The Sound of God Singing

Let's Go Dreamin'.  Teenage Queen.  The Pony Man.  Coat of Many Colors.  The memories of rocking my children to sleep while quietly singing into their tiny ears are priceless treasures of mine.  The room dark, except for the soft glow of an electrical socket flower (or crown, or motorcycle, depending on the year), cuddled under a blanket with my little person, a perfect blend of me and the man I love more than anything else in this world, and singing soft words to the off beat of a squeaky rocker---those moments, in my mind, are irreplaceable. 

The singing didn't stop there!  I sang through the toddler years, performing at all-request hour nightly between headboard and bedpost, in front of a very forgiving audience.  I even compiled an original Disney Princess Medley and figured out how to sing the Batman song (da-na-na-na-na-na-na-na...Batman!) with a calm and soothing lullaby effect.  We've moved beyond that stage as well, but The Boyds still love to sing!  In fact, if you could hear us in the car drowning out every song in the Pandora shuffle, you seriously might mistake us for the Von Trapps.

Singing involves emotion:  it can move us to tears, it can ignite our hope, it can calm our spirit.  We sing when we are happy, we sing when we are troubled, we sing when spoken words don't seem to capture the depth of feeling we want to express.  Singing engages the mind, the heart, and the soul, which makes it a beautiful facet of our worship to God.  I close my eyes on occasion during the singing of a song in the worship service and listen to the voices of my Christian brothers and sisters as they unify in a glorious expression of love, gratitude, and honor to our Heavenly Father.  It is a marvelous sound.

But even more marvelous is the sound of One who sings over you and me from His throne in Heaven!  In the book of Zephaniah we read that God sings as He rejoices over us:

"The Lord your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”

(Zephaniah 3:17)

Have you ever considered the idea of God singing?  Can you imagine the sound?  How does God's voice, in song, resonate?  My dad has a wonderful way of describing his sensory experience as he walks alone in nature.  He recounts the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves in the trees or the quiet ripple of a creek as it collides with rocks and fallen branches.  Are those not stanzas in a divine melody that uplift and renew the soul?  The sweet sounds of a baby, the laughter of a child, the rain on a rooftop, the crashing waves of the ocean, are these not all part of the majestic serenade of our Heavenly Father as He sings His love into our consciousness?  

One day, I pray, I will be standing along the banks of the river of life, lifting my voice in song with my family at the foot of God's throne.  Then, I believe, we will hear the voice of God in its truest and purest form, as He sings over us in His presence.  Words fail me as I try to imagine that moment.  I just know that it motivates me to want to live a faithful life so that one day I can be a part of that chorus.   

Seasoned With Salt

I am fascinated with the Old Testament.  If you have ever been in one of my classes or read any of my articles, you know I love the applications that can made from the experiences of the Israelites to our  lives, as Christians today.  Remember Paul's words in Romans 15:4, "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perserverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."   Studying the Old Testament deepens and strengthens our faith in that it provides insight into the nature of God, His plan of salvation, His love for mankind, and the importance of obeying His laws.  Although we no longer live under the law of the Old Testament, reading it will undoubtedly enrich our understanding of its fulfillment through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Last fall, our congregation sponsored a Ladies' Day with the theme, "How to Train Your Dragon".  (The dragon, of course, being the tongue).  We used Colossians 4:6 as a key verse:  "Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person."  The greek word for grace here is "charis", which translates to mean "that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, or loveliness".  In other words, our conversation should provide the hearer with those feelings or experiences.  Even more, in this context as Paul was speaking to the Colossians about praying for opportunites to teach others about Christ, he was emphasizing to them that the words coming from their mouths should be reflective of the kingdom to which they belong; and the same is true for us today.

The next phrase, "as though seasoned with salt", can be better understood by first defining the use and purpose of salt.  "Halas", the greek word for salt in this text, refers to "natural salt which purifies, cleanses, seasons, preserves from corruption".  In Bible times, putrefaction of food was prevented through the use of salt.  Salt prevented rotting!  I find it interesting that Paul spoke against "rotten speech" in his letter to the Ephesians.  He said, "Let no unwholesome word proceed out of your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear." (Ephesians 4:29)  The greek word for unwholesome here is "sapros" which translates "rotten or putrefied".  To prevent "rotten speech" we "season our words with salt" so that what falls upon the ears of the listener is pure and uncorrupt, and as Paul writes "edifying and gracious".  I love that!

