Lift Up Your hands

 

 

Psalm 134 

Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord

who minister by night in the house of the Lord.

Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord.

May the Lord bless you from Zion,

He who is the Maker of heaven and earth.

(NIV 2011) 

 

I don't know about you but sometimes I don't quite feel like praising God but as soon as I do my whole demeanour changes. The grumpy or sad Jo changes into a more upbeat, calm, and happy Jo. Singing does something to lift your soul and worship does something even more. There is a clear difference between just singing and worshipping. Worshipping is a heart thing. It's not about singing the right notes, although it sounds better if we do. It's about giving of ourselves to God. 

 

The picture is of my cat Buddy, one of my favourate photos of him when he was a kitten at full stretch playing with a garden cane which I had hold of the other end. It, likes singing, and worshipping makes me joyful. We can never get enough joy can we? Sometimes life gets in the way and makes us grumpy, or sad, or whatever and actually it is OK to come to God in those moods. If we can't be honest with our Heavenly Father then who can we be honest to? Even in our grieving, or our anger, bring it all to God. 

 

It's really hot in the UK and we aren't equipped for it like many of our European neighbours and other countries. Also unlike other countries its also very humid. I like the hot weather but not the humidity. I much prefer the summer to other months but the extremes of heat are a bit much for me. Whatever the weather and however we are feeling God deserves or praise. But maybe on Sunday morning as we lift our hands in worship together in our churches we need a little bit more of this!

 

 

Music and Soul

 Sometimes I go to write something and verse seems to just roll out of me. I love to sing and play a few chords on my guitar. Music without passion is just empty words. The same can be true for our worship, unless we into the song and think about the words then we are just making a noise before God and not really worshipping him at all. 

 

I wrote this whilst thinking of a favour musician, Alfie Boe who always sings with such passion and connects so well to the song. Of course whilst I was writing it I was also thinking about faith, that's just who I am. So what is teh story inside of you and who would God ask you to share it with?

  

Music is just music
Without a soul inside.
Every note a resonance 
In time and melody.

Sing it clear 
Sing it loud 
Sing your song 
All night long 

Words don’t mean anything
Without a story told
Every moment captured 
Or lost forever more. 

Passion is the answer
To capturing the heart
Stories without music 
Lie empty, joy unheard 

So what is your story?
The heart beat inside you
Sing out your symphony 
The joy and the pain 

(copyright Revdjo 1/9/25) 

Lent 2015: things that make me laugh - my husband

My husband, John, always seems to make me laugh. We often laugh at the silliest of things. 

This evening I was eatting some grapes when one dropped from my hands and rolled across the floor. John jumped and said, 'I thought it was a mouse'! How on earth does a grape look look like a mouse? I couldn't help but laugh. 'It scared me' he chuckled. Today has been a good day. All age worship at church and lots of fun. No one really wanted to go home which is always a good sign. 

Worship doesn't have to be always serious, and neither should life. There are times when lament is appropriate such as, when someone dies in tragic circumstances. God has made us as emotional beings and yet  so often we try and deny our emotions. The British stiff upper lip is still alive and kicking in the UK. I am sure other countries and cultures are better at being honest with their emotions that we are here. God likes us to be honest with him and if our worship is to be heart felt then we must learn to laugh and indeed cry as we worship him in spirit and truth.

Lent 2014 - 6th April: wandering around cathedrals

I may be a non-conformist of the Baptist persuasion but I so appreciate the architecture and presence of God to be found in a Cathedral. The above photo is of course Westminster Abbey which I visited recently. There is something about the grandure of Cathedrals that proclaims the awesomeness of God. Our non-conformist history is short in comparison to the established church and consequently we lack age in our buildings. We also tend to lack the grandeur. 

    Gloucester Cathedral's beautiful ceiling.

Baptist chapels are simple so as not to distract from worshiping God. I like the simplicity but sometimes I want the grandure and ornateness which reflect God's glory and majesty. I am eclectic in my spirituality and a true ecumenical at heart. A simple pleasure for me is to gaze in wonder at our places of worship that differ so much and yet all point to God in their own unique way.

Today's simple pleasure is wandering around Cathedrals, it could equally be sitting in a simple chapel.