This past week our foreign exchange student from Hungary Mate' and I were talking about music. And we shared a few favorite songs while looking them up on YouTube and watching and listening. We had fun hearing new songs. Then Mate' asked me what my favorite song of all time is- and that kind of stumped me a bit.
And maybe that is because I have such wide-ranging tastes in music. I grew up on country and church hymns. As I went through high school I enjoyed rock more and more. Later on I listened to a little jazz and spent some Friday nights at blues concerts. These days I mostly listen to Christian music. If you were to shuffle the songs on my ipod, you could hear a song from 'The Sound of Music' followed by an Alan Parson's song, then an Ann Murray song and then listen to the hard rock of AC/DC. It's very strange really even for me.
So I had trouble answering Mate's question. I maybe could give you a favorite in each category (even that would not be easy) but not an overall favorite. I finally answered with 'Dream On' by Aerosmith instead of avoiding the question. When you think about the music and songs you enjoy, I'll bet it's not easy for you to answer this question either. We have songs we enjoy for different reasons. Some we like the beat or beautiful background music. Some we like because of the singer or the lyrics and others the loudness or smoothness. Some have special meaning because of the memories we have attached to them. So you know from experience what I am talking about.
Later I began to wonder what my favorite hymn is. I know I have too many to pick just one but 'How Firm a Foundation', 'Jesus Thy Blood and Righteousness', 'Holy Holy Holy' and 'Just as I Am' are good ones to start with. And I love Easter hymns like crazy as well. Favorite Christian song? Start with Chris Tomlin's 'Amazing Grace' and then Natalie Grant's 'I am Not Alone' or 'Held'. Add Mark Schultz's 'He's My Son' to that list which any parent could easily relate to. See, I can't even pick one when I'm trying to make a point.
But maybe that is my point. I was thinking that maybe God is like that with us. That He loves each of us so very much that He could never pick a favorite. And I know He loves each of us out of pure grace, for nothing we do- but maybe He loves you as well because He gifted you with the gift of encouragement and He enjoys watching you use your gift. And maybe God smiles when He thinks about the memories attached to you, like your baptism, your confirmation, and the times you were really taking time to pray and talk with Him. Maybe He made us all so different just so He could never have a favorite!
I think there is a good chance that when God spoke creation into existence, He did so with a song. And so maybe as an extension of this thought our lives are songs as well. Michael Card has a neat song 'Poem of Your Life' that hints at this. Here are a few of his lyrics: 'Life is a song we must sing with our days- A poem with meaning more than words can say- A painting with colors no rainbow can tell- A lyric that rhymes either heaven or hell.' And later he adds, 'We're the notes of the song of the chorus of faith'. When Psalms tells us to 'sing a new song to the Lord' maybe it means to live a new Spirit-powered life. Anyway, I just thought it was a cool way to think about our lives- as a song.
John reveals in Revelation that there is a continual chorus of praise music going on in heaven. Everyday songs of faithful lives are added to that chorus. When the final voice is added one day, what a feast for our ears that will be. Picking out a favorite song will no longer be a difficult choice! Until then we can only 'Dream On' about how awesome that will be. See all you new songs at chorus practice this Sunday.
Blest Regards,
Keith
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Giants and Grasshoppers
I think maybe Janica and I were the only ones who heard it and got a good laugh out of it. A couple girls were reading Romans 1:16 to the kids in VBS. Here is how the verse is supposed to read: I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.'
What we heard was 'I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the giants. The giants? Really? I didn't know they were a particular target of God's redeeming work.
The whole thought of saving giants made me think back upon a sermon I will never forget. A group of men from our church had traveled to a Colorado PromiseKeepers event. And on the first evening Pastor EV Hill, a black preacher with a real distinctive preaching style who led one of the largest churches in Los Angeles spoke. His sermon was on giants and grasshoppers (or graaaass-hoppers in EV Hill's unique pronunciation).
Maybe you can guess this sermon recounted how the Israelite spies returned to report that the promised land was filled with milk and honey but more importantly giants. Giants so big they made the Israelites look like grasshoppers. They suggested God's plan to return the Jews to their homeland was not a good one. Caleb and Joshua were over-ruled as they tried to convince the people to trust God for the victory.
