Newness

¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:15-17)

I closed the worship service last Sunday with the first verse of this passage from Colossians because I thought it tied nicely with our theme of Christ’s reign and rule.*  Today I am struck by the second and third verses, but particularly by the words “psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit.”  Music is so integral to our worship and can be such a rich expression of our faith, particularly given the broad range of styles and options available to us today.  But we limit ourselves to just hymns, just songs that can be led by an organist, just songs that can be sung by a choir, just songs that work with drums and guitar, just songs that we already know.  The psalms encourage us to “sing to the Lord a new song” and the theme of being made new in Christ is prevalent in the New Testament, but so often we are reticent to truly sing a new song—both literally and figuratively.  Maybe we don’t realize that God continues to inspire new songs and new song writers, just as he inspires new sermons, new poems, new acts of generosity and compassion, new ways to learn and grow, and new efforts to follow Jesus.

Isaiah tells us that God says, “See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:19)

Habakkuk tells us, and Paul quotes Habakkuk in his message to the people of Antioch: “Be careful! Don’t let the prophets’ words apply to you. For they said, ‘Look, you mockers, be amazed and die!  For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.’” (Acts 13:40-41; Hab. 1:5)

I’m sure God is frequently trying to do new things in me and I can be just as blind and stubborn as anybody.  We all have to be careful not to get stuck, not to become those who mock new things and new ideas rather than those who welcome the work of the Spirit who renews and inspires new ideas.  God is our creator, he is creative, and we in his image are creative, too.  That doesn’t mean everybody can paint or draw or sculpt or play the piano.  Creativity just means allowing ourselves to think about things in new ways.  Any time we solve a problem at home or work or school or wherever in a new way we are being creative.  Any time we let the Holy Spirit help us to see something in a new way, the Creator is at work.

So what new things is God inspiring in you?

 

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*This was originally posted in November 2013 on the Krabbe worship blog.

Amazed

Psalm 19

The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
    night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.

Sometimes I forget that it’s possible to be speechless. Amazed.  Astonished. Astounded.  Awestruck. Overwhelmed.  I get busy, distracted, focused, and when life is swirling around it’s hard to stop and be amazed.  But this morning looking back over the past several days I’m taking some time to be amazed. 

--Amazed at the beauty of the sunset after all the crazy storms on Monday.  “Pour forth speech” (See Psalm 19 above) seems like an understatement sometimes.  That night, after the incredible deluge of water from the sky had moved on and all the remained were the bright pink clouds, the heavens seemed to me to be screaming about the glory of God.

--Amazed at the way God works out circumstances to put people in front of us to say things that we need to hear.  Things didn't go the way I expected this weekend, and thank God that they didn't or I wouldn't have been able to hear from these people.

--Amazed at the perfection of the moment when the worship leader at the church we went to on Sunday started singing the chorus to this song (play youtube below) which is still ringing in my thoughts today.  Lord, I’m amazed by you.  Yes, I am amazed.  And I’m thankful to be reminded to be amazed.

Look at the nations and watch— and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. (Habakkuk 1:5)

Be utterly amazed.  We can count on God to be amazing. He’s always amazing.  We’re just too busy to notice and be amazed.  And that’s one of the reasons I love this song.  It reminds us to stop and be amazed and humbled by God.

The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.  (Matthew 15:31)

When people saw what Jesus was doing, they were amazed.  They’d never seen anything like this before.  And they recognized that God was doing something that was beyond belief.  They were seeing it with their own eyes, and so they praised God.   But some couldn’t see it because it was too far outside their understanding or expectation of God.  It wasn’t what they’d expected, and instead of being amazed they were dismayed and disgruntled.  How sad that they didn’t get to enjoy what God was doing.  Being amazed by God is a wonderful thing!

What is God doing right now?  Probably way more than I can comprehend or understand.  But I’ve gotten to see a bit of the evidence over the last few days, and this morning I’m thankful for some moments of amazement that’ve prompted me to praise God.  And I hope you are being amazed by God, too.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16-19)