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Being A Child Of God Is Exciting So Sing!
addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,
(Ephesians 5:19 ESV)
Yesterday we learned that it is God’s desire for His children to live lives that are directed by the Holy Spirit rather than by the sinful temptations that surround us. The result of that will be lives that are characterized by the fruit of the Spirit, including love, joy, and peace [Galatians 5:22].
Another result of being filled with the Holy Spirit is the desire to praise God. Praise can take many forms. In today’s verse we see that one way to praise God is through music. This includes singing and playing instruments (making melody).
When we sing and play music we are displaying enthusiasm for God. Sadly at some churches there is no excitement for God. Some churches don’t even sing (which is disobedience) and some that do do it in such a boring way that you get the impression that no one there has been saved. Praise should originate from our heart. It is not something that should be, or can be, manufactured.
Being a child of God is exciting! Those who have admitted their sinfulness and recognize their need to be forgiven have a tremendous future awaiting them in heaven [John 3:3]. Such people should be very thankful and full of praise for the God who saved them from an eternity surrounded by even more sin that we experience on this earth currently. This is a great reason to praise God with music.
Singing songs of praise has always been a part of God’s design. We see people singing to the Lord all throughout the Old Testament including Moses, Miriam, and Deborah [Exodus 15:1-21; Judges 5:1-31]. Not to mention all the psalms written by David and others that praise God [Psalm 9, 145, 150 et. al].
As I was studying for today’s blog post, I read one pastor who claimed that “Sing!” is the most oft-given command in the Bible. I haven’t confirmed this, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it were true [Psalm 5:11, 95:1, 96:1-2, 149:1 et. al].
Its important to note that when we sing songs of praise to God we are not ministering to Him. God does not need our praise. Instead our songs are actually addressing one another. When we sing to God in the presence of other believers, we are encouraging each other and sharing our corporate excitement at being part of His eternal family.
In his classic book, Systematic Theology, Bible scholar Dr. Wayne Grudem ends every chapter with the lyrics from a Christian hymn. He explains why in the preface: “Theology is meant to be lived and prayed and sung… theology that is studied rightly will lead to… worship” (page 17). Additionally, for eleven years Dr. Grudem taught a class on Sundays at Scottsdale Bible Church in Scottsdale, Arizona. At the end of every class he would lead everyone in the singing of a hymn. The point being, when we get to know God for who He really is, the right response is to worship Him. Music is a great way to do that.
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Comments? Questions? I’d love to hear from you. Please feel free to contact me about this post.
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We Need To Go First
Today’s Bible reading: 2 Kings 3-4:17; Acts 14:8-28; Psalm 140:1-13; Proverbs 17:22
The new king of Israel, Joram, son of Ahab and Jezebel, joins forces with Jehoshaphat king of Judah. Joram was not a godly man (2 Kings 3:2), although he was better than his parents. But that isn’t saying much.
Joram has no faith in God at all as we see in 2 Kings 3:10. There was no water for their soldiers or there animals and Joram’s reaction is to conclude that God is against them. This is not a godly attitude.
On the other hand, Jehoshaphat, who was a godly king, displays the right attitude by seeking out God’s will (2 Kings 3:11). God is always with us. And even when we are not walking closely with him He is ready and willing to guide us. In fact, a difficult situation is a perfect time to seek God and get closer to Him.
Elisha isn’t too crazy about meeting with Joram, but out of respect for the godly Jehoshaphat, he agrees (2 Kings 3:14). God will not bless mockers and cynics. But He is more than willing to meet with those whose hearts are truly seeking Him.
I think Elisha was quite disturbed at the arrival at these kings and needs something to set his spirit right before he advises them. So he asks for some music (2 Kings 3:15). This shows us the power of music and how it can get our minds focused on God before we come to him in prayer or to learn (as in church). Of course, the music needs to be God-centered. If it is, it can prepare our hearts to meet with God.
God promises to provide water but in a miraculous manner – without rain (2 Kings 3:16). But the people must dig trenches to trap the water and they must do this before God supplies the water. God did what He could do -provide water. The people did what they could do – dig the trenches. God always lets us participate in what He is doing. Almost always we need to go first – to demonstrate our faith in Him.
