Author: Aaron Hufty

Aaron Hufty is the Associate Pastor for Worship and Music at FBCSA.

God is Love

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 89 (day two) 

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You. v. 14

Righteousness and Justice with Lovingkindness and Truth: A couple of weeks ago the same words were used in the Psalm we studied. In that psalm however, they were used at evidences of following God. You may recall, I posited that we often may feel we have truth on our side, but aren’t loving about it. In Psalm 89 the writer reminds us these virtues are foundational characteristics of the nature of God. God is Truth. God is Love. Any truth you encounter in the world ultimately has its foundation in the Lord. There is no truth apart from him. Isn’t that astounding. What we strive for is, for him, existence. When you try and comprehend God’s loving nature, it should humble you. Knowing that we are not deserving of mercy, and yet his lovingkindness extends to all who follow after him. Each time you see truth, justice, love, or righteousness this week take a moment to thank God for who he is.

SING!!!!

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 98 (day two)  O sing to the Lord a new song,
For He has done wonderful things, v. 1a

Sing. That’s it, that’s the blog. Sing.

Ok, maybe just a few more words. We have recently ended a study in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians where he declares that we ought to speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. He restates the same sentiment to his letter to the Colossians. We are a singing church, and I am grateful for that, but you would be amazed at how often people tell me they ‘can’t sing.’ Let me categorically respond to every one of those people here and now: malarkey . Utter nonsense. To say that you can’t sing is to declare that God made a mistake when he made you. To say that you can’t sing is to say the scriptures that command, not suggest, that everything with life and breath should sing and praise the Lord does not apply to you.

Does that come off as harsh? Good. You can sing. Period. You may not sing as well as some in the worship ministry, but who cares? That does not disqualify you from the command of scripture. Our performative culture has given us the impression that there are those who can, and those who can’t. That is not the truth of scripture. You can sing to God as he has given you voice. I may never give you a solo, but I want you to worship with a full-throated joy which declares the Lord is good and true.

Why is this so important? I could be flippant and say because God says so, and that would be sufficient. Look back at the verse again. We sing because he has done wonderful things. We need to declare that to a world devoid of God’s hope. We need to remind ourselves that he has, indeed, done wonderful things in our lives. We need to return thanks to the Lord in a way that pleases him. Trust me, there are harder assignments that will be given to you. Singing isn’t one of them. Don’t wait for Sunday, sing your praise today!

Peace

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 85:1-3, 8-13 (day two) 

Lovingkindness and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. v. 10

During the second week of Advent, we focus on peace. There is something beyond the beautiful imagery of this verse in Psalm 85. At first glance it seems these terms work wonderfully well together: lovingkindness and truth, righteousness and peace. However, it doesn’t take much for us to look around and notice people who hold the truth are often very unloving. Righteousness, more often than not, is accompanied by a vindictive or punitive spirit. This is the reality of our fallen world. The idea that we bring truth with love is still a radical one. Two thousand years removed from Jesus commanding us to offer the other cheek to someone who strikes us, we are still struggling with a sense of justice that takes rather than gives. We have to be prepared to lose. To lose a battle, a friend, ground, or whatever for the sake of mercy. The ‘battle’ is a long one, and we must keep sight that our momentary ‘victory’ should not cost an opportunity to show love. A reminder to breathe, pray, and trust the Lord when you are given an opportunity to be a peacemaker.

Restore, Renew, Revive

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 (day two).

O Lord God of hosts, restore us;
Cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved. v. 3, 7, & 19

A few weeks ago we had the joy of celebrating combined worship in the Sanctuary. Those are always special moments in the life of our church. Without question one of the most powerful takeaways from that day was hearing the congregation sing “Revive Us Again.” We have heard Pastor Chris speak of his prayer for a revival for several months, and this text is a reminder that the Lord can, indeed, revive us. The first week of Advent is a reminder of the Hope that we have in and through Jesus. There are so many images and metaphors reminding us the light overcomes darkness every time. When the Lord shines his face upon us, we cannot help but reflect that radiance. Think of how refreshed you feel when you step outside and feel the sun on your face. This is the renewal we need. Lord, let your son shine on us, and may we be restored to go and share this light with the world.

On Alert

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 6:17-20 (day two) With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, v. 18

If you have the time, start your reading a few verses earlier today and re-read the complete passage regarding the armor of God. Armor is not something you throw on. It takes time. It must fit properly, or it will not do the job it was created to do, think of the shepherd boy David when he tried on King Saul’s armor. As you put on the armor you become aware of how it fits, and where you are exposed. This should be a deliberate process, so that when you are in battle, you are ‘on alert’ as Paul concludes. Every part of this preparation is designed to slow you down, and to consider how the Lord is calling you to participate in the work he has called you to. There is not a sense of hurry or rush in this passage. As you prepare to face your day, your job, your family, or this season may you be on alert for all that will come your way. May that alertness come from a dedication to love and serve the Lord through continuous communion with him.

