Sing Praises!
Ah, the lights, the sounds and the smells of Christmas! This year, part of my Christmas will be spent in the country of Qatar visiting my wife, Dr. Mickie Mathes, who is a Fulbright Scholar teaching at the University of Qatar in the capital city of Doha. My wife is surrounded by precious people of all faiths.
The official religion of Qatar is Islam so it is interesting spending Christmas in a Muslim country. As you stroll through the mall, you won’t hear any Christmas carols and you won’t see anyone ringing a little bell outside retail stores. There are no uplifting Christmas songs playing on the radio, no Christmas plays being performed in the schools and certainly no manger scenes displayed anywhere.
As you’re driving to the mall today listening to Christmas carols do me a favor—stop for a moment and think about our military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan, missionaries from your church who are living in India or folks, like me, visiting the Middle East during Christmas who are not able to hear all those wonderful tunes. Sing a Christmas carol for me, would you please.
During the frenzied pace of Christmas, let me encourage you to sing an even more important “song” than Christmas carols. Ponder the real reason we celebrate Christmas—the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ—then read Psalm 47:6 (Amplified), which says:
“Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!”
The Lord enjoys the sound of His children singing praises unto Him so today, raise your voices and praise Him whether you are living in the United States or somewhere overseas.
