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Category: Music
Joy and Restricted Movement
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This Morning, Monday 1/8/24
For several days this has come on the local radio station and then just rolled about in my soul. Undoubtedly “His word is unfailing, His promise secure!” Such GREAT harmony from these three men! So wish I could memorize the Spanish, “Todo es va estar bien.” I know some of those words from high school Spanish.
This song was popular about 3 years ago. It is still fitting today. Especially as I face shoulder surgery this week. Aunt Norma (now deceased and my mother also deceased) used to sing “He’s got the whole world in His hands” to us when we were very young. I do not know if Aunt Norma ever went to church, but my mother, the child of a Methodist preacher, and Norma instilled this faith in us through their faith. Did someone sing it to you or with you when you were a child?
Regardless of the outcome of surgery the following will remain the song of my soul.
It never ceases to amaze me how the Holy Spirit can give us direction and comfort especially in uncertain circumstances. He is with us and in us.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
Said Jesus recorded in John 14:20 NIV
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me….”
Jesus prayed recorded in John 17:20-21 NIV
Everything will be all right. The whole world’s in His hands. He is my all in all.
Paul said, “In him we live and move and have our being”; as even some of your poets have said, ‘For we are indeed His offspring.”
Acts 17:28 RSV
It bears repeating Everything will be all right. The whole world’s in His hands. He is my all in all.
Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Philippians 4: 6 RSV
Godspell
This was a musical in 1971. Wiki[edia reports, “The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set to lyrics from traditional hymns, with the passion of Christ appearing briefly near the end.”
These lyrics have been rolling in my head for a couple weeks. Naturally that leads to a blog post!
Where are you going?
Where are you going?
Can you take me with you?
For my hand is cold
And needs warmth
Where are you going?
Far beyond where the horizon lies
Where the horizon lies
And the land sinks into mellow blueness
Oh please, take me with you
Let me skip the road with you
I can dare myself
I can dare myself
I'll put a pebble in my shoe
And watch me walk (watch me walk)
I can walk and walk!
(I can walk!)
I shall call the pebble Dare
I shall call the pebble Dare
We will talk, we will talk together
We will talk (chorus) about walking
Dare shall be carried
And when we both have had enough
I will take him from my shoe, singing:
"Meet your new road!"
Then I'll take your hand
Finally glad
Finally glad
That you are here
By my side
By my side
By my side
By my side
So what of it? Well, they remind me to remember the LORD regardless of life circumstances. At times I am the pebble Dare, and at other times I need the challenge to remember We walk together.
Hard to ignore a pebble in your shoe. I am more likely to have a pebble in my pocket. Or a large wooden bead. Or something to bring my attention back to Him. I challenge you to carry something as a reminder throughout your day to turn again to Christ and walk together.
As One Year Ends and Another Begins
How do you worship God? Brandon Lake wrote a song with Benjamin William Hastings and Dante Brown entitled Gratitude. Part of it goes,
I’ve got one response
Gratitude
I’ve got just one move
With my arm stretched wide
I will worship You
So I throw up my hands
And praise You again and again
‘Cause all that I have is a hallelujah
Hallelujah
And I know it’s not much
But I’ve nothing else fit for a King
Except for a heart singing hallelujah
Hallelujah
When I awoke on the morning of December 27th in my heart I heard, “So I throw up my hands and praise You again and again.” As you might know by now if you follow this blog, the Holy Spirit often draws me and speaks to me through Christian music both contemporary and a century old. As I pondered how to complete this counting of days that we call a calendar year I realized the truth that our concept of time just folds and unfolds itself regardless of these numbers and monthly pages. So I will finish this year and begin the next praising the only One Who is going on forever.
