Ponder. SHOUT!

"Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they’d been told!"

Luke 2:19 - 20

Again, when Jesus, aged 12, was 'lost' in the temple, Mary 'treasured all these things in her heart'. She kept them to herself until, as an old lady, she confided them to Luke, remembering all things about her dear son.

She would not have forgotten a single detail.
Barnes' notes say:
"A "mother" forgets none of those things which occur respecting her children. Everything they do or suffer - everything that is said of them, is treasured up in her mind; and often she thinks of those things, and anxiously seeks what they may indicate respecting the future character and welfare of her child.

Pondered - Weighed. This is the original meaning of the word "weighed." She kept them; she revolved them; she "weighed" them in her mind, giving to each circumstance its just importance, and anxiously seeking what it might indicate respecting her child.

In her heart - In her mind. She "thought" of these things often and anxiously."
The shepherds, on the other hand, did not forget either. They could NOT keep this amazing event to themselves, and told everyone they could, giving God the glory and the praise. 

Who believed them? Would I? Could I? Or would cold reason, dismissal of 'superstition', disbelief, ignorance, have come creeping in?

God, give me eyes to see You at work in our world
a heart to believe
and a willing will to obey.

Singing. Good for the soul.

If you are one of those people who love to sing and are blessed with a beautiful voice, you can stop reading right now. This isn’t for you.

No, I’m speaking for those of us who have struggled to hold a tune, were never picked for the school choir and who have learned, from a very early age, to mouth the words whenever there is the chance that someone else might hear them.

I’m one of those women. That’s why I like to worship with a large and very, very noisy band. I don’t like to hear myself attempting to singI LOVE worship songs - the lyrics, the melodies and even the (sometimes) seemingly endless repetition of some of the choruses.

But I still wish I could sing properly. I carry the tune in my head, where it is faultless, but what comes out of my mouth is sadly lacking.  My voice is quite low-pitched and often I can’t sing with other women. My best singing experiences have been in a large formal church setting where there was a choir with a number of bass and tenor singers. It was a satisfying experience to growl along with the men.

But, as that doesn’t happen very often, I have learned to sing silently. It’s just kinder to everyone else.

Until one day I came across these Scriptures:

“I, even I, will sing to the Lord; I will praise the Lord, the God of Israel, in song.” Judges 5:3, NIV.

“Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing the praises of your name.” 2 Samuel 22:50 NIV

And so on. And on. The Psalms are full of sung praises to God. Out loud. Singing in the Bible was never in silence – it wouldn’t have been singing, otherwise.

I realised that it wasn’t enough to just sing in my head and my heart, good though that was: I actually had to sing with my mouth. Ouch. I mean, I don’t even like the sound of my own voice.

But I did sing. Alone, where no one could hear me.

As I sang out loud, I began to discover all kinds of benefits.

Singing aloud aligned my heart to God. I experienced a deep sense of peace and release from worry as I entered the workplace.  I usually felt calmer and, often, more joyful: Psalm 71:23 says, “My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you – I whom you have delivered.”

Singing was a deeply satisfying way of connecting my heart to God’s.

I experienced the truth of Psalm 63:5, which says: “I will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.”

Singing aloud changed my attitude. When I was finding my relationship with one of my bosses challenging, I read 2 Chronicles 20:22: “As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.” (NIV)  Singing praises to God defeated the wiles of the enemy. My boss didn’t leave, but something shifted and I no longer felt harassed by her.

And, amazingly – because I never expected this – I found that my singing improved. As I sang, the practice released inhibitions and I was able to begin to pitch my voice more correctly. I learned to choose the right key in which to sing and began to gently harmonise when my voice’s range did not enable me to reach high notes.

I extended the practice of singing loudly in my car to singing quietly when I walked or cycled. The spiritual benefits far outweighed any potential embarrassment!

So, join me, even if – especially if – you think you can’t sing. You can. And you, with the voice of an angel, who has just read to the end of this despite the Health Warning at the start? Please sing whenever and wherever you can – loudly and enthusiastically. You are a blessing to the world and I thank you.

Even if a little part of me is still a tiny bit envious. I’m working on it.

This was my second attempt, which I submitted to incourage.me.  Unsuccessfully, but never mind, Writing is good for my soul, too. I might try again next time....

Sharing

Stewardship  - a charity which encourages generosity - reflects on the wonder of the incarnation and Mary's response in the wonderful hymn of praise she sings.

The reflection at the end caught my eye: 
"Do we sing songs of gratitude when we give? Here is Mary, a young teen, receiving the gift of a son, but with serious strings attached. This was not a child that she would be able to keep to herself; he was to be shared with the world as a saviour, a living sacrifice to reunite us with our God. And Mary sings in praise and thanksgiving."

