CategoriesEncouraging by

I can sing anytime

Outside Chris’s bakery, Oak Harbor, WA, he carried a box of a dozen of the most colorful doughnuts in the bakery. He was parked next to us. I heard him singing as he prepared to climb into his truck. I said with a smile, “You haven’t had a doughnut yet; how can you be singing?”  He smiled back and replied with joy on his face and delight within, “I have Jesus. I can sing anytime.”

 

Wendy and I both felt his joyful conviction. I started my morning by taking our dog, Mackenzie, out to the backyard. My daily morning prayer is a greeting of adoration, an old Jewish prayer: “Blessed are you, Lord God, King of the universe.” And “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Just moments later, we experienced this man’s testimony of praise.  Yes, he testified, first in song and then in naming Jesus as the reason for his joy.

 

Personal songs of joy

Eugene Peterson said, “The end of prayer is praise.”[1] “Book of Praises” is the Hebrew title for what we might call the Psalms. The word “Psalms” comes from the Greek word “psalmoi,” which means “songs.”  So, prayers are directed to God and fulfill the meaning of Psalm 150:6 (KJV):  “Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord.” I love the term Eugene used for surprising testimonies of praise: praise eruptions. “Praise, when we least expect, in places we never would have guessed, erupts.”[2]

 

We cherish “the discipline” of daily prayer, liturgical songs of praise, and the rhythms of prayer. Can we also embrace the spontaneous moments we find ourselves (or others in the parking lot) unable to hold back their personal songs of joy?  

 

Do you see this?  

“The Psalms come from a people who hear God speak to them and realize that it is the most important word they will ever hear spoken. They decide to respond. They answer…. 

The Hebrews prayed…. 

They knew themselves addressed by God.  They responded to the presence; they answered the address; they prayed….

 “The psalms are the liturgy of those who concern and delight is the torah of the Lord”.[3]  

 

Praise erupts—We sing

 

         Give thanks with a grateful heart

         Give thanks to the Holy One

         Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ his son

 

         And now,

         Let the weak say I am strong.

         Let the poor say I am rich.

         Because of what,

         The Lord has done for us.

         Give thanks.[4]

Praise erupts in the places we least expect—a bakery parking lot, a fleeting moment, a voice unsilenced.  We honor the rhythms and the discipline of prayer. But can we embrace the unchained song? The psalms are born from listening hearts, from those who hear and know— God speaks.  We answer.  We sing.

Let’s keep our ears open today and in the week ahead. God’s presence just might fill the air with song and a surprising voice to testify:  “I have Jesus. I can sing anytime.”

_______________________________

Keith Anderson, D.Min., is a Faculty Associate for Spirituality and Vocation at VantagePoint3 and President Emeritus of Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. He is the author of several books, including his most recent: On Holy Ground: Your Story of Identity, Belonging and Sacred Purpose (Wipf & Stock, 2024). His other works include Reading Your Life’s Story (IVP, 2016), A Spirituality of Listening (IVP, 2016), and Spiritual Mentoring (IVP, 1999). In his writing, teaching, and mentoring, Keith seeks to set a table for people looking to enter the “amazing inner sanctuary of the soul” in the most ordinary and extraordinary moments of life.

 

 

[1] Eugene Peterson, Answering God: The Psalms as Tools of Praise, p. 121
[2] Peterson, p. 123
[3] Peterson, p. 14,15,25
[4] Henry Smith, Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart, The Church of Scotland Music, note: the composer of this song suffered from a degenerative condition that made him legally blind.

 

CategoriesEncouraging, Mentoring Matters by

Blessing is waiting

When it comes to mentoring or spiritual direction, blessing is waiting. But why bother? What’s the point of it anyway?

Those are fair enough questions, but let’s be honest: We have other questions that might be quietly paused within your spirit. Let’s try two:

  1. What are you looking for? It’s another way of asking about your level of contentment, I suppose. What makes you curious? When do you feel most at rest within your spirit? When was the last time you would say you knew yourself to be heard, deeply listened to, and highly valued?
  2. What are you longing for?  It’s been said, “Stay close to your longing…” This refers to yearnings, craving, hungering, or just plain desiring. It’s another way to look within to assess your level of interior contentment.

