Worship Song Sunday -- Come to the Cross, by Michael W. Smith

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." ~ Galatians 2:20 (NIV)

At the request of someone who is special to me, I am resurrecting Worship Song Sunday.  In our church service this morning, the message was about the cross of Christ -- how the apostle Paul's letter to the Galatians spoke of boasting in the cross, and what a scandalous concept it was for the Jews to wrap their brains around, since the cross was considered a device of torture and a murder weapon. To the Jews, being hung on a cross meant you had fallen under God's judgement.

Yet to followers of Jesus Christ, the cross is a symbol of freedom....freedom from death, freedom from God's wrath because of our sins.  

Only The Cross, by Ron DiCianni

Jesus's death on a cross -- a wooden, rugged, scandalous cross -- has set us free!

Hallelujah!!! 
Everyone, everyone can come to the cross!
It doesn't matter what you've done,
Everyone can come to the cross! 

Worship Song Sunday -- Hallelujah, by Heather Williams

But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. ~ Acts 16:25-26, NASB


Hallelujah.  We hear the word a lot, especially at church or in Christmas carols.  On TV, televangelists use the word almost as often as the word  'and' is used in daily conversation.  We ourselves may even use the word a lot. I read that in our modern world's vernacular, 'Hallelujah' is most often used to express great happiness that something one has been hoping or waiting for has finally come to pass, and doesn't necessarily indicate the religious belief or faith of the person using the word. 

In the Bible, the word Hallelujah occurs often, mainly in Psalms and several times in Revelation, and is said to be a request for a congregation to join together in praise towards God. It can be translated as "Praise God" or "Praise Yahweh, you people," and is usually worded in English contexts as "Praise the Lord."


For most of us who are followers of Christ, Hallelujah is considered a joyful word of praise to God, rather than an injuction to praise Him.


And when are we to praise God?  All the time.  Not only in those times that we deem God as being 'good.' You know...when we have no problem chanting in church or to other people that "God is good, all the time.  All the time, God is good."  When everything in our life seems to be going our way. 

But we're also called to 'praise the LORD' in those times when, if we're totally honest with ourselves, God doesn't seem so good.  In those harsh, dark, lonely and frightening times when God 'seems' to have forgotten about us and He 'seems' to be busy with other, more important things or people; those times we're left feeling like a scared puppy that someone has abandoned along the side of a road less traveled.

But that's just a lie of the enemy, a lie he delights in force feeding us until we're ready to choke, leaving us unable to utter a syllable of praise.   Because God IS good...all the time.  Our circumstances and situations may change, but God's character does not.  So no matter what, God is worthy of our praises. 

I'm sure you've heard it said, as I have, that God inhabits the praises of His people.  This is actually biblical, coming from Psalm 22:3 ~ But Thou art holy, O Thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.  We may not be Israelites, but we are still God's people, His dearly loved and chosen children. So to me, this verse means that when we praise Him, no matter what we're going through or dealing with, He is right there with us. In our good times and our bad times, God is as close as our breath -- the breath that joyfully shouts or the breath that tearfully whispers, 'Hallelujah!'

Today's song by Heather Williams is a beautiful testimony to that. I did a little research on Heather and her song.   She didn't grow up in a loving, Christian home.  She grew up in an environment of extreme poverty and physical, verbal and emotional abuse. She became involved in alcohol and drug use, and she was homeless for a time.  She gave her life to Jesus when she was about 18 years old after living such a harsh and wild life, a life in which she openly admits that she cursed God, boldly told Him she hated Him on a regular basis, and blamed Him for every awful thing that happened to her. But one day, at a church service she attended with her birth father, she heard God speak to her heart, inviting her to 'come as you are.'  And all she could say to Him right then was, 'Forgive me!'

Not long afterwards, she met the man that is now her husband.  They were married for seven years before they were finally able to have a baby, their son, Caedmen.  But Caedmen had a heart condition and died when he was only 6 months old . About a year after Caedmen's death, Heather tells the story of sitting down on the floor of her home one day, guitar in hand, and was moved to begin composing this song.  She asked Jesus to show up, right where she was.....and He did, in a powerful and awesome way. 

This song is so very special to Heather and she shares that the cry of this song, her Hallelujah, is that even in that place on the floor with her guitar, remembering her beloved son and crying out in a blubbering mess, she still chose to say Hallelujah; she still chose to say to the Lord, "I love You,"  and she still chose to glorify Him.

