Gloria. . .The Gift of Song

Today's offering to the world is a song, inspired by Philippians 2:5-11.  I wrote it, but I can't really take credit, for the Lord is the one who gives us gifts to use for His honor.  I want Him to have all the glory for any of the songs He's enabled me to write.  He set a very interesting and compelling precedent with the first one, twenty-nine years ago.

That first song was for my high school graduation.  My friends were encouraging me to try out to be the soloist for graduation.  I told them I didn't know what I would sing.  I didn't want to sing the same song everybody else sang year after year.  If I was going to sing, I wanted the song to have some pertinent meaning, and I wanted it to communicate my faith in Christ to my classmates.  They persisted in urging me to try-out.  So as I drove home after school, I said, "Lord, if you want me to sing something, you're going to have to give me a song, because I don't know what to sing."

Our piano was only steps inside the door, and I sat down.  And the song just came right then and there.  That was enough of a miracle, but it gets better.  If I were going to write a song in my own strength, it would be in the key of C--no sharps, no flats.  The song He gave me was in the key of D flat, and if you know something about music, you know that key has five flats.  I think He did it that way so I would never take credit for the songs He enables me to write.

Well, I did try out.  My song was chosen for my public high school graduation, and the judges even asked me to turn it into a duet so that a classmate and I could sing it together.  So that's how the song writing began.  Each and every song is just as much a gift from God in that He deserves all the glory.

By the way, this song is not the one I wrote for graduation.  Maybe someday I'll get that one online.  But today, ponder with me God's amazing plan to rescue us.

(Sorry, the recording is temporarily unavailable, as it is being updated.)

Prelude

The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin.

The light of the world is Jesus.

Like sunshine at noonday His glory shone in.

The light of the world is Jesus.

Come to the Light, 'tis shining for thee.

Sweetly the Light has dawned upon me. . .

Chorus 1

Gloria. . .behold the great descending!

The Sovereign's hands are emptied

As He sleeps on the hay,

With a young maid there, attending. . .

The light of the world is Jesus.

Verse 1

Amazing plan--takes my breath away. . .

the Lord set rank aside--

Him, a slave--

There was no other way.

Chorus 2

Gloria. . .behold the great descending!

The Sovereign's hands are emptied

As He sleeps on the hay,

Humble shepherds there, attending. . .

The light of the world is Jesus.

Verse 2

Humble beginning became humbler still. . .

He took on all our shame--

Him, the Lamb--

For there's no other Name.

Chorus 3

Gloria. . .behold the great descending!

The Sovereign's hands are emptied

As He dies in our place,

Roman soldiers there, attending. . .

The light of the world is Jesus.

Verse 3

More amazing still came the third day. . .

The Lord set death aside--

He's alive--

There is no more to pay!

Chorus 4

Gloria. . .Let the praises keep ascending!

The Sovereign's grave is empty!

Crucified, yet alive,

With the angels all attending. . .

The light of the world is Jesus!

Bridge

Come to the Light, 'tis shining for thee.

Sweetly the Light has dawned upon me. . .

Repeat Chorus 4

Copyright 2011 Carol Carpenter

Hymn excerpt public domain

Character Part Two-- Hearts & Charts

There is a tragedy occurring over and over in our time.  Children grow up in 'Christian homes', acquiring the basic external appearance of ‘good Christian kids’, but end up 'abandoning the faith' by their college days.  What’s going on???

I think it may have something to do with what people call character.  When the topic of character comes up, many times parents end up talking about manners and chore charts.  I once attended an entire seminar devoted to charts. But here’s the thing—while manner books and chore charts can be very useful, they are only addressing the surface.  A child can learn to conform to an external standard of socially acceptable behavior and accomplish his chores in a timely way, especially if there is a sweet or monetary reward involved, without ever having his heart involved.  Children can be incredibly pragmatic.

The Bible calls this giving lip service and doing eyeservice (work that gets done only if the worker is watched) to please men, and contrasts it with doing the will of God from the heart, with sincere generosity, not at all self-seeking, all the while knowing we are really serving Christ.*  The difference is the attitude of the heart.  Character can’t be accurately measured with a chart, because character is a matter of the heart.  A transformed heart that wants to please Christ will likely look good on a chart and be well mannered, but external measures might also be a grand illusion.  In reality, someone could be a perfectly polite little pagan, whose heart is far from the Heavenly Father.

So what are we to do?  Rules don’t shape hearts.  According to God, it all starts with relationships.  Relationships, or the lack of them, will shape hearts.  Our allegiances ultimately determine what we will do and say.

More to come. . . .In the meantime, check out Deuteronomy 6.

* See Matthew 15:1-20; Ephesians 6:1-9; Colossians 3:20-24

Training in Godly Character

Moms have been asking me for practical ideas for training children to have godly character.  So because you asked. . . I humbly offer what I've learned.  I hope to make this a regular feature of the blog.

