If you have been following this series on various hymns and their sometimes mysterious meanings, we will take a bit of a detour today with something that has worried me a lot lately.

            With the proliferation of more modern hymns, especially those called “praise songs,” I have started wondering if we have completely lost our understanding of the purpose of singing.  It isn’t “because I like the tune,” or “the beat.”  It isn’t “because it makes me feel good.”  Singing in the services is not, not, not, capital N-O-T, not done to please ourselves.  Singing is part of our worship of God and therefore to please Him, and it is an extremely important part of our teaching.  After all, how did you learn your alphabet?  You sang it until you had it memorized.  I am sure that is true of most of your Bible class memory work too—the twelve apostles, the books of the Bible, the sons of Jacob—you learned by singing.

            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. Col 3:16

            What is it then, brethren? When ye come together, each one hath a psalm, hath a teaching, hath a revelation, hath a tongue, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. 1Cor 14:26

            Yes, I can also find verses that tell us to praise God in song (e.g., Psalm 100:2; James 5:13).  When I was a child we had about a six hymn repertoire of praise songs.  But just like usual, that old pendulum has swung way too far and now that’s just about all some of us sing. 

            As I was going through some old hymnals recently I found a hymn that stopped me in my tracks.  Read these lyrics and then think about a few things with me:

And Yet You’re Sinning Still
By J. G. Dailey
(inside cover – The Life of Victory by Meade MacGuire)

When Moses led his people from Egypt’s sunny plain,
From bondage sore and grievous, from hardship, toil, and plain.
They soon began to murmur against the sovereign will;
Forgetting God’s deliverance, we find them sinning still.

When Moses on the mountain had talked with God alone,
Receiving His commandments on tables made of stone,
The people brought their jewels, the sacrifice did kill,
The golden calf they worshiped, and kept on sinning still.

How often when your dear ones were lying near to death,
You earnestly entreated with every passing breath,
“O Father, spare my darling, and I will do Thy will!”
Your prayer was heard and answered, and yet you’re sinning still.

When sickness overtook you, when sorely racked with pain,
You said if God would spare you, you’d bear the cross again;
He gave you strength of body. He gave you strength of will,
But you forgot your promise, and you are sinning still.

How graciously the Savior has lengthened out your days!
His mercy, never ending, is guiding all your ways.
O brother, heed the warning, your broken vows fulfill,
Lest death should overtake you, and find you sinning still.

Chorus:
Oh, flee the wrath impending, and learn His gracious will,
Lest Jesus, coming quickly, should find you sinning still!

            Trust me as a musician when I say the music to this song is pleasant and easy to sing.  Now ask yourself this question:  how well would this go over if you sang it in your assembly this coming Sunday?  I have a feeling more than one group would want to run the song leader out on a rail.  Who would want to sing such harsh accusations to one another?  Who would want to be forced to really look at their lives?  Who would want to face up to their hypocrisy, a hypocrisy we all practice occasionally when we excuse our behavior with a “That’s different?”  Who among us really wants admonition after all, even if God did say that was an important purpose in singing (Col 3:16)?

            Look at the songs you sing this coming Sunday.  If you strike out all the repetitious phrases, how much “meat” are you really singing to one another?  Or is it just a bunch of feel good fluff?  How many times is it a matter of patting your feet instead of buffeting your body?  How many times do we want to lift our spirits instead of bowing our hearts in repentance?          No, we had rather sing songs we like, songs that pat us on the back and make us feel good.  We all want to be told we are just fine and nothing needs to change at all.

            “Teaching and admonishing one another,” God said.  “Let all things be done unto edifying,” He added.  Sometimes those things are painful.  You cannot anesthetize yourself to that pain and think it will still do you any good.  Godly repentance includes sorrow, Paul tells us.  We need to add that to our repertoire too.
 
Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. Ps 51:13-14
 
To find the music go to: 
http://remnant-online.com/smf/index.php?topic=15818.0
 
Dene Ward

“By Christ Redeemed” is a Lord’s Supper hymn, specifically designed for that purpose by the author of the words, George Rawson.  Rawson was born in Leeds, England on June 5, 1807, and practiced law there for many years.  He wrote several hymns and helped compile at least one collection.  His hymns are known for refinement of thought and propriety of language.  In today’s atmosphere of informality in every place and circumstance, that may be why we seldom sing them any longer.  And it is our loss.

            We did sing this particular hymn not long ago, the first time in years, and I noticed a somewhat puzzling phrase in what was our third, and last verse (he originally wrote six verses).

          And thus that dark betrayal night
          with the last advent we unite,
          by one bright chain of loving rite,
          until he come.

With what “advent” do we “unite” and how?


            An advent is an arrival or a coming.  The disciples were told as Jesus ascended, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” Acts 1:11.  Paul adds in 1 Cor 11:26, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.” It is the coming of the Lord that we are speaking of and we are to take the Lord’s Supper on a regular basis until that happens.

            Paul says this in a context of unity that begins earlier than chapter 11—we are all one body and therefore we partake of the one bread.  If you follow carefully through several chapters, you will see that the “body” we are supposed to be “discerning” is the Lord’s body, the church.  We are communing not just with the Lord, but with each other.  Why else would it matter that we are to do it “When we are come together?”  When we tuck our noses into our navels and ignore one another as the plates are passed, we are missing the point.  Taking the Supper should unite us as we consider that we were all sinners and we were all saved by the same sacrifice. 

           And far more profound is this:  we are also connecting with our spiritual ancestors.  Each of us, as we take the Lord’s Supper, unite with a long chain of believers, hundreds of thousands—perhaps even millions by this time--in showing our faith that he will indeed come again.
 
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words. 1Thess 4:16-18
 
Dene Ward

I learned a long time ago that any position of authority comes with more responsibility than the right to wear the title is worth.  As head of the string section of our district competition, having to deal with teachers who would stalk the judges if their students did not get the ratings they thought they deserved (anything less than a superior regardless how they performed), I had to learn how to confront those same teachers while cajoling judges to return even after the word had spread about the unprofessional behavior in our district.  I had to deal with parents who wanted their child to be the exception to every rule.  I had to decide when an exception was truly warranted and when it wasn’t, then live with the flak my decision caused. 

            When I was appointed head of the vocal department for the state competition, things just got worse.  Everyone knew how to do my job better than I did, even if they had never had a voice lesson in their lives.  They might think that diphthongs were women’s underwear, but they could judge a voice better than a man with a doctorate in vocal performance and 20 years experience on the stage.

            The more authority you have, the more responsibility you have, and the more troubles are laid at your door.  Anyone who goes around looking for it had better love the cause since s/he will get far more grief than s/he ever bargained for.  And that is only right because headship is not about privilege; it is about doing what is best for those in your charge, even when it isn’t what you really want to do.

            Miriam forgot that.  Miriam found herself leader of those Israelite women who fled Egypt along with their men.  After the victory at the Red Sea, she led them in song, praising God for their victory.  God also made her one of His prophetesses.  Micah makes it plain that God considered her a leader:  For I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage; and I sent before you Moses, and Aaron, and Miriam, (6:4).

            But Miriam was not happy with her calling.  In Numbers 12:2 she and Aaron came before God and dared to say, Has Jehovah indeed spoken only with Moses?  Has he not also spoken with us?  Notice in verse 1 that Miriam’s name is listed first, which usually means something in the scriptures.  In addition I found at least one commentary that says the literal Hebrew in that verse is, “And she spake, Miriam and Aaron, against Moses,” making it clear that Miriam was the ringleader of this little rebellion.

            Miriam was not satisfied with the place of honor God gave her—it wasn’t enough.  She could tell that God held Moses in higher esteem, even than her brother Aaron, and she was not happy about it.  Yet she had proved that she was not capable of handling the responsibilities of the job.

