For Whom Are You Singing? 

I like to read a good novel.  I have a lot of favorites.  Reading a novel is relaxing and refreshing for me.  Every once in a while I come across something said by one of the characters that I find thought provoking.

Recently in the book I was reading the main character is frequently called upon to sing for audiences.  She doesn't enjoy doing so and is very nervous, especially in front of a large audience.  However, she has been blessed with a lovely voice and the ability to give pleasure through her singing.  

As she was sharing her feelings with another character in the book, he asked her who she was singing for.  He told her that since God created her and gave her the voice she had, he enjoyed hearing her sing.  He encouraged her to sing for an audience of One.

This interaction got me thinking.  I have heard many Christians say they do not enjoy praising God through song because they have what they consider to be poor quality voices.  

Consider what God said to Moses at the burning bush: 

"But Moses said to the LORD, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” Then the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?"  Exodus 4:10-11 (ESV)

Moses didn't think much of his speaking ability but God tells him that he is just as God made him.  God takes pleasure in hearing us speak or sing or in seeing us serve just for Him.  

Next time you are tempted to look around and see if anyone is listening to your feeble attempts to praise God in song, remember that you are singing for an audience of one.

When you feel like you can only do something small for the Lord in comparison to what others around you do, remember that you are serving an audience of One.  

We must always strive to give and do our best for our master and we should continually try to improve.  He created us, gave us our voices and abilities and knows what we are capable of.  Let's always joyfully do our best for our audience of One.  He enjoys hearing us!

 NOXIOUS WEEDS

One of the things we really enjoy in Southern Africa is seeing the vibrantly beautiful jacaranda

trees in bloom.  Driving along and seeing those bright spots of vivid, indescribable purple/blue on the hillsides is a highlight of that season.  The trees give lovely shade and provide nesting places for all kinds of birds.  They seem perfect and wonderful.

When we lived in Namibia we had some very large Lantana plants in our yard.  I remember going with my mother to the plant nursery in the spring and purchasing lantana to put in the flower beds.  We loved them and there they were growing wild in Namibia!  I really enjoyed them.

Lantana in our backyard 

What do these two plants have in common?  In South Africa they are considered noxious weeds and you can be fined for planting them.  The Jacaranda has limited areas where it can be planted but outside of those areas it is a big no!  

Another thing they have in common is that they are beautiful.  To us they seem like wonderful parts of God's creation which were created for us to enjoy.  However, they are truly pests and difficult to eradicate once established.

As I was thinking about this I realized that there is a spiritual lesson here for us.  

"How can something that feels so right be wrong?"  "If it feels good, do it."  "If it seems right to you, it can't be wrong."  Common phrases or attitudes in our world today.  Many attitudes and activities seem so beautiful to human beings but they become noxious weeds when planted where they do not belong.  

Jesus takes the planting of those noxious weeds seriously.  In Matthew 18:7-9 he says:

“Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!  And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire.  And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.

What about the weeds of complacency, pride, arrogance?  Remember the Pharisee?  He was thankful he wasn't like the tax collector.  Watch out for the noxious weed of the Pharisee's attitude.  What about the rich, young ruler who tried to justify himself?  Noxious weeds are everywhere.  Don't plant them.

We have to be willing to uproot those weeds in our lives.  As any gardener can tell you weeds are adaptable and persistent.  It is an ongoing process to keep the garden weed free.  The same thing is true of our lives.

 HOW LONG?

Life today is full of bad news.  Headlines shout of evil.  Atrocities are committed throughout the world.  Young people are targeted by wickedness and their lives are forever changed or destroyed.  

We look around and see a man like Putin who orders the murder of those who oppose him and attacks neighbors to destroy.  A man who believes he is above God.  

We see terrorist organizations attacking innocent civilians, often in the name of their misguided religion.  

When will it end?

As Christians we long and look for the return of our Lord when we will be taken home with him where no more evil will ever come.  What a joy to think of.  But in the meantime we are left in this world wondering how long this will go on.

A look at history might help us.  I am sure that Christians during the time of Nero were certain that Jesus would return soon since things were in such a wicked state.  Yet, Nero is long gone and barely remembered.  

During the time of Hitler many were sure the end of the world was near and the Lord would return.  Yet, Hitler is dead and the world goes on.

I am sure you can look back in history and point to many other examples of evil rulers who committed unspeakable things.  But you get the idea.  What we are living through is nothing new, even though to us it is.

A look at Psalm 37 will help us.  The psalm begins by saying, "Do not fret over evildoers."  Oh, how tempting it is to spend time fretting over the evildoers and worrying about their victims.  Yet, we must not fret.  Later in the psalm it says, "Do not fret, it tends only to evil."  We must be careful not to tend toward evil in our lives.  

The psalm tells us that the evildoers will fade like grass.  It says, "In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there."  Like Nero, Hitler and so many more the wicked will disappear and not be found.  

Verse 13 tells us that the Lord laughs at the wicked because he sees what will become of them.  In verse 9 we are told that those who wait on the Lord will inherit the land.  

We do live in an ever-increasingly evil world.  Satan is at work in the lives of so many.  But we must not give up.  We must remember to trust in the Lord.  He is in control.  He will work justice.  

 Fret not yourself because of evildoers;

be not envious of wrongdoers!

2For they will soon fade like the grass

and wither like the green herb.

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;

dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

4 Delight yourself in the Lord,

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him, and he will act.

6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,

and your justice as the noonday.

7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,

over the man who carries out evil devices!

8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!

Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

9 For the evildoers shall be cut off,

but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

10In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;

though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.

11But the meek shall inherit the land

and delight themselves in abundant peace.

12The wicked plots against the righteous

and gnashes his teeth at him,

13but the Lord laughs at the wicked,

for he sees that his day is coming.

Psalm 37:1-13

We must never give up watching and waiting for the Lord's return yet at the same time we must not fret and we must delight ourselves in the Lord.  He will come at the right time and he will work justice.  

Maranatha!  Come, Lord Jesus!