The next day God provided so much water that it was everywhere (2 Kings 3:20). This was a blessing. The amount of blessing that the people would experience was directly proportional to the amount of work they did to receive the blessing. The more trenches and the larger the trenches they dug, the more water (blessing) they would receive. So often God is willing to bless us but we aren’t ready to receive it. So His blessing passes us by, just like this water would have passed these people by if they had not dug the trenches. It was hard work, but well worth it.
Back in 1975 there was this movie called The Man Who Would Be King staring Sean Connery and Michael Caine. In it two British officers are mistaken for gods by a local people. Rather than tell the people the truth the men play along for selfish reasons. Eventually their decision turns deadly. If you have not seen this movie I highly recommend it. It is a great commentary on human nature.
We see something similar in Acts 14:11-13 where the people of Lystra believe that Paul and Barnabas are the Greek gods Hermes and Zeus in human form. It was a common belief that gods came to earth as humans back then. But rather than taking advantage of the people for personal gain, as the men did in the movie, Paul and Barnabas tell them the truth – they (Paul and Barnaba) are human beings just like they are.
Paul and Barnabas tell the people very directly that their gods are useless and should be abandoned (2 Kings 14:15). But try as they might, the people did not believe. Some people are so set in their beliefs that hearing the truth will have no affect on them. All we can do is explain to them who God is and let them make their decisions. We can simply plant seeds. Only God can make faith grow.
Sometimes the persecution that one Christian goes through for Christ can be a great encouragement to others. Such is the case when Paul is stoned and left for dead (2 Kings 14:19-20). Despite this Paul strengthened believers and encouraged them but also reminded them of the suffering that they might go through (2 Kings 14:21-22).
Upon return to Antioch – the church that sent them out to evangelize – Paul and Barnabas report everything that happened to them (2 Kings 14:27). God has appointed some people to be “goers” and some people to be “senders”. I think it is important for the goers to let the senders now the results of their efforts. This encourages the senders to continue to send others out to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ.
There are many places in the Psalms where the psalmist prays for the destruction of those who are enemies of God and His people. Psalm 140 contains such verses (Psalm 140:9-11). I realize this is biblical but I find myself torn between praying for those I know hate God. Sometimes I want to pray that God change their hearts. Sometimes I want to ask God to destroy them.
Comments? Questions? I’d love to hear from you. Please feel free to contact me about this post
Seek To Serve
Today’s Bible reading: Leviticus 25:47-27:13; Mark 10:32-52; Psalm 45:1-17; Proverbs 10:22
The concept of buying back fellow Israelites, as mentioned in Leviticus 25:49, is another aspect of Jewish society put into place by God to foreshadow the coming of Jesus. When Jesus died on the cross and spent 3 days in hell He was “purchasing” the freedom of all who believe in Him. Without Christ, every single person ever conceived owes a debt they cannot pay due to their sinfulness. But by dying and going to hell, Jesus (who was God) paid that debt and those who believe in Him will have their “accounts settled” by God. In other words, the debt has been paid and the person can go free just like in Leviticus 25:49. Isn’t that awesome? God is not only the one against whom we have sinned but He is also the judge. Yet, He is also the one who pays our penalty for the sins we committed against Him. God has gone to great lengths to set us free from the penalty of sin. I hope you will take Him up on His offer.
Leviticus 26 contains some very different promises to Israel based on their performance. If Israel follows God they will be incredibly blessed. If they do not, they will be incredibly cursed. Is God bi-polar? No. God’s purpose for Israel was to demonstrate who He is through them. God’s plan all along was to reconcile the entire world – Jew and Gentile – to Himself as stated at the beginning of this post. God wants all people to know about Him and believe in Him and be saved. It was through Israel that God was going to do this. Either way – if Israel obeyed or not – the world would see the power of God. The blessing were so extreme and the curses were so extreme that no one would be able to see what was happening to Israel and wonder what was going on. In this way the entire world would come to know God.
The best blessing of all is Leviticus 26:11-12. God was going to live among Israel. They would “host” God on earth. How cool was that? Talk about a guest of honor.
