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In Philippians Paul calls the church to rejoice in God (Phil 4:4). But he doesn’t just say “Rejoice in the Lord.” He urges them to do it regularly, again and again. “Rejoice in the Lord, always.” And again, he doesn’t just say to do it regularly with repetition, he says it again, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice!”
What is the deal with repetition in worship songs? Why do we repeat our communion services with such similar words again and again? Why do we remind each other of the gospel when we meet for tea or coffee? Why do we read the same passages of the Bible again and again? Why repeat anything? There is a clue in what Jesus said to the pair on the road to Emmaus, “‘How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken!” Then he went through the scriptures and explained to them what was said about himself. “How foolish you are and slow of heart to believe” - Even when we know something with our minds or heads, our hearts often need to catch up with the truth. This does not mean repetition is always good. Heaping up empty phrases, “babbling like the pagans” was condemned by Jesus. There are some songs of worship which are poorly written which may repeat a phrase because the author could not think of anything else to write. However, there are many hymns and songs of worship which repeat deep truths. How many times is the Exodus mentioned in the Bible? How many times including whole event?: God judging the Pharaoh, sparing the first-born of Israel, delivering His people from slavery, parting the Red Sea, and delivering them to the promised land. Well, it’s hard to say a definitive number because of things like psalms that allude to it, but there were annual reminders through the Passover celebrations, there are so many regular reminders in the worship book of Israel. 1 Corinthians 15:1 - Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. What?!? They heard the gospel already from Paul. They didn’t just hear it, but received it, and they didn’t just receive it but have built their lives upon it. They are daily standing on the gospel in the midst of persecution and pain. Why on earth would Paul need to remind people of the gospel, when they have built their whole existence on the truth of the gospel, when they have heard, received and stand upon it? Because, we are slow of heart to believe. We believe facts with our heads but do those beliefs automatically translate into action? As you prayerfully, worshipfully read through the following psalm, think what point God is driving home to your head and your heart: Psalm 136 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures for ever. 2 Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures for ever. 3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures for ever. 4 to him who alone does great wonders, His love endures for ever. 5 who by his understanding made the heavens, His love endures for ever. 6 who spread out the earth upon the waters, His love endures for ever. 7 who made the great lights – His love endures for ever. 8 the sun to govern the day, His love endures for ever. 9 the moon and stars to govern the night; His love endures for ever. 10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt His love endures for ever. 11 and brought Israel out from among them His love endures for ever. 12 with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; His love endures for ever. 13 to him who divided the Red Sea asunder His love endures for ever. 14 and brought Israel through the midst of it, His love endures for ever. 15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea; His love endures for ever. 16 to him who led his people through the wilderness; His love endures for ever. 17 to him who struck down great kings, His love endures for ever. 18 and killed mighty kings – His love endures for ever. 19 Sihon king of the Amorites His love endures for ever. 20 and Og king of Bashan – His love endures for ever. 21 and gave their land as an inheritance, His love endures for ever. 22 an inheritance to his servant Israel. His love endures for ever. 23 He remembered us in our low estate His love endures for ever. 24 and freed us from our enemies. His love endures for ever. 25 He gives food to every creature. His love endures for ever. 26 Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures for ever. Psalm 117 - why begin with the phrase, “Praise the Lord” if he was going to end with it. Why not just say it once? Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. 2 For great is his love towards us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever. Praise the Lord. Psalm 118 - 1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures for ever. 2 Let Israel say: ‘His love endures for ever.’ 3 Let the house of Aaron say: ‘His love endures for ever.’ 4 Let those who fear the Lord say: ‘His love endures for ever.’ 5 When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. 6 The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? 7 The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies. 8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. 9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. 10 All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord I cut them down. 11 They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the Lord I cut them down. 12 They swarmed around me like bees, but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them down. 13 I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord helped me. 14 The Lord is my strength and my defence; he has become my salvation. 15 Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: ‘The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things! 16 The Lord’s right hand is lifted high; the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!’ 17 I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done. 18 The Lord has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death. 19 Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord. 20 This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter. 21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. 22 The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 23 the Lord has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes. 24 The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. 25 Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you. 27 The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. 28 You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you. 29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures for ever. May we embrace Biblical repetition, allow God to speak to us by His Word and Holy Spirit, and absorb the truth with our heads and hearts. Colossians 3:15-17 “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, humans and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
Without a doubt, Christmas is a special time of the year. Whether it is the Christmas holidays, the Summer fun, the family catch-ups or the carolling and Church-going, it is definitely a special time.