But wait!  There's even more to this idea of "seasoning with salt" as I learned from reading the second chapter of Leviticus the other day!  Under the Old Law, the Israelites were required to make sacrifices to God as atonement for their sins.  That ritual was abolished through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the one and only perfect sacrifice that would cover man's sin throughout all time.  In Leviticus 2:13, God commanded Moses saying, "Every grain offering of yours, moreover, you shall season with salt, so that the salt of the covenant of your God shall not be lacking from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt."  The concept of "seasoning with salt" had a special meaning to the Jewish Christians as they understood the application of salt to sacrifices in order to make them acceptable to God.  The salt included with their sacrifices represented the incorruptable covenant that God had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, referred to in this verse and several others instances in the Old Testament as the "covenant of salt" (Numbers 18:19, 2 Chronicles 13:5). 

Now, here is the amazing and faith-building application:  We learn from Paul's letter to the Romans that we should "present our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is our spiritual service of worship" (Romans 12:1).  As Jews under the Old Law added salt to their sacrifices representing God's covenant with the Israelites, so we, as living sacrifices, season our speech with salt representing, through pure and uncorrupt conversation, the everlasting promise God has given to us through the gospel. 

Isn't it remarkable that this concept of "seasoning with salt" as I've discussed it here, comes from three different letters of Paul, written to three different groups of Christians, at three different times, and includes references from the writings of Moses, over 1400 years earlier....yet it all comes together to create a perfect message to the Christian, even today.  That is the awesome work of the Holy Spirit, who guided the pens of the men who wrote the scriptures and who continues to guide us today through our knowledge and application of the Word of God.

Walking to the Promised Land

I need to get walking!  I don't mean lacing up my Sauconys and literally pounding the pavement (although I certainly need to do that type of walking too!).  I'm talking about the kind of walking a Christian should do after being saved by the blood of Jesus Christ.  I started thinking about this as I read Exodus 12, when the Lord instructed Moses concerning what the Israelites needed to do on the night of the Passover.

Pharaoh refused to let God's people leave the land of Egypt.  God had struck the Egyptians with nine plagues, and the time for the tenth, and most devastating plague, was at hand:  the death of the firstborn.  God had a plan to spare the children of Israel from the horror of this plague, but they had to do exactly as He commanded.

There were specific guidelines the children of Israel were to follow as they prepared an unblemished lamb that would be eaten and used to mark the doorposts of their homes on the night of the Passover.  They were to roast the lamb, not boil it, and they were to burn any part that remained uneaten before morning.  The blood of the lamb was to be placed on the doorposts as well as the lintel and would be a sign for the Lord, marking the houses of the Israelites.  When the Lord saw the blood of the lamb, He would pass over the home and the firstborn child living there would be saved from death, as the land of Egypt suffered through the final plague.

When I read this story again, I took special notice of verse 11, which describes God's expectation as the Israelites ate the lamb, "Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste--it is the Lord's Passover." 

The blood of the lamb would save them and after that they would need to get walking!  They were dressed, with shoes on, staves in hand, and ready to immediately start the journey that would lead them to the Promised Land.  There were specific steps they had to take in order to be saved by the blood, but their story did not end there.....they had some serious walking to do!  God saved them from the plague of death, He would save them time and time again while they wandered through the wilderness, and He would save them as they crossed over into the land of Canaan, but they had to obey Him.....and they had to walk.

The same is true for God's children today.  There are many verses in the Bible that describe the kind of walking that Christians should be doing:  walking by the Spirit (Galations 5:16), walking as children of light (Ephesians 5:18), walking by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7), walking in love (Ephesians 5:2), walking in the same manner Christ walked (1 John 2:6), carefully walking as wise men (Ephesians 5:15), walking humbly (Micah 6:8), walking in good works (Ephesians 2:10), walking in the light (1 John 1:7). 

The question I ask myself is, "Am I a 'walking' Christian?"  Now that I've been saved by the blood of the perfect lamb, Jesus Christ, have I found a nice comfortable place to sit and kick up my feet, or have I strapped on my sandals and headed out on a journey that, while characterized by a great deal of walking, will ultimately lead me to the Promised Land!