Paul’s songs: The Lesson of the Tambourine, by Barbara Alexander, Villers-St-Paul, France

But Jesus receives highest honor

Romans 14:11 [Isaiah 45:23] “As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will confess and give praise to God.”

Philippians 2:9-11 [Isaiah 45:23] God elevated Jesus to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

My friend Barb lives in a small village in northern France. She’s very active in this community. Here’s Barb:

Yesterday morning, as is usual for most every Sunday in my life, I went to church. I long ago noted that drums are the only percussion instrument played during the worship time. So, being a musical person myself, I bring my little tambourine-on-a-stick in my purse each week, and I play it appropriately to add to the spirit of the livelier songs.

Occasionally one of the little kids in church (who know me from being in our home group together) sidles up to me with a hand outstretched toward my tambourine, ready to play it. Yesterday it was little 5-year-old Paul. So I placed his right hand on the wooden stick, tapping his left palm to the beat of the music, as he’s seen me do. My hands remained on top of his hands to make sure he played the instrument correctly.

We were both enjoying the dinging sound of the tambourine and how it added to the joy of the worship songs as I guided his hands. But every now and then Paul would begin his own rhythm and tapping, and I could feel his resistance to my guidance. When this began happening, I tried to gently encourage him. “Relax, Paul,” I’d say. “Let my hands help you do the rhythm.” After these words, he’d ease up and let me guide him, which kept a better rhythm than he made on his own. And we both enjoyed the sound we heard and were pleased with our contribution to the worship time.

In the midst of this experience, the thought occurred to me that it’s just like what God wants to do in my life. It was as if I heard Him saying, “Relax, my daughter – let My hands – My infinite hands – guide yours, let Me make the music you’re trying to make, and let Me send it through your life to those around you.” Wow! What a message!!

And the more I thought on it, the more it struck me how true it is – He’s got His infinite hands on my finite ones, and if I don’t resist Him, He will guide me to fulfill His perfect will for my life – He’ll make His music – the BEST music – in my life for those around me to hear – His words drawing them to Himself. All because I submitted to Him as my Sovereign Guide to help me “play my tambourine.”

I guess it all boils down to submission, doesn’t it? Just like little Paul, when he submitted to the guidance of my adult hands covering his childish ones. My prayer now: “Father, help me to see where I’m resisting You in my life, where I’m not letting You make Your music in and through me. I now submit to Your infinite Lordship. In Jesus’ Powerful, Almighty Name, Amen.”

Praise him with the tambourine and dancing; praise him with strings and flutes! Psalm 150:4

Paul’s Songs: Praise while suffering

But Jesus changed everything

Acts 16:22-25 The [Philippian] city officials ordered Paul and Silas stripped and severely beaten with wooden rods. Then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. So he put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.

Last week some friends and I discussed how to deal with anger in our lives. I confessed that almost daily, my first reaction when I see or hear about cruelty and injustice isn’t praise; it’s profound frustration and anger. Frustration because of a feeling of helplessness, and anger because of how wrong it is to mistreat any of God’s beloveds, those for whom Jesus laid down his life. That is, every person. Sometimes I can’t sleep because of worry about who will be targeted next.

You too?

So I’m challenged by Paul and Silas’s reaction when they themselves were victims of cruelty and injustice. You can read the whole story in Acts 16. They suffered for doing good, for freeing a slave girl from bondage to a demon. Her owners lashed out against Paul and Silas because of greed: this girl had earned them a lot of money by telling fortunes.

I realize I’m writing this post primarily to myself! Would I sing and worship in the middle of the night if I were locked in a jail cell, my body aching from severe beating, my feet trapped in stocks making sleep impossible? How could Paul and Silas do this?

Flipping back to Paul’s conversion story in Acts 9, in verse 16 the Lord says, “I will tell Saul [who became Paul] how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.” Paul embraced the Gospel with his eyes wide open. No “health and wealth” promise here. Paul knew what following Jesus would mean for him. The treatment he and Silas received in Philippi was neither a surprise nor an isolated event.

Paul’s writings give us some other clues to why he could sing and worship in such dire circumstances. He considered suffering a privilege; in cahoots with Jesus in this way, he could draw closer to his Lord’s loving heart (2 Corinthians 1:5).

God taught Paul valuable lessons through his suffering:

We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely on God … We have placed our confidence in him. … We have lived with a God-given holiness and sincerity in all our dealings. We have depended on God’s grace, not on our own human wisdom (2 Corinthians 1:8-12).

