Songs of Thanksgiving

Songs of Thanksgiving

Sunday, November 28, 2021

I found a phrase in my Bible that caught my attention this week: songs of thanksgiving. It’s not surprising that my eyes and my mind would connect on that phrase this week. But the setting is somewhat surprising.

I found that phrase in Jeremiah 30: “‘From them will proceed thanksgiving, And the voice of those who celebrate; And I will multiply them and they will not be diminished; I will also honor them and they will not be insignificant.” (Jeremiah 30:19 NAS95)

The surprising thing is that this “song of thanksgiving” is not mentioned in a setting where people are of a mind to give thanks. They are selfish and idolatrous. Jeremiah has been prophesying that judgment is about to fall. But the people are not listening.

But Jeremiah, having established that judgment is in fact on the doorstep, is here prophesying that, after judgment, there will be restoration. The people will experience deliverance. They will be brought home. They will no longer be captives. They will have been disciplined, and their hurts will have been healed.

So yes, there will come a day when there will be “songs of thanksgiving,” many such songs, sung by all kinds of people as they experience the wonders of the “blessed hope” that we have as believers. That “song of thanksgiving” is being sung in heaven today by those who have gone before. And we know that, when we join them, it will be glorious.

But the text does not merely offer the hope of a future in which there will be “songs of thanksgiving.” Because God’s Word is true, by faith we take it to be true, even now, prospectively.. That is, we can sing “songs of thanksgiving” right now, even though there is much that pains us and concerns us - we sing “songs of thanksgiving” at the prospect of meeting Jesus, whether at His coming, or our going to Him. We sing, not just in the experience such blessedness, but at the prospect of this blessedness.

There is in this chapter a description of those in trouble: “Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor? Why has every face turned pale?” (Jer 30:6). This is real distress and trouble. And yet, in the midst of these things, if we will hear God’s Word and believe, we too can participate in the “songs of thanksgiving” of the people of God.

Should Pronouns referring to God and Jesus be Capitalized?

 Should Pronouns referring to God and Jesus be Capitalized?

Sunday, November 21, 2021

This is one of those “seeker-sensitive” posts. It seeks to answer a question that everyone is asking. Well, not so much. But it did come up in Sunday school last week.

The first task in writing this post is to distinguish the words “capital” and “capitol.” When in doubt, use “capital,” since “capitol” has a narrow usage: “A capitol is a building in which the legislative body of government meets.” The more common word, “capital,” can refer, confusingly, to the county or state seat of government (but not the building they meet in); and, it can refer to capital letters; oh, and it can refer to money, but we don’t talk about money.

Our Old Testament was written in Hebrew. Hebrew does not use capital letters - it’s all one case. Our New Testament was written in Greek, and our ancient Greek texts, the most exact copies of the originals, were also written in all small case. To make it even tougher, they inserted no punctuation, and no spaces in between words.

Our reading is so much easier today in our English Bibles for several reasons. First, it’s in English. That helps. But also, we have chapters and verses so we can find our way around. But that has been inserted by translators. It was not in the original texts. We have noted that some of the chapter and verse divisions are a little clumsy. But helpful. 

Likewise, capital letters have been inserted. According to our customs, the first letter of a sentence is capitalized, as are proper names. This is helpful for our understanding. 

But there is a difference in editing philosophy concerning the capitalization of pronouns (He, Him) with reference to the Father, Son, and Spirit. Some translations do. Some don’t.

I prefer the capitalizations. I think it shows respect. God is in a class far above all other personal references in the Bible. The devil is also “supernatural,” but I don’t capitalize “him.” No respect intended. Also, capitalized pronouns help the reader distinguish who is being to referred to, especially in sentences where there are multiple references using pronouns. I “edit” John Owen and usually capitalize the quotes in the bulletin. Maybe he capitalized, and editors removed. But this is not a test of faith. It’s a modern invention, and we can trust our Bibles, capitalized or not.

A Bigger Point Hiding behind a Smaller Gesture

A Bigger Point Hiding behind a Smaller Gesture

Sunday, November 14, 2021

During the public comment section of John’s funeral, two examples were offered of sincere gratitude for gestures of friendship and neighborliness. Knowing John’s testimony, he would not have wanted the recipients to miss the larger gift; to be blessed, but miss the Blessing.

By “small gesture,” I don’t mean insignificant. These were good things to do aside from other bigger, eternal concerns. But with John, the eternal concerns were never far removed, and so I assume that there was an ulterior motive in his acts of kindness: that these individuals might find Christ.

One gentleman spoke of not taking John up on an invitation to join the marching band, thirty plus years ago. There were both drummers, but back at that time, the young man did not desire to “join no marching band.” He wanted to play drums in a rock band, which he did. But now he realizes that he missed out on something different, maybe better.

But there’s a bigger invitation, to join in a journey with Jesus who is the Way to a restored relationship with God. I can’t know for sure if the conversation reached that level, but how many, on the Last Day, will regret not having responded to an invitation to trust Jesus, received years before, and ignored, perhaps because it was not perceived as cool enough.

John 1:12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

And a neighbor spoke of John donating clothes to him. There were about the same build. John had a liking of the “Dickey” brand of work clothes (I wonder why), and John knew that they would soon be of no use to him. The clothes donation is touching, coming from a neighbor who soon would be absent. But I’ve got to believe that John’s big point was not that his neighbor wear Dickey’s, but that he be clothed in the righteousness of Christ, apart from which we can never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Gal. 3:27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

As we reach out with simple and small acts of goodness and kindness, let us not forget God’s desire that these people discover Christ. And may they not miss the bigger point.

Me and My Shadow

 Me and My Shadow

Sunday, November 07, 2021

There was a song sung many years ago called “Me and My Arrow” that seems like it should have been called “Me and My Arrow.” “Wherever we go, everyone knows, it's me and my (shadow).” And you’ve thought about it before. You cannot get rid of your shadow. It sticks to you, no matter how high you jump, or how fast you run.

Shadows don’t lie. They are an outline of your existence. Oh, they can be distorted, depending on the angle of the light behind you. They can make you appear bigger than life, or downright stumpy. But the fact of your existence is proclaimed by the reality of the shadow.

In other ways, we talk about a person’s “baggage.” It’s their moral shadow. It’s the consequences of actions and experiences that cannot be shaken or evaded. The word “baggage” is most often viewed as negative. But a person can also be known by their accomplishments. They also can be part of the shadow.

There are those who would like to reshape their identity. Many people talk about turning over a new leaf. I’ve known young people who decided to re-name themselves. They make some kind of “deep” change in who they are, but they often find that their most sincere intentions end up being superficial, and they are found to cast the exact same shadow as they did before, because they are, in fact, the same person. The same tendencies. The same desires. The same sins.

What does it take, then, to really change one’s shadow? I would suggest that it has less to do with how you project yourself, and it has more to do with the (L)ight that illumines you. Remember with me that the Bible talks about two sources of light. In Genesis, God commanded the light to shine, and it did! Right there on Day 1 of creation. But it wasn’t until Day 4 that the sun, moon and stars were created. How could there be light before the sun? At the end of the Bible, in Revelation, we find this: And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. (Rev. 21:23)

The world’s light is always going to bind you to your shortcomings and sins. It will not allow you to escape your shadow. But Jesus, the new and true Light of the world, casts a new light in which your sins are erased; the chains fall off. This, as we see Him for who He is and what He has done, and embrace the salvation He offers by faith.