Songs From the Heart

Psalm 118:15 (NRSV) - There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous: ‘The right hand of the Lord does valiantly;

Singing is a form of praise.

In fact, the singing of hymns has become an integral part of the worship service.

Even the Psalmist expounds on this in his “Song of Victory.”

When Mary visited Elizabeth, she too had a “Song of Praise.”

Luke 1:46-47 (NRSV) - And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,

Some have been given the gift of music.

You will certainly hear them as they sing in church choirs or function as song leaders.

You may even be able to pick out their voices from others seated in the congregation.

I have often joked that God gave me the gift of wisdom.

That is because I am wise enough to recognize that I do not have the gift of music.

Despite this, I will sing.

This begs the question: Why would someone without the gift sing?

For me, I turn to the example set by David.

David was a man after God’s own heart.

In fact, God said as much.

At one point, David gathered 30,000 to return the Ark of God to Jerusalem.

David not only took part in the procession, but he also danced in praise of the Lord.

2 Samuel 6:16 (NRSV) - As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.

The procession ended and people returned to their homes.

When David returned home, Michal questioned his judgment.

David explained his actions.

2 Samuel 6:21 (NRSV) - David said to Michal, ‘It was before the Lord, who chose me in place of your father and all his household, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the Lord, that I have danced before the Lord.

Singing is a form of praise.

It does not matter so much how well we sing.

What matters most is the sincerity we have in our hearts.

This also provides us a glimpse into how God is at work in our lives.

And perhaps it will prompt us to respond with kindness to others.

A kindness expressed through our words, our actions, and even our songs.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, August 26, 2022.

I will be back here on Friday, September 2, 2022

Children of God

Malachi 2:10a (NKJV) - Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us?

The prophets spoke on God’s behalf to the people,

It is therefore appropriate that Malachi means “my messenger.”

He emerged when the commitment of the people to God was in decline.

Malachi instructed the people to demonstrate greater faithfulness to God.

He also reminded them that God was the God of all.

Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, reminded them of this.

He also reminded them how they were to treat others.

Philippians 2:3 (NET) - Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself.

Paul stressed the importance of Christian unity,

When Christ came into this world, He also reminded us how to treat others.

More importantly, He demonstrated this for us.

In the book of Matthew (which immediately follows Malachi), Christ was asked a question.

An expert in the law tried to trap Jesus with a trick question.

Matthew 22:36 (NET) - “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”

The two-fold response from Jesus must have surprised the expert.

Matthew 22:37-40 (NET) - Jesus said to him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

Malachi, Paul, and other contributors to the Bible remind us how we are meant to treat others.

More importantly, Christ Himself commands us to love them.

To do so, we must first allow God, the creator of all, to open our minds and our hearts.

Then we can truly see that everyone we encounter is a child of God.

We can then truly follow the words of Jesus.

We can unconditionally love those we encounter in our journeys.

 

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, August 12, 2022.

I will be back here on Friday, August 19, 2022