THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: "Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." (Hebrews 12:3, NIV)
Recently I experienced the blessing of participating in a short-term mission trip to the country of Romania. Though free of communist rule for about 10 years now, Christians still experience subtle, devious persecutions. One church that became my living example of staying focused on Christ and enduring opposition was a church that had it’s property deed seized by come corrupt government officials a few years ago. As a result, that group of saints was thrown out of their building and told that they must, "sue the state" if they wanted their building returned. But that little group of believers refused to give up. They continued to meet, found another building, and today, even have a sister church in another village. Praise God for their willingness to continue walking with Jesus and endure in the face of sinful men.
We are at a vulnerable crossroads in our nation today. While we don’t have government officials kicking Christians out of their places of worship (yet), we do experience a subtle, devious form of persecution in our schools. Often times, if students speak out about their Christian beliefs, they end up experiencing negative consequences that range from a poor grade to expulsion. The only way we are going to stop this madness is to begin to vote leaders into our government who are willing to stand up for family values, morality, and interpret the Constitution rather than try to rewrite to suite their own wicked, liberal agendas. We need leaders who will do what’s in the best interest of the people of America, not the best interest of gaining another term in their political office. We must weigh all the choices very carefully as we approach our primaries. The media is all too willing to try to tell us how to vote; again, to suite their own liberal agenda. We need to take charge, do the research, and put someone in office who will work for the good of our country and our future generations. The future of our nation is up to us. And I personally believe that Mike Huckabee is this nation’s best hope of America being restored to the economically healthy, great nation that we use to be. He is a moral man who loves God, loves this country, and desires to see families restored, traditional family values protected, and TRUE freedom of religion – even for Christians.
I hope and pray that moral and religious freedom and our economy will never get as out-of-control here as it once did in Romania and as it still is in the Muslim and communist nations. Especially when we the people have the power to ensure that this never happens here. But if we are going to be proactive about it, we MUST exercise our right to vote and put leaders in place who are going to work with us – not against us.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Worship from the Heart
Many years ago the small inner-city ministry where my husband, Gary and I were volunteering was in desperate need of more volunteers. Not an uncommon thing for your typical inner-city ministry or church – even today. For some strange reason, churches want to move to the suburbs, forgetting, I suppose, that every great revival in history began in the inner city because of passionate intercession. This hobbyhorse of mine aside, I found myself drafted to lead the praise and worship at the Friday night service.
Being relatively young in the Lord at the time and with the matching inexperience, I began seeking the Lord for His wisdom concerning how to go about leading worship. The very first thing that He showed me was Jesus’ words in the Gospel of John 4:21-24. "Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
Three things jumped out at me. I began to jot down some ideas.
Catching the Revelation of Relationship
The New Testament was originally written in Greek. So I did a bit of research and found that the word for "know" in John 4:22 comes from a Greek word that indicates something beyond what we can learn form reading a book, getting a degree, listening to a speaker or a preacher, or other ways of obtaining academic knowledge. It’s the kind of knowledge that the Holy Spirit supernaturally reveals to us.
We can’t get this from our man-made religious traditions and expectations. And if we hold too tightly to what we’ve always done in the past, we’ll miss the blessings that God has for us today.
If we remain focused on what we’ve always done rather than looking honestly at how God is moving today, we will find ourselves in a place where we are only worshiping God with our lips and our hearts are far from Him (Isaiah 29:13). The Lord calls this type of empty worship purposeless in Isaiah 1:10-11.
While it’s true that Sodom and Gomorrah were terribly sinful nations, America has plenty of it’s own iniquity. And we Christians need to be willing to respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit with repentant hearts in our churches and our lives before we can ever hope to begin making a difference where our nation is concerned. When we begin worshiping the Lord in spirit and in truth on a regular basis, He’ll empower us to walk in the spirit daily (Galatians 5:22-26).
True Worshipers
In John 4:23 the word "true" (as in "true worshipers") comes from a Greek root that means unconcealed. A nice synonym here would be "unashamed" or "open". The Father is looking for people who are openly and unashamedly worshiping Him. Willing to give Him the glory at work, in the car, at the grocery, at home, in the church or wherever He presents us with an opportunity – and that doesn’t necessarily mean in song. Taking advantage of an opportunity to tell someone about some good thing that God has done for us is a form of worship. And when our hearts are willing and obedient, He continues to pour out His blessings on us (Isaiah 1:19).
Another important word in John 4:23 is the word "spirit" (in spirit and in truth) which comes from a Greek word that can be translated as "a current of air", "breath", "blast", or "breeze". Our hearts are a very important part of our ability to "breath". This being the case, we could say that the Father seeks those who will worship Him "from the heart". But here’s my favorite part of that whole verse. He "is seeking such to worship Him." The word "seek" comes from a Greek word that can be translated as to "be desired", "will seek after", and "will seek means". So our Heavenly Father desires and will chase after and even make a way for those who will worship Him from their hearts.
