Sing!

…it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting. Ps.147:1

Morning. And with my feet landing on the floor came a nudge to remember to SING, to bless the Lord, to keep my focus there…I needed the reminder.

I find it easy to obsess over issues that need ‘fixing’ or problems big and small, ranging from family to church to my unruly sinus! And when problems loom big God begins to seem small. I may at first feel indispensable (as though I were God!) but soon the troubles become insurmountable beyond anything I’m capable of throwing at them…and I find my focus is way off track. So it was a fitting reminder to remember to sing. God hasn’t moved away, hasn’t lost track of local affairs, hasn’t turned a blind eye. He still reigns. And is still more than worthy of my praise. He is still building His church. He is still accomplishing His purposes. He is still working for the good of those who love Him and are called for His purposes…can’t really do much singing without these realities overtaking the troubles!

OK, this is going to sound like I’m preaching what I don’t practice but since it was still early morning and the household was asleep, (and I could add other excuses…), I went to my quiet spot with a hymnbook and read hymns…

There’s within my heart a melody, Jesus whispers sweet and low,
Fear not, I am with thee, peace, be still, In all of life’s ebb and flow.

Feasting on the riches of His grace, Resting ‘neath his sheltering wing,
Always looking on His smiling face, That is why I shout and sing.
[Admittedly, my style is a bit more subtle than this]

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Sweetest name I know,
Fills my every longing, Keeps me singing as I go.

And I opened to the Psalms and was reminded again of what singing attests to: “Sing to the Lord, bless His name; tell of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory…his marvelous works…For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.”  (Ps.96)

Just reading psalms puts life in perspective pretty quickly…  “The Lord reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.” (Ps.96:10)  Not much room left for dismay that things are spiraling out of control, maybe out of mine, but not out of His! I may not see what He’s doing, but I can rest assured He is at work.

But why sing. Isn’t reading good enough? I read an interesting article today by worship leader/songwriter, Bob Kauflin in which he discusses ‘What Happens When We Sing?’* One practical benefit of singing is that it helps us remember words! And then he pointed to Deuteronomy 31,32 in which God instructs Moses to write a song and teach it to the children of Israel. Why? Because in the days to come when they rebel against God and troubles come upon them the song will confront them as a witness to all God has done for them in the past, including this warning not to rebel! The song “will live unforgotten in the mouths of their offspring”. (31:21) Can you picture it? Like some oldies hit or catchy commercial, God’s words will come back to them when they need most to hear them. Wow. And these are no empty words, God says, ‘but your very life.”(32:47)

Kauflin goes on to make the point that we should sing words that God wants us to remember. It matters what we sing. He suggests that the words we sing impact us far more than we may realize. Another scholar has said, “Show me a church’s songs and I’ll show you their theology.”** Interesting. The importance of music as an expression of our faith is borne out in passages like Colossians 3:16. Singing becomes a spiritual overflow of the Word of Christ that we are imbibing: ‘singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God’. When I was a lot younger, I would strum chords on my guitar and invent songs with Scripture. My mother did the same at the piano and we were often ‘called’ to breakfast with her catchy tunes. Maybe it’s time to revive this practice? I’m thankful for all the talented songwriters who are doing this.

Consider Psalm 84: “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!...”  A quick You-Tube search brings up a wide variety of musical expressions of this psalm.  There’s a smooth meditative soloist version with choral backup here,  a mellow rendition of the whole psalm by a young male group, the “Sons of Korah”, here, and perhaps the most familiar—Matt Redmans, “Better is One Day in Your Courts”, here.

Or you can access an Anglican chant, a choir in the Canterbury Cathedral, or a Jewish reading/singing of the Psalm… there’s no want of opportunities to sing God’s Word.  You can even create you own song.  My selection of Psalm 84 as an example is not random.  An article in a series on “Good Grief” came to my Inbox this week and seemed so appropriate in light of last week’s blog featuring a counter-cultural view of death. In this article by T.M.Moore,  Psalm 84 was described as:

“… a song for the journey of life. Its purpose is to provide focus and bolstering for taking on the daily travails of our earthly existence. It teaches us how to turn all our sorrows to strength and joy by helping us keep our eyes on the Lord….

