Tuned for His Glory

I hear the notes of my favorite hymn flowing in my mind as I read the lyrics on the page of a book I’ve selected randomly from the shelves that surround me. And these lyrics are so rich, “Come thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy grace…” Rarely can I read them, hear them, think them, sing them without my eyes filling with the tears of a heart that has experienced the depth of these words- so real, “Sorrowing I shall be in spirit, Till released from flesh and sin, Yet from what I do inherit, Here Thy praises I'll begin…”. And it becomes more than a hymn. It's a prayer, a plea, an offering before the Lord of thanksgiving, in awe of his grace and love… “O to grace how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be! Let your goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee.”

Today, there is a fresh measure of musings I wish to consider from this song. When you sing/pray "tune my heart to sing thy grace" are you aware of the pangs of correction involved? Do you see how the Lord has had to teach your heart to embrace his grace? Of how He continues to teach your heart to embrace his grace?

I have this picture of a musician and his guitar. The strings are stretched along the neck between the tuners and the body. And the strings are wrapped around little pegs on the headstock where knobs called “tuning keys” (I know I'm more than likely butchering terminology) are used to take this from a mess of wood, metal, and nylon to functioning, musical instrument. However, it's only when accurately tuned that the strings, when plucked or strum, create the desired sound--the beginnings of a sweet melody begin with the pangs of stretched cords.

Have you seen this true in your own life? In your own heart? Have you been “tuned” to sing of God’s grace? His grace: “Jesus sought me when a stranger, Wandering from the fold of God; He, to rescue me from danger, Interposed His precious blood.”

These are the beginnings of a sweet melody, ey? "tune my heart to sing thy grace" A heart that knows Christ-- knows his grace-- is a heart that sings? YES.

My heart has not been easily tuned. God has been tuning my heart to play His sweet melody since the day he gave my heart its beat. At times it has truly felt as though the cords of my heart and mind have utterly snapped. Yet I wonder, "Does it every really snap, though?"

I am stubborn, and my heart is full of pride which has, at times, kept my eyes closed to His grace in my life. My pride has kept me from being able to sing “Here's my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above.” Stubbornness has caused my hearts eye to close to the correction, the tuning by Christ’s truth as my junk is exposed. Like the screech and misplaced sound of an untuned string trying to be whole in the melody, only causing pain. (Can you visualize the musician, trained to identify the slightest misplaced note, squinting with pain in their face at the sound of this untuned tragedy) It has taken great pain to humble me before such a gracious and merciful Savior. “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love…” those words…I know them too well. This great pain, inflicted by my sin, has felt like an irreparable break.

A guitarist knows how to gently care for his instrument. Does not Christ know how to care for me, his instrument? The guitarist knows how to turn those keys, ever so gently. Pluck the stings in just the right way, listening intently to the sound it makes, loosening and tightening…until it plays the desired note at just the right pitch and tone. Does not Christ know the sound he desires my heart to play? Is He not more than capable to tune my heart to play his sweet melody?”  

When pride so thick is humbled, it can feel as though you’ve been broken with no hope. It can feel as though your heart-cord has irreparably been broken. “Can a heart-cord be fixed? Is a heart-cord like the strings of a guitar that are unusable once snapped? As a good friend once told me, “There is a hole in every good illustration.” In Christ, our hearts are never beyond the ability to be healed so long as we breathe in these mortal bodies. Christ is our Hope. Christ is also like the skilled, gentle guitarist, tuning us for His Glory. In his hands, our strings will not break before their time. It is because He knows us, intimately. He knows when, he knows what, he knows how, he knows ALL the details of how each of our hearts will be uniquely tuned to sing of His grace.

  I don’t know if you can relate, but in my Christian walk, I’ve found myself expecting to go from “wretched sinner” to “perfect angel” at the snap of my fingers. And anything less (which is always) leaves this cloud of self-condemnation over me. “I know guitars were not an instrument in Christ’s day…perhaps we have reached the limits of that illustration. But of all the parables Christ had,” I think to myself, “do we see an example of how Christ expects our hearts to be tuned, the speed at which it’s achieved?”

I select another book from the shelf. This one is on Matthew 9:14-17. The disciples of John approach Jesus and ask him why they and the Pharisees fast, but the disciples of Jesus do not. Jesus' first point I can clearly see is defense, I understand it at face value as I have learned that Jesus's disciples were with Jesus so they did not have reason to "miss" him, to long for his presence, as he was already there with them!  But the second defense Christ gives had me puzzled.  Why does Jesus give us examples of patching clothes and instructions on "How to Properly Store Your Favorite Wine?"

