Ephesians 5:19 – 20 “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
My dear husband, Mark, often tells people that he is an A.M. person (talk radio), and I am an F.M. person (music). When taking long car trips, he likes to tune in to the news programs, and I like to tune in to anything with a rhythm. (Guess who usually wins? 🙂 )
In this verse, Paul brilliantly addressed both A.M. and F.M. people! He says speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Now, I know what you are thinking. But no, I really don’t think Paul was referring to an early form of rap music. Rather, he was reminding us all of what we should carry in our hearts.
A psalm is a praise. We should praise God at all times! Are you feeling down, depressed, discouraged? Start praising God! Look around you, and I’ll bet you’ll find something, probably several things for which to praise God. Think about those things. Talk about those things.
A hymn is a song or poem written to teach theological and doctrinal truths. (I’ll bet you didn’t know that, did you?) One of my favorite hymns of all time is actually found in the New Testament, in Philippians 2:5 – 11. Go ahead, read it. I’ll wait . . . and while you read, just remember that we shouldn’t waste our words on insignificant babble. Every chance we get, we should be pointing others to God.
A spiritual song is simply a song that comes out of your spirit. It is unique to you, and no one else can sing or speak your spiritual song the way you do. It is your testimony. It is your proclamation of what Christ has done in your life. God is so good, all the time, and He wants us to tell others about that goodness. The way we do that is to simply talk about the good things He has done for us. That is our spiritual song.
So, whether you are an A.M. person like my husband, or an F.M. person like me, I invite you to join the choir! Sing with me, as we praise God, thank Him, teach others about Him, and tell the world of His goodness.
Dear Father, Please help me to honor You with my words. Help me to keep Your goodness on my lips and in my heart.
Amen
Music is so fun to write about! I’m an FM person as well.
Hi Alyssa! I knew you were a woman after my own heart . . . 🙂
–r
Dear Renae,
guess I like psalms, hymns and spiritual songs the same.
It’s a rare strength in singing together, the joy of the music combined with the beauty, praise or testimony of the lyrics.
Wonderful.
My voices has much in common with that of a seagull or a crow, but I join in anyway, trying not be too loud. And am blessed.
This Christmas we were visited by the Canadian conductor Boris Brott and a choir performing the Messiah.
Can you believe my joy when he turned around and invited the whole congregation to join in when they came to the Hallelujah Choir.
I’d always thought I had to wait until heaven to sing that mighty song of praise and testimony.
Being raised in a Pentecost Church, I guess I’m familiar with most kind of Christian music.It’s a necessary part of my spiritual diet.
Have a great day of praise!
From Felisol
Hi Felisol! Regardless of how we sound to others, I think our praises must sound beautiful to our Father! And I join you in your love for Handel’s Messiah. So glad you got to take part in the wonderful Hallelujah chorus, and didn’t have to wait for heaven!
–r
xx
Wonderful post, Renae!
Thanks, Jeanette!
I’m with Mark! The rest of the family, however, is with you! This means that if we ever have to take a trip together we would need two cars. Mark and I would have a very pleasant journey listening to erudite conversations, while you lot would be squabbling over which music station to listen to!
(I like your choice of hymn though)!
Oh, well in that case, you and Mark can ride in the compact car that gets great mileage. The rest of us will ride in a painted up “Partridge Family” van, with windows rolled down. The singing coming from within will be so lovely, people will be trying to book us for concerts at every stoplight! 🙂
–r
xx
I’m learning how to play guitar so I could have a better time worshiping God with music. 🙂
That is exciting, Daniel! The guitar is great, because you can pretty much take it anywhere!
–r
Thanks for the education, Renae!
Vonda
(FM all the way!)
Great to see you, Vonda! I think we should start a choir here . . .
🙂
–r
Haha. Definitely! I’ve written a post in relation to Making Music over on my blog @
http://winningeveryone.com/happiness/happiness-friday-playing-songs-on-a-guitar/
Thanks again for putting up a wonderful entry here. 🙂