When our son, Jeff, was little he did not always like to attend Sunday School. One week he did the Sunday School lesson as they requested, pasting arms on a cartoon child who was to be praying. The activity showed a paper child and the children were given arms that attached at the elbow. The teacher explained to me, “Oh he tried and it was so cute!” Jeff pasted the arms raised in praise instead of hands folded. There are many references in the Word about lifting our hands to God. Some say this is the highest form of prayer. Certainly a sign of surrender to the Almighty. I thought Jeff got the lesson perfectly!
Writing in Always We Begin Again John McQuiston II says
The adoption of an attitude of thankfulness to the sublime mystery that brought us into being and preserves us is at once means and end. It’s worth is beyond measure.
Remember that we are always in the presence of the sacred, but that the sacred nature of life is only apparent to these who are open to it. We are a part of the infinite which is in this moment expressing itself through us and in every facet of daily life.
Always We Begin Again
McQuiston calls this tiny booklet a paraphrase of the Benedictine Way of Living, the Benedictine rule. I did not live by the Benedictine Rule of Life, but I do return to this booklet repeatedly to regain focus on the most important.
How do you intend to spend your life in 2024? Obviously, we first have to learn to write the new number for the year! Beyond the mundane do you have a plan? Might you plan to renew your relationship with “the sublime mystery that preserves us”?
I am not one to make resolutions, but I do pursue the Living God who calls me. I pray you will be listening to the same still, small voice in your soul and follow unabashedly! I will not be posting the remainder of the week. Blessings to each of you. Thank you for taking the time to read what I write. I hope the Holy One touches you through something I write about. May you be blessed with an increased awareness of the Holy Presence.
Light of The World
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1: 1-5 RSV
This time of year as the wintry sky brings less sunlight where we live and the earlier sunset brings on the darkness, this verse comes to mind. As the Advent and Christmas messages ring out, again and again I remember the LIGHT of Christ shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot put it out, has never extinguished it, darkness cannot comprehend the light, darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it], darkness has not suppressed it … You can read translation after translation and continuously find that the Light conquers the darkness.
For many years we sang this song in our church. I could not help but bow at the waist when we hit certain parts of the song.
So in this season as we celebrate the Light of Christ coming into the world how do you respond? I pray you are taking time to worship and remember Whose Birthday we celebrate. The indwelling Christ can bring you joy in this hectic season. Just slow down, breathe His name, center on His love again.
He is Worthy of It All
In case you are not familiar with the song I referenced yesterday, here it is!
So is it Immanuel or Emmanuel? One answer is at https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holidays/is-it-immanuel-or-emmanuel-biblical-meaning-and-significance.html
Immanuel and Emmanuel point to the same meaning with two different spellings. Think of how we do this with modern names. For example, Cathy, Cathie, Kathy, and Kathi, or Alexander, Alexandre, Aleksander, and Aleksandr.
Christianty.com, Danielle Bernock
Regardless of our spelling, He is worthy. And we are created to have fellowship with Him and to praise Him. May your hands be lifted high in thanksgiving to Heaven!
Last Week My Christmas Worship Began …
…with this song. I cannot hear it too many times because it leads me into the Throne Room with praise and worship. What is it about Chandler Moore? Must be the anointing of the Holy Spirit. He knows how to enter the Presence of the Throne Room and lead us there with him. Twelve minutes is NOT too long to spend worshiping the Presence of the Mighty God.
One of my fondest memories is singing this refrain at Women’s Aglow as a way to enter into praise and His Presence. I was unfamiliar with Jekalyn. Watching this video gives me more perspective on her style. You have to be strong to sing peacefully with Chandler. He has such power !
Yes, Lord, we give You all the glory and praise, adoration and blessing! And the transition to another song, “You are worthy of it all!” How masterful! Yes, He deserves the glory!
Please listen to it prayerfully and worship Immanuel. “Born in the dirt and sitting on the Throne.”
Oi, Yoi, Yoi
Urban dictionary says of this Hebrew phrase: “A reduplicative diminutive of oy expressing frustration or exasperation.”
