"Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide."

Hymn: “Once to Every Man and Nation"
James Russell Lowell (1819-1891)

Various Tunes

This has been a very interesting few months for Americans as we have watched and listened to impeachment proceedings. It has been troubling on so many levels -- frankly, depressing. Partisanship played a larger role than getting at the truth -- on both sides of the dividing wall... I mean "aisle." Most were pumping up their constituents with the rhetoric they think will garner the most votes at the next elections.

To complete today’s hymn-line:

            Once to every man/woman and nation comes the moment to decide,

            In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side.

There has always been and always will be "strife" -- a battle between truth and falsehood, good and evil. It started in Genesis, and it continues. We who fight this war daily in our decision-making can not side with falsehood or evil. That would put a check in our loss column. It would be the antithesis of our Christian commitment, the very opposite of What Would Jesus Do!

            Some great cause, some great decision…

This impeachment acquittal was a great (as in massive) decision. It will likely loom large in the annals of history. We're too close to it now to truly see its enormity. And all of us have been a part of that decision in some way: by the persons we have elected, by our lack of direct involvement in the governing process, by our silence. I'm not taking sides here, but either way, they/we were deciding between truth and falsehood… between good and evil. And in a few months we step back into the voting booth to pull levers deciding between those same realities.

The stanza ends with this near-haunting sentence:

           

            The choice goes by forever ‘twixt that darkness and that light.

“Twixt!” What a great word for where we find ourselves. And twixt is struggling, uncomfortable place to be because it is not always easy to determine which is which -- it is not obviously black-or-white.

Let’s set aside our preconceived notions and the garbledygook we hear on the slanted news channels. THAT decision has been made. But we move on into our own battles "with the cross of Jesus going on before."  Fortunately those are not broadcast over the airwaves... or cable. Pray with me that when comes the moment to decide in our own lives, we – after striving with the facts known and unknown – will come to a conclusion with which the Mighty-Warrior-Who-Is-Also-the-Prince-of-Peace will agree.

“In your mercy, Lord, hear our prayer. Amen.”

Hear Hymn Sung by London Philharmonic Choir

Tune: EBENEZER

 

"My dearest treasure, the light of his smile."

Hymn: "Living for Jesus" - Thomas O. Chisholm (1866-1960)
Tune: LIVING

[It's cold in Texas today, so I needed something to warm me up. THIS hymn line came to mind.]
You know how they say that someone's smile will light up a room? We've all known people who are like that. We also cherish the smile of someone who is waiting for us beyond security in the baggage claim at the airport - someone whom we have not seen in a while. All of a sudden their smile communicates joy, and the receptors in our mind light up like crazy. Or when you came home for the first time from being away at college. and your mom met you at the door with a bigger smile than you ever remember her mustering before. We treasure those moments.

Since we are created in God's image, we must have inherited from him the ability to smile! I think he smiled when he looked at his creation and said "It is good," and when he said, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." He still smiles when one of US is creative, and he finds what we've done to be good; when he says to himself, "That one over there is one of my children"; when he sees one of us who has been away for a long time; and when he is pleased with us and our behavior. Hey, he's a loving God; I can't imagine his being dour!

We all want to live in ways that will make our loving Parent happy. Truth is that one of the reasons I stayed out of trouble (for the most part!) as a teenager was that I wanted to please my parents -- not so much that I feared what they might do if I didn't behave. I'm the same way with my heavenly Parent: I want to bring a smile to his face; and when I do, I treasure that moment, that possibility that he might be pleased with me.

I have that sense of God's smile at three times in particular: 1) when I am serving others from a pure motive, expecting no recognition or anything in return; 2) when I'm talking about him with others, discussing his Word and its implications to daily life; and 3) when I am sincerely going after God in worship -- especially when I sing. I'll take that one step further: especially when I sing hymns.

I think God enjoys being praised by his people-- that our authentic worship brings a smile to that glorious visage once revealed in the face of his Son Jesus who may well have been the all-time greatest smiler, showing extreme pleasure when his followers "got it."

Our assignment: to keep God smiling!

Listen to this hymn

"They who trust him wholly, find him wholly true."

Hymn: "Like a River Glorious" – Frances R. Havergal (1836-1879)

Typical Tune: WYE VALLEY

I happen to love Mendelssohn’s oratorio ELIJAH. I think I’ve done bits and pieces of it at every church I’ve served over the years and on two occasions presented a large portion of it in local churches with orchestra. [There are stories behind both of those, but I’ll save those for what everyone refers to as “The Book” of all my ministry escapades!]

The tenor solo sung by Obadiah in the oratorio had never resonated with me in any powerful way until I was involved in a staged production at the now-defunct Glorieta Baptist Conference Center in New Mexico. I will never forget when Forbes Woods came down the steps at center stage all decked out in full biblical regalia (fake beard and all) and looked straight into the eyes of all us space-filling singing/ dancing peons on stage and sang “If with all your hearts, ye truly seek me, ye shall ever surely find me. Thus saith our God.” If I were to use a somewhat antiquated phrase, I would say that I ‘came under conviction’ that he was singing directly to me. Fortunately, I did not run to him and make a public re-commitment of my life before we even got to the fire descending from heaven!

This hymn-line seems to echo that scripture from Deuteronomy: wholly seek, wholly find. In any worship time (personal or corporate), this principle seems to work.

I recall reading A.W. Tozer’s little book, THE PURSUIT OF GOD and coming across the chapter titled, "Following Hard after God." All of a sudden I was transported back to New Mexico and realized that Tozer was talking about seeking God with all your heart in worship. I began to call it “whole-hearted worship” and encouraged my worship-leading groups and individuals to never give it their half-hearted effort, but to go after God as aggressively as they possibly could – not in order to find their place in the spotlight at center stage, but to find God – God and God alone (to quote another incredible tenor Steve Green!)

Sometimes I enter worship holey (shot full of holes from the previous week); and when I wholly give myself over to the holy presence of God, I find him wholly true to all he says he is.

Holey. Wholly.  Holy.

Listen to This Hymn