We are bound for an eternal dwelling place of glory, light, beauty, holiness, rejoicing, and wonder. That unseen destination is even now being prepared for us by our victorious Savior and King, and He will surely come again to receive us into His eternal glory. We must train our souls to long for that glory– to hope in the glory of God, then and there, so that we may live in it here and now as well (v. 2). The way to do this is to present ourselves each day as living sacrifices to God, like birds offered up on the altar for His pleasure (v. 3; cf. Rom. 12:1, 2). If we fill our journey with praise and thanksgiving, whatever we encounter along the way, we will be able to bear it up, because our true focus and joy lie beyond our temporal circumstances in the presence of the unchanging Lord of glory (vv. 4,5).In the midst of our trials, sufferings, disappointments, and losses, we do not compound our grief by separating from the Lord; instead, we seek Him earnestly in prayer and hide within Him as our Shield and Comfort (vv. 8, 9).” –T.M. Moore

I commend to you the entire article: “A Valley of Tears”  but it was especially interesting to me that this writer also talked about the value of putting good words to music so they can become companions on our life’s journey, to remind us of truth when we need it most. He in fact offered a version of Psalm 84 arranged to fit standard hymn meter and singable to tunes we already may know, such as “Brethren We have Met to Worship” (Tune: HOLY MANNA) or the one I prefer: Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken (Tune: AUSTRIA)

I reprint his singable version of Psalm 84 here:

Psalm 84

vv. 1-4
Lord of hosts, how sweet Your dwelling;
How my soul longs for Your courts!
Let my soul with joy keep telling
Of Your grace forever more.
Like a bird upon the altar
Let my life to You belong.
Blest are they who never falter
As they praise Your grace with song!
vv. 5-7
Blest are they whose strength is founded
In Your strength, O Lord above.
All whose hearts in You are grounded
Journey in Your strength and love.
Though they weep with tears of sadness,
Grace shall all their way sustain.
In Your presence, filled with gladness,
They shall conquer all their pain.
vv. 8-12
Lord of hosts, my prayer receiving,
Hear me, help me by Your grace!
In Your courts I stand believing;
Turn to me Your glorious face!
Lord, our sun, our shield, our glory,
No good thing will You deny
To those who proclaim Your story,
And who on Your grace rely.
--T.M.Moore

Just call up the tune and try it!

In the beginning of the world there was song—“When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:7)
And in the end there will be the song of the redeemed: “Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth”. (Rev.5:9,10)

What will fill these in-between years?

Today I heard the robins. They’re returning to these climes with familiar songs, reminding us that spring has indeed arrived despite the somber weather most days. They sing because they’re made to sing. What does a little rain matter? Perhaps I ought to take their cue.

--LS

P.S. I’ve been enjoying Laura Story’s music lately. She sings from a life story of hard things but a good God. This one echoes what I’m trying to say:

Bless the Lord, O my soul
All that’s in me bless Your name
Forget not Your power un-told
Not Your glory or Your fame

Have a listen here: “Bless the Lord” by Laura Story

From the archives… This is not the first time I’ve been prompted to sing…looking in the archives I smiled to recall this one, where I was forced to sing to keep the bears at bay:  “Alive and Well”

----------------------------------
*Piper, John and Justin Taylor, gen.ed. The Power of Words and the Wonder of God, Crossway,2009. pp.121-135.
**Gordon Fee, quoted p.126

Smiling in the Face of Fear

I’m enroute home in stages,  scheduled to fly out of Anchorage in a few hours, having spent the night here with kind friends.  My body made the mistake of waking up early and my mind of dashing into conjecture about unseen possibilities and missed planes…Bother!

