On this Christmas Day, we praise You, Jesus, as the Son of God!

Read Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. (Mal. 3:1) Reflect When I’m baking holiday treats, one of my kids will usually ask for a taste—a lick of frosting, a corner of crumbled cake, a dab of chocolate batter. Inevitably, just as he pops the last bit in his mouth, another child appears in the kitchen, demanding to know why he wasn’t offered a sample. “Well,” I always say, “your brother was in the right place at the right time.” I love it when my kids hang out where I am, and I make sure they all know spending time with me is the surest route to extra Christmas cookies. In today’s verse, God’s Old Testament people heard a similar message: to behold the Messiah, you need to be in the right place at the right time. To behold the Messiah, you need to be in the right place at the right time. Over the 400 years following Malachi’s prophecy, some of God’s people lost heart and lost focus. But a faithful remnant remained. Luke 2 tells the story of one of them, a woman named Anna. Anna believed Malachi’s words that God would send the Promised One and that he’d show up in the temple. So Anna “did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day” (v. 37). When the Messiah came, however suddenly, Anna wasn’t going to miss it for the world. And the Lord fulfilled his promise. Anna was likely there on the day Zechariah stumbled, mute, out of the holy place with the seed of the messenger in his body and the promise of the messenger’s mission in his heart (1:5–23). And she was there when Mary and Joseph finally walked through the gates with the newborn Savior in their arms (2:22, 27, 38). After seeking the Lord for a lifetime, Anna was ready with eyes of faith to witness his appearing. Malachi’s words were the last revelation God’s people received before centuries of prophetic silence, but this verse assured the faithful that preparations for the Messiah’s coming were underway and encouraged them to be ready. In our day we, too, have the promise of Christ’s appearing—if we’re in the right place at the right time. When the Messiah came, however suddenly, Anna wasn’t going to miss it for the world. Christ promises to be with us when we gather with his church (Matt. 18:18–20; Heb. 2:11–12). He promises to manifest himself as we love him and one another (John 14:21; 1 John 4:12–13). He promises to indwell us and teach us by his Spirit as we walk in obedience to his Word (John 14:15–24). He promises to accompany us as we take his gospel to the nations (Matt. 28:18–20). If we want to encounter the Messiah, we have only to seek him in the places he says he’ll be found. We also have a promise that Christ will again appear in the flesh—“Surely I am coming soon”(Rev. 22:20)—not announced by a single messenger but by every member of his worldwide church, not in a man-made temple in Jerusalem but in the heavenly gathering of his people, not as a baby but as a triumphant King. Are you ready?

