Our Great God

Psalm 145 is known as an acrostic of praise written by David. Each verse corresponds with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. I love this Psalm because it gives us accurate descriptions of God’s character and His active interest in our lives. In the English language, we can see this Psalm partially divided into two categories: God is_____________ and God does__________________.
The list begins with these descriptions of God. Each of these phrases appears in pairs and most of them are connected by the word “and”, almost as if to imply a continued explanation.
“Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise.” (v. 3)
“The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.” (v. 8)
“The Lord is good to all and has compassion on all He has made.” (v.9)
“Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom , and your dominion endures through all generations.” (v.13)
“The Lord is righteous in all His ways and loving toward all He has made.” (v. 17)
“The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.” (v.18)

The next group of phrases describes the activity of the Lord in our lives. Sometimes David talks about the Lord and sometimes he is actually directs His praise to the Lord Himself. This list begins with the statement:
“The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made.” (v.13) The list continues with how the Lord demonstrates His faithfulness to us:

“The Lord upholds all those fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.” (v.14)
“You give Your people food at the proper time.” (v.15)
“You open Your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.” (v.16)
“The Lord is near to all who call on Him in truth.” (v.18)
“He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them.” (v.19)
“The Lord watches over all who love Him…” (v.20)

Our Lord is an active God who continually works to fulfill His promises to us. He does it in so many ways; upholding us, lifting us up, providing for us, staying near to us, fulfilling our desires and watching over us. I am so thankful that we serve a Great God! “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom!” (v. 3)

The Concept of Freedom

2 Cor. 3:17 “Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom…”

This verse is comforting to me because it means that we can actually achieve freedom in our souls through the power of the Holy Spirit. Freedom means that things are as they should be. Bondage has been eliminated and restoration has occurred. This past week, I did some graduate work at the McClosky Vocal Institute in Georgia, and we discussed at great length how to achieve “freedom of tone” in the voice. As singers, there are so many elements that prohibit freedom of tone: tension in the face, jaw, tongue, neck and shoulders, incorrect posture and breath support. When all of the tension is eliminated, and there is proper posture and breath support, the vocal tone will be free and resonant. This week, I heard phrases such as “Let the breath be in control…” and “Let the sound happen, don’t force it to happen!” Everything should come easily and naturally, and yet we get in the way of our own freedom of sound by all of the bad habits that we develop in singing.

As I thought about 2 Cor. 3:17, I saw a distinct correlation between “freedom of tone” in the voice and “freedom” as it relates to the Christian life. The key to singing freely is to let the breath control the sound. The Spirit of the Lord is often referred to as the “breath of God”. As His Spirit fills us and controls us, our lives will function more productively and we will experience His leadership and peace. Singing with freedom of tone also involves a great amount of relaxation. It is essential to work out as much tension as possible before uttering a single sound. The more tense we become, the more our vocal sound will be “tight and pinched”. Over and over again, God reminds us in Scripture to rest or “relax” in Him. We need to roll our troubles onto Him and rest in His almighty power to handle our problems and situations. This is much easier said than done, and it is difficult for all of us to do! It is equally difficult to keep our neck muscles, tongue and jaw relaxed when singing and may often take years of practice to achieve relaxation in just one of those areas. But I know for a fact that as those muscles begin to relax, a beautiful and free tone emerges. In the same way, we must trust that as we rest in the Lord, we will have a more peaceful state of mind. The Lord promises to restore us and give us freedom in Him.

Another important aspect of singing with a free tone, is to have proper posture. If the body is not aligned properly, the entire sound can be affected. Even the slightest alteration in posture can greatly inhibit the freedom and ease of the vocal tone. This reminded me of how important it is for us to keep a proper posture before the Lord. As we spend time with Him, He gives us a proper perspective of Himself and how we relate to Him. For God’s Spirit to flow freely through us, we must remain yielded and humble before Him. When His Spirit is in control and flowing through us, we will begin to produce fruit that looks like Him; the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control.

We all love to hear a beautiful, free singing voice. It is pleasant and soothing to us. It thrills me to work with a voice student who is learning to break away from tension to create a beautiful, resonant sound. The Lord wants to work with us as well to achieve freedom in our lives. My prayer is that my life will be pleasing to the Lord and will reflect the freedom that He gives me as I rest in Him and yield to Him. A life of freedom is what He desires for us. It is His ultimate goal for our lives. In fact, it was so important to God for us to have freedom, that Christ died to set us free from Satan’s bondage. Since we have already been set free, let us learn to live and walk in the freedom that is ours!