Not a child she would be able to keep to herself. I have been reflecting on a Christmas without any of our children at home, which is the first time ever. Son at in-laws, daughter also at in-laws on the other side of the world. And, quite frankly, have been feeling sorry for myself, battling sadness in what is supposed to be a joyful season.

But none of us can keep our children to ourselves. They are God's gift to us, gifts to be shared. We rejoice when our children share their lives with a soul-mate in marriage. We are pleased and proud when they make choices to serve others in their work and in their play, giving generously of their free time. We admire our son and daughter-in-law who pour themselves out in teaching children who have had a much poorer start in life. We watch in wonder as our daughter and son-in-law choose to work among the neediest of this world, refugees in a war-torn area.

We have been privileged - for which we praise and thank God - to have had these amazing people living with us for much of their lives. Of course, we are still in close relationship - just not physically present. We do well to remember that we should not expect to keep God's gifts to ourselves, nor is it good for us.

And so we can join in as the Stewardship reflection finishes with a prayer:
"Today, we pray that Advent may be a time for us each to kindle, or rekindle, a spirit of gratitude and praise to God to be evident as we give to and receive from one another."

Gratitude and praise. Simple.

Amen.

Struggles

I've not been posting much at all recently... for all kinds of reasons. Just recording a reference to the doldrums here: If Jesus loves me,why do I feel so does my coffee taste so BLAH?

Why, indeed?

The answer to the doldrums is, though, praise and positivity and prayer and perseverance in studying the words of God....

Advent. Darkness

In the darkness

of the late afternoon

a heavy sadness

comes upon my soul.

This Advent is a lonely time.

Loved ones so far:

my heart longs to see them.

I am so burdened

by this sense of distance.

This Advent, I long for peace.

Mary, without

mother, sisters or friends

waited all alone

for the coming babe.

This Advent is a waiting game.

In the darkness

of the late afternoon

I give Him my pain

and look up with thanks.

This Advent will be a joyful time.

I keep my eyes

fixed hopefully on Him

who is my Saviour

in these troubled days.

This Advent, I choose to praise.

Louie speaks of waiting.  Lisa writes so beautifully of waiting in the dark:

There is a time
in that long last hour
we begin to believe
it will always
be night

In the spreading pool of dark
there is a silence
so profound
it carries
weight

And cold?
It fills us

Immobilized by
this invading
lack of
light

We are numb

Speak to the night
my heart

Speak to the night
a word of hope

This bitter blackness
This copious and
convincing cold

Cannot
Will not
Shall not
last

Hold on
to this

Salvation
comes

-lisa, 15 December, 2013

Church

I'm sure I've mentioned before about struggling, sometimes, to experience real praise and worship in church. Sometimes, I've determined to go with a correct attitude, regardless of how I feel. Sometimes, I've come away feeling even more disassociated - it's almost as if the choice of hymns and prayers have been chosen to alienate me even further!
Yet, as Lisa notes in her post 'When Church Leaves You Dry'. it IS all about our attitude. About finding Jesus in the 'whitespace' outside of the Sunday morning gathering.
It's about listening to the words in spite of the tune, listening to the spirit in spite of the words, listening to hearts in spite of prejudices...finding crumbs of community over coffee afterwards, seeking to give...  a reminder to rejoice in the 'small things', in the white spaces that 'surround the gathering'.

Church - the ongoing saga...

The debate in my head about ‘church’ just refuses to go away. Many a conversation worms its way around to pulling at the knot in my thinking. I follow one thread, only to cause others to tangle and tighten further. I never was much good at knitting…

So here is the latest. I long to ‘go’ to ‘church’ to praise and worship God…BUT, if the music isn’t lively or feet-tappingly good, I don’t feel I am worshipping. I don’t even WANT to worship. So, going to a church where traditional hymns are sung, or where an organ belts out a hymn, that means I am going under sufferance rather than to worship.

How wrong is that? Very.  A friend has just sent me an article about praise and worship. I don't know where it's from, but I'm going to quote from it. Lavishly.

There cannot be true worship without praise, praise produces worship. Praise means to speak well of God, praise is to acknowledge what God has done. Praise invokes God's presence. It gets God's attention, it creates an atmosphere. Praise is to the new Testament what sacrifices, and offering was to the Old Testament, praise is sacrifice. Psalm 22:3 says that God inhabits the praises of His people, so when God's people praise Him, He draws near and worship results. God has given each of us a praise ministry with a worship "team" that is never any farther away than an inch below our noise: our lips, mouth, and tongue...