The heart of the matter is that character is, without a doubt, a heart matter.  Our character is who we are at the core.  We've often talked at our house about how our character is especially obvious when we are stressed.  When we get bumped or pressed, what spills out is an overflow of what's already in our hearts.  Since that is the case, what goes into the heart is incredibly important.

If our goal is godly character, then it only makes sense that we have to be pouring godly substance into our children's hearts.  I decided to ask my thirteen-year-old about his perspective on training children to have godly character.  I think you might be surprised at the answer.  My son said, "First of all, don't dumb down God's Word."  As a young person, he's convinced that even young children can relate to God's Word just as it is.  You might be even more surprised at one of the factors that led him to this conclusion.

When he was about three, he watched a video adaptation of a Biblical event recorded in the book of Daniel where, in the video, the principle remained the same, but most of the names and details had been altered quite significantly, in an attempt to appeal to children.  Already knowing something about the actual event, after seeing the video, he came to ask me a very important question, "Mama, was the statue the king set up really a chocolate bunny?"  I realized then and there that the cartoonization of Scripture wasn't helpful for him, but, instead, it had confused him.

I wonder if, in our attempts to make the Bible child-friendly, we may end up unwittingly stripping it of its power and meaning.  Scripture, just as it is, read with lively enthusiasm and not in those boring, monotone Bible reading voices I've sometimes heard, is infinitely more powerful at capturing the hearts and imaginations of young ones than any cartoon could ever hope to be.  Follow that with energetic discussion and application to life, and anything else will be a cheap imitation at best.

More to come. . .

More Joy in the Lord

Who wouldn’t want more joy?  It’s a universal yearning, but the fulfillment too often remains elusive.  Why is that?

I’ve come to the conclusion that this is one of those ‘in plain sight yet terribly easy to overlook’ kind of phenomena.  Two truths keep lingering with me as I've been investigating what the Bible says about joy.  The first is from Psalm 16:11, penned by David, “You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence of fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”  The second is the New Testament echo of the same theme in the words of Jesus, “Abide in Me. . . . These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”  (see John 15:1-11)

Just what did Jesus mean when He said ‘full’?  I found out the Greek word conveys the idea of fully and abundantly supplying, literally cramming in, totally filling up a hollow place, diffusing something throughout the whole place.  Do you think that much would be enough?!  These words aren’t describing some wispy, mythological dream.  These are some of Jesus’ last words to His disciples before He was arrested, tried, and crucified; He knew what was coming and He gave them something solid and real to hang onto.  He meant what He said.

That means we better pay attention to where that full joy comes from—in His presence, in abiding in Him.  But practically, what does that mean?  When I was a little girl, it seemed that the answer to nearly all the questions my Sunday School teacher asked was, “Read your Bible and pray”.   I’ve decided that wasn’t so far from the truth.

If you want to remember someone dear to you, whom you can’t physically see at a given moment, what do you do?  You constantly cycle their pictures in your digital frame.  You keep their letters, notes, and emails and you reread them.  You write back.  You make their pictures your screensaver.  You talk on the phone. You watch the videos you made when you were together.

David didn’t have our technology, but I think he had the same idea.  From Psalm 16:8, “I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.  Therefore my heart is glad. . .”  Yes, “In your presence is fullness of joy,” and “Abide in Me. . . .”

If you’re a real Christian, He already lives in you.  Don’t ignore Him!  Paul prayed that Christ would be more and more at home in the hearts of the Ephesian Christians.  So let’s cultivate the relationship.

Surround yourself with His words.  Expect Him to meet you in His Word.  Read it like you mean it.  Read it like you know He means it!   Ask yourself, seriously, how your life is going to be different because you believe it.  Then live like you mean it.  Take a truth or a promise and write it down.  Hang it up.  Memorize it.  Then live like you know He means it.  Talk like you know He means it.

Talk to Him like you know He means it.  If you need a starter, grab the Psalms.  “Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.”  (Psalm 62:8)  Let Him know you believe Him.  Pray like you mean it.

Who wouldn’t want more joy?  He told us to abide in Him so our joy would be full!  Let’s live like we know He means it.

(If you haven't yet stopped in at the Welcome and Why Unsmotherable Delight sections, I invite you to.  You'll find the tabs at the top of the page.)

No Jack-in-the-Box Joy

What is Irrepressible Joy anyway? 

You know what a Jack-in-the-Box is, right—that clown faced character attached to a spring in the bottom of his box?  You stuff him in his box, slam the lid down, and when you turn the crank on the side of the box, he pops back out again.  Jack may seem irrepressible when a child’s undying interest in this toy starts to unnerve us, but real irrepressible joy is no Jack-in-the-Box joy!