Less is More

The story of Gideon demonstrates a beautiful picture of God’s heart and motives. We need to pay careful attention to the words of the Lord mentioned in this story. As humans, we tend to look at numbers as a gauge of success and power. In our society, significance is determined by how much money we make, how many employees we have working for us, how well we are known in the public eye, etc. We validate one another by the things that we have and achieve.
I was in London this past week at the time of the Royal Ascot horse races. It was an event for those in high society. Only the most elite people of England were able to attend this event and it was a mark of status to be seen at the Royal Ascot races. The men were required to wear tuxedos with tails and top hats, while the women wore formal dresses with fancy hats. There was entire day devoted to the fashions that were worn, as the men and women paraded around having their pictures taken, much like we do for the Academy awards here in the United States. Of course, the most beautiful dresses and hats were recognized and there was much attention given to those with the highest status. As I watched this event on T.V., I was reminded that the Lord is not impressed at all with the things that we humans think are important.
One of my favorite children’s books is called “You are Special” by Max Lucado. In the book, there was a town full of wooden puppets called the Wemmicks. Each Wemmick had a box of golden stars and a box of gray dot stickers. All day long, the Wemmicks gave stickers of stars and dots to each other. The pretty ones with smooth wood and fine paint received stars, but if the wood was rough and the paint was chipped, the Wemmicks gave dots. The talented ones got stars too. Others, who could do little received dots. Some Wemmicks had stars all over them. Punchinello was a Wemmick who did not have stars, but dots all over him. He was neither the prettiest nor the most talented Wemmick. He had scratches and bumps all over him. After a while, he had received so many dots that he was afraid to go outside. The Wemmicks with stars made Punchinello feel badly about himself, until one day he met Lucia. She had no stars or dots on her body. She told Punchinello that they fell off of her whenever anyone put a star or sticker on her. She did not want anyone’s marks. Punchinello wanted to know her secret and she told him that her stickers didn’t stick because she spent time with Eli, the Woodcarver. Punchinello went to visit Eli and Eli told him how special he was; that stars and dots didn’t matter. What mattered was what Eli thought of Punchinello, because Eli created Punchinello and in Eli’s eyes, Punchinello was special and beautiful to him. Eli told Punchinello that the stickers stuck only if they mattered to him. Eli said, “The more you trust my love, the less you care about their stickers.” Eli reminded Punchinello to come spend time with him every day so that he could let Punchinello know just how much he cared. He said, “You are special because I made you, and I don’t make mistakes.” Punchinello began to believe Eli, and as he did, a dot fell to the ground. Punchinello discovered that the less stars and dots he had on his body, the more he had grown to believe his creator.

God continues to use the story of Gideon to teach us that man’s strength and status mean nothing to Him, but only His power and might will be everlasting. The Midianite army was so huge, the men could not be counted, but the Lord used Gideon’s army of 300 men to defeat them. Gideon spent time with his Creator, as Punchinello had done, and he knew and discerned the truth about the battle he was about to face. When Gideon had twenty-two thousand men, the Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’.” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained. (Judges 7: 2-3) According to the Lord, ten thousand men were still too many. Gideon was left with 300 men. Rather than looking at the Midianite army and all of their “stars”, Gideon focused on the words of the Lord, “I will deliver them into your hands.” Miraculously, Gideon’s army, probably covered with “dots” defeated the Midianites. It was the word of the Lord that prevailed. Let us not forget, in our society of “stickers of stars and dots”, that less is often “more” when God is involved. May we not boast about our own strength, but boast in the power of the Lord Almighty.

The Fall of Jericho

There is an old spiritual called “Joshua Fit the Battle at Jericho.” I remember playing a piano arrangement of that particular song when I was in elementary school. However, I really wasn’t aware at that time what the song was about. I just knew it was fun to play and it had a catchy tune. The story of the Fall of Jericho is one of my favorites, especially now that I understand how it relates to our every day lives on the spiritual battlefield. Joshua was fit for the battle at Jericho because he had come face to face with the commander of the Lord’ s army and he was faithful to fight the battle as the Lord commanded him to do. In Joshua 5, we find that Joshua had a personal encounter with the Lord Himself. Joshua 5:13-15 recalls this encounter: Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, ”Are you for us or for our enemies?” “Neither”, he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

