I grew up in church in the 1980s. If you did too, you'll probably remember the exuberant dad-dancing, the Jewish songs and the tambourine apocalypses that used to happen during worship times most Sundays. If you liked your musical instruments with ribbons and rainbow straps, the 1980s would have sent you out with joy and, quite literally, forth with peace, clap-clap-clapping your hands.
I digress. There was a very gentle song we used to sing in those days. It had remarkably complicated lyrics but I think I've somehow managed to remember them. It went something like this:
Be still and know
That I am God
Be still and know
That I am God
Be still and know
That I am God
So for the longest time, I wondered how.
What does it mean? Be still? Okay, I can do that I think, if I squeeze my eyes shut and don't think about Lego or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for a bit. But I definitely know that he is God already! I mean we sing about that every week. What more is there for me to know? And anyway, why are we singing this to each other? What are we actually suggesting that we... do?
Then, one day, I read where it came from in Psalm 46. And there are some things about this idea of 'being still' that I thought it would be great to go deeper into.
After all, the older I've got, the more I've realised that life is moving fast, pretty much all the time; time is changing everything! Concentration spans have shortened, patience is harder to find, and the whole world is on the move. Being still is harder than ever before, and maybe there's something in this.
Then God started to show me about capturing those moments between the moments, right there in the middle of worship, and something clicked.
So over the next few posts I'd like to think about what it means to 'be still' and how that might help in 'knowing' who he is. I'd like to apply that to how we operate as worshippers, what it means for our worship times, and how to make the most of the stillness when it comes.
Are you with me?
Great! Okay, so your task this week is to read all of Psalm 46. What's the context of the Psalm? Where did it come from? Why do you think God says what he says in verse 10? Maybe you could even have a go at singing or playing it through in your own words? Though you'll lose points with me if you set it to the music of the rainbow-ribboned tambourine.
More next time.
Friday, 2 November 2018
Tuesday, 21 August 2018
how to change your focal length: summary
Here are the links to all the posts on how praise can help change your focal length:
Monday, 20 August 2018
how to change your focal length: part 7
"O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to him with psalms!" - Psalm 95:1
This is the last one of these. Just as a recap, we've been looking at how different aspects of praise can help us to change our personal focal length, so that we're able to draw near to God and be focused on him in those moments when we're naturally drawn to focus on ourselves. The Bible uses lots of different words for praise, so I wondered whether there was anything to learn from those Hebrew expressions, and whether we could apply them today.
In science, lenses refract light and draw it to a point of focus. But you can change the focal length of a lens-system so that the thing you were looking at blurs out, and the thing that was unresolved comes into view, crisply and clearly. Praise does this for us, for so many reasons.
We saw how praise can be loud and exuberant (halal) and how testifying and shining about Jesus actually brings him into a situation and changes how we see it.
Then we remembered that praise also makes us vulnerable while we cast our hands to heaven and our praise into the atmosphere (yadah). From that vulnerability and that openness, God transforms the circumstances around us.
Barak carries the Hebrew idea of 'kneeling' in praise, and we saw how re-aligning ourselves with God, making sure we understand our position and his, actually changes the world. Barak praise refocuses us on who matters, and what doesn't matter quite so much.
Praise can be musical too. We looked at the special way that singing his praise (tehilla) brings heaven into the earthly mix, and changes the refractive index of the things we see around us.
And as well as tehilla praise, we looked at how playing a musical instrument can help you prophesy through praise (zamar). This of course applies to more than just music though - if your instrument happens to be a paintbrush, a sculpting chisel, or even Microsoft Word, you can bring God directly into a situation with skill and passion, as you use it.
To wrap up then, this week I've chosen a word for praise which I think is so powerful, so brilliant and so easy to use that it can change everything when you apply it. In fact, this weapon of praise can change your focal length in an instant, and what's more, you can use it in conjunction with all the others.
It's thankfulness. The word used is 'todah' and it means to give thanks, present a thank-offering, or a sacrifice of praise.
Todah praise is so good at changing our focal length because it shifts all the glory to the giver, and when that giver is God himself, there's no power in Heaven or Earth that can take it away - your story is your story; your heartfelt thank-you can't be disputed or interrupted or denied because it comes straight from you and connects you directly to him, like lightning. And it is secretly brilliant at diffusing difficult situations.
So, this week's challenge is to start to use the power of thank you. There are lots of ways to do this, but why not start by praying to God out loud and thanking him for things? No shopping lists, no requests, no tangents, just thanksgiving. See how long you can go finding things to thank him for. I remember when I started doing this I thought I would run out of obvious things quickly, but it's surprising how the Holy Spirit brings to mind a whole lot more. Plus, when I get really down, thankfulness is tough to do, certainly, but also absolutely brilliant at changing my focal length.
Go for it! If you practice todah praise, I reckon it will start to influence other areas of your life too; you'll become a naturally thankful person and the world around you will start to look really different.
... which reminds me. Thank you so much for reading these! I hope they've been encouraging enough to get going with loud, exuberant, joyful, vulnerable, thankful, skillful, life-changing, wall-crumbling, extraordinary praise! And that change of focal length, from seeing the ordinary to seeing the extraordinary around us, is the best change of all.
This is the last one of these. Just as a recap, we've been looking at how different aspects of praise can help us to change our personal focal length, so that we're able to draw near to God and be focused on him in those moments when we're naturally drawn to focus on ourselves. The Bible uses lots of different words for praise, so I wondered whether there was anything to learn from those Hebrew expressions, and whether we could apply them today.
In science, lenses refract light and draw it to a point of focus. But you can change the focal length of a lens-system so that the thing you were looking at blurs out, and the thing that was unresolved comes into view, crisply and clearly. Praise does this for us, for so many reasons.
We saw how praise can be loud and exuberant (halal) and how testifying and shining about Jesus actually brings him into a situation and changes how we see it.
Then we remembered that praise also makes us vulnerable while we cast our hands to heaven and our praise into the atmosphere (yadah). From that vulnerability and that openness, God transforms the circumstances around us.
Barak carries the Hebrew idea of 'kneeling' in praise, and we saw how re-aligning ourselves with God, making sure we understand our position and his, actually changes the world. Barak praise refocuses us on who matters, and what doesn't matter quite so much.
Praise can be musical too. We looked at the special way that singing his praise (tehilla) brings heaven into the earthly mix, and changes the refractive index of the things we see around us.
And as well as tehilla praise, we looked at how playing a musical instrument can help you prophesy through praise (zamar). This of course applies to more than just music though - if your instrument happens to be a paintbrush, a sculpting chisel, or even Microsoft Word, you can bring God directly into a situation with skill and passion, as you use it.
To wrap up then, this week I've chosen a word for praise which I think is so powerful, so brilliant and so easy to use that it can change everything when you apply it. In fact, this weapon of praise can change your focal length in an instant, and what's more, you can use it in conjunction with all the others.
It's thankfulness. The word used is 'todah' and it means to give thanks, present a thank-offering, or a sacrifice of praise.
Todah praise is so good at changing our focal length because it shifts all the glory to the giver, and when that giver is God himself, there's no power in Heaven or Earth that can take it away - your story is your story; your heartfelt thank-you can't be disputed or interrupted or denied because it comes straight from you and connects you directly to him, like lightning. And it is secretly brilliant at diffusing difficult situations.
So, this week's challenge is to start to use the power of thank you. There are lots of ways to do this, but why not start by praying to God out loud and thanking him for things? No shopping lists, no requests, no tangents, just thanksgiving. See how long you can go finding things to thank him for. I remember when I started doing this I thought I would run out of obvious things quickly, but it's surprising how the Holy Spirit brings to mind a whole lot more. Plus, when I get really down, thankfulness is tough to do, certainly, but also absolutely brilliant at changing my focal length.
Go for it! If you practice todah praise, I reckon it will start to influence other areas of your life too; you'll become a naturally thankful person and the world around you will start to look really different.
... which reminds me. Thank you so much for reading these! I hope they've been encouraging enough to get going with loud, exuberant, joyful, vulnerable, thankful, skillful, life-changing, wall-crumbling, extraordinary praise! And that change of focal length, from seeing the ordinary to seeing the extraordinary around us, is the best change of all.
Tuesday, 7 August 2018
how to change your focal length: part 6
"It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp." - Psalm 92:1
In the last post, we were looking at how singing praise (tehilla) can change the atmosphere and bring Heaven straight into a situation.
Your voice is a powerful instrument, even if it isn't all that strong. It draws you up and out of your heart, and the realness of you then connects with the Holy Spirit, allowing him to move.
Another language of praise, another way to change our focal length and change the air around us, is to play a musical instrument. The Bible calls this zamar praise, and the word (used 44 times in the Old Testament) means 'to play', particularly by plucking strings or by striking a stringed instrument.
