Church Music

 

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:12-17 ESV).

 

Music often express the emotions of our lives. As our Scripture for today suggests, this is an important part of being God’s people. The writer of Psalm 22 adds that God is “enthroned on” or “dwells among” the praises of his people (v. 3). God has come near to us, and it’s important for us to draw near to him with songs from our hearts.

 

However, the question rages as to what kind of song pleases God? Ancient? Contemporary? With instruments? Without? The truth is that there is none of this distinction in the Scripture. They simply are not important. The Apostle Paul does provide three guidelines for our thinking.

 

     First, Paul is not talking about singing alone. He’s referring to the singing and learning and growing that we do together as God’s gathered, worshiping people. It’s in our joining together in song that God is praised and pleased.

 

     Second, our singing needs to come from our hearts. Out of the heart, the mouth speaks and sings. God wants our expressions of praise to be true and authentic.

 

     Third, our communal singing reveals our gratitude for all that God has done for us in Christ. Drawing attention to ourselves is not the goal. The goal is that God’s goodness, grace, and powerful love will be lifted up by grateful hearts joined ­together in love.

 

The next time you’re in church, think about the songs you sing. Be intentional about the message contained with the verse. Make it your offering for the day to God in His majesty.

One Page at a Time

 

[Jesus said] “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” (Matthew 6:25-27 ESV).

 

Sometimes I find myself wanting to peek ahead to find out how a book or movie is going to turn out. I may look again at the back cover of a book or check out a movie on the Internet to find out more. Sometimes it feels better if I know what’s coming next. Some of the time I want that in my own life story as well. When I face uncertainty or risk in my life, I want to look ahead to see what kinds of problems will develop. I figure I’ll enjoy today more if I know that tomorrow won’t be marred by a fresh wave of problems.

But God doesn’t usually offer sneak peeks into the future. Instead he urges us to simply trust him. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus repeatedly encourages us to trust God for each day at a time. “Give us today our daily bread,” he taught us to pray (cf. Matthew 6:11). In our reading for today he urges, “Do not worry about tomorrow.” And he assures us that “each day has enough trouble of its own.”

 

I’ve enjoyed watching the Olympic Trials recently. I’ve seen some of the swimming events as well as track and field. I was reminded of how important it is the concentrate on where you are in the event. This is especially true in some of the longer distance races. Of course the athletes have their eyes focused on the finish line, but their real concentration is the “next” movement, not the final movement. I have found that to be true in so much of life.

 

My experience in life has convinced me that this journey I call life must be lived one “page” at a time. The truth is that today I will simply turn one more page in God’s story for my life. That page will provide opportunities for me to develop the gifts God has given me. That page will likely contain difficulties that will prompt me to cling to God more closely than before. And through the day’s experiences I’ll have the chance to notice the presence of Christ, if I look. I may even “wake” to the end of my journey tomorrow. Regardless I know I will win the prize. That is guaranteed by God. It will end “good”!

 

The Middle of the Story

His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:29-33 ESV).

 

Thus far in the last two days I have shown that God has a wonderful beginning for all of us that leads to a spectacular ending. The question then becomes what about the middle of the story. If you’re at all like me, the beginning was not so bad; and, I am convinced that the ending will be great. It’s the middle of the story that often causes me to wonder if it really is going well. We all know that something always happens in the middle of a story. And, it is often a “cliff-hanger.” The characters in the story need to set out on a new adventure, or they need to deal with new problems or needs that arise and need fixing. We call that the plot of the story. It’s the plot that gives me most of my trouble. I have been told that a good story usually involves some kind of trouble: some problem to be fixed or a situation to be resolved.

 

I know you remember the story of the Three Little Pigs. They each had very comfortable houses to live in, although they had never encountered the Big Bad Wolf. Without the antagonist in the story, they would have simply lived in their houses of straw, sticks, and bricks. It’s the trouble in the story that draws us to the edge of our seats, wondering, “What’s going to happen next?” The entire “middle of the story” revolves around the danger of their comfortable lives as they felt safe in the houses of straw, sticks, and bricks. Well, we know how that turned out!

