Total Psalmody

       Total Psalmody is a concept that I have been struggling with for a while. During a 18 hour car ride, the subject came up as my family often has odd discussions like this. My sister made a case against Total Psalmody so strong that it changed my mind right there and then. My sister is an artist and she takes forms of art and expression very seriously. She stated that our response to God's great works should be spontaneous song. David, Mary, Elizabeth, Zechariah, Anna, Moses, Hannah, and many others all wrote songs in response to God working in their lives and in the the lives of their nation. Should we not respond in this same way of worship?
      This being a powerful example... I still enjoy and value the psalms. The words of the leaders in our faith should be cherished. They bring a different perspective in worship. So valuing the new and old ways of worship should be done amongst my christian brothers and sisters.

Psalm 96 English Standard Version (ESV)

Worship in the Splendor of Holiness

96 

Oh sing to the Lord a new song;
    sing to the Lord, all the earth!

2 

Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
    tell of his salvation from day to day.

3 

Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous works among all the peoples!

4 

For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
    he is to be feared above all gods.

5 

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
    but the Lord made the heavens.

6 

Splendor and majesty are before him;
    strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

7 

Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!

8 

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
    bring an offering, and come into his courts!

9 

Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;[a]
    tremble before him, all the earth!

10 

Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
    Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
    he will judge the peoples with equity.”

11 

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
    let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

12 

    let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy

13 

    before the Lord, for he comes,
    for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
    and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Glory in the Work

2 Thessalonians 3

English Standard Version (ESV)

Pray for Us

3 Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, ² and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. ³ But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. ⁴ And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command.⁵ May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

Warning Against Idleness

⁶ Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. ⁷ For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, ⁸ nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. ⁹ It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. ¹⁰ For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. ¹¹ For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. ¹² Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

¹³ As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. ¹⁴ If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. ¹⁵ Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

Benediction

¹⁶ Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way.The Lord be with you all.

¹⁷ I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. ¹⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Faith in God's steadfast love is important. With out it we lose perspective. It fuels our faith and ability to go through trials. It helps us when we come up against evil and wicked men or abrasive situations. 
Paul brings up the topic of working and industry. It seems that someone or a couple of people within the church were not working and wrecking havoc. I find this in my own life. If I am idle and not actively doing good works... I'm finding trouble. My mind will be filled with anxieties and my heart will start to look for longings that are not yet time to be fulfilled. Rests are important too, but from day one God gave Adam work to fill his days. Paul encourages us to keep doing good. We must be intentional in our actions. God commands us to do His good works. Paul also helps us learn to deal with someone who is not working. How do we deal with people that we might consider lazy or busybodies? Don't persecute them; however, separate yourself from them. Warning them in love, don't condone their behavior or participate. 

“May there always be work for your hands to do,
May your purse always hold a coin or two.
May the sun always shine warm on your windowpane,
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you,
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.”

― Irish Blessing

Glory in the Wait

2 Thessalonians 2

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Man of Lawlessness

2 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, ² not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. ³ Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, ⁴ who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. ⁵ Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? ⁶ And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. ⁷ For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. ⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. ⁹ The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, ¹⁰ and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. ¹¹ Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, ¹² in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Stand Firm

¹³ But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. ¹⁴ To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵ So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.
¹⁶ Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, ¹⁷ comfort your hearts andestablish them in every good work and word.

The second coming of Christ has always been a source of contention among the church... But why? Going through the story of Genesis and you see why. Eve thought Cain would be her savior. Sarah thought that her child would be the one threw which God blessed her and he was; however, she had to wait until she was in her 90's before she meet her son. Waiting for blessing is hard. It makes people cranky and dissentious. Paul in answer to their confused and befuddled theology reminds them that the second coming of Christ will be accompanied by much confusion. Many people will not understand what is happening. Many people will be given over to delusions and pleasure in unrighteousness. 
Paul thanks God that the Thessalonians were among the firstfruit. This also means they will be waiting a really long time. Yet this means they must stand firm. They must be sustained by Christ in the long journey. 

Father, sustain my spirit. I fear growing weary of doing good. I am drawn into the worlds pleasures. Give me a heart after Your own heart. I want to pleasure in the good things that You have given me and promised me. I need You to sustain me as I wait for Your second coming. I enjoy being industrious. Give me good work to do that draws my heart closer to You. Supply relationships that point me to Your goodness that I can work along side. Give me You to sustain me. Amen.

God be Glorified

2 Thessalonians 1

English Standard Version (ESV)

Greeting

1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

³ We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. ⁴ Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.

The Judgment at Christ's Coming

⁵ This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— ⁶ since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, ⁷ and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels ⁸ in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.⁹ They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, ¹⁰ when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. ¹¹ To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, ¹² so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Thessalonian church has two books written to them. The first book dealt with claims that the second coming of Christ had already occurred, people not working or being industrious, and commending the church on looking forward to the day that Christ would come. In the second letter, Paul talks about how the churches persecutions and trials are making them ready. God is working in the present day to fulfill the good works He wants the Thessonalonian church to do. He doesn't start off by reprimanding them for continuing to have bad theology, which he had just taught them not to have in the last letter. Yet he looks at their present struggles and asks them to look to God's glory in the present day. 

I have recently been going through several struggles. I have needed to revamp my bad theology. One of the ways that God has been working in me is by not looking at the "blessings" I feel He should give me, but instead looking at the promises He made and the good things He has given me. God is doing a great work in me... presently... So that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified...

Father, I want you to be glorified. Change my mind, my focus from present struggles and things You have never promised me. Reveal Your promises and hope to me. May I love others in my church, my family, and my work with a love that is clearly from You. Grant me grace. Amen.