Matthew Henry offers explanation, explanation that links these ponderings of stretched strings and tuned hearts:

 "Some duties of religion are harder and more difficult than others, like new cloth and new wine, which require most intenseness of mind, and are most displeasing to flesh and blood; such are religious fasting and the duties that attend it. The best of Christ's disciples pass through a state of infancy; all the trees in Christ's garden are not of a growth, nor all his scholars in the same form; there are babes in Christ and grown men. In the enjoining of religious exercises, the weakness and infirmity of young Christians ought to be considered: as the food provided for them must be such as is proper for their age (1 Cor. 3:2; Heb. 5:12), so must the work be that is cut out for them. Christ would not speak to his disciples that which they could not then bear, John 16:12. Young beginners in religion must not be put upon the hardest duties at first, lest they be discouraged."

(Matthew Henry Commentary Volume 5; 1999: Page 98-99)

Did you know that the tuner must twist those knobs slowly? Like a rubberband or our muscular system, were you to stretch the stings of nylon to quickly at once, they would snap! In reviewing where I was emotionally, spiritually, physically, and mentally at different stages of my life, I’ve really come to understand this to be true. I stand amazed to see how the Lord has deepened my understanding of who He is, and in both the simple and complex aspects of life, He has brought maturity. It’s only upon reflection that the measure of maturity is really seen or noticed. And though I know the maturity has come from a line of tweeks that were painful at times, not always pleasant, I know and praise God for the joy of being tuned to sing of His almighty, beautiful, amazing grace! Like the seasoned strings of a guitar, my heart is continually being tuned for HIS GLORY!

A Moment Like Jonah

Today held a morning of Baptist College moments as I listened to our chapel service from my cozy library office in Virginia. As the sermon closed out and the radio returned to its normal playlist, images of R.G. Lee came to mind. A familiar scene I’ve seen repeated so often in the course of the past 5 years. And I wonder if anything has changed…

Having just been dismissed from Chapel, I can see the faces of those in my alma mater filing out the door. Most probably had their things gathered and ready to jump from their seats and exit as soon as the prayer was complete, (busy is the life of a college student, and after all- the cafeteria opens soon and class comes quickly afterward. There’s not time to stop, breathe, think). Some will most likely be lingering and gathered in clutters around the chapel, in the most inconvenient of positions, to socialize with friends or professors. A few may be lined up to greet Dr. Akin, shake his hand, say their “well to do’s,” network and be on their way. There will be a few, however, who remain in their seats: journaling, processing, thinking about and praying through and actually receiving the words they have just heard.

This select few have not only heard the words, but have been cut to the core by the Holy Spirit, moving and stirring in their hearts, challenging them because they HAVE been Jonah. They are Jonah. Or they desire so beyond measure to not be as Jonah. These contemplator’s hearts are full of compassion… or are being broken for their calloused hearts. It is a great temptation each of us may face to follow as the Lord leads, or run in the opposite direction. And, even if we do move in the direction God leads, each of us will have to actively choose contentment and joy. Each of us can be, have been, or will be Jonah. I know I’ve been opinionated and rebellious. I’ve deemed God’s plans illogical or impossible and have joined the cargo ships to Tarshish, only to find myself in the belly of a whale…

“You ought to not pray ‘shall I go’, instead your prayer should be ‘Why should I stay’” these words are ringing in the ears of our contemplators. I am no stranger to this contemplation. And, I know I am not alone in being faced with this challenge today. Dr. Akin presented the shift in prayer focus we each need. Each of us who have excused away our part in the Great Commission, simply for lack of clarity (as if it could be clearer than “go”) or the myriad of excuses we could and have made. I’d imagine their minds are replaying and shuffling through the reasons why they should or should not stay. Their hearts are wrestling. “Am I just comfortable?” “Have I made excuses?” I know mine has. In fact, it is a discipline of evaluation and reflection I have learned is necessary to employ in my life every couple weeks or months. “God, am I complacent in where I am? Have I calloused from your leading? Should I remain planted in this place, or is it time for a transplant? Am I thriving or just surviving?”

To those contemplators who wrestle through these things with the Lord, and take the time to sit and commune with the Lord, my heart is overjoyed! I pray they have run to their secret place, known only to the Lord and themselves. The place where they meet with Him and face each and every bit of the Spirit’s leading. No walls being thrown up, just a sledge hammer tearing down all their excuses and all of their desires, until they are left prostrate on the floor before the Lord, humbled and full of Eucharisteo (grace, joy, thanksgiving).

For as many times as I remember identifying with the contemplator who is more like the example above, I know there is a flip-side to the coin, and I know I can also identify with the contemplators who are more stubborn. A tragic situation will occur in some of our contemplative individuals. They have just encountered the Holy Spirit, and now they will decide to either lean in closer or build the callous of complacency around their hearts and shove these stirrings deep into their souls. They think it would be easier to ignore the pressing of the Spirit, save it for thought when they have more “time” to process everything. I pray they would realize now is the time to process, to pull away from distractions, to commune with the Father in prayer.  

