Enthusiasm in Worship

 

Habakkuk 2:20 King James Version

²⁰ The Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

 

The words of this text were stretched in a banner across the front of our church when I was a kid. They were read from the pulpit, and we were urged to exercise reverence before the Lord. Our songs were sung in subdued voices. Only very seldom did someone in the congregation venture a softly spoken, heart-felt “Amen!” There was definitely no running in the sanctuary. The robed choir would sacredly chant these words as they filed somberly in and took their places on the platform.

My grandfather was hard of hearing, so our family always sat on the right-side, front pew. Since Dad was an honored member of the church, his family was expected to behave with perfect decorum. Mom was very cognizant of this expectation and did her very best to make the family live up to the ideal. Yes, we respected the fear of the Lord—and of the razor strap behind the bathroom door at home.

Our salvation was received with solemn acceptance under the realization that it could be withdrawn on the slightest infraction. We trembled lest there be a hidden sin lurking in our past that might be revealed on the day of judgement, and we would be cast into the outer darkness, where all unfortunates cringed weeping, wailing, and gnashing their teeth.

We read, but rejected and ignored, such verses as “You will take up your tambourines and dance joyfully!”[1]  “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.”[2] “Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.”[3] “Clap your hands for joy, all peoples! Praise God with loud songs!”[4]   

A visiting week of prayer pastor taught us to sing the following with gusto (* indicates repeat three times):

 

I've got a home in Glory land that (clap) outshines the sun, *
Way beyond the blue.

Do Lord, oh, do Lord, oh, do remember me, *
Way beyond the blue.

 

I took Jesus as my Savior, (clap) you take him too, *
Way beyond the blue.

Do Lord, oh, do Lord, oh, do remember me, *
Way beyond the blue.

 

The next year the song was banned because it had a beat to it, and this caused the youth to move to the music. God forbid!

Was it always this way? “I saw,” wrote Ellen White in 1850, that “singing to the glory of God often drove the enemy, and shouting would beat him back and give us the victory. I saw there was too little glorifying God in Israel and too little childlike simplicity.”[5] In Paris, Maine, in 1850, Ellen White noted: “Sunday the power of God came upon us like a mighty rushing wind. All arose upon their feet and praised God with a loud voice; it was something as it was when the foundation of the house of God was laid. The voice of weeping could not be told from the voice of shouting. It was a triumphant time; all were strengthened and refreshed. I never witnessed such a powerful time before.”[6] Ron Graybill noted these and many more instances in his article “Enthusiasm in Early Adventist Worship” in the October 1991 issue of “Ministry Magazine.”[7]

John the revelator reported on Christ’s reaction to lukewarm religion: “Because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am going to spit you out of my mouth!”[8]

Dear Lord, build a fire under us and send us forth with an enthusiasm that will ignite the earth!

 

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[1] Jeremiah 31:4 GNT

[2] Psalm 32: 11 KJV

[3] Psalm 149:3 KJV

[4] Psalm 47:1 GNT

[5] Ellen G. White to Arabella Hastings, Aug. 4,
1850 (letter 8, 1850).

[6] Ellen G. White to The Church in Brother
Hastings' House, Nov. 7, 1850 (letter 28, 1850)

[7] https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/1991/10/enthusiasm-in-early-adventist-worship

[8] Revelation 3:16 GNT

Exhibit t;he Fruit of the Spirit

 

[1]

Galatians 5:22-23 Easy-to-Read Version

²² But the fruit that the Spirit produces in a person’s life is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these kinds of things.

 

Does one, or should one, strive to exhibit these spiritual fruit?

My wife has acquaintances that call her “friend,” several of them, in fact. I wonder if she attracts them. We have had some of them stay in our home at various times. When they do so, they become highly critical of every thing we do. They complain ceaselessly about having no friends, about the faults of others who have tried to support or help them. They become demanding: the food is tasteless, un-nourishing, not served at the right time, or in the right way. We keep the house too hot in the summer time and too cool in the wintertime. Anything that goes wrong is instantly our fault. We don’t provide transport for them to some entertainment, another “friends” home or meeting place, or some medical service. We don’t have coffee in the house or let them smoke in the house, especially when the weather is inclement. They literally run us to distraction.

