Category: Birds

  • Sing Praises

    This morning I was reading in the Psalms. Psalms 120-134 is a group of 15 psalms, traditionally sung by the Jews when going to the temple, the Shir HaMa’alot (literally the songs of going up or the songs of ascent). I picture a crowd of worshippers climbing the road to Jerusalem, singing together, like a group of Christians might sing familiar hymns a cappella.

    There is something moving when a group of believers gathers and praises corporately. I remember a Promise Keepers rally decades ago; I can’t remember who spoke or what they spoke on, but I do remember tens of thousands of men, their voices united, singing praises to the Lord. What a moment.

    The Christian faith is both highly personal and communal. Each of us has a personal relationship with Jesus, but that relationship is designed to function in a larger body of believers. A solo Christian, outside the body, is not functioning as God designed us. 

    We serve one another, bless one another, love one another. We grow together, hold each other accountable and learn to extend and receive forgiveness and grace. We worship together, sing together and encourage each other.

    When the congregation sings a familiar tune, and every voice is lifted in praise, it moves us, and I am certain it praises the Lord. Now, certainly not all of us have great singing voices. My voice was once compared to a bear in work boots walking through a gravel pit. I don’t know exactly what that sounds like, but I know it wasn’t complimentary.

    The point isn’t how well you sing. It’s about opening your hearts and voices to the one who loved us beyond measure and deserves all honor, glory and praise. That’s what the Jewish people would do on the way up to Jerusalem.

    The Word encourages us to sing praises to God.

    Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Psalm 95:1 ESV

    And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart. Ephesians 5:18-19 ESV

    Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16 ESV

    To borrow a line from a children’s song, ‘Don’t worry that it’s not good enough for anyone else to hear, just sing.” God knows your voice; He gave it to you, and He delights in hearing your song.

    Sing His praises.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    I’ve been struck by the power of believers lifting their voices together in praise. Our voices don’t have to be beautiful for God to delight in them.

    TAKEAWAY

    A solo Christian, cut off from other believers, isn’t functioning the way God designed you to.

    Your voice doesn’t need to sound good for God to delight in it.

    Scripture commands you to address other believers in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.

    You might also enjoy

    Why the church needs YOU

    Celebrate your identity in Christ

    God sings over you

    Birdsong – thoughts on the complexity of nature

  • Out of Place

    Dunlin - a bird out of place - image believed to be public domain

    Yesterday, as I stood in the backyard barbequing, I had my Merlin app recording in the background. It picked up the sound of a bird that seemed out of place. I had never even heard of this bird.

    I thought, improbable, it must be a mistake, but it picked it up repeatedly and this time I heard it as well. It was a dunlin, a type of migratory shorebird that shouldn’t be in Abbotsford. It was definitely out of place.

    The only thing I could think of was the fact that we’ve had some strong winds of late. It must have been blown off course.

    Sometimes, we feel like that dunlin. Out of place. Why are we at this job, or living in that community? Why do we have the neighbors that we do?

    The simple answer is that God has placed us, or allowed us to be there. 

    The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to inhabit all the face of the earth, having  determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His offspring.’ Acts 17:24-27

    The heart of man plans his way, But Yahweh directs his steps. Proverbs 16:9 

    God can use where you are—and how you got there—for a purpose, even if the path there involved human choices, chance, or hardship. He works in all things for the good of those who love Him.

    In the words of 16th-century Saint Francis de Sales, from his book Introduction to the Devout Life, “Be who you are and be that well.” It was an encouragement to grow spiritually within their current circumstances rather than wishing for different ones. While I may not agree with all his theology, he was right on this point.

    In popular Christian literature, it has become cut down into the rather trite phrase “Bloom where you are planted.”  Still, it’s a valid concept.

    Even if you feel out of place, there are opportunities to grow spiritually and to serve the Lord. Make the most of them.

    Trust in him to work despite your circumstances. You are not out of place in God’s eyes.

    Be blessed
    Kevin

    The Gospel – the best news you will ever hear
    General Revelation: Why No One Can Claim They Didn’t Know
    Star Light Prayers