The city of Jericho was a closed community and no one could come in or leave from its borders. It may have possibly been the center of worship of the moon-god. God Almighty not only wanted to destroy this Canaanite city but also its pagan religion, so He was going to help Joshua accomplish this. In Joshua 6:2, the Lord promised Joshua that He would deliver Jericho into his hands, along with its king and all of its fighting men. The method that the Lord chose to destroy Jericho was unconventional and probably did not make sense to Joshua, but he did it anyway. The battle plan was for Joshua and his men to march around the city once with armed men and they would do this for six days. Seven priests were to carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the Ark of the Covenant. On the seventh day, they were to march around the city seven times with the priests blowing the trumpets. When the trumpet gave a long blast, the people were to give a loud shout and the wall of the city would collapse so that Joshua’s army could attack Jericho and destroy it.

This type of battle wasn’t initially fought with swords and stones, but with perseverance and endurance. I think I would be exhausted after marching around the city just once, but Joshua’s army was to march around the city without stopping for six days. After six days of marching around the city without stopping, I think I would barely have any life left in me. However, Joshua’s army was commanded on the seventh day to march around the city seven times! Surely these men were beyond exhausted and yet somehow, they were going to have the strength to march around the city seven times and then destroy the people of Jericho. It is interesting to me that the wall of Jericho, which was possibly a very strong, double wall did not fall because it was blasted by large boulders, but it fell because the people of God were obedient, and faithful to do what God asked them to do. All they had to do was to shout and the wall fell down. I would have loved to have been there to see that avalanche!

In our own battles, it seems that we may “march around the city” many times without seeing any results. But because we serve a victorious God who is on our side, one day the walls of the enemy will tumble down because of our faithfulness to pray and persevere. When Christ comes again, we will hear one final blast of the trumpet (1 Thess. 4:16) and all of our battles will be over. All of our walls of sorrow, discouragement, bitterness, disillusionment, etc. will come tumbling down and we will celebrate Christ’s eternal victory. Lord, give us the grace to keep walking…to keep standing….to keep praying until that final day!

Caught in the Storm

I have watched several episodes of “The Deadliest Catch” on the Discovery Channel. I am intrigued by the lives of the deep sea fishermen. They have no fear and they are consumed by one passion: to catch Alaskan king crab. These fishermen endure treacherous journeys across the Behring Sea, while they are beaten with icy, cold waves. Each voyage they take out into the mystic, violent ocean is an opportunity for survival, and a way to earn bountiful wages for their “deadliest catch.”
I have ridden some treacherous and daunting rides at Six Flags, but none can compare to the ride of a ship being tossed to and fro by a powerful storm. Not even a hefty dose of Dramamine would help with the sea-sickness and the disorientation that comes with such an experience. The Apostle Paul and his crew encountered many frightening events at sea. In the book of Acts, Luke documents one of their experiences very explicitly: “When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the “northeaster,” swept down from the island. The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure. When the men had hoisted it aboard, they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along. We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.” (Acts. 27:13-20)

The riders of this ship felt completely out of control. There was nothing more they could do except hope and pray that somehow their lives would be spared. The irony of this is that when we feel we have completely lost control in the storm, God is most at work. In the storm, we see “no results” of our prayers. When the answer is out of our reach, we are not trying to “do it” any more, but we have rolled our burdens onto the Lord. Let us take the comfort out of it and not put our hands on it again. (I‘m talking to myself too!) Oh, what a relief it brings to know that He is already working on the difficulty. If we have truly rolled it onto Jesus, then we are looking to Him to perform the task. In the storms of my own life, God has comforted me with His Word, or He has sent ministering angels to me so that I may endure the trial. God was faithful to Paul in the same way. Paul quotes in Acts 27:23-25: “Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as He told me. Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.” I love Paul’s words, “The God whose I am”. He already placed his trust in the Great Deliverer, for he said, “I have faith in God that it will happen just as He told me.” Even though they would eventually shipwreck, God would be with them and preserve their lives. The moral of the story is: Trust the Calmer of the Storm. Charles Haddon Spurgeon once said, “The Lord will go through with His covenant engagements. Whatever He takes in hand He will accomplish; hence past mercies are guarantees for the future and admirable reasons for continuing to cry unto Him.”