Stringed instruments all work because of tension. The ends of each string are pulled tight until the string and the wood match their natural resonance - a harmonic sound that brings the best frequencies out of the natural structure of the musical instrument.
It's this resonance that we're looking for when playing any musical instrument in the Spirit, and it doesn't matter whether it's strings, woodwind or something you hit. There's always a resonance for zamar praise to change the atmosphere.
I love playing woodwind instruments, particularly the recorder. What I'm looking for whenever I do that is that very natural, deep, prophetic connection with what God is saying - it's a bit like playing in tongues or prophesying with an instrument. You bring the resonance of what God is saying into the room through the language of music, expressed creatively in you.
Zamar praise changes our focal length because it prophesies into the room and lifts the temperature. It doesn't just change what you can see, it shifts what all of us can see.
That's why David could calm the a troubled King Saul in 1 Samuel 16. Zamar praise changed the atmosphere when an anointed musician played the harp in the king's presence. Never underestimate what you can do with a pure heart and a musical instrument.
So, this week's challenge: if you're a musician, spend some time with your instrument and try praying and prophesying through it. If that seems odd, try praying out loud at first, then silently with your instrument in your hand. Then transfer your inner voice to play through your fingers. Just watch what happens to the atmosphere.
If you're not a musician, or you don't play a musical instrument, don't panic. You can do this too - maybe by making a neat playlist of worship tracks and letting the sung praise of others fill the room.
Zamar skillfully changes not just your focal length but also shifts the spritual atmosphere, changing what all of us can see. So, what is God saying to you? What is God saying to us? Can you express it in language? Can you play it heart-to-heart-to-heart?
Let's play it out and see what God does.
In the last post, we were looking at how singing praise (tehilla) can change the atmosphere and bring Heaven straight into a situation.
Your voice is a powerful instrument, even if it isn't all that strong. It draws you up and out of your heart, and the realness of you then connects with the Holy Spirit, allowing him to move.
Another language of praise, another way to change our focal length and change the air around us, is to play a musical instrument. The Bible calls this zamar praise, and the word (used 44 times in the Old Testament) means 'to play', particularly by plucking strings or by striking a stringed instrument.
Stringed instruments all work because of tension. The ends of each string are pulled tight until the string and the wood match their natural resonance - a harmonic sound that brings the best frequencies out of the natural structure of the musical instrument.
It's this resonance that we're looking for when playing any musical instrument in the Spirit, and it doesn't matter whether it's strings, woodwind or something you hit. There's always a resonance for zamar praise to change the atmosphere.
I love playing woodwind instruments, particularly the recorder. What I'm looking for whenever I do that is that very natural, deep, prophetic connection with what God is saying - it's a bit like playing in tongues or prophesying with an instrument. You bring the resonance of what God is saying into the room through the language of music, expressed creatively in you.
Zamar praise changes our focal length because it prophesies into the room and lifts the temperature. It doesn't just change what you can see, it shifts what all of us can see.
That's why David could calm the a troubled King Saul in 1 Samuel 16. Zamar praise changed the atmosphere when an anointed musician played the harp in the king's presence. Never underestimate what you can do with a pure heart and a musical instrument.
So, this week's challenge: if you're a musician, spend some time with your instrument and try praying and prophesying through it. If that seems odd, try praying out loud at first, then silently with your instrument in your hand. Then transfer your inner voice to play through your fingers. Just watch what happens to the atmosphere.
If you're not a musician, or you don't play a musical instrument, don't panic. You can do this too - maybe by making a neat playlist of worship tracks and letting the sung praise of others fill the room.
Zamar skillfully changes not just your focal length but also shifts the spritual atmosphere, changing what all of us can see. So, what is God saying to you? What is God saying to us? Can you express it in language? Can you play it heart-to-heart-to-heart?
Let's play it out and see what God does.
Monday, 30 July 2018
how to change your focal length: part 5
"Yet you are holy, O you who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel." - Psalm 22:3
I was at the opticians the other day. I've been having trouble with my eyes for a week or so and I wanted to get it checked out.
As is often the way with these things, the optometrest had to switch on the lights and leave the room with my notes. He excused himself very nicely and professionally, and for a few moments I was left to panic on my own in the consulting room.
What a time to put some of this into practice! I stared at a wall of differently-sized letters and softly began to sing, just quietly to God.
There is something about singing that changes the atmosphere - especially when it's from the heart and straight to God. Not every song we sing has to be a brilliant anthem we can't wait to teach the church, or record and put on a trendy album! Some of the best songs are just between us and God, born into life from the secret place, and sung in situe to the Audience of One.
I sang for a few minutes in the room, eyes open, you know, just in case the optometrist came back.
Singing praise is an ancient and wonderful way to change your focal length. The word for praise here is 'tehilla' - to sing, to exalt in voice, to raise a hymn.
In Psalm 22, it's tehilla praise that makes a dwelling place for God. He is enthroned on praise - as though it could somehow serve as a platform for the throne of heaven itself! Think about that - the throne room is built upon the act of sacrifical praise.
That means that when we gather together to lift our voices, what we're doing is establishing a landing strip, a temple, a dwelling place for God himself to come and 'inhabit' our praises.
What's more, we ourselves as believers are also his dwelling place. He dwells in us when we live in atmosphere of praise. The more I think about that, the more amazed I become!
And it's thinking things like that that makes me sing in the optometrist's consulting room.
Tehilla praise changes our focal length by changing the atmosphere. It brings heaven directly into a situation, rushing in like a wind, crashing in like a river. Praise changes everything. And (if you think back to how lenses work) once the atmosphere changes, the way that light refracts through it has to change too! The air around you has a refractive index.
So, this week's challenge: if you think of it, or if you're facing a situation that you need to see change, just find a space and start singing to God. Tehilla isn't necessary loud like halal, or visible like barak or yadah - it can be soft and it can be powerful.
Tip: if you're stuck for ways to get spontaneously singing, start by singing over an interval of a fifth (think of the first two notes of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) and go from there.
-
PS: When I got back from the optometrist appointment, I opened an email from Joanna with a link to a Bill Johnson message. You can see it here - he says it so much better than me, and in a lot more depth. Well, he's Bill Johnson, isn't he?
Oh, and if God is going to help change a focal length, I can't honestly think of anywhere better for him to remind me how to do that than in the consulting room at the opticians.
I was at the opticians the other day. I've been having trouble with my eyes for a week or so and I wanted to get it checked out.
As is often the way with these things, the optometrest had to switch on the lights and leave the room with my notes. He excused himself very nicely and professionally, and for a few moments I was left to panic on my own in the consulting room.
What a time to put some of this into practice! I stared at a wall of differently-sized letters and softly began to sing, just quietly to God.
There is something about singing that changes the atmosphere - especially when it's from the heart and straight to God. Not every song we sing has to be a brilliant anthem we can't wait to teach the church, or record and put on a trendy album! Some of the best songs are just between us and God, born into life from the secret place, and sung in situe to the Audience of One.
I sang for a few minutes in the room, eyes open, you know, just in case the optometrist came back.
Singing praise is an ancient and wonderful way to change your focal length. The word for praise here is 'tehilla' - to sing, to exalt in voice, to raise a hymn.
In Psalm 22, it's tehilla praise that makes a dwelling place for God. He is enthroned on praise - as though it could somehow serve as a platform for the throne of heaven itself! Think about that - the throne room is built upon the act of sacrifical praise.
That means that when we gather together to lift our voices, what we're doing is establishing a landing strip, a temple, a dwelling place for God himself to come and 'inhabit' our praises.
What's more, we ourselves as believers are also his dwelling place. He dwells in us when we live in atmosphere of praise. The more I think about that, the more amazed I become!
And it's thinking things like that that makes me sing in the optometrist's consulting room.
Tehilla praise changes our focal length by changing the atmosphere. It brings heaven directly into a situation, rushing in like a wind, crashing in like a river. Praise changes everything. And (if you think back to how lenses work) once the atmosphere changes, the way that light refracts through it has to change too! The air around you has a refractive index.
So, this week's challenge: if you think of it, or if you're facing a situation that you need to see change, just find a space and start singing to God. Tehilla isn't necessary loud like halal, or visible like barak or yadah - it can be soft and it can be powerful.
Tip: if you're stuck for ways to get spontaneously singing, start by singing over an interval of a fifth (think of the first two notes of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) and go from there.
-
PS: When I got back from the optometrist appointment, I opened an email from Joanna with a link to a Bill Johnson message. You can see it here - he says it so much better than me, and in a lot more depth. Well, he's Bill Johnson, isn't he?
Oh, and if God is going to help change a focal length, I can't honestly think of anywhere better for him to remind me how to do that than in the consulting room at the opticians.
