Tag: Blessings

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How Does This Manna Taste to You?…Nov. 23rd

Being a ‘picky eater’ is what we would call the child who sits and stares at his food. And those infamous words, “I picky eaterdon’t like this!” are usually preceded by 30 minutes of sitting alone at the table watching the plate grow cold. Are we mean parents for insisting our kids eat what has been placed before them? Some might say ‘yes,’ while some believe otherwise. Worthy parents would never give their child something that wasn’t good for them, or would cause them harm. We provided for our children food that is nourishing and for their benefit.

And you know that God does the same. He gives us every good thing and blesses us in ways we can’t see. Still there are days when we sit down and say, “…but I don’t like this.” Perhaps the Israelite nation had this down pat as they ‘grumbled against the Lord.’ Whether it was manna from heaven or fresh quail, we read how “the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron.” Exodus 16 Sunday mornings we look heavenward and count our blessings. But this week consider your meal and answer the question, “How does this manna taste to you?”

“…I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also.” I Corinthians 14:15

Sunday morning, Nov. 23, 2014

You’ll notice the following songs come from the hymnal, Songs of Faith & Praise.

“All Things Praise Thee” – 43

The hymn we’ll open with is a prayer that we might offer to God an acceptable, worthy praise. Each of the three verses begin with, ‘All things praise Thee…’ Praise flows to our God from the heavens and from the earth. From the silence of the night to the burning of the day God’s creation is constantly praising Him. The statement we make as we sing each of these verses is “Lord, may we!” It’s not a question, “may we worship God?” It’s an exclamation…May we Worship God as He deserves!Hour Of Prayer

“Tis the Blessed Hour of Prayer” – 849

An hour of prayer…are you kidding me? If we spend more than a few minutes bowing our head and praying, our minds begin to wander. How could we spend an HOUR, a ‘blessed hour,’ in prayer? If we’re honest with ourselves it’s all a matter of the heart. When our hearts ‘lowly bend’ we come before God in a humble state of obedience. Who among us will sit for 3 hours watching a ball game? Or 2 hours in the theater? We do what we enjoy and we find blessing in that hour. You just have to decide if it will it be a blessed hour of prayer…or a blessed hour of play?

“In Christ Alone” – no book

As we prepare for the Lord’s Supper, this song of admonition serves as a memorial of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. While verse one consist of recognizing Him as our Cornerstone, solid ground and Comforter, verse two takes us from His birth to His crucifixion. Those who know this song cherish the third verse. As we begin singing softly of His burial, our voices ‘burst forth’ as we sing of His resurrection. The final verse gives us assurance in Christ as we sing, ‘No power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand…’ How could anyone complain about the blessings we find in Christ?

“I Am Mine No More” – 683

A simple, short, three verse song with a simple message, “It’s not about me.” Not only do I give up any false pretension of being in control, we continue in the second verse proclaiming Jesus as Lord. The concluding verse anticipates His return. If “I am mine no more,” and if “Jesus is my Lord” when “He will come again…He’ll take me home.” Simple, but still how many will still grumble and complain about one of these steps?

“O Thou Fount of Every Blessing” – 226

The words of this old hymn are dated back to the mid-1700’s. Taking a reference from I Samuel (Ebenezer) and sprinkling in some poetic terms, this song of admonition should get us all to thinking. If you take nothing else from this song, you must focus in on the third verse. “O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be! Let Thy goodness like a fetter (chains) bind my wandering heart to Thee; (the original words continue) Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here’s my heart, O take and seal it. Seal it for Thy courts above.” Do you realize what you’re saying? You said that you want God’s goodness to chain you up to Him. Funny, but isn’t that kind of what we want to do with our children when they reject the good things we give them?

“Kneel at the Cross” – 945

As our invitation we’ll kneel before the cross and sing of ‘giving our idols up.’ The things we value in this life are worthless when compared to living for Christ. We are a blessed people, but do we turn toward the world rather than looking toward Him?