 

The story of the Bible begins wonderfully. However, it quickly charges directly into the worst trouble imaginable. By the third chapter the entire creation has been ruined by the main characters. As a perfect world crashes into its curse, we discover that somebody needs to do something. And, there is the big question. Sometimes we still feel that way. Here’s the good news… this is God’s story. The world is broken, but he already provided everything necessary to fix it. Jesus said, “But take heart; I have overcome the world” (v. 33). Whatever mess your life is in… take heart. We are overcomers in Jesus!

 

 

A Fairytale Ending

 

For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:24-30 ESV).

 

I think most of us want a fairytale ending in our lives, though I wonder how many really believe they’ll have one. That is the declaration of the Apostle Paul in our reading today. The Scripture continuously affirms the truth that our lives have originated in God; been maintained in God; and, will ultimately be fulfilled in God. All of this will be declared “good.” Now, while it may feel good to hear that God will make sure our stories turn out well, most of the time we don’t really want to have someone else taking charge of our lives. If you’ve ever had someone try to get you to work harder or eat better or quit doing those things that are destructive in our lives, you know how frustrating that can be. As much as we might like to think we’re rational people, often we’d really rather live a second-rate life on our own terms than do better because someone else told us or nagged us into it.

 

Of course, it should sound outrageous for us to rebel directly against the authority of God in our lives. After all, he’s God, King of the universe, so we’re supposed to do as he says—right? Yet even we as God’s people willfully rebel against God’s directions. This is the story of Jonah in the in the Old Testament. But more ­often we try subtler approaches, pretending to follow God’s way while in our hearts we keep our distance from him.

 

It all boils down to a simple point: We are terrible at trusting God to be God. We’d rather manage on our own and mess things up. I like the way Tim Keller paraphrases today’s verse this way: God promises to give us exact­ly what we would ask for if we knew what he knew. Now that will make for a good story, if we dare to believe it. There is much more than a mere fairytale ending in store for believers. We have an eternal life full of nothing but perfect good waiting. I like that ending. I pray it is your hope today!

 

The Story of You

 

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. (Psalm 139:13-16 ESV).

 

I recently thought about writing a memoir, though I also quickly dismissed the idea in favor of a more “colorful” work. I hope you have been able to get a copy of “The Lone Star: Independence.” It was fun doing it because of the ability to just write. It is historical fiction; thus, much of it is based on historical events, though I used my “story-telling ability” liberally.

 

Most of us love stories, but it’s surprising how easily we can end up missing the stories God has written for our lives. Winston Churchill once famously claimed that history was simply “one thing after another.” In other words, he claimed there was no story behind our experiences in life, only a series of events. Our reading today indicates that the opposite is true. We all have a very specific story, written before the “foundation of the world” and ordained by God. And, the result of it is a creative act that will result in our being “fearfully and wonderfully” made.

 

I wonder, if you would take a look back at your life, accessed where you’ve been, what you have accomplished or yet to accomplish coupled with your good and bad experiences, what would the title of your story be?  Would it be something like “Better Days Ahead,” or perhaps “A New Horizon”?  It is a fun thought. I think I might title my story as “Good After All.”

 

Some might look back and merely see the regret or failure and be tempted to think their life was a waste, ending in nothing but pain and difficulty. It is true that all of us have had those days when we viewed our jobs or careers or families as where we have “ended up” in life. It leads to the presumption that there can’t possibly be some master plan behind whatever situation you are in right now. But the Bible tells us that the events of our lives make sense because they are part of a much larger story. The struggles of last month or the victories that we may claim in the next few weeks are not simply chance occurrences. They are part of a story line that is going somewhere. The work you do, the people you share life with, the abilities you have, and the weaknesses you struggle with are all part of a collection of ele­ments intended to make for a really good story… the story of you… God’s story of you. Don’t despair. God’s got this!