Author Anne Lamott writes, "Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you."
Take a sabbath from electronic devices from sundown March 7 - March 8.
Go to:
www.globaldayofunplugging.org for more information and ideas
Sweets and treats
Arguing
TV
Video games
Complaining
Choose one of these things to FILL UP today:
Memorize: 1 Corinthians 10:31
Read, or have someone read with you: Colossians 3: 12-17
Read, or have someone read with you: Psalm 100
Write or draw a prayer to God: What can you thank God for?
Pray: Praise God!
“Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness; come into his presence with singing!” Psalm 100:1-2
“Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.” Ephesians 5:19
When scanning new artwork in Churchart, a company we use to
provide photos and clipart, my eyes fell on the drawing below. I couldn’t help
but start singing the tune in my head, something I’m certain many of you do
when you hear a title or a phrase from a favorite or well-known song or hymn.
Whether it’s considered an “earworm” or just a happy sing-along song, we may hum
or sing the tune.
If you’ve grown up in church, you’re probably no different
from me in that certain songs flood you with emotion. They take us back in time.
They make us sad, or happy. They make us nostalgic. Most music has the capacity
to do this, but when we hear a hymn that means something special, God may
feature in that appreciation.
When I asked some of the members of my bible study to share
what spiritual music/hymns/church music means to them, here are some of the
responses I received:
Gospel music and hymns remind me of my mother. She and her
two sisters often performed together, and Because He Lives is one song that
the three of them would sing together. It’s one of those songs that makes me nostalgic
and whose lyrics comfort me at the same time.
God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone,
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!
How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he brings;
But greater still the calm assurance:
This child can face uncertain days because He Lives!
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!
And then one day, I'll cross the river,
I'll fight life's final war with pain;
And then, as death gives way to victory,
I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives!
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the gift of song, of music, of
lyrics that draw us closer to you and others. Amen.
Donna Gustafson
.png)
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8
I recently heard that 95% of the Bible is poetry. A definition of poetry is literature that evokes a concentrated awareness of experience or a specific emotion response through language chosen and arranged for its meaning, sound, or rhythm. There are six books of the Bible that are considered poetry: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Lamentations. Besides these books, poetry appears throughout the Bible. In Bible poetry it is common for 2 or more lines to share the same thought with the second line building up or intensifying the first. Philippians quoted above seems to fit this description.
Some Bible poetry compares and contrasts such as Romans 28: 38-39. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
An example of the use of words and their repetition to create an emotional response is John 1:1-5. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
A similar poetry example with the use of words is I Corinthians 13: 4-7. Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does no insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Why is there poetry in the Bible? It certainly makes the text more interesting, more creative, and more connected with the reader. In a time when many people could not read, it is easier to memorize and remember the main thought. The poetry sends strong messages about God and Christ that stimulates our emotional responses with warmth and comfort.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, as we read both the old and new testaments, help us pay attention to the poetry representing God's creativity in communicating his love for us. Amen
Nancy Hall