In Spirit and in Truth
Because God created each of us with different giftings and different personalities, worship from the heart isn’t going to be a "one size fits all" kind of a thing. However, there are examples throughout God’s Word of worship from the heart. King David wrote psalms, played the harp, and danced. Miriam and many other Israeli women played the timbrel and danced (Ex. 15:20). King David invited all people to clap their hands (Psalm 47:1), shout (Psalm 32, Psalm 35) play instruments and sing (Psalm 147), and many other Biblical examples could be mentioned.
While it’s important to worship with the church corporately, it’s also important that we make time to worship Him on our own. Whether we choose to sing our praises to Him when we first wake up, think our praises to Him on our lunch break, speak our praises to Him before going to sleep or even in the shower, this time with Him is one thing that will strengthen our relationship with Him, as will reading His Word on a regular basis and applying it to our lives.
As we commit to waiting on Him (or listening for His directives) during our personal worship time with Him, we’ll gain the wisdom and the faith we need to step where He calls us. Our choice to worship God from our hearts, read His Word, and apply it to our lives is going to empower us to live our lives, and equip us to make a difference in the world around us.
Being relatively young in the Lord at the time and with the matching inexperience, I began seeking the Lord for His wisdom concerning how to go about leading worship. The very first thing that He showed me was Jesus’ words in the Gospel of John 4:21-24. "Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
Three things jumped out at me. I began to jot down some ideas.
Catching the Revelation of Relationship
The New Testament was originally written in Greek. So I did a bit of research and found that the word for "know" in John 4:22 comes from a Greek word that indicates something beyond what we can learn form reading a book, getting a degree, listening to a speaker or a preacher, or other ways of obtaining academic knowledge. It’s the kind of knowledge that the Holy Spirit supernaturally reveals to us.
We can’t get this from our man-made religious traditions and expectations. And if we hold too tightly to what we’ve always done in the past, we’ll miss the blessings that God has for us today.
If we remain focused on what we’ve always done rather than looking honestly at how God is moving today, we will find ourselves in a place where we are only worshiping God with our lips and our hearts are far from Him (Isaiah 29:13). The Lord calls this type of empty worship purposeless in Isaiah 1:10-11.
While it’s true that Sodom and Gomorrah were terribly sinful nations, America has plenty of it’s own iniquity. And we Christians need to be willing to respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit with repentant hearts in our churches and our lives before we can ever hope to begin making a difference where our nation is concerned. When we begin worshiping the Lord in spirit and in truth on a regular basis, He’ll empower us to walk in the spirit daily (Galatians 5:22-26).
True Worshipers
In John 4:23 the word "true" (as in "true worshipers") comes from a Greek root that means unconcealed. A nice synonym here would be "unashamed" or "open". The Father is looking for people who are openly and unashamedly worshiping Him. Willing to give Him the glory at work, in the car, at the grocery, at home, in the church or wherever He presents us with an opportunity – and that doesn’t necessarily mean in song. Taking advantage of an opportunity to tell someone about some good thing that God has done for us is a form of worship. And when our hearts are willing and obedient, He continues to pour out His blessings on us (Isaiah 1:19).
Another important word in John 4:23 is the word "spirit" (in spirit and in truth) which comes from a Greek word that can be translated as "a current of air", "breath", "blast", or "breeze". Our hearts are a very important part of our ability to "breath". This being the case, we could say that the Father seeks those who will worship Him "from the heart". But here’s my favorite part of that whole verse. He "is seeking such to worship Him." The word "seek" comes from a Greek word that can be translated as to "be desired", "will seek after", and "will seek means". So our Heavenly Father desires and will chase after and even make a way for those who will worship Him from their hearts.
In Spirit and in Truth
Because God created each of us with different giftings and different personalities, worship from the heart isn’t going to be a "one size fits all" kind of a thing. However, there are examples throughout God’s Word of worship from the heart. King David wrote psalms, played the harp, and danced. Miriam and many other Israeli women played the timbrel and danced (Ex. 15:20). King David invited all people to clap their hands (Psalm 47:1), shout (Psalm 32, Psalm 35) play instruments and sing (Psalm 147), and many other Biblical examples could be mentioned.
While it’s important to worship with the church corporately, it’s also important that we make time to worship Him on our own. Whether we choose to sing our praises to Him when we first wake up, think our praises to Him on our lunch break, speak our praises to Him before going to sleep or even in the shower, this time with Him is one thing that will strengthen our relationship with Him, as will reading His Word on a regular basis and applying it to our lives.
