My pastor preached a really encouraging sermon on Sunday, based on Ephesians 5:18-19, which talk about being filled with the spirit and singing songs, hymns and spiritual songs. Not coincidentally, I'm sure, I woke up that morning with the hymn, "Brethren, We Have Met to Worship" on my mind. As I prepared for worship, I thought particularly of the lines that say:
All is vain unless the spirit
Of the Holy One comes down.
As I prepared, I desired that the Holy Spirit would empower our worship - would work in each heart, activate and release praise to Him. I'm not sure how that works, but I know that a redeemed heart longs to worship its redeemer, a creature longs to worship its creator, and that it is a spiritual act. I know that if it's just a show, regardless of how big or small, it's in vain. The song is a good reminder to people like me who feel like 'part of the show' because we're on stage on Sunday morning. It's all about you, Jesus.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
This Day
I have had hard days this past week, and I have had really good ones. I want the good ones to last, but they don't. There's only enough grace yesterday for yesterday, as much as I want to stretch it out. I know God doesn't think in 24-hour time periods and is not regulated by a clock, but I know that the rythm of life makes a pattern from one day to the next, and that within that pattern, God chooses to act.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Legacy
In my weak pride, I have a hard time taking a compliment. In my strong pride, I want people to say I'm awesome - a prime example of what a human woman was meant to be.
Then, when I get real, when I get humble, I start to think about all the things I spend my time on and how much they matter. And all the things I want to be said about me. And most of it doesn't matter at all.
That's the point of Nicole Nordeman's song, "Legacy." The chorus says:
I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love?
Did I point to You enough to leave a mark on things?
It's a question I've been asking myself as I get into the prime of my life. I mean, what am I gonna do with myself? What will my life say? I think being well-fashioned in the eyes of the world, in many ways, is not bad - being well-read, being multiculturally literate, and having good manners are all good things. But at the end of my life -
I just wanna hear instead
"Well done, good and faithful one."
That will mean more to me than, "smart," "pretty," or "engaging." It's fairly easy for me to impress people if I want to, and it's somewhat meaningful. But to earn a commendation from my God, well, I don't think that's easy, and it is indeed meaningful.
Then, when I get real, when I get humble, I start to think about all the things I spend my time on and how much they matter. And all the things I want to be said about me. And most of it doesn't matter at all.
That's the point of Nicole Nordeman's song, "Legacy." The chorus says:
I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love?
Did I point to You enough to leave a mark on things?
It's a question I've been asking myself as I get into the prime of my life. I mean, what am I gonna do with myself? What will my life say? I think being well-fashioned in the eyes of the world, in many ways, is not bad - being well-read, being multiculturally literate, and having good manners are all good things. But at the end of my life -
I just wanna hear instead
"Well done, good and faithful one."
That will mean more to me than, "smart," "pretty," or "engaging." It's fairly easy for me to impress people if I want to, and it's somewhat meaningful. But to earn a commendation from my God, well, I don't think that's easy, and it is indeed meaningful.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
In, Not Of
So, honestly, I really wanted to write about the Cheat Commandoes today (homestarrunner.com) because it is so funny - the good old laugh-out-loud funny that originally made me like homestarrunner.com.
However, in this blog I talk about songs. So, I'm going to talk about "In Not Of," by Avalon. It's based on the verse that says, though we are in the world, we are not of the world. That's a difficult position to negotiate. How to be in the world, but not of it, especially when it is so seductive an alluring?
This is a beautiful song - highly singable - in fact, I want to sing it in church someday. I think it speaks not so much to how hard it is to be in the world but, for starters, the importance of being in it. I know a lot of Christians are in the world, but some hide out. I sympathize, as did whoever wrote this song, which says,
I hide me far away from trouble
The world outside me grows darker by the day
And so I promise to stay here close beside you
Surely God would want His children safe.
I feel like that sometimes, and fear keeps me from taking the land. In fact, fear of explaining 'taking the land' is going to keep me from talking about it here. It's the concept by which I feel comfortable in the world at all. I hope I make a difference there. I know He's growing His love in me so that I can actually love the world, so even as this song challenges me, it encourages me that something is going right. Here's the chorus:
Come take the light to darker parts
Share His truth with hardened hearts
We are not like the world, but we can love it
Come take the hope to hopeless men
'Til the lost are found in Him
He came to save the world, so let us be
In and not of it.
