Pickle Heaven Press-James R. Johnson

something to help you laugh and think about life with Christ

Tag: worship

why do you sing? — March 12, 2025

why do you sing?

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I met a guy who had moved from Nevada to East Texas.  I thought to myself, “Oh boy!”  Nevada isn’t part of the Bible belt, maybe I have finally met someone here who needs to hear about Jesus.”

I was right.  He was in his early forties, but he had never been to church and didn’t know enough about it to fill a thimble.

He began to attend our Sunday services and placed himself into what seemed to him to be the wacky world of the church. 

He approached me one day and asked, “So what is all the singing about?  Why do you sing?” 

“Why do we sing?  Well because we sing – that’s what we do.  The audacity that you should ask!   You do know that I am a worship leader, don’t you?”

“Why do we sing?”  I was truly shocked by his question and frankly very embarrassed that I didn’t have a ready answer.

But I have thought about since then, and this is why I think we should sing…

– Jesus worshipped in song.   He and His disciples left the upper room and “After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives” – Matthew 26:30.  Good for Jesus; – must be good for us too.

– The Scripture directs us to sing.   Scripturecontains nearly fifty commands to sing. Consider Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace in your hearts to God.”

– It is one of the few things that we can give to the Lord.  The author of Hebrews wrote, “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, acknowledging his name (13:15).

– Singing etches the truth on our hearts.  When a song is built on the Scripture, it articulates the truth in a way that is memorable, impressive and repetitive.   In fact, it was the primary way to assimilate the truth until the Reformation when Scripture was finally translated into common languages and the printing press made Scripture more broadly available.

– Singing sets heaven to work.  When God’s people sing to Him in worship, good things happen.  The amassed enemies of Israel were defeated by a song (2 Chronicles 20).  The jail that held Paul and Silas was opened by an earthquake as they sang praises and prayed (Acts 16:25-26).  Most of us have also experienced a God-given peace that comforts us when we sing.

There are lots of reasons I could have given my friend.  But honestly, if I were in his shoes, I don’t think any of these would have carried much weight.  But this last one might.

When a person experiences joy, they very often will make music.  She said yes to his marriage proposal.  He drove home singing at the top of his lungs.  She was declared valedictorian and went humming along the rest of the day. 

That’s what we do when joy fills us.  There is a song in our hearts, that is often voiced with words.

The Psalmist wrote, “O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord, Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation” – Psalm 95:1 (NASU)

When I think of what the Lord has done for me and my family – the way He has been with me and worked with me and through me – it overwhelms me with joy, and that joy escapes me in song.

Chris Tomlin understands.  He said as much in his song…

“How can I keep from singing Your praise?   How can I ever say enough? How amazing is Your love?  How can I keep from shouting Your name? I know I am loved by the King and it makes my heart want to sing.”

That’s why I sing? Why do you sing?  – Or do you?

A PRAYER: Lord it’s not much but I gladly offer you my joyful song.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord be with you always.

Scripture passages are from the NETBible ® unless otherwise noted.

old strings — October 25, 2023

old strings

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The other day, my grandson said to me, “Papaw, when I am seventy, I hope to be as healthy as you are.”  I said to him, “Sounds like you don’t wanna set the bar too high, do you?”

Old age is tough, but there are a few things that are almost as unpleasant – such as old strings! 

I have a favorite guitar that has fallen out of favor because it is strung with old strings.  They once vibrated with energy but are now dull and listless.

So, what steals the life from a guitar string?   Those on an unplayed guitar will corrode from oxidation and humidity.  

Strings that are played will gather dirt, body oil and dead skin cells.  This gunk works its way into the windings of the string and hardens into a stiff, brittle mass.  This nastiness chokes the vibration out of the string.  And then there is the metal fatigue from all the stretching.

When the strings look dirty, feel rough, sound dull or are out of tune, it’s time to change them.

So, I did.  It’s a tedious task which I have performed maybe a thousand times in my life. 

I put them on, let them stretch and tuned them up – and it was magic.  Pure sweet magic.  They were perfectly intoned, and there was a brightness and a zing that wasn’t there before.  The guitar resonated and reverberated beauteous sound that carried on even as the last chord began to fade.