As we commit to waiting on Him (or listening for His directives) during our personal worship time with Him, we’ll gain the wisdom and the faith we need to step where He calls us. Our choice to worship God from our hearts, read His Word, and apply it to our lives is going to empower us to live our lives, and equip us to make a difference in the world around us.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Notes for Growth
While I find that I enjoy many different genres of music, I’ve become keenly aware that there are benefits to studying classical music. With most classical pieces, it can take several weeks before one is truly comfortable with it. This being the case, I have discovered that if I don’t like the piece that I’m studying, it’s extremely difficult to exercise the discipline to stick with the song. Lately, I’ve found that I like the romantic era of the classics the best. I especially like Chopin's piano preludes. And for me, studying something I like is often where I find the dividing line between a piece that frustrates me and one I label as "challenging". And challenge is where I experience growth as a musician.
My favorite benefit from studying classical music is that it helps to develop good technique - which can sometimes be a battle. Especially if one has developed some bad habits. Since bad habits are typically subconscious, they can be hard to overcome. The good news is that a habit is a learned thing. So if a conscious, consistent effort is made to adopt a good habit and stop the bad one, the good habit will eventually become the subconscious one, replacing the bad one. And fighting that battle is definitely worth it.
More specifically, one of the many benefits of studying classical piano music is that it encourages good fingering. With many pieces, this aspect of technique will make or break the piece. It’s a foundational issue – just as being able to read the notes is foundational. If the fingering is good, the song can be played cleanly. The more subconscious good fingering becomes, the easier it is to think about dynamics, which are a great way for a musician to add depth to what he or she is playing. And if it’s an up-tempo song, clean play will lend itself to speed. I believe that classical music is the most difficult to play. So when a musician begins mastering songs in that genre, these skills are wonderfully transferable. Also, as someone who enjoys songwriting, I find that studying classical pieces has inspired ideas for creating songs with a more full sound.
Another benefit is more effective use of the damper pedal. Something that I’ve noticed about classical music is that, since it’s typically more complex than contemporary music, it’s much easier for an incorrectly used damper pedal to make a classical piece sound "blurred" where it should have a more crisp sound. This benefit will lend itself to musicians having a more precise, professional sound.
Studying classical music also encourages an enhanced ability to focus. Not only is it physically demanding, but it’s mentally demanding. It’s the ultimate multi-tasking experience. In fact, if I’m working on a classical piece, I’ll often work on that before any other piece. If my mind is tired, I don’t do as well. And it’s amazing how easy the less demanding things become after I’ve worked on a classical song. Some of the longest songs ever created are classical pieces. This being the case, Studying classical music enhances endurance - both physically and mentally.
In closing, improving one’s technique enhances clean, quality playing, which is a reward that brings the skill and satisfaction of being able to play more complex pieces. Not only will this increase a person’s confidence as a musician, it will also cause an audience to be more receptive, and bring about more opportunities to play out.
My favorite benefit from studying classical music is that it helps to develop good technique - which can sometimes be a battle. Especially if one has developed some bad habits. Since bad habits are typically subconscious, they can be hard to overcome. The good news is that a habit is a learned thing. So if a conscious, consistent effort is made to adopt a good habit and stop the bad one, the good habit will eventually become the subconscious one, replacing the bad one. And fighting that battle is definitely worth it.
More specifically, one of the many benefits of studying classical piano music is that it encourages good fingering. With many pieces, this aspect of technique will make or break the piece. It’s a foundational issue – just as being able to read the notes is foundational. If the fingering is good, the song can be played cleanly. The more subconscious good fingering becomes, the easier it is to think about dynamics, which are a great way for a musician to add depth to what he or she is playing. And if it’s an up-tempo song, clean play will lend itself to speed. I believe that classical music is the most difficult to play. So when a musician begins mastering songs in that genre, these skills are wonderfully transferable. Also, as someone who enjoys songwriting, I find that studying classical pieces has inspired ideas for creating songs with a more full sound.
Another benefit is more effective use of the damper pedal. Something that I’ve noticed about classical music is that, since it’s typically more complex than contemporary music, it’s much easier for an incorrectly used damper pedal to make a classical piece sound "blurred" where it should have a more crisp sound. This benefit will lend itself to musicians having a more precise, professional sound.
Studying classical music also encourages an enhanced ability to focus. Not only is it physically demanding, but it’s mentally demanding. It’s the ultimate multi-tasking experience. In fact, if I’m working on a classical piece, I’ll often work on that before any other piece. If my mind is tired, I don’t do as well. And it’s amazing how easy the less demanding things become after I’ve worked on a classical song. Some of the longest songs ever created are classical pieces. This being the case, Studying classical music enhances endurance - both physically and mentally.