God clarified Paul’s values: My old self has been crucified with Christ. … So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20).

Singing and praise in the face of injustice and cruelty is above all an expression of trust. God is still sovereign. God is good, though people often are not. He already told us the end of this story: his justice will ultimately defeat evil perpetrated by the present but temporary ruler of this world, the enemy of our souls.

Further, while careful listening to our anger may clarify appropriate action to take in response, the first law of the Kingdom is love (John 13:34). Even for bad actors, as Paul himself was before his “But God” moment as he traveled the road to Damascus to kill the Lord’s followers there (Acts 9:1, 3). Won’t it be fun to hear stories of God’s grace coming out of the world’s present circumstances?

Today, all this is clear to me. I’m praying the Spirit will remind me to trust him and sing in the face of whatever darkness descends tomorrow.

Simeon’s song: a long wait rewarded

But God kept his promise

Luke 2:25-35 Simeon was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah … The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. That day the Spirit led Simeon to the Temple. So, when Mary and Joseph came to present [eight day old] baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying,

Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised.

I have seen your salvation

which you have prepared for all people.

He is a light to reveal God to the nations …

Shutterstock: Lopolo

Jesus’ parents were amazed … Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. … The deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.”

What are you “eagerly waiting” for?

On a walk last week, Dave and I discussed what we each feel we must accomplish before we die. Mine is publishing the book Three-in-One. It’s taking much longer than I expected. Several times I’ve thought I had the final version nailed down. And then one of my early readers comes through with valuable suggestions; each revision has made the book better. I’ve learned that the timeline of my readers doesn’t match mine. I’ve had to practice Simeon’s “eager waiting.”

Can you imagine Simeon’s emotions as he held baby Jesus in his arms, while the Spirit whispered to him, “I’ve kept my promise to you. This tiny baby is the one you’ve been waiting for so long! He will reveal God to the nations!”

That’s exactly my hope for Three-in-One, that it will reveal God in ways that delight us as we wait for Jesus’ return. If readers experience even a part of what has thrilled my heart as I have written this book, all my investment—all my waiting—will be more than worthwhile.

What are you waiting for?

Pure light for the glory of God. Hope. Mercy. Healing balm. A song of joy. Your name. Your Kingdom, Lord; not an earthly kingdom. Your power for salvation; not earthly power. Your will be done. “Song for the Nations” by Jim Gilbert, two versions:

(with lyrics; choir) Note: there’s a mistake on the second-to-last lyric slide. It should say in the peoples of the earth, not to the peoples of the earth.

(with inspirational pics; women’s voices)

Lord, may your Kingdom come in us. In me. Here. Today.

A new song

But God reveals himself to us a day at a time

Revelation 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. (See Revelation 14:3, Psalm 33:3, 40:3, 96:1, 98:1, 144:9, 149:1, Isaiah 42:10.)

We have several gifted songwriters in our congregation, nourishing our worship with their beautiful praise, in a variety of styles and traditions. I can picture one of them composing an amazing anthem for the “thousands and millions of angels around the throne” in Revelation chapter 5.

Can you imagine hearing that mighty chorus? One day, we will!

Meanwhile, though, how can I, with my limited musical gifts, respond to the psalmists’ repeated invitation to sing a new song to the Lord?

It occurs to me today, just off the phone with one of my daughters discussing a challenging medical diagnosis one of our grandchildren has just received, that a “new song” for me today would be to praise God for who he is for us in the middle of this new situation. I have never before worshiped God in the face of this particular circumstance—that’s what makes it new.

That means every day offers an opportunity to sing a new song—even if for some of us it sounds more like joyful noise (Psalm 100:1—apparently that’s OK too!). Each day brings its own joys and sorrows, never exactly like the day or week or month or year before.

What circumstance in your life is calling for a new song of trust today?

Let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God” (Hebrews 13:15).

Don’t these anemones look like they’re singing? Shutterstock: LedyX

In light of our Revelation text, here’s a “new song” from Africa:

Sing Unto the Lord a New Song, by Newlove Annan, sung by One Voice Choir, Ghana,

Doxology

But God’s kingdom encompasses all he created March 28, 2024

Psalm 103:19-22 The Lord has made the heavens his throne; from there he rules over everything. … Praise the Lord, you armies of angels who serve him and do his will. Praise the Lord, everything he has created, everything in all his kingdom.

