He Sings Over Us

(by Lorie Codispoti)

Rocking a baby is something that comes natural to almost every human being - whether they have children or not. Most parents-to-be include a rocking chair on their nursery wish list. I recall putting many miles on mine, as I had a fussy infant whose health issues kept her from being comforted any other way.

Singing (or humming) almost always accompanies rocking a baby. The two actions go together like babies and crying. My guess is that this practice has been around since the first baby was born.

If I were to ask you what song most people default to, what would be your guess?

Rock A Bye Baby? Yep! It’s the universal hummer.

Some of the lyrics are quite disturbing though … “when the bow breaks the baby will fall, and down will come baby, cradle and all.”

The origin of the song varies from it being a political allegory to the observations of a pilgrim boy as he observed Native American mothers placing infants in cradles made of birch bark attached to low hanging branches. The goal was for the soothing motion of a breeze to gently rock the baby to sleep. Others credit the song to a real life family of tree dwellers in England. Davy Crockett’s cousin publicly claimed she was the author of the song, saying she was inspired after babysitting a fussy child. Whatever its origin, you’d have to agree, it’s a strange nursery rhyme (as most are).

I never liked it, so along with tunes like Jesus Loves Me I made up my own songs as I rocked my baby to sleep.

One of my favorites borrows its lyrics from a verse in the book of Zephaniah. “The LORD your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you in His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” (3:17)

Read that again, slowly!

First of all, there’s no doubt about who the Author is. It’s an absolute, objective proclamation given to the prophet Zephaniah by the God of Scripture. The warning is given and the “day of the Lord” - a day where the sovereign God will deal with the malignant sin problem that plagues humanity - is imminent.

The second thing is that it’s worth singing about. Not because of the doom and gloom predicted, but in that while we read that God will “utterly consume all things from the face of the land” (1:2), He simultaneously extends His mercy to those who humble themselves and repent. God's universal judgement includes cleansing, redemption, and restoration. It always has!

The part I love to ponder is the comfort that comes from knowing that the Creator and Almighty King of the universe, cares enough about us to quiet us with His love, “in the midst” of all the chaos and calamity that can fill our hearts with fear. And, as if that weren’t enough, He rejoices over us with gladness and singing. It’s like He cradles us in His arms and shields us from the surrounding devastation, and then drowns out the noise of all the confusion with His gentle, reassuring voice.

Can you hear Him singing over you?

There’s nothing more soothing than to be held and comforted by someone who loves you. Trusting the outcome of our circumstances to the One who is truly in control not only brings peace to the heart, but it fills the mind with the assurance we need to fully rest in His care.

When the bow of this world breaks, and the cradle of chaos falls, make sure you are tethered to the One whose arms remain steadfast and secure.

GloryUsGate.blogspot.com

Begin With The End

(by Lorie Codispoti)

If we put all the things we start in one of the pan holders of an imaginary scale, and then compared them to the pan on the other side - the side that holds all the things we finish - would the scale be balanced?

I can’t speak for you, but my scale is rarely symmetrical these days. Too many times my starts rest comfortably on the floor while my finishes dangle in midair.

Anyone else feel this way?

In Steven Covey’s book, The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People, the second habit is to “begin with the end in mind.” He explains it this way: “To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you’re going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.”

Wait! I did that once.

When we started homeschooling in 1984, there wasn’t much out there by way of teacher resources or curriculum. My son was starting kindergarten and I had no idea what a scope and sequence was, much less what kindergartners were supposed to learn. So, I did what seemed reasonable - after crying out to God for HELP! I asked myself what I wanted to accomplish by the end of the year, and determined that I wanted him to know how to read, to add & subtract, and to tell time. Those skills doable for me to teach and my son to learn. And, guess what? It was highly effective. I spent the next 15 years of homeschooling developing and following this habit (without even knowing about Covey’s book), until both my children graduated.

So, what tipped the scale, taking me from a focused, organized planner to someone who has a hard time focusing on one thing long enough to complete it? Sometimes I feel like I’ve morphed into a squirrel who woke up one morning and realized there was more than one oak tree in the forrest.

It’s hard to say, as I think there are several contributing factors, but my finishes have had a hard time keeping up with my starts. I've always had an active imagination, but something has fed my curiosity with steroid laced acorns and I find myself wanting to capture every one that falls and rolls across the ground. Some call this chasing rabbit trails, but that’s only because they’ve never watched a squirrel dart around like it doesn't know where it's going, or how to get there if it did.

The biggest problem is that the proverbal acorns never stop falling so I’m never finished collecting them. Then there’s the pressure of trying to remember where you buried the boatload you did manage to collect as you scurried about. But that’s a whole other forrest to traverse so I’ll save that ground for another article.