For those of us who fall into the more stubborn category, it is discovered that the message has hit too close to home. Pride is preventing some to see they are “Jonah.” As Dr. Akin spoke of those stirred with anger for the way God has or is choosing to display His glory, that family member’s face flashed in their mind’s eye as Akin described the scenario of Jonah’s discontentment with God offering forgiveness. How ironic, how arrogant. We are the ones who have caused the great offense against our mighty God, and yet I know I’ve found myself getting angry upon seeing the Holy Spirit move and bring forgiveness and healing to those I’ve deemed unworthy of forgiveness. Completely forgetting that I  am the unworthy one. I damb myself in the same breath that I damb another when I choose to withhold the measure of grace Christ offered. And I know I’m not alone in this. There will be those who will have departed from Lee Chapel today, completely calloused to the Lord revealing this sin of their hearts. They will press it away and it will slowly erode their hearts and bring a great chasm in their hearts between them and the Lord. I pray they would not allow their pride to have a foothold in their hearts any longer. I pray for the pain that will continue to remain as the wounds they’ve inflicted continue to infect their lives, their families, their relationships, their ministry past, present, and future.

                I wish I could link the message to this blog, if for no other reason but so it is archived here as so often I love to reflect back through here and remember how the Lord has opened my own eyes to the remnants of pride eating at my heart, grieving my Jesus. Perhaps the scene I’ve described above is a far-cry from reality. But I don’t think it is. I don’t think it is beyond possibility because I remember being in those pews. I remember days of my arrogance and childish mind- completely missing the treasure of yielding to the Spirit. I remember the days when I sat with my journal and continued to write with fierce speed for fear my mind would forget how the Lord was teaching me…(only to look back later and need a translator for my chicken-scratch-chinese).  If I’ve matured at all, and I believe I have, in my days at BCF I know it came in large part from Chapel services (even if some days it seemed my skills of heresy detection were being sharpened…it’s a reality you will face wherever you are). I remember identifying with each of these types of people…even the ones who rushed for the door or cluttered in the isles.

                I pray that we would each be able to humbly approach the throne and ask as David did, that the Lord would: “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24 ESV) Specifically, in connection with today’s challenge “Show me my Jonah ways, Lord! Break me of my pride, arrogance and selfishness. I REPENT and wish to turn from my wicked ways.”

Wrecked (gloriously)

Wrecked (in a glorious way) by the truth, the Bible. And by the words of 1 Chron. 10, seeing how seriously God hates sin.
Saul was King and he and his army had been defeated, he was wounded and he asks his armor-bearer to kill him because in pride he didn't want to give his enemy the opportunity to slay him. The servant would not, for fear. (yet he ends his own life after Saul kills himself). And from there, Israel scatters and the philistines are rejoicing and praising their false gods over the victory. (unbeknownst to them, God enabled them this victory because of the disobedience of Saul. They were being used in the one true God's plan. Their idols were still as worthless and dead as they were before). -I wonder how often I have given credit to another for what was really God's providence...too often to count, and yet once is too often.-
And the sin of one man has a ripple affect all over, from the farthest reaches-the ways you cannot see- to the most intimate of relationships and to the core- your relationship with the Lord.
(Have you been WRECKED by the realization that your sin separates you from the one and only, holy, Triune God?)
Wrecked knowing my pride is not far removed from that of King Saul's. Wrecked knowing Christ died, took on the wrath of the Father, on my pridefully wicked behalf.
Sweetly broken.
Held together by His grace.

And my mind is boggled upon these thoughts- continuously when the vision of my sin and the depth of grief I've caused- of how my thoughts and actions have grieved the Spirit, and yet His grace flows and forgiveness abounds. And it's in these times when it is made more clearly- His grace is not to be abused or ill-treated. it is to be treasured, cherished. And infinitely more than that, Jesus is to be treasured, cherished, honored, glorified.

Wrecked thinking about the multiple times of seeking guidance from everywhere else but God, forgetting that "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have been saved..." (Eph. 2:4-5)
And I forget that? And i somehow think anything or anyone else could actually be a sufficient guide to anything or everything in life? I actually think that "created" would know more than "creator"?
Wrecked of my foolishness. So beautifully coming to understand, by His grace-which has saved me- I breathe each breath. (And it's all for His glory) and it's by His grace I am able to be wrecked. Able to see And praise Him for enabling me to see these things and understand more of this truth- I need Christ, He is ALL I need. And it's from this need that my heart is set in Him, and my mouth flows with praise to Him, and I can thank Him in all circumstances. I can seek Him for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. I can peacefully trust He is sovereign and His grace is beautiful. He is beautiful. And when something is beautiful, you don't throw it away or stomp it in the ground. Like flowers or a beautiful piece of art, you display it where all can see! You cherish it with your heart and that will be seen in your speech and in your actions.

(Jesus is all YOU need! Do you believe that?)