I know being in the world can go too far, and there are people who've developed really complex ways of addressing how far too far is. I do want to find out more about that, but I know I also need courage to engage with my world.
(I can't tell who this song was written by; here's what the CD jacket says: "Vocal Arrangement: Chris Harris (Nick Gonzales, Grant Cunningham)". )
However, in this blog I talk about songs. So, I'm going to talk about "In Not Of," by Avalon. It's based on the verse that says, though we are in the world, we are not of the world. That's a difficult position to negotiate. How to be in the world, but not of it, especially when it is so seductive an alluring?
This is a beautiful song - highly singable - in fact, I want to sing it in church someday. I think it speaks not so much to how hard it is to be in the world but, for starters, the importance of being in it. I know a lot of Christians are in the world, but some hide out. I sympathize, as did whoever wrote this song, which says,
I hide me far away from trouble
The world outside me grows darker by the day
And so I promise to stay here close beside you
Surely God would want His children safe.
I feel like that sometimes, and fear keeps me from taking the land. In fact, fear of explaining 'taking the land' is going to keep me from talking about it here. It's the concept by which I feel comfortable in the world at all. I hope I make a difference there. I know He's growing His love in me so that I can actually love the world, so even as this song challenges me, it encourages me that something is going right. Here's the chorus:
Come take the light to darker parts
Share His truth with hardened hearts
We are not like the world, but we can love it
Come take the hope to hopeless men
'Til the lost are found in Him
He came to save the world, so let us be
In and not of it.
I know being in the world can go too far, and there are people who've developed really complex ways of addressing how far too far is. I do want to find out more about that, but I know I also need courage to engage with my world.
(I can't tell who this song was written by; here's what the CD jacket says: "Vocal Arrangement: Chris Harris (Nick Gonzales, Grant Cunningham)". )
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Lord of All Creation
A moment ago, a hummingbird sipped nectar from an upturned crimson star outside my window. My cat is sitting on the back porch, and even though I can't see him right now, I know he is watching the other cat that is prowling in our backyard. He and I both have our eyes on nature this morning.
For I have chosen no particular song, but rather a subject, about which to write: God's revelation through creation. It seems that since I read a few pages on the subject in Charles Ryrie's Basic Theology that I've heard and sang half a dozen songs about the glory of the Lord and His creation.
I confess it's not something about which I've actively thought much, but I know that when I look out and see the bright magenta of a crepe myrtle against the dark evergreen, and the sunlight dappled through the Georgia pine, or when I see a squirel scuttle across the phone lines, spinning his tail like he's winding up to smack one out of the park, I get happy. In fact, I get a little blessed, and that's what I think Creation is supposed to do for a person.
As Ryrie points out, creation itself is not alone to bring about salvation - only the very specific revelation about the atoning death of Christ is sufficient for that. A person can't get saved by looking at crepe myrtle, but they can get inspired. Something in their heart dilates, and that dilation, I think, is an expansion that gets a heart ready to receive something really big - the awesome revelation of Christ.
On another point, Ryrie points out that creation itself helps to support the argument that there is an eternal creator, which in turn can lead individuals to believe Him by faith. He points more to the complexity of nature than to the beauty of it as a useful proof. From the little I know about science, the beauty that emerges from the complexity of biology is wondrous to me, so I think we're really talking about the same thing from different angles of experience and knowledge.
Creation has been pouring forth speech about the Lord's majesty since before there was writing, before there was math, before there was science. And certainly before there was a formalized cosmology that explained God out of all existence. I have a book sitting next to me on my desk called One Long Argument: Charles Darwin and the Genesis of Modern Evolutionary Thought. The book by Ernst Mayr, published in 1991, won the Phi Beta Kappa award for science. I haven't read it and may not, but I picked it up because it was free and I was intrigued by the title: One Long Argument. What intrigues me is that Darwin's argument, and of course not Darwin alone (and surely I misunderstand or underestimate Darwin and surely, given the wealth of information available and the poverty of my reading on the subject, I am unitiated in such things) but his ideas, in effect, are an argument that invalidates one of the proofs of the argument for an eternal Creator.
It seems like a morbid and defeatist note on which to end, but let me frame it this way: I had never until this morning really thought about how Darwin could affects one's very heart and soul - stealing those rapturous, blessed moments that nature provides, that dilate the soul and prepare me for what I could not naturally understand. Even as a non-scientist, I am affected and a little stirred up by this.
