Even the Stars…
The title of this article leaves a question…what about the stars? “Even the stars…” leaves me to think that they are included with something else, but what? First of all, we know that as God’s people we are called to praise Him. But in reality, all creation is called to praise Jehovah God. But in our limited thinking, do we draw a line as to who can praise the Creator of this world? With no limits to the vastness of the universe we only need to read and know that there is no limit as to who and what can (and will) give Him praises!
Pick up your Bible and turn to Psalm, chapter 148. This scripture has been turned into one our favorite songs in the brotherhood. And, if the truth be know
n, when we sing this song, we’re singing a ‘psalm’ that is almost a word-for-word account from the chapter. From the hills and mountains to the beast and cattle, we sing this song of praise. So whether you see yourself as a young man, a maiden or an aged man; whether you’re a child or a king we must all be praising God. As a matter of fact, take a closer look at who/WHAT the Psalmist says will praise God. All His angels, the sun and moon, sea creatures or monsters or dragons depending on your translation, fire, snow, vapors and hail, beast, birds and cattle; all created things will praise the Creator! And the reason why is found in the 13th verse, “…for His name alone is exalted.” Do you praise God or, in your life, do you have other things that are exalted?
Read the words to this ‘psalm’ and then compare the song we sing on Sunday to the words written in the 148th Psalm…
“Hallelujah, praise Jehovah, from the heavens praise His name;
Praise Jehovah in the highest, all His angels praise proclaim.
All His hosts together praise Him, sun, and moon, and stars on high;
Praise Him, O ye heav’n of heavens, and ye floods above the sky.
Let them praises give Jehovah, they were made at His command,
Them forever He established; His decree shall ever stand.
From the earth, oh, praise Jehovah, all ye floods, ye dragons all;
Fire, and hail, and snow, and vapors, stormy winds that hear His call.
All ye fruitful trees and cedars, all ye hills and mountains high,
Creeping things, and beasts, and cattle, birds that in the heavens fly.
Kings of earth, and all ye people, Princes great, earth’s judges all,
Praise His name, young men and maidens, aged men and children small.
Refrain:
Let them praises give Jehovah,
For His name alone is high,
And His glory is exalted,
And His glory is exalted,
And His glory is exalted,
Far above the earth and sky.”
It is a clear that all created things will praise God. So let me encourage you to sing and to give your praise to God. The stars are praising Him, so be careful that you don’t let the creation in heaven, or on earth for that matter, out sing your praise to Jehovah!
Which Song Should We Sing…
Often our repertoire for singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs is nothing short of limited. We sing on Sunday morning, maybe Sunday night and the 
for the ‘faithful’ we’ll sing on Wednesday night. But if you were to really push yourself, how many songs (from the hymnal) do you know? Song leaders, honestly, how many options do you have at the ready when Sunday morning comes? If you were to list out 5 or 6 “Communion” songs…which ones would you write down? Right now, as you read this, can you list out 8 or 9 songs that would be good to lead before a prayer?
We have our favorite hymns, but do we know which ones should be placed where in our ‘order of worship?’ What would top your list? Would you include; “How Deep the Father’s Love,” “Ivory Palaces” and “It Is Well with My Soul?” Certainly you would have some of the all-time favorites such as; “How Great Thou Art,” “Amazing Grace” and 728b, “Our God, He is Alive.”
Let’s try this short exercise to see how you would pull together an order of worship for Sunday morning…which of the following would be good for opening worship:
“Be Still and Know,” “Faithful Love” or “O Worship the King” (Why do you choose that song?)
How about the song before the Lord’s Supper:
“How Deep the Father’s Love,” “Bind Us Together” or “Break Thou the Bread of Life” (AGAIN…WHY?)
What about the song before the lesson, a sermon entitled “Heaven is My Home,” would 
you lead before the lesson;
“My Jesus, I Love Thee,” “Sing to Me of Heaven” or “This Is My Father’s World” (CONSIDER THE QUESTION…WHY DO YOU PICK THE SONG YOU PICK?)
