I’ve discovered that my iPad has dutifully been recording my ‘most played’ songs:
quite a fair reflection I think (last 3 are by Cathy Burton)
Christmas songs on the radio
But they’re all “festive”
Seems as though everyone
Has forgotten the Christ
King of kings
Sent to the earth You created
In nappies
Because we couldn’t live without Your death
At this time Lord
Even as we remember our families
Who we’ve not seen enough of
May we remember You all the more
And bow down
And honour and worship You
For sending Your Son
As that baby, God with us to save
I love the song ‘Feels So Good’ by Sonique – it was released at around the time we were getting married, and it’s a great tune.
I sing it as a worship song, although it clearly isn’t. Is this just me trying to reconcile liking secular music, or does the Lord not really mind as long as we sing to Him?
An idea of a simple poem that can be sung in the native languages of everyone in a congregagation
Hallelujah singing
We are Hallelujah singing
We bring praise to You our Lord
Filled with joy we raise our hands
(We boast in You)
As a song it can build over a number of repetitions, and encourages participation by those whose native language is not English.
It’s not often I say ‘Wow’ out loud when talking about something in the world around me. That’s not to say I don’t appreciate the flowers of spring, a fantastic local landscape or a stunning sunset – it’s more that I express my appreciate quietly.
But dropping over the edge of the Grand Canyon in a helicopter – well you have to say ‘wow’, and remember what an amazing land the Lord created for us to enjoy.
FWIW I simply believe that God created the universe, and is the Sustainer of His creation. I find that position to be totally in keeping with any evidence I’ve come across.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel+9%3A20-27
Although not quite in the way you might have expected!
There’s Daniel fasting and praying for forgiveness for himself and his nation, and the angel Gabriel rocks up and says ‘as soon as you began to pray a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed’.
Two things struck me about this passage: firstly that any act of prayer is heard, and how it’s ‘dealt with’ in the spiritual realm is beyond our understanding (and on the basis of this account, truly spectacular); and secondly what an awesome thing to be told – that God ‘highly esteems’ you! It’s so often the case that we want to be ‘highly esteemed’ by our peers, work colleagues, friends, children, etc…but fancy aiming to be ‘highly esteemed’ by God – now that’s a challenge for our life here on earth!
We were driving in very grey cloud the other day when a small ray of sunshine broke through what seemed impenetrable darkness. This got me thinking about how we worship – are we doing it to crowbar open the gates of heaven, or to worship the Lord so heaven joins in?
Lord we try so hard
To sing songs to You
That break open the doors of heaven
So we can see a glimpse of You
But all You want from us
Are simple songs of love
Where we just tell of Your beauty
And whisper our worship to You
That tell You how we feel
Safe when You’re near
That the hope we find
Is so perfect and peaceful
That having You there all the time
Is such utter comfort
For a song like that
Means so much more
and You open the doors of heaven
And we bathe in the glory of You
A few posts came to me over the vacation period, but none have made it here yet!
I often wonder if being a parent makes you only truly realise the sacrifice that the Lord made sending Jesus to earth to die on the cross?
Imagine it from His perspective – you’ve created the universe, and created life on a planet and a species in particular in your own image. Through sheer and utter disobedience they then screw things up…
Instead of sending some form of Death Star to blow us all up (excuse the Star Wars reference), He chooses instead to send his only Son to die (horribly) as a means of enabling humanity to be forgiven.
How many parents would even put their children into danger, let alone willingly send them to death out of love for others. No-one would get anywhere near.
Awesome God!
No – not the title of another bloodthirsty epic film, but the astonishing number of people who saw Jesus alive after He was crucified.
I was reminded of this reading 1 Corinthians 15 – it’s a part of the Easter story I’ve always been familiar with (I recall writing a short play for a Campaigner camp where two old ladies were discussing the evidence for Jesus rising from the dead…long story!), but Paul’s description in this passage really brings things to life:
[Verse 6 NIV] “After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep”
So not only did Paul experience Christ in person at his conversion, He was also clearly able to speak to the people who had seen Jesus appearing and test their stories!
I always feel this is one of the strongest pieces of evidence for the resurrection (from a purely ‘academic’ perspective) – you might imagine the apostles concocting something between themselves, but for 500+ people who lived to tell the tale to see the same thing at once demonstrates that this really wasn’t an apparition.
Of course this is then supported by the Holy Spirit living in us today!
Audience
February 23, 2011Some cracking thoughts from Philip Yancey on worship here:
http://odb.org/2011/02/20/who%e2%80%99s-the-audience/
He states that we shouldn’t leave worship thinking ‘what have I got out of it? (did my favourite song come up?) but instead ‘did I tell the Lord what He means to me?’
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