Wonderful God, he takes your concerns and worry and settles them with peace.
I had a lot of religious worries on my mind earlier this week, but the Lord put me at ease. And as I got into my car leaving work, I started singing this song to the Lord; through it, he encouraged me.
Sometimes it’s good to put down all the theological infighting and battling over religious doctrines for a moment and just praise our God. There is something liberating and freeing and edifying in coming to the Lord with giving-of-thanks and saying it plainly, "Lord, I love you! I’ll praise you." Maybe it’s because the enemy can’t have his way when you’re from-the-heart praising your God.
You know the one that, by his sheer will, formed the universe? Well, he is good, folks. He loves us, even with our theology problems and division. The great uniter: holy, holy – yes, he really and in fact is – a holy God. The only real God, our Master! Amen amen amen.
Israel’s Hope – Holy, Holy, Holy
Day and night, those around the throne never stop speaking it: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, is, and is to come."
They give glory, honor and thanks to the one who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever.
Shabbat shalom, fine blog readers.
Good one, kind of reminds me of an old hymn:
ReplyDeleteHoly, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth and sky and sea.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty,
God in three persons, blessed Trinity.
Maybe it’s because the enemy can’t have his way when you’re from-the-heart praising your God.
Amen. When we turn our eyes and heart to Him, there can't help but be a song of praise on our lips.
Did you know that God sings to His children?
For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. Zeph 3:17
(I know the context, but I believe it is no less true for all His children.)
I know I am going to have a good day when God wakes me up with a song of praise in my heart. I think it is just one of His ways of letting me know He is there and that He loves me.
In Christ,
Gary
Amen. Thank you, Gary.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it kinda sad in a way that such a humble, truthful and simple post like this doesn't get the same number of comments as the ones which highlight the divisions within the Body! Oh, the irony (I include myself in that irony...).
ReplyDeleteSome of us are better at worship than others. I think those who are less comfortable with worship are at a point in their faith journey which they need to get past asap.
We forget that it's not the worship per se but the surrender required to partake in it which can change your outlook on the world and make everything seem a little better.
Gary, Amen to your old hymn. I worship at a Baptist-affiliated fellowship with modern songs and I confess that I grow weary of (some) modern worship songs. You may as well cherry pick a song by Beyonce and where the word "baby" appears, substitute the word "Jesus" and viola! You have a worship song. So carnal and meaningless, and claiming promises we can't possibly keep ("I'm gonna be a people of power!!" "I'm gonna tell the world about Jesus!!".... really? Are we? Right after church??)
No, the old hymns, and the Messianic songs Judah has shared with us here, are so replete with scripture and truth...truth about Him, not us. They are incredibly rich.
I pray that I can wake up every day with some awe in my heart.
Thanks for reminding us Judah.
Shalom
Patrick
Patrick... I agree with you sentiment (re: irony). Hopefully, after intense spiritual battles we think we fight around here (but rarely, if ever, win), we can all go back and heal our wounds by worshiping the great Physician.
ReplyDeleteAmen, thank you P.H. and Gene.
ReplyDeleteComing from a Methodist background, I always think it is funny that Charles Wesley's famous hymns were written to the tune of pub songs!
ReplyDeleteMaybe Eighteenth Century drinking songs are more wholesome than what people sing today? LOL.
Heheh, that's funny and true. You know some of Luther's hymns were also put to drinking songs as well, just changed the lyrics around.
ReplyDeletePatrick,
ReplyDeleteI love the old hymns! I also like some of the contemporary songs as well. Like you, I don't like the thumpin', raucous, head banging stuff or the hip hop. Some of it is alright, but not in church. Our worship leader does about 50/50 between old hymns and contemporary stuff like, Amazing Love, Here I am to Worship, How Great Is Our God, etc. That's OK by me.
I grew up in an old time Baptist church where there was no clapping or even much smiling. :) When I started going to my current church there was hand clapping during some of the songs. I'm not a hand clapper, but it didn't bother me too much. I then got to noticing that some of the people were raising their hands and closing their eyes when they sang. I wondered, what are those crazy people doing? Of course, Satan was whispering in my ear the whole time, "look at that, look at them drawing attention to themselves...look at them trying to convince everyone that they are super spiritual or something...who are they kidding?"
I am so glad God's Spirit convinced me otherwise. I let His grace rule in my heart and gave them the benefit of the doubt. I decided to focus on God and worship Him and not pay attention to what others were doing...it's between them and God...as long as the service isn't being disrupted. I am still not a hand raiser or clapper, but I am worshipping God nonetheless. Maybe the hand raisers and clappers are looking down on me as being less spiritual than they are, but that's their problem.
In Christ,
Gary