So many options are available, but perhaps with this exercise you can see that just because you like a song or you think it’s a good one, you need to ask why you’re picking each specific song. Realize you have the responsibility to ‘set the mood’ for the moment of worship, then your song selection becomes more focused. And keep in mind, if your repertoire of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs is limited you won’t be able to grow in your worship and leadership as you lead the congregation in singing.
Let me encourage you to wear out your hymnal. Spend long hours reading the words and come to a better understanding of what you’re singing. Then you’ll see what Paul was talking about when he wrote I Corinthians 14:15, “I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with understanding (the mind).”
Let Us Be Faithful!
Some of you may know that my daughter is just weeks away from her wedding date. She and her ‘soon-to-be’ 
have their special date scheduled for this coming November. To say she is beside herself with excitement would be an understatement. They have been blessed with three bridal showers and one more before the month is over. As the father of the bride, I’m most thankful that her fiance, Dalton Todd, is already getting their home prepared as he is currently serving as the pulpit preacher at the Thayer church of Christ in Thayer, Missouri.
And though all this attention to detail is necessary for the plans that go into a beautiful, God-given ceremony, the one thing I love both about these two young people is their daily desire to seek God in their future together. So when Emili posted this Facebook article on October 3rd, I asked if she’d let me share it here. Read some of the thoughts that are going through my daughter’s mind as she looks forward to her wedding day.
“I asked for marriage advice from a lady at church tonight, who (in December) will have been married for 72 years. Expecting something super profound or some secret gem to marriage that only people who’ve been 
married that long would ever know, what do you think she told me?
With grace and dignity, she simply said…
“Just be faithful.”
Faithfulness truly can apply to each part of life, but I can’t imagine a more worthy ‘challenge’ than committing my forever faithfulness to the Father. How hard is it to do that? HARD. The hardest thing you’ll ever do.
Trust. Accept. Believe. Live. Faithfully.
Just. Be. Faithful.”
Thanks Emili…for this great reminder. “Let us be faithful, faithful, faithful Lord!”
A Life-Changing Morning in West Texas…Sept. 23
It’s a joy to be in Knott, Texas this week for their annual Gospel Meeting. This year, Mike Vestal from Midland, Texas will be the speaker for the week. As we come together for worship this morning, our lesson will focus on the first of “Six Life-Changing Words.” We’ll begin with the name above all names, the name that means “God is with us,” the life-changing name of Jesus.
Below is a list of the eight songs we’ll be singing this morning as we consider Jesus as the beginning of the change in our life. Join the Lord’s church this morning as He calls us to not only live differently, but to worship in spirit and in truth!
“We Praise Thee, O God for the Son of Thy love. For Jesus who died and is now gone above…Hallelujah! Thine the glory!”
“Praise God from whom all blessing flow! Praise Him all creatures here below…Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost!”
“Jesus, name above all names. Beautiful Savior, glorious Lord. Emmanuel, God is with us. Blessed Redeemer, Living Word.”
“Man of Sorrow! What a name for the Son of God who came. Ruined sinners to reclaim…Hallelujah! What a Savior!”
“My Jesus I love Thee, I know Thou art mine. For Thee all the follies of sin I resign. My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou. If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus is now…”
“Jesus is ALL the world to me, my life, my joy, my all! He is my strength from day to day without Him I would fall. When I am sad to Him I go, no other one can cheer me so, when I am sad, He makes me glad…He’s my friend.”
“Have you heart that’s weary, tending a load of care? Have 
you a soul seeking rest from the burden you bear? Do you know my Jesus? Do you know my Friend? Have you heard He loves you and that He will abide till the end?”
“There’s within my heart a melody, Jesus whispers sweet and low, ‘Fear not I am with thee, peace be still, in all of life’s ebb and flow.’ Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! Sweetest name I know. Feels my every longing, keeps me singing while I go.”
Worship this morning in spirit and in truth and you’ll find how Jesus can change your life and ‘keep you singing.’
Psalm 51…You’re the Man!
When was the last time you read 2nd Samuel, chapter 11? You may remember this is the account from the time when King David found Bathsheba. Read these first few verses again; “In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her.”
Though typically, this was the time when kings go out to war, King David sends his soldiers to war while he stays home. That was his first mistake. Then, perhaps because he couldn’t sleep, he goes for a walk. Though insomnia isn’t a sin what ensued for David was, he saw a women who was bathing and he lusted after her. That was followed by adultery that eventually lead to murder. You may recall how this situation played out as you read the rest of the chapter.
