as well as the sea, the rivers, and the springs becoming blood; the sun scorching people with fire; prevalent darkness; the drying up of the Euphrates River; and a severe earthquake “like none other” (verse 18).  All of this is followed by “100-pound hailstones falling on men” (cf., verses 2-21). God will go to great lengths to gain people’s willful attention.  Yet – unbelievably – the text states that “they refused to repent,” and they “cursed God” (verses 9, 11, and 21).  He came into this world to demonstrate His unfailing love and save us from all these awful judgments. Today, as we celebrate His birth, I pray that you will truly know Him before He comes again. Have a joyous Christmas Day, 2025!