Hosanna

This post, like my post about the word Hallelujah, is going to explore the meaning of a word that I hear a lot, but don't really understand.


Hosanna. There are a lot of songs that use this word. I like to sing songs that use this word. But I don't even know what it means. Oops again.

So, according to this online dictionary, the word Hosanna means "an exclamation, originally an appeal to God for deliverance, used in praise of God or Christ," or "a shout of praise or adoration."


Matthew 21:9 - The crowds that went ahead of [Jesus] and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest heaven!"


Mark 11:9-10 - Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the coming of the kingdom of our father David!" "Hosanna in the highest heaven!"


John 12:13 - They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the king of Israel!"

Matthew 21:15-16 - But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, "Hosanna to the son of David," they were indignant. "Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him. "Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read, 'From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise'?"

So, in the song Hosanna, it says "Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!"

Every time we sing that, it's another way to shout praise and adoration to God. We should praise Him until the whole earth shakes with it.

When We Don't Want to Go

When we don't want to go to church is when we most need to go to church. When we're tired, cranky, or just feeling down is when we need to hear the Word of God the most. Also, at church there are fellow members who can talk with you, and pray with and for you.

It's the place to be, especially when you least feel like being there. It's a place to get rejuvenated through fellowship and teaching.

So, the next time we start to feel like we just don't want to go to church - when we start pouting because all we really want to do is curl up in pajamas under a blanket and not go anywhere - remember that it's where we need to be, because it will help. A lot.

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"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another-and all the more as your see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Jesus said "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them" (Matthew 18:20).

I Serve at the Pleasure of The King

The other day, I was reading a story, and a knight said: "I serve at the pleasure of the king." It made me think. What if we took the quote and applied it to God, The King? What if we took this attitude more often, especially in our daily lives?

What does that mean? To me, it means we don't act on our own whims. We wait for God's instructions. We serve Him. We await His timing. We obey His every command. We serve the way we were instructed to serve.

This doesn't mean we can't think or act for ourselves. Yet what if we took God's Word and applied it so firmly to our lives, and stood so firmly rooted in Him, that we wouldn't ever really make a move without Him? What if we truly listened for His instructions and obeyed Him always?

"I serve at the pleasure of The King."
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"Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling" (Psalm 2:11).
"Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people" (Ephesians 6:7).

He is More Than We Can Imagine or Understand

I heard this song at church today, and I love it! I don't even know how to express what I felt when I heard the song. So, I'm just going to leave it here for you to enjoy:

He is so much more than we could ever understand.
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"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty" (Revelation 1:8).

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End" (Revelation 22:13).

"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord" (Psalm 27:14).

"Trust in the Lord will all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Hallelujah

One of the songs we sang in church today made me think of how little I know about the word Hallelujah, and if I'm going to sing it, or say it, I need to know what it means.

So, what does it mean?

The definition of the word Hallelujah is "a shout of joy, praise, or gratitude."

The word Hallelujah means "God be praised."

I really can't believe I never knew that. It's not enough to just repeat what we hear in church. We have to study it, research it, define it, and understand it.

Interestingly enough, in the NIV, I could only find the word "hallelujah" in the book of Revelation.
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"Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: 'Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory. For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready'" (Revelation 19:6-7).

Study, Study, Study!

I have a reminder on my phone set to go off at a time when I'm not supposed to be busy that says "Bible Study."

Bible Study.

And yet, I usually only read one chapter. That doesn't mean I don't learn anything, but is it really a "study" if it only takes five minutes?

According to Dictionary.reference.com, the first definition of the word study is "application of the mind to the acquisition of knowledge, as by reading, investigation, or reflection."

The KJV says "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).

In the NIV, this translates to "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).

Well, God's Word is truth, and if we don't study God's Word, we won't really be learning how to obey Him, or what He expects of us.

So, reading counts as "studying." Reading a chapter of the Bible a day is certainly helpful for my learning, but I'm sure I could do better. Much better. I think I (personally) need to step it up and really study God's Word, instead of just glossing over a chapter.

Now, I'm not ashamed to admit that I do skim over the "beget" chapters, but if I ever needed them to do a blog post, I would certainly go back and study them in-depth.

I guess what I'm saying is that it's not enough to just give this our smallest effort. God's Word is the most important thing we could ever read, so we have to take time to study it, to commit concepts and verses to memory, and store them in our hearts. Remember, "studying" includes reflection.