But as we turn the page to chapter 12, a new character steps into the palace. The prophet Nathan comes and shares with David a tragic story about a man who was selfish and sinful in his behavior. Outraged, the king is ready to exact discipline. The text of 2 Samuel 12:5 records that, “David burned with anger against the man and said, ‘…the man who did this must die!'” However, as you may recall, Nathan’s four-word reply exposes the 
truth of the matter. David was the man.
How do we react when we are shown to be in the wrong? What is our response when someone shows us our sin? Often times we squirm and try to rationalize our actions. Sometimes we try to place the blame on someone else. David could have said, “Bathsheba shouldn’t have been bathing on her roof where I could see her.” But he didn’t…he accepted his sin and we read his response in the 51st chapter of Psalm as he wrote:
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.”
Thanks to the pen and musical abilities of Steve & Annie Chapman and Brandon & Sheryl Thomas we can take these words of David and sing them as a prayer to our God. When we accept that we “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Consider Psalm 51: 1, 2 as we, like King David, call on our God to have mercy on us.
A Contact with Thirteen Cents, Pt 2
A contract that reads: $_____.13
Could this really be how God might work in our life today? Does He answer our prayers in ways that “WOW!” us or in ways that we cannot see, or maybe both? If you read last weeks article, you began the story from Dottie Rambo and her career as a gospel music writer/singer. Let’s conclude with the ‘rest of the story’ from Dottie Rambo, and I hope you’ll take time to consider and remember all that God has done in your life. Dottie’s personal account of this narrative continues…
“When we arrived (in Nashville to meet with Pop Benson) we began to look over the contract, I was dying to find out the amount. I said, ‘Let me look at it.’ Mr. Benson looked over his glasses and said, ‘Well, Dot, my girl, this is the best I can do.’ I really wasn’t interested in anything except the thirteen cents. When I looked at the amount, it read so many dollars and thirteen cents! When I saw that I said, ‘Give me a pencil.’ There was a mild protest, ‘Wait a minute, we haven’t read it that well. We don’t know that much about it.’ I said, ‘We don’t need to know anything else. We’re just supposed to sign it.’ So we signed it.”
“We got into our car and began pulling away from the curb. All of a sudden, I began talking quietly to the Lord. I said, ‘Lord, I appreciate You doing this for me. I know You must have done a million things like this that I didn’t know about or don’t 
remember, and haven’t thank You for, but You know me – I’m human and I forget. But when You do good things, just roll back the curtain and remind me of them and I’ll thank You for them!’ “
“When that happened the melody in my heart started rolling and I started weeping. I was asked, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ I said, “Nothing, I’m just rejoicing. I’m writing a song.’ During those one hundred miles home, without an instrument, I wrote, ‘Remind Me, Dear Lord.’ “
Whether God gave Dottie Rambo a ‘sign’ or if it was just a coincidence, no one can argue the fact her first contract ended with thirteen cents. And personally, I’m glad it did. For without it, we might not have this song to remind us that the things we love and hold dear to our hearts are just borrowed, they’re not ours at all. And whether you’ve sung this song before or not, Dottie reminds us that there is nothing good that we have done to deserve God’s Son. We’re not worthy of the scars in His hands. Today let me encourage you to take some time and just talk with God. Tell Him your plans, your wishes and then may…ask Him for thirteen cents!
A Contract with Thirteen Cents, Pt 1
The lesson’s we can learn from the pages of God’s word never cease to amaze me. Unfortunately, it seems 
we don’t open the Book often enough to learn those lessons. For example, do you remember Judges chapter 6 when God calls Gideon to deliver His people from the oppression of the Midianites? An angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon calling on him to “…deliver Israel from the hand of Midian.” In one of the most noted negotiations in Old Testament history, Gideon asked not once, but three times for God to ‘show me (him) a sign.’ (Read Judges 6:17, 18 & 36-40 to learn about the offering, the dry fleece on wet ground and dew-soaked fleece on dry ground.) When we read God’s word, we often find that we really haven’t changed much from Gideon’s day. For example, when was the last time you asked God for a sign to confirm His authority? Maybe you said something like…
“Lord, if you will __________________, then I will _____________________.”