I confess that I do not experience love, joy, peace, etc. as I wish I could. My wife is driven into high-blood pressure, depression, but she maintains her spiritual fruit seemingly effortlessly. Seeing her health deteriorating, I eventually put my foot down. I insist the intruder must leave. I actually have forbidden some of these “friends” from returning under any circumstances. On the other hand, she shows only love, patience, kindness, and deep care for these dregs of society.

I have prayed personally for some of these fruits of the Spirit. To no avail. On occasion I have prayed for some of these people, and eventually God has intervened in my life so that they become much more acceptable to me. I don’t know whether they have changed, or the Spirit has actually produced some of His fruit in my life. There is at least patience, kindness, and I sense the peace promised by this verse. I do know that my new attitude is not universal; there still are some ´friends” who rub me the wrong way.

It may be that you want me to pray for the infilling of God’s Spirit in my life that such fruit may become automatic in my life. May this same Spirit give my wife the fortitude and strength to survive their manifestation in her life.

Lord, come quickly and change me and them into beings that your love has formed us to be.

 

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[1] https://www.thinwithin.org/living-the-fruit-of-the-spirit/

 

Sing and Shout

[1]

Psalm 95:1-2 World English Bible

95 Oh come, let’s sing to Yahweh.
    Let’s shout aloud to the rock of our salvation!
² Let’s come before his presence with thanksgiving.
    Let’s extol him with songs!

 

At Solusi in Zimbabwe and at Rusangu in Zambia and in many other churches in the newly independent republics in Africa, I had my soul transported into the grace and love of God by the singing. The people sang in full four-part harmony. They sang with deep spiritual joy that was entirely contagious.

As a kid I remember how we sang joyfully and forcefully enough to make the windows rattle. We loved those songs that were joyful, that had loud chords and praised the Lord.

Then I came to Ikizu in Tanzania. Most kids refused to sing. Those who did sang as though they were singing a dirge. It was as if they were forced to sing. They reminded me of the ancient Israelites who were marched off in chains to Babylon. They hung their harps on the bushes and sat and wept on the shores of the Euphrates.[2] Their captors expected them to sing, but, of course, they couldn’t

Then Pastor Mbwana joined the school. He evidently saw what I saw. However, he knew what to do to remedy the situation. He had a repertoire of Swahili gospel songs all set to the much-loved folk tunes of the people.

Suddenly the students came to life. Their singing was joyous and heartfelt. They made the walls reverberate. My heart leapt for joy. I must admit that the alien, to me, music made me do a double take. I felt alienated, strange. Was this really Christian music? This was music glorifying the gospel. It just wasn’t western type music. I decided to embrace it.

Many of my fellow missionaries, however, were shocked to their core. My music appreciation never has been very cultural or classical, so I didn’t resonate with their horror. They wanted to put a stop to it before it got out of hand. There was a distinct beat to the new music. Those who had long taught and been taught about the evils of Rock and Roll feared it might lead to that. I talked with them and pointed out to them the beautiful change that had come over the students’ singing and themselves. This finally got them to hold off their criticism and wait to see what would become of it.

Thank you, Lord, that Your salvation reaches all people in their own setting.

  

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[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er1F8AvJBfk

[2] Psalm 137

Rejoice!

 

[1]

Philippians 4:4

King James Version

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.

 For months, well over a year, we have been watching our church services online—virtually. When we participated in our liturgical service, we would record the pieces we did, and Pastor Devo would splice all the pieces together to make a nearly seamless service. On occasion some of the pieces would get shuffled or omitted, which we always took in good humor. I missed hearing the organ. I really missed the interaction with other believers.

Things have changed. Hurray! Rejoice! For the last few weeks, we have attended in the actual sanctuary. At the church and the governor’s, request, we have been wearing masks. This does make recognizing each other a bit difficult at times. But we do get to exchange pleasantries, and more importantly, we do get to actually chat to each other. Almost everyone is full of happiness that they are back in church. They have good news to share about their own accomplishments, their families’ activities, successful medical treatments, and the like. Rejoice!