So as I thought about it later I guessed I could make an argument for our young girls translation. That Jesus died not just for the good folks, not just for the Jews, but for our enemies, for the giants in our lives. Giants are Gentiles and need saving too!
More importantly, the point of the verse we were reading was that we are not to be ashamed of the Gospel. Maybe for us a better translation would be to not 'be afraid' to share the Gospel. Like Israelites we look past the milk and honey of sharing the Gospel and focus on giants, like what other people will think. Even though sharing has great power- the power to save- somehow returning to the dessert seems better than confronting giants.
Maybe the girls had a funny AND meaningful translation. Maybe we could consider their words to be a call to be like Caleb and Joshua. A call to overcome the giant of fear and share the Gospel with everyone including our giants. See you grasshoppers at church this Sunday!
Blest Regards,
Keith
What we heard was 'I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the giants. The giants? Really? I didn't know they were a particular target of God's redeeming work.
The whole thought of saving giants made me think back upon a sermon I will never forget. A group of men from our church had traveled to a Colorado PromiseKeepers event. And on the first evening Pastor EV Hill, a black preacher with a real distinctive preaching style who led one of the largest churches in Los Angeles spoke. His sermon was on giants and grasshoppers (or graaaass-hoppers in EV Hill's unique pronunciation).
Maybe you can guess this sermon recounted how the Israelite spies returned to report that the promised land was filled with milk and honey but more importantly giants. Giants so big they made the Israelites look like grasshoppers. They suggested God's plan to return the Jews to their homeland was not a good one. Caleb and Joshua were over-ruled as they tried to convince the people to trust God for the victory.
So as I thought about it later I guessed I could make an argument for our young girls translation. That Jesus died not just for the good folks, not just for the Jews, but for our enemies, for the giants in our lives. Giants are Gentiles and need saving too!
More importantly, the point of the verse we were reading was that we are not to be ashamed of the Gospel. Maybe for us a better translation would be to not 'be afraid' to share the Gospel. Like Israelites we look past the milk and honey of sharing the Gospel and focus on giants, like what other people will think. Even though sharing has great power- the power to save- somehow returning to the dessert seems better than confronting giants.
Maybe the girls had a funny AND meaningful translation. Maybe we could consider their words to be a call to be like Caleb and Joshua. A call to overcome the giant of fear and share the Gospel with everyone including our giants. See you grasshoppers at church this Sunday!
Blest Regards,
Keith
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Busy!
It wasn't intended to be this way. It just happened. A confluence of events have come together to make for the busiest days I can ever remember at our house. Let me explain.
Months ago I agreed to help run VBS. August seemed so far away you know so no big deal. VBS is now here. And months ago Sherri and I agreed to host a foreign exchange student who arrives this week. The kids were still in school at the time and the next school year seemed very far away. We bought an old house for Jake in Maryville back in the spring that needed some work down the road. Down the road now means 'right now'. Dan decided on UNO for college months ago and now we need to get him ready to move out. The decision to redo Caleb's room to get ready for high school came early since the train motif had grown old- or should I say too young?
So what does all this mean? A perfect storm of crazyness for both Sherri and me. We spent hours and hours creating sets for VBS- laughing at our poor artists skills. When we got home we would tear apart Caleb's room- dismantling the bunk beds and taking out all the furniture and clothes and well, just the myriad of clutter that teenage boys pour into their rooms. We cleared Dan out of his room to make way for Mate (our exchange student) which resulted in another giant pile of stuff somewhere else. Thankfully Grandpa John has been helping fix up the Maryville house. All this as I make plans for a full week of travel for business next week. EEESCH!
When 'busy' is used in the Bible it's not usually a good thing. Like Martha is busy in the kitchen when Jesus is teaching. He tells her one thing is important and 'busy' isn't it. Ecclesiastes talks about busy people chasing after the wind- a clear indication that 'busy' is not really a productive activity. Jesus said in Luke 21, 'Don't be too busy with worldly things…the end might come when you are not ready'. No wonder then that 'busybody' isn't a term of affection.