Notice how the punishments from God (Leviticus 26:14-43) gradually increase in strength. God is not looking for a single misstep when He can annihilate us. He simply tries to get our attention and remind us to get back on track. We have the free-will to choose to do so or not. If we decide not to, God will try a little harder to get our attention. I think we clearly see this happening in the United States today. It seems like we can never solve any of our problems before another problem pops up. Yet despite all the things going wrong we refuse to take notice of God and turn to Him. So God will turn up the heat a little more until one of two things happen: we finally turn back to Him or we collapse. As much as I am praying for the former, I can’t help but fear we are headed for the latter.
No matter what happens, though, God will never turn His back on us (Leviticus 26:44). He may allow us to be conquered and destroyed (something I think is a distinct possibility) but if that does happen He will keep His promise to love each and every person.
Today’s reading in Leviticus 27 describes the rules for “consecrating” someone to God. By this process someone dedicated himself or another person to live for God’s purpose. This would cost the person something so it was more than just words that could easily be broken. Anyone wishing to do this would have to consider the cost of doing so. I think God required payment to make sure that only the people who really wanted to do it would do it. Otherwise everyone would do it which would eliminate its meaning.
Notice that the age of majority in Israel appears to be 20 years old (Leviticus 27:3, 5). In our New Testament readings I have mentioned a couple of times that of Jesus’s 12 disciples all but Peter were probably teenagers (younger than 20).
Every word in the Bible has something to say Mark 10:32 is no exception. Here we see Jesus walking in front of His disciples on His way to Jerusalem. Jesus is going there to be executed. Nevertheless, He continues to lead His disciples knowing exactly what is ahead of Him. Its sad to think that Jesus was so brave in going to the cross for me, yet I am not nearly as brave when it comes to living for Him on this earth.
In Mark 10:33-34 Jesus tells His disciples what will happen to Him. They still thought He was the Messiah so for them to hear that He would be turned over to Rome – Israel’s enemy and oppressor – had to be very confusing for them.
Despite Jesus’s telling them what was going to happen the disciples still didn’t get it. James and John still apparently thought that Jesus was going to be setting up His earthly kingdom very soon so they ask to be his #1 and #2 assistants (Mark 10:37). Jesus replies by telling them that they will “drink from the same cup” as He but He was implying that they too would suffer just like Him. After Jesus dies, rises from the dead, and ascends into heaven, the disciples became persecuted for their faith. Records show that all but John died as a martyr. This still happens today in countries that are hostile to the Bible. As I write this a former-Muslim Christian pastor (who also happens to be an American citizen) is in prison in Iran where he is being tortured for his beliefs. (Read)
But true leadership is not found in positions of power, as Jesus explains. Leaders are to be servants. They should not seek to be served but to serve others (Mark 10:44-45). This goes against everything society tells us. And is, frankly, one of the main reasons why our leaders are inept and corrupt. To truly lead, one must follow the example of Jesus who lead through inner strength and by serving others for their good rather than His own.
In Psalm 45:1 the author announces that he is reciting a poem that he wrote from his own heart. Have you ever thought about writing a poem or song to God or for God? I have attempted to write some worship songs, but admittedly I haven’t been able to finish them. It is a goal of mine to finish one someday (lyrics only; I can’t write music). This poem describes God’s power and the honor due Him. It describes a bride (the modern-day church) that will marry Jesus in heaven. Did you know that there will be a wedding ceremony in heaven between Jesus and Christian-believers? We’ll see details of that much later this year.
I’ve heard that there are more verses in the Bible about money than any other topic. I think this is because money can have too much power and influence over us so that it draws us away from God. But no matter how much money a person accumulates on this earth they start the eternal part of their life (in heave or hell) with zero dollars. So what is wealth? Real wealth is simply a blessing from God (Proverbs 10:22).
Comments? Questions? I’d love to hear from you. Please feel free to contact me about this post
There Is No Reason To Be Afraid of God
Today’s Bible reading: Genesis 50; Exodus 1, 2:1-10; Matthew 16:13-28, 17:1-9; Psalms 21:1-13; Proverbs 5:1-6
God had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that they would become the fathers of a great nation. These men had faith that God would keep His promise. What started out as one man (Abraham) and his small family had grown to enough people to “fill the land” (Exodus 1:7). God kept His promise. Israel is becoming a large nation and will continue to get larger. Notice that God never told these patriarchs how He would make Israel a great nation. None of these three men had any clue that their family would face severe famine and have to move to Egypt. God doesn’t give us the details. He gives us the promise. Its up to us to believe and act on that belief.
