In Basin Head, P.E.I.

       I’ve never been particularly close to my Mom, but there we were on vacation and walking along a pristine east coast beach in Prince Edward Island.  I held my young daughters hand as we enjoyed the beautiful view and looked out for hidden treasures.  My Mom said something, but I didn’t quite hear what she said so I asked her to repeat it.  To my surprise, she insisted she didn’t say anything at all.  About the fourth time it happened, I accused her of trying to make me think I was crazy by hearing voices that weren’t there.

       Eventually, I remembered the name of the beach was ‘Singing Sands’ and I realized the ‘voices’ I heard were probably the reason for the name.  I’ve never forgotten that place or what happened that September afternoon.  It is awe-inspiring to ponder God’s creative genius and what a feeling of ‘smallness’ I have when I consider the infinite diversity of His immeasurable universe.

       Ps. 98:4 to 9 says:  Make a joyful noise to Jehovah, all the earth; break out and rejoice and sing praise.  Sing praise to Jehovah with the lyre (harp); with the lyre and the voice of a song.  With trumpets and the sound of a horn (shofar), make a joyful noise before Jehovah the King.  Let the sea roar, and the fullness of it; the world and those who live in it.  Let the rivers clap their hands; let the heights (hills) exult together before Jehovah; for He comes to judge the earth; with righteousness He shall judge the world, and the peoples in uprightness.”  TIB

       First off, I would like to say that, according to this scripture, God enjoys noise, specifically when we ‘break out’ in loud shouting for joy.  Certainly there is a place for solemn worship and average volume praise, but there must also be room to break out in shouts of praise to our God.  Add to that a variety of instruments and the volume of sound is pretty high.  Then add in all of the earth praising and rejoicing, the sea roaring, the rivers clapping, the hills shouting for joy and you have an exuberant harmony of grand proportions, all for the glory of God.

       I have to wonder what God thinks when we break out in shouts of touchdown triumphs at football games, but stand barely singing praise to him; or how about shouting encouragement to our children playing soccer or baseball but never shouting to God?  Is that reverence or disobedience?  Notice this scripture doesn’t say to shout if you want to, and if you never want to shout to God, perhaps you should question why.  According to scripture it is within nature to shout praise to the glory of Jehovah our King.

       When I think back to that September walk on that beach, I realize it sounded more like a choir of thousands singing praises to our Lord.  The fact that our Creator can invent such an amazing world is only one of the things that make me want to shout to Him.  Lets all join with creation in shouting praise to our King!

Other ‘noisy’ scriptures:

Ps 47:1,5; 66:1-4; 100:1

Is. 55:12; 44:23

Luke 19:40

Rev. 7:10; 19:1,6

Prayer

Precious Lord,

     Today I pray that we Your people would desire to know you more intimately, understand Your heart more deeply, that we would see each other through Your loving and merciful eyes, and we would strive to be one with You.

     Help us to change, to be increasingly transformed day by day until we are just like You, doing all that we should be and avoiding the things we shouldn't do.  Give us a strong desire to consume Your Word and internalize it so our minds may be transformed by it.  Let it be as necessary as breath to our lungs, and let Your Word beat in our hearts as we walk through this journey.

     Forgive us for being so selfish in our lives that we squeeze You into small bits of time instead of walking along in constant communion with You.  Thank You for not giving up on us, for loving us so completely and faithfully, and for honouring us with Your presence in our lives.

We are forever grateful.

All glory, all honour, and all praise be Yours forever.

The Big Cover-Up

Just think of all the ways we cover up our flaws in this world:

      -We dye our gray hair.

      -Use cover-up on our blemishes.

      -Conceal our bad complexions under foundation.

      -Use sprays, perfumes and colognes to conceal our stench.

      - Use deodorant to hide our underarm wetness.

      -Cover our cuts with band-aids.

      -Hide our floppy parts under clothes.

      -Cover our typing mistakes with white out.