            In Exodus 32, when Moses left the people in her and Aaron’s charge, she allowed them to make the golden calf.  How did she allow it?  By saying nothing.  As a leader she should have spoken out against their sin.  God expects that of any leader, and she failed miserably.  No, Aaron did not do any better, but then was he the one who complained in Numbers 12?  No, he just went right along with it like he did in Exodus 32.  Nothing about Aaron changed from one time to the next.  Miriam’s complete failure to even try to stem the tide of idolatry at the foot of Mt Sinai showed her unfit to be a leader of God’s people.  For her to then come along and demand that position in Numbers 12 showed that she wasn’t even perceptive enough to see her own failures, much less lead a group that failed over and over in the years that followed.  It also shows that she sought the honor rather than the responsibility of leadership.

            So what does God expect of us? 

            How does a man react to his selection as an elder?  Does he follow the path of least resistance when it is time to make a decision?  Does he avoid making a decision at all, hoping to dodge unpleasant consequences?  Or does he make the tough decisions that are best for the good of those he shepherds, even knowing it will cause him problems with those same people?

            How does a man handle the headship of his family?  Is it all about getting to do things his way, and only his way?  Is it about telling everyone else what they should be doing, while sitting around being waited on?  Or does he do what is best for each member of his family, even if it makes more work and worry for him?  Does he understand that God holds him accountable for the success or failure of his family?

            How about an older woman in the church, in a family, in a community?  Does she stand for the truth in whatever capacity she finds herself?  Is she strong enough to do right even when it isn’t popular, or when it causes her personal pain?  Can she remove herself and her feelings far enough from a situation to see the problems and help solve them, even if it means others will disagree?  Can she stand for the truth even when it breaks her heart?

            Too many people desire the perks and not the works.  Jesus came looking for servants at every level, not just the bottom rung of the ladder, and those servants are judged by the deeds they do, not the glory they receive from men.  Be careful what you wish for.
 
Likewise you younger, be subject to the elder.  Yea all of you gird yourselves with humility that you may serve one another.  For God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble 1 Pet 5:5.
 
Dene Ward

Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me,
All His wonderful passion and purity.
May His Spirit divine all my being refine
Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.

When your burden is heavy and hard to bear
When your neighbors refuse all your load to share
When you're feeling so blue, Don't know just what to do
Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in you.

When somebody has been so unkind to you,
Some word spoken that pierces you through and through.
Think how He was beguiled, spat upon and reviled,
Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in you

From the dawn of the morning till close of day,
In example in deeds and in all you say,
Lay your gifts at His feet, ever strive to keep sweet
Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in you.
 
            This one will probably go in a direction you never expected.  Look at the third verse.  Read it through once, twice, or as many times as it takes to find the problem. 

            If you haven’t found it after half a dozen readings, don’t be too hard on yourself.  After all, I sang this song for five decades before I saw it.  Will it help to tell you the problem is in the third line of that verse?

            Hardly anyone I have spoken to sees it.  But tell me this, when was Jesus ever “beguiled?”  I have checked over half a dozen dictionaries, and that word always has something to do with being “deceived.”  Look at 2 Cor 11:3:  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness...

            I looked up every usage of that Greek word in the New Testament (5) and they all mean the same thing, sometimes even translated “deceived.”  In fact, Rom 7:11, says sin beguiled us.  Now tell me that has anything at all to do with our Lord.

            What I really do not understand is the extent people will go to in order to make this lyric scriptural.  One person frantically searched more and more dictionaries until he found some “forty-fifth” definition that might possibly make the word mean something besides deception.  But tell me, is it a good word choice if I have to stand on my head and do cartwheels in order to find anything that will make the concept correct, when the easy, normal use of the word is anything but?  Why would anyone be so desperate to prove a hymn written by a man did not have an error in it?  (No, he was not related to the man.) 

            I find I cannot sing that line in the song any longer.  The rest is perfectly fine and full of wonderful thoughts and I sing them “with the spirit and the understanding.” 