The solution seems to be in going back to what worked before. If I start by loading the “finish” side of my scale first, then I’ll take the time necessary to think through and formulate a doable plan for the “start” side of the scale, without being overwhelmed by all the options and possibilities.

Perhaps that will be of some help to you other squirrels out there. Just don’t let anyone try to convince you that acorns are not the only nut squirrels like to eat. You certainly won’t hear that from me.

Two Camps

(by Lorie Codispoti)

Even those who claim no religious affiliation believe in something, because faith is universal. The fact that there are over 10,000 distinct world religions supports this idea.

If you are an Omnist it means you possess a belief in many gods.

Famous actress Ellen Burstyne says, ”I am a spirit opening to the truth that lives in all of these religions…” and notes that she prays to many gods, including Jesus, depending on her need. An Omnist recognizes that Jesus is God, but that He is one among many to chose from.

Ms. Burstyne’s cover-all-the-bases approach is nothing new. It’s simply a repackaging of “enlightened” beliefs that have been around for centuries. I call it the alphabet soup approach - mixing all the gods together and spooning up whatever one feels palatable.

POSSESSION

History records a fascinating story in the book of First Samuel.

The Israelites had just lost 4,000 men in a battle with the Philistines. As they were evaluating what went wrong, they concluded that the reason they lost the battle was because they didn’t have the Ark of The Covenant in their possession. So they determined to retrieve it for the next battle.

As they witnessed the Ark coming into their camp they began to shout. The noise was loud enough that the Philistines could hear it from their camp. The Bible notes that the noise was so powerful that it literally caused the earth to shake.

Throughout the Philistine camp, terror spread quickly, and out of fear they began to proclaim, “God is come into the camp…” (1Sam.4:7)

Question: Does this mean that the Philistines were shaking in their sandals from a newfound fear of Israel’s God? One might get that impression, but the next verse confirms that this was just another god to them.

“Woe to us… who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods?” (1Sam.4:8) The word used for “gods” here is “Elohim,” which is a generic term used to describe any disembodied spiritual being.

The Philistines were afraid because they sensed a company of Elohim. (Author and scholar, Michael Heiser, in his book, Demons: What the Bible Really Says About The Powers of Darkness, says this about the Elohim: “Yahweh is an Elohim, but no other Elohim is Yahweh.”) This insight is helpful to understand the next puzzling thing that happens in the story.

SOMETHING WENT WRONG

Not only was Israel’s army pummeled in the next battle - losing 30,000 foot soldiers - but the Philistines captured the very thing Israel thought would secure their win (The Ark of The Covenant).

If the Ark represented God’s presence, and the Israelites possessed it, what happened? Surely, securing it meant victory over their enemy, like it always had, right?

Not this time! Something significant made this battle different.

Israel lost to the Philistines because they had embraced the worship of many gods. Yahweh and His Ark had become an iconic symbol they had added to their collection of good luck charms.

MAKE IT RIGHT

Thankfully, God did not leave them to self-destruct. He sent the prophet Samuel to call them out and he rebuked their omnistic behavior (1Sam.7:3). The Israelites paid a hefty price for their sin, but they also heeded Samuel’s word and repented of their idolatry.

When we assume that God’s presence is with us, simply because we possess a religious icon, we’ve deluded ourselves. I’ve known people who believe that if they wear a cross necklace or hang a St. Christopher from their rear view mirror, nothing bad will happen to them; as if these icons have some kind of mystical powers.

The Ark of the Covenant was a representation of God’s presence in the Old Testament; it gave the Israelites access to Him. It was a type of what was to come - Jesus Christ. God’s presence now dwells inside every believer, giving us access to a holy God, who maintains the same desire He’s always had - to be with us and have a relationship with us. (That fact alone should blow your mind.) No other god, from any other religion, can say that.

No one knows what happened to the Ark, and from the time it was lost people have been searching for it (and making movies about it). But, did you know that we will see it again? At the end of the age, when all the nations are judged. Revelation 11:19 says, “Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the Ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.”

What do you know - another ground shaking!

There may be over 10,000 world religions, but there is only One God who can hear you. And He responds to everyone who cries out and puts their faith in Him.

Which camp do you reside in?

If you possess a belief in many gods (Omnism), and think you’ve secured your fate by incorporating a little of this religion and a little of that religion; if you’ve bought into the idea that an “anointed” handkerchief is going to secure your victory over whatever ails you; if you think kissing the feet of a statue, twirling a drum, or offering sacrifices to Mother Earth is going to secure your position on the winning side, I implore you to heed the words of the prophet Samuel, “If you return to the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the LORD, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” (7:3)

Don’t wait any longer. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2Cor.6:2)

GloryUsGate.blogspot.com