...When we praise God, His presence comes near, and in His presence all His true glory can be released.  Praise is something we can do anytime, anywhere. As we learn to exercise our personal praise ministry, we can create "islands of Eden" around us wherever we go. There is an inseparable link between our praise and the manifest presence of God...Praise attracts the presence of God. True praise is an exercise, a discipline that flows from a pure heart and a humble spirit. When we brag about God we are acknowledging His sovereignty and Lordship as well as our own dependence on Him. That spirit of humility is just what God is looking for in us. If we approach God with a humble spirit He will do two things: When we come near God, He will come near to us; and when we humble ourselves before Him, He will lift us up....

worship results when God accepts our praise and manifests His presence to us....Worship: Comes from the word; (Worth) which means, the quality or value of something. So what is of most worth to you?

Worship is the ultimate intimate experience....You know you have been in true worship when you started worshiping with a heavy load, lot's of hurt, heart ache and pain; and then when your finish. You've left that behind on the altar because you get up, light and worry free. Better yet God took it away from you because He was (worth) more to you than your problems and pain and you said to your self no matter what I'm going to press my way into His presence!

Worship is an outward experience of an inward change.

The purpose of worship is to bring us closer to the Lord, to change us, make us like Him, and to get to know the Lord.

The place of worship is created in praise, Judah means praise....

What happens when you are in worship?

1. Things change.

2. You get instructions.

3. You get direction.

4. You get revelation.

Worship Is What God Releases When You Praise Him

Praise is both a precursor to and a part of worship, but the two are not the same. For praise is something we do, while worship is something God releases. We initiate praise; it comes from within our hearts. As we perfect or mature our praise, as we come into one accord with one another, and as our spirit aligns with God's Spirit, He releases His presence into our midst. That mingling of God's presence with our praise is called worship.

Worship, then, begins with us as we lift up our praise, but it ends with God as He releases His presence among us. True worship requires both. ...

To "worship in spirit and truth" has the idea of mingling with God spirit to Spirit with our hearts attuned to His heart and our thoughts attuned to His thoughts. In fact, the Greek word for "worship," literally means to kiss, like a dog licking his master's hand; to prostrate oneself in homage. Worship then means to show honor, worth-ship, and obeisance to royalty. It is also a word suggestive of intimate contact, of being in the very presence of someone of great importance, and of a companion who is always at his master's side. Worship involves intimacy; in-to-me-see; see-in-to-me.

True Praise and Worship Requires A Pure Heart

Worship takes place when God dwells in our praise and begins to mingle with us. In a sense, we get close enough to God to kiss Him. Ultimately, worship depends not on us, but on God. God wants nothing more than to mingle with us in unbroken and unhindered fellowship, but it is not automatic. He requires that we desire Him and seek Him with all our heart, but He also promises that when we do that, we will find Him. "You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13).

This is why pure-hearted, wholehearted praise is so important as I spoke of before. Because without praise there is no presence, and without presence there is no worship. Tragically, this is exactly what happens week after week after week in thousands of churches all over the world. Many churches have not experienced genuine worship in years. They follow the same format every week, sing the same hymns or praise and worship songs the same way all the time, hear the same kinds of powerless prayers and the same insipid sermons every week, and the spirit is as dead as a doornail because their heart is no longer in it. Sad to say that this is true not only in many "mainline" churches, but in many evangelical and Pentecostal/charismatic churches as well.

God doesn't want it to be this way. He wants to bless us with His presence. The critical issue is the condition of our heart. If we seek God with a humble, hungry, and whole heart, lifting up sincere, heartfelt praise, He will respond by drawing us into His presence. In this way, we can recreate "Eden" through praise.

This whole matter of praise and worship also relates to exposing our hidden glory. When we praise God, He sends His presence, and His presence releases the glory. When we live in "Eden" our glory will come out. That's the way God designed things from the beginning. What this means is that worship involves much more than just praise of our lips. It also involves the meditations of our heart and the work that we do. Our worship consists not only of acknowledging God's nature, attributes, and character with our praise and thanksgiving, but also in our work, our good deeds, our service, and our lifestyle.  

When we live and walk in "Eden," everything we say, think, and do becomes an act of worship.

Everything. Even - especially - going 'to' church.

The body’s response to God – his power and glory

David, in Psalm 63 (v1 - 7), echoes the individual's response to God:

O God, you are my God,earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.

Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.

Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.

Can we echo this as a church?

Earnestly look for him
Long for him
See him at work in mighty power
Can't stop talking about how wonderful he is
Wave at him in excitement
Say that nothing else will do, nothing else will satisfy us but to have him here with us.
Sing with happiness because he is near

Is he our superhero?