Hear His Call

 

God speaks to His children through His Word, His creation, and through His orchestration of details in His universe to send us a direct message that the unsaved might interpret as “coincidence.”

But with God there are no coincidences, for He works all things together for our ultimate good and for His glory Romans 8:28). It is always better to listen to His still, small voice (1 Kings 19:11-12) than to ignore it, as He may be forced to smack us with a baseball bat just to get our attention!

Once we are saved by trusting in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6), God speaks to us through His Word, whether we read it in the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16), hear it preached from the pulpit (Romans 10:14-17), sung in a Christian song Ephesians 5:19, or brought to our remembrance by the Godly counsel of a brother or sister in Christ Proverbs 27:17. His written Word came directly from His Son, the Living Word (Hebrews 1:1-2).

The beauty and complexity of God’s creation should reveal His existence even to the unsaved, for the heavens and earth declare the handiwork of the supreme Intelligent Designer (Psalm 19:1), so that even unbelievers who have not heard or read Scripture have no excuse to doubt Him (Romans 1:20). God often speaks to believers by lifting their spirits with a cheerful bird song or beautiful flower blooming through a crack in the pavement, by reminding them of the Gospel through specific creations that reflect it, or even by a juxtaposition of seemingly random natural elements or circumstances that tell us His will in unique messages intended for our eyes and ears only.

When we clearly hear His voice in these ways, we ignore it at our own peril. How can we be sure the message is from God? He cannot lie (Titus 1:2) or change (Hebrews 13:8), so we know that God will never speak against His own Word. Any message that contradicts it must come from our own flesh or from Satan, and not from Him.

When we pray to God to hear His will, follow and obey Him, He will give us peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4: 6-7), for He is not the author of confusion, but of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33). Feeling at peace about a difficult decