Category: mercy

Significant Worship

A Psalm Study, 108:1-6

A Song. A Psalm of David.

 1 My heart is confident in you, O God;
      no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart!
 2 Wake up, lyre and harp!
      I will wake the dawn with my song.
 3 I will thank you, Lord, among all the people.
      I will sing your praises among the nations.
 4 For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens.
      Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
 5 Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens.
      May your glory shine over all the earth.

6 Now rescue your beloved people.
      Answer and save us by your power.

–Psalm 108:1-6, NLT

David has tapped into strength and significance.  The astounding part of it is–it’s a Person, not a method.  He has a relationship that alters the reality around him.  David is outrageously enthusiastic about this.  He exudes a confidence that can’t be contained.  Our strength is in a person!  (Not religion, a moral code, ethics or even discipleship.)  It’s Jesus, it is a relationship, that is personal–a intimate friendship.

David refers to a ‘harp and lyre.’  These are obsolete for the most part.  But I think any musical instrument can be used.  A piano or a guitar, (even a cherry red Stratocaster) is quite acceptable.  But there is an interesting shift.  David’s heart and soul is his musical instrument!  Worship starts right there, not in a set of drums.  His heart is the primary place of worship.  That is where worship must happen.  And we can easily confuse this.

King David understands innately the significance of worshipping God.  He visualizes going out to all the peoples of the world–not as a diplomat, but as a worshipper.  That is his central thought and theme.  No trade treaties, or ambassadors or even peace envoys.  But Jehovah God is his ingrained purpose.

And worshipping Him is a reasonable thing.  David proclaims two attributes that are ‘sparkplugs’ for his spiritual life, (v.4).

  1. Love
  2. Faithfulness

These ignite his love and worship.  When King David thinks about them, he can’t help but sing and worship.  And they are extremely significant for us as well.  When you think of God’s love and His unceasing faithfulness–and if they are properly seen, and understood, you too will worship.  As a matter of fact the existence of heart worship is evidence of a healthy spiritual heart.

David wants to God to show Himself to the whole earth–everyone!  Far jungle tribesman and Eskimos, all need to see God!  Everybody gets to see Him. That is the wonderful purpose of Christian missions.  David wants desperately to share this with all.  He has a true zeal (and sometimes that scares us).

Verse 6 hints of the existence of sin and evil.  These are things so engrained and prevalent in our society, and in our hearts–we need a deliverer and a savior.  Jesus has to step in.  We have no other options, and our creator has got to be our Savior.  When we begin to realize our desperate predicament, all the vanity (an old fashioned word) and emptiness, we are halfway there. I encourage you to worship, everyday.

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ybic, Bryan

 

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The Father’s House

 

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am 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.”

– John 14:1-3

Our hearts can be very disturbed.  It happens more frequently than we think.  We are like a styrofoam cup on the sea in a storm.  Jesus asks us to trust Him in this.  Your trust is very important to Him.  He covets your faith in Him.

Jesus reveals a bit of heaven to us.

  • First, it is a house and not a motel.  There is a warmth and comfort in a house.
  • Second, it is expansive– many rooms, the word is ‘dwelling places’.  Someplace that is relaxing and restful. It’s a place you’ll never, ever want to leave.
  • Third, it is a ‘prepared’ place.  I have friends with a B & B.  They are continually working to make it a comfortable and restful place for their guests.

We see our Lord Jesus taking a personal interest in our stay.  He is involved in making heaven a remarkable place.  That intrigues me.  Somehow eternity seems more hospitable with Jesus directly handling our transition.  He is making all the arrangements on our behalf.

A promise has been given.  He intends to be our escort into heaven.  No one gets lost, or confused as He is completely present.  Our destination is sure, and our Savior is strong.  When Jesus spoke these things, His disciples were encouraged and fortified in their hope and faith.

“It is not darkness you are going to, for God is Light. It is not lonely, for Christ is with you. It is not unknown country, for Christ is there.”

 Charles Kingsley

The promise is precise.  Where I am, there you will be!  This is solid and definitive.  There is nothing vague or ethereal about this.  We will be in His presence just as if it were a dear friend coming by for coffee.  Too often this all gets lost in a haze or fog, and reality is just not there.  But it is real, and its this life, here and now that has no eternal solidity.  And, He has given us His word.

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His Love, That Laments

 

 


The LORD’s kindness never fails! If he had not been merciful, we would have been destroyed. 23The LORD can always be trusted to show mercy each morning. 24Deep in my heart I say, “The LORD is all I need; I can depend on him!”

Lamentations 3:22-24, CEV

“I can depend on him!”  There is a deep and very significant commitment to a love that always energizes.  He is kind far beyond our human definition of kindness.  The verse in Lam. 3:22, says that “it never fails.”  It has an endurance and constancy that just isn’t diminished by our issues.  It is solid, and it won’t ever weaken on us.

We must wait, however, on mercy.  We need to beg for it, and cry aloud for it. On our knees, beseeching Him for it. “Mercy, give me your mercy, I will ask for nothing more, and nothing less.”  Lamentations as a book carries a lot of judgement.  Jeremiah seems to unload on unfaithfulness, idolatry and rebellion. Reading it, and thinking about it gives no comfort to our wounded hearts.

Not that it is a difficult book for us, rather we must understand His judgement on our sin to be tempered by a wonderful mercy.  Yes, we have sinned, and yes we can find mercy.

There was a significant ministry that poured out of Jeremiah.  The verses quoted become a clarion call to all of us who struggle to understand.  ‘How can we who sin so much, and so regularly, find a mercy so compelling that our future is now altered?’

Jeremiah, systematically evaluates God’s mercy.  He sees it and expresses it as a profoundly secure grace.  It seems to be concrete, it pours over us and solidifies over our hearts.  If we trust in it, we become quite solid and set in grace and a dear mercy.

“The Lord is all I need; I can depend on Him.”  Here we see a certain assurance that Jeremiah has found.  He always seems to move in the direction of strength and security.  And I think we should do the same.  Depending on someone simply means we put our confidence in that person.  Jeremiah simply states that he has become quite secure in God, and all that He does on our behalf.

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Early CCM- Spotlight on Wendy & Mary

“If I Could Love You Better”

One of the early and blessed CCM duets was Wendy & Mary.  They were together just 5-6  years but cranked out 5 or 6 albums.  Their music operated off of relatively simple melodies, but their lyrics were often quite piercing and evocative.  They very quickly became one of my personal favorites.

I chose this song, even though 3 or 4 could fit in this post quite adequately.  I only hope that this selection would inspire you, and give you hope.  If this connects with your heart, check out iTunes for more.  The early albums are very good and each song is solid and hopeful.  You can’t go wrong.