All of the events of Christmas can leave us wanting for the joy that elusively flirts with us each day. So how do we grab hold of it and truly know the joy we long for? Is it, as some believe, by experiencing Christmas through the eyes of the children? Or is there a deeper, more real way to live in the happiness we long for? We can feel quite distanced in time and space from the events of Jesus but it is through spending time with him that we can reach out and drink deeply from the wellspring of joy. Rather than retreat from our grown-up way of engaging with the world, we can come honestly to Jesus in all our mess and find the peace and joy for which our hearts long. Christmas carols, however crassly they may be played, were written for adults engaging with God, not for entertaining infants. In them we recognise Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, who came that we may have life in all its fullness: Joy to the world! The Lord is come; let earth receive her King. This year, may we engage deeply with the God of goodness and joy. Christmas blessings, Brad Recently I’ve had some ‘flashbacks’ with troubling thoughts about various things plaguing my mind. The memories they raise bring anxiety and stress. Through these times it can be difficult to remain positive and also to be present with other people in their situations. My memory has been something of a curse as I’ve chewed over these troubling thoughts and relived the stress and negative emotions. The psalmist in Psalm 77 seems to have had a similar experience. He cried out to God for help but didn’t seem to experience the help he wanted. His thoughts in the middle of the night were: Will the Lord reject for ever? Will he never show his favour again? … Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion? My experience is all too real for the psalmist but where he leads next is transforming. He said, “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” (Psalm 77:11-12) The psalmist looked to the past, to his previous experience of God’s goodness and faithfulness and importantly to the great and powerful acts of God throughout the years. The psalmist goes on to recount the victory of God when He led His people through the sea, delivering them from slavery in Egypt. He is reminding himself of God’s goodness in the past. He is taking that ability of his mind that chews over bad thoughts and difficult times and turning it into a blessing. He is chewing over, meditating on a great victory of God and allowing that wonderful truth to transform his thinking. This does not mean that it was easy for the psalmist. He still had to live in his time and place with the reality of his troubles - the reasons he was calling out to God for help in the first place - but his attitude to his situation was transformed by his new meditation on God. At the end of the psalm my imagination was captured by this line: “Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen.” God led His people through the sea to freedom, but he wasn’t seen himself. The activity of God was evident but he didn’t reveal himself explicitly apart from his activity. Today, God is active all around us, and yet it is only those who believe who see the evidence. When we chew over God’s great activities of the past, (specifically Jesus’ life, teaching, miracles, death, resurrection and ascension), God will transform our vision and thus transform our experience of the world around us. Keep remembering God’s miracles of long ago. Keep reminding yourself of all of God’s works in the past and in your life. Meditate on them and chew them over. The realisation of God’s permanent presence with us gives us peace even when we could be distressed by the various anxieties and stresses that plague us. The best blessing of God is God himself: Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. In "The Matrix" Morpheus tells Neo that he has been living in a dream world. There is an implied judgement that living in the real world is important so understanding the truth is important. Neo has believed the lie that was fed directly into his brain and it has taken a huge intervention for Neo to begin to wake up to reality. We all live to different degrees in a dream world and in the real world. We tend to be blind to some of our own attributes (both good and bad) and we need others to 'hold up a mirror' so that we can have a reality check. In Psalm 96.4-5 we read: For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. The Bible doesn't so much talk badly about other 'gods' as simply deny their existence. As much as people try to trust in other things, other 'gods', in reality there is only One who is worth trusting because there is only one God. There are areas of my life in which I deny the existence of God. When I hold on to worries and stresses about money I deny the existence of the God who provides for me and tells me not to worry about such things. When I fail to take a day off because I feel I have too much work to do, I deny the existence of the God who is actively sustaining all things and who has been working out history according to His will since before the beginning. I have a reality mission in my life, I want to live in the real world, to trust my heavenly Father in all things because he is trustworthy. We all have the same reality mission in our lives, and we are to be involved in God's reality mission to other people. Psalm 96.2-3: Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvellous deeds among all peoples. Declaring God's glory among the nations is not a mission to convince people of my point of view, or one interpretation of things. It is a reality mission. God is glorious, He has done marvellous things, He continues to sustain all things with His great power. This is reality. When we become aware of reality we must promote it, help people to awaken from the dream world where we think we are in control or we are indispensable and see the truth that God is in charge and He is good. |
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