At one point Joseph was the second most powerful man in Egypt. He had found favor in the eyes of Pharaoh due to his wisdom and ability to manage the famine crisis. But by Exodus 1:8 all that is over. Pharaoh had died and a new king came to power who didn’t have the same point of view on Joseph. This king fears the now large Israelite population so he enslaves them. Power and fame are fleeting. They are only last as long as one’s admirers. We shouldn’t chase after them because not only won’t they last but, even worse, they often lead us away from God. In Joseph’s case he handled power and fame well. But for most people, these are very dangerous things.
The new Pharaoh is so afraid of the Israelites that he orders all baby boys killed. This was intended to limit their future military power. But notice how the Egyptian midwives “feared God”. They probably didn’t worship the true God of the Israelites but they had seen, and had heard stories of, how the Israelits had been blessed by God and they didn’t want to mess with Him. So they disobeyed Pharaoh’s orders and let the boys live. When our leaders tell us to do something that goes against God, we have every right, and obligation, to disobey. Our leaders are only human. Not all of their choices will be correct. We should have no fear in dismissing any commands that are not in line with God’s will.
In Exodus 2 we read the beginning of the life of Moses. Notice how Moses’ parents are unnamed. Moses came from humble beginnings, not from a famous family. Yet God will use him to do some awesome things. God works the same way today. God uses those who are not well known or powerful so that He will get the glory. If God used a famous person instead, the masses would give the glory to that person and would not attribute it to God. Not to mention that “successful” human beings (as defined by the world: rich, powerful, famous) probably don’t recognize God to begin with.
In Matthew 16:15 Jesus asks His disciple who they think He is. Peter answers “You are the Messiah”. The Jews knew that their Scriptures (what we call the Old Testament) foretold of a coming messiah (savior). The Jews at this time believed that the Messiah would be a military leader who would liberate Israel from the occupying Romans. Just a few verses later Jesus tells them that He will suffer at the hands of the Jewish leaders and be killed. This obviously confused them because they thought the Messiah would be a conquerer.
In verses 24-26 Jesus talks about the cost of being a disciple. The cost of being a disciple is everything – our entire lives. We must put away our own ideas and selfish desires. Nothing is worth more than our soul, not even the entire world! That is because our souls are eternal and the world is temporary. Even if we could gain the entire world in our lifetime, we would lose it when we die anyway.
Jesus predicts His own return to earth in the future in verse 27. The Bible is about 21% prophecy, some of which has come true, such as over 100 prophecies about Jesus that came true when He first came to earth, and some which has not, including the ones about Jesus’s future return to earth.
In Matthew 17 we have the cool story of the transfiguration of Jesus. Jesus took His closest disciples up on a mountain, and before their eyes, shed His earthly body and showed them His heavenly glory. This was not a miracle. The miracle was the fact that God placed Himself in a human body to begin with. This was the temporary cessation of that miracle to reveal His true appearance to these lucky disciples. The disciples certainly got to witness some cool stuff.
Notice Matthew 17:7 where Jesus tells the three disciples not to be afraid. This was just after God spoke. This happens repeatedly in the Bible. God speaks and those who hear Him are afraid. But Jesus tells us not to be afraid. There is no reason to be afraid of God. He isn’t out to scare us or hurt us. He is out to bless us if we only let Him.
Again in verse 9 Jesus predicts that He will be raised from the dead. From this point on Jesus will be preparing His disciples for His death.
In Psalm 21 today we see that a “king” rejoices at God’s strength. Kings are pretty powerful. They have armies and great military strength. But the king in this Psalm rejoices not in his own power and strength but in that of the Lord. We should live the same way. Our success in life is not from our own skill and intelligence. We have success because God gave us the skill and intelligence to succeed.
I think it is pretty cool that there are so many ways that we should celebrate God. One of those ways is with music and singing (Psalm 21:13).
Proverbs tells us that immoral temptation is “sweet” and “smooth”. But the reality of immoral behavior is “bitter as poison”. What seems like a good idea may very well not be. How do we know? We measure everything against God’s word to see if it is “moral” or not. That is why reading, studying, and meditating on the Bible is so important.
Walking Through The Word 