August 4 - Sing Out Loud

Sing Out Loud

“And after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives." Matthew 26:30
Richard and Karen Carpenter grew up in the town where I lived, Downey, California.  Out of their home a few blocks away, they wrote music that continues to be played the world over.  Karen, the greatest of altos in my opinion, sang the famous words, “Sing…sing a song…sing out loud…sing out strong.”  Its power is world-wide.

Have you ever thought about how pervasive music is? There has never been a single human culture which did not produce some kind of music. We have discovered cave paintings of prehistoric people playing flutes and horns. Music is a part of all major occasions across all cultures; weddings, funerals, pageants, rites of passage, birthdays, anniversaries, parades, and festivals. But singing, in particular, is universal.
From Wal-Mart to Wall Street, in elevators and automobiles, in the most remote jungle villages to the most crowded city streets, music is everywhere. And we like it that way. We insist that our cars come equipped with the latest technology for playing music. We buy millions of dollars worth of music every year. It is an essential component in virtually every form of entertainment we experience.
And have you noticed how music is used in advertising?
Years ago, musicologists discovered that certain kinds of music produce predictable behaviors in people. Slow, peaceful music actually has a physiological affect. Our heart rates slow down, our digestion is stimulated and our saliva glands become more productive. Then some advertising guy ran across that study and wondered if there was an application for it in his industry. So they started playing slow, peaceful music in grocery stores. They noticed that shoppers took their time down the aisles. They stayed longer in the stores. The longer shoppers stayed in the store, the more they bought. So the next time you go to the grocery store, take your portable music device and a Van Halen CD. You’ll save money.
Then someone discovered that people can remember information better when it is accompanied by music. So an advertiser came up with this:
“Gillette…the best a man can get.”  “Have it your way, have it your way” Burger King says.   And McDonald’s sings, “I’m loving it!” 
If you really think about it, you would see how amazing that little

song is. It is the unlikely merger of hotdogs and narcissism through the power of music.
In Montreal, the city government was wondering how to solve the problem of loitering gangs of teenagers in a public park. They started piping in classical music. It was effective, the teenagers left. Music is an extraordinarily powerful means of communication and expression. We even make a decision about the church we attend based on music.

April 14, 1912. Eleven-forty p.m., The largest, most luxurious steamer to ever sail the oceans was making her way across the North Atlantic when an iceberg sliced a gash through the hull. Within a half-hour, the Titanic’s lifeboats were adrift in the frigid waters, most of them only half full. Within an hour, some of America’s wealthiest, most influential people, and hundreds of poor immigrants
hoping for a chance at the American dream, would go down with the ship. What did they do once they realized the lifeboats were gone and the ship was sinking? Legend has it that the ship’s string quartet serenaded the doomed passengers with the song,  "Nearer My God to Thee."
Spring, approximately 33 AD, Jesus and His disciples have shared a meal together. His arrest is minutes away. He already feels the sting of the whip, the pain of the nails, the thrust of the spear, the separation from His Father. And what happens next in the story? According to Matthew 26:30, "And after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives." In Jesus most difficult hour, He took time to sing to the Father.

Whatever you are facing today, take time to sing.  Take time to worship.  Take time to offer the Lord praise whether you are in the valley or the mountaintop.  David knew it.  Jesus did it. And Israel would often go into battle with the choir leading the way.  There is power in praise.  Go ahead and sing out loud…and watch what God will do in you and through you.

Terry Risser

Reflections:

1)     Is music something that comes to you naturally or do you have to work at it?

2)     Why is it important to make praise a regular part of your life?

Copyright 2014- Terry Risser

August 3 - When A Nobody Meets A Somebody

When A Nobody Meets A Somebody

“And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?” Exodus 3:11

In Ted Engstrom’s, A Time for Commitment, he tells a powerful story of overcoming our disabilities: He tells how he smiled with delight when he read Art Linkletter’s story of Wendy Stoker, age 19, a freshman at the University of Florida. She was a young athlete. She placed third, just 2.5 points from first place, in the Iowa’s Girls’ State Diving Championship. She worked two hours a day for four years to get there. “Now she’s at the University of Florida,” he says. “She’s working twice as hard and has earned the number two position on the varsity diving squad. She’s aiming for the National Finals. Wendy carries a full academic load, finds time for bowling, and is an accomplished water skier. But perhaps the most remarkable thing about Wendy Stoker is her typing. She bangs out 45 words a minute on her typewriter, with her toes!” And then he says, “Oh, did I fail to mention? Wendy was born without arms!”

