Are We Losing Connection?

Are We Losing Connection?

One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. Psalm 145:4 KJV

David talks about singing praise as something older believers must do in order to let the younger generation know what God has done for them. Of course young people in our churches usually know five or six of the hymns and maybe even a few Christmas carols but they think of that as the music belonging to the old folks. Hymns which connected parents to children for hundreds of years today are on the verge of vanishing away. The entire concept that older have anything of value is being forgotten. So before the baton of faith meant to be passed from one generation to the next is dropped; let’s spend a few days focusing on how to ensure that we pass it on.

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This past Sunday at our church the worship team deviated from its usual contemporary selection to close out the service with two entire verses and the chorus of “How Great Thou Art.” It was so wonderfully refreshing to hear older voices not just joining in but doing so with gusto! We were singing loudly not only because we liked that song but for once we felt as if someone remembered that we were there! It’s not that I think we ought to forget about the new worship songs; but in those few moments we began to make a closer connection. As young tenors blended with older slightly faded baritones; the hymn made us realize that together we are God’s family. As some of our voices weaken from having sung the songs of faith for decades; may others take up their melody. Together we tell the world the unchanging message of God’s love and faithfulness to every generation.

Letters to My Father

After my Dad passed away one of the most difficult and yet most rewarding things I had to do was going through his things. Though he was now gone it was as if I came to know my father better than I ever could on earth. Old postcards mixed with photos of family and friends I had never met. But among all the books and papers the most startling find was a stack of letters. The handwriting on the envelopes seemed familiar and as I looked closer it suddenly struck me that they were mine. Every thank you note, every Christmas and Fathers Day card were there. One by one I read through words I had forgotten about but Dad had kept them as a special treasure.

I believe it will be the same way in heaven. There God has prepared a place for each of us and lying open on a table will be our letters to God. Each and every word of every prayer God keeps as His special treasure. He has never forgotten a single time we praised or prayed. Then we will begin to uncover the astonishing love of our heavenly Father and begin to know Him so much better than we ever could on earth!

Lift Up Those Hands!

Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the Lord! Psalm 134:2 ESV

Those are the opening lines from a chorus I love to sing. God’s word tells us to lift up our hands but do you ever stop to wonder why? Here are the four reasons that I came up with. Maybe you have some other ideas of your own and I would love hearing them.

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A) Praise -We lift up our hands when we worship with other believers. And in this psalm it tells us to do this at night but any time is the right time to praise God.

B) Surrender – When the police officer draws out his gun and yells, “Show me your hands!” we lift up our hands to show we are surrendering. This might not be in church in fact when the disciples left their nets to follow Jesus; they surrendered their careers right in the middle of a work day.

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C) Availability – When my teacher called my name it was usually wrong (who can pronounce Caligiuri?) but I knew she was calling on me so I lifted up my hand. “Here!” I shouted. Isaiah answers God in much the same way; “Here I am Lord: Send me.

 

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D) Love – At the end of long work days I would trudge home from the job, completely exhausted, in need of a shower and a meal. But when I opened our apartment door our two little boys who seemed to have no sense of smell raced up to me with their arms up shouting; “Daddy’s home! Daddy’s home! Pick me up Daddy!”  P1030050

Jesus calls to each of us to come to Him and we will find rest. We are not only welcomed into His presence; He loves to hear us run to the door when He knocks crying; ” Abba’s home! Abba’s home! Pick me up Father I need you again today!”