Teach me, Lord to have faith
In what you’re bringing me will
Change my life and bring you glory
There on the storm I am learning to let go
Of the will that I so long to control
There may I be in your arms eternally
I thank you, Lord, you are the Calmer of the storm.
(From the song, “Calmer of the Storm” by Downhere)

Glorious Victory

As we are reading through Deuteronomy, we find that it is not easy for the Israelites to enter into their Promised Land. Though it was promised to them, God never said it would be a “walk in the park” for them to inherit their land. However, He did promise that He would go before them, and He promised that His presence would be with them. The Promised Land was inhabited by pagans and heathens who worshiped other gods. The Jews needed to go to war and capture the territory that already belonged to them. Victory was promised to them, but they still had to fight. This is what the Lord said concerning Israel’s battle against the enemy: “Hear O Israel, today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them. For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” (Deut. 20:3-4)

The Apostle Paul must have remembered these words of the Lord as He marched into enemy territory in Jerusalem. He was warned not to go to Jerusalem because of the impending danger that awaited him. But Paul’s response was, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart: I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts. 21:13) He knew there would be a battle to fight, but He knew the Lord would be with him and would fight for him. Paul was well-acquainted with warfare. He was tortured, and put in prison numerous times for proclaiming his faith. Because of this, he has written some of the most eloquent discourses concerning warfare that we will find in Scripture. Concerning Spiritual warfare he wrote these words: “be aFinally be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be to stand your ground…” (Eph. 6:13)

Paul understood that as Christians, we do not wage war as the world does. He explained in 2 Cor. 10 that the weapons of our warfare are not weapons of the world. We must fight with the very words of God—our sword of the Spirit. With that sword, we are able to demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Just as victory was promised to the Jews as they entered the Promised Land, victory is promised to us as well. Paul assures us in 2 Corinthians 2:14 that God will lead us into victory with the help of Christ. We must do our part to stand firm in our faith and victory will be ours. In Romans 15, Paul reminds us that everything in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Rom. 15:4) I believe he had Deuteronomy 20:3-4 in mind when he wrote the passage in Romans 15. We have hope in our glorious victory because God has already promised it to us, just as he promised victory to the ancient Jews. We have His presence, His protection and His mighty power to fight the battles for us. If God is for us, who can be against us? (Rom 8:37) “Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him!” (2 Cor. 2:14)

An Open Door

There have been so many decisions in my life that I have made even when I wasn’t quite sure which direction to go. Each one of us encounters crossroads where we must choose one way or the other. Sometimes, the answer is not always clear, but we go with what we know at the time. We trust, pray and hope that the Lord will guide us to the next step. In Acts 16, Paul received a direct word from God concerning his next decision. Acts 16:6-10 says, “Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the Word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”
This passage of Scripture taught me a few things about God’s guidance and direction. First of all, Paul and his companions were yielded to the Spirit of God. The Spirit “kept” them from preaching the Word of God in the province of Asia even though they may have not had all of the answers as to why they were not permitted to do so. Secondly, they kept moving. There was a closed door in the province of Asia, so they moved on to the border of Mysia. They tried to enter Bithynia, but again the Spirit of God would not allow them to. They kept moving and proceeded to enter Troas. Once Paul made it into Troas, the Spirit of God sent a vision to Paul concerning Macedonia. The other principle I learned from this passage is that once Paul received the vision from God, He concluded that God called them to preach the Gospel in Macedonia and they left immediately the next day. When making a decision, we need to stay yielded and willing to do whatever it is that God asks of us. We need to keep moving until we find an open door, and when God makes something perfectly clear, follow through immediately.

The book of Proverbs contains some very helpful passages about decision making. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” In this passage is an instruction as well as a promise. Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed.” And Proverbs 19:21 tell us, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Obviously, the Lord desires to be a huge factor in our decision making. He is the only One who can direct us effectively and we know that He will always direct us into the right way—the Jesus Way. As we continue to walk the Jesus Way, let us consider the example of Paul and heed the ancient Proverbs before we take our next steps. Sometimes the way is dark and uncertain, but Jesus is the Light and in Him is no darkness as we read in 1 John. Psalm 119:105 reminds us that God’s Word is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. God, we thank You; for You did not leave us alone to find our way in this vast creation. You promise to never leave us nor forsake us. You promise to guide us as we seek You; and You promise that our plans will succeed as we commit them to You. We know that You will provide the open doors for us and we can walk in peace and safety with You by our side.

Wherever He leads I’ll go
Wherever He leads I’ll go
I’ll follow my Christ who loves me so
Wherever He leads I’ll go.