Paul and Silas, after having their robes torn from them in public, beaten with rods by an angry crowd and then thrown into prison with their feet fastened together in stocks, chose to do the same, singing praises to God and glorifying Him in song, despite their horrible and seemingly hopeless circumstances. And didn't God show up, right where they were, in a powerful and awesome way, setting free Paul, Silas and the other prisoners from their chains.

Today, what are those horrible and seemingly hopeless circumstances that have you imprisoned?  Are you afraid or anxious?  Are you discouraged or depressed?  Are you financially broke or spiritually broken?  Are you grieving the loss of someone or something?

Whatever it is, in spite of it all, it is my hope that as you listen to this song, you'll still choose to sing out "Hallelujah!!"  Still choose to tell God, "I love You!"  Still choose to glorify Him. 

Let your own Hallelujah invite God to show up right where you are and to set you free.

Blinded By The Light

I had a rough night last night. First, I couldn’t get to sleep. Then, after several hours of tossing and turning, I finally fell asleep, only to wake up around 2:00 a.m., sick to my stomach and in pain. I wandered downstairs and into my kitchen, in search of some Pepto-Bismal, and found that someone (or perhaps multiple someones) had left behind a sink full of dirty dishes. Neither food nor liquids had been kindly or thoughtfully rinsed off the variety of bowls, dishes, silverware and cups. I became immediately aggravated which only intensified my stomach pains and my headache.

As the mother of teens, I am weary of having to remind them daily to be responsible and to do their part regarding household chores. Everybody wants to reap the benefits of being older and more mature, but having to handle the responsibilities that go along with that don’t seem to get much attention and often get lost in the shuffle. Of course, there IS another adult in this household that could help and be supportive, but that’s a minefield I choose not to walk across today.

Anyway, over the years, I’ve come to realize and have had to admit to myself (and now, to others) that I am a full blown, anal-retentive control freak.  As I stated in earlier posts, the act of letting go of people, things and situations into God’s hands and then leaving them there has been and is a constant struggle for me. Try as I might (and believe me, I have tried and tried and tried), I cannot change anyone, which frustrates me to no end.  There are times when I feel like such a failure because my words, actions, examples and prayers have done nothing to change the hearts, minds and attitudes of the people in my life, especially those who are closest to me. I’m well aware that only God is able to truly change the hardest and most stubborn of hearts, minds and souls of people, yet when no change seems to come, even after years and years, I tell myself that in order for God to be able to transform someone, they themselves have to sincerely WANT to change (sidebar of irony here: as I‘m writing this, my dog just let me know the mail had arrived and waiting for me was a solitary envelope with the words “I REALLY WANT TO CHANGE…SO, HELP ME, GOD” emblazoned across the front of it). But, as I sat at my kitchen table in the wee hours this morning, clutching my trusty pink bottle of Pepto and glaring at the sink, the story of Saul on the road to Damascus popped into my head.

Saul was certainly not looking to be changed the day the Lord stopped him dead in his tracks with a blinding light and a message that he was to go from being Saul, persecutor extraordinaire of those who were followers of The Way, to Paul, man on fire for Christ and deliverer of the Good News for the Gentiles. In fact, Saul was actually on his way to Damascus to wreak more havoc: 

‘Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” He replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. ‘ (Acts 9:1-9)

No, change was not on Saul’s agenda that day, but in the blink of an eye (no pun intended), he was instantly and completely transformed from the inside out by the Lord. A man who believed he had his life and the lives of many others completely under his command and control and felt no need or desire for change within himself, now found himself out of control: not only totally blind and dependent upon his fellow traveling buddies to lead him the rest of the way to Damascus, but totally under the Lord’s command and control now.

The point here is something that I keep forgetting -- 

ALL things are possible with God (Mark 10:27). 

NOTHING is too hard for Him (Jeremiah 32:17). 

Yes, not being in control and unable to change certain people in my life sure is frustrating for me. Yet I wonder how much more frustrating it is for God, watching me struggle all these years to learn to let go of each and every person, thing and situation into His more than capable hands and to leave them there, trusting Him to bring about the necessary change, perhaps with other Damascus moments. 

If I'm blind to His will for me,
Then I'll wait to be shown;
And like Paul, I'll have an answer too,
At the end of Damascus Road.

I've been walking down Damascus Road,
And I've carried many cares;
To the place where I am waiting now,
Till the Master tells me where to go from here.

I'm learning grace I thought I'd never have,
And how to wait upon the Lord;
The answer's sweet, I think it's just in sight,
At the end of Damascus Road. ~ Damascus Road, by The Perrys