Word for Today, Thu, 2 Nov 2000, Why I Sing
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
I love to sing, and my favorite things to sing are songs either
about God, for God, or to God. Essentially from the time I wake
up until the time I go to bed at night, (and often in the
recesses of my mind while I am resting), there are songs of praise
to God in my heart. This is a good thing.
I'd like to tell you a story about myself. You see, throughout
my life I have generally been an optimistic person. But there
was one period in my life where I was not optimistic. I was
depressed about everything. The reason was that I was
continually reminded about my problems every time I came home. I
was criticized, told what I was doing wrong, why I was wrong
about this and that, and even how I was being disobedient to
God. Some of that may well have been true, I would not take
issue with that. But to have that kind of negative talk
continually thrust at you makes it extremely difficult to think
or do anything positive.
After years of being in this kind of a situation, I became
desperate. I cried out to God for relief. I made several wrong
choices during that time. Even so, God was faithful. He
answered my cries, and, as the saying goes, He literally put a
new song in my heart.
I came to realize it was all of the negative talk that brought me
to such a low point in my life. Since there was so much
negativity embedded deep within at this point in time, I needed
something else to replace it. So I thought about every positive
thing about God that I had ever read in the Bible, sung in songs,
or experienced during my life.
As I began to meditate on God's Word once again, I came to
realize that this is precisely what God had intended for me from
the very beginning! And not just for me, for each one of us! Do
you know that both the Old and New Testaments in the Bible
actually command us to do just that? Joshua 1:8 reminds me "Do
not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on
it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything
written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful".
Bob Kauflin, in his message, "Worship Matters", reminds us that
scripture also tells us to "Sing a joyful song to the LORD..."
these words are littered throughout the books of Psalms. They
are written for a very good reason. When we sing, meditate, and
continually think about God, instead of worrying about the things
around us, we take on a different focus - who God is, and what
His divine purpose is for us - that is, for us to bring praise to
Him, and have a personal relationship with Him. If there is not
a single other thing we EVER do, but we do these things, bring
praise to God, and have a deeply personal relationship with Him,
I assure you, everything, (and I MEAN everything) else will come
into the proper perspective.
God does call us to be well balanced people, but He gives us
everything we need to become that way. It begins with
recognizing who He is.
Hymns of praise:
Sing praise to God who reigns above
The God of all Creation
The God of Power, The God of might
The God of our salvation
With healing balm my soul He fills
And every faithless murmur stills
To God all praise and glory!
Chorus of Prayer and Praise, recognizing who God is:
You are my strength when I am weak
You are the treasure that I seek
You are my all in all
When I am down You lift me up
When I am dry You fill my cup
You are my all in all
Jesus, Lamb of God, worthy is Your Name
Jesus, Lamb of God, worthy is Your Name!
Dear Lord, please accept my humble prayer and songs of praise
to You today. I confess that I am in constant need of You, and I
need Your forgiveness and Your continual healing touch upon my
spirit, in the deepest places that only You can see. As a song
reminds me, and I strongly identify with, O God, "O come to my
heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for You".
Please touch the hearts and lives of my friends all over the
world today. Make a difference in our lives today. Allow us to
change from within, that we may also make a difference and be an
encouragement to all that we see and interact with today. I ask
each of these things humbly, in Jesus' Name. Amen.
Brother Brian
Subject: Worship Matters -- Sing to Remember, Remember to Sing
To: masinick@yahoo.com
From: Crosswalk.com <newsletters@crosswalk.com>
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WORSHIP MATTERS, with Bob Kauflin
Sing to Remember, Remember to Sing
Have you ever played a game called Encore? It goes like
this. A word is read out loud to two opposing teams.
Let's say the word is "moon." The first team has 30
seconds to sing a line from a song that has "moon" in
it.
"...Shine on, shine on harvest moon up in the sky..."
"As soon as someone in the group sings at least eight
consecutive words from the song, the other team faces
the same challenge, using the same word, from a
different song.
"...Moon River, wider than a mile, I'm crossing you in
style someday..."
The game continues until one team fails to come up with
an appropriate song line in the allotted time. It's a
lot of fun, partly because players often launch into
heartfelt performances of songs they haven't sung or
heard in years. Older players may dredge up songs from
several decades earlier. It's surprising, and sometimes
embarrassing, the odd lyrics that lurk in the recesses
of our minds.
Encore demonstrates the first reason God has given us
singing: to help deepen and develop our relationship
with Him. How does singing do that? By helping us to
remember and meditate on truths about God.
Colossians 3:16 commands us to "let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly ... as you sing psalms, hymns and
spiritual songs ..." It seems there is a connection
between singing and letting God's Word dwell in us. Or
any words, for that matter.
Before written language was common, poems and music were
often used during and after significant events -- such
as treaties, blessings, covenant promises, and
prophecies -- to help people remember what had taken
place. It's difficult for us to imagine a president
singing his inaugural vows, but it wouldn't have been
out of place in many ancient cultures.
As Moses and the Israelites were about to enter the
Promised Land, God told Moses that Israel was going to
reject Him and break His covenant. But God didn't just
tell Moses. He had Moses teach Israel a song, so that
"when many disasters and difficulties come upon them,
this song will testify against them, because it will not
be forgotten by their descendants" (Deuteronomy 31:21).
We don't forget what we sing.
In the fourth century, a heretic named Arius promoted
false doctrines concerning the deity of Christ by
setting his theology to tunes that were easy to pick up.
Fortunately, Ambrose of Milan countered with his own
compositions that reflected truth. Much later on, one of
Martin Luther's unsympathetic contemporaries complained
that Luther's followers were "singing themselves into
his doctrines."
Here's a test. How many people can quote (or even name)
one of John Wesley's sermons? Very few.
But how many can sing some of the words to "Hark the
Herald Angels Sing?," or "Jesus Christ is Ris'n Today?,"
or "O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing"? Millions.
John's brother, Charles, wrote those hymns, and about
6,500 others, to help people remember what he and his
brother taught. I'd say that approach was pretty
effective. Singing helps the word of Christ dwell in us
richly by helping us remember it.
Next time we'll see how singing helps us meditate on
God's Word, both individually and corporately.
Until then, thanks for seeking to bring honor to God's
name in all you do.
For His Glory Alone,
Bob
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Brian Masinick, "The Mas", mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
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