For I have chosen no particular song, but rather a subject, about which to write: God's revelation through creation. It seems that since I read a few pages on the subject in Charles Ryrie's Basic Theology that I've heard and sang half a dozen songs about the glory of the Lord and His creation.
I confess it's not something about which I've actively thought much, but I know that when I look out and see the bright magenta of a crepe myrtle against the dark evergreen, and the sunlight dappled through the Georgia pine, or when I see a squirel scuttle across the phone lines, spinning his tail like he's winding up to smack one out of the park, I get happy. In fact, I get a little blessed, and that's what I think Creation is supposed to do for a person.
As Ryrie points out, creation itself is not alone to bring about salvation - only the very specific revelation about the atoning death of Christ is sufficient for that. A person can't get saved by looking at crepe myrtle, but they can get inspired. Something in their heart dilates, and that dilation, I think, is an expansion that gets a heart ready to receive something really big - the awesome revelation of Christ.
On another point, Ryrie points out that creation itself helps to support the argument that there is an eternal creator, which in turn can lead individuals to believe Him by faith. He points more to the complexity of nature than to the beauty of it as a useful proof. From the little I know about science, the beauty that emerges from the complexity of biology is wondrous to me, so I think we're really talking about the same thing from different angles of experience and knowledge.
Creation has been pouring forth speech about the Lord's majesty since before there was writing, before there was math, before there was science. And certainly before there was a formalized cosmology that explained God out of all existence. I have a book sitting next to me on my desk called One Long Argument: Charles Darwin and the Genesis of Modern Evolutionary Thought. The book by Ernst Mayr, published in 1991, won the Phi Beta Kappa award for science. I haven't read it and may not, but I picked it up because it was free and I was intrigued by the title: One Long Argument. What intrigues me is that Darwin's argument, and of course not Darwin alone (and surely I misunderstand or underestimate Darwin and surely, given the wealth of information available and the poverty of my reading on the subject, I am unitiated in such things) but his ideas, in effect, are an argument that invalidates one of the proofs of the argument for an eternal Creator.
It seems like a morbid and defeatist note on which to end, but let me frame it this way: I had never until this morning really thought about how Darwin could affects one's very heart and soul - stealing those rapturous, blessed moments that nature provides, that dilate the soul and prepare me for what I could not naturally understand. Even as a non-scientist, I am affected and a little stirred up by this.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Breathe
Week 2 of my new degree program is underway. I'm getting a little beaten down. In fact, I'm writing on a Tuesday because I didn't really have much to say yesterday, the day I'd normally write. I couldn't even express my frustration. This morning, I decided to share the song that's been going through my head in response to that frustration in case it may speak to someone who reads this. It's by the Newsboys, and it goes like this:
Tuesday the first
I'll call this entry 'Mistake'
Cheap imitation, my life feels like a fake
A people person, some days people annoy me.
I'm growing edgy
Wednesday's title: 'Avoid Me.'
I hope that the title for my tomorrow is not 'avoid me.' Here's the chorus, and what I was praying under my breath and somewhat below my consciousness:
Breathe on me
Breathe oh breath of God
Breathe on me
'til my heart is new
Breathe on me
Breathe oh Breath of Life
Breathe on me
'till I love like you do
The second verse is worth a reprint, too.
Thursday, the fifth
I title 'Drivers Beware'
Tempered-a-mental
and I don't really care
I gave 'till I bled
You laughed when I fainted
Don't want to live this life
bitter and tainted.
I'll start writing on Tuesdays now, I think.
"Breathe," music by Peter Furler, lyrics by Philip Urry and Peter Furler, from the album Take Me To Your Leader
Tuesday the first
I'll call this entry 'Mistake'
Cheap imitation, my life feels like a fake
A people person, some days people annoy me.
I'm growing edgy
Wednesday's title: 'Avoid Me.'
I hope that the title for my tomorrow is not 'avoid me.' Here's the chorus, and what I was praying under my breath and somewhat below my consciousness:
Breathe on me
Breathe oh breath of God
Breathe on me
'til my heart is new
Breathe on me
Breathe oh Breath of Life
Breathe on me
'till I love like you do
The second verse is worth a reprint, too.
Thursday, the fifth
I title 'Drivers Beware'
Tempered-a-mental
and I don't really care
I gave 'till I bled
You laughed when I fainted
Don't want to live this life
bitter and tainted.
I'll start writing on Tuesdays now, I think.