I played for two hours straight and was in danger of thinking that I was an excellent guitar player – all because of the new strings.

New strings are wonderful, but my life is more like the old ones.

The Lord strums the strings of my heart, and I worship Him.   But my worship can be tainted.  The right words come from my mouth, but my mind is elsewhere. 

I sing of holiness even though I lost my temper 10 minutes before.  I won’t sing loudly because I am concerned about what the guy next to me will think.   I grumble because the song choice isn’t my choice.  I sometimes mouth words that I don’t really mean.  I worship because I am expected to – not because I am compelled by His love.

I am afraid that my worship looks dirty, feels rough, sounds dull and is out of tune.  Time for new strings.

They are coming says the Scripture.  Paul gave us this hope in Ephesians 5:25-27, “…Christ loved the church and gave himself for her to sanctify her by cleansing her with the washing of the water by the word, so that he may present the church to himself as glorious—not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless.” NETBible ®

Because of Christ’s love for us, He died on a cross to make us holy so that when we arrive in heaven, we will be glorious – no stain or wrinkle or imperfection of any kind.  There will be in us no impurity to compromise us or shallowness to embarrass us.  There will be nothing to distract us from the Lord. 

Like the news strings, the Lord’s hand will pass over our hearts, and beautiful, magnificent untainted worship will sound.   I am thinking that He will relish this worship even more than I enjoy my new strings.

But why should we deny Him that joy and defer it until we get to heaven?

Get alone and grab your phone.  Pull up your favorite worship song – and sing it – to Him.  With no one to impress; with no ulterior motive to derail you; and with the song of your choice – sing with your heart.  Worship Him.      

A PRAYER: Lord I am sorry that my life sounds so sorry.  I want my worship to bring joy to You both now and in heaven.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.  

*Guitar info from Acoustic Guitar (website), How Guitar Strings Age—and How to Know When to Change Them. 

is God a bass or a tenor? — June 29, 2022

is God a bass or a tenor?

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We were not expecting to be expecting, but God had other ideas.  I was still working on my husband skills having been married only 7 months.  But we were still very excited about being parents.

I could not wait to meet my little girl.  During the pregnancy, I would put my head close to my wife’s tummy and softly sing to my baby so that she could hear and even feel the vibrations.  I sang to her – I sang for her – I sang over her – because I loved her.

Ironically, long before she could talk, she would stand up in her crib in the morning and return the song – singing her baby syllables with all her heart.

________

I have learned that God is just as excited about His children.  He too sings over them.  (I know! Isn’t that a crazy thought?) 

The evidence is in Zephaniah 3:17. Now since you have probably never read the book of Zephaniah, let me give you a thumbnail sketch. 

God used Zephaniah as a messenger to the nation of Judah.  He prophesied that the nation would be judged because of their idolatry, immorality, and spiritual apathy.  

But, in the third and final chapter of the book, Zephaniah predicted that God would send His Messiah in the last days and all Israel would turn their hearts toward Him.  The distance between God and His people will be bridged. 

This is where we find Zephaniah 3:17, “The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.” – KJV

On that day God will joyfully celebrate by singing love songs over His children.

It is not a misprint.  Most other translations of the Bible render it this way as well.

God joyfully sings over His people much as I sang over my little girl. 

I have so many questions?  Is God a tenor or a bass?   Would a female hear Him as an alto or a soprano?   Does this mean He has perfect pitch?  Do the angels snicker when He sings? Isn’t He embarrassed?

No way!  He is not ashamed to sing of His love for His children.  He is a Father who is hopelessly devoted to His little ones. 

I have a friend who feels the need to return the song.   When Steve Bradley sings during a church service, he is louder than my grandpa’s Sunday tie.

He out-sings us all including the crew on the platform with the microphones.  He belts out the hymns with gusto and the contemporary worship songs with just as much energy.  He loves to sing to his Redeemer, and the rest of us are inspired to hear him.   

It seems that a heart full of love just spills out in song. 

So, may I put us on the spot?  If our love for the Lord were gauged by the way we sing on Sunday morning, would we move the needle at all? 