And though it’s true God works in ways we cannot see, we have to realize we are not in negotiations with God. It’s simply not how God operates today. At the same time that certainly does not mean we should stop seeking His guidance in all that we do. Christ’s own words in Matthew 7 tell us to, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you…”
Recently I came across the backdrop of one of our older ‘spiritual songs,’ by Dottie Rambo. Written in the mid-1960’s, Dottie shares her personal story behind the writing of this song…
“At the time I wrote this song, we were living in Kentucky just getting started in the 
music ministry. I was holding down a job and singing on the weekends. I received a call from John T. Benson. We called him ‘Pop.’ He called about having me sign a writer’s contract and about having our family sing for him. We didn’t know about contracts or what to do about such things. Since it was only a hundred miles from Nashville, my family and I drove to see Pop Benson.”
“As we traveled I prayed: ‘Lord, we don’t know anything about contracts, so You will have to lead us. If we are to sign the contract, let it read so many hundred dollars and thirteen cents. If You’ll just let thirteen cents be the last numbers on the contract, then I’ll know that we are supposed to sign it.’ I told NO ONE about my prayer.”
To see what song was born from this experience, next week we’ll conclude Dottie Rambo’s story and see how (if) God answered her prayer and provided her with… “thirteen cents.”
You Said, “I Do”…but Do You?
As the groom stand before his friends and family, he is asked one of the most important questions of his life,
“Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?” 
His confession of love is captured in two little words, “I do!”
A confession that promises devotion. A promise to give his life to this one woman forever. A proclamation that is more than just an “I love you.” This is a confession that says I am yours.
Several months ago a sermon looked at a similar confession between the believer and his God. Before family and friends the question is asked, “Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God?” Prior to the baptism that great confession is taken. The believer’s “I do” proclaims more than just a passing love for Christ. It’s a commitment. Every day we should examine our hearts and look closely at our lives to see if that proclamation, that “I do” is still our living promise.
“…I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also.” I Corinthians 14:15
Song options for a Sunday morning sermon on commitment…
The following songs are found in the hymnal, Songs of Faith & Praise.
“To God Be the Glory” (page 4) Take a look at verse two, “…The vilest offenders who TRULY obey, that moment may enter the heavenly way.” How do we know if someone ‘truly obeys?’ We only trust and hope, but know that God knows our hearts. He knows if we are committed!
“Faithful Love” (page 18) Our perfect example of love is found in Jesus. When we consider His faithful love, it changes our way of thinking. At least it will if we are doing more than just saying, “I do.”
“Dear Lord and Father of Mankind” (page 770) This hymn (prayer) to God is a great voice of how much we are dedicating our lives to Him. Especially as we strive to focus on Him rather than the ‘strain and stress’ of life. Our life will show how much we ‘confess’ our Lord and Father.
“The Old Rugged Cross” (page 313) If you have said “I do” and stepped into the watery grave of baptism making Jesus your Lord and Savior, have you laid down your trophies? Hmmm…if we don’t lay the world down, how will we ever be committed to serving Him?
“I’m Not Ashamed to Own My Lord” (page 609) This has always been a favorite of mine, but especially when we think about that vow we make to commit to Christ. Not only am I saying “Yes,” but I’m not ashamed either!
“Our God, He is Alive” (page 23) We sing this so often it’s easy to miss what we’re saying. Verse two, “He is the God that we should know…” Meaning we should know Him (we’d better know Him) and/or meaning (we ought to know Him.) Just don’t forget, it’s in Him (God) that we not only live, but in Him we survive!
“I DO,” the two words that launch a husband and wife into a life together are the same words that launch the believer into eternity with his God.
The Battle Cry!
For generations, soldier’s have marched into battle motivated by a melody of courage, strength and victory. During the United States Civil War a song was written to inspire the northern army (the Union.) But due to the songs ‘sing-ability’ the southern army (the Confederates) adopted the tune and adjusted the words to fit their own rally. The words, for the North, were a simple cry to rally the troops;
“And we’ll rally ’round the flag boys, rally once again shouting the battle cry of freedom!”