Month: June 2012

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Why Not…Tonight?

“O do not let the Word depart, and close thine eyes against the light; Poor sinner, harden not thy heart: be saved, O tonight.  Tomorrow’s sun may never rise to bless my long deluded sight.  This is the time, O then be wise: be saved, O tonight.  Our God in pity lingers still, and wilt thou thus His love requite?  Renounce at once thy stubborn will: be saved O tonight.  Our blessed Lord refuses none who would to Him their souls unite; Believe, obey, the work is done: be saved O tonight.”

You can’t sing this old hymn without hearing the urgency in the words to turn your life around and giving your life over to God.  But if you read these words closely you might be uncertain as to what you’re actually saying.  For example; what does it mean when you sing verse 3… “and wilt thou thus His love requite?”  The Old English in this verse is rich, so let’s break it down word by word.  ‘Wilt’ is the same as saying will, ‘thou’ is ‘you’ and thus is the same as therefore.  But what does the word ‘requite’ even mean?  In Webster’s dictionary the word requite means to “repay or return”.  Now notice this verse again; “Our God in pity lingers still (translated: God is waiting with compassion for us to come to Him), and wilt thou thus His love requite? (translated: and will you therefore return His love?)  Renounce at once thy stubborn will (translated: declare now that you will stop being so stubborn and…) be saved, O tonight.

Elizabeth Reed penned this old spiritual song in 1842.  Her message of urgency is clear within the chorus as we repeat the pressing question; “O why not tonight?  O why not tonight?  Wilt (will) thou (you) be saved?  (Do you want to go to heaven?)  Then why not tonight?  Written more than 150 years ago and the plea is strong and true today.  But is there still any urgency in this busy life to change our life styles?  Fast cars, tight schedules and misplaced priorities equal a life that is too busy (too stubborn) to slow down and requite anything.  However, if we are really wise we’ll come to realize that this is the time, be saved tonight!

 

If you have never opened God’s word to see what He calls you to do, do that today!  Start in the book of Acts and read how God’s church started.  This a good day to start and remember, Elizabeth Reed was right when she wrote, “tomorrow’s sun may never rise”.  We’re never guaranteed another day, but unless you realize why you have the day you have you will never come to see the urgency of ‘being saved’.

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A World Without Joy!

“Joy to the World, the Lord has come!”  WAIT!  It’s early June, what in the world are we doing talking about (not to mentioning singing about) a Christmas Carol?  Save this song for December, along with “O Little Town of Bethlehem” “Away in a Manger” or “Silent Night”.  But think about it; when was the last time you sang this song outside of the winter months?  On a beautiful Sunday morning in early June, we sang this song as we opened our worship service.  Some might do a double take and ask the question, ‘Is that appropriate; shouldn’t this song be reserved for another time and day?’

Before you answer that question read again the words from this Issac Watt’s classic:

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come!  Let earth receive her king.  Let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing.  Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!  Let men their songs employ, while fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains repeat the sounding joy.  No more let sin and sorrow grow, nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow far as the cruse is found.  He rules the world with truth and grace and makes the nations prove; the glory of His righteousness and wonder of His love.”

Did you see the reference to the birth of Christ?  “…the Lord is come…”  This is why we have labeled this a Christmas song to be sung in December.  But does December have a Biblical lock on the birth of Christ?  Traditionally we see December as the time of year when Christ was born, but where is there evidence in scriptures to support this claim?  If the truth be known it was more likely to have been in the spring or early summer that Mary gave birth to Christ; but that’s another study.  We have to ask ourselves what the message is from the songs we sing, even the “Christmas songs”.  The message from this old spiritual song is obvious; we hear it resounding throughout the Psalms; “But let all who take refuge in You be glad, let them ever sing for joy…” (5:11)  “The meadows are clothed with flocks and the valleys are covered with grain; they shout for joy, yes, they sing.” (65:13) “Praise the Lord from the earth… all mountains and all hills” (Psalm 148: 7, 9)

If you desire to praise God, and if you intend to bring glory to Him through your songs, I encourage you to think about what you are singing and be sure you don’t just sing from traditional expectation.  We should sing because of the joy we have in Christ.  Praise be to God that He sent His Son…for without Him, we would be without Joy.

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Are You ‘Teachable’?

