In Praise of God

Although only a couple of people in my family would consider themselves ‘musicians’ (and I’m not one of them!), all of us have long had a love for music and for the great old hymns.  On rare but very sweet occasions, we gather and sing around the piano as my grandmother or my brother plays.  And, of course, what can match singing not only with family but also in church among the body of believers?

Hymn melodies, well loved over many years, are precious (though I also enjoy some hymns that are set to new melodies as well, especially those by Indelible Grace).  And the words that appear in most hymns are wonderful as they ground my mind in truths about God while still reaching my emotions.

Recently, while looking up a Church history text on the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (also a good resource), I noticed a link to  Hymnary.org.  This site bills itself as a “comprehensive index of hymns and hymnals” and although I haven’t looked around much yet, it certainly does seem comprehensive.  You can look up lyrics and search for songs by hymnal, author, tune, and more.  I would say that one of the coolest options is that you can “play” a part of a song on a little onscreen keyboard and it will search for the tune.  This seems as if it could be a really useful feature.

In some spare minutes, you might consider taking time to check out the site.  (And thank God once again for the sweet gift of singing!)

Our family recently experienced our sixth geographic move in 11 years of marriage.  This has given us a wide range of opportunities for church hunting, 33 opportunities to be exact!   We don’t think this makes us experts in the field, that’s for sure, but since it is part of our days right now, I thought it might be interesting to share what “church shopping” has evolved into for our family.

Prayer and internet research start the process; Jeremy utilizes a few sites including:

• www.9marks.org

• www.founders.org

• Master’s Seminary Alumni Map

If possible, Jeremy also likes to listen to sermons and read about a church’s beliefs before we attend a worship service.

Next, we start making visits using two simple non-negotiables: Biblical preaching/teaching (1 Timothy 4:2 & 1 Corinthians 9:16)  and love from the Church.  (John 34:13-14)  Of course, these two are not exhaustive, but if a church does not meet this criteria, then usually a second visit will not be warranted.

Children’s activities fall into the “preferences” category along with music style, congregation size, location, cultural mix and other “negotiables.”  If during our visiting we find more than one church that meets our two top criteria, then we pray for further for discernment and allow ourselves to consider “preferences” in our final decision.

We ask God to lead us to the church He wants us to minister our gifts in and be ministered to in.  We believe that unless HE directs our path or “builds a house” for us, all our methods or ideas are in vain.  So I can truly say that it has been by the grace of God that we have been able to be parts of some amazing churches in our lifetime, NOT a method we have developed.

Praising God for the blessing of the Body of Christ, and praying that we would “. . like newborn babes, long for the the pure milk of the Word, that by it (we) may grow in respect to salvation. . .” (1 Peter 2:2)

I have recently been reading a great book that I would like to recommend.  Unpacking Forgiveness by Chris Brauns is  loaded with Scripture and excellent teaching from God’s Word.  If you are struggling with bitterness or forgiveness because you feel you have been wronged, I strongly recommend that you read this book right away.    Even if you read this book just to be better equipped to help others, you will probably discover that you have learned something to benefit yourself as well.    This book is helpful for day to day, minor issues as well as large, life-consuming problems.

Brauns defines forgiveness as “a commitment by the offended to pardon graciously the repentant from moral liability and to be reconciled to that person, although not all consequences are necessarily eliminated.”  He goes on throughout the book to break this down and help you “unpack forgiveness” by explaining biblical truth about God’s forgiveness and your responsibilities as well as offering practical helps for dealing with your thoughts and feelings.  Brauns also uses examples of real-world situations to help put personal situations in perspective.

While Unpacking Forgiveness is instructional, it is also comforting.  One reason I enjoyed this book is because the writing style is very conversational.  The author deals with a heavy subject in a way that is manageable; I felt as if he was helping me through a difficult problem with compassion, and yet he wasn’t letting me off the hook for my responsibilities.

I resisted reading this book, which a friend had recommended to me, because I thought I would be loaded with guilt, and I thought I already knew what the Bible had to teach about forgiveness: forgive because you have been forgiven, and if you have been offended follow Matthew 18.  Yet Brauns unpacks many more truths that are worth discovering.

While reading this book, there were times I put it down for a couple of days to think about about what I had read and really process it.  Nevertheless, it is generally an easy read, and I learned a lot.  It is also filled with practical application.  I can truly say that reading this book and applying it changed my thinking about forgiveness and helped me deal with an ongoing issue.

In my next post I will share some points from the book on dealing with bitterness and how to stop thinking about an  issue that is consuming your thoughts.  Stay tuned…

I’ve been crisscrossing the southeast on road trips this spring.  What beautiful drives - tree lined roads, hills…I love it!  To pass the time, I sometimes listen to talks that I’ve downloaded to CDs, and I’ve listened to some of Capitol Hill Baptist Church’s Henry Forums.  Recently, I enjoyed hearing “Out of Africa: Biblical Christianity in Zambia” by Conrad Mbewe.

During the first part of this talk, Mbewe highlights how the gospel first came to his region of Africa and how Christianity spread there throughout the last couple hundred years.  Often, he describes how one individual specifically impacted the life of another, who in turn had an impact on another person or group, and so on.

This got me thinking about the importance of geneaologies.  Just as people often want to fill in their biological heritage (learning that their great great grandfather was the first settler of a town, etc.) I think it is perhaps even more important to consider one’s spiritual heritage in not only general but also specific terms.  It encouraged me to hear how the Lord specifically worked through the everyday lives of individual believers in Africa through many years to do what has developed into a great work.

It is so encouraging to consider the many saints that have taught and discipled me personally, and think of those believers earlier this century that blessed, exhorted and strengthened them, and then of those earlier believers who taught, wrote, sang, discipled and loved that generation…and so on…  Throughout history, God has ever continued to work through His people.  And, by His grace, He will continue to work through me.  When I think of the larger picture of this “family tree” that He is growing up on this earth it spurs me on to continue pursuing Kingdom purposes even through the hard, difficult or seemingly fruitless times.  The tree is not fruitless.  The tree is growing.  The tree has deep roots.