Wednesday, January 11, 2006
The Word from Psalms... (Count: Psalm 150)
Well, it has been a while since I've posted an "Unplugged" devotional. So I'm here with a tribute and a new direction.
Several years ago, I ran an email devotional called "FUSION", where I loved to write and share thoughts on life, God, and relationships. FUSION was a weekly discipline and really a blast to write, and I wrote for more than a year. Tim Cooper, a close friend of mine, wrote a daily e-mail where he'd just read a chapter of Scripture and share how it touched his heart. For over 200 days, Tim's e-mail encouraged people and challenged his heart from God's Word.
After a week's sojourn for a class in Denver, I've found a renewed interest in writing and expressing thoughts from God's word. Since it's been a while from my last post, maybe nobody will read but me, and that's okay. I want this to be some thoughts and prayers between me and God first anyway. Here goes...
Today, I'm starting a devotional countdown through the book of Psalms. I pledge to "average" one Psalm a day, as I read backwards through the book of Psalms.
PSALM 150...
"Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness."
This song tells us where and why to praise God. Where do you praise God? Do you have a holy place (sanctuary, church, temple, etc.) to sing or pray or think about Him? How much of my life actually brings praise to God? How often do I put some form of Christian music or worship music in my CD player?
Last week, at the Denver Seminary bookstore, I asked the cash register guy if they had the latest David Crowder CD. David Crowder Band is a younger group that does great band worship. The cash guy said, "Actually, I don't listen to Christian music much." I can relate with that. I have gone through times in my life when I thought all Christian music sounded the same or lacked quality. Okay, I still believe that...
But every generation needs to express praise to God through music. For David (King David, not David Crowder), the praise would come with the trumpet, the harp, the lyre, the tambourine, the flute, and the cymbals -- every instrument that is fit to praise a King.
Psalm 150 - the last chapter. David has been through some incredible highs, and some depressing and painful lows. I suppose I'll work my way back through them.
At the end of it all, God still deserves praise. God's "acts of power" and his "surpassing greatness" should still compel me to sing.
I find that my best moments in worship are when I actually think about something God has done in my life...
- I think about what a great blessing it is to be a father, and have a healthy new baby boy named Luke, and how much I don't deserve God's blessing like this.
- I think about the tremendous opportunity I have to learn about the Bible and then teach and encourage others, and how unworthy I am to speak on God's behalf.
- I think about specific mighty acts of God, starting with raising Jesus from the dead. Wondering about how God can imagine and create things like eternity, creation, and love. Remembering friends and family whose lives have been changed by God in such dramatic ways.
Sometimes, these moments sneak up on me like espionage. I'll be standing there, singing, probably thinking about how the song sounds or what words come next, when God will bring to mind someone special in my life. Maybe one of you reading this...
- I think about people he's used in my life to bring me great encouragement. Sometimes, I'm brought to great emotion in worship because I miss those people - they aren't here in Delaware with us. Sometimes, I'm brought to great feeling in my singing because I see God changing lives around me, and using people right here in Delaware to touch people's lives.
I wonder what things David was thinking about. Those "acts of power" from God. Was he thinking about victories God had given Him - like defeating Goliath and the Philistines? Was he thinking about God's blessing and forgiveness on David's family in spite of sins like adultery and murder? Was he thinking in general about God's creation and how He rules the earth with love and truth?
At the end of the day, what are the things that you should be praising God about? Acts of power in your life? Surpassing greatness that you've seen in Him or His creation?
Here's a man who has written most of 150 chapters, and he's still passionate about praising God. If my heart is really focusing on God and what He has to show me, He will never stop amazing me, blessing me, teaching me, and bringing my heart into emotional worship.
He concludes, "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord."
Every breath is a gift. Every moment is an opportunity for you and me to seize the best of the connected-to-God life.
God, as I begin this journey through the Psalms, I first want to thank you for today. I praise you for the things you have done, for who you are, and for your great acts of love. I praise you for the people you've brought into my life. I praise you for the things you have brought me through and for the power of your love.
I praise you because you are in control and you respond to the cries and needs of your children. I praise you because you hold the past, the present, and the future. I praise you with whatever music is in my stereo and my heart.
