My Worst Rhyme Ever
Today you are going to hear what I think is the hokiest rhyme I have ever written in a song! Try to pick it out as we hear the last pre-chorus of He is the Reason:
So come and sing to the King of kings lying in the manger
There is none like Him to defeat your sin, He alone can change ya
Beyond Perfect Poetry
I'm sure you heard it. Rhyming "change ya" with "manger" is some pretty lazy stuff! I'm sure that real critics of music, poetry, and songwriting would scoff if they were to hear that!
But even so, I kept it in the song. Because I really like the message, and after much thought I decided the message was more important than a more traditional and pleasing rhyme.
The Message of Transformation
Come and sing to the King of kings lying in the manger - as we said yesterday, we are called to bow down, to worship Him. And then I sing There is none like Him to defeat your sin, He alone can change ya. It's true. There is none like Jesus to offer you change – you may remember the three weeks of devotions about Jesus changing lives, which I did in November this year. Only He can wash our leprous hearts and make them clean, and change our corrupt ways and make us holy.
Of course, I belong to a so-called "holiness" church. We Nazarenes are passionate about holiness; we see it as the main focus of the Bible, and the great full salvation that Jesus offers is more than forgiveness - it's change. So I thought, I must include something about this in my song about Jesus' birth! Because His birth, His life, His death, His resurrection paved the way for my salvation and my sanctification.
When the angel was telling Joseph that he didn't have to divorce Mary because the baby in her was from God, we read this in Matthew 1:21: "She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins."
Christmas is a time that we celebrate God sending a Saviour, who would break the power of sin in our lives, and defeat our enemy.
So, I apologize for the poor rhyme! But I don't apologize for the message that Jesus can change ya! And I pray that this Christmas you will celebrate this baby boy, not just for the love He would bring to the world, but for the change He would offer to those who embraced Him and His ways. And I pray that you are one who has experienced the change that Jesus the newborn King can bring.
