SIMPLY REJOICING 4: Praise and Celebrate with Others

SING FOR JOY
"A song will extend hope and infuse courage." (PL)

FRIDAY, June 13  Impact

“Paul did not have the luxury of today’s technology – computers, Internet, e-mail, smartphones or overnight delivery – yet  even in prison he found a way to communicate grace, encouragement, and instruction to the churches he started on his missionary journeys.  I’m guessing that he had no idea how far-reaching his singing, prayers, and messages would go or how long his letters would be circulated.” (PL p. 95)

          And neither do we.  What we write, what we say, what we do impacts far more than we can ever imagine.  When we put something on the internet, it has the potential to reach millions (MILLIONS!  That’s probably more than even lived on the earth during Paul’s time!)  We will never know. 

          I have twice received a comment or request from someone on the other side of the country regarding one of my drawings or posts.  It comes out of the blue with surprise, yet it reinforces the idea that we don’t know what God will and can do with our efforts, however small they may seem to us. 

          So…keep singing songs of joy!  Keep writing prose of praise!  Keeping drawing scribbles of prayer or contemplation.  Keep sharing the gospel story in whatever way God calls and let God work the miracle from there. 



THURSDAY, June 12  Hogies
"Paul's model prayer for the Philippians includes thanks, requests made with joy, and confidence that God will continue his good work." (PL p. 94 and Philippians 1:6)

     Yesterday I began to envision a life lived devouring a Christian Hogie.  So....what does that looks like?  Well, I imagine the hogie bun (a good whole wheat bun with lots of multi-grain seeds sticking to it!) of morning and evening prayer.  A morning prayer of joyful praise for the new day, for intercession and trust that God will tend to our greatest desires. And then an evening prayer filled with gratitude and thanksgiving for all that God has done during the day.  What is the 'meat' of our hogie, the heart of it all?  Service - hands on work in God's name.   Slices of tomato forgiveness and grace scattered throughout.  Witness by taking advantage of opportunities to plant morsels of God-truth.  Perhaps a cheesy layer of trust and faith that God is ever present in whatever we are doing.  And finally?  Little pickle chips of arrow prayers sent constantly in response to immediate concerns and circumstances. 
       If we devour this kind of sandwich on a daily basis, we are going to be fully satisfied and never hunger.  If we eat this sandwich in community with others, we are building the church....besides it is never fun to eat alone!  

  WEDNESDAY, June 11
Psalm 146: 1-2 MSG
Hallelujah!
    O my soul, praise God!
All my life long I’ll praise God,
    singing songs to my God as long as I live.

Psalm 147:1-2 MSG
Hallelujah!
It’s a good thing to sing praise to our God;
    praise is beautiful, praise is fitting.
     How many of the Psalms begin with a verse of song and praise?  It's a good beginning, both to a prayer, a psalm, a day, or a life!  
"       How to learn the scriptures, to write them on our heart (memorize!)?  We put the verse to music because songs we will remember!  We taught the SS children the verses of the Old Testament with a song, it is the praise songs that use scripture for a text that I remember.  So many passages of scripture, when I read them, come to life in the words of music: arias of Handel's Messiah, Sandy Patti's music, contemporary Christian bands. 
     I am envisioning another sandwich illustration here - a day begun with praise and wrapped up with gratitude.  Come back tomorrow!!!  

TUESDAY, June 10

Philippians 4:4  NIV
Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again: Rejoice!

This is one of the first Scribble I drew! 

     One of my favorite 'short' verses of the Bible!  So a good one to memorize and remember, especially when things aren't going well.  What to do!  Rejoice!  Or, as The Message  puts it, "Celebrate God all day, every day!"  It's an attitude thing.  If we can approach life with this kind of spirit, then the trials will not seem insurmountable.  
     Got a big job on the schedule?  Ask how God can be made known through the task?  Then pray and praise.  It can work miracles!  

OPEN YOUR HEART AND HOME!
"United prayer can change the world." (PL)

MONDAY, June 9
Philippians 4:6 GNT
Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart.
     It's easy to pray and ask God for what we need.  We do it all the time.  We say, "God, this is what I want to happen.  Please do it."  We forget the part about "Your will be done."  We forget to pray for God to do what is best. 
     But we also forget to pray with a thankful heart.  So often our prayers begin with the petition, the 'I wants'.  We enter into prayerful conversation with God in a much better spirit when we begin with our praise and thanksgiving, when we remember to offer our gratitude for all the ways in which God has already been at work in our lives.  
     May I start every prayer with thanks.  I might be amazed at how my prayer changes me right from that point.  I might be amazed by how the whole conversation is altered.  

SUNDAY, June 8 
Acts 16:25-26 VOICE
Picture this: It’s midnight. In the darkness of their cell, Paul and Silas—after surviving the severe beating—aren’t moaning and groaning; they’re praying and singing hymns to God. The prisoners in adjoining cells are wide awake, listening to them pray and sing. 26 Suddenly the ground begins to shake, and the prison foundations begin to crack. You can hear the sound of jangling chains and the squeak of cell doors opening. Every prisoner realizes that his chains have come unfastened.
     Prayer alone with God can be a powerful experience.  But prayer as a community, united by a common concern, can move mountains!  (Or open prison chains!)  Groups are using social media as a source of united prayers....and reports frequently show God at work. (No, the prayers aren't always answered as we request, but God responds!)  
     How open am I to community prayer?  I enjoy drawing the prayer pictures.  Perhaps when I post them on social media they become a community prayer as others read through the names and offer them up to God.  We don't have to pray for a specific outcome, just for God's will and presence to be known!