We also, at times feel as though we are incapable because of our personal handicaps. Like Moses, we never know what to say when we are witnessing. Or, maybe some of us have some other form of disability that we feel will keep us from effectively doing God’s work, so we use that as our crutch to escape His calling.

Moses began to offer God multiple excuses as to why He could not be used in God’s greater plan.  Here are a few of them:

#1 – I am nobody.

Moses’ excuse: (3:11) Moses said that he couldn’t fulfill God’s call for him, because he was a nobody. While he had once been a prince, he was now just an insignificant shepherd living out in the desert. Who was he to go to someone so powerful and prestigious as the pharaoh, the ruler of what was then the world’s greatest and most powerful nation. God’s answer: First it is important to note that God did not deny Moses’ insignificance. He did not question the fact that compared with the greatness of the Pharaoh, Moses was a nobody. However, the evangelist A.E. Shuttlesworth sums it up when he says, “When a nobody meets a somebody, he can begin to touch everybody.” God answered in (3:12a) that He would go with Moses.

#2 – I have no authority.

Moses’ Excuse (3:13): Moses’ second excuse was that he didn’t have the authority to go. In that time, a name was more significant than it is today. The name included the entire character and authority of the person. So when Moses says that they will ask “What is his name?” His fear is that they will ask in whose authority he is coming. Of all the excuses Moses had, this one seems to be the most legitimate on the surface, because he had already tried to help his people, in his own strength, and their response (2:14) was “Who made you ruler and judge over us?” So Moses was only saying that they would have the same issue they had before.  God’s answer (3:14-16): Once again, God did not challenge Moses’ thought, that in himself, he did not have the authority to lead His people.

#3 – They won’t believe me

Moses’ excuse (4:1): Moses’ next excuse was that even after he told the people that God had sent him, they wouldn’t believe him. He thought maybe they would think he had either made it all up, or that he was crazy. Maybe they would think that he was seeing mirages out in the desert. The story would be, he thought, just a little hard for the people to swallow, and it involved taking a big risk. Note, that this fear was not that the Pharaoh wouldn’t believe him, but that the people themselves, who he was trying to free, wouldn’t believe him. God’s answer (4:2-9): God did not deny Moses’ claim that the people wouldn’t believe his story, because God knows that people love to doubt. Instead, He promises that He will convince the people. God loves taking our difficulties, current struggles and limitations and will use them  for His glory if we allow Him to do it. 

Leonardo da Vinci is remembered as the master who painted the Mona Lisa. Millions have viewed this masterpiece, but very few realize that what they’re looking at is actually the fourth attempt. X-ray technology shows that there are three completely different versions of the same subject under the final portrait. This portrait shows the determination of a man who would not stop until he got it right!  Moses was 80 when he took off his shoes and walked on holy ground. He could have quit, laid back....but instead...he turned his warm twig into a burning bush....you can too!

To live a life without excuses means to be part of the fellowship of the unashamed. What does that mean? Simply that we have Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. We have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. We are His disciples. We won’t look back, let up, slow down, or back away.

Our past is redeemed, our present makes sense, our future is secure. We are finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed vision, mundane talking, cheap giving and dwarfed goals. We no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions or popularity.  That’s a good place to be, even if we feel like a nobody.

Terry Risser

Reflections:

1)     Have you ever felt like a nobody?  Where do you think that comes from?

2)     Name another Bible character who felt like Moses and God used even in his limitations?

Copyright 2014- Terry Risser

August 2 - Of Jellyfish and Such

Of Jellyfish and Such

“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:8, 9

A few years ago, this story called, Of Jellyfish and Such, written by Ruth Graham, was published in Christianity Today.  It relays the importance of love and compassion for others when they face a difficulty in their lives.

I could see the blonde head of “Big Daddy,” England’s most famous wrestler.  He was taking his daily constitutional in the deep, choppy waters when suddenly, I heard him shout to his daughter, “Jan! Jan! A jellyfish just got me.  Help!”

Rolling over in the water, I watched to see how tiny Jan could help her enormous daddy.

“He got me again!” his voice boomed.