Please give me the strength, the courage, the wisdom, and the love so that I can praise you in all I do and say today.
Let everything that has breath praise you.
Several years ago, I ran an email devotional called "FUSION", where I loved to write and share thoughts on life, God, and relationships. FUSION was a weekly discipline and really a blast to write, and I wrote for more than a year. Tim Cooper, a close friend of mine, wrote a daily e-mail where he'd just read a chapter of Scripture and share how it touched his heart. For over 200 days, Tim's e-mail encouraged people and challenged his heart from God's Word.
After a week's sojourn for a class in Denver, I've found a renewed interest in writing and expressing thoughts from God's word. Since it's been a while from my last post, maybe nobody will read but me, and that's okay. I want this to be some thoughts and prayers between me and God first anyway. Here goes...
Today, I'm starting a devotional countdown through the book of Psalms. I pledge to "average" one Psalm a day, as I read backwards through the book of Psalms.
PSALM 150...
"Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness."
This song tells us where and why to praise God. Where do you praise God? Do you have a holy place (sanctuary, church, temple, etc.) to sing or pray or think about Him? How much of my life actually brings praise to God? How often do I put some form of Christian music or worship music in my CD player?
Last week, at the Denver Seminary bookstore, I asked the cash register guy if they had the latest David Crowder CD. David Crowder Band is a younger group that does great band worship. The cash guy said, "Actually, I don't listen to Christian music much." I can relate with that. I have gone through times in my life when I thought all Christian music sounded the same or lacked quality. Okay, I still believe that...
But every generation needs to express praise to God through music. For David (King David, not David Crowder), the praise would come with the trumpet, the harp, the lyre, the tambourine, the flute, and the cymbals -- every instrument that is fit to praise a King.
Psalm 150 - the last chapter. David has been through some incredible highs, and some depressing and painful lows. I suppose I'll work my way back through them.
At the end of it all, God still deserves praise. God's "acts of power" and his "surpassing greatness" should still compel me to sing.
I find that my best moments in worship are when I actually think about something God has done in my life...
- I think about what a great blessing it is to be a father, and have a healthy new baby boy named Luke, and how much I don't deserve God's blessing like this.
- I think about the tremendous opportunity I have to learn about the Bible and then teach and encourage others, and how unworthy I am to speak on God's behalf.
- I think about specific mighty acts of God, starting with raising Jesus from the dead. Wondering about how God can imagine and create things like eternity, creation, and love. Remembering friends and family whose lives have been changed by God in such dramatic ways.
Sometimes, these moments sneak up on me like espionage. I'll be standing there, singing, probably thinking about how the song sounds or what words come next, when God will bring to mind someone special in my life. Maybe one of you reading this...
- I think about people he's used in my life to bring me great encouragement. Sometimes, I'm brought to great emotion in worship because I miss those people - they aren't here in Delaware with us. Sometimes, I'm brought to great feeling in my singing because I see God changing lives around me, and using people right here in Delaware to touch people's lives.
I wonder what things David was thinking about. Those "acts of power" from God. Was he thinking about victories God had given Him - like defeating Goliath and the Philistines? Was he thinking about God's blessing and forgiveness on David's family in spite of sins like adultery and murder? Was he thinking in general about God's creation and how He rules the earth with love and truth?
At the end of the day, what are the things that you should be praising God about? Acts of power in your life? Surpassing greatness that you've seen in Him or His creation?
Here's a man who has written most of 150 chapters, and he's still passionate about praising God. If my heart is really focusing on God and what He has to show me, He will never stop amazing me, blessing me, teaching me, and bringing my heart into emotional worship.
He concludes, "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord."
Every breath is a gift. Every moment is an opportunity for you and me to seize the best of the connected-to-God life.
God, as I begin this journey through the Psalms, I first want to thank you for today. I praise you for the things you have done, for who you are, and for your great acts of love. I praise you for the people you've brought into my life. I praise you for the things you have brought me through and for the power of your love.
I praise you because you are in control and you respond to the cries and needs of your children. I praise you because you hold the past, the present, and the future. I praise you with whatever music is in my stereo and my heart.