According to the Christian calendar, the Christmas season began at sunset on Christmas Eve and runs for 12 days (you know, “The Twelve Days of Christmas”). That means you should crank up that Christmas music and listen proudly until January 6! If you need festive music suggestions, I’ve got you covered. For my annual Christmas playlist (listen on Spotify or Apple Music), I went with a vintage theme, putting together 75 nostalgic Christmas recordings your parents or grandparents might have listened to. I hope you and your family can listen to this playlist together and savor the joy and memories of this sacred season. You’ll see the track list below. And if you feel in the mood for brand-new Christmas music, here are some of my favorite 2025 new releases from Christian artists: Jimmy Clifton, Christian Carols The Corner Room, Light Has Shone: Christmas, Volume 1 Forrest Frank and JVKE, This Is What Christmas Feels Like Andrew Osenga, Christmas Hymns Poor Bishop Hooper, Hymns IV EP Sandra McCracken, I Heard the Bells EP Chris Renzema, Every December Sarah Sparks, Christmas Hymns EP Victory, Christmas Hymns Weston Skaggs, As the Darkness Clears Away EP Nostalgic Christmas Playlist Songs Find the playlist on Spotify or Apple Music. “What Child Is This/The Holly And The Ivy – Medley,” Bing Crosby “Joy to the World,” Johnny Cash “Adeste Fideles,” Vic Damone “The First Noel,” Ella Fitzgerald “Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht,” The Swingle Singers “O Holy Night,” Nat King Cole “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” Amy Grant “Angels We Have Heard on High,”Andy Williams “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” Vienna Boys’ Choir “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” Burl Ives “Carol of the Drum (Little Drummer Boy),” Trapp Family Singers “It Came upon a Midnight Clear,” Over the Rhine “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” Jim Nabors “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing,” Vince Guaraldi Trio “O Tannenbaum,” Nat King Cole “Silver Bells,” Burl Ives “Christmas Bells,” Byron Lee & The Dragonaires “Christmas Is the Season,” Jo Stafford “Christmas Bells,” Perry Como “Come On Ring Those Bells,” Bill & Gloria Gaither “And the Bells Rang,” Tex Beneke, Ray Eberle, The Modernaires, Paula Kelly “Carol of the Bells,” John Williams “Ding Dong/While Shepherd Watched Their Flocks by Night/The First Noel/The Friendly Beasts Medley,” Harry Simeone Chorale “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” Wynton Marsalis “That Spirit of Christmas,” Ray Charles “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire),” Andy Williams “Christmas Hymn,” Amy Grant “Silent Night, Holy Night,” Mahalia Jackson “Good Christian Men Rejoice, Rejoice,” John Fahey “I Saw Three Ships,” Nat King Cole “Lo How a Rose E’er Blooming,” Mannheim Steamroller “Coventry Carol,” John Denver “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing/It Came upon a Midnight Clear – Medley,” Bing Crosby “Emmanuel, God with Us,” Amy Grant “The Holly and the Ivy,” Ronnie Aldrich “White Christmas,” The Drifters “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” Frank Sinatra “Once in Royal David’s City,” Henry John Gauntlett, Vienna Boys’ Choir, London Symphony Orchestra “The Little Drummer Boy,” Lou Rawls “O Come All Ye Faithful,” Wynton Marsalis “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus,” 2nd Chapter of Acts “Do You Hear What I Hear,” Carpenters “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” Mahalia Jackson “I Saw Three Ships,” Percy Faith “Winter Wonderland,” Tony Bennett “Silent Night,” Dean Martin “Bring a Torch Jeanette Isabella,” Johnny Cole “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks,” Choir of King’s College, Cambridge; John Wells; Sir David Willcocks “We Three Kings of Orient Are,” Mitch Miller & The Gang “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” Bing Crosby “I Wonder as I Wander,” Johnny Cole and The Robert Evans Chorus “Angels from the Realms of Glory,” Julie Andrews “O Come All Ye Faithful,” Amy Grant “Good ‘Swing’ Wenceslas,” Count Basie Orchestra “The Christmas Waltz,” Peggy Lee “Jingle Bells,” Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass “What Child Is This,” Vince Guaraldi Trio “Bring a Torch, Isabella / Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming Medley,” Harry Simeone Chorale “Still, Still, Still,” Mannheim Steamroller “The Gifts They Gave,” Johnny Cash “Jesus Oh What a Wonderful Child,” Mariah Carey “Mary’s Boy Child,” Harry Belafonte “Angels We Have Heard on High / Joy to the World,” Joe Pass “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” Elvis Presley “O Come O Come Emmanuel,” Whitney Houston “Away in a Manger,” John Denver “Jesus Born on This Day,” Morris Chapman “Gloria,” Michael W. Smith “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” Kenny Burrell “It’s the Holiday Season,” Count Basie Orchestra, Johnny Mathis “Jingle Bells,” Frank Sinatra, Ken Lane Singers “Up on the House Top (Ho Ho Ho),” Gene Autry, Carl Cotner’s Orchestra “You Gotta Get Up (Christmas Song),” Rich Mullins “(There’s No Place Like) Home for The Holidays,” Carpenters “Auld Lang Syne,” Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians

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