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Now in flight.  ( I didn’t miss it!)…

So began my day of travel home, distracting idle fears with composing a blog, banishing butterflies with busyness.  It’s been a stressful week and a half; I think I’ve collected a few more gray hairs and now I’m ready to unwind.  The surge of acceleration at take-off got me started with tears welling as I thought of what I’m leaving behind, not knowing when I’ll be back or what the situation will be…

I have faced fear this week and stumbled upon two simple strategies to disarm it.  (Thank you Lord!)  It has been disconcerting to me to find I can’t keep fear and anxiety from rising in my heart.  They happen. Especially in the face of the unknown, the unexpected, and the uncontrollable they rise to haunt me.  In a household shaped by Alzheimer’s disease this trio is inevitably present.  What will happen next?  What is he thinking as he walks toward me with that furrowed brow and unfriendly look?  When we’re out walking can I get him to turn around and head back home without calling for help or will he keep right on going into the bush unheedful of my warnings?  What does one do to manage such adult strength tied to a mind unable to reason and full of fears itself?  Every day is a potpourri of the unknown, the unexpected and the uncontrollable. 

But I found that though fear may rise in my heart I don’t have to give it a face or a voice.  I can still smile--a beaming broad smile with a friendly greeting attached.  And in this face that reads: “I like you”, his suspicions are felled and the fierce countenance softens…And I begin to think he likes me too ( :

I learned too the value of singing.  I may be quaking inside as I go about my business unsure of what’s going to happen next, but I can sing anyway—a hymn or chorus quietly…and in the process of voicing words of faith and confidence, my heart is ransomed from the grip of fear.

A smile and a song—simple but effective tools to banish butterflies. It is as though these tangible acts persuade my heart that it is safe and everything will be ok.  Not only my heart, but my dad’s is calmed and reassured.  Everything is going to be ok.  He may not understand the words, but a smile speaks and a song comforts.  This has been my experience.

Ha! I even tried smiling to myself in the night when I woke.  Have you ever tried smiling when worries are on your mind?  It’s counter-intuitive.  But it makes the  worries feel a little silly.  It seems to triggers happy thoughts, grateful reminders of good things… and where did those butterflies flit to anyway?!

So, though I haven’t attained to the fearless posture of the war horse—“he laughs at fear and is not dismayed; he does not turn back from the sword”— (Job 39:22), I’m learning to take baby steps.  And when this toddler looks at her Shepherd and sees His smiling face, it’s not so hard to whistle in the dark and sing a happy song.

“The LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” Num.6:25,26

--LS

Thanks to all who prayed for me on this journey.  I felt very much buoyed up and sustained, and I’m confident that God is making a way where we are still uncertain of the best path. My mom is a marvel, a testimony to God’s daily grace.  I could not walk in her shoes!  I tried only to smooth the path a little and walk a few steps with her.  There are good things to come; we see the glimmerings.  And His mercies very literally are new every morning!  For this I am grateful. 

Of Silver Bullets and Zombies

Not sure whether it’s the new riflery hobby that’s invaded our house with its retinue of bullets or what, but I’m back on the topic of the fight of faith today with some mental imagery—namely vampires and zombies.

I may have avoided writing about it last week but it seems I can’t avoid the fight of faith.  All week I’ve been pestered by this persistent struggle against my propensity to feel both responsible and powerless in the face of circumstances I can’t control but which have the potential for evil (besides destroying my hopes and dreams!)

Some mornings it’s been a matter of not feeling up-to-snuff physically and just needing grace for everything!  Monday mornings are often like that.  For no particular reason the mundane things of my life seem suddenly daunting and I sit and ask for grace, mentally marching out in review the cares on my mind in hopes that faith will rally.  And a still small voice reminds: ‘only one thing is needful’.  I open to the day’s Bible reading and there it is again: “you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary”(Lk 10:41,42) and Mary has chosen it, namely to sit at my feet and listen to what I have to say, undistracted by the pressures of service.  So He gives me my daily bread and forgives me my sins and another day commences. 

Looking back now I realize Sunday’s sermon should have sufficed, had I held onto it. How soon I had forgotten the encouragement:

“…’You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off;’fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Is.41:10). 

