on the doorposts

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

when the church sings

"...But be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart." Ephesians 5:18-19

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God." Colossians 3:16

Make no mistake about it, the Apostle Paul believed that the churches should be singing. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he instructed at least two of the city churches -- Ephesus and Colosse -- to sing their "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs."

I would dare say there isn't a Christian church in any part of the world that does not have a musical tradition of one sort or another. We are a singing people. As a musician, worship leader, orchestral & choral arranger, and pastor, I've rolled these two passages from the Pauline epistles around in my heart and mind for years. Lately, events have brought them front and center in my thinking once again. As the Lord allows, I'll collapse around these verses for the next several weeks, posting ideas that have challenged my faith and practice.

Lest the proverbial cart finds its place (wrongly) before the horse, I should say at the outset that Paul's concerns were probably not related to singing, per se, nearly so much as they were driven by God's calling for the local church to experience -- and demonstrate -- a Spirit-filled, Word-of-Christ-indwelt reality, both in the devotional lives of its members and in the worship life of its congregation. I'll begin to comment more on that topic tomorrow, the Lord willing.

Thursday, February 23, 2006

united arab emirates & partiality to the wicked

Do you believe a foreign company should administrate major U.S. ports? President Bush does. Do you think the United Arab Emirates should occupy the role of gatekeeper? President Bush does.

Key voices from both the Democrat and Republican Parties are raising loud opposition. The Associated Press released a story an hour ago indicating that the Dubai state-owned company is willing to "delay" its takeover.

WASHINGTON - A United Arab Emirates company offered Thursday to delay part of its $6.8 billion takeover of most operations at six U.S. ports to give the Bush administration more time to convince skeptical lawmakers the deal poses no
security risks.


U.S. lawmakers and the press seem generally concerned about security issues. What I don't see them mentioning is American jobs. Most citizens didn't know that a British company presently operates the ports in question. Why is the Administration unwilling to hire and train American workers to run the ports? Are we simply that inept?

I believe we're still blessed by God with talented, innovative, and resourceful domestic firms that would doubtless appreciate the opportunity to contribute both to American commerce and security. Let's keep American dollars at home and put able executives and managers to work. Presumably, Dubai Ports World would hire domestic labor, but the fact remains this stands to become a major financial windfall for the Arabs.

Perhaps the greatest concern, however, is that President Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and the Administration are planning to favor an Islamic state with this crucial assignment. The fact that the UAE are perceived as allies in the "war on terror" is not relevant to this point. We're planning to reward a people who deny the Gospel of Jesus Christ with tremendous fiscal gain -- at the expense of Christian families.

"It is not good to be partial to the wicked or to deprive the righteous of justice." Proverbs 18:5.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

service by the will of God

Arthur T. Pierson (1837-1911), an American preacher whose ancestor, Abraham Pierson, landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1639, was known for challenging Christians to shake off their apathy and become fully engaged in serving the Lord, especially the work of missions. Born in New York City as the ninth of ten children, Pierson knew well the necessity of faithfulness to God through hardship and difficulty.

Upon the death of Charles Haddon Spurgeon in 1891, A.T. Pierson was called to fill the pulpit of London's famous Metropolitan Tabernacle. Here, Spurgeon had preached tirelessly for 30 years. Pierson took up this work in London, and continued to inspire the people of God to live their lives in a spirit of service.

Preaching on Sunday, February 14, 1892, A.T. Pierson spoke from Acts 13:36, "David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep."

"Now let us be as brief and as pointed as possible. Take these three thoughts that are suggested at a moment's glance: service, service to one's own generation, service to one's own generation by the will of God. In other words, the thought of service first; the sphere of service second -- one's own generation; the spirit of service third -- by the will of God."


Pierson further proclaimed,

"Salvation is not simply deliverance from the penalty of sin, which is justification; but from the power of sin which is sanctification, and from the dominion of selfishness: and what is that but service? When you forget yourself and begin to live for others, that is serving God and serving man. Surely no salvation is complete that does not include service as well as sanctification."


We're challenged daily by expectations and demands. It is easy to become discouraged by what remains undone at the end of the day. I frequently wonder if the things I've finished were done well. Could I have done more? Perhaps we all disappoint friends, family, neighbors, or co-workers from time to time. Sometimes, we just can't get it all done, and those nagging thoughts of inadequacy -- or even failure -- persist.

"David served his own generation by the will of God." When thoughts of inadequacy hover like a dark cloud, be reminded that God Himself has ordained our work! "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10

Pierson began to close his sermon with these thoughts,

"We need only to see that all is according to the will of God. If it is not in obedience to the voice of your Divine Pilot that you take your place at the oars and do your work, if the plan of your life is not embraced in the plan of God, if your own heart does not by its love and its loyalty take God's pleasure as your pleasure, how can there be any real service unto God or unto humanity?"


Together with the pastor, and before the Lord our God, may we confess,

"Henceforth Thy will shall be the guiding star of my whole existence; I will undertake to serve God with holy living , to serve God with holy giving, to serve God by instant and constant obedience, to serve God by taking my place wherever God puts me, doing whatever work he gives me to do, and with all my heart seeking to glorify my Master."

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

rejoicing before our King

Upon the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, crowds shouted “Hosanna” and recognized Him as the King of Israel (John 12:13). Their rejoicing was exuberant and without fear or embarrassment. Doubtless, many Jews did not line the pathway into Jerusalem that day, but those who anticipated Jesus’ arrival were prepared to wave their branches and lift their voices to Him.

