Refreshing Dew

I am in the season of dry; Winter season of my soul. I guess I am frustrated, discouraged, and disappointed. So from today onwards till any season that may come I am going to record, Lord willing, anything that God is doing to my soul in order to restore it.

This evening I came across this beautiful song by Wendell Kimbrough through Advent meditation. Not my typical song, but it happened to speak to me personally. Just like that. It made me cry. It reminded me of God's strong promises.

Take a look at the lyrics, my friends. And here's how it sounds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPj3Kf7Dorw

Your labor is not in vain,

though the ground underneath you is cursed and stained.

Your planting and reaping are never the same,

But your labor is not in vain.

For I am with you, I am with you.

I am with you, I am with you.

For I have called you,

called you by name.

Your labor is not in vain.

Your labor is not unknown,

though the rocks they cry out and the sea it may groan.

The place of your toil may not seem like a home,

but your labor is not unknown.

The vineyards you plant will bear fruit,

the fields will sing out and rejoice with the truth,

for all that is old will at last be made new:

the vineyards you plant will bear fruit.

The houses you labored to build,

will finally with laughter and joy be filled.

The serpent that hurts and destroys shall be killed,
and all that is broken be healed.

Musik Penyembahan

Dalam A Song To Sing, A Life to Live: Reflections on Music as Spiritual Practice, Don Saliers, professor teologi dan penyembahan di Emory University, berpendapat bahwa the gift of music berasal dari Allah; Ia menanamnya dalam tubuh kita. Gift tersebut dapat kita rasakan dalam detak jantung, pernapasan, jeritan, dan gerak-gerik kita. Tak heran mengapa anak-anak kecil suka membuat bunyi-bunyian. Banyak permainan anak-anak disertai nyanyian. Anak-anak kecil sulit untuk quiet, karena hati mereka penuh dengan musik. Allah telah mengaruniakan suara dan musik dalam tubuh kita sebagai modal/bekal untuk menyembah Dia.

Ada 2 alasan mengapa kita bernyanyi dalam ibadah. Pertama, karena musik mempermulia, memperindah, kata-kata (speech) kita. Since music glorifies worship, we worship the Lord with music. Allah senang akan musik. Ia Allah yang bernyanyi. Ia memanggil kita untuk bernyanyi dan mengekspresikan pikiran dan perasaan kita dengan musical instruments. Coba baca kembali seluruh kitab Mazmur, Keluaran 15, Ulangan 32, semua ditulis untuk dinyanyikan. Ada sedikitnya 2 referensi dalam Perjanjian Baru yang membuktikan bahwa Tuhan Yesus sendiri bernyanyi (Matius 26:30; Roma 15:9).

Alasan kedua, musik mengingatkan kita dan Allah akan janji-janjiNya. Music is memorial. Memorial to us and to God. Tuhan memang tidak perlu diingatkan, tapi Ia berkenan diingatkan. Kalau hal ini terdengar asing bagi kita, tidaklah demikian, baik bagi believers di Perjanjian Lama maupun gereja mula-mula di Perjanjian Baru. Mengingatkan Allah akan janji-janjiNya sama sekali tak dipandang menghina Allah, sebaliknya merupakan ekspresi kebergantungan kita secara total padaNya. Karena dengan mengingatkan Allah, kita mereafirmasi covenant relationship denganNya, bahwa kita tak dapat bertahan hidup tanpa Ia setia memegang dan menggenapi janji-janjiNya.

Oleh karena itu, janganlah jemu-jemu kita bernyanyi, memuji, dan bersyukur pada Allah. Bernyanyilah tidak hanya saat kita bersukaria, tapi juga ketika kita sesak, tak berdaya. Tetaplah senandungkan pujian hingga sukacita memenuhi hati kita, hingga spirit kita terbangun, hingga kemuliaan Tuhan nyata.

Ingat Ibrani 13:15, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.”

Jangan kita lalai membawa korban yang satu ini, korban pujian.

Heidelberg Catechism

Baru hari ini saya tahu bahwa Heidelberg Catechism bisa di-rap-kan pula. Lihat deh!

You're beautiful

You're beautiful by Phil Wickham is truly beautiful. It's beautiful primarily because it's singing Jesus' incomparable beauty. Here is my first post in 2011, a worship song. May it be my dream come true: More enjoying HIS beauty.

God at the food court

Pada 13 November 2010 Hallelujah Chorus tiba-tiba dinyanyikan di food court, the Welland Seaway Mall, Welland, ON, Canada. Ya, ketika orang-orang, tua dan muda, asyik menyantap makanan mereka. Saksikanlah!

Festival of friends

i just got back from a pastor's conference on friendship that was held at tyndale. arthur boers, one of the resource peoples, introduced me to the song composed by bruce cockburn, festival of friends. boers said that he wants to see this conference as a festival of friends, which i think it was.

here is the lyric:

5 April 1975. Burritt's Rapids.

An elegant song won't hold up long
When the palace falls and the parlour's gone
We all must leave but it's not the end
We'll meet again at the festival of friends.

Smiles and laughter and pleasant times
There's love in the world but it's hard to find
I'm so glad I found you -- I'd just like to extend
An invitation to the festival of friends.

Some of us live and some of us die
Someday God's going to tell us why
Open your heart and grow with what life sends
That's your ticket to the festival of friends.

Like an imitation of a good thing past
These days of darkness surely will not last
Jesus was here and he's coming again
To lead us to his festival of friends.

Black snake highway -- sheet metal ballet
It's just so much snow on a summer day
Whatever happens, it's not the end
We'll meet again at the festival of friends.

Friendship

Minggu lalu, dalam perayaan ulang tahun gereja yang ke-9, saya berkhotbah mengenai spiritual friendship. Hari ini tanpa sengaja saya menemukan sebuah lagu ballad jadoel berjudul "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" gubahan Bobby Scott dan Bob Russell yang memperkuat pesan saya. Selamat merenungkan lagu ini. Liriknya saya sertakan di bawah video clip.



The road is long
With many a winding turn
That leads us to who knows where
Who knows where
But I'm strong
Strong enough to carry him
He ain't heavy, he's my brother.

So on we go
His welfare is of my concern
No burden is he to bear
We'll get there
For I know
He would not encumber me

If I'm laden at all
I'm laden with sadness
That everyone's heart
Isn't filled with the gladness
Of love for one another.

It's a long, long road
From which there is no return
While we're on the way to there
Why not share
And the load
Doesn't weigh me down at all
He ain't heavy, he's my brother.

He's my brother
He ain't heavy, he's my brother.

Find us faithful

Salah satu karya Steve Green yang sangat menguatkan iman. Semoga dapat memberkati anda.



We're pilgrims on the journey
Of the narrow road
And those who've gone before us line the way
Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary
Their lives a stirring testament to God's sustaining grace

Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses
Let us run the race not only for the prize
But as those who've gone before us
Let us leave to those behind us
The heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives

Chorus:
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful

After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone
And our children sift though all we've left behind
May the clues that they discover and the memories they uncover
Become the light that leads them to the road we each must find (repeat chorus)