How ‘teachable’ do you think you are?  Are you open to comments, questions or even constructive criticism?  We can never be what we were intended to be if we aren’t receptive to instruction.  After 15 years in formal, public education I learned that it’s not just about how willing and eager I am to teach, but how open the student will be.  We might be able to teach, but without an audience, our words fall on deaf ears.  But are you willing to sit and listen, to learn, from the word of God?  That takes time.  It takes patience and above all (ultimately), it take obedience.

Fathers…when you come together with the Lord’s church for worship are you willing to teach your children?  Do you sing and praise God WITH your family or is it an individual activity?  Perhaps your son isn’t willing to sit and sing; because they have already learned how important that really is in watching you.  You must realize that our children will learn just as much by watching what we do as they will listening to what we say.

Jane Lesson penned the following words, and though we might not sing this hymn as often as we should, the message still rings true today.  The teacher teaches the student for one basic reason.  It’s not for the money and it’s not for the fame.  We teach because we love.  A teacher who loves his student will give time and energy to bring them to a clearer understanding of the value within the message.  Our God loves us, teaches us and guides in life.  As His child (student) do we listen to Him; do we love Him?  We do love Him (We should love Him) because;  “We love Him, because He first loved us.” I John 4:19

Savior, teach me day by day, love’s sweet lesson to obey.
Sweeter lessons cannot be, loving Him Who first loved me.

With a child’s glad heart of love at Thy bidding may I move,
Prompt to serve and follow Thee, loving Him Who first loved me.

Teach me thus Thy steps to trace, strong to follow in Thy grace,
Learning how to love from Thee, loving Him Who first loved me.

Love in loving finds employ, in obedience all her joy;
Ever new that joy will be, loving Him Who first loved me.

Thus may I rejoice to show that I feel the love I owe;
Singing, till Thy face I see, of His love Who first loved me.

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Struggles in Life? God is Faithful!

Struggles in life are not a matter of ‘if they will happen’, but when.  Undoubtedly you have had days when it seems nothing goes right and everything is going wrong.  Whether your car broke down, you’ve fought with your best friend, or your only credit card was just rejected…we all have struggles in life.  Perhaps we find that there’s more in the words as we sing, “Troublesome times are here”.  We know we’ll face trials but the question comes in how you will deal with these struggles.  What will be your attitude and how will you react when you faced with difficulties; large or small?

If you are honest with yourself there are really only a couple of choices you will make as you face any of these struggles.  You might decide you have to bear down and work harder to ‘turning things around’.  Or you might become despondent and give up all together.  But are these my only choices?  Is there any other way to face ‘trials dark on every hand’?  Consider with me another option (yes, an old hymn) as you face difficult times.

William Cow­per was a song writer in the late 1700’s.  He oft­en strug­gled with self-doubt and deep de­press­ion.  It was reported that one night, in the dregs of depression he decided he would end his life.  He determined that he would com­mit su­i­cide by drown­ing him­self.  In his despair he called for a cab (horse and buggy) and instructed the driv­er to take him to the Thames Riv­er.  How­ev­er, in the thickness of the fog the driver was pre­vent­ed from find­ing the riv­er.  (Ano­ther ver­sion of this story is told in that the driv­er, aware of Cowper’s fit’s with depression, deliberately got lost.)  Nevertheless, after driv­ing for a while, the cab­by fin­al­ly brought the carriage to a stop and let Cow­per out.  To his sur­prise, Cowper found him­self back home, on his own door­step.  From his view point, and in his darkest of hours, God had sent the fog to preserve his life.

Could this be my ‘other option,’ to just wait for God to intervene and step into my life?  Part of this is true; God will step in and intervene in our life during our struggles.  But we must never be content to ‘just drive around in a fog’ expecting God to just take us home.  He will bring us home, but only after we have given Him our lives.  God sincerely cares for us, even in our black­est mo­ments, the knowledge that He is watch­ing over us will strengthen our life in Christ; but God expects us to daily move closer to Him.  Read the words written by William Cowper following that foggy night.  Take notice of verse 3 & 5 and realize struggles come.  Praise be to God…He is faithful!

1) God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

2) Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will.

3) Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

4) Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

5) His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

6) Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

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Sing to Me Again!

