Rappin’ With Rick

Scripture is filled with admonitions to praise the Lord with song, and singing is what I think was taking place in Isaiah’s vision of the throne of God. “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of his robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above him, each having six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts,” (Isaiah 6:1-3)

It doesn’t actually say they were singing, but we know according to Job 38:7 that at creation the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. We also find singing in heaven when the Lamb of God was seen standing on Mount Zion. “And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne.” (Revelation 14:2-3)

The point of what I’m saying is simply that I generally think of songs being offered to God around His throne. I read something the other day in Zephaniah 3:17, however, that painted for me a new, and very exciting picture of singing and the throne of God. When I read it, it almost gave me goosebumps, and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t read it before.

I proceeded to read it from my NASV, and while it’s a beautiful picture, it didn’t do for me what I read from the NKJV that’s in my chronological Bible.

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy” is no doubt a more literal translation than, “The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing”, but I really love the picture of God singing from His throne when He sees His people living lives that honor Him.

Let’s keep God singing this week!

God Bless, Rick

We know what God has said about the future is true, because everything He said was going to take place in the past has proven to be true. Last week we learned of an interesting prophecy Isaiah revealed on the streets for three years, and this week we’re going to look at some amazing prophecies God gave to him about two individuals. We are very familiar with the first one.

Every Christmas we revisit Isaiah 7:14.“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” And during the Easter season we’re reminded that in Isaiah 53 we were told what Jesus was going to do for us long before He did it. “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.”

Between the 7th and 53rd chapters we find some prophecies about another individual that some find even harder to believe than the prophecies about our Lord. The 44th chapter closes with these words: “It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd! And he will perform all My desire.’ And he declares of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’” And in the 45th chapter we read, “I have also called you by your name; I have given you a title of honor though you have not known Me.”

Not only did Cyrus not know God, God called him by name 150 years before he sat on the throne of Persia. The record of him fulfilling all God said he would do is found in the closing verses of II Chronicles and Ezra.“Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus.”

Jeremiah had revealed that the children of Israel would be allowed to return to Israel after 70 years of captivity, and the Jewish historian Josephus stated that the captives (Daniel was among them and may have been the primary spokesman) showed Cyrus the prophecies which contained his name and described his role in fulfilling the plans of God.

Our confidence in the future is rock solid, because as God told Isaiah, “Behold, the former things have come to pass, now I declare new things; before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.”

God Bless, Rick

I think every Christian loves to read their favorite passages from the Bible. It’s good to hear again and again the accounts of Jesus’ life, and be reminded of all the promises made to us by our heavenly Father. When we venture into unknown areas of the Bible, however, we sometimes find ourselves scratching our head.

Two who are reading through the Bible with me this year recently found things in Isaiah that raised questions they wanted answered. The first was concerning Isaiah’s attire, or lack thereof.

In the 20th chapter we read that God told Isaiah to loosen the sackcloth from his hips, and take off his shoes. He did so, and went naked and barefoot for three years.

“Did he really go stark naked?” was the question. It’s a question commentators have struggled with for years. It seems so unlike God to actually tell someone to go naked, and all kinds of attempts have been made to cover up the bare facts. But the bottom line is that God was using Isaiah to warn a disobedient people that they were going to be led away as captives; naked and barefoot with buttocks uncovered to their shame. It is shocking, but it exposes the extent to which God will go in an attempt to bring people to repentance.

The second question was related to all the details about people and places and events that are pretty much meaningless to us today. Of course, that should be expected of 2,700 year old history with which we are unfamiliar. Those who lived it knew it to be true, and Isaiah was told to write down his prophecies so they could serve in the time to come as a witness to the truthfulness of what he was saying. Even if we don’t take the time to actually dig into the history, the details presented give us the assurance that the Bible is not fantasy, but an actual record of historical facts.

Don’t be afraid to venture into that which is unknown to you in the Bible. You may not understand everything you read, but I guarantee you’ll learn things about God that you didn’t know.

God Bless, Rick

We were encouraged by the Apostle Paul last Sunday to think of, and treat one another, as family. I noted that some have bought into that idea more than others, and through involvement in church functions and activities have actually found some of their closest relationships developing within the church. The key, of course, is involvement with others.

Coming together regularly on Sunday mornings is obviously a good thing, and there is a beautiful sense of community when we worship together. Deep friendships, however, usually require more than a shared pew, and we therefore offer additional opportunities to study, play, work, and eat together. Those who take advantage of such often find something unexpected taking place. I know it did in Mexico.

When I asked Anna, my 13 year old granddaughter, what her favorite thing was about the trip to Mexico, she said it was the bonding that took place. When I asked her who she bonded with, she said everyone. When I pressed her further, she specifically mentioned Kirk, Andrew, Tate, and Judy Marlow.

In case you missed Kirk’s meditation last week, he noted the language barrier that existed while working in Mexico. He went on to explain that it took him three days to understand what the teens were saying. Apparently they ended up connecting pretty well. He also mentioned the age spread in the group, and that was created by Anna and Judy. Again, something unexpectedly beautiful can take place when we spend time together. We can actually come to know, and grow to love one another, as family.

In view of that, it’s been suggested that it’s time to resurrect Dinner-8. For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s a simple program where four couples are encouraged to have pot-lucks in one another’s homes. We haven’t done it in several years, and I’ve made some revisions to the program that lessen the time commitment. Details can be found inside, and I’m hopeful that many, especially those newer to our family, will sign up.

God Bless, Rick

Last Sunday we noted that millennials are much less involved in church than are baby boomers. Where to draw the lines between generations is a bit fluid, but it does appear that I’m on the upper limit of baby boomers, having been born in 1947 after Dad returned from WW II. And that may account for my living under a rock, as my son-in-law recently noted.

Nikki and the girls had showed me a video that made me laugh, and gave me hope. The one speaking looked young, and after reading about the challenge of reaching millennials with the gospel, I assumed he was one. Wikipedia informed me, however, that he had been born in 1979 instead of in the 80’s. So while he may not actually be from the generation that is 35% anti-church, he is definitely an unexpected voice of hope. And until last week, to me, an unknown voice.

If you, like me, haven’t seen the Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World movies, you may not know that Chris Pratt is the hottest actor in Hollywood. He was recently given MTV’s Generation Award, and when accepting it he had some hilarious, and unexpectedly positive things to say. He began by stating, “I’m going to cut to the chase, and I am going to speak to you, the next generation. I accept the responsibility as you your elder. So, listen up.”

He then listed nine rules for life which were practical, instructive, and even silly; like how to go to the bathroom without stinking up the place. Four of them, however, blew me away.

• Rule 2: “You have a soul. Be careful with it.”
• Rule 6: “God is real. God loves you, God wants the best for you. Believe that, I do.”
• Rule 8: “Learn to pray. It’s easy and it is so good for your soul.”
• Rule 9: “Nobody is perfect, People will tell you that you are perfect just the way that you are, you are not! You are imperfect. You always will be, but there is a powerful force that designed you that way, and if you accept that, you will have grace. And grace is a gift. Like the freedom that we enjoy in this country, that grace was paid for with somebody else’s blood. Do not forget that. Don’t take that for granted.”

Even if he’s not your elder, listen up!

God Bless, Rick