A Hymn for Everyone
The Weatherman’s Hymn—There Shall Be Showers of Blessings
The Contractor’s Hymn—The Church’s One Foundation
The Tailor’s Hymn—Holy, Holy, Holy
The Politician’s Hymn—Standing on the Promises
The Optometrist’s Hymn—Open My Eyes That I May See
The IRS Agent’s Hymn—I Surrender All
The Electrician’s Hymn—I Saw the Light
The Shopper’s Hymn—Sweet Bye and Bye
The Realtor’s Hymn—I’ve Got a Mansion, Just Over the Hilltop
The Doctor’s Hymn—The Great Physician
While this list is humorously tongue-in-cheek, the reality is that the music of the faith has been more than just a vehicle of worship and adoration; it has been a great source of instruction, encouragement, comfort, and hope from the beginning, first to the Jews and then to the church. From the songs of Moses, to the Psalms, to the Magnificat, to the traditional hymns, to modern praise choruses, they all speak timeless truths, and there is literally something that speaks to everyone.
"Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart ..." (Ephesians 5:19, ESV).
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God" (Colossians 3:16, ESV).
"I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being" (Psalm 104:33, ESV).
We Are Obsessed With Our Phones
Network World reports:
We’re obsessed with our phones, a new study has found. The heaviest smartphone users click, tap or swipe on their phone 5,427 times a day, according to researcher Dscout.
That’s the top 10 percent of phone users, so one would expect it to be excessive. However, the rest of us still touch the addictive things 2,617 times a day on average. No small number.
The research firm, which specializes in consumer reactions to products, recruited 94 Android device users and installed special software on their smartphones. The tool tracked each user’s “interaction” over five days, all day, the company says in a blog post on its website.
“And by every interaction, we mean every tap, type, swipe and click. We’re calling them touches,” it explains.
Averaging out the numbers, the aforementioned figures mean the heaviest users are touching their devices a couple of million times in one year, Dscout says.
... Probably the most interesting thing in all this was that the people surveyed completely underestimated their phone touching. While they were initially shocked by the numbers, 41 percent said “it probably won’t change the way I use my phone.”
How many taps, types, swipes and clicks take place between you and God in a day?
If the number of times you were in contact with God on a daily basis could be tracked, would you be shocked by the result? Would it be because of how often, or, how infrequently you reached out to Him?
"Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded" (James 4:8).
“You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place” (Revelation 2:3-5).
Eating Opens the Appetite
In Milan it is customary to enjoy an aperitif with some antipasti an hour or so before a meal. The word for this casual cocktail comes from the Latin meaning "to open." For these Italians, it is expected that the larger meal will be more heartily enjoyed when one opens the appetite with a drink accompanied by some olives, peanuts, or potato chips.
This is certainly true in corporate worship. The larger meal of spiritual sustenance is more heartily enjoyed when one opens the appetite by singing songs of praise. Worship opens the heart to receive the nourishment the comes through the preaching of God's Word.
"Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation" (1 Peter 2:2).