It had been a message about being in the grip of His grace—the One who is able to do abundantly more than all we could ask or even think through His church for His own glory.  I had even made myself a note to copy this verse out and stick it somewhere…

Well, the fight is on.  The victory that overcomes the world is our faith. So of course it’s the target of all the zombies and vampires of the unseen realm.  And they obviously know my vulnerabilities, namely my tendency to feel responsible to control things I cannot and my wimpy tendency to conclude there’s nothing I can do that will make a difference.  So of course guilt and fear have a hey day.  The zombies go for the brain they say—terrifying specters bent on destroying my ability to think rightly.  And the vampires want to drain my blood—my life blood, the life of joy and purpose I am designed for.  The whole world may lie in the power of the evil one (I Jn. 5:19) but not I!  Where are my silver bullets?!


I was airing my ‘woes’ and worries yesterday to my resident counselor and best friend (the flesh and blood one who is the best thing that’s happened to me since salvation)…and he summarized with “boy, you’re sure impatient.”  Ding!  Well of course that’s a key point.  I want my hopes, my dreams, my goals in every arena of responsibility to be fulfilled NOW. I want to see the fruit of my labors (and the ‘abundantly beyond’ bonuses of God’s favor that will go way beyond these).  I want to see the fairytale endings.  It’s hard to keep praying, to keep believing, to keep hoping, to keep resisting fear and doubt…if I could just see answers today, I could relax.  Hmmm…. I guess that’s pretty much a case of impatience isn’t it?

Not that I haven’t heard this admonition before, mind you.  Waiting is no fun.  It’s a battle for me.  I need the constant ammunition of the Word, like this verse above my kitchen sink which reads in part:

“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.  See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and late rains.  You also, be patient.  Establish your hearts." (James 5:7,8)

And this one I distinctly remember being spoken to me in a quiet moment plopped on a log in the middle of a scraggly clear-cut:

 “Do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of god you may receive what is promised.” (Heb.10:35,36)

For good reason Abraham is one of my heroes: “No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.”(Rom.4:20,21)  Of course he had a little detour of trying to work things out on his own steam which had disastrous consequences that have rocked the world to the present day—but even these will ultimately bow to the sovereign purpose of God and bring Him glory.

All these verses help in the fight to hold onto faith but another joined the arsenal this morning—I’m calling it my silver bullet.  I woke recognizing it’s what I’ve failed to put to use and what I desperately need.  Paul spoke often of this surefire safeguard.  He didn’t worry about repeating himself when urging his trainees to put it into use. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, REJOICE.  He said it was worth repeating because for them it was a safeguard—a sure, firm, reliable strategy.  A silver bullet!

Not having much knowledge of ‘zombies’  or vampires myself (or of silver bullets) I had to research this a bit—“The silver bullet is a common form of Depleted Phlebotinum Shells. It's often called for when supernatural creatures are around for whom silver is an Achilles Heel”.  ( :  I figure if the enemy knows my weaknesses, I should certainly know his.  This word describing how ‘safe’ rejoicing is for me, is a Greek word defined by what it is not.  It will not fail, totter, fall or cheat me.  I like that! A silver bullet against the zombie hordes, those fearmongering supernatural foes that are loathe to acknowledge who I am in Christ, who taunt and terrorize me with imagined woes and scandalous ‘what if’s.  They cannot withstand me when I’m rejoicing in the Lord.

• He is my Redeemer--the Lord Almighty is His name!
• He is the One who is strong when I am weak.
• He is the One who grants me authority to go as a lamb among wolves with the message of forgiveness and redemption.
• He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning of my story and its ending point.
• He is the One who works all things after the counsel of His will—determined that we should be to the praise of His glory. (Eph.1:11)
• He is the One who intercedes for me, that my faith fail not.

This is someone to rejoice in!


And with that silver bullet this song came to my mind.  I haven’t heard it sung in ages but it’s a winner!  When it first sang through my head I wrongly substituted the words ‘Rejoice in the Lord, and be of good courage…’ for the opening line.  But really, this is the point of it either way.  When I rejoice in Him, I am strong!

Be strong in the Lord, and be of good courage;
Your mighty Defender is always the same.
Mount up with wings, as the eagle ascending;
Victory is sure when you call on his name.


Refrain:
Be strong, be strong, be strong in the Lord,
and be of good courage for he is your guide.
Be strong, be strong, be strong in the Lord,
and rejoice for the victory is yours.