“O Lord, I thought the day would never come; when I could lay my burden’s down and walk with you.  And this morning as I greet the rising sun, the fondest of my dreams have all come true.  The greatest friend you’ll ever find is on a lonely mountain.  The highest high you’ll ever reach is when you kneel to pray.  The brightest light you’ll ever see is when you close your eyes.   O Lord, You are my first love and at last I realize.”

Sung by a young group of 13-19 year old teens, this ‘spiritual song’ encouraged my friends and me during the early mornings of our annual summer camp.  To the best of my knowledge, Camp Blue Haven still meets during the summer months in the mountains outside of Las Vegas, New Mexico.  I doubt if this song is still a favorite at CBH, but the memories and friendships that we formed there in the late 1970’s will be treasured for the rest of my life.

What about you; do you remember songs from the earlier years of your life?  The quiet evenings as you sat around the living room and sang as a family.  Or perhaps you were blessed to have a mother who would ‘sing you to sleep’.  Some of my fondest memories are hearing my mother sing as she busied herself in the kitchen.  With the window open and the sound of her “Doris Day” voice floating out into the back yard, I can still hear, “Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee…How great Thou Art“.  If you don’t have memories like these it’s not too late to make them for those you love.

My wife and I made it a point to sing to our children in their early years, as they were going to sleep.  After they were tucked in, the lights were out and our prayers had been said; Vicki or I would sing to the kids.  That was almost 10 years ago (some how they learned to go to sleep without our songs), but one old hymn stills brings memories of days gone by.  Written one hundred years ago by Austin Miles, my grandmother began this early tradition that was passed on to our children.  As she rocked, I can still hear her sing, “I Come to the Garden Alone”.

Regardless the song or the number of years that have gone by, our minds race back to an earlier time when we found comfort in the words of heaven and peace and God.  Even if you’ve never had the peace that comes from a melodious past, you can always lay your burden down and walk with God.  When you do you too can say, “…the greatest friend you’ll ever find is on a lonely mountain…”

 

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It’s Not About Me…

For the last several decades our culture has turned to embrace and fulfill any and all of our personal, selfish and individual desires.  Some might attribute this movement to the 1960’s or the “Me Generation”.  Perhaps there is some truth to this, but selfish behavior isn’t limited to any specific age, gender or generation.  Christ demonstrated how we should be more concerned and willing to serve others (put ourselves last).  Unfortunately and too often this ‘Me first’ philosophy has crept its way into some of the spiritual songs.

Now maybe I’m being too hard our some of the song writers over the years, but let me ‘push your thoughts’ and ask you to think about what we are singing and the message we give in our songs of praise and encouragement.

In 1949 Ira Stanphill (author of several hymns) wrote a very upbeat and energetic song entitled, Mansion over the Hilltop.  A fun song to sing and one that we can find scriptural basis in John 14:1-3 when Christ said to his disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God; trust also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I’m going there to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.”  My concern with this song comes in the statement just prior to the chorus, “…but in that city where just ransomed will shine, I want a gold one that’s silver lined.” And verse two, “…I’m just a pilgrim in search of city, I want a mansion, a robe and a crown.”  Forgive me if I come across too legalistic, but my thoughts have been leading me closer to thinking about and understanding what we’re singing.

Thirty-five years later, 1984, Sylvia Rose penned a song that we sing in some of our congregations today.  A contemporary song that was written on request from her father.  Though he wasn’t dying, Sylvia’s father asked her to write a song for his funeral.  The song, “A Mansion, Robe and Crown” was the product of his request.  This is another exciting, upbeat song and one that exudes a lot of energy.  But again, look at the words; “I’m gonna trade my earthly home for a better one bright and fair…”  True as it might be, my concern comes in from the bass line in the chorus, “Lord, I want a brand new mansion, robe and a crown in glory…”.

Is there anything wrong when we ask (say) that we want something from God?  Certainly we petition our Father on a daily basis and without a doubt we’d be lost without seeking, asking for God’s grace and love.  We have sung this song in church on occasion; but I still come back to ask…are we thinking about what we’re saying?  In the three verses of this song you’ll notice “I”, “my” and “me” dominate the song.  Sing this song and you’ll find these three personal pronouns 21 times.  In a world that wants the focus and personal preference to go “MY way”, I hope to send a reminder that it’s not about me…