Tuesday, 24 July 2018
how to change your focal length: part 4
Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. - Psalm 95:6
Time for a quick recap. In this series, we're looking at how different types of praise can help to change our focal length, so that we're focused more on Heaven, rather than ourselves. We've already seen that 'halal' praise encourages us to be loud and visible, and that 'yadah' was all about casting up our hands and being vulnerable in battle.
The next Hebrew word for praise is 'barak' and it gets right to the heart of the idea of refocusing, of realigning, and of changing position.
Barak means 'to kneel'.
Like yadah, barak is a physical action, a posture; it helps us to refocus because it's all about our position.
Lenses work because of positioning. One thing is a certain distance (the focal length) from another, and the light refracts to a point where it can be processed. A lens only works when everything is in the right place.
Similarly, to help us change our focus, it's important to understand our worship-position in relation to the Father. And kneeling is a great demonstration of this, because it shows how to be aligned, it reveals the power-balance, and it quickly deals with pride. It's a fantastic physical display of humility and vulnerability, just as a servant shows a master, a subject shows a king, or a man shows a woman he would like to marry.
I think sometimes pride subtly tries to shift the focus back to ourselves, and we have to spot it and re-position. It's hard though, kneeling: it's the position of someone who risks execution, or banishment, or rejection. It's the handing over of power, control and authority and submitting ourselves to something much greater.
It's good though - because God loves the heart that kneels. And this form of praise really does display to the world how the balance works when we're aligned with him!
So, this week's challenge: You might not be physically able to kneel, but that's okay - it's a heart-attitude. See if you can figure out ways to train your heart to kneel, during your worship times. If you can kneel, the physical action says a lot too, so why not give it a go? It's possible that your brain will try to persuade you that you don't want to (especially now that I've suggested it). Well, override it! See what happens when you collapse your pride and submit yourself to God. Let your body display your heart, and show the world how to bring praise to him, on your knees.
Time for a quick recap. In this series, we're looking at how different types of praise can help to change our focal length, so that we're focused more on Heaven, rather than ourselves. We've already seen that 'halal' praise encourages us to be loud and visible, and that 'yadah' was all about casting up our hands and being vulnerable in battle.
The next Hebrew word for praise is 'barak' and it gets right to the heart of the idea of refocusing, of realigning, and of changing position.
Barak means 'to kneel'.
Like yadah, barak is a physical action, a posture; it helps us to refocus because it's all about our position.
Lenses work because of positioning. One thing is a certain distance (the focal length) from another, and the light refracts to a point where it can be processed. A lens only works when everything is in the right place.
Similarly, to help us change our focus, it's important to understand our worship-position in relation to the Father. And kneeling is a great demonstration of this, because it shows how to be aligned, it reveals the power-balance, and it quickly deals with pride. It's a fantastic physical display of humility and vulnerability, just as a servant shows a master, a subject shows a king, or a man shows a woman he would like to marry.
I think sometimes pride subtly tries to shift the focus back to ourselves, and we have to spot it and re-position. It's hard though, kneeling: it's the position of someone who risks execution, or banishment, or rejection. It's the handing over of power, control and authority and submitting ourselves to something much greater.
It's good though - because God loves the heart that kneels. And this form of praise really does display to the world how the balance works when we're aligned with him!
So, this week's challenge: You might not be physically able to kneel, but that's okay - it's a heart-attitude. See if you can figure out ways to train your heart to kneel, during your worship times. If you can kneel, the physical action says a lot too, so why not give it a go? It's possible that your brain will try to persuade you that you don't want to (especially now that I've suggested it). Well, override it! See what happens when you collapse your pride and submit yourself to God. Let your body display your heart, and show the world how to bring praise to him, on your knees.
Tuesday, 10 July 2018
how to change your focal length: part 3
"After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever." - 2 Chronicles 20:21
It was early. The morning sun lit the top of the rocks of Tekoa, and cast long shadows behind the horses. The air was cool and fresh, almost electric with anticipation. This was the moment of battle, of decision. This was the moment in which the words of Jehaziel, the Kohathites, the Korahites, even those of the great King, Jehoshaphat himself, would either come to nothing, or everything.
The king, glittering in armour at the front of the procession halted and raised a banner, fluttering in the dawn.
"Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem!" he cried, "Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld! Have faith in his prophets, and you will be successful!"
A nervous roar went up. The desert shook with feet and the handful of men marched forwards through the shaded rocks, into the sun. There, like a cloud of dust, far away on the other side of the plain were the massed armies of Moab and Ammon: countless thousands across the horizon, swords glinting, a swarm of men, ready to wipe their enemies from the earth.
What would your military strategy be? Hopelessly outnumbered, resting on just a few short lines of nice-sounding-hope from a prophet and a couple of priests, perhaps given heart (but not much else) by the king's speech, as ludicrous as it might have sounded, given the circumstances? What would you do?
If ever you needed to see beyond what you can see, it would be here. In these posts we're looking at how to change our 'focal length' using different aspects of praise: to see further, to re-shift how we see the world beyond our situations and circumstances. And this story, in 2 Chronicles 20 shows us again how 'praise' can help us do that.
Jehoshaphat's strategy is to appoint some singers.
Their job was to go out on the front lines, ahead of the actual armed men, and just 'praise'. You'd be forgiven for thinking that that is mad - it kind of is, especially when you see that the word used here is the word 'yadah'.
Where 'halal' was about boasting and shining, 'yadah' is much more physical. It comes from the idea of 'throwing' or 'casting' and it often indicates the idea of 'raised hands'. It's like literally throwing your hands in the air, like you just don't care. It's wild, exuberant, reckless praise.
Not exactly great against a massive army with lots of arrows, making yourself as obvious as possible. But you can read what happened in the rest of the chapter.
Yadah shows us that praise is also about the physical movement of releasing something to God, making ourselves vulnerable, and throwing, casting, opening our hands towards him. If ever you wondered where that crazy charismatic thing comes from - this'll be it: it's totally scriptural! It's warfare. Another sense of Yadah is used when the Bible talks about shooting arrows, or launching a spear. It's that feeling when every sinew in your arms is stretching towards Heaven.
So here's the Yadah challenge. Next time you're in a situation which feels hopeless, or has you feeling as though you're completely outnumbered, find a way to get moving. Find a space, find a place, find a way to literally throw your arms into the air and 'praise him for his holiness'. I reckon this is another key way to help us change our focus, to remove our eyes from the problem we face (and even the lack of any obvious solution) and to completely focus on God himself. Yadah sharpens the mind and makes it less and less about the here and the now, and more and more about Him. Give it a try!
It takes effort, energy and determination. It also takes vulnerability to do it, to be at the front of the line when the enemy attacks. At first it will feel unnatural, odd, maybe foolish. But have a read of 2 Chronicles 20 and see what happened. Yadah refocuses the eyes to remind us of the message that 'the battle' always 'belongs to the Lord'.
It was early. The morning sun lit the top of the rocks of Tekoa, and cast long shadows behind the horses. The air was cool and fresh, almost electric with anticipation. This was the moment of battle, of decision. This was the moment in which the words of Jehaziel, the Kohathites, the Korahites, even those of the great King, Jehoshaphat himself, would either come to nothing, or everything.
The king, glittering in armour at the front of the procession halted and raised a banner, fluttering in the dawn.
"Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem!" he cried, "Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld! Have faith in his prophets, and you will be successful!"
A nervous roar went up. The desert shook with feet and the handful of men marched forwards through the shaded rocks, into the sun. There, like a cloud of dust, far away on the other side of the plain were the massed armies of Moab and Ammon: countless thousands across the horizon, swords glinting, a swarm of men, ready to wipe their enemies from the earth.
What would your military strategy be? Hopelessly outnumbered, resting on just a few short lines of nice-sounding-hope from a prophet and a couple of priests, perhaps given heart (but not much else) by the king's speech, as ludicrous as it might have sounded, given the circumstances? What would you do?
If ever you needed to see beyond what you can see, it would be here. In these posts we're looking at how to change our 'focal length' using different aspects of praise: to see further, to re-shift how we see the world beyond our situations and circumstances. And this story, in 2 Chronicles 20 shows us again how 'praise' can help us do that.
Jehoshaphat's strategy is to appoint some singers.
Their job was to go out on the front lines, ahead of the actual armed men, and just 'praise'. You'd be forgiven for thinking that that is mad - it kind of is, especially when you see that the word used here is the word 'yadah'.
Where 'halal' was about boasting and shining, 'yadah' is much more physical. It comes from the idea of 'throwing' or 'casting' and it often indicates the idea of 'raised hands'. It's like literally throwing your hands in the air, like you just don't care. It's wild, exuberant, reckless praise.
Not exactly great against a massive army with lots of arrows, making yourself as obvious as possible. But you can read what happened in the rest of the chapter.
Yadah shows us that praise is also about the physical movement of releasing something to God, making ourselves vulnerable, and throwing, casting, opening our hands towards him. If ever you wondered where that crazy charismatic thing comes from - this'll be it: it's totally scriptural! It's warfare. Another sense of Yadah is used when the Bible talks about shooting arrows, or launching a spear. It's that feeling when every sinew in your arms is stretching towards Heaven.
So here's the Yadah challenge. Next time you're in a situation which feels hopeless, or has you feeling as though you're completely outnumbered, find a way to get moving. Find a space, find a place, find a way to literally throw your arms into the air and 'praise him for his holiness'. I reckon this is another key way to help us change our focus, to remove our eyes from the problem we face (and even the lack of any obvious solution) and to completely focus on God himself. Yadah sharpens the mind and makes it less and less about the here and the now, and more and more about Him. Give it a try!
It takes effort, energy and determination. It also takes vulnerability to do it, to be at the front of the line when the enemy attacks. At first it will feel unnatural, odd, maybe foolish. But have a read of 2 Chronicles 20 and see what happened. Yadah refocuses the eyes to remind us of the message that 'the battle' always 'belongs to the Lord'.
Wednesday, 4 July 2018
how to change your focal length: part 2
“Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live.” Psalm 63:3-4
In this series, we’re looking at different aspects of ‘praise’ and how each one helps us to change our focal length. We all have a natural inclination to be focused on the things around us, on the things we see and think about - and sometimes, this isn’t the best. If, as worshippers, we can learn how to focus less on ourselves and more on the object of our worship, we can change the world. But how to do that isn’t always obvious.
I believe that praise is a key, and that’s what these next few posts are about. But what do we mean by ‘praise’? What does the Bible call praise? Are there any tips that might help us practically start to live lives with a clearer focus? How can praise help us to do this?
There are a few words for praise: there’s one that’s used 140 times in the Old Testament, and it’s a cracker: it’s the word ‘halal’.
Not the meat. That’s from an Arabic word meaning ‘lawful’ which is now used to describe food that’s fit for Muslims to eat. This halal is a Hebrew word that means: to boast, to rave, to shine, or, indeed, to act crazy.
I think the point of ‘halal’ is that praise is supposed to be loud and it’s supposed to be visible. It’s the same kind of word you’d use to describe that cheer you do without thinking when your team score, or you get a promotion, or you accidentally win the lottery. It’s a natural, reflex response to something incredible, and it can’t be stopped.
You can see that in Psalm 63. Halal erupts in response to God. There’s a reason, there’s a cause, there’s a truth to what’s happened and I am not going to stop shouting about it!
Halal also means to shine. In Philippians, Paul instructs the church to ‘do everything without complaining or arguing’ and specifically says that the result is that we will ‘shine like stars in the universe, as we hold out the word of truth’. He knows that there’s a direct connection between our character and our ability to shine. Complaining, arguing, grumbling... seems to be a quick way to flicker out from a brilliant example, into a lacklustre Christian. So stop it. Halal instead!
Praise is meant to shine. It’s intended to tell the loudest and best of who God is, the most of what he’s done, to speak the highest good into a situation, like a light that switches on in the dark. It’s powerful, it’s illuminating, it’s brilliant.
Here’s the challenge then. Next time you get an opportunity, tell a story about what God has done for you. It could be a ‘testimony’ in church, or it could just be a facebook status. But try boasting, going over the top about what God did! Let it shine! Tell the world who he is and and how much he showed his love to you! Really go for it. Make it burst out from inside of you like a ‘halal’ should.
If you find that difficult, try writing it down first. Make it a ‘halaletter’. One thing I do sometimes (I like writing) is to write out a good story about what God did, and then go back and circle the number of times I mentioned myself and then the number of times I mentioned him. I find that a really interesting challenge, and it usually tells me something about where my focal length is. The point is that doing this, slowly rearranges the way we think about what God has done, and ultimately prompts that spontaneous burst of joy and praise, the next time we see it.
Halal can change your focus because it is a natural, uncontrolled, outrageous response to God. Let it go. Let it out. Let it shine!
Tuesday, 26 June 2018
how to change your focal length: part 1
Do you know how lenses work? I bet you do if you wear spectacles.
Here's the science bit: the light refracts through the curved glass and changes your perception of the image. For an image to be crisp and clear of course, you have to make sure you're at exactly the right distance from the lens so that the light rays focus to a point where your eyes can process it.
There are lots of different types of focus, I suppose, not just optical. Recently, I've found myself focused on myself... a lot. I've been really short-sighted, worrying about how I'm going to get stuff done, troubled by my diet, my sleep, my memory, my ability to play scales, and what happens when my iPad slips off its stand during a service and accidentally switches my keyboard off in the middle of a worship set.
Yes. That did happen. I think I got away with it.
The point is, it's all been a bit 'me, me, me' and if there's one thing that's certainly true, it's that I'm quite boring and unproductive to think about, and I'd rather it wasn't that way; it gets depressing after a while. Plus, it took me ages to notice.
But. I think I might also have discovered a secret. What if there were a way to change your focal length?
What if you could change the lenses of your life so that the things you were focused on shifted, and the foreground became the background, and the background swam into clarity?
As worshippers, we often talk about 'focusing' on God, allowing him to 'open the eyes of our hearts' and being 'determined' to seek him. Those are good pursuits of course, but I think I've discovered a practical key to making it work - a way to change your focal length, so that it's much less 'me, me, me' and much more 'him, him, him'...
It's praise. I think praise can change your focal length. It brings down walls, it crumbles enemies, it exalts and it encourages, it breaks out of prisons, and it heralds history. It magnifies God - literally shifting the focal length so that he increases, and we decrease.
There are lots of words for praise in the Bible, and with good reason. So, what I'd like to do is go through a few of them in the next few posts. Meanwhile, here's a challenge that might help persuade you of the power of praise.
Next time you're praying and you've got some devotion time, try simply telling God how good he is. Don't ask him for anything, don't thank him, don't pray for other people - just discipline yourself to spend as long as you can proclaiming who he is. My guess is that it will be difficult at first, and then get a lot easier - but see how you get on!
I'm going to try too. After all, when we lift up our eyes to the mountains... we're not supposed to focus on the foreground. There is so much more to see.
Here's the science bit: the light refracts through the curved glass and changes your perception of the image. For an image to be crisp and clear of course, you have to make sure you're at exactly the right distance from the lens so that the light rays focus to a point where your eyes can process it.
There are lots of different types of focus, I suppose, not just optical. Recently, I've found myself focused on myself... a lot. I've been really short-sighted, worrying about how I'm going to get stuff done, troubled by my diet, my sleep, my memory, my ability to play scales, and what happens when my iPad slips off its stand during a service and accidentally switches my keyboard off in the middle of a worship set.
Yes. That did happen. I think I got away with it.
The point is, it's all been a bit 'me, me, me' and if there's one thing that's certainly true, it's that I'm quite boring and unproductive to think about, and I'd rather it wasn't that way; it gets depressing after a while. Plus, it took me ages to notice.
But. I think I might also have discovered a secret. What if there were a way to change your focal length?
What if you could change the lenses of your life so that the things you were focused on shifted, and the foreground became the background, and the background swam into clarity?
As worshippers, we often talk about 'focusing' on God, allowing him to 'open the eyes of our hearts' and being 'determined' to seek him. Those are good pursuits of course, but I think I've discovered a practical key to making it work - a way to change your focal length, so that it's much less 'me, me, me' and much more 'him, him, him'...
It's praise. I think praise can change your focal length. It brings down walls, it crumbles enemies, it exalts and it encourages, it breaks out of prisons, and it heralds history. It magnifies God - literally shifting the focal length so that he increases, and we decrease.
There are lots of words for praise in the Bible, and with good reason. So, what I'd like to do is go through a few of them in the next few posts. Meanwhile, here's a challenge that might help persuade you of the power of praise.
Next time you're praying and you've got some devotion time, try simply telling God how good he is. Don't ask him for anything, don't thank him, don't pray for other people - just discipline yourself to spend as long as you can proclaiming who he is. My guess is that it will be difficult at first, and then get a lot easier - but see how you get on!
I'm going to try too. After all, when we lift up our eyes to the mountains... we're not supposed to focus on the foreground. There is so much more to see.
Friday, 8 June 2018
listening to the bee gees
I've been listening to the Bee Gees recently. You know, what with me being ultra-cool and modern and everything.
Actually, I shouldn't mock the Bee Gees. It's occurred to me that they were geniuses, and tellingly, their songs are everywhere, still. The close-harmony modulating chords stretch way beyond 'Jive Talking' and 'Night Fever', as brilliant as those tracks are.