The German origin of 'busy' means 'occupied'. God certainly gave us a planet full of shiny objects to occupy our time and attention. Yet He was pretty clear about what is to be our top 'occupation'. The Contemporary English Version of the Bible uses the word 'busy' in a favorite verse 1 Cor 15:58 where it says, 'Always keep busy working for the Lord'. Are we 'occupied' with, busy with, things of the Lord?
Sometimes it seems like 'busy' just surrounds us. Like Sherri and I, we can get into busy times without even trying. The same thing happened to Jesus. Take a look at Luke 5: 15 and 16 to see Jesus' response. 'News about Jesus kept spreading. Large crowds came to listen to him teach and to be healed of their diseases. But Jesus would often go to some place where he could be alone and pray'. I was going to use that as my excuse to get out of mattress frame construction last night but I knew Sherri wouldn't go for it.
All kidding aside- don't send God a busy signal when He is working in your life and heart. When you get busy, look for ways to occupy your time in prayer, praise and study away from the crowds and rush of life. That's not me speaking, it's Jesus' example. As the old hymn (Come Follow Me the Savior Spake) says, 'Take My example as your guide'! Gotta run, so much to do…have a great week occupied with Jesus!
Blest Regards,
kp
Months ago I agreed to help run VBS. August seemed so far away you know so no big deal. VBS is now here. And months ago Sherri and I agreed to host a foreign exchange student who arrives this week. The kids were still in school at the time and the next school year seemed very far away. We bought an old house for Jake in Maryville back in the spring that needed some work down the road. Down the road now means 'right now'. Dan decided on UNO for college months ago and now we need to get him ready to move out. The decision to redo Caleb's room to get ready for high school came early since the train motif had grown old- or should I say too young?
So what does all this mean? A perfect storm of crazyness for both Sherri and me. We spent hours and hours creating sets for VBS- laughing at our poor artists skills. When we got home we would tear apart Caleb's room- dismantling the bunk beds and taking out all the furniture and clothes and well, just the myriad of clutter that teenage boys pour into their rooms. We cleared Dan out of his room to make way for Mate (our exchange student) which resulted in another giant pile of stuff somewhere else. Thankfully Grandpa John has been helping fix up the Maryville house. All this as I make plans for a full week of travel for business next week. EEESCH!
When 'busy' is used in the Bible it's not usually a good thing. Like Martha is busy in the kitchen when Jesus is teaching. He tells her one thing is important and 'busy' isn't it. Ecclesiastes talks about busy people chasing after the wind- a clear indication that 'busy' is not really a productive activity. Jesus said in Luke 21, 'Don't be too busy with worldly things…the end might come when you are not ready'. No wonder then that 'busybody' isn't a term of affection.
The German origin of 'busy' means 'occupied'. God certainly gave us a planet full of shiny objects to occupy our time and attention. Yet He was pretty clear about what is to be our top 'occupation'. The Contemporary English Version of the Bible uses the word 'busy' in a favorite verse 1 Cor 15:58 where it says, 'Always keep busy working for the Lord'. Are we 'occupied' with, busy with, things of the Lord?
Sometimes it seems like 'busy' just surrounds us. Like Sherri and I, we can get into busy times without even trying. The same thing happened to Jesus. Take a look at Luke 5: 15 and 16 to see Jesus' response. 'News about Jesus kept spreading. Large crowds came to listen to him teach and to be healed of their diseases. But Jesus would often go to some place where he could be alone and pray'. I was going to use that as my excuse to get out of mattress frame construction last night but I knew Sherri wouldn't go for it.
All kidding aside- don't send God a busy signal when He is working in your life and heart. When you get busy, look for ways to occupy your time in prayer, praise and study away from the crowds and rush of life. That's not me speaking, it's Jesus' example. As the old hymn (Come Follow Me the Savior Spake) says, 'Take My example as your guide'! Gotta run, so much to do…have a great week occupied with Jesus!
Blest Regards,
kp
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