"Breathe," music by Peter Furler, lyrics by Philip Urry and Peter Furler, from the album Take Me To Your Leader
Monday, August 22, 2005
How Great is Our God
At 5:26 this morning, I was awakened by the most powerful peal of thunder I have ever heard. It was so loud and sounded so directly above my roof that my heart started racing before I even knew I was awake. I figured it was a wake-up call, so I've been up since then, and I'm grateful for the early alarm. It made it easy for me to think of God's greatness today. There are people who think that experiencing greatness is just a way of escaping one's own smallness for a little while. Personally, need the reminder of my own smallness, and of His power to keep me in a proper follower's position.
Today's song: "How Great is Our God," by Chris Tomlin. I won't repeat many lyrics here. They repeat the title several times and they express God's completeness through several title phrases like "beginning and the end" and "the Lion and the Lamb." My favorite lines of all say, "He wraps Himself in light/ and darkness tries to hide/ and trembles at His voice." Amen. This morning, He awoke me before dawn so that even in the darkness I could ponder and be assured of His greatness. How awesome is He!
Today's song: "How Great is Our God," by Chris Tomlin. I won't repeat many lyrics here. They repeat the title several times and they express God's completeness through several title phrases like "beginning and the end" and "the Lion and the Lamb." My favorite lines of all say, "He wraps Himself in light/ and darkness tries to hide/ and trembles at His voice." Amen. This morning, He awoke me before dawn so that even in the darkness I could ponder and be assured of His greatness. How awesome is He!
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
The Masses
Today was a big day. We saw Claude Monet, Mr. (first name unknown) Degas, Whistler, Botticelli, and Frank Lloyd Wright at the Art Institute of Chicago Museum. It was free day so there were throngs of people there. Then we saw Rick Bayless 0f Mexico, One Plate at a Time fame, at his restaurant, where we had dinner. He's a bit of a hero to us, and there he was, in our midst - how very Mexican - like the wrestling heroes that walk in the midst of their fans in Mexico City. Then we got together with thousands of others in Grant park and watched Paul Newman in The Hustler. The park is situated in the elbow curve of high-rises that face Lake Superior, so the movie was framed by the beautiful, gently but definitely lit skycrapers. I looked at them and thought - it's all people. The big buildings and businesses - it's all made up of lots and lots of people. Then I caught the eye of someone seated in front of me, then another person, and I wasn't afraid, instead, I felt warmth. And I thought, Jesus looked at them, and had compassion on the masses. And I was impressed by Jesus' liberality.
Monday, August 08, 2005
Beautiful One
You've opened my eyes to your wonders anew
You've captured my heart with this love
Cause nothing on earth is as beautiful as you.
I'm away from home. There is a fortune cookie message taped to the monitor of the computer on which I work as a guest. It says: "Beautiful things await you." That's a fortune worth keeping!
We sang this song at church yesterday. I'd only ever heard it on the radio before.
Beautiful one, I love (you)
Beautiful one, I adore
Beautiful one, my soul must sing!
The thing is, He really did open my eyes to his wonders anew, and He has been capturing my heart for quite a while. I thought more about the fact that He is beautiful. My friend played a song for our church that said "I will go... because there is none so lovely."
The fact that Jesus is so beautiful is hard to miss, and it does cause my soul to sing. And when things are hard, when I feel like I've given up what I most feared to lose, I remember His worth and surrender. When my soul is downcast because I miss what I've given up, I remember His beauty and my soul is glad again.
O my soul, praise Him!
Monday, August 01, 2005
His Favor
Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper Thy work and defend thee
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
I've been learning about the Lord's favor for the past few months, and these past few sunny summer days I think I've experienced it in a way that was nearly tangible. It was like a joy, a pleasure, coming from somewhere else, on a regular, otherwise not noteworthy day. It reminded me of these verses.
"But let all who take refuge in You be glad,
Let them ever sing for joy;
And may you shelter them,
That those who love Your name may exult in You.
For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O Lord,
You surround him with favor as with a shield."
Psalm 5:11-12
Here's something I've learned about the Lord's favor: He favors me above those who are not His children because He sees Christ in me, and He loves Christ so much. His favor doesn't surround me because I have surrendered so many tokens of affection at His feet. I have such a puny faculty for love that I probably couldn't give much love if it weren't for His leading in my life. I want to show Him love, but I found out that He just loves me and loves me regardless of my oaths and offices. In sum, I don't have to worry about losing His favor. Instead, I:
Ponder anew what the Almighty will do
If with his love He befriend me.