            But all this trouble over one word makes me wonder what else we try to hang onto that might be a whole lot more important.  We have things to say about friends and neighbors who cannot seem to let go of a doctrine they have believed all their lives, even when we show them a clear passage on the subject.  Maybe it’s time to ask ourselves if we would really be any better.
 
But I am afraid that as the serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 2Cor 11:3
 
Dene Ward

I started taking piano lessons when I was about seven years old.  It was not “formal” training in a studio, but just a few lessons from a friend of my mother’s to see if I was interested.  I still remember the first lesson, the first book I had, and the first tune in it.  “C-D-E made a boat; round and round the pond he’d float.”
 
           A few months later this friend told my parents I needed a “real” teacher.  Frankly, I think she was just fine as a teacher.  I learned the keys, the notes, and how to count in a few short weeks, but she insisted so off we went. 

            My next teacher had recitals.  I still remember that first recital too, and I can still play my first recital piece:  “Arab Horsemen” by Hazel Cobb.  Those horsemen were a long way from the guy named “CDE” and his boat.  Instead of one hand playing three notes, I had both hands running over six octaves on the piano, and a whole page played with my arms crossed!

            As I sat in the student row waiting my turn to play I saw other students wringing their hands or wiping sweat off their palms onto their skirts or pants.  What was the problem, I wondered?  It never dawned on me that they were nervous about playing in front of people.  I wasn’t nervous.  I knew my piece and could play it flawlessly.  What was the big deal?

            A few years later we had moved and the new teacher entered me in a talent competition in the County Fair.  Once again I was mystified by the nervous entrants around me.  I had a great piece and knew it inside and out.  I had spent three hours one particular day analyzing every note, every nuance of phrase, and every dynamic marking.  I got up and played it, and won a blue ribbon. 

            The next year I entered another competition.  This time the piece was more difficult.  It was written only a year or two before by Aaron Copland, a contemporary American composer.  It did not make much sense to my classically oriented ear.  Going from this note to the next seemed totally at random to me and I had a difficult time memorizing it.  But the rules for that category said I had to play it.  

            For the first time in my life I was not comfortable waiting my turn.  Then when I got up to play, it happened--I went totally blank.  I could not even start the piece.  The judges were kind.  They let me look at the first line.  Then I walked back to the piano and my daily practice automatically kicked in.  I played it perfectly, and aced the Beethoven rondo that followed.  In fact, Beethoven felt like an old friend at that point.

            Ever since that day I have experienced what everyone else does—performance anxiety.  I played a solo professional recital once and was sick to my stomach about five minutes before I walked on.  That one time when I forgot what to play has never left me.  From then on I knew I was as mortal as anyone and I always wondered when it would happen again.  Actually it did happen once in the middle of my senior recital, a requirement for a degree in music education.  I was playing a sonata and made up about four bars on the second page of the first movement before Haydn’s music found its way back into my hands.  Good thing you get points for covering up a slip when you perform.  I still got my A.

            Can you imagine how those apostles felt when Jesus, the one they had always counted on to have the right answer at the right time suddenly left them?  He knew what would happen and gave them this promise:  And when they bring you to trial and deliver you up, be not anxious beforehand what you are to say but say whatever is given you to say, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit, Mark 13:11.  Can you imagine a more comforting promise?  I suppose that is why I have always had difficulties with those who claim that Paul misspoke in Acts 23:3, and that he had to apologize.  Don’t they believe that God kept His promise to these brave men?  Try reading what Paul said with the same tone Elijah must surely have had when he spoke to the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18.  It wouldn’t be the first time that God used sarcasm through the voice of a man.  Either that or He broke His promise to Paul; you can’t have it both ways.

            Wouldn’t it be great to have that promise today?  But wait a minute--in a way we do.  Those men did not have the written word.  Paul himself promised that one day the gifts that allowed one to prophesy a part and another to prophesy another part would be done away because the entire revelation would be “perfect,” complete in all details (1 Cor 13:8-12.  That is what we have—the whole shebang.

