April 18, 2005
-
Three times in Psalm 80, the psalmist writes the following phrase:
———-
“Restore us, O God;
make your face shine upon us,
that we may be saved.”
———-
Right away I’m reminded of a song that we did in Male Chorale, called “Shine on Us”. I know that Phillips, Craig, and Dean recorded a great version of it, and I think ours was based on a choral version or something-but it was pretty. The lyrics are posted below for your enjoyment:
–
Lord, let Your light, light of Your face
Shine on us (repeat)That we may be saved
That we may have life
To shine our way in the darkest night
Let your light shine on usLord, let your grace, grace from Your hand,
Come over us (repeat)That we may be saved
That we may have life
To shine our way in the darkest night
Let Your grace come over usLord, let Your love, love with no end
Fall on us (repeat)That we may be saved,
That we may have life
To shine our way in the darkest night
Let Your love fall on usLet Your light shine on us
—
It is a beautiful song. Nonetheless, I think it is an appropriate prayer for all of us today. I have been asking questions a lot lately of people in our church-(’cause people won’t give me any feedback unless I ask them directly–it’s a little strange, ’cause usually people talk about the music ALL the time in churches…). A lot of people have raved about the music on Easter, which was only slightly different than the music we do every other week-so I’m asking them what set it apart. Suprisingly, to me, the answer mostly has to do with the Midway Praise Choir, and how enthusiastic and excited they were.I am convinced that we underestimate our impact on other people–ALL THE TIME. It is amazing to hear that the choir had such an impact on Easter to our congregation, but I truly believe that it is because they let the Lord shine on thier faces–shine through them, that morning. When we let the Lord shine on us, like the Psalm said, we can REFLECT His glory and countenance to others, all day, every day.
Check it out. There are these painters/drywall guys doing work at our church right now. They’ve probably been there working on our ceiling and walls for about a month. My office is at the front of the auditorium, so I am constantly trekking across their workspace to get to the front office or bathroom or to go anywhere, basically. The head guy on this team of 5 or 6 guys is a Christian, but I don’t know if anyone else is. One of the guys has been a little rude to a few people running around, especially Joli-who has on a couple of occasions walked inside the building with her 5 month son while they were spraying primer, and gotten yelled at because it could be dangerous for the baby. A few other people were complaining about his rudeness, and I’m thinking, “Why in the world are you guys expecting this person to act like a Christian, if he’s not? Why is it so maddening to us when people are rude or whatever?”
Instead of getting mad at this dude, who was clearly rude-but probably correct in his concern for your baby, (etc…there have been other yellings…) why don’t we shine and reflect God’s grace and love to people around us–people who don’t deserve it. THEN we will be pretty radical…
btw- going to make cookies for the Starbucks employees again. They’ve been asking for them…hee hee hee…
Watched “You’ve Got Mail” last night. It was OK, I was a little suprised at the last fifteen minutes of the film. It was almost like a totally different movie…weird.
AND I’ve got a GREAT big cardboard stand-up-thingy of Chewbacca and a Storm Trooper that is now adorning my fireplace. These guys are AWESOME! Somebody got them for me from some displays at Wal-Mart. They truly rock!
Comments (5)
MMMMMMMMMMMM, Cookies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love the Psalms, you always seem to find just the right one to fit my day…. how about teaching us that song? Better yet, sing it for us!!!
So do you have your tickets for Episode III? Is that why I have not seen you today? Are you trying to be the first one in line to get them? Or are Christy and the boys holding your place in line? Maybe you and Mike are there playing nertz while waiting in line, ….. Oh the mind reals.
I am enjoying your blog! Keep it up. I also like checking into others..Fun to get to see where each of us is all “at”, you know?
Reminds me of a John Fischer quote. Something to the effect of: “our goal should not be to make non-Christians act like Christians, but to persuade them to consider Christ.”
Which SHOULD be obvious. I mean, what’s the point of getting a non-Christian person to act like a Christian, if their heart hasn’t changed as well? They may act “better” and in the process make us feel more comfortable or safe, but what really matters – do they know Christ? – is still unchanged. That’s one of the problems I have w/ churches who are so concerned about making America a “Christian nation” again. It’s, ultimately, pointless, unless what you really mean is a nation full of changed hearts. That’s not what is usually meant, though – pastors are simply talking about values and morals – all the feel-good stuff but stuff that doesn’t bring us any closer to the Lord. Moral Americans w/o Christ (Mormons, anyone?) are just as lost as the pagan sinner.
Umm.. excuse me for my tangent.
Ummm – a comment about the perception of Richard (the painter dude).
He yelled, because he was concerned that Silas might grow up wiht permenant breathing damage.
No, he didn’t do it tactfully, I was one of the ones that got in his path. But it wasn’t out of weirdness, or anything else. Just anger that many people were being exposed to dangerous fumes. The church probably should have been closed that day.
I spoke to Richard. I asked him if he went to chuch. He has had a struggle which has drawn him away from Christ. He didn’t want to talk about it, and I didn’t ask him. He asked me why I was asking. I told him that I wanted him to visit our church, and that i was concerned for his salvation. He said he would be there. I told him that I would be looking for him.
just a note-not trying to place any blame on Richard. I love that guy. I’m speaking out towards the attitudes of the people that were so mad at him for the way he acted. I totally agree with his stance, I just think it’s stupid for us to expect that he behaves in a way like our pastor does, or something, ya know? People all mad at him becuase he was yelling–that’s silly, that dude was just doing his job and DOING IT WELL!!
so, i’m not attacking him…make sense??