The best laid plans for a schedule get blown to pieces by doc and dentist this week. Yep, Monday and Tuesday mornings have been my inviolable times to write. Dentist could see me at 11:40. Dermatologist can see me at 11 AM (her only opening all week), so I called dentist to take his 2PM opening, so guess what? This is my few minutes. Yep, I really need a new schedule. Especially if I am to continue being a volunteer to help sort and stock food stuff at Inter Parish Ministry on Tuesdays when Bob goes to work in their parking lot directing traffic. Drawing from my reading this morning …
O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that so I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.” Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. In Jesus’ name. Amen
A W Tozer The Pursuit of God
“Begin in mercy a new work of love within me.” To be drawn anew into His love by mercy. What an enormous gift! Oh yes, readers, yield to Him and ask for a new work of love within you.
He is never more delighted than when we yield to His work of love within us.
God is a Person, and in the deep of His mighty nature He thinks, wills, enjoys, feels, loves, desires and suffers as any other person may. In making Himself known to us He stays by the familiar pattern of personality. He communicates with us through the avenues of our minds, our wills and our emotions. The continuous and unembarrassed interchange of love and thought between God and the soul of the redeemed man is the throbbing heart of New Testament religion.
Tozer Pursuit of God
“The throbbing heart of New Testament religion,” I just love that! The church we currently attend places huge emphasis on how many are baptized each year. Tozer emphasizes “continuous and unembarrassed interchange of love and thought between God and the soul of the redeemed person” as the HEART of the New Testament. Where is that taught? Once baptized what happens to those souls? Is their growth in knowing Him as celebrated as their decision for baptism?
This time of year we are many times seeking the perfect gift for another. Are we seeking the heart of the New Testament for ourselves? Continuous and unembarrassed interchange with the Holy One. Oh yes, Lord help me to make that our gift exchange this year!
What do you think God would want the most?
Nope, not something necessarily in a box. I think what He most desires is our unhindered yieldedness to Him. Our ears open to listen. Our wills yielded to obey. Giving Him our all because He gave all for us. Each one of us. Individually. Unreservedly.
I think God is amused by the following song written by Woody Guthrie and sung by Pete Seeger. If God has a mailbox this is what He wants in it the most!
Of course, you must find a box you fit in, someone to help you with the stamps on top of your head, etc. I hope the song plants the idea firmly in your mind that most of all God desires all of you as His gift.
Tear Off the Roof
The image above is the traditional one of this Bible story. Jenkins has given it a new and perhaps more accurate image? It certainly left a smaller hole in the roof!
Faith and determination are expressed here. Did you know that Director of the Chosen, Dallas Jenkins, and Brandon Lake cooperated on this video and production of some scenes of the Chosen, telling not only the story of the man paralyzed since birth but also the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 2 and Luke 8. The music video below is form Lake’s latest album entitled Coat of Many Colors.
Some of the lyrics are: Tear off the roof The King’s in the house Just get me to Jesus I don’t care how I don’t have to wait to get the healing I gotta faith without a ceiling So tear off the roof ‘Cause the King’s in the house There’s power in the presence Power in the blood Power in the name of Jesus There’s power in the presence Power in the blood Power in the name of Jesus And He has more in the hem of His garment Then the camp of the enemy There’s power in the presence Power in the blood Power in the name of Jesus I didn’t come here to hide in the crowd I’m pressing through to you I don’t care how Reaching out my hand to get the healing I’ve got a faith beyond the bleeding ‘Cause I didn’t come here to hide in the crowd Oh There’s power in the presence Power in the blood Power in the name of Jesus There’s power in the presence Power in the blood Power in the name of Jesus He has more in the hem of His garment Then the camp of the enemy There’s power in the presence Power in the blood Power in the name of Jesus There’s power in the name of Jesus There is a life changing Grave shaking Dead raising power in the room Heart-healing Hell-stealing No ceiling power So tear off the roof
I am praying your faith determines to get to Jesus any way possible!
Treasures in Plain Sight, A Christian Blog 