I think because they came to define an era, the late 70s and early 80s almost trapped the Brothers Gibb into a disco-genre all of their own - and in the wake of that era, I grew up believing their music to be over-simple, cheesy and old-fashioned, not realising that the popularity of so many artists rested on it. It took me a long time to realise that the Bee Gees are of course, none of those things.
Before those high-octane decades, these three genial siblings reinvented themselves time and again - from sitting on stools in black and white Australian TV, singing 'Blowin' in the Wind' and writing quivering ballads like 'Massachusetts' or 'Nights on Broadway'... to penning classic hits for Diana Ross, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, they just kept moving, adapting, staying alive, if you will.
At the core of their work though, even in the 90s when they dropped the high voices and started singing 'Too Much Heaven' an octave lower, the same strands are still there, reimagined: Barry smiles and sings through the verse, then Robin and Maurice sing a third above and a third below respectively, and as the carefully coreographed harmonies swoon across the unexpected chords, we find ourselves moved, and moving once again.
Capturing a simple idea and developing it into something uniquely you that's recognisable or memorable, is a great way to write songs. Every single one of The Bee Gees' classics has a memorable hook, a distinctive feel, and a unique style. And they did it time after time.
I'm not sure why I started listening to them again. Anyway, as cheesy and as old-fashioned as it might seem, I quite like the Bee Gees.
Actually, I shouldn't mock the Bee Gees. It's occurred to me that they were geniuses, and tellingly, their songs are everywhere, still. The close-harmony modulating chords stretch way beyond 'Jive Talking' and 'Night Fever', as brilliant as those tracks are.
I think because they came to define an era, the late 70s and early 80s almost trapped the Brothers Gibb into a disco-genre all of their own - and in the wake of that era, I grew up believing their music to be over-simple, cheesy and old-fashioned, not realising that the popularity of so many artists rested on it. It took me a long time to realise that the Bee Gees are of course, none of those things.
Before those high-octane decades, these three genial siblings reinvented themselves time and again - from sitting on stools in black and white Australian TV, singing 'Blowin' in the Wind' and writing quivering ballads like 'Massachusetts' or 'Nights on Broadway'... to penning classic hits for Diana Ross, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, they just kept moving, adapting, staying alive, if you will.
At the core of their work though, even in the 90s when they dropped the high voices and started singing 'Too Much Heaven' an octave lower, the same strands are still there, reimagined: Barry smiles and sings through the verse, then Robin and Maurice sing a third above and a third below respectively, and as the carefully coreographed harmonies swoon across the unexpected chords, we find ourselves moved, and moving once again.
Capturing a simple idea and developing it into something uniquely you that's recognisable or memorable, is a great way to write songs. Every single one of The Bee Gees' classics has a memorable hook, a distinctive feel, and a unique style. And they did it time after time.
I'm not sure why I started listening to them again. Anyway, as cheesy and as old-fashioned as it might seem, I quite like the Bee Gees.
Monday, 21 May 2018
gatecrash the party
Hang around in charismatic circles long enough, and several things will happen.
You’ll get weird side-hugs for a start, like an arm around the shoulder as though you were both posing for an imaginary photographer. That is of course, provided you’ve already successfully navigated your way through the awkward handshake/high-five/embrace moment, when neither of you are quite sure what’s going to happen. That’s always exciting.
There’s more excitement though; it doesn’t stop there! You might get whacked in the face by a bamboo stick that’s been loosely attached to a coloured flag, or treated to a classic display of dad-dancing circa 1987. You could be deafened by a tambourine (or an over-enthusiastic clapper who’s learned to cup their hands but mysteriously not the meaning of the off-beat). Or you might get caught up in a vaguely-formed queue for a coffee-in-a-polystyrene-cup, or just plain old trapped in a row of chairs that have been blockaded by people fervently praying for each other in small groups at either end of the row.
You will be loved though, that’s for sure. It’s kind of inevitable when God shows up.
And that happens a lot: God ‘shows up’, the Holy Spirit ‘turns up’, Jesus makes a sort of appearance, and (don’t misunderstand me) it’s usually great!
I’ve been thinking about that terminology though, today. And it gets stranger the more I ponder it. God shows up.
Weren’t we expecting it?
I mean... we’ve literally gone to his house and spent the best part of four songs and thirty minutes, singing his name and shouting about how good he is. You’d ‘show up’ if it were you too, I reckon. It’s a peculiarly charismatic thing, that tiny element of shock that God was actually there in the middle of our worship time. If I phoned my Dad and asked him to pop over, I’m not sure how he’d react if I opened the door and excitedly said: ‘Oh! It’s you!’ as though I’d been expecting him to stay home instead. It’d be even weirder if it was at his house.
What I think we mean though, is not that God was unexpected, or had somehow gatecrashed our carefully-planned service*. I think what we mean is that he did it in a way that was kind of new and kind of awesome, and the freshness of it was beautifully, wonderfully, miraculously surprising.
As worship team, I think part of our job is to set the table, prepare our environment, and be expectant that God will do something cool in response to our worship, and particularly, our praise. It’s almost as though, he ‘shows up’ when we do, and the Holy Spirit ‘turns up’ in response to our hearts together.
With that in mind, I’m starting to think that the best thing we can do is learn how to create the spaces for him to do... well, exactly whatever he wants to do, even when we have no clue it’s coming! And that takes some time to learn together, and some secret-place-hours to recognise that fragrance by ourselves.
So, what do you think? How do we set the tempo, the pulse, the atmosphere for God to arrive? What could we do?
By the way, I recommend the handshake/high-five/pull into a hug combo. Style it out. And if you’re fed up with getting poked by kids with flagpoles, remember first that God loves little people worshipping, and second that if you’re in the worship band you’re out of reach if you’re behind a microphone. So come join us!
Hopefully.
*If ever you’re stuck for what to pray in the pre-service prayer meeting, might I recommend: “Please come and gatecrash our carefully-planned service.”
Thursday, 10 May 2018
great listeners
You're not going to believe it, but I think the Bible predicted Twitter, thousands of years ago.
Check this out:
"Fools find no pleasure in understanding, but delight in airing their own opinions."
- Proverbs 18:2
Okay, I know, I know: it's human nature. But here's the challenge for me this week: am I better at talking than I am at listening? Do I have conversations when I'm planning which intelligent zinger I should say next, instead of taking in what the other person is actually saying?
One of the current themes at the heart of The Gate Worship is what I'm starting to call the 'power of less', finding the 'moments between the moments' and using spaces more effectively. We'll come back to that, don't worry, but a part of it I think, is learning how to listen much better. At least for me!
There is definitely pleasure to be found in understanding - not just information, data, music theory or quiz facts, but understanding each other. You're put together in an extraordinary way, and there are bound to be depths to who you are, that nobody fully realises yet. You're awesome! And one of the greatest pursuits in life is finding out how awesome, how deep and how surprising another human being can be. As team, as community, as family, as people, our goal is to be great at exactly that.
So, today's question: Do you take delight in understanding? Are you brilliant at sharing your own opinions? How well do you take on board those of other people? Do you have conversations where you're truly listening to the other person?
Let's be great listeners. Even on Twitter.
Check this out:
"Fools find no pleasure in understanding, but delight in airing their own opinions."
- Proverbs 18:2
Okay, I know, I know: it's human nature. But here's the challenge for me this week: am I better at talking than I am at listening? Do I have conversations when I'm planning which intelligent zinger I should say next, instead of taking in what the other person is actually saying?
One of the current themes at the heart of The Gate Worship is what I'm starting to call the 'power of less', finding the 'moments between the moments' and using spaces more effectively. We'll come back to that, don't worry, but a part of it I think, is learning how to listen much better. At least for me!
There is definitely pleasure to be found in understanding - not just information, data, music theory or quiz facts, but understanding each other. You're put together in an extraordinary way, and there are bound to be depths to who you are, that nobody fully realises yet. You're awesome! And one of the greatest pursuits in life is finding out how awesome, how deep and how surprising another human being can be. As team, as community, as family, as people, our goal is to be great at exactly that.
So, today's question: Do you take delight in understanding? Are you brilliant at sharing your own opinions? How well do you take on board those of other people? Do you have conversations where you're truly listening to the other person?
Let's be great listeners. Even on Twitter.
Thursday, 12 April 2018
what story do you want to tell?
MY FRIEND ANDY once gave me a brilliant piece of advice that I subsequently forgot. I remembered it recently though. He said this:
"When you're making a big decision, ask yourself what story you would like to tell about this chapter when you're older."
I wish I had remembered it. I made some decisions in my life that are difficult to talk about now; the embarrassment of those decisions has had a ripple effect into the present.
And that's how life works - the 'ripple' is because everything is connected. The you you are today is different to the you you were five years ago, but there is a definite chain of events that links the yous together. Future-you is also connected to you - and the decisions you make today will ultimately work their way into your history tomorrow.
