Whistle While You…
I envy those who can whistle. I couldn't whistle a tune if my life depended on it. Nothing can lift one's spirit more than listening to someone whistle his or her way through the day. Whether it is a ballad or a joyous tune, the whistler's way eventually makes it into the heart of everyone who is listening. Many an old black-and-white movie depicts the spell a whistling beau can place upon an unsuspecting woman. So, too, can a whistling man or woman, diffuse an angry scene, and soon every one is humming along. I often wonder if God whistles? He may. Jesus probably whistled while He worked in His father's carpentry shop, or while He walked from town to town. We are instructed, even commanded to whistle through the psalms. Really!
Lifted Up
In James 4:10, we’re told, “When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on Him, He will lift you up and give you honor.”Does that mean that if I just humble myself, my day will come? The promotion for which I was passed over will one day be mine? The house-of-many-problems will turn into my dream house? I’ll get to fly First Class, for once?
A Symphony of Praise
There was a commercial a while back that I just loved. It showed a dad getting breakfast for a toddler who was being occupied on the kitchen floor with the pots and pans. The Dad was getting annoyed with the child's attempts at music until he came up with a solution. He put on earphones and listened to great music composers as his child looked happily on at Dad, who was now enjoying his son's musical talent. I see God doing the same thing for us.
The Courtroom
Recently I sat in a courtroom and watched the judge and all the guilty souls who, one after another, stood before him. Seems I've sat in courtrooms alot in the past few years. Thankfully I've only watched and testified. Some judges have been amazingly merciful, almost like loving parents—especially the judges in juvenile court. One judge was like a cruel "hang 'em high" Wild West cowboy—complete with handlebar mustache. Today's judge was a good man who truly worked for the best in each case, while holding each person to the law. But he sent confusing signals, and this was the second of three times that our attendance was wasted. Justice is inconsistent.
A Mighty Fortress
I stood in awe, the enormity, and beauty overwhelming me. Then I heard the statistics—the nave is ten stories high, the center tower is as tall as a thirty-story building, the heaviest stone is 5.5 tons, and it is only one of 762 elaborately hand-carved stones in Washington DC’s National Cathedral. As I stood there I dreamed about seeing the five other, even larger, cathedrals of the world, and I wondered how the first temple built by Solomon in Jerusalem might have looked. How it must have inspired God’s people to sing praises to God, as this place was now influencing me.