      -Hide our emotional pain, struggles behind a smile.

       Man has been covering up his flaws since his beginning.  Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden sinned, and then sewed fig leaves to cover their nakedness and later tried to hide their sin from God.  (Gen. 3:7-10)  We often make our own plans to hide our sins.  I’ll just go to church, smile, praise God, lift my hands in worship, quote the Bible, and no one will know that I spend my nights looking at pornography, or gossiping about fellow Christians.  David planned a cover up after his sin with Bathsheba was about to be exposed.  (2 Sam. 11:4-17)  His plans culminated with the execution of an innocent man!

       It really doesn’t matter if man sees our sin, for it is already exposed to God.  He sees ALL our sins as there is nothing hidden from Him.  (Jer. 16:17, Jer. 23:24, Heb. 4:13, Ps. 69:5)  We hide our sin in the darkness hoping no one will see (John 3:20), but God sees.  We need to stop covering our faults and sins and bring them to the light (v. 21).  Eventually God will reveal our sins either here or in the end:

     1 Cor. 4:5- … the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the motives of our hearts…

     Luke 8:17- For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, and there is nothing secret that will not become known and come to light. ISV

        We are not to hide in the darkness, but expose works of darkness (Eph. 5:11- and have nothing to do with the unfruitful works of darkness. Instead, expose them for what they are. ISV).  We are to (Jas. 5:16- Confess your faults (errors, transgressions, sins) one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.) so that we may receive God’s healing and mercy (Pr. 28:13- He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. NKJV)

       I always wonder what would have happened if Adam and Eve had not covered up but rather confessed and repented of their sin.  We may never know.  But, we can know what happens when we stop covering up our sin, confess and repent.  As the Bible says:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)  Remember, healing and mercy will follow.

A Story Worth Singing About

       It was Sunday morning and I awoke in the hotel room with my young daughter beside me and my Mom already awake.  As usual, I was interested in finding a nearby church to go worship in, but Amy and my Mom were not so interested.  It wasn’t very far from the motel that I found a church whose services were about to begin.  I walked up to the smallish building and noticed the beautiful little girl in a blue dress with two high braided ponytails sitting on the porch entry.  She smiled at me and I said hello.  It wasn’t until I was well inside the doors of the church that I realized I was the only white person in the room.

       That fact did not bother me at all, but I did have some concern that others may have a problem with me being there.  Happily, I was welcomed by several people and the service began.  After a song or two, an amazing thing happened, the likes of which I have never seen again.  One parishioner spontaneously stood up and began singing about their life and what Jesus had done and then sat down.  Immediately another person sang another matching verse about their life and the Lord, and the song continued through several people, all glorifying to God.  These blessed people had a story worth singing about!

       Now, I don’t remember specific words they said, only that they were grateful for what the Lord had done in their lives; and they were willing to sing about it.  I truly enjoyed their ‘miniature’ testimonies in song all while marveling at their boldness in singing it out.  While I’ve given my personal testimony several times one on one and to larger groups, singing it out wouldn’t even cross my mind.  (You can be thankful for that!  J)  These wonderful people had found something- rather Someone worth singing about, and they wanted to encourage others by sharing how He had affected their lives.

       Ah, to have such boldness!  I wish that every one of us would have that same boldness, that even if we speak it out rather than sing it, we would be willing to loudly proclaim what the Lord Jesus has done for us and in our lives.  Perhaps if those in the world heard our personal experiences with the Savior they would be more interested in further knowledge of Him.  Maybe if we shared regularly with other Christians, they would be encouraged to press forward in this journey.  Maybe we just need to open our mouths and allow God to fill it*.

We all have a story worth singing about**. 

Let us not hold it in but give voice to it in honour of the One who has saved us and set us free.

*Ps. 81:10- I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.

**Gal. 5:1- … Christ hath made us free,…

2 Tim. 1:9- Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling,…