So, what story would you like to tell your grandchildren about who you were and what you did? What will you tell those around you about what you decided to do in 2018 when they ask? What will you say?
I wish I'd remembered Andy's wise advice. I might have done things very differently. After all, once a thing is part of your story, it will always be part of your story.
So write a good one. :)
"When you're making a big decision, ask yourself what story you would like to tell about this chapter when you're older."
I wish I had remembered it. I made some decisions in my life that are difficult to talk about now; the embarrassment of those decisions has had a ripple effect into the present.
And that's how life works - the 'ripple' is because everything is connected. The you you are today is different to the you you were five years ago, but there is a definite chain of events that links the yous together. Future-you is also connected to you - and the decisions you make today will ultimately work their way into your history tomorrow.
So, what story would you like to tell your grandchildren about who you were and what you did? What will you tell those around you about what you decided to do in 2018 when they ask? What will you say?
I wish I'd remembered Andy's wise advice. I might have done things very differently. After all, once a thing is part of your story, it will always be part of your story.
So write a good one. :)
Wednesday, 21 March 2018
don't get stuck in the snow
I WALKED TO CHURCH THROUGH THE SNOW the other day. There was no way I could get the car out, and it wasn't that far, so with boots tied up and a well-laden rucksack, I set off into the great white beyond. It was 7:35am and I was in the band for that day.
Halfway across the quiet, blanketed allotments, I stopped and had a thought. Tiny wet flakes joined me by settling on my coat, gloves and nose.
"Am I doing this because I have to, or because I want to?"
It was an interesting question. If I arrived and I wasn't needed, but still had the opportunity to stand in the congregation and encounter God anyway, would I be annoyed at having battled the elements to get there? If so, why?
If I arrived and it were cancelled because of the weather, and I had to walk home again, would I be upset? Or would I actually be relieved? What would my attitude be? And what would that tell me?
This kind of thing occurs to me a lot as a worship musician. We love what we do, but do we do it for for the right reason? And is there even a 'right' reason? What does God like the best? Something done out of duty, or out of sacrifice? Someone doing something out of having to, or out of wanting to?
The snow had no particular answers for me. I realised quickly that whatever else had made me wrap up and trek to church that morning, I was at least going there out of responsibility. But if that responsibility weren't there - if I didn't have to be there, or nobody at all needed me to be there, would I still want to go? Would I still want to worship?
It's a pretty big question. In the end I arrived and played, and we had an amazing morning. I wouldn't have wanted to miss it.
I think the answer then, might be that it's okay to be doing it for both reasons. What I mean is that you can't impress God with your service, but he does care about your heart. Psalm 51:17 says:
"You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise."
So it's really good to do things because you want to do them. Out there in the snowy allotments, I realised that my heart needed to be okay with not-playing as much as it needed to be okay with doing the thing I love.
But it's also really good to do things because you're serving faithfully and you've promised to do them. I don't think there was anything wrong with me pushing through the snow having committed to being there.
What did happen though, was that I pushed through the snow anyway. In fact, a little later on my journey, I realised that that in itself was a time of 'worship'. It made me chuckle.
So here's my top-tip this week: it's always good to ask yourself why you're doing something, and what that reason tells you about your heart. That's the thing God's really interested in. But don't get stuck in the snow thinking it all out. Get on with doing the stuff, and do it all for an Audience of One, regardless. I reckon hearts always change in the Presence of God anyway. That's always worth a snowy adventure, isn't it?
Halfway across the quiet, blanketed allotments, I stopped and had a thought. Tiny wet flakes joined me by settling on my coat, gloves and nose.
"Am I doing this because I have to, or because I want to?"
It was an interesting question. If I arrived and I wasn't needed, but still had the opportunity to stand in the congregation and encounter God anyway, would I be annoyed at having battled the elements to get there? If so, why?
If I arrived and it were cancelled because of the weather, and I had to walk home again, would I be upset? Or would I actually be relieved? What would my attitude be? And what would that tell me?
This kind of thing occurs to me a lot as a worship musician. We love what we do, but do we do it for for the right reason? And is there even a 'right' reason? What does God like the best? Something done out of duty, or out of sacrifice? Someone doing something out of having to, or out of wanting to?
The snow had no particular answers for me. I realised quickly that whatever else had made me wrap up and trek to church that morning, I was at least going there out of responsibility. But if that responsibility weren't there - if I didn't have to be there, or nobody at all needed me to be there, would I still want to go? Would I still want to worship?
It's a pretty big question. In the end I arrived and played, and we had an amazing morning. I wouldn't have wanted to miss it.
I think the answer then, might be that it's okay to be doing it for both reasons. What I mean is that you can't impress God with your service, but he does care about your heart. Psalm 51:17 says:
"You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise."
So it's really good to do things because you want to do them. Out there in the snowy allotments, I realised that my heart needed to be okay with not-playing as much as it needed to be okay with doing the thing I love.
But it's also really good to do things because you're serving faithfully and you've promised to do them. I don't think there was anything wrong with me pushing through the snow having committed to being there.
What did happen though, was that I pushed through the snow anyway. In fact, a little later on my journey, I realised that that in itself was a time of 'worship'. It made me chuckle.
So here's my top-tip this week: it's always good to ask yourself why you're doing something, and what that reason tells you about your heart. That's the thing God's really interested in. But don't get stuck in the snow thinking it all out. Get on with doing the stuff, and do it all for an Audience of One, regardless. I reckon hearts always change in the Presence of God anyway. That's always worth a snowy adventure, isn't it?
Tuesday, 6 March 2018
seven ways to tell you're living life to the full
I SOMETIMES WONDER what it would be like to do a bungee jump: standing on a tiny platform, feet tied together, wind racing through your hair, arms outstretched, heart pounding…
They say it's a great way to feel alive. I'll bet! The prospect of tricking your body into believing it's about to die would probably get every nerve-ending tingling with adrenaline. That's ‘life to the max’, says the sun-drenched advert; either that or a bottle of Pepsi.
Is it really though? In John 10:10, Jesus offers an intriguing prospect. He tells the Pharisees that he came to bring life, and 'life to the full'. What did he mean? What does ‘life to the full’ look like? How can we live like that? Is that something we should aim for? Why did he say it? In this blog, I've examined John 10, hoping to answer some of those questions.
The exciting lives of sheep
One of the first things to notice about John chapter 10 is that, before it's about an incredible way of living, it seems to be about something else... altogether...
It’s about sheep - or rather, the relationship between a flock of sheep and their shepherd.
"The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out."
John 10:2-3
No bungee-jumping so far - just a gatekeeper opening a gate and letting the shepherd lead the sheep through it. It's the kind of thing anybody would recognise as a bucolic, chocolate-box picture, just like you’d see every day in the Judean countryside.
Yet this picture sets the context in which we can discover the most exciting life available to us, and that starts with the idea of relationship with Jesus and the Father. Look a little closer: the shepherd is Jesus, leading the sheep; the gatekeeper is the Father, opening the door only for the shepherd, who went out into the wild to find us, to rescue us and to bring us home.
Life to the full can only make sense in the relationship we have with the shepherd.
"When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognise a stranger's voice."
John 10:4-5
Life is always best in relationships. That's why, as humans we flow together as families, tribes, nations and peoples - uniting together in the things we share. What Jesus is saying is that life is best expressed in the context of relationship with him, knowing his voice and following his lead, finding your way to the Father and living in his presence.
How to tell if something is alive
Biology and other life-sciences use a system of seven processes to identify whether something is alive. They look for movement, breathing, excretion, nutrition, reproduction, growth and sensitivity to external stimuli. These are indicators of physical life.
We can use those same seven processes to identify what kind of life we lead, and find ways to help live that life to the full. What can we learn?
Move
Movement is perhaps the most obvious of the life-signs. Dead things can't dance. Ephesians 2 tells us that we have been made 'alive' in Christ, literally 'animated' into life. We've been given freedom to move in a way that we weren't previously able to, liberated from the shackles of sin and in the power of the Holy Spirit. You have permission to be you and to move the way that you were designed to. Dad-dancing is okay.
The enemy tries to steal our freedom to move by holding us back. He does that through doubt, through sin and fear, by causing us to compare ourselves with others and then to wallow in inferiority. It's a bit like getting stuck in sinking sand. However, when you listen to the Shepherd, you start to realise the truth about yourself. When you follow him, you start to move in time with that truth and you can be free to be the real you.
Breathe
Respiration is the next thing the scientists look for. Are you breathing? It's a crucial sign of being alive. Similarly, we need the oxygen of the Holy Spirit to maintain a life to the full. He inspires us, refreshes us, breathes through us in a way that exhilarates and sustains us through every difficulty and obstacle. If life to the full is anything, it's lived out in connection with the Holy Spirit.
