"be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" - Ephesians 5:18b-20
You do not need to be the famous Dietrich Bonhoeffer or the other famous person whose name I heard in a sermon recently but I've already forgotten.
You only need to be you.
You only need to be you to "be filled with the Spirit" and address one another in the ways God speaks of in today's verses.
It is not minimizing "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" (Ephesians 5:19) to say that speaking to one another in "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" means speaking to one another 1) from the bottom of your heart (psalms), 2) thoughtfully (hymns), 3) about the matters that are weighing on your heart (spiritual songs), trusting that this call is in the Bible because this is how God works in our relationships to build up everyone.
Everyday, as a pastor, I experience one consistent thread in every pastoral care and counseling conversation, namely, people either don't feel connected to others or they do feel connected because their conversations are 1) from the bottom of your heart (psalms), 2) thoughtfully (hymns), 3) about the matters that are weighing on your heart (spiritual songs).
It's not about being touchy-feely. It's about honesty.
People come to mind, males and females. They're hiding. They're not being honest with others. And they're not being honest with themselves. They say they need to talk, and then they deflect the talk away from themselves and criticize other people.
And it's not healthy.
Whether you receive this devotion in the U.S.A. or overseas, you know these people. Sometimes they're in the mirror.
So let's pray for one another. For the person in front of you. Consciously thinking, "how can I make room for this person to be real with me?"
Lord, please help us to start by being real with them, trusting you, and "giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Ephesians 5:18b-20)
Praise God!
(For an archive of "Day of Praise", please visit my daughter Calley's website at http://dayofpraisepc.blogspot.com/?m=1)
Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson
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