Please give me the strength, the courage, the wisdom, and the love so that I can praise you in all I do and say today.
Let everything that has breath praise you.
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I'm here for the long haul Gunderwood.
I have found that although I don't always listen to Christian music it has had a tremendous impact on my life.
My wife, constantly, consistently listens to Christian music, and because of that - those songs of praise & wonder - have invaded her heart. She sings them all the time, she praises all the time and it has had an impact on me. My ability to worship has grown because of the words & music of artists like David Crowder, Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Chris Rice, Paul Baloche, Sara Groves, Bebo Norman, Bethany Dillon, and many, many others.
But my desire to worship has grown mostly because Kirsten lives a life of worship. Christian music has played a huge part in that - it is a well to draw from when praising. It is something that for me inspires and encourages me to live that life too.
I still listen to secular music - and I find myself hearing the words of a generation searching for an object of worship. I hear it in bands like Death Cab for Cutie, Lovedrug, U2, Beck, Ben Folds, Coldplay, David Gray and maybe even Hootie. Some of these bands, in subtle ways point in the right direction and I think that a good balance of the questioning that we find in this music, along with the answers in Christian music will help us to understand and hopefully reach others.
It gives us common ground, a point of reference with people we might disagree with in a lot of ways. Jesus didn't just hang out with his disciples - he was there with tax collectors & sinners, and obviously the pharisees who made openly disagreed with him. His ability to be found in culture, then and now, is the key to reaching a world that so desperately needs him.
If we mix it up right, we’ll get that blend. If you want some reccomendations on some more good christian music – let me know.
I have found that although I don't always listen to Christian music it has had a tremendous impact on my life.
My wife, constantly, consistently listens to Christian music, and because of that - those songs of praise & wonder - have invaded her heart. She sings them all the time, she praises all the time and it has had an impact on me. My ability to worship has grown because of the words & music of artists like David Crowder, Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Chris Rice, Paul Baloche, Sara Groves, Bebo Norman, Bethany Dillon, and many, many others.
But my desire to worship has grown mostly because Kirsten lives a life of worship. Christian music has played a huge part in that - it is a well to draw from when praising. It is something that for me inspires and encourages me to live that life too.
I still listen to secular music - and I find myself hearing the words of a generation searching for an object of worship. I hear it in bands like Death Cab for Cutie, Lovedrug, U2, Beck, Ben Folds, Coldplay, David Gray and maybe even Hootie. Some of these bands, in subtle ways point in the right direction and I think that a good balance of the questioning that we find in this music, along with the answers in Christian music will help us to understand and hopefully reach others.
It gives us common ground, a point of reference with people we might disagree with in a lot of ways. Jesus didn't just hang out with his disciples - he was there with tax collectors & sinners, and obviously the pharisees who made openly disagreed with him. His ability to be found in culture, then and now, is the key to reaching a world that so desperately needs him.
If we mix it up right, we’ll get that blend. If you want some reccomendations on some more good christian music – let me know.
I think my favorite songs right now are "secular" songs with deep spiritual truths.
You know I like Evanescence, but I am discovering many more groups that have spiritual messages. Some are subtly pointing people to God, while others are merely raising key spiritual issues.
Hard to miss that in Hoobastank's "The Reason."
At a recent pastors' conference, the lead singer of Kansas (Kerry Livgren) sang "Carry on My Wayward Son" and it was his own song/words about his spiritual journey as a seeker.
Not a dry eye in the place, and we see the heart behind an 80's pop song.
Thanks for reading, bro. Only 145 more "songs" to go.
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You know I like Evanescence, but I am discovering many more groups that have spiritual messages. Some are subtly pointing people to God, while others are merely raising key spiritual issues.
Hard to miss that in Hoobastank's "The Reason."
At a recent pastors' conference, the lead singer of Kansas (Kerry Livgren) sang "Carry on My Wayward Son" and it was his own song/words about his spiritual journey as a seeker.
Not a dry eye in the place, and we see the heart behind an 80's pop song.
Thanks for reading, bro. Only 145 more "songs" to go.
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