Sense
Sensitivity is an indicator of a responsive system. There are certain plants which react to the gentlest touch of sunlight; some animals demonstrate the most remarkable senses in order to find food or avoid danger. In our lives lived to the full, we too should have sharpened senses, being highly aware of what God is doing in our communities and our surroundings. This is really all about listening to what He's saying and hearing his whisper in the air - something which we can train ourselves to do, just by being still, listening to him and increasing our sensitivity. This is why Jesus says that the 'sheep know his voice' - they've spent time listening to him in prayer, not just talking at him, but hearing from heaven and understanding what he has been saying.
The thief wants to destroy your hearing, pull you away with the beautiful sound of distraction, but the shepherd knows his sheep are tuned into his frequency and know his voice.
Eat
Nutrition is important for life. Trees take in nutrients from the soil, plants soak up water from the rain and we feed ourselves with good food. In the Bible, food always corresponds to the Word of God, the scriptures: the Bible.
If you want to live a life that's full, you have to fill it with words of life. When the enemy wants to destroy your connection with the Shepherd, he will try every trick in the book to get you out of the Book. Yet the Book is the fastest way to find out what the Shepherd is saying in black and white; it is jam-packed with ancient wisdom for today and goodness for tomorrow.
Deal
While Excretion is a life process we don't often like to think of, it is important as it removes waste from our bodies and indicates healthy digestion. One of the things a person with a full-life is able to do, is to keep short accounts with God, be very real about the things they need to get rid of and deal with their shortcomings quickly and honestly. Deep down, we all know that holding on to problems and sin and bad attitudes for long periods of time leads to complications. Living life to the full means not being weighed down by those things but taking appropriate steps to confess, repent, get ministry and be accountable - all of which are really important for finding freedom, and help us grow.
Grow
Growth is also a process which indicates that an organism is demonstrating life. All of us are designed to grow, to change to mature and develop in our life, especially to live it to the full! As the seasons change, it's important to ensure that we grow and change too, listening to God and allowing him to challenge and shape us. Growth can sometimes be painful and change is difficult, but the process is a key factor in determining the quality of our lives.
A person living life to the full, shouldn't be afraid of growth but should learn to grow with God and with each other. We're meant to produce fruit too! What kind of fruit are you producing now that you can only see because you've grown?
It can often be quite exciting to look back at the way we've grown over the years and thank God for it.
Reproduce
Finally, the last life sign is Reproduction. In the film, Jurassic Park, Dr Grant discovers that, on an island of female dinosaurs, some of them have actually found a way to reproduce asexually. "Life will find a way," the famous quote goes.
It's true that life will find a way to reproduce - the survival of a species depends upon it. Similarly then, a life that's lived to the full will find itself reproducing, bearing fruit and raising others... wherever it goes.
In fact, this is the hallmark of maturity: raising the young and allowing your life to flow through them. In the spiritual life, this looks like discipleship, providing an environment where people can be fed, can grow and can reach their potential.
---
The Bible talks a lot about blessing being 'pressed down, shaken together and running over'. This is the picture of fullness - not just full, but so full that it overflows with ridiculous abundance, affecting everything and everyone around us. While the pessimist and the optimist are arguing about half-measures, the person living life to the full is already overflowing.
This is how it should be, I think - these seven processes work together enabling us to be free to move, breathing the air of the Holy Spirit, nourishing ourselves on the word, dealing with sin and our shortcomings, being sensitive to the movement of God in those around us, ready to grow and willing to lead others in the adventure of following Jesus.
And it is an adventure. Just a glimpse of the gospels or the book of Acts shows us that a life surrendered to following him is anything but empty. What Jesus promises is a life that cascades into the world, bringing his life where it's needed, shining the greatest light into the deepest darkness and living to the full.
It's only my opinion, I know, but I reckon it's way better than bungee jumping.
They say it's a great way to feel alive. I'll bet! The prospect of tricking your body into believing it's about to die would probably get every nerve-ending tingling with adrenaline. That's ‘life to the max’, says the sun-drenched advert; either that or a bottle of Pepsi.
Is it really though? In John 10:10, Jesus offers an intriguing prospect. He tells the Pharisees that he came to bring life, and 'life to the full'. What did he mean? What does ‘life to the full’ look like? How can we live like that? Is that something we should aim for? Why did he say it? In this blog, I've examined John 10, hoping to answer some of those questions.
The exciting lives of sheep
One of the first things to notice about John chapter 10 is that, before it's about an incredible way of living, it seems to be about something else... altogether...
It’s about sheep - or rather, the relationship between a flock of sheep and their shepherd.
"The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out."
John 10:2-3
No bungee-jumping so far - just a gatekeeper opening a gate and letting the shepherd lead the sheep through it. It's the kind of thing anybody would recognise as a bucolic, chocolate-box picture, just like you’d see every day in the Judean countryside.
Yet this picture sets the context in which we can discover the most exciting life available to us, and that starts with the idea of relationship with Jesus and the Father. Look a little closer: the shepherd is Jesus, leading the sheep; the gatekeeper is the Father, opening the door only for the shepherd, who went out into the wild to find us, to rescue us and to bring us home.
Life to the full can only make sense in the relationship we have with the shepherd.
"When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognise a stranger's voice."
John 10:4-5
Life is always best in relationships. That's why, as humans we flow together as families, tribes, nations and peoples - uniting together in the things we share. What Jesus is saying is that life is best expressed in the context of relationship with him, knowing his voice and following his lead, finding your way to the Father and living in his presence.
How to tell if something is alive
Biology and other life-sciences use a system of seven processes to identify whether something is alive. They look for movement, breathing, excretion, nutrition, reproduction, growth and sensitivity to external stimuli. These are indicators of physical life.
We can use those same seven processes to identify what kind of life we lead, and find ways to help live that life to the full. What can we learn?
Move
Movement is perhaps the most obvious of the life-signs. Dead things can't dance. Ephesians 2 tells us that we have been made 'alive' in Christ, literally 'animated' into life. We've been given freedom to move in a way that we weren't previously able to, liberated from the shackles of sin and in the power of the Holy Spirit. You have permission to be you and to move the way that you were designed to. Dad-dancing is okay.
The enemy tries to steal our freedom to move by holding us back. He does that through doubt, through sin and fear, by causing us to compare ourselves with others and then to wallow in inferiority. It's a bit like getting stuck in sinking sand. However, when you listen to the Shepherd, you start to realise the truth about yourself. When you follow him, you start to move in time with that truth and you can be free to be the real you.
Breathe
Respiration is the next thing the scientists look for. Are you breathing? It's a crucial sign of being alive. Similarly, we need the oxygen of the Holy Spirit to maintain a life to the full. He inspires us, refreshes us, breathes through us in a way that exhilarates and sustains us through every difficulty and obstacle. If life to the full is anything, it's lived out in connection with the Holy Spirit.
Sense
Sensitivity is an indicator of a responsive system. There are certain plants which react to the gentlest touch of sunlight; some animals demonstrate the most remarkable senses in order to find food or avoid danger. In our lives lived to the full, we too should have sharpened senses, being highly aware of what God is doing in our communities and our surroundings. This is really all about listening to what He's saying and hearing his whisper in the air - something which we can train ourselves to do, just by being still, listening to him and increasing our sensitivity. This is why Jesus says that the 'sheep know his voice' - they've spent time listening to him in prayer, not just talking at him, but hearing from heaven and understanding what he has been saying.
The thief wants to destroy your hearing, pull you away with the beautiful sound of distraction, but the shepherd knows his sheep are tuned into his frequency and know his voice.
Eat
Nutrition is important for life. Trees take in nutrients from the soil, plants soak up water from the rain and we feed ourselves with good food. In the Bible, food always corresponds to the Word of God, the scriptures: the Bible.
If you want to live a life that's full, you have to fill it with words of life. When the enemy wants to destroy your connection with the Shepherd, he will try every trick in the book to get you out of the Book. Yet the Book is the fastest way to find out what the Shepherd is saying in black and white; it is jam-packed with ancient wisdom for today and goodness for tomorrow.
Deal
While Excretion is a life process we don't often like to think of, it is important as it removes waste from our bodies and indicates healthy digestion. One of the things a person with a full-life is able to do, is to keep short accounts with God, be very real about the things they need to get rid of and deal with their shortcomings quickly and honestly. Deep down, we all know that holding on to problems and sin and bad attitudes for long periods of time leads to complications. Living life to the full means not being weighed down by those things but taking appropriate steps to confess, repent, get ministry and be accountable - all of which are really important for finding freedom, and help us grow.