Mentoring gives sacred access to one’s life, heart, interior self, and, yes, soul.

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CategoriesEncouraging, Seasonal by

Managing or Receiving?

 My favorite Bible character is Mary, the mother of Jesus. Though she has many admirable qualities, the one I find myself drawn to the most is the way this ordinary, Jewish young woman responded to the angel Gabriel’s news that she was going to be the mother of the Messiah. 

She was initially confused and disturbed and asked some good questions about how this was all going to work out for her, which I appreciate. However, without knowing all the answers, she said, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” 

It’s worth noting that within just a few days of receiving the news from the angel Gabriel, Mary left to go find her relative and friend, Elizabeth, who was also pregnant. She did not work out her situation alone. She found support and seemed to gain strength for her call. Rather quickly, Scripture reveals (Luke 1:46–55) that she began to earnestly praise God for what he was doing in and through her.  Read More

CategoriesEncouraging, Seasonal by

A tale of two angels

An angel is a messenger. The wings we ascribe to them are most likely optional accessories, like a sunroof on a car. We can make much of what artists, cartoonists, and novelists have shown about the physical nature of angels, but there are three certainties about them in this tale of two angels:

  • They bring announcements from God. Sometimes, they are words of a personal assignment, such as that to a young Jeremiah to bring truth to his troubled nation or declarations of an impending birth that changes the world for all time.
  • They understand humankind enough to add tender words to the announcement, words of calm, comfort, or tranquility—words like “Fear not.”
  • They bring news, a statement, or notice. Something will happen—be alert, get ready, and prepare to respond.

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CategoriesEncouraging by

Identity in a post-election world

We used to talk about identity as a spiritual statement of the person we are, the community in which we live, or the nation with whom we stand. Some substitute a marketing term today and ask, “What is your brand? How do you want people to react to your brand, your persona?”

So, I ask: Is follower of Jesus my “brand?” Bono answers: “I’m not a very good advertisement for God. I generally don’t wear that badge on my lapel. But it certainly is written on the inside somewhere.”[1]

He’s on to something, this artist, activist, and follower of Jesus.

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CategoriesEncouraging, Jesus' Way by

Paying Attention to Jesus

We learn not only by paying attention to Jesus’ words but also the way he lived his life. Following Jesus as our rabbi means three things:

  • You spend time with Jesus
  • You seek to become like Jesus
  • You do as he did. [I]

What were Jesus’ most common classrooms as rabbi?

Have you ever noticed how Jesus’ journey took him from seashore to desert, from urban centers (Jerusalem) to rural Nazareth, and to any place people gathered to listen? He taught in vivo—life as it is lived in real-time. And don’t miss this: along the way, Jesus ate meals with his students and with others, including marginalized people, social outcasts, and those unwelcomed by many. The road and the table formed a paradigm for how Jesus practiced his service to others.

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CategoriesDeep Mentoring, Encouraging, Jesus' Way by

Not a spectator sport…

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like the wise man who built his house on the rock. -Jesus (Matthew 7:24).

We face tremendous pressure in our lives today to be spectators of this Jesus. But faithful living has never been a spectator sport. Danish Christian thinker Soren Kierkegaard emphasized this by drawing a contrast between being an admirer and being an imitator. He wrote: Read More

Categories30 Days of Mentoring, Encouraging, Equipping by

30 DAYS OF MENTORING

One of the things our VantagePoint3 team has been paying close attention to over the past few years has been mentoring. Our deep conviction is that a “mentoring attention” is required if leaders are going to help men and women grow up into Christ in every way (Eph 4:15).

A Mentoring Guide: Christ. Conversation. Companionship, this website amentoringway.org , as well as mentoring workshops, and our most recent course “Spiritual Mentoring: Recovering A Leadership of Companionship” have all been expressions of our belief that the quality of our relationships significantly shapes our ongoing growth and maturity.

This mentoring effort continues with the launch of 30 DAYS OF MENTORING!

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