This blog is really good for making me do in-depth studies of concepts and verses, but there is more I could be doing.

How do you study God's Word? Do you take 5 minutes, or an hour?

Imagine That

So, apparently there's a thing called "vain imaginations." And we aren't supposed to do it, but everyone does it.

It's like imagining how a situation could have gone differently if we'd only done this, or said that. And we aren't supposed to, because we don't have control of every situation. I guess it's like trying to take power over something that happened, or responsibility for something that was out of our control.

In the KJV, 2 Corinthians 10:5 says: Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

In the NIV, 2 Corinthians 10:5 says: We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

So, we have to capture our thoughts and wrangle them into submission to Christ, and this applies to so much more than just what we think about other people. It is also necessary to control our thoughts about situations.

Now, it's not saying that your kids can't exercise their imaginations and play with sticks in the yard, pretending they're medieval knights and dragons. This is specifically referring to thoughts that are going out of control. It's referring to controlling our thoughts that try to make us feel guilt over doing or not doing something in a situation. We can't change the past, we can only learn from it and determine not to make the same mistakes.

I think I have more to learn about this concept, but I understand the basics now. I thought I was the only one who did that - imagining how a scenario could have gone differently - but I'm not. And neither are you!

We are not alone in this, and it can be really difficult to get our
thoughts under control, but it's really important. Going over a scenario dozens of times, won't change what happened. It will only bring stress upon our lives. If we find ourselves succumbing to vain imaginations, we should be prepared to tell them no, throw them out, and (possibly) find someone to talk with if they're getting out of control.

As I said, I still have more to learn about this concept, but for today, these are my musings.

Walking with God

This song is really popular with my church's praise and worship team right now.

I can see why. It's such a good song. In God's presence there is light and joy and peace that never, ever, ever ends.

God always walks with us, even when we can't feel Him, even when we're sure we're walking alone. He is always there.
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"For you, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living" (Psalm 116:8-9).

Get Along

So, I messed up yesterday. I thought I was having a good day, but for some reason I let a little correction really get to me, and I overreacted. Badly. Looking back, I can see how I should have reacted, and even figuring out why I may have reacted the way I did doesn't really make it better.

But we've sorted it out, I've apologized, and I've asked God's forgiveness. The only thing left to do is to make this blog post. No. I'm not giving you details.

As humans, I think it's impossible for us to get along with each other 100% of the time. There will be bumps in the road. There will be misunderstandings and arguments and hurt feelings.

The key, I think, is to know when you're wrong, and be willing to apologize for it, even if it starts something else. Then, ask forgiveness from God for your part in whatever happened. After you've apologized, whether that person accepts or not, whether it resolves the situation or not, let it go. Let. It. Go. Don't badger the other person. Don't take offence if they need time to be mad and run through the course of their emotions. Let it go. Let them have their space. And if it blows over without incident, be thankful.

Sometimes there are things we have to get off our chests, even if it becomes an argument. Sometimes it's the only way we can really understand people. Unfortunately, we don't always address issues when they should be, we don't always let go of things when we should, and sometimes it festers until the only thing to do with it is to let it come out of our mouths.

Should it really get to that point? The point of screaming, and sobbing so hard you can't breathe? Probably not.

We should really be growing in God so that we can handle even the worst situations with grace. But it's not always going to happen, I'm afraid. Sometimes the flesh takes over and all our spirit can do is facepalm.

What do I mean by handling a situation with grace? Well...let's see.

How about the golden rule? - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Luke 6:31).

I don't like to argue with people. Ever. So, usually, I think it through before I say something I'm going to regret. Usually. If I wouldn't want someone to say it to me, I try to keep my filter in place so I won't say it to someone else.

And then there's this: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these (Mark 12:30-31).

And then this one, which I wish I'd remembered yesterday: Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips (Psalm 141:3).

So, what I mean by reacting to all situations with grace is basically this: keep your mouth shut. Take correction. Don't start fights. Listen politely even if the other person is wrong. Stay calm. If someone offends you, give it to God, and ask His help to deal with it. But as children of God, we have to behave differently from everyone else. Remember, that what we do matters, and we have to pray and learn from God's Word so that we can react appropriately in all situations, so that people can see God working in our lives.

That doesn't mean we won't mess up. It happens. It just means that the way we act when we mess up changes too. 

After all, when we know how to behave, shouldn't we behave better? If God holds us to a higher standard, shouldn't we always be striving to meet that standard?