There are, of course, the usual few for whom nothing has gone well. Their car is acting up: it needs new bakes, maybe a new transmission even. Their shirt-tail cousin lost his lease on his house, or she had a bad time with Covid, or he wants a hand-out, or she won’t leave but wants to continue leaching. Their health is playing havoc with them: the back-ache just won’t go away, or their cancer is still growing after two interminable sessions of chemo.

I can’t tell these poor souls to rejoice! I can rejoice because it isn’t happening to me. But what if it is indeed happening to me? Even then I can rejoice in the Lord! I have the Lord and His promises. I rejoice that He has saved me by His grace! I rejoice that I am looking forward to better things. I can rejoice that He is working things out for me.

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!

  

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[1] https://stmichaellivermore.com/blog/rejoice-midst-darkness

His Words Like Rain on Parched Earth

 

Deuteronomy 32:2

Good News Translation

² My teaching will fall like drops of rain
    and form on the earth like dew.
My words will fall like showers on young plants,
    like gentle rain on tender grass.

 

For anywhere from ten to twelve months, the hills surrounding our home are dry and brown. We seldom get a drop of rain, and if by off chance it does rain, it does no visible good. Winter usually brings a rainy season, and we get several rains interspersed with cool weather. The long dormant seeds drink in the water and sprout. Within a few days, the brown is tinged with green. Then the green increases steadily, especially as it gets more showers. After a couple weeks, the hills are a lovely green. Flowers begin to appear. Actually, there are some flowers that seem to thrive, even in the driest of weather, but they are few and far between. On a walk in the hills, I usually spot 8 to 10 different kinds of flowers, tucked away here and there. But in the desert, those flowers actually disappear in the rain, and scores of kinds of flowers blossom in their place. At times the whole desert floor is vibrant with color. The Interstate that runs within a league from our home becomes severely congested by passersby enjoying the beauty.

Even so the words of the Gospel bring joy, gladness, and peace to those who believe when they read or hear them. These words lift the burden and stress formed by the cares and toils we encounter every day. They bring hope and anticipation to the hours that previously were but boredom and even dread.

So, take a few minutes now and refresh yourself with words from God’s Word.

 

The Desert Shall Blossom as a Rose

Song of Solomon 2:12

New King James Version (NKJV)

¹² The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove.

It was twelve years ago, in 2005, that we last had a season like this one. The desolate desert meadows of Anza Borrego were blanketed in the royal purple of the sand verbena punctuated by the lush desert primroses. Hundreds of people walked delicately through the blossoms. Lovers hugged each other in the irresistible romance the flowers leant to their courtship.

In recent years, the entire desert longed for relief from a fierce sun, desiccating winds, and a drought that seemed never ending. Then the winter of the year of our Lord 2017 finally came with lavish, soaking rains. They washed the mountain crags clean. At long last the former lakebed caught the rain and allowed it to sink deeply into the ground again and again over a number of weeks.

On a recent Saturday Sylvia and I drove down to Anza Borrego State Park again just to see with our own eyes the fruit of rains that had brought so much green to our desolate, desert hills. As before we found hundreds of people, starry eyed lovers, excited children, and rejuvenated old folks all wandering, entranced, amongst the desert gold flowers. This time the golden blanket was punctuated by the purple sand verbena and the white desert primrose.

Besides the flowers, we were blessed to see several types of birds.  Not only did we see doves (mourning doves) but great raptors and tiny hummingbirds as well. The hummingbirds benefit the most from a plenitude of flowers. In addition, great, fat, striped caterpillars sat in the shade of the withered leaves gorging themselves on the rich feast, unknowingly heading toward their transformation into creatures with beautiful wings and delicate antennae.

The hand of the Creator stretched out and reminded us that, in the midst of the desert of death and sin in this old world, God is still personally interested in us, in our joy and happiness. He is still interested in instantaneously changing us into beautiful, imperishable immortality.

Thank You, Lord, for these beautiful reminders of the bright future You have already prepared for us!