Be alright

What’s Good in Contemporary Worship? Day 2- Bilingual

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Holding her hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means “Little girl, get up!” Mark 5:41 NLT

I have always been intrigued at the various times within the Gospels that Jesus switched from one language to another. After all, why would Mark tell us in today’s verse that these specific words were spoken in Aramaic, if that were not the language Jesus was already using? Hebrew was the language Jesus would have been spoken earlier, and ironically the Gospel of Mark was then recorded in Greek. Throw a little Latin into the mix, as the tongue of the ruling authorities in Judea, and you will begin get the idea of the linguistic world that Jesus lived in.

Having attended a Brazilian church in Pennsylvania for sixteen years and serving on the worship team there for several of those years, I had to learn to move from one language to another daily. Quite often the set of worship songs we practiced included both English and Portugues as well a few that had verses which flowed from one to the other. What I learned in those days was that while praising God this way, our differences didn’t disappear, but that we began to mirror the verse in Revelation of people worshipping from every nation, tribe and tongue. (Revelation 5:9)

Today in America, there are over 43 million people whose native tongue is Spanish, and that number is growing rapidly, both through immigration as well as by birth. While the primary language of our nation remains English, it certainly won’t hurt, especially in the church if a few more of us could at least blunder along a bit in Spanish. Remember, Jesus commanded (not suggested) that we make disciples of ALL nations (Matthew 5:19). I have found that one way of making disciples is through bi-lingual worship. Our churches should not be where we battle, over which language is better. Rather, the Church of Jesus Christ is where including everyone means being able to communicate with them, and what better place to begin than during our times of worship? One of my favorite examples of this is called Be Alright (“Todo va a estar bien”). In this delightful song, Danny Gokey, Evan Craft and Willy González Cruz, combine to present the message that we can trust God’s goodness in the midst of difficulties and changes. With everything going on in the news lately, their message is never more important than right now. Once again, I welcome everyone’s input, but I do suggest that your comments will be more helpful if you listen first. Thanks so much! Be blessed, Dios lo bendiga, and Deus te abençoe!

Asleep in the Storm – 2

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For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me, 24 and he said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you.’. Acts 27:23-24 NLT

I had meant to write part two to this series sooner, but with our last two days filled with evacuating and setting up forty miles inland, things have been a bit busy. But as we await the arrival of hurricane Milton, I thought of the Apostle Paul who weathered a storm so long ago. Paul’s storm experience, unlike Jonah’s was not because of disobedience. He was there because of the decisions of others. Yet, in that storm, even as a prisoner chained below deck in a Roman ship, Paul continued to trust God. Meanwhile, topside, even the sailors were in desperation. They had battled through that tempest, without even being able to see either the sun or stars for two weeks. Yet when all hope seemed lost to everyone else, God sent an angel with a message for Paul, “Don’t be afraid Paul… God has granted you safety!”

To me one of the most amazing and wonderful thing about this message is that the deliverance that Paul was promised included even the very people who had put him in that storm! And even though it may feel frustrating being thrust into problems that you didn’t cause, God has a plan for good, and not only for you. Maybe that is you today. Your problem, your storm, and your dilemma has stuck you in a corner that you cannot get out of. But the good news is that we don’t need to figure a way out: God in HIs grace already has! Yet, in spite of the fact that God is going to do all the miraculous stuff that only He can do in our storm, He has given us something to do. “Don’t be afraid!”, or in the words of Jesus from John chapter fourteen, “Don’t let your heart be troubled!” God will do all the saving we need in any storm, but we must do the trusting. Jesus will calm the highest strongest winds and highest waves, but our part is to believe. Jesus has promised to be with us even to the end of the world. He will be by our side through this hurricane and by yours in whatever storm you are facing. Even if like Jonah, you brough this storm on yourself, God still has a way out and a way back to Him. Or if like Paul, others have made decisions about things that are out of your control, God has grace enough to help both you and them, if we will simply trust Him, encourage one another with His message and then do the small things that He asks for us to do.