Psalm 47 includes proclamations of God’s kingship. Further, His majesty justifies and, perhaps, requires extraordinary acclaim by His people. The psalmist shapes his call to worship as an invitation to clamorous praise: “Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!” Why? “For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth” (Psalm 47:1-2).

“Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm" (Psalm 47:6-7).

Clap your hands. Shout to God. Sing praises to our King. Of the many reasons we may rejoice so freely before our King, none is loftier than that we acknowledge our Sovereign. We humbly embrace His dominion, rest in His perfection, and find in these truths our reason for overwhelmingly joyful praise unto Him.

“God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne” (Psalm 47:8). Knowing that Jesus Christ provides glorious triumph for His people should inspire us to lift heartfelt – and hearty – praises unto Him.

"Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen" (Jude 24-25).

Saturday, February 11, 2006

created to declare and proclaim the praise of God

"...It is perfectly clear that neither words nor singing (if used in prayer) are of the least consequence, or avail one iota with God, unless they proceed from deep feeling in the heart.
"...We do not condemn words of singing, but rather greatly commend them, provided the feeling of the mind goes along with them. For in this way the thought of God is kept alive on our minds, which, from their fickle and versatile nature, soon relax, and are distracted by various objects, unless various means are used to support them. Besides, since the glory of God ought in a manner to be displayed in each part of our body, the special service to which the tongue should be devoted is that of singing and speaking, inasmuch as it has been expressly created to declare and proclaim the praise of God."

-- JOHN CALVIN, Institutes of the Christian Religion

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

esv introductory video

Modern Bible translations abound. Several years ago the KJV was surpassed by the New International Version (NIV) in Bible sales. During the mid-1990s I read the NIV for a short period of time, and it was a disappointment. Without detailing the linguistic processes supporting this version, it will suffice to say that the NIV is not a translation. It more closely resembles a paraphrase; the 'translators' relied upon a method called dynamic equivalence when producing this version. In other words, they attempted to communicate the intentions of the biblical authors rather than faithfully translate each word.

We are convinced that each and every word of Scripture is inerrant and must be translated as such with integrity. The English Standard Version translation team relied upon an essentially literal approach because of the conviction that every word is inspired by God. More than sixty leading scholars pored over every word and phrase to achieve the unique accuracy, excellence, and beauty of the ESV Bible.

To view an ESV Introductory Video, click here!

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

english standard version

As a child growing up in a Christian denomination that was generally resistant to the liberalism of the 1960s and 70s, I read the King James Version of the Holy Bible. Someone once provided a "Living Bible," which is not a Bible. Without discerning the issues that were at stake, I still managed to set it aside in favor of my faithful Authorized Version.

My grandmother had promised a tatted cross as a bookmark for any one of her several dozen grandchildren who could memorize Psalm 23. From the King James Version.

We read from it, memorized from it, heard sermons preached from it, sang worship choruses from it, purchased study Bibles based upon it, and typically examined our greeting cards to ensure that the scripture quotations were accurately quoted from it.

Another memory from my grandmother -- she kept a small promise box on her dining room table. This was a molded plastic box in the shape of a loaf of bread. It held small cards, each containing a promise from God's Word, the bread of life. When visiting Grandma, she nearly always invited one of us to draw a card from the promise box and read the Bible verse before enjoying a sweet roll or a slice of freshly baked bread. Her promises were, of course, from the King James Version.

After research and prayerful consideration of key issues (which I will mention in future posts), I am reading and studying from the English Standard Version, a new translation project that began in the year 2000. This has been an amazing blessing to our family, and I'll make brief comments occasionally in the blog.

From the ESV website:

"The ESV is an “essentially literal” translation that seeks as far as possible to capture the precise wording of the original text and the personal style of each Bible writer. As such, its emphasis is on “word-for-word” correspondence, at the same time taking into account differences of grammar, syntax, and idiom between current literary English and the original languages. Thus it seeks to be transparent to the original text, letting the reader see as directly as possible the structure and meaning of the original.


In contrast to the ESV, some Bible versions have followed a “thought-for-thought” rather than “word-for-word” translation philosophy, emphasizing “dynamic equivalence” rather than the “essentially literal” meaning of the original. A
“thought-for-thought” translation is of necessity more inclined to reflect the interpretive opinions of the translator and the influences of contemporary culture."


Wednesday, February 01, 2006

a new justice confirmed -- and has anything changed?

The Senate confirmed Samuel Alito to his seat on the U.S. Supreme Court by a 58-42 vote. ...And has anything really changed? Chief Justice John Roberts may be considerably less favorable to overturning Roe v. Wade than his predecessor, the indefatigable William Rehnquist. Justice Alito may be considerably more willing to overturn the landmark abortion ruling than his predecessor, Sandra Day O'Connor. In case you're not keeping track, that means that there may have been little, if any, philosophical change on the court as of yesterday evening.

One thing is certain -- there has been no cataclysmic legal sea change on the high court. Senators Kennedy and Kerry of Massachusetts, whose gallant attempt to lead the Democrats into a filibuster was considered ridiculous even by their own party leaders, tried to convince Americans that civil rights as we know them will vanish with Alito on the Supreme Court.

Rights are endangered -- but not by Sam Alito.

Justice Alito will now have the opportunity of sitting beside Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the high court's most extreme left-wing judicial activist. One can only imagine the conversations they will have. On a positive note, Justice Antonin Scalia will have the honor of a seat next to Chief Justice Roberts.

Has anything really changed?

"O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you." II Chronicles 20:6