THE SINGERS
1 Samuel 27: 33
"These are the singers, heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites, dwelling in the temple chambers, free from other service because they were on duty day and night."
What an awe-inspiring responsibility the singers of God have. Their service is 24/7 and while they may not dwell in the temple composing, writing, teaching or singing God's music today, the implication is clear -- God's servants praise Him day and night.
In order to compose, teach and then deliver God's messages through song His singers must spend inordinate amounts of time at the feet of their Master, ever listening to His heart. Otherwise, the music will be born out of personal preference, style, or culture and such music is merely self-serving.
Obviously very few people are 'free from other service' and most of us are not privileged to sing, compose, practice and teach 24/7 but in our hearts we can continually make melodies to our God and King. He is worthy of nothing less than our 24/7 worship. In our everyday lives this is no easy task. It takes a heart of discipline, not a regime of discipline but a HEART disciplined to hear the voice of our Lord in the busyness and chaos of our lives. Learning to hear Him above the noise, above all clamor, above our self-indulgent lifestyles is a discipline, and I believe a grace-gift from God. Only as we live and move and find our being IN HIM will we find ourselves ministering songs of worship and praise TO HIM all throughout the day and even in the watches of the night.
I would love nothing more than to dwell in a temple and be honored with the task of attending to our Lord night and day, with no other responsibilities. I don't live in such a world, nor is it likely that could happen in my culture as it was for the Israelites. But I am the temple of the Holy Spirit of God and therefore I am living with the awe-inspiring responsibility of honoring and serving Jesus all throughout every day of my life.
Oh God I long to be worthy of such an honor. Draw me to Your heart throughout this day. Help me draw near to You all throughout every day and into the night watches. May You be honored and exalted with the songs of my heart as I exalt Your matchless, holy, glorious Name.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
KNOWING THE LORD YOUR GOD
KNOW THE LORD YOUR GOOD
1 Chronicles 28:9
NASB 9
“As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.
AMPLIFIED BIBLE
9 And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father [have personal knowledge of Him, be acquainted with, and understand Him; appreciate, heed, and cherish Him] and serve Him with a blameless heart and a willing mind. For the Lord searches all hearts and minds and understands all the wanderings of the thoughts. If you seek Him [inquiring for and of Him and requiring Him as your first and vital necessity] you will find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.
"Know the God of your father" has a much deeper meaning than is offered in most translations of the Bible. To comprehend the depth of 'know' one has to do a little digging into the original meanings of words. Know, in the original Hebrew language, has 4 meanings.
1. nakar - know; to feign to know;
2. da'ath - cunning; ignorantly, unaware
3. yeda - certify, teach
4. yada` - perceive, tell, certainly, acknowledge, acquaintance, consider, declare, teach
In this verse of Scripture, the fourth definition is the correct one, and the Amplified translation shows the richer, fuller intent of King David's words to his son, Solomon - have personal knowledge of God, be acquainted with Him, understand Him, appreciate Him, heed Him, cherish Him.
One can teach any subject without a truly personal relationship with that subject. For instance, one can teach Van Gogh or Cezanne or Monet, but these artists are dead so they are taught from historical and artistic acumen, not from the perspective of one who has sat at the feet of these masters and learned every nuance, every desire of their hearts, every intent of their art.
God can be known in the same way. He can be acknowledged. He can be appreciated, as we appreciate great artists and their works. One can certify they know Him well because of their astute recitations and use of Scripture. Others feign to know Him, and still others use His name as if it were simply a figure of speech, ignorant and unaware of whom they speak when they declare OMG as an exclamation regarding some newly acquired pseudo-astonishing fact. But for one to 'know' God as David knew God and as he adjured his son to know God, one has to come face to face with God. One has to comprehend that, unlike all those great artists whose works are studied, God is not dead. He is quite alive and has such a longing for His creation to know, really know Him - to 'be acquainted with, understand Him; appreciate, heed, and cherish Him'. Without a comprehension of the original Hebrew 'yada`' there is a superficial relationship with the true intent.
The instruction in this same verse by King David to his son Solomon concludes with this . . .
"For the Lord searches all hearts and minds and understands all the wanderings of the thoughts. If you seek Him [inquiring for and of Him and requiring Him as your first and vital necessity] you will find Him."
In other translations it simply says "If you seek Him, you will find Him." Once again, without a personal comprehension of the original intent of the word 'seek', our flesh easily wishes to give up when the searching doesn't reach the conclusion set by our own agenda. But when our spirit is fully engaged we comprehend that seeking God must be our FIRST and VITAL necessity, and then we find ourselves on the most remarkable and rewarding quest this life can ever offer - that of knowing God.
1 Chronicles 28:9
NASB 9
“As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.
AMPLIFIED BIBLE
9 And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father [have personal knowledge of Him, be acquainted with, and understand Him; appreciate, heed, and cherish Him] and serve Him with a blameless heart and a willing mind. For the Lord searches all hearts and minds and understands all the wanderings of the thoughts. If you seek Him [inquiring for and of Him and requiring Him as your first and vital necessity] you will find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.
"Know the God of your father" has a much deeper meaning than is offered in most translations of the Bible. To comprehend the depth of 'know' one has to do a little digging into the original meanings of words. Know, in the original Hebrew language, has 4 meanings.
1. nakar - know; to feign to know;
2. da'ath - cunning; ignorantly, unaware
3. yeda - certify, teach
4. yada` - perceive, tell, certainly, acknowledge, acquaintance, consider, declare, teach
In this verse of Scripture, the fourth definition is the correct one, and the Amplified translation shows the richer, fuller intent of King David's words to his son, Solomon - have personal knowledge of God, be acquainted with Him, understand Him, appreciate Him, heed Him, cherish Him.
One can teach any subject without a truly personal relationship with that subject. For instance, one can teach Van Gogh or Cezanne or Monet, but these artists are dead so they are taught from historical and artistic acumen, not from the perspective of one who has sat at the feet of these masters and learned every nuance, every desire of their hearts, every intent of their art.
God can be known in the same way. He can be acknowledged. He can be appreciated, as we appreciate great artists and their works. One can certify they know Him well because of their astute recitations and use of Scripture. Others feign to know Him, and still others use His name as if it were simply a figure of speech, ignorant and unaware of whom they speak when they declare OMG as an exclamation regarding some newly acquired pseudo-astonishing fact. But for one to 'know' God as David knew God and as he adjured his son to know God, one has to come face to face with God. One has to comprehend that, unlike all those great artists whose works are studied, God is not dead. He is quite alive and has such a longing for His creation to know, really know Him - to 'be acquainted with, understand Him; appreciate, heed, and cherish Him'. Without a comprehension of the original Hebrew 'yada`' there is a superficial relationship with the true intent.
The instruction in this same verse by King David to his son Solomon concludes with this . . .
"For the Lord searches all hearts and minds and understands all the wanderings of the thoughts. If you seek Him [inquiring for and of Him and requiring Him as your first and vital necessity] you will find Him."
In other translations it simply says "If you seek Him, you will find Him." Once again, without a personal comprehension of the original intent of the word 'seek', our flesh easily wishes to give up when the searching doesn't reach the conclusion set by our own agenda. But when our spirit is fully engaged we comprehend that seeking God must be our FIRST and VITAL necessity, and then we find ourselves on the most remarkable and rewarding quest this life can ever offer - that of knowing God.
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