The Grammar of Love

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:11  Sometimes Greek grammar can illuminate our responsibilities as Christians—as in 1 John 4:11. When the Greek word “if” is followed by a certain kind of verb form (in this case, “loved us”), the “if” condition is assumed to be true. So we could translate the verse, “If God so loved us”—and indeed, He did—then we also ought to love one another in the same way. “So loved us” forces the question, How did God love us? The answer is found in the preceding verse 10: He sent His Son into the world to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Putting verses 10-11 together, we see our responsibility. God loved us sacrificially. If God loved us sacrificially—and indeed, He did—then we also ought to love one another sacrificially. Our responsibility, then, is to love one another the same way God has loved us. God sacrificed His Son to love us—what have we sacrificed to love others? Have we sacrificed anger, pride, resentment, material goods, time, self-interest? Greek grammar makes our responsibility clear. Since God sacrificed for us—and indeed He did—we ought to sacrificially love others as well. Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.  Isaac Watts, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”   David Jeremiah

Self-Focused Prayer

John 6:1-27 After this Jesus went over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. It is sometimes called Tiberias. ² Many people followed Him. They saw the powerful works He did on those who were sick. ³ Jesus went up on a mountain and sat down with His followers. ⁴ The Passover supper to remember how the Jews left Egypt was soon.

⁵ Jesus looked up and saw many people coming to Him. He said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread to feed these people?” ⁶ He said this to see what Philip would say. Jesus knew what He would do. ⁷ Philip said to Him, “The money we have is not enough to buy bread to give each one a little.”

⁸ One of His followers was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He said to Jesus, ⁹ “There is a boy here who has five loaves of barley bread and two small fish. What is that for so many people?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was much grass in that place. About five thousand men sat down.

¹¹ Jesus took the loaves and gave thanks. Then He gave the bread to those who were sitting down. The fish were given out the same way. The people had as much as they wanted. ¹² When they were filled, Jesus said to His followers, “Gather up the pieces that are left. None will be wasted.” ¹³ The followers gathered the pieces together. Twelve baskets were filled with pieces of barley bread. These were left after all the people had eaten.

¹⁴ The people saw the powerful work Jesus had done. They said, “It is true! This is the One Who speaks for God Who is to come into the world.”

¹⁵ Jesus knew they were about to come and take Him to make Him king, so He went to the mountain by Himself. ¹⁶ When evening had come, His followers went down to the lake. ¹⁷ They got into a boat and started to cross the lake to go to the city of Capernaum. By this time it was dark. Jesus had not come back to them yet. ¹⁸ A strong wind was making high waves on the lake. ¹⁹ They were about half way across the lake when they saw Jesus walking on the water. As He got near the boat, they were afraid. ²⁰ But Jesus called to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” ²¹ They were glad to take Him into the boat. At once they got to the other side where they wanted to go.

²² The next day the people on the other side of the lake saw no other boat there but the one His followers had been in. The people knew Jesus had not gone with His followers in the boat because they had gone alone. ²³ There were other boats from Tiberias that had come near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. ²⁴ The people saw that Jesus and His followers were not there. They got into boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

 

²⁵ The people found Him on the other side of the lake. They said to Him, “Teacher, when did You come here?” ²⁶ Jesus said to them, “For sure, I tell you, you are not looking for Me because of the powerful works. You are looking for Me because you ate bread and were filled. ²⁷ Do not work for food that does not last. Work for food that lasts forever. The Son of Man will give you that kind of food. God the Father has shown He will do this.”

Which interests you more—who Jesus is or what He can do for you? I’m afraid many of us are more concerned about what He gives than discovering who He is. But this is nothing new. When Jesus walked the earth, the crowds often sought Him out for what He could do for them. Even though their needs were quite often legitimate, Christ knew their motives.

There is a fine line between using the Lord to get what we want and humbly coming to Him with our needs and struggles. Sometimes issues are so urgent in our mind that instead of submitting to His will, we’d rather pray for Him to act in the way we want. Then, what might appear to be “faith” is really a demanding spirit.

If our prayers have dealt only with presenting our requests to the Lord, we’ve missed a great opportunity to get to know the One with whom we’ll spend eternity. How much of your communion with God is devoted to your needs—even legitimate ones? Are you getting to know the Lord? Although God delights in our prayers and the details of our life, He also wants us to enjoy His presence.