“When Upon Life’s Billows” – 742

Can you count your blessings? When was the last time you even tried? Undoubtedly we would be lost in thought trying to make a list of how much our God has given us. This old hymn encourages us to remember how much God has blessed us. When the storm of life is threatening us, when we’re discouraged, when we’re burdened or when we’re ‘amid the conflict,’ we can still find blessings from our God. Unless we’re too distracted by the complaining. Maybe we really should answer the question…”How does this manna taste to you?”

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Who Am I?

Oscillating FanAre you blessed?  When the temperatures fall in the winter, do you consider the warmth of your home a blessing?  When the summer heats up and the sun beats down on you, do you find the comfort of your oscillating fan a blessing?

All too often we find ourselves living in an self-satisfying world.  The young teenage boy opens the refrigerator expecting it to be filled with food (though he may hold the door open for 15 minutes trying to decide what he wants).  When we flip the light switch in the hall we expect instant illumination.  We turn on the shower and become frustrated when it takes too long for the water to heat up. In short…we expect favorable results.  But why do we think this way?  Who am I to assume that just because I expect things to be a certain way they will be?  Unfortunately we are living in a time (a culture) of entitlement.  When we once cherished what we had, now we expect it…and more.  The university graduate, with diploma in hand, expecting a 6 figure income.  Many not wanting to work their way to the top, but rather expecting to automatically be placed there.  The young family moving into their first home?  Make that a 4-bedroom, 3-bath, 2-car garage, because, “Hey, I deserve it…” But what really do I deserve? It’s probably not what I would expect.

During the last several months many have shared with me this song made popular by Rusty Goodman in 1965.  Many years ago I remember hearing Elvis Presley sing this song, but it never sounded as strong as it does in this arrangement. Sung by the “Alter of Praise Chorale” in 2010, this song speaks to the blessing we have in a Christ. Notice the words, then listen to the human voice sing this song of humility and reverence.

who am i

Oh when I think of how He left His home in glory
Came and dwelt among the lowly such as I
To suffer shame and such disgrace on Mount Calvary
Take my place then I ask myself a question, “Who am I?”

Who am I that the King would bleed and die for?
Who am I that He would pray “not my will, Thine Lord?”
The answer I may never know, why He ever loved me so
That to an old rugged cross He’d go for who am I?

When I’m reminded of His words, I’ll leave Him never
If you’ll be true I’ll give to you life forever
Oh, I wonder what I could have done to deserve God’s only Son
To fight my battles until they’re won for who am I?

Who am I that the King would bleed and die for?
Who am I that He would pray not my will, Thy Lord?
The answer I may never know, why He ever loved me so
But to an old rugged cross He’d go for who am I?
But to an old rugged cross He’d go for who am I?

Paul’s inspired words to the church in Rome remind me that I am a blessed man.  We don’t deserve anything good, but we have been given the best gift ever.  Who am I to be the recipient of such an honor?  Why would God look down on me and have mercy on me, a sinner.  You’ve heard the song written some 47 years ago, but now read the inspired words penned some 2000 years ago and ask yourself…who am I?  “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet perhaps for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commended His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8

Enjoy the blessings God has given you.  The warmth of your home when the cold air is swirling around; the cool side of the pillow on the hot summer night, and best of all…the assurance that God has given us the greatest gift of all time.

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Taking a Look at Sunday Morning

I am thankful for my church family…

Having just returned from a trip the evening before, we were late getting to church service and decided not to interrupt class 20 minutes late. After getting some work done in the office, we sat down early in the auditorium.

Though we left on vacation following the morning services last week, it seemed like a long time since we’d been with our church family.

At first, it was dark in the auditorium, then a few people started to arrive.  One sweet lady, dressed in high heels and using a walking cane, was escorted to her seat by her grown son who then returned pushing her husband in a wheelchair.  They sat on the second seat from the front, settled in their pew while the son figured out where to store the folded wheel chair. He sat with them.

A few others, mostly folks walking slowly due to age, came in the auditorium finding their pews and settling in for worship before class was dismissed and the masses arrived.

One man came walking down our aisle and suddenly the lights came on.  Smiling he told us they automatically come on when he enters!  We shared small talk and he settled in his pew awaiting the rest of his family.