Lyrics from "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty," written by Joachim Neander (1650-1680) and translated by Catherine Winkworth
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
I've been learning about the Lord's favor for the past few months, and these past few sunny summer days I think I've experienced it in a way that was nearly tangible. It was like a joy, a pleasure, coming from somewhere else, on a regular, otherwise not noteworthy day. It reminded me of these verses.
"But let all who take refuge in You be glad,
Let them ever sing for joy;
And may you shelter them,
That those who love Your name may exult in You.
For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O Lord,
You surround him with favor as with a shield."
Psalm 5:11-12
Here's something I've learned about the Lord's favor: He favors me above those who are not His children because He sees Christ in me, and He loves Christ so much. His favor doesn't surround me because I have surrendered so many tokens of affection at His feet. I have such a puny faculty for love that I probably couldn't give much love if it weren't for His leading in my life. I want to show Him love, but I found out that He just loves me and loves me regardless of my oaths and offices. In sum, I don't have to worry about losing His favor. Instead, I:
Ponder anew what the Almighty will do
If with his love He befriend me.
Lyrics from "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty," written by Joachim Neander (1650-1680) and translated by Catherine Winkworth
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Beggars in Service of a Dour God
If God was not as loving and wonderful as He is, I would probably still try to please Him, because it is my nature to try and please. A beggar at heart, I would approach even a dour God as my only hope and serve Him with all of my heart.
However, He is not a dour God. He loves, He favors, he also judges and chastens. I don't know why God is so good to me, but I know that knowing who He is changes the way I respond to Him. I do not have to fear. I am lifted beyond childish attempts to curry favor to experience the breadth of a personality and a goodness I cannot comprehend but will never cease to amaze me.
However, He is not a dour God. He loves, He favors, he also judges and chastens. I don't know why God is so good to me, but I know that knowing who He is changes the way I respond to Him. I do not have to fear. I am lifted beyond childish attempts to curry favor to experience the breadth of a personality and a goodness I cannot comprehend but will never cease to amaze me.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
The Emptiest Days
I'm looking for the well that won't run dry
The rest the weary soul cannot deny
When you wrap your arms around me,
I can walk away or face the emptiest days.
When I first heard this song in Derek Webb's soulful voice it seemed a little whiny to me, but something struck me about it. There was a grown-up honesty with which I longed to identify. There are empty days, and on one of them, when I couldn't think of another praise song, this one was in my memory. That's the power of a song to bring you to your maker and help you rest in His truth there.
I read these verses this morning, which I feel are a corrollary to "The Emptiest Days":
Thou hast put gladness in my heart,
More than when their grain and new wine abound.
In peace I will both lie down and sleep,
For Thou alone, O LORD, dost make me to dwell in safety.
Psalm 4:7-8
Selah
The rest the weary soul cannot deny
When you wrap your arms around me,
I can walk away or face the emptiest days.
When I first heard this song in Derek Webb's soulful voice it seemed a little whiny to me, but something struck me about it. There was a grown-up honesty with which I longed to identify. There are empty days, and on one of them, when I couldn't think of another praise song, this one was in my memory. That's the power of a song to bring you to your maker and help you rest in His truth there.
I read these verses this morning, which I feel are a corrollary to "The Emptiest Days":
Thou hast put gladness in my heart,
More than when their grain and new wine abound.
In peace I will both lie down and sleep,
For Thou alone, O LORD, dost make me to dwell in safety.
Psalm 4:7-8
Selah
Monday, July 04, 2005
Second Verse
We sing the first verse of the Star Spangled Banner, which looks back to the creation of our nation. The second verse speaks of our sustenance, and since we rarely sing it, I wanted to present all of the lyrics here. I hope you'll agree that they speak for themselves, and I also hope you enjoy reading them.
And thus be it ever, when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just;
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust!"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
- Francis Scott Key
And thus be it ever, when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just;
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust!"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
- Francis Scott Key
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Step by Step in the Power of His Love
It has become a feeling less foreboding and more comforting: the power of Christ's love.
It was foreboding because I began to recognize a pattern: He would affirm His love for me, spiritually, on days when I ended up making a big mistake. Once I saw a pattern, I began to fear the revelation of that power because it meant I'd make a mistake.