Phil Wickham: Living Hope

Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There’s salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ, my living hope
Jesus Christ, my living hope

The full words:  

How great the chasm that lay between us
How high the mountain I could not climb
In desperation, I turned to heaven
And spoke Your name into the night
Then through the darkness, Your loving-kindness
Tore through the shadows of my soul
The work is finished, the end is written
Jesus Christ, my living hope

Who could imagine so great a mercy?
What heart could fathom such boundless grace?
The God of ages stepped down from glory
To wear my sin and bear my shame
The cross has spoken, I am forgiven
The King of kings calls me His own
Beautiful Savior, I’m Yours forever
Jesus Christ, my living hope

Oh, hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There’s salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ, my living hope

Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
Out of the silence, the Roaring Lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me
Oh, Jesus, Yours is the victory!

Why Singing Hymns the Traditional Way is Better than Singing the Pop Worship Way

Jonathan Aigner has some styrong opinions. Good to read and think through his ideas.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/ponderanew/2020/11/24/why-singing-hymns-the-traditional-way-is-better-than-singing-the-pop-worship-way/

Hymns for Seasoned Citizens

The Old Rugged Face

Precious Lord, Take My Hand, And Help Me Up

It is Well With My Soul, But My Knees Hurt

Nobody Knows the Trouble I Have Seeing

Amazing Grace, Considering My Age

Just a Slower Walk With Thee

Count Your Many Birthdays, Name Them One by One

Go Tell It On The Mountain, But Speak Up

Give Me That Old Timers’ Religion

Blessed Insurance

Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah, I’ve Forgotten Where I Parked

Comfort One Another

https://thepreachersword.com/2020/09/18/comfort-one-another/

The Same Jesus

by tindalfamily

This is a recording of Matt Redman’s song The Same Jesus recorded live in Singapore.

How We Learn Theology Through Music

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. [Col. 3:16 ESV]

Paul’s warning is clear: teach the truths of God’s Word through what you sing.

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. [Col. 3:16 ESV] Paul’s warning is clear: teach the truths of God’s Word through what you sing.

I am not trying to minimize the importance of sermons, but state the obvious: the songs we use in worship have the advantage of repetition over a more extended period than sermons, which are heard only once. Songs often connect truth with our thoughts and feelings, especially during times of crisis. Just a couple of weeks ago, I found myself listening to the Getty’s song, “He Will Hold Me Fast” over and over because of things going on around me. Like David’s playing the harp for Saul, the words and music spoke to me and helped me refocus on the fact that God is in control, that He loves me, that He has a plan, and that I can trust Him. Research has shown that thoughts and ideas linked to an emotion are stored in a different part of the brain, which is why even senior adults who have dementia can still sing songs they knew in church as a youth.

I am not trying to minimize the importance of sermons, but state the obvious: the songs we use in worship have the advantage of repetition over a more extended period than sermons, which are heard only once. Songs often connect truth with our thoughts and feelings, especially during times of crisis. Just a couple of weeks ago, I found myself listening to the Getty’s song, “He Will Hold Me Fast” over and over because of things going on around me. Like David’s playing the harp for Saul, the words and music spoke to me and helped me refocus on the fact that God is in control, that He loves me, that He has a plan, and that I can trust Him. Research has shown that thoughts and ideas linked to an emotion are stored in a different part of the brain, which is why even senior adults who have dementia can still sing songs they knew in church as a youth.

Continue: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WorshipHeartcries/~3/HJQoaYRbWQ0/how-we-learn-theology-through-music.html

Hymns of Hope and Comfort: Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah

Guide me, O thou great Jehovah,
pilgrim though this barren land;
I am weak, but thou art mighty;
hold me with thy powerful hand;
bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
feed me now and evermore,
feed me now and evermore.

Open now the crystal fountain,
whence the healing stream doth flow;
let the fire and cloudy pillar
lead me all my journey through;
strong deliverer, strong deliverer.
be thou still my strength and shield,
be thou still my strength and shield.

When I tread the verge of Jordan,
bid my anxious fears subside;
death of death, and hell’s destruction,
land me safe on Canaan’s side;
songs of praises, songs of praises,
I will ever give to thee,
I will ever give to thee.

– William Williams, 1745

Top 10 Best Easter Songs

Hmmm?

https://michellelesley.com/2020/04/07/top-10-best-easter-songs-3/