So put on the armor the Lord has provided,
And place your defense in his unfailing care.
Trust him for he will be with you in battle,
Lighting your path to avoid every snare. [Refrain]


Be strong in the Lord, and be of good courage,
Your mighty Commander will vanquish the foe.
Fear not the battle for the victory is always his;
He will protect you where ever you go. [Refrain]

--Linda Lee Johnson, 1947-


A stirring classic rendition is available at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbIvlYjfnD4

And now I’m inspired to post lyrics above my sink and sing my way into the battle.  This is incidentally quite scriptural.  But that’s a story for another day.  For today my freshly re-discovered silver bullet supply needs polishing…

--LS

“And though this world with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us.” –Martin Luther


Disclaimer This advice is not to be construed as applying to literal zombies.  I'm told silver bullets only work for vampires...Decapitation is preferred for zombies...

Worship--what are we doing?!

I am seeing a disconcerting trend in ‘worship’ songs lately.  In fact I’m struggling not to let this become a ‘rant’!  So let me just say, I’m not here to ‘blast’ any particular song writers, though I may make mention of particular songs.  My concern is with a growing number of songs that put the worshiper in a stance of attempting to invoke the Holy Sprit. 

I know invoke sounds a little harsh—all sorts of folks out there are into ‘invoking’ spirits and wondering if there’s anything different about what they see as the ‘Christian’ version.  I had my education on that via an online discussion thread titled: 'How is invoking the holy spirit substantially different from invoking Pagan deities?'  Disturbing conclusion: no difference.  And I was surprised to find there’s even a 5-step E-how on ‘Praying to Invoke the Holy Spirit’.  Not exactly an authoritative source--the contributor of this article also offers instruction on ‘How to Throw a Halloween Party for Teenagers’ and ‘How to Dance Really Well in a Club’.  But even he recognizes there’s more to it than praise and worship… But I digress.  I’ll get back to that later, maybe….

Let me explain my objection.  Picture this…the music is playing, smooth and mesmerizing.  And we begin the refrain: —“Holy Spirit come…” or “Come, Lord Jesus, come” with its requisite repeats.  A certain mystical mood has been created and we are all expecting something… but what?!  Are we prepared for our wish were granted? We sing, “Holy Spirit rain down…”  Is He not already here?  Are we not gathered in Jesus’ name?  Does the Holy Spirit not indwell each and every follower of Christ?

Of course I’ve heard it explained (as if the worship leader were reading my mind) that yes, God is present with us but we are asking for Him to show us He’s here, to touch us in some way.  We want more of Him.  My mind darts off to Jesus’ rebuke of those who demanded signs and wonders in order to believe God was in fact among them.  And do we really need something more if we have been blessed already with ‘every spiritual blessing in Christ’ (Eph.1:3)?  What is it we’re really after and why does God not seem to be showing up?!  After all, here we are singing our hearts out.  We’ve made the effort to come.  Now it’s His turn.

A recent chorus goes so far as to beg God to open the sky and fall down on us like rain, and not only that but like fire!  In fact we aren’t going to be content with anything at all ordinary!  What on earth?  I think the sense of the songwriter is that we’re desperate for a ‘move of God’, sick of the status quo, sick of life as we know it, and in this case even fed up with God’s blessings.  Now we just want the real commodity—God Himself.  Wow.  What do you do with a song like that?  And what about this habitual beckoning to God to come do something spectacular.  Does it honor Him, or is it pure self-centered worship?

The way I see it, we’ve got things backwards… But I’ll save that thought for next time.  I’d really like to know how you see it?  What are we after when we worship?  and what needs to be corrected?  Or perhaps where you are things are different.  I’d love to hear what you’re learning about worship.  Please tuck in a comment or send off a little e-mail.  I’ll leave you with the concluding remarks of an excellent article I hope to say more about next time:

Emphasizing the experience of the worshiper as the evidence of the Spirit depreciates his more significant functions, often leading to misunderstanding, pragmatism, narcissism and an idolatry of self rather than the worship of God.
                                                                    --Timothy Ralston