Jan would write, “Suddenly I was struck.  It was as if my right arm had touched a high-voltage wire.  Spinning violently, with my leg caught in a vice-like cramp, I glimpsed at the tiny blue jelly-fish swimming away.   Grateful for the safety rope beside me, I hung on… weak with shock and the incredible stinging, my right calf painfully knotted.  It seemed an eternity before I was able to make it back the short distance to the beach, petrified that there might be a second close encounter of the first kind.  It wasn’t long before ugly welts rose around my forearm and a vivid red line crossed my back.  By dinner time, the pain had subsided to a bone-deep ache, the swelling lasted six weeks. Later, as “Big Daddy” and I compared stings, he inquired solicitously, ‘I hope you won’t let this keep you from going into the water, will you?’” 

His voice was both compassionate and concerned and his granite face, with its blue eyes was friendly and kind.  I hadn’t the heart to tell him I’d lost all taste for the sea, all trust of its “critters.”  But two painful days later, I ventured another swim.  Suddenly a familiar voice boomed, “Good for you!  Didn’t let that jellyfish put you off, did you?”

It was “Big Daddy” out for his hourly workout in the deep water shouting encouragement to this one timid swimmer.  “Good girl!” he responded to my save.  “Keep it up!”  Here was a professional athlete, a giant of a man, an experienced swimmer, looking out for one of the poorest, least enthusiastic swimmers in the sea.  Life is a lot like the sea, full of unseen hazards and venomous creatures that attack without warning.  I kept thinking of baby Christians who, after that first painful encounter, lose heart.  Hurting and fearful, they call it quits unless some more experienced, stronger Christian offers a word of sympathetic advice; a shout of encouragement and a note of praise.  Long after I’ve forgotten the jellyfish attack and its painful aftermath, I’ll remember those words.  “You won’t let it keep you from going into the water, will you?” And later, “Good for you!  Keep it up!”

Has anybody been stung latterly?

Jellyfish strike when you least expect them.  The jellyfish of failure, betrayal, persecution, financial setback, martial adversity, and disappointment can keep us from the deep, yet exhilarating water of abundant life.  Paul, in 2 Corinthians 4:8, 9, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.” While difficulties will come, we cannot let them hinder us from being shaped and used for God’s purposes.  While we can never take our “Big Daddy’s” place, we can let His words speak through us.  (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

Terry Risser

Reflections:

1)   Can you recall a time when you faced a painful experience and it tempted you to quite your faith?

2)   How did God take you through it and what did He teach you?

Copyright 2014- Terry Risser

August 1 - True Confessions

True Confessions

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins: and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  1 John 1:9

I love court cases.  Especially those of other people.

The reason is that it combines some of the most fascinating and frustrating aspects of life.  Reasoning and relationships.  Strategy and argument.  Offense and defense.  Throw a celebrity into the recipe and you have a gourmet gathering. 

While our system is grounded in an “innocent until proven guilty” base, honest admissions of wrongdoing are rarely found.  Just once (and I’m not holding my breath), I’d enjoy applauding the person that says, “I’m guilty on all counts and deserve to be punished.”  Headlines such as these and Haley’s Comet correspond in frequency.

The problem extends far beyond court.  No matter the age, race, occupation, or gender, few of us willingly admit we are wrong.  It’s generally due to an insidious enemy known as pride.

In 1 Samuel 15:3, God gave King Saul a clear mandate, “Now go attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them.  DO NOT SPARE THEM. PUT TO DEATH MEN AND WOMEN, CHILDREN AND INFANTS, CATTLE AND SHEEP, CAMELS AND DONKEYS.”

After Saul “completed” his task, verse 9 records:  “But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs; everything that was good.”

Enters the prophet Samuel to see if Saul will admit his guilt.  Notice the king’s response:

1)   He lies about his action:  Rather than annihilating Agag and the Ammonites, as God has commanded, Saul saved the best of the spoils and kept Agag alive.  “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.” (v. 12-13)

2)   He rationalizes his action:  When Samuel confronted him with evidence of his failure, he rationalizes it.  “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites, they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.” (v. 15)

3)   He confesses his action:  “Then Saul said to Samuel, ‘I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions.’  I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them.  Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me so that I may worship the Lord.” (v. 24-25)

Too little and too late.  Saul would forfeit his kingdom.

Pleading the fifth, covering our wrongs, distracting the jury, in my work,

 in court and life; but “true innocence” comes to those who confess  their hearts to the Holy Judge, who already knows our hearts.  In His system, I guess you could say we are“innocent when we admit to ourselves (and to the Lord) we are guilty.” 

Terry Risser

Reflections:

1)  Why is admitting our sins hard?

2)  What happens when we do?

Copyright 2014- Terry Risser