Grow
Growth is also a process which indicates that an organism is demonstrating life. All of us are designed to grow, to change to mature and develop in our life, especially to live it to the full! As the seasons change, it's important to ensure that we grow and change too, listening to God and allowing him to challenge and shape us. Growth can sometimes be painful and change is difficult, but the process is a key factor in determining the quality of our lives.
A person living life to the full, shouldn't be afraid of growth but should learn to grow with God and with each other. We're meant to produce fruit too! What kind of fruit are you producing now that you can only see because you've grown?
It can often be quite exciting to look back at the way we've grown over the years and thank God for it.
Reproduce
Finally, the last life sign is Reproduction. In the film, Jurassic Park, Dr Grant discovers that, on an island of female dinosaurs, some of them have actually found a way to reproduce asexually. "Life will find a way," the famous quote goes.
It's true that life will find a way to reproduce - the survival of a species depends upon it. Similarly then, a life that's lived to the full will find itself reproducing, bearing fruit and raising others... wherever it goes.
In fact, this is the hallmark of maturity: raising the young and allowing your life to flow through them. In the spiritual life, this looks like discipleship, providing an environment where people can be fed, can grow and can reach their potential.
---
The Bible talks a lot about blessing being 'pressed down, shaken together and running over'. This is the picture of fullness - not just full, but so full that it overflows with ridiculous abundance, affecting everything and everyone around us. While the pessimist and the optimist are arguing about half-measures, the person living life to the full is already overflowing.
This is how it should be, I think - these seven processes work together enabling us to be free to move, breathing the air of the Holy Spirit, nourishing ourselves on the word, dealing with sin and our shortcomings, being sensitive to the movement of God in those around us, ready to grow and willing to lead others in the adventure of following Jesus.
And it is an adventure. Just a glimpse of the gospels or the book of Acts shows us that a life surrendered to following him is anything but empty. What Jesus promises is a life that cascades into the world, bringing his life where it's needed, shining the greatest light into the deepest darkness and living to the full.
It's only my opinion, I know, but I reckon it's way better than bungee jumping.
Wednesday, 28 February 2018
be a thermostat, not a thermometer
This one started with my friend Gareth. I was in a prayer meeting last Sunday when he, almost out of nowhere, just smiled and said...
"Let's be thermostats, not thermometers."
I was taken aback, almost immediately. That's a brilliant phrase! I'd heard it before I think, but it suddenly struck me how that idea relates completely back to who we are as worshippers. Don't be a thermometer; be a thermostat.
So I spent a little time thinking about it, expanding it and trying to work out what it means...
A thermometer (I reasoned to myself) tells you what the temperature is; a thermostat regulates it. A little bit of liquid mercury in a thermometer expands when it's hot and pushes its way up a tube, but a heating system uses a switch to monitor how hot it is, and makes an intelligent choice about what to do about it.
We have a choice to reflect what happens around us, like emotional reflectors.. or to change it and make a difference. Let's be thermostats!
So here come my three tips on...
How to be a Thermostat
1. Set Your Temperature
As a thermostat, you get to decide what spiritual temperature you want to operate at. You might not be there yet, and it's possible that you feel like you've got a long way to go, but you can still aim for that target.
The same is true for us on Sunday mornings - some weeks I turn up feeling cold, unresponsive to God and not very ready. It takes a while to warm up, and sometimes I don't know whether I do. I need to remember that I'm designed to operate at a much higher temperature.
What's more, we can't lead anybody anywhere we haven't been ourselves. So my Handy Hint for Setting Your Temperature is simply to spend time in the Secret Place with God. Practise what that feels like; develop a culture of intimacy in your own life, through personal worship, Bible-reading, prayer-times (I go to the woods) or whatever floats your boat. I reckon that's the fastest way to discover your temperature and start aiming for it.
Even better, you'll find yourself living warmer wherever you go too - at work, school, college, wherever!
If you don't believe me, keep your eyes open the next time you're in a prayer meeting and look out for people who are setting the temperature. You'll see them and hear them, I promise. Ask yourself what impact it has on you.
2. Don't stop Til You Get There
The great thing about a thermostat is that it isn't content until it's reached its sweet-spot. There's a lot in the Bible about persevering, pressing through all kinds of difficulties until you get where you're called to be - "Don't give in, don't give up," seems to be the message.
Sometimes in worship, there are all sorts of things that work together to bring our temperature down - PA not working, stress over music, perhaps an intro that goes wrong or a look from someone that's a bit uncomfortable.
Don't reflect the emotional temperature around you, press on through and don't give up! You don't have to live in the atmosphere when you carry your own with you.
3. Don't Let Anybody Touch That Dial
When I was a kid, it seemed like my Dad had a sort of inbuilt detector for the thermostat. If my Mum turned it up, even half of one degree, he seemed to know about it almost immediately and would turn it down again. As kids, the very last thing we were allowed to do was to touch the sacred dial.
Here's the thing then: neither should you let anybody move the dial of your thermostat! Be like my Dad and protect it! Your temperature is your temperature, and you don't need to compare yourself to anybody around you.
If we, as team are doing our job properly, we should be encouraging each other to live at our spiritual temperatures, and particularly in worship times! Don't be influenced by anyone's idea of what you should be or which temperature you should live at; be free to be you, and be free to be the best that you can be.
- Stay plugged into the presence
- Keep going when you don't feel like it
- Don't let anyone else's mood or attitude affect yours
Be a thermostat, not a thermometer!
beyond the box
What's this all about then?
Hi everyone,
My name is Matt and this is not my blog. Well, it sort of is, but it's not supposed to be; not really. I should explain:
I have another blog, which is my blog. You can read it if you like but I wanted to find a place where I could talk a bit more exclusively about my passion: worship.
What I specifically wanted to do was to journal my way through my experiences with worship, what it's like to be part of a worship team, and how it's going, without you having to trawl through the rest of my thoughts and quirky life. In short, I don't think this blog should be about me at all - I want it to be about this nebulous thing we've labelled as 'worship' and in turn then, all about God, whom worship, however you square it, should be all about anyway.
Some of you are already a step ahead. Your whole life is worship, Matt. Correct. In fact, I can't tell you how much I hope that both blogs reflect that. But this one, Beyond The Box, is not about my life: it's about the thing we come together to do, the collective offering we bring as church, and about the way we lead and co-ordinate our 'worship' as musicians and worshippers.
Why Beyond The Box?
We love boxes. In worship, it's pretty easy to find a nice comfortable box and pitch up there Sunday after Sunday: same songs, same musicians, same old same olds time and again. That's what happened to us a while ago. We found a lovely box and we stayed there.
The trouble with God is, he doesn't really do boxes. Look at this:
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us... to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21
If you can imagine it or ask for it - he can do it. If you can think of it, dream of it, conceive it or desire it - he can go bigger, further, better. And the good news is that he wants to. The fact that we worship someone who sits outside of time ought to be a clue. There are no boxes.
That means that our encounters with him must also happen in a way that takes us beyond the box. It's fine to stay inside - he's there too. But worship ought to be uncomfortable, dangerous, radical and different.
Do you agree?
I think this is the journey we're on, and I'm quite excited about it.
Hi everyone,
My name is Matt and this is not my blog. Well, it sort of is, but it's not supposed to be; not really. I should explain:
I have another blog, which is my blog. You can read it if you like but I wanted to find a place where I could talk a bit more exclusively about my passion: worship.
What I specifically wanted to do was to journal my way through my experiences with worship, what it's like to be part of a worship team, and how it's going, without you having to trawl through the rest of my thoughts and quirky life. In short, I don't think this blog should be about me at all - I want it to be about this nebulous thing we've labelled as 'worship' and in turn then, all about God, whom worship, however you square it, should be all about anyway.
Some of you are already a step ahead. Your whole life is worship, Matt. Correct. In fact, I can't tell you how much I hope that both blogs reflect that. But this one, Beyond The Box, is not about my life: it's about the thing we come together to do, the collective offering we bring as church, and about the way we lead and co-ordinate our 'worship' as musicians and worshippers.
Why Beyond The Box?
We love boxes. In worship, it's pretty easy to find a nice comfortable box and pitch up there Sunday after Sunday: same songs, same musicians, same old same olds time and again. That's what happened to us a while ago. We found a lovely box and we stayed there.
The trouble with God is, he doesn't really do boxes. Look at this:
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us... to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21
If you can imagine it or ask for it - he can do it. If you can think of it, dream of it, conceive it or desire it - he can go bigger, further, better. And the good news is that he wants to. The fact that we worship someone who sits outside of time ought to be a clue. There are no boxes.
That means that our encounters with him must also happen in a way that takes us beyond the box. It's fine to stay inside - he's there too. But worship ought to be uncomfortable, dangerous, radical and different.
Do you agree?
I think this is the journey we're on, and I'm quite excited about it.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)