Lately, I've come to realize that I am going to make mistakes, and feel more grateful for His love. Because of His love, I can go on when I fail. Only because of His love can I go on in the ways He directs, because otherwise I would feel ruined. His love is what keeps me going on, and its power works through my selfish heart to love others. It can overpower my peevishness, my fatigue and my disinterest to create compassion where there was none.
Oh God, You are My God
And I will ever praise You!
I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step you'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days.
Amen!
It was foreboding because I began to recognize a pattern: He would affirm His love for me, spiritually, on days when I ended up making a big mistake. Once I saw a pattern, I began to fear the revelation of that power because it meant I'd make a mistake.
Lately, I've come to realize that I am going to make mistakes, and feel more grateful for His love. Because of His love, I can go on when I fail. Only because of His love can I go on in the ways He directs, because otherwise I would feel ruined. His love is what keeps me going on, and its power works through my selfish heart to love others. It can overpower my peevishness, my fatigue and my disinterest to create compassion where there was none.
Oh God, You are My God
And I will ever praise You!
I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step you'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days.
Amen!
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Unsteady
I am sure of some things
But I'm often wondering
The doubt can try me, but
In such times I cry, "Thank you, Savior."
For when I am uncertain
You relieve my burden
And give me grace that carries me back in
When I am unsteady
You are my rescue
I know you are faithful to what you begin
When my heart's unready
Spirit, you lift me
To the solid ground again.
But I'm often wondering
The doubt can try me, but
In such times I cry, "Thank you, Savior."
For when I am uncertain
You relieve my burden
And give me grace that carries me back in
When I am unsteady
You are my rescue
I know you are faithful to what you begin
When my heart's unready
Spirit, you lift me
To the solid ground again.
Saturday, June 11, 2005
Overheard Conversation
I hear your muted echoes
And I wish I understood
For all the things I think of
And all I wish I could
Lead to the conclusion
That I can understand
Imperfectly, an artist's heart
Through the artists' hands.
I think about your worldview
While images of your times
Flash like summer lightning
On the landscape of my mind.
Wandering like tumbleweeds
Impressions come and go -
The paintings in this gallery
People I want to know.
And I wish I understood
For all the things I think of
And all I wish I could
Lead to the conclusion
That I can understand
Imperfectly, an artist's heart
Through the artists' hands.
I think about your worldview
While images of your times
Flash like summer lightning
On the landscape of my mind.
Wandering like tumbleweeds
Impressions come and go -
The paintings in this gallery
People I want to know.
Saturday, June 04, 2005
Pause
Six days shall you work, and on the seventh you shall rest.
Noon approaches this Saturday morning and the coffee is still warm. I have decided that on this day I am going to do no work at all - at least no housework or no job-work. There are some serious chores that need to be done around the house, and I could certainly find ways to spend time perfecting my craft, but as much as I care about those things, I know I need to be still right now and let the peace and joy of God cascade about me. As I lay in bed this morning thinking about how I could possibly spend a day not working at all, a bible verse occurred to me with a meaning I'd never considered before. Do not conform to the standard of the world, but renew your mind. That's one objective of this rest day - and there I go - being task-oriented even while at rest - but surely rest has its purposes. Even in a Psalm of praise there are selah's - moments when the music lingers and the worshippers wait. Moments that linger over coffee bring out the sweetness and sweep of life in a way that transcends the moment itself. I pause to be renewed in this wonder and awe.
Noon approaches this Saturday morning and the coffee is still warm. I have decided that on this day I am going to do no work at all - at least no housework or no job-work. There are some serious chores that need to be done around the house, and I could certainly find ways to spend time perfecting my craft, but as much as I care about those things, I know I need to be still right now and let the peace and joy of God cascade about me. As I lay in bed this morning thinking about how I could possibly spend a day not working at all, a bible verse occurred to me with a meaning I'd never considered before. Do not conform to the standard of the world, but renew your mind. That's one objective of this rest day - and there I go - being task-oriented even while at rest - but surely rest has its purposes. Even in a Psalm of praise there are selah's - moments when the music lingers and the worshippers wait. Moments that linger over coffee bring out the sweetness and sweep of life in a way that transcends the moment itself. I pause to be renewed in this wonder and awe.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Days of Elijah
Everybody gets into the catchy tune and exciting lyrics "Days of Elijah" when we sing it at church. But what do the words mean? There are two verses, and throughout both of them we claim that these are the days of Elijah, Moses, Ezekiel, David. In the chorus we sing:
Behold, He comes, riding on the clouds
Shining like the sun at the trumpet call
Lift your voice, it's the year of jubilee
And out of Zion's hill, salvation comes.
