Month: April 2021

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3:17

When I was five years old, my Mama decided it was time for me to play the piano, so I began a long, arduous journey to learn to play. The first lesson of piano begins with a look at the keyboard where one begins to learn the notes by letter, cleft, flats and sharps. Middle C is the starting point.

Middle C is named thusly because it is the note on a piano or sheet of music which is directly in the middle or the center of the bass and treble cleft. It is important because its the center of the universe, so to speak, or home base for musicians and it helps novices acquire a starting point.

My first piano teacher (I had many) was Miss Marion Roberts, the organist for our church. She always said, “If you lose your way on the piano, go back to Middle C.” Like the piano, life is like that. Life is hard, but Christ, our Middle C is always there. There are many things in this life which try to draw us away from our focus on Christ, but we always should remain faithful to our Middle C.

How many things depend on the center or Middle C? If you begin to list them, you must include things such as a wagon wheel, the hands of a clock are anchored there, the fifty yard line of a football field, the center on a football line, the center of a basketball court, and the list goes on.

When I think of all the Middle C’s in my life, I have a few which stand out.

The first C is compassion. There are many mornings lately during my quiet time that a name will come into my mind. It could be friend, a relative, a student, or someone else, but they are there because they could use some love and care. They need someone to be a stand in for the arms and love of Christ. If we are Christians, it is our job to be that for them. We might not be able to save the world, but we can make it better for others, one life at a time by offering compassion when suffering. illness or hurt shows up.

Companionship is the next C that comes to mind. Randy often ends a marriage ceremony by inviting the couple to include Jesus in their lives as a constant companion. He is with us during good days and bad, trials and suffering, and He has vowed to never leave us. It is a comforting thought to be assured of His companionship.

The third C is Courage. It takes courage to live in this world of changing values, morals, and behavior. It is necessary for fighting life’s battles. There are so many blessings in this life, but there are times when we must fight things such as resentment, depression, jealousy, and temptations. It takes courage to hear two sides of a story before making a judgment. It takes courage to put Christ first above mortal men.

Christ is the paramount C on my list. Who can possibly live a Christian life without Christ as your Middle C? There are so many times in our lives when we wander too far to the right or the left of the keyboard of life. We forget to trust and rely on Him in all circumstances, and we tender to forget that He is present with us even when we can’t see Him working. It is in those times that we should look to the final C.

The final C on my list is the Cross. The cross stands before us, behind us, and beside us in all of our life problems. If we can just look beyond the problem to the Cross, we will see Jesus there just waiting to bring us back to Middle C.

My prayer for us all this day is that we will never forget the presence of God and His hand in each and every situation we face.

In Christ there is no east or west, in Him no south or north, but one great fellowship of love throughout the whole wide earth. Hymn In Christ There Is No East or West by John Oxenham

There is a time for everything and a season for every purpose under the heavens. Ecclesiastes 3:1

Time is a wicked thing. It goes and comes like a thief in the night and takes with it our energy, beauty and youth. copied

The thing about all the restrictions imposed upon us by COVID is that we have learned to work together to help keep ourselves and others safe, while learning to improvise to make certain restrictions work. Time at home with family has become more abundant, and we have had to adjust to having more of it and using it wisely.

The thing about time is that we all have the same amount of it – 24 hours in each day, 7 days in each week, and 365+ days in each year. It’s all about how we use it, waste it, or forget how precious it is.

In my daily pool time, there are just a handful of us who come at a certain time in the morning. The pool is restricted to three lanes for social distancing purposes, but we have found ways to accommodate each other by using less space while keeping our distance and limiting our time in the water. However, if the lanes are all full, we sit and wait our turn. It takes time, but it’s all about safety and concern for others.

The other morning while we were going about our exercises, a man entered who apparently didn’t have time to abide by the rules and wait his turn. The lanes were full. Rules dictate that you sit and wait, but his time was too valuable, so he began to pace up and down the side of the pool while constantly checking his watch. He made quite a scene but refused any offers to share a lane or accommodate him in a smaller space. In a minute, he grabbed his stuff and stormed out. Through the glass windows, we witnessed a tirade as he screamed and complained to the manager because he didn’t have time to wait!!

As we watched, I couldn’t help but snicker because his behavior was much like a child that doesn’t get their way, and somewhat like the political and social world out there today. I began to imagine how the world looks right now to God. As he watches all of us impatiently waiting to get back to normal while being unwilling to make time for Him even though we have more of it to devote to Him. He must be tired.

One would hope that at this point in time more and more people would be devoting the extra time to studying God’s word, trying to be more Godly, and striving to doing the right thing daily. However, more and more of us are going about our lives with no regard for the Bible, making excuses for not acting more Godly, and being content with wrongs around us.

Right or wrong, everyone seems to be doing what is right in their own eyes these days. It is easy to become comfortable with the wrong things in our world, and believe that we don’t have time enough to do anything about them. People don’t seem to care if there are wrongs out there, just don’t let it interfere with our time schedule. God must be tired!

Even as most of us are receiving the long awaited vaccine, one would hope we would all take the time to pray for a total resolution to the virus, comfort and healing for those affected by it, and hope for a brighter future for our world. It doesn’t take a large amount of time to offer up prayers.

There are two truths about this life, time marches on, and none of us get out of here alive. The time has come to stand up for our beliefs, unashamedly declare our God and His power, and take time to pray for this country and all who we know who are affected by the virus.

Cicely Tyson says, You come here to go there. We just need to use our time wisely!

Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Psalm 96:6

Blessed are you, O God of Israel, our father from of old and forever. To You, Oh God belong the greatness and the might, the glory, the victory, the majesty, the splendor; Yes, everything on heaven and everything on earth; the kingdom, all yours. You’ve raised yourself high over all. 1 Chronicles 29:11

We have just experienced Easter in churches across our nation, and we celebrated the Majesty of God while giving Glory to Him through music, thought, and word. Now, as the excitement of that day and the promise that is so real begins to diminish, we find ourselves back in the routine of the Christian life. The drama that preceded that day with Holy Week, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday are put away until next year. We worshipped His majesty and gave Him all the glory. Now, how do we keep those words and feelings fresh in our hearts and minds?

One of my all time favorite church anthems is Majesty and Glory, and it gives me chills each time I hear it performed. The music is so beautiful and the words are equally so.

It’s interesting how these two words seem to be paired together many times. Majesty is defined as greatness or splendor of quality or character, and God would certainly fit that definition. Glory is defined as worshipful praise, honor and thanksgiving of which God is most assuredly worthy.

If you’ve ever risen early on a morning and watched the sun come up toward the horizon, and then watched the tints and hues of every color that begins to blend into the perfect light, then you’ve seen majesty.

We can experience God’s majesty in many joyful things in life, but if we can experience His majesty through pain and loss then we have gained glimpses into His glory. It’s in these times when we can honestly say, I know that my redeemer lives as He allows us to see His grace.

NASA has only begun to explore the universe that surrounds us. Recently going to Mars and attempting to explore that planet, they have reiterated the massive distance and width of our universe. This same universe that God in His majesty created. We hear these words, When I look into the night sky and see the work of His fingers.The moon and stars suspended in space. Oh what is man that thou art mindful of HIm? For what are we created other than to give to God all the majesty and glory?

Rev. Paul Apple says, Our view of God has suffered because of our failure to capture the full sense of His Majesty. The God of today is a very personal one with whom we can share an intimate relationship taking all our troubles and confiding all our joys and sorrows. That in itself is amazing, but we sometimes lose sight of the fact that God is not limited, as we are, in His wisdom, His presence, His effectiveness and His power. He is instead eternal, infinite and almighty.

I’ve heard it said that the best way to see majesty is to strip away everything that pretends to be majestic so that which is fake is exposed. God in the manger is the most remarkable example of that monumental truth. Fast forward to Easter and the resurrected Jesus is a remarkable example of glory.

Craig D. Lounsbrough said, Once I finally understand the immensity of my own impoverishment, I am finally in a position to see the enormity of God’s majesty.

The palms of Palm Sunday are gone, the sadness of Good Friday has subsided, the joy of Easter is a beautiful memory, and life evolves back to normal as we know it. But, how can we as Christians return to normal after the power, majesty and glory has empowered us in such a fashion? Jesus has made the ultimate down payment on our inheritance. Our job is to keep the words, the feeling, the glory, and the majesty alive all year!

Oh Lord ,my God the majesty and glory of Your name Transcends the earth and fills the heavens. O Lord our God little children praise you perfectly, and so would we, and so would we. Alleluia Alleluia The majesty and glory of your name. Alleluia, Alleluia. Lyrics by Tom Fettke

Jesus said, ” I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” John 11:25

Of all the church celebrations during the years, Easter has always been the day of days! Covid has certainly forced us to make changes in some of the traditions, but it has made it more apparent that the differences in the way this world looks at this day is more divided than ever.

Some people see Easter as just another long weekend, a chance to fill Easter baskets, dye eggs, wear new spring clothes, and wait for the Easter Bunny to deliver treats. Some people view the days as a chance to gather with family and have an Easter ham. The Christian should see this day as so much deeper. It should be an opportunity for us to declare that Jesus was crucified, dead and buried, but on this day He arose from the dead! This is a day when we sing, Christ our Lord has risen today. Hallelujah!

The correct definition of Hallelujah is God be praised according to Webster. I am a fan of grammar, and in grammar, the word hallelujah would be classified as an interjection which is a word which shows sudden surprise or emotion. The thing about an interjection is that it is grammatically independent of the words around it and expresses feeling rather than meaning.

On Easter morning, there is strong emotion when we declare, Hallelujah, He is risen. The empty tomb is just a reminder of the awesome God we serve who has risen from the dead!

There comes with this day a chance to raise some questions in our own lives. These questions could be: Why do we go to church? Why do we sing the hymns, repeat the prayers and listen and respond to a sermon? Do we go to worship God or out of habit or a sense of duty? Are we using this time in church to strengthen our faith so we can serve as an example to others, or going just a habit? Do we want to serve or be served? Is our faith alive or dead?

Faith at its basic level is the acceptance that things one has never seen could be real. Aren’t we as Christians obligated to make sure people hear about our faith? Jesus is not in a rock casket. He wasn’t there. The stone had been rolled away. That fact alone demands a response from us. We can either crown Him with thorns, spit in His face, pierce His side with a spear, or we can run to the foot of that cross, fall on our knees and call Him Lord of all. Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, we must life up the Son of Man.

The cross is God’s first and last word when it comes to salvation. When Jesus said, “It is finished”, all our sins from the cradle to the grave were paid. There is no Plan B for salvation. The only highway to heaven goes through Calvary. You can’t take a detour and pass the cross if you want salvation.

This Easter as we look at the beautiful cross, we should remind ourselves, “He did it for me!!” Hallelujah!

When He comes our glorious King, All His ransomed home to bring; Then anew His song we will sing, Hallelujah! What a Savior!! Philip P. Bliss