            So why do we experience performance anxiety when someone asks a question, or when it comes time to speak up in the face of false teaching?  Is it because we are just a little anxious about choosing exactly the right way to say it, or is it because we didn’t prepare ourselves with daily practice, analyzing and memorizing?  One is understandable, the other is inexcusable.  We may not have all the answers on the tips of our tongues as they did, but we have the source of those answers if we will just take the time to look.  “I don’t know, but I can find out,” may be a better testimony than acting like we do know it all.  It tells our friends, if an ordinary guy like him can find it, so can I.

            Those 13 men never knew when they would be called upon to speak up for God.  We don’t either.  Start practicing what to say; start considering all the possibilities. God has given you what you need, but it’s up to you to make use of it.
 
I will hope continually and praise you yet more and more.  My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day for their number is past my knowledge.  With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come; I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.  Psalm 71:14-16.
 
Dene Ward
           
 

When I was a child, my piano teacher was a member of an organization, the benefits of which allowed her students to participate in several events, competitions, and joint recitals.  Fast forward twenty years and, as a piano and voice teacher myself, I rediscovered that organization and joined for the sake of my own students—and they ate it up.
 
           The stated purpose of the organization is “furthering music education and fostering a musical environment in our communities through the sponsorship of musical events and by providing performing opportunities for our talented and deserving young people.”  In other words, it is a service organization in the area of music.  It’s all about the cultural welfare of the community and the patronage of young artists.

            But as wonderful as that sounds, not every member “got it.”  As I became more and more involved at higher (district) and higher (state) levels, politics and self-aggrandizement reared their ugly heads.  Let me give you an example. 

            In their goal to spread music in the communities, local groups were encouraged to present programs open to the public in several areas, opera, dance, American composers, women composers among them.  And as motivation a plaque was awarded to the group who had done the best in each category based upon written reports sent to State Chairmen, complete with printed programs, photographs, and news items.

            One year I was one of those chairmen.  I received a dozen reports of outstanding programs all across the state in the opera category.  Truly every group deserved recognition for their efforts.  In fact, I could have easily made a case for the smallest group, and a rural one at that, because for their lack of resources both monetary and talent, their creativity in making opera palatable to a less cultured area of the state had been astounding.  But of course, it was not quite up to the big city group who had staged a full opera nor the other urban organization who had managed to coax nationally acclaimed Met stars to appear.

            At the weekend of the awards I could not make the trip five hours south.  My husband had been shot in the line of duty and besides caring for him, I was also fending off the media and arranging appointments with doctors and lawyers and counselors.  So I sent my choice of winner and a letter of explanation for my absence.

            At nearly ten o’clock that evening I received a phone call from a member of one of the big city groups.  At first I thought, “How sweet.  Yes, it’s late, but she has just heard about our ordeal and is calling to check on us.”  But no, that was the last thing on her mind, if it was at all.  These were the first words out of her mouth:

            “I called to ask why we didn’t win the plaque this year.”

            Clearly this woman did not share the same goals as this organization.  To her it was about acclaim, about winning prizes, about being number one among her brothers and sisters.  And just as clearly, other people’s problems, no matter how dire, did not matter to her one bit.

            I hope that little story makes you shake your head in disgust, and after you have done that, ask yourself these questions:

            Why am I a Christian?

            Do I serve others?

            Do I do things for the church I assemble with, serving in whatever
capacity is needed?

            And more to the point:

Have I ever been miffed because MY name wasn’t mentioned?

            Have I ever stopped speaking to someone who did not thank me as I thought I deserved?

            Have I ever stopped visiting or calling or helping someone who didn’t return the favor?

            Maybe we all need to remember the example the Lord set, not just that one night in the upper room washing even Judas’s feet, or even those hours on the cross, but every morning he opened his eyes on this earth among people who hated him, ridiculed him, assaulted him, tried to kill him, and eventually did.  And we need to remember why he did it.  It certainly wasn’t for a plaque!