In closing, improving one’s technique enhances clean, quality playing, which is a reward that brings the skill and satisfaction of being able to play more complex pieces. Not only will this increase a person’s confidence as a musician, it will also cause an audience to be more receptive, and bring about more opportunities to play out.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Calorie Combat by Hiking
After a few months of sitting around eating chocolate Santas, sipping holiday eggnog, and dealing with holiday hoopla, many of us have noticed that our clothes and our budgets seem to fit a bit tighter come the end of January . As unfair as it is, holiday shopping just doesn’t cancel out those Christmas calories.
February rolls around and if we’ve actually kept that resolution for a trimmer New Year, we’ve probably gotten bored with the exercise bike, the gym or whatever plan we’ve concocted to combat Christmas calories. This being the case, it can often be helpful to find more than one form of exercise that’s enjoyable – or at least tolerable. The more tolerable it is, the more likely we’ll be to stick with it. And for me, and perhaps for you as well, that would be where hiking comes in.
Hiking is one of the best forms of cardiovascular exercise. As the heart gets exercised on a regular basis, more oxygen gets delivered throughout the body, which has many positive and lasting effects. Some favorites would include looking younger, more energy, sleeping better, building strength (especially the legs), building endurance, losing weight, relieving stress and fighting depression. I think my favorite aspect of hiking is that it can be a family activity without the expense of long distance travel. There are some fabulous state and county parks that don’t require a long drive or airfare. Just type www.stateparks.com into your internet browser for a detailed listing. Also, typing "county parks" into your browser will bring up the ones even closer to home. For hiking enthusiasts who’d like to find a local hiking club, I’d like to recommend checking out www.HikingClubsOnline.com. This particular website lists hiking clubs all over the nation, and links to companies that sell gear.
Hiking as a family has some wonderful benefits. Not only will a person be provided with built in exercise buddies, but it will bring exciting learning opportunities. For example, Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site in Hodgenville, Kentucky offers a glance into American History. Cuyahoga Valley National Park, near Akron, Ohio, creates opportunities to learn about plants and wildlife. Shawnee Lookout Park near Cincinnati, Ohio can offer a quick archeology lesson in the Shawnee Center building, and some seriously camera-worthy views on the Miami Fort Trail. Other parks of the picturesque persuasion are Clifty Falls in Madison, Indiana, and Cathedral Gorge in Panaca, Nevada. Mammoth Cave National Park offers some unique insight into the science behind stalactites and stalagmites, and these are only a glimpse of the possibilities. I think the most valuable benefit of all is that a family’s shared experiences will open a door to create positive memories that last a lifetime.
February rolls around and if we’ve actually kept that resolution for a trimmer New Year, we’ve probably gotten bored with the exercise bike, the gym or whatever plan we’ve concocted to combat Christmas calories. This being the case, it can often be helpful to find more than one form of exercise that’s enjoyable – or at least tolerable. The more tolerable it is, the more likely we’ll be to stick with it. And for me, and perhaps for you as well, that would be where hiking comes in.
Hiking is one of the best forms of cardiovascular exercise. As the heart gets exercised on a regular basis, more oxygen gets delivered throughout the body, which has many positive and lasting effects. Some favorites would include looking younger, more energy, sleeping better, building strength (especially the legs), building endurance, losing weight, relieving stress and fighting depression. I think my favorite aspect of hiking is that it can be a family activity without the expense of long distance travel. There are some fabulous state and county parks that don’t require a long drive or airfare. Just type www.stateparks.com into your internet browser for a detailed listing. Also, typing "county parks" into your browser will bring up the ones even closer to home. For hiking enthusiasts who’d like to find a local hiking club, I’d like to recommend checking out www.HikingClubsOnline.com. This particular website lists hiking clubs all over the nation, and links to companies that sell gear.
Hiking as a family has some wonderful benefits. Not only will a person be provided with built in exercise buddies, but it will bring exciting learning opportunities. For example, Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site in Hodgenville, Kentucky offers a glance into American History. Cuyahoga Valley National Park, near Akron, Ohio, creates opportunities to learn about plants and wildlife. Shawnee Lookout Park near Cincinnati, Ohio can offer a quick archeology lesson in the Shawnee Center building, and some seriously camera-worthy views on the Miami Fort Trail. Other parks of the picturesque persuasion are Clifty Falls in Madison, Indiana, and Cathedral Gorge in Panaca, Nevada. Mammoth Cave National Park offers some unique insight into the science behind stalactites and stalagmites, and these are only a glimpse of the possibilities. I think the most valuable benefit of all is that a family’s shared experiences will open a door to create positive memories that last a lifetime.
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