For 15 minutes people strolled in the auditorium, some stopped to chat before sitting down, others hurriedly walked past looking towards ‘their’ pew.  Some, knowing we’d been out of town, asked about our trip.  Another was excited to show me she too had recently gotten an iPhone, she asked if I would like to go to classes with her. Another brother shared with me a picture of a fancy faucet he had just installed in their renovated bathroom.  And yet another dear brother, short on time, asked me a question about his LOA group (our church’s small group).  One of our young men, on his first visit home from college, stopped to give me a hug and chat briefly before others wanted his attention too. A sweet lady in the pew in front of me wanted to chat about her LOA plans that were scheduled for the evening.

I glanced around the auditorium and saw a sister across the way that hadn’t been to worship in quite some time…I said a prayer of thanksgiving.  Families are all in place now, some with guests from out of town.  The college students came in close to the starting time and sat in a row together in their normal spot.

Now it’s time for the welcome and announcements and our weekly ‘meet and greet’.  Then worship begins.  It’s a joy to begin worship in prayer and then song.  A brother in front of us realizes contribution is early in the service so he pulls out a couple bills from his wallet and tries to throw them down the row for his daughter & friend to put in the plate…except neither girl saw the money and his wife sat on one of the bills.  Oh well, at least, he tried.

Before I know it, worship is over and it’s time to visit on our way out the door.  As I walk through the north end a new grandma is busy visiting with her LOA friends about her wonderful new grandson!  I lose track of time visiting and can’t find my husband; I’m assuming he went to the van to wait for me…not so this time.  In the van I do some more waiting and observe several families leaving from the parking lot.  One couple has a wedding gift and they see the person in the parking lot they need to give it to!  A college student and his younger brother come out and drive the suburban closer to the exit waiting for the rest of the family – I’m guessing it felt good to him to be back in that role, and the family certainly loved the familiarity of it too.

The sun was shining but there’s coolness in the air.  Today is our LOA Sunday and there is of buzz in the family as many have plans with their small group.

It’s such a blessing to be a part of God’s family, sharing and caring for each other in every way!  I look forward to any opportunity I have to be with my family, but it seemed especially sweet yesterday after being gone for a week.

I thank God that he gives us everything we need, each other, our church family.

Donna

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” I John 4:8

In the family of God we are a blessed people! 

Thanks Donna for reminding us of the joy we have in the Kingdom of God.

 

 

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The Fount of Blessing…

How often do we sing songs yet not give the words much thought?  We sing the words, maybe we even have them memorized, but we don’t really think about what we are saying.  Perhaps that happens all too often.  Start considering what you are singing.  Not just in the ‘songs, hymns and spiritual songs’, but in the secular as well.  We are not offering up an acceptable sacrifice of praise (in my opinion) if we don’t know what we are offering up.  If you don’t understand a song or the wording behind it…ask someone.  Begin to search and look more closely at what you’re singing.  Question with boldness, as Thomas Jefferson once said, and find out why you are doing what you’re doing; or what you’re singing and why you are singing it.

Have you ever walked up to an old, dirty water fountain and thought, ‘I’m not going to drink out of this!’  Even if you’re are ‘dying of thirst’, you’re going to avoid a broken, dirty water fountain.  In Jeremiah chapter 3, God is speaking through His prophet Jeremiah and He says to the Israelites; “For My people have…forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters…” (read this whole chapter and see the basis of God’s charge against His people.)  The Israelites (God’s people today) have turned away from the ‘fountain of blessing’ and turned toward their own broken cistern (a cistern is a vessel).  Their cistern is not only broken, it can’t even hold water.  Why would they, we, give up something so good and useful for something that is cheap and ineffective?  How could they be so ignorant?  But then again, are we guilt of doing the same?

Not only does this world ignore and disregard God, many of His people struggle with His commands.  We must remember that; God is our fountain and Christ is the Living Water.  Take time to think about what you are singing, and consider which fountain from which you are drinking.

“O Thou Fountain of every blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy praise…”

“God is the Fountain  whence, 10,000 blessing flow…”