Morning Devotional: Worship
To worship something is to give it a place of honor or
importance. Worship = worth (of value, importance) + -ship (position).
Human beings are geared to worship: the star athlete, the
talented musician, the charismatic personality, the successful business leader,
the creative author, the generous philanthropist, the intelligent theorist.
When humans fail to impress us, we can always turn to money, power, lust,
success, acceptance, love, adoration. Sometimes we even worship the reflection
in the mirror.
The question, then, is not “Will you worship?” but rather,
“Who or what will be the object of your worship?”
In 1851, Anglican minister Frederick Oakeley wanted his
congregation to have the opportunity to learn and sing a centuries-old Catholic
hymn, so he translated the Latin “Adeste Fidelis” (literally, “Be present or
near, you faithful”) to the carol “O Come All Ye Faithful.” Oakeley knew his
parishioners had the same struggle we face today: those of you who follow Jesus
need to stop and give him top priority.
The entire carol declares that Jesus is worthy of being worshiped:
Verse 1 tells us to visualize Jesus as a baby in the stable.
Verse 2 reminds us that this baby Jesus is truly God
himself.
Verse 3 repeats the song of the angels, “Glory to God! Glory
in the highest!”
Verse 4 is adoration of Jesus as the Word, who was with God
from the beginning of time.
Just as we begin every church service with praise and
worship in order to turn our focus from whoever or whatever has the #1 spot of
worth-ship in our hearts and minds, get in the habit of beginning your prayer
time by declaring Jesus is worthy. Begin and end your Sunday, your every day,
your every prayer, with praise. Remind Jesus (and yourself) that He is Lord.
Reflect:
“O Come, let us adore Him.
O come, let us adore Him.
O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!”
Noon or Mid-day:
Intercession
A quick illustration—don’t panic, it’s easy. I’m going to
take a famous song and give you the first two lines. You fill in the blank with
the next line.
A, B, C, D, E, F, G
H, I, J, K,
_______________
If you’re like most people, you sang the next five letters
as one continuous sound, something like, “el-le-minnow-pee”.
Music therapists, teachers, neurologists, and parents have
long understood that combining words/lyrics/ideas (left brain) and music (right
brain) results in higher memory or recall. That’s why your parents taught you
the alphabet to the tune based on a French folk song from the 1700’s, although
you probably know the tune better as “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”.
It’s also why the longest book in The Bible is a song book,
and why many familiar hymns and praise songs are based on phrases straight from
scripture. By singing scripture, you’re more likely to remember it, not only
the actual verses but, hopefully, the truth behind those verses.
The title and last verse of the Christmas Carol, “O Come, O
Come Emmanuel’ is based on Isaiah 7:14: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and
bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” There are seven verses in the
song, each tells of our longing and desperate need for Christ to make all
things right.
That longing for Christ to make all things right is the sentiment
to have in praying for others.
So why bother with worship? Why not go straight to asking
God to provide, to help, or to fix a situation for ourselves or for those we
love?
Because it’s too easy to focus on the problem and our
inability to fix it. It’s also too easy to lose hope when the answer doesn’t
come as expected or when the answer takes a long time to arrive.
Spend some time praying for others. Click here or here to read through (or sing) the lyrics to “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” and the
names for Christ, each thought with a purpose to give hope to a weary world. Each
time you face the enormity of the circumstances rise up, think on this carol, remember
that God is greater than your helplessness, and praise him. After all,
“Emmanuel” means, “God with us”.
Reflect:
“O Come, O Come Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.”
Evening:
Thanksgiving
As darkness has fallen, I can reflect on the time spent
praying and thinking on the things of God today, and I am thankful. Although I
wait to see how God will answer some of my prayers, and some circumstances remain
just as bleak, I can sing and give thanks with full voice and with great
enthusiasm.
No one can understand this truth better than Heinrich Suso.
In 1326, this Dominican monk wrote a small book, aptly
titled, The Little Book of Truth. His
premise was to present the gospel in clear, common language so any person could
comprehend it and could receive hope and compassion. Instead of receiving
praise, Suso was tried for heresy.
Convinced he was right, Suso defied authority and wrote a
second book,The Little Book of Eternal
Wisdom, which taught the reader using everyday language the wisdom and joy
which comes from following the teachings of scripture. Suso was condemned by
the Pope and exiled from Germany, so he escaped to Switzerland. Although he was
persecuted, slandered, and faced death threats, he never turned his back on the
church and continued to share the gospel and the happiness, peace, and joy he
had found by walking with God.
One night, Suso had a dream in which he saw countless angels
singing and dancing. He listened and joined in the dance with them. When he
woke up, he remembered the details of the dream including the words and the
tune to the song. Feeling led by the Spirit, Frederich Suso recorded the words
to the song from his dream, and “Good Christian Men, Rejoice” was born.
Although never accepted by the church, Suso taught his song
and carried his message to the German people until his death in 1366, and the
people wholeheartedly embraced this song of the joy of Christ.
It would be more than 150 years before “Good Christian Men,
Rejoice” would be printed, but the song was so popular, it inspired other
German writers, including Martin Luther, to compose hymns in the common
language for the common people. Suso’s radical thinking became part of the
foundation for the way most people viewed and continue to view their
relationship to Christ.
James Mason Neale was a priest in England in the mid-1800’s
was one of those who was inspired by Suso’s writings and was filled with the
desire to bring the joy and hope of salvation to every person in his
congregation and beyond.
Unfortunately for Neale, the thought of religion and exuberance
was too radical for church authorities, and he was exiled to a pastorate far
from his native England. Although ridiculed, stoned, and beaten, James Mason
Neale continued to look for ways to reach the lost and the hopeless. In a truly
radical move, he founded the Sisterhood of St. Margaret, an order of women
whose goal was to feed the poor, care for orphans, and minister to prostitutes.
In spite of death threats to himself and the women who
served with him, in 1853 a publisher released Neale’s English translation of
“Good Christian Men, Rejoice!” in a book Carols
for Christmastide, which carried the song all over the world.
As you end your day
today, read through the lyrics to “Good Christian Men, Rejoice!”, and give
thanks for men like Frederich Suso, James Mason Neale, and Martin Luther who
followed the calling to bring the message--and the joy behind the message--of
what it means to know Christ.
Reflect:
"Good
Christian men, rejoice
With heart and soul
and voice;
Give ye heed to what
we say:
News! News!
Jesus Christ is born
today:
Ox and ass before him
bow
And He is in the
manger now.
Christ is born today!
Christ is born today!"
---------------------------------
References:
1.
“O Come All Ye Faithful”-- http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/devotions/Come_Faithful.aspx
2.
“O Come, O Come Immanuel”-- http://www.worshipmap.com/lyrics/storyveni.html
“Good Christian Men Rejoice”-- Collins, Ace. Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs
of Christmas. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001. 58-63. Print.
Thanks to Patsy Weinberg for authoring these meditations.