You probably have noticed that Jack never gets any bigger; he’s still the same quantity he ever was.  He always fits back in the box.  He simply pops up, unchanged, every once in a while, under just the right circumstances.  He won’t even come out unless you turn the crank.  He’s not really irrepressible at all.

Real irrepressible joy can’t be contained or restrained.  You can give it away, but it keeps on coming.  That’s because, unlike Jack, irrepressible joy has an unlimited, inexhaustible source.

So what’s going on when we feel more like all we have is Jack-in the-Box joy—limited quantity and only experienced in the perfect circumstances?  We have to keep calling out the same old reserve stock from the warehouse and then put it away ‘til the next time the conditions are right.

The problem is that we’ve slowed or cut off communication with the supplier.  Eventually, our supply is exhausted.

The only solution is to get connected to the source of joy and never let go.  Jesus said, “ I am the true vine. . . .Abide in me. . .As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me.  I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. . . .If you keep my commandments, you will abide in My love. . . These things I have spoken to you, that. . .your joy may be made full.”  (see John 15:1-11)

More to come. . .

(If you haven't yet stopped in at the Welcome and Why Unsmotherable Delight sections, I invite you to.  You'll find the tabs at the top of the page.)

Expectant Faith

What kind of redundant title is that??  Exactly what kind of faith is there besides expectant faith?  Well, interestingly, the Bible does talk about dead faith (James 2)--known by its lack of godly fruits or works, or in this case, maybe dead faith would be known by its fruits, to include worry, fear, and fretting.

You've got to take a look at Psalm 59. . . .David was in a watched house, hiding, again, from the jealous King Saul, who wished him dead.  Understatement would say things looked desperate.  How could he possibly escape?  Fretting would seem natural enough here.  But Psalm 59 shows me a radically different picture.

David prays in vivid terms for deliverance and then settles into expectant faith.  "I will watch for You, for God is my stronghold.  My God in His lovingkindness will meet me."  (Psalm 59:9-10)  The volley continues on to a second round of appeal and then back again to confident praise, in view of his history with God and of God's unchanging nature.

I am buoyed up as I pray along with David's song.   In expectant faith, I, too, watch for what God will do.  Expectant faith acknowledges and takes comfort in God's strength, never ever gives up hope that God will meet me, and joyfully sings about it!!!

Expectant hope in God's strength and love, expressed with joyful singing--there's what a response in the middle of a crisis should look like.  That strikes home. . . .

P.S.  And David got to the other side.  He not only lived, but he lived to become king.  And not only king as God had promised, but the first in the royal line that begat that King of Kings come in the flesh, no less.  Do you see why I call it unquenchable hope?

(As always, I invite you to make yourself at home in the Welcome and Why Unsmotherable Delight pages using the tabs above.)

A Confession

With all the news in recent days of the flooding along the Missouri River, the subject of rivers and dams keeps coming up at our house.  I've been telling my children how I spent all of my school years in communities along the Missouri River.  We lived near Gavins Point Dam and the twenty-five mile long Lewis & Clark Lake created behind it.  As a young girl who hadn't yet seen an ocean or even one of the Great Lakes, I was quite amazed at the enormity of the lake.  As I explained to my children how the dam created a huge and wonderful recreation area upstream, and how at the same time it reduced the river below the spillway to a rather unimpressive size, an awareness of a convicting truth crept over me.  It was a picture of my life.

I must confess--I have built and maintained a spiritual dam.  Maybe you have, too.  The Lord has poured encouragement and comfort into my life, teaching me much through His Word, for years, but, for the most part, I've kept it as a private reservoir, for the exclusive benefit of myself, my family, and only a few others.  Meanwhile, somebody else may be in a spiritual drought downstream and would give anything for some of that life-giving water.  Sure, I had my reasons.  Who would want to listen to me anyway?  I'm not perfect; I certainly don't have my life totally together.  I still have problems of my own.

I just wasn't getting the point.  I was blind to the full extent of what God intends to do.  The Apostle Paul reveals God's perspective on this, "Blessed be the the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort . . ."  (II Corinthians 1:3-6)

Did you see the implications here?  What God pours into our lives, He means for us to pass on.  That means no spiritual dam building, no obstruction of the flow.  And if you've got a problem, that doesn't mean you're left alone or disqualified from being a blessing to somebody else.  Quite the opposite--the God of all comfort will be your comfort, and then intends for you to be the means of blessing somebody else with what He gave you.

Don't worry--it's not about attracting attention to ourselves.  It's about humbly letting the cascade of blessing flow freely through our lives from God to others.  John the Baptist got it right when he said of Jesus, "He must increase, but I must decrease."  (John 3:30)

So if you know Him, don't hold back any longer.  I dare you to blow up your dam!  You may never know how far-reaching the impact will be.

I'll be listening for the explosion. . . .

(As always, I invite you to make yourself at home in the Welcome and Why Unsmotherable Delight pages using the tabs above.)