It's the coolest song I don't understand. I actually understand all of the stories, so it wouldn't help if you tried to explain them to me. I just don't understand the temporality of the song - what do we mean when we say these are the days of Elijah?
What I do understand is the hope in the song - that all of the stories are types of Christ's reign, and I think that's why people get so enthusiastic about it. I think our church could use a little more enthusiasm - even audacity - but I want to know what that song means.
Behold, He comes, riding on the clouds
Shining like the sun at the trumpet call
Lift your voice, it's the year of jubilee
And out of Zion's hill, salvation comes.
It's the coolest song I don't understand. I actually understand all of the stories, so it wouldn't help if you tried to explain them to me. I just don't understand the temporality of the song - what do we mean when we say these are the days of Elijah?
What I do understand is the hope in the song - that all of the stories are types of Christ's reign, and I think that's why people get so enthusiastic about it. I think our church could use a little more enthusiasm - even audacity - but I want to know what that song means.
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Strong Tower
When I awoke this morning is was raining, and quickly it progressed to a downpour. I made my coffee and then sat down in the corner chair to lift my thoughts heavenward, but though my thoughts ranged far and wide, they could not get vertical. It began to trouble me, so as a remedy I opened my bible to where I’d left off in the Psalms, which was in the high 90’s. David wrote the first 70 or so, and then the others were written by guys like Asaph, the lead worshipper/choir director, and various other anonymous writers. I noticed how unlike David’s psalms these later ones were; how when David wrote he brought his personal experience to the table - difficult, painful, triumphant or embarrassing as it was, and then praised the Lord in the midst of it, or despite it, but he from an angle of his own experience. These Psalms I read this morning were more equivalent to a modern-day worship leader who desires for the people to worship the Lord because it is their duty and God’s right. Such leaders are, of course, right to feel that way, but I must say that David’s representation of his own human experience and the Lord’s presence throughout it moves me more than a general call to worship. After reading I got up, made my bagel, and went on the porch for a bit. It was still pouring, and it was freezing cold outside. I felt glad to be sheltered from the elements. Still trying to elevate my thoughts, I recalled Psalms that spoke of the Lord’s power in terms of extreme weather – floods, lightning, and mighty wind. Certainly God is as powerful as Oklahoma weather and more, and those thoughts were entirely true. What really captured my heart and my imagination, though, was the fact that God is my shelter – that He is a strong tower into which I can run and be unafraid when it’s figuratively storming outside, and when the world is just not a hospitable place to be. How tender of the Lord to use these torrents and frozen water to teach me about His tenderness and protection. It’s what I really what I wanted to hear this morning, and it satisfied my soul. I was surprised by how today’s great soul hunger was satisfied in an unexpected way this morning – this time through a storm and a shelter. I’m grateful that He chooses to speak to me at all, and that He never leaves me out in the cold for longer than it takes to realize that I need to find all of my security in Him.
Saturday, February 21, 2004
Rich Mullins, "If I Stand"
The stuff of earth competes for the allegiance
I owe only to the giver of all good things.
In life the things of this world can capture our passions. A sunrise, a dancing fire, loyalties, music, relationships, and so on, are all such good things, but if our hope is invested in them, what happens on a cloudy day, or when the music stops? It is because of this question that I believe Rich Mullins wrote "If I Stand." I will just print the lyrics to the chorus, and let you look up the biblical references Rich included with the full lyrics in the album jacket.
If I stand, let me stand on the promise
That you will pull me through
And if I can't let me fall on the grace
That first brought me to you.
If I sing, let me sing for the joy
That has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home.
The stuff of earth competes for the allegiance
I owe only to the giver of all good things.
In life the things of this world can capture our passions. A sunrise, a dancing fire, loyalties, music, relationships, and so on, are all such good things, but if our hope is invested in them, what happens on a cloudy day, or when the music stops? It is because of this question that I believe Rich Mullins wrote "If I Stand." I will just print the lyrics to the chorus, and let you look up the biblical references Rich included with the full lyrics in the album jacket.
If I stand, let me stand on the promise
That you will pull me through
And if I can't let me fall on the grace
That first brought me to you.
If I sing, let me sing for the joy
That has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home.
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