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60 Days….Songs of Prayer

Sam Bates — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 12:31:58 +0000

One of the greatest blessings our Father gave me long ago, was to be raised in the Church singing the timeless old hymns again and again. Last night, I found myself in bed awake and struggling to get back to sleep. Not too unusual for me, but annoying none the less. It seems that in a little while, the words of these great old hymns proceed into my mind, transforming my racing thoughts into songs of prayer and praise. One of my favorites songs to pray to the Lord is, “O Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”

Meditate on these beautiful lyrics as prayer, at home or at work, and hopefully you will discover a whole new dimension to your prayer life.

O thou fount of every blessing, Tune my heart to sing they grace;

Streams of mercy, NEVER CEASING, Call for songs of loudest praise;

Teach me ever to adore Thee; May I still Thy goodness prove,

While the hope of endless glory, Fills my heart with joy and love.

O to grace how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be!

Let they goodness like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to Thee;

Never let me wander from Thee, Never leave the God I love;

Here’s my heart , O take and seal it, Seal it for the courts above.

Have a blessed Lord’s Day!

In the Still of the Night

Sam Bates — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 05:27:37 +0000

How are you sleeping these days? Ever troubled by insomnia? Anyone feel like they are working hard all day then laying awake worrying half the night? The bed looks so inviting. You climb in and fall asleep only to find yourself awake a couple of hours later, but it seems like you just shut your eyes. If you can’t immediately roll over and go back to sleep, for whatever reason, you begin to realize its going to be another long night.

The parade begins and a thousand different things start their march before your wakeful eyes.

What can be done? I recently heard about one guy who said, “When I can’t sleep, I just get up and sit in a chair until I bore myself to death.” Another reaches for an Ambien or some other kind of sleeping pill. Yet another tries to fill the wakefulness with some kind of late night TV or surfing the internet.

Having experienced a multitude of these kinds of nights over the years, I have learned a few things about how these wakeful hours can be more productively spent. Free from distractions of the day, it can be a perfect time for some reflective God-centered thought.

God is awake in the still of the night and is ready to hear from us. The time that I have spent during those wakeful times has proven to be so valuable. Think on God! Use this time to pray or maybe praise him with a favorite song or hymn. It has always been an amazing opportunity to get close to the Father. The quiet stillness seems to allow for a deeper focus and more penetrating praise.

David seemed to understand this when he said, “I remember you and meditate on you during the night watches.” And of Jesus we read, “he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God (Luke 6:12).

When I can’t sleep, it is amazing how giving this time to the Lord in prayer and praise will settle my my mind and before I know it, I am back to sleeping peacefully.

Musings on Sunday

Sam Bates — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 12:57:23 +0000

I have almost always looked forward to Sunday. Going to church has never been much of a struggle for me. I know that is not the case for some of you, so I don’t say that in any kind of judgmental way. I just seem to always feel better after going. Of course we miss from time to time, but almost always I miss it and find out that “the sermon rocked” or “the music was awesome.” It also often feels that by the time the next Sunday rolls around, I feel like I am running on fumes and really need the spiritual fuel I get from meeting with the “family” and worshiping our Father.

I ran across this statement by C.S. Lewis, my favorite author that seemed to relate to all this. Lewis said,” God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.”

I know that we get this fuel from other ways as well, but I can almost always count on my tank getting refilled and therefore being better equipped to handle the challenges of the week. It is simply how we were designed.

Lord, Please help us to understand and accept that as our Creator, we must operate with you as the main fuel in our lives. We are so willing to be filled with so much other garbage. No wonder we often feel so defeated and depleted. Help us Lord to use our Sunday’s to the fullest and to be refreshed by the power that comes from meeting with our church families and fully engaging in what you want to give us so that we can live abundantly. In the name of your precious son Jesus, Amen.

Awesome Christmas Music

Sam Bates — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 04:37:45 +0000

Friends,

One thing you will learn about me is that I am passionate about music. I know that everyone will define good music differently, but those of the original rock and roll generation have to acknowledge that Jethro Tull was GOOD MUSIC! Yes , it was defintely out there with Ian Anderson and his flute and mandolin, but you can’t argue with the creativity and originality of this band.

So this time of year, I am constantly on the search for the new, different and original in Christmas music. Honestly, so much of it is boring, redundant and uninspired. Feels like so many are just trying to cash in. I am close to going off on a Tangent (another amazing band) so let me get to the point.

I sat in Church this morning and was so moved by the music of the service. Others have told me about the fantastic services they attended and the overwhelming comments had to do with the wonderful music played in these services. God has blessed us with this precious gift. It speaks in ways that nothing else can. It is one the greatest blessings we God has given us.

So as is my passion, I was looking around the Interwebs for some new Christmas music when I happened on this great video clip of Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) playing with a German Youth Symphony one of my favorite Christmas songs; God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.

Please put on your headphones and enjoy this Christmas classic done by one of the most original musicians of our day. My prayer is that is that it will help start your week off on a positive and upbeat note and help you to continue to seek CHRIST FIRST during this month of December.

Lord, you have created such beautiful and amazing instruments speak to your creation. One of those that is so powerful is the gift of music. The language of music is universal and can reach across cultures in ways that nothing else can. We can all appreciate the fantastic music that comes from so many different places. Thank you for giving us this special gift that speaks to our hearts in an unspoken yet clearly understandable language. Praise God! Amen.