Present Good > Future Good

It was Saturday and I had a conundrum.  My in-laws were in town and we had church the next day.  Our church had been meeting in-person.  I knew my in-laws wouldn't feel comfortable going to an in-person service.  So, I wondered what we should do.  Should we stay home and watch online?  Or should we go?  I didn't want to put them in a position they didn't choose to be in with the virus.

I didn't have to make the decision.  Saturday we got an e-mail saying service was canceled due to a positive case of COVID-19 in a family and some contacts with that family made by both pastors.

That Sunday my in-laws were in town because Christine and I had a CPR and First Aid class that afternoon and they were going to watch the kids.  We were going to leave the house at 12:20.  A little before noon I got a call saying the instructor was sick and the class was canceled.

This is the life we live now.  Our plans are very unsure.  Will schools meet in-person all semester?  Will sports happen?  Will your family Christmas gathering happen? 

We know nothing.

This morning I was on the phone with a friend that I was about to interview.  He talked about how the business he worked at was waiting to unveil their plans for the Fall.  I said I feel like we're stuck in the verse in James.

"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.'  Why, you don't even know what will happen tomorrow.  What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'  As it is, you boast and brag.  All such boasting is evil.  Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins."  James 4:13-17

Let's use this time of uncertainty to learn. 

During this pandemic we are keenly aware that we can't predict the basic things of the future.  Our plans all have to be held onto loosely.  We all know that we can't know.

James told us this truth 2,000 years ago.  What is my life?  It is a mist.  My life is dictated by the will of the Lord.  Believing anything else is braggadocios.

So, what do we do when life is a constant flux?  What do we do when we can't know if our plans will go as we intend? 

We do the good in front of us.

"Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do, and doesn't do it, sins."  James 4:17

The lesson of this verse and of our uncertain times is don't plan on future good when present good is available.  Don't think, "When I have the money, I will be generous."  Be generous now.  Don't delay doing the good set before you now in order to do good later.  Don't exchange actual good for theoretical future good.

What good is there for you to do today?  What has been presented to your present? 

Do it, before it's too late, today.

Dear Worship Leaders

Music has been and continues to be an important part of Christian worship services.  Many of our fondest and deepest memories of corporate worship have to do with music. 

I've said this many times... when you leave a service do you more often have a line from the sermon stuck in your head or a line from a song?  For me, it's nearly always a song that has become looped in my brain.

The songs we sing are important.  Many music therapist have told me stories of people with dementia that can't remember the names of their grandchildren or even their children but can sing multiple verses of their favorite hymns. 

Music glues words to our brains in a way no other thing can.

A few weeks ago my wife and I were reading through 1 Chronicles.  When we read at night we don't do a study.  We simply read a chapter before bed.  Some chapters we read are thrilling and others, to be honest, are long, boring lists of names and boundary lines.  1 Chronicles 25 is one of those chapters, but it was this chapter that had a line jump out to me and it has everything to do with the songs we sing.

"David, together with the commanders of the army, set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun for the ministry of prophesying, accompanied by harps, lyres and cymbals.  Here is the list of the men who performed this service:" 1 Chronicles 25:1

The chapter is all about King David's musicians.  This chapter is full of tongue tying names and is one of those chapters that are not the most fun to read, but that first verse spoke to me.

What were the musicians tasked to do?  Prophesy words set to music.

What is prophesy here?  First, it is not telling the future.  Much of the time the Bible doesn't mean doing the work of a seer when it says prophesy.  What prophesy means here is to speak as a mediator between God and man.  So, the musicians were tasks with singing God's Word to the people and singing the people's words to God.

Worship pastors/leaders, are you in the ministry of prophesying, accompanied by piano, organ, guitar, drums, bass and violin?  When you choose music for your corporate worship do you think about what sounds best first?  Do you consider what is on Christian radio?  Or do you most consider what lyrics best mediate God's Word to the people and the people's words to God?

I think there are all sorts of musical styles that can be God honoring.  From baroque to EDM, from orchestral to hip hop, all styles of music can honor God effectively.  Worship leaders must find styles of music that can speak to those in the congregation best.  But the lyrics should be of first importance.

What lyrics are long lasting?  What lyrics would Christ himself say accurately represent Him?  What lyrics help the congregation hear what Jesus has for them?  What lyrics help those assembled speak honoring words to God?

In 50 years when I'm in the nursing home with dementia will the lyrics sung on this coming Sunday at your church be worth being stuck in my head?

Worship pastors/leaders, your job is very important.  You are more than sing-a-long leaders.  You are tasked with the ministry of prophesy set to music.  Choose your lyrics wisely today.