Every Night Holy

Goodness! Where does one start with this fruit of the Spirit? Perhaps the words of Jesus Christ our Savior Himself are best to begin with: “There is none good but God.” 

With this, we see immediately that we have no hope whatsoever of attaining this on our own. What goodness we may possess is still only “filthy rags” in the sight of God.

Perhaps we can best describe His goodness by meditating upon His holiness . . . the holiness that He allows us to fully share through the life of His Son.

And what better carol to assist us in our meditations than O Holy Night.

O holy night! the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope – the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!
Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night divine, O night, O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by his cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here came the Wise Men from Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our Friend.
He knows our need–our weakness is no stranger.
Behold your King, before him lowly bend!
Behold your King, before him lowly bend!

Truly he taught us to love one another;
His law is love and his gospel is peace.
Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother,
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we;
Let all within us praise his holy name.
Christ is the Lord! O praise his name forever!
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!

Listen to the gospel in this song – the good news. Sin, error, chains, oppression – and then Him. Jesus – and transformation. Wonder. Worship. Day by day, a new life of loving one another. Praising and proclaiming Him forever. Living in that continued life of holiness.

Truly the night we celebrate at Christmas time is a holy night, for it is a night when holy God touched sinful man, and sinful man was never the same.

Yet His purpose for us is so much deeper than one holy night.

A holy night is a night where we have invited the holiness of God to be present.

A holy night is a night when God touches us and makes Himself known.

Jesus came to set us apart. “And for their sakes I sanctify (set apart, make holy) myself, that they also might be sanctified (set apart, made holy) through the truth.”

Are you receiving what He has done for you? Are you living set apart from the world, the flesh, and the devil? He commanded, “Be holy as I am holy” – and this holiness is entirely possible through the life of Christ.

Prayer and intercession is one important way to live set apart. Another way is through getting alone with God, feeding on His Word. “Thy words were found, and I did eat them, and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts. I sat not in the assembly of the merrymakers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand.” (Jeremiah 15:16-17).

Through His holiness, the Spirit can indeed bear much fruit of goodness in our lives.

And through His power, we can live in the reality of every night holy.

Come back tomorrow for Mirrored Faith.

Find the rest of today’s Twelve Days of Christmas party posts here. 

Enter the giveaway here.