Litany of Penitence 12

For our failure to commend the faith that is in us

Lord, have mercy upon us,

For we have sinned against you.

In The Psalms, Jesus’s Prayer Book, Volume 3 Psalms 73-106, Douglas D. Webster says:

“Psalm 103 reminds us that we bow before King Jesus. The third stanza widens the circle of praise to include all of creation. All the angels and the heavenly hosts are summoned to worship before the throne of him who rules over all. Total praise. There are no spectators. Everyone is in the choir and everything is centered around the throne of the Lord. … Whatever your perspective on worship styles … in the end we’ll be worshiping together. … The key concept for the future of the human community is doxology.”

So, besides confessing our failure to “commend the faith that is in us,” how can I, how can you, share our hope with all whom we love, so they too can join this worship fest around the Throne? How can we free the River of Life to overflow from our hearts?

Shutterstock: Stanislavskyi

A beautiful hymn, based on Psalm 103, celebrates much of what we’ve been considering this Lent as we’ve worked our way through the Litany of Penitence: Praise my Soul the King of Heaven, by Henry Francis Lyte, 1834, sung by St Laurence’s Church.

This evening our church has a Maundy Thursday service. The word Maundy comes from the Latin for “commandment” – Jesus’s “new” commandment (John 13:34) to love others just as he has loved us. If you know Spanish or Portuguese, think mandamiento or mandamento. The service includes footwashing (John 13:1-17). At the end of the service, the lights will slowly dim as the altar is stripped of all ornamentation (and we remember Jesus’s arrest). As we find ourselves in total darkness, a voice reads Psalm 22. We exit in silence.

Tomorrow, we watch with Mary as her Son hangs on the cross from noon until 3:00 p.m., when he cries “It is finished.” Artists in the congregation have created pieces depicting each of the Stations of the Cross. (I featured last year’s Good Friday artwork on this blog.)

On Saturday, a quiet day of meditation, I’ll post the final prayer from the Litany of Atonement and the final line from Psalm 103.

Easter Sunday at 6:00 a.m., we enter the sanctuary in darkness, and the first half of the service is held by candlelight. Gradually, daylight filters through the stained glass, but remember, the last time we were in this space, it was stripped of all other adornment. When the lights suddenly come on, though, and the organ and trumpets and choir announce Jesus’s resurrection, we see the church filled with fragrant flowers. All of our senses are engaged in this magnificent celebration of restored Life. Once again, we can sing and say “Alleluia,” which we have not done since Lent began.

While all this is wonderful, I find it bittersweet, because Karis loved Easter so much. But in a flash I remember: all we can do is but a shadow of the incredible joy of being in the very Presence of God on his rainbow throne. We may still experience waves of grief. But for her, and for each one of our missing beloved ones and yours, all is glory.

I’ll wish you and your family now a lovely Easter.

Ideas for Lent 2024

But God is holy Feb 16, 2024

Psalm 103:1-2 Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.

I didn’t manage to write a post yesterday, so I’m a day late with my ideas for this year’s Lenten season. Here they are:

Key off Psalm 103, one or two verses at a time, so we keep in mind God’s character.
Use the Litany of Penitence, one strophe at a time so we can think carefully about each one and make whatever confession we need to make, based on the Spirit’s conviction. The Litany has twelve stanzas, so using two per week will bring us to Holy Week.
Keep track of our progress using a Lenten calendar. The one I’ve chosen (thanks, Suzanne Werder) is a journey with Jesus to the cross. I suggest you download and print this and use color and symbols of your choice to represent your experience day by day. Of course, you can use other Scriptures to enrich this plan.

It would be great for us to use half an hour each day for prayer during Lent, but anything we manage to do is better than nothing, right? Decide for yourself how much you want to invest in this spiritual heartcleaning.

Today, and the next couple of days, as we think with King David about God’s holiness in the context of how praiseworthy he is, let’s start with a general confession. “We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength” fits with the first two verses of Psalm 103. Try to write down at least a paragraph of response to the psalm and the confession (below). What does God’s holiness mean to you?

Most holy and merciful Father: We confess to you and to one another and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth, that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word, and deed; by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.

We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength.

We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.

We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.

We have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us.

We have not been true to the mind of Christ.

We have grieved your Holy Spirit.

Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have sinned against you.

Holy Forever, Chris Tomlin