Hey if we ain’t feelin’ it, I don’t think we ought to fake it.  But maybe we should be alarmed that we ain’t feelin’ it!

This next Sunday morning, grab a cup of coffee and your Bible, and mull over Romans 8:28-39 where Paul provides a thrilling description of God’s love for you.   

Then, with your heart warmed, head for church and stun the worship leader by enthusiastically singing of your love for the Lord.

A PRAYER: Lord singing is easy for me – but please help those who don’t find it as easy?

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Nothing More — May 23, 2020

Nothing More

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a song of surrender by one of my favorite vocalists- my daughter Bethany Bergman. Courtesy of pickleheavensongs. written and recorded by Jim Johnson

the day God came to be — March 6, 2019

the day God came to be

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I remember the day that God was born – in my experience that is.  He had always been more of a dusty theoretical concept to me until He opened my eyes to His hidden, spiritual, eternal reality.

I remember being stunned to find that God was truly alive and that He interacted with me, on my turf, on a minute-to-minute basis.  He answered my super specific prayers and spoke to me by directing me to a perfectly appropriate passage of Scripture.  I was mystified by the way He loved me by providing just the right car at just the right price.

I found significance in the details of life because the God I came to know was all powerful and all knowing – everywhere all at the same time.  I wondered at the way He ordered every aspect of life according to His gracious and sovereign plan and I was grateful to be a part of it.

I will admit, though, I sometimes took it too far.  I remember closing my eyes and running my finger over the pages of my Bible.  When I stopped roving and opened my eyes, I expected God to give me a personalized message.  Today I wonder what would have happened if my finger had landed on Job 19:17, “My breath is repulsive to my wife” -NET Bible®

When I dressed for the day, I would sometimes ask God to help me pick out a shirt.  Now I just ask my wife (although God was nicer about it.)

Yes, sometimes my wide-eyed wonder was a little excessive.  The dog was exhibit A. I shared a home back then with 2 others who were also new to and awed by God.   A dog had been given to us.  He was a big mangy dirty-white cur, but we knew that God was in the details and that He must have wanted us to have the beast.

The dog was nameless so one of us suggested that we ask God to show us the name He had in mind for the dog.  We circled up and prayed a prayer that ended in this way, “and Lord we thank you for the dog – Amen.”    We opened our eyes and dropped our jaws because we knew that God had just answered our prayer.  “Amen.”  The dog’s name was to be Amen! 

Contrary to his name, he turned out to be the dog from hell.    The word Amen is used in the Bible as an affirmation of what had just been said.  It means “So be it.”  At our house it meant, “So eat it.”   The dog was a bottomless pit.  And when he had finished his dog chow, he would chow down on our shoes.   

Eventually we had to go our separate ways and none of us could take the dog with us (at least that’s what we said.)  So, we gave him to a priest who seemed to be thankful to have a dog with a sanctified name (although I hope he sprinkled him with some holy water too!)  

He later told us that the dog had escaped from the rectory.  The priest canvased the neighborhood looking for him crying, “Amen!  Amen!”  He nearly started a revival.  An African American woman opened her front door and shouted, “Praise the Lord.”  (Hey, I am not making this up!)

Well, I am a lot older now and unfortunately that sense of awe I had for God has become as dulled as my other five senses.   I wonder what happened? 

What I initially believed about God has not been undermined or contradicted by anything that I have experienced with God since.  He has been the same yesterday, today and forever – the same, ever, awesome God. 

So, what can I do to recapture that wonder?  When I take time to marinate my mind with a passage of Scripture, I do hear His voice – and it stirs me.  When I review my prayer journal and I see the multitude of specific answers to my prayers, I am moved.  God shows up in new and fresh ways whenever I step out in faith and do a mission trip – and that is awesome.  Or maybe I need to write about Him – like in a blog.  Yep even as I think about and type these God thoughts, my heart is moved to worship.

Go and do likewise and may the Lord be with you, Amen.  (not the dog)

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I recently watched this clip and the Lord stirred me.  One of my most favorites songs of worship: Knowing You.  Watch it without tearing up.  Can’t be done!