Passage of the Day: Ephesians 5: 19 [see in bold below] … 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, …
My Journal for Today: What’s your song? If you are a Christian and reading this, you have the Holy Spirit dwelling eternally in your heart. So, do you find yourself, as Paul declares in today’s verse, “making music in your heart,” or [speaking] “to one another with … spiritual songs?”
If not, and you are truly a Christian, what does Paul mean by this verse? Is he saying that Spirit-filled Christians will always be walking around singing “songs” as we normally think of “singing.” Well, I suppose there are believers and followers of Christ who might do that some that, some of the time. However, I think Paul, here, is reflecting on the attitude of the Christian’s heart, as he was in 1st Thes. 5: 17 when he exhorted believers to be “praying continually [NIV].”
In our church culture, we often equate “worship” in a church service with the singing of hymns or praise songs. And today’s passage may be one reason why that equation has developed. As I’ve said earlier this month, when it comes to Spirit-filled living, “worship” is the 24/7 expression of our lives in surrender to our Lord. It is the life of “living sacrifice” expressed by Paul in Rom. 12: 1. Yes, it can be an expression of our love and/or praise for God in song; but it more often is the way our heart sings for God in the way we think, say, and do things. And that is what I think Paul was expressing in today’s verse.
I believe he’s saying that the born-again, transformed heart of a sold-out follower of Christ will openly share an attitude of “song,” praising God with an enthusiastic praise-born life, where God is worshipped and praised by what the Christian thinks, says, and does.
Yes, sometimes that life of worship might involve actual melodic singing; but I’m sure you’ve encountered brothers and/or sisters in Christ whose very presence sings a song of joy and praise and is evidence of God’s Spirit in that one’s heart. Our Pastor is that way. His life is an open song of praise wherever he goes; but thankfully, with his singing ability (or lack thereof as is the reality), though he might like to sing his praises, he doesn’t do his “singing” with traditional song [though he does love to sing the refrain to the old hymn, God Is So Good, anytime he is leads the men of our church in any type of teaching]. And when Pastor Ernie sings in public, I hope that he’s in tune with God’s chorus of angels; because he certainly can’t carry a tune in a bucket here on this earth. But my point is that my dear Pastor and brother in Christ exhibits the “singing” referred to by the Apostle in Eph. 5: 19 by the way he lives his life, which is a soulful witness to His love of Jesus in all he says and does. Ernie Frey’s life is a song of joy for Jesus; and his life song certainly has to be a praise chorus of delight in the mind of God.
I pray that we all could be so filled with God’s Spirit that our witness is a song-filled life of worship. I certainly aspire to be a “soul-singer” of Christ’s song in the way I live, hopefully not being off-tune with selfishness in my life song; and prayerfully I can let my life be tuned to the Christlikeness God’s Spirit wants to sing through me.
My Prayer Today: Lord, may my life be Your song. Amen
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