Today I'm going to share some thoughts on a song the Chancel Choir at Arborlawn United Methodist church sang a couple of weeks ago in service. It is titled "Blessing and Benediction".
Our amazing director, Tom Stoker, told us to really consider the words we were singing - what the author of the piece was trying to convey, and how important it really is. I didn't get it until we actually sang it in church.
I'm going to give you a line by line, and my reflections.
"May God be in your head and in your understanding."
Don't just know the Word; live the Word. Be open to whaqt the LORD has to say. Be ope to the idea that what you thought He said, wasn't. Be open to the idea that what He really did say yesterday is not what He's saying today. The Scriipture exhorts us to "hide [His] Word in our hearts." What a beautiful pciture. Do so much more than memorize it. Put it in your heart and let it breathe through into your life through your love.
"God be in your eyes and in your seeing."
Jesus warned His disciples that many would see the signs and wonders, but few would believe. Don't just look; see. Don't just observe; engage. Don't just watch; interact. If the love you have for God does not move you to action, you not truly seen.
"God be in your mouth and in your speaking."
Don't just focus on speaking the Word, on keeping you consverstaions on Christ, on refraining from idle talk. Those things are good pure and right, but they do not lead you or anyone around you to the wonder and awe of grace and renewal that is Christ. Focus instead on the conversations, on the encouragement, on the blessings that you have the power to bestow when you truly speak with the heart of God. Scripture is not the only holy Word. God is still speaking. Will you allow Him to speak through you?
"God be in your heart and in your thinking."
How amazing that it is not "heart and feelings" or "mind and thinking." What does this tell us? I'm not sure I know. But the Spirit is stirring within me because of this line, and I rest content that He will reveal it to me in time. Today, tomorrow, next week, next month. Perhaps all of them. Perhaps all differently.
This I know. Jesus said, "love the Lord your God, love your neighbor as yourself; these are the greatest commandments."
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Good (freezing) Morning from AK.. So, I guess I'm wondering what you mean by Scripture not being God's only holy word. I agree that God is still speaking but if a 'word' from God does not line up with Scripture, it isn't from God...God is not going to contradict Himself. Ever. He's the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. So if he said something on Monday, he still means it on Friday. That is one of the defining characteristics of Christianity: a God who doesn't change (oh,and a risen savior).
ReplyDeleteI also just want to put in my two cents when you talk about "don't just focus on speaking the Word"... There are scriptures exhorting believers to not just read the word, but do what it says.. also faith without works being dead. However, how do we, as Bible-possessing believers, propose to do the will of God without constantly going to him in prayer and to his spoken Word (the Bible)?
If I am doing these things with a sincere heart, it will result in encouraging and blessing conversations and interactions with others. I can't do ANYTHING on my own without the work of the Holy Spirit living in me. There is NOTHING I can do on my own to lead anyone around me to the wonder and awe of grace and renewal that is Christ. The minute I try to credit myself in any of those areas, I'm in deep trouble.
I like what Brian said a few posts ago about being in relationship with God. It does boil down to that, even what Jesus said about loving God with all our hearts, souls, minds and strengths; then loving our neighbors as ourselves. What constitutes a relationship? Getting to know the other person for who they are, not who I want them to be. How do I know who God is?? By what He tells me in his Word first and by prayer. So how can one speak of God's heart without knowing Him for who he says he is? God will certainly reveal Himself to us in different ways, but He's not going to reveal Himself as a different person to different people.
Blog on.
I totally agree with you, April. When I said that Scripture was not the only holy Word, I was trying to say that I believe there are other things that have been written since the time of the early church that have been equally inspired by the Holy Spirit. For example, I believe that C.S. Lewis was inspired by the Spirit to write "The Chronicles of Narnia." Really, I see Spirit-led writing from him in all his works. I believe the same is true of Phillip Yancey. That's what I mean when I say God is still speaking and Scripture is not the only holy Word.
ReplyDeleteOf course, the examples I just gave could not have written the way they did if they were not intimately familiar with Scripture. You're absolutely right that Scripture has been given to us that we may know the heart of God, and we exist to be in relationship with the One True God through His Son, Jesus the Christ. I just worry sometimes that well intentioned Christians get so bogged down in haggling over what Scripture says and what it means, that they forget the relationship part. It's very easy to miss the forest for the trees.
I don't believe that God can change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. But our understanding of Him changes, because we change. And, sadly, sometimes our understanding of Him is just wrong. The KKK used the Bible to persecute the Black community and the Jews. Hitler and the Nazis used the Bible to exterminate anyone who wasn't of the master race. The Sanhedrin used Scripture to convict and crucify their own Messiah. Throughout our history, Christians have used Scripture to draw lines of division between denominations.
The most well-meaning and sincere of us can get things wrong when we begin to focus on the words of Scripture and not the esssence of the Word as it was made flesh in Jesus. And even when we pray and open ourselves up to the Spirit's leading in sincerity and humility, we still can't always get ourselves out of the way to truly hear. We bring too much of ourselves to the conversation, so that even when we believe ourselves to be the most vulnerable and honest in our request for Truth and insight, we still make mistakes.
How else could the church have excuted Socrates? How else could the Pope have excommunicated Martin Luther? How else could the Puritans have felt the need to leave their home to escape the church?
I have come to believe that, though God does not, will not, cannot change, humans beings change all the time. And so, periodically we need a new Word from the Lord, couched in a more modern tongue, to remind us of the Truth that was first spoken in the Garden so many long years ago. I AM your GOD. You are My children. I desire to walk with you in the cool, of the day. If you hide yourselves from Me, how can I give you the blessings I desire for you to have? If you choose the path of sin and death, I must send you a Redeemer to ransom you back to Myself. My intent is that you love Me, and accept My love. My intent is that you love one another as I have loved you. My intent is that you accept my gift of salvation and come home.
ReplyDeleteWith all the things that have happened in my personal life lately, I struggle to understand Scripture. I have read and prayed, studied and discussed. And I believe that in my most vulnerable and honest moment; when I had given up on trying to guess, control, or even fear the answer God would give, He chose not to condemn me for being gay. I believe that being gay is part of the way God created me, and that He loves me exactly the way I am, and does not have any designs on trying to get me to be different. I am a gay Christian, loved of God and used by Him to further His kingdom on the earth.
However, I have dear, wonderful, devoted friends who feel that they have asked the same questions of the LORD, and been given a different answer. They believe that God has commisioned them to help pray me out of this horrible sin I'm living in. And when they tell me how worried they are that I have been led astray, it comes from a very genuine and loving heart that is fixed on Christ.
It seem fairly obvious that one or the other of us is simply wrong. But I can only speak for what I feel the Spirit has spoken to my heart. What goes on between the LORD and others is not for me to interfere with. I cannot presume to speak for God. I can only continue in the knowledge the Truth He has spoken to my heart is of love and compassion and acceptance.
So what does that mean? I don't know. Maybe I never will. That's one of the reasons that I started this blog.
May the LORD add His blessings to the honest struggle of His children to know and follow His Word. Amen.