When God delivered His final message through Malachi, (who wrote the last book of the Old Testament), He stopped communicating with man for nearly 400 years. It was a deafening silence in divine revelation. After 400 years God broke His silence by sending angels to speak to Zacharias, Mary and Joseph. The message they heard was this. The fullness of time had come and the promised Messiah would soon be born. God had broken His silence with the sound of Christmas.

            For us today a long year is winding down. We have celebrated a day of thanksgiving with our families. The shopping season has begun with a vengeance and December has rolled in with a blast of cold air. But listen, the Salvation Army bells are ringing, someone somewhere is singing, “Do you hear what I hear” and the radio is playing, “The Little Drummer Boy”.  Now our hearts have to be lifted because these are the sounds of Christmas.

            I hear the sound of grandchildren saying; let me tell you what I want for Christmas.  There is a sound of laughter as people decorate the tree and a rustling of paper as the gifts are wrapped.  Listen carefully and you can hear the sound of hope, especially if your hope is in Christ. Tune your ears just right and hear the sound of joy that is inexpressible and full of glory. Lift your heart with a song of praise because all around us are the sounds of Christmas.

            I pray that the melody of peace will fill your hearts today. May you have peace within yourself as you put away your past and know that you can face the future without fear.  Let us have peace with each other as our hearts hum the songs of forgiveness, love and charity.  I hope that the song of God’s peace will rule in your heart. I hope you feel His hand on your shoulder as He guides you through life and may you hear His voice as He whispers words of comfort. Be still and listen to the heartbeat of Jesus. It is in His heartbeat that you will truly hear the Sound of Christmas.

Douglas & Deborah Huff

From Down Where The Pavement Ends