            This organization he set up, the one he called “mine” (Matt 16:18) has a purpose that has nothing to do with my glory.  It is the greatest purpose of any group anywhere—the salvation of mankind, no matter what it takes from me in terms of service or sacrifice. 

            Yes, if we are faithful we will receive a prize.  But if the prize is the only reason we are doing it, then the prize is the very thing we will not receive.
 
So I endure all things for the sake of those chosen by God, that they too may obtain salvation in Christ Jesus and its eternal glory. 2Tim 2:10
 
Dene Ward

​            Once I heard a misguided soul talking about the old hymns with more than a little scorn.  He said something on the order of this: “We need to get rid of these old things and their old-fashioned language.  Who in the world even knows what an Ebenezer is anyway?”
            Of course he was referring to the old standard with the line, “Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by thy help I’ve come.”  Now he has a point.  How many of us sing that line, violating the injunction to “sing with the understanding,” found in 1 Cor 14?  The solution though, is not to get rid of the song, but to educate our understanding.  The song is straight out of the scriptures, yet because I don’t know what it means am I to cut that word out of my Bible?  No, I am to study the word of God and learn what it means.
            The Israelites had been worshipping idols again, and the Philistines conquered them.  Finally, after twenty years, Samuel brought them to repentance, and God helped them fight and win against those perennial foes.  To memorialize the victory, Samuel raised a stone and called it Eben-ezer, the stone of help.  With God’s help they had conquered their enemies.  Isn’t that how we conquer ours?  Isn’t it with God’s help that we can defeat the devil and overcome sin?  We should raise an Ebenezer in our lives to remind us of the help God gives us every day of our lives.  Now go sing that song with understanding, don’t just get rid of it.
            Yet, while I knew the Ebenezer story, that whole incident reminded me that I often sing other songs and think, “What does that mean?  I need to look it up,” and then I go away and forget to do just that. 
            Do you sing the song with the line, “Lord Sabaoth his name, from age to age the same?”  All my childhood I thought people just didn’t know how to spell Sabbath correctly.  But finally one day several years ago, after singing that line over and over and meaning to go look it up, I finally remembered and did. 
            “Sabaoth” means “armies” or “hosts.”  Whenever we say “Lord of hosts” we are simply translating Lord Sabaoth to English.  In fact, many newer translations do exactly that.  But to me there is something more awesome and reverential about the ancient word “Sabaoth” than the simple word “armies” or “hosts.”  Maybe it is because those words are often used to refer to a nation’s army, while the other always and only refers to God’s army--and what an army it is!  That word reminds me that He is the one who is supreme over all the innumerable hosts of spiritual armies, armies we could not fight against no matter the number of our soldiers or the strength of our weapons.  Isn’t the commander of that army far more powerful than anything we can imagine?
            And doesn’t that make you feel far more secure as His child?  Doesn’t His promise of help (Ebenezer) and vengeance on our behalf with his spiritual army (Sabaoth) seem more certain, and more powerful?  And don’t you want to make sure that you are not on the receiving end of that vengeance?  James promised that when those who have been defrauded cry to God, that Lord of Sabaoth will hear.  I would shiver in my boots if I were the one doing the defrauding but shout from reassurance if I knew that army would be fighting on my behalf.
            So the next time you sing a song you don’t really understand, don’t just throw away the song.  Look it up.  Study a little.  (You’re supposed to be doing that anyway!)  Maybe you will find strength in the discoveries you make about the powerful God you serve, and that strength will help you live a better life today.
 
Who is the king of glory?  The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.  Lift up your heads, oh gates, even lift up everlasting doors, and the king of glory shall come in.  Who is the king of glory?  The LORD of hosts [Lord Sabaoth], he is the king of glory.  Selah.  Psalm 24:8-10.
 