Arm Yourself

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 6:10-17 (day two) 

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. v. 10

Paul’s final exhortation to the Ephesians is to get ready for the coming days. Whether from without or within, there will be conflict and struggle. He also give a not so subtle reminder that to be strong is to allow the Lord to go before you. It is not your strength, it is his. Time spent in prayer, scripture, all doctrine point to the author and perfecter of our faith. These images of armor can give a false impression that we are fighting. The Lord fights for us. We are called to be his ambassadors and we are the conduits for the Spirit on earth, but every piece of armor that we put on is evidence of his protection for those he loves. Be strong and courageous. Arm yourself well with the strength of the Lord.

SING!

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 5:15-21 (day two) 

speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; v. 19

Although the Bible study literature stops at verse 18, it should not surprise you that I am happy to include the next two verses. It also shouldn’t come as a shock that Ephesians 5:19 was a verse I learned early in my musical studies. To think that scripture was so explicit about the role of music in our daily lives,  not to mention its profound role in corporate worship, I was delighted and humbled. We were all created to sing, that is a maxim not requiring debate. Whether you sing as well as I is immaterial. God did not misspeak when he commanded his children to sing praises to him. You have breath in your lungs, and you have a voice to sing.

None of this should come as a surprise coming from a worship pastor, but I would challenge you to think of music as a barometer of your spiritual health as well. There are chapters of my life where I have struggled and felt hopeless or depressed. Times where I really struggled with my purpose. I have noticed that in those times I didn’t want to sing. I didn’t have a soundtrack running through my head, and nothing sounded right. This was a clear indication to me that I was allowing myself to drift from who and what God called me to be. Since those days I have become more mindful to listen to the music of my heart to help diagnose my spiritual health.

Your song may not always be peppy and upbeat, but allow the Holy Spirit to fill your mind, heart, and voice with the songs of Heaven to help navigate this journey. Don’t allow the adversary to steal your song.

ADDENDUM: This is already a longer post than usual, so please forgive the extra addition. Today is Election Day. I want to encourage you to pray. Not that your candidate win, but that the Lord’s will be done. Our hope cannot be tied to a person other than Jesus. If we do that and that person loses, what does that say? Jesus cannot lose. Pray that God would give you strength and courage to Love Your Neighbor more fiercely tomorrow that you did today, and may we all be secure in the purpose and plan of God.

Children of Light

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 5:8-14 (day two) 

for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light  v. 8

The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them. Isaiah 9:2

This passage from Isaiah is one used every year during Advent, so you can imagine how quickly I made the connection to it. We have been neck deep in preparations for the season for quite a while now. The idea of being ‘children of light’ has always resonated with me. Paul has just reminded the readers not to rely on former ways of thinking and acting, but to be transformed by who Christ has called them to be. It is in this knowledge that light is being shone on every thought, word, and deed. We must measure everything by that light. It will be one of the distinguishing characteristics of believers in the world. It’s one of the reasons I love big bright sanctuaries. I want there to be an abundance of light to remind us that we are no longer to cower in shadows, but to live out our faith in the glorious light of Christ.

Renewal

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 4:17-24 (day two) 

Paul’s encouragement to ‘renew the spirit of your mind’ gives us the sense of movement and growth. Earlier in the passage he speaks about how we were formerly, and how we are to put those ways of thinking and acting behind us. There seems, however, to be more required. If we are to renew, we shouldn’t be static. There is no indication this was a once and done scenario as in; you were made new and that’s that. No, this seems to indicate a continuous process. It is the spiritual concept of sanctification. We should not be who we were before Christ, but even more than that, we shouldn’t be who we were yesterday. This should be our desire. If we are aren’t growing in our faith, what are we doing? If care isn’t given we fall into complacency when we should be seeking renewal.

Edified and Equipped

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 4:11-16 (day two) 

for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; v. 12

As I consider worship planning each week, this verse serves as a guiding principle. Worship leaders have a responsibility to the gathered body of believers they are called to shepherd. One of the great tasks in worship is to edify the saints. To build you up for the coming task you are being sent to accomplish through the work of the Spirit. Each prayer, scripture, song, and text is designed to focus the collective to one purpose. After glorifying God, building up the saints is next on the list.

This may seem surprising to some, but I believe this is what we are called to do in gathered worship. Don’t get me wrong, I feel strongly about evangelism, but I also feel that if the gathered body of believers honor the Lord with their worship, and are edified through the service it serves as a clarion call to the lost to be a part of this sweet aroma of praise. My constant prayer for you is that you leave each service equipped to go and tell.