The Hymn Battles: Conflict and Lust, James 4:1

What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. James 4:1-3

I adore my church. Being a member only since June, I find no flaw in it. It worships divinely. The teaching is solid.The people are welcoming and accepting. They follow God, walk in faith, and demonstrate true Christianity.

And they grieve.

Why,when all is so perfect?

A contingency had an argument and left. Sadly, the split is quite cliche: should we use the organ and hymns exclusively or mix it up with contemporary choruses?

Since the pastor decided to mix it up, and to take the control away from those who did not have the authority to dominate, a group of people picked up their hymnals and (if they could) their organs and went home.

The sad part is, the old order of worship had not been abolished, only updated and blended. 

I, personally, don't care for hymns--although today I've found myself singing "Blessed Assurance" all day long (no pun intended--all the day long!). During my first visit to my church, all they sang were the standard hymns, and I felt the presence of God that compelled me to worship.

I still don't like hymns. I still worship better with contemporary ballads--but when God shows up, I don't care how.


Why the musical and heart-rending drama? Lust and power and envy dominated the spirits of those who packed up and trekked to a church more to their opinions. They left in their wake a faithful, and welcoming congregation now grieving because of the animosity the fleeing have created. They mourn the loss of their family.

Silly things to fight about.

The Zika virus is destroying lives. Refugees, from the Middle East, from Africa, from Central America, cannot find refuge. People succumb to addictions. Charlatans and crooks want to run our country. And our churches bemoan their music!

Pray for what you want, for your needs, for others. God will hear--IF we pray according to his will and not to consume our answered prayers on our own egos.

Have people's lust and envy hurt you? How do you heal?

In truth, I'd love to hear of your experiences...together we can pray according to God's will.

From the Heart: Praying for Forgiveness

When cut to the quick by those who should have loved us, the pain hurts more than the wounds of a stranger and Jesus certainly understands this more than we. We know the Scriptural admonition to forgive--and this doesn't mean to condone or accept because wrong is wrong. However, we know we are flawed individuals, and we each have erred. And forgiveness is not an option. When we me our Father on Judgment Day we want to hear, "Well done my good and faithful servant" not "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoer!"

So how do we forgive, especially when we were right--clearly and without pride? (and remember, this isn't always the case--we are human, after all).

The first step is to pray for the offender which is not easy and often our will rebels against it. However, we cannot hold the sin against the believer--whatever we forgive on earth is forgiven in heaven, and we certainly want forgiveness from God and people for ourselves. To get that, we must give it.

One trick I've found that works when I do not want to pray for something goes like this: "Lord, help me want to pray for forgiveness." Sometimes I go a step further and pray that I want to want to--because I know how to hold onto a grudge. Usually I couple those prayers with an actual petition for the offender, and I'm honest. I tell God I may not mean it now, but I want to mean it. Eventually, my prayers become sincere.

Prayers restorative. Read James 5:16 and see. Although verse 15 talks about praying for the physically ill-- it has an application beyond the physical. "...confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

For me, I want to be able to fix things--do something. However, we cannot forgive unless we lean on God our Father. This is the first step.

My next post will explore concrete steps to take.