Dene Ward

More than once I have been outside weeding and accidentally pulled up a fistful of thorns.  Usually it’s a blackberry vine, though stinging nettles are not far behind on the list.  Either one makes for pain and blood loss for at least a little while and I try hard to look a little closer before the next pull.
 
           Not too long ago I saw a picture of a plant called “Crown of Thorns.”  It’s an import to our country, a type of cactus, but one that is notoriously picky about its surroundings.  You can only grow it in Zone 10 or higher, but once you get it going, it’s nearly impossible to kill.  It is heat and drought tolerant.  Long after other houseplants would have died from neglect, it will even bloom.

            The photos I saw made me think of the crown of thorns we are familiar with as Christians, the one the soldiers wove and placed upon Jesus’ head.  I doubt it was the same plant, but it looked as I imagined that one would, a thick stem covered with long sharp spines.  I cannot even imagine trying to weave the thing without leaving yourself a bloody mess.
 
           We sing a song with these lyrics by William Featherston:

1. My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
   For Thee all the follies of sin I resign;
   My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;
   If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
2. I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me,
   And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree;
   I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
   If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
3. I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,
   And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
   And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,
   If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
   
4. In mansions of glory and endless delight,
   I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;
   I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow,
   If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
   

I missed it all my life until Keith pointed out the thirds lines of verses 2 and 4.  “I love thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow,” and, “I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow.”  Jesus wore a crown of thorns so I could wear a crown of glory.  If it was anything like those plants I saw, it was a bigger sacrifice than one might ever have thought, but the symbolism is profound because everything he went through that horrible night was for me.  And you.  Even that prickly crown.

Now, as his disciples, what sort of crown am I willing to wear for others?  Can I, as the Corinthians were chided to do, give up my liberties?  Can I concede a point even if I know I am right because in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter?  Can I stop an argument instead of continuing one?  Can I let someone else have the last word?

Can I give up my time and convenience for the sake of someone who needs an encouraging word?  Can I skip a meal to visit the lonely?  Can I miss a ball game to hold a Bible study?

Can I stay up a little later to pray a little longer?  Can I turn off the TV to spend some time in the Word?  Can I make teaching my children about God a priority instead of something we just try to fit in when we can?

None of those things will cause the kind of bloodletting those thorns did, but if I cannot even do those paltry things, how can I even hope to wear that “glittering crown on my brow?”  If that makes me uncomfortable and ashamed, good.  That’s why we sing those songs.  They are to teach and admonish, not produce feel-good pep rallies.

When I am weeding in the garden, I do my best to avoid the thorns.  Maybe in life, I should be out there looking for a few to wear.
 
And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe, John 19:2

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing, 2Tim 4:7-8.
 
