"Silent Night" By Mike Belgard

December 7, 2016 - I am always amazed at the effectiveness of simplicity. It seems that the more simple something is, the better it is, and more enduring it is over time. God has always used simple things to change the world. Any simple thing done with love, God takes and turns into a great thing.

Take for instance the Christmas carol "Silent Night". In 1818 on Christmas eve an Austrian priest Joseph Mohr asked the church organist Franz Gruber to write music for a poem that Mohr had written earlier. The challenge was that Mohr wanted it done for the evening service and the church organ was broken. But Gruber was able to come up with a simple tune that he could play on a guitar. That night the two sat on the stage and sang for the first time, the simple, but probably most sang carol of all times, "Silent Night". Never could they have imagined how popular and enduring of a song it would be.

You see that is how God has always worked. He takes what is simple and does great things with it. People try and make the Gospel of Christ complex but it is really simple.  John 3:16  simply put says; that God loves you and me so much that He sent His Son to pay the price for our sins, and that anyone who truly believes that, will not die, but live with Him forever.  Jesus preached a simple gospel of "repent and be saved for the kingdom of God is near." Its not hard to understand. Its just hard to believe that something so simple could bring about such an eternal change in your life. But that's just how God works. As the angel told Mary that night, "With God all things are possible."

Remember, that baby being born in simple and humble surroundings on that first Christmas night , happened because God loved you and wanted you to have a chance to live with Him in eternity. Simple as that. Don't try to make it more complex. Just trust Him,and He will give you the gift of eternal life for Christmas.

                                                                                I'm Just Sayin
                                                                                Mike Belgard