Dene Ward

I make a shopping list every week.  When you live thirty miles from town and the price of gas has risen so high, you learn to plan.  Running up to the store for a forgotten item is not in the works.
             I know what I am going to cook each night that week, what I need for each dish, what is missing from the staples in the pantry, and what is on sale where before I leave the house.  Keith and I also spend a few minutes the evening before trying to think of every other piece of business I can take care of in the same trip.  Used to be I had to make as many stops as the grocery store, the pharmacy, the dry cleaners, the bank, the discount store, the music store, and the office supply store, then fit the women’s Bible study in there somewhere, making certain I accomplished everything in time to be home, unloaded, dinner either in the oven or the crockpot or everything set out for a quick fix meal, and then the studio set up and ready for music students by 2:30 for four hours of instruction.
            I learned to use one of the reply envelopes supplied by all the credit card companies who want us to go into debt up to our ears.  I kept a stack in my kitchen drawer and each week listed all my stops, numbered for time and gas efficiency, and what I needed to do or pick up at each stop on the outside of the envelope.  Inside I put coupons and claim tickets.  When I came home those had been replaced with receipts and new claim tickets, depending upon what was happening that week.  I seldom forgot anything thanks to my “system.”
            The other day as I was talking to God, I realized that I had strayed into my shopping list format.  Very matter-of-factly I was telling Him what I needed when and how I would like it served.  I reminded myself of Captain Picard standing in front of the replicator in his ready room barking out, “Tea—Earl Gray—hot!”  Suddenly I remembered to Whom I was talking and shivered a little.  What in the world was I thinking? 
            God is not a grocery store.  He is not a waiter at the restaurant waiting for me to make my order, giving Him extra directions so it will be exactly what I want—pastrami on rye, pressed, extra mustard, hold the mayo, slaw on the side.  Yet isn’t that exactly how we treat Him sometimes?  Yes, I can tell Him all my desires; in fact, He expects me to do that, and He wants to satisfy me, His child.  But when I start expecting Him to parcel it out in only the way I want it, as if I can send it back with a reprimand if it doesn’t suit me, I have overstepped the bounds.
            We have all seen children make their lists for birthdays and for Christmas, but don’t we all think better of the children who have learned that wanting something doesn’t mean they ought to have it, that wanting for others is even better than wanting for themselves, and that they should be grateful for whatever they receive, not complain about it. 
            My parents taught me to never greet a guest, especially a grandparent or favorite aunt or uncle with, “What did you bring me?” 
            “They might think that is the only reason you want to see them, and that would hurt their feelings,” it was explained to me.  I think I need to relearn that lesson about God. 
 
And at the evening oblation I arose up from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe rent; and I fell upon my knees and spread out my hands unto Jehovah my God, and I said, Oh my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to you my God; for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our guiltiness is grown up unto the heavens, Ezra 9:5,6.
 
Dene Ward

We were singing this song a few weeks ago when I noticed yet another word I have been singing all my life without understanding.  So I spent some time looking it up and in the process discovered something else too.  This song is another one of those gems that alludes to a scripture in nearly every phrase.  Grab your Bibles—a King James if you can since that is what these older songs are based upon—and follow along below.

Soldiers of Christ, arise, (2 Tim 2:3)
And put your armor on, (Eph 6:11)
Strong in the strength which God supplies, (1 Pet 4:11)
Through His Beloved Son; (Matt 3:17; 17:5)
 
Strong in the Lord of Hosts, (over 250 verses)
And in His mighty pow'r, (Eph 3:20)
Who in the strength of Jesus trusts (Isa 12:2)
Is more than conqueror.  (Rom 8:37)
 
Stand then in His great might, (Eph 6:10)
With all His strength endued;  (Luke 24:49)
And take, to arm you for the fight,  (2 Cor 10:2-4)
The panoply of God.
 
That, having all things done,
And all your conflicts past, (Eph 6:13)
You may o'ercome through Christ alone,
And stand complete at last.  (Eph 4:11-16)
 
            Here is the first thing I learned from this exercise:  I know Eph 6 so well I tend to skip over it whenever it’s referenced.  Don’t do that!  I never realized half those other phrases were in those verses.  Don’t ever think a scripture is too familiar to be worth looking at again.
           
And here is the thing that had me looking in the first place:  what in the world is a “panoply”?  Webster tells me it is 1) a full suit of armor; 2) something forming a protective coating; 3) a magnificent or impressive array.  God gives us such a complete suit of armor, such a strong protective coating, and such an impressive array of weapons that there is absolutely no excuse for failing to overcome.  If we fail to use the resources at hand, we have let Satan win.  Look at Ephesians 6 again.  With this armor we can “stand against the wiles of the devil,” (v 11); we can “withstand in the evil day” (v 13); we can “quench all the fiery darts of the evil one” (v 16)—all of them, not just some.

Notice verse 13 one more time.  Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand.  If we do not overcome, then we did not “do all;” we did not take full advantage of the panoply.  We left something out, or something off, or something undone.  God has given us everything we need, and our own negligence is no excuse.  We did not behave like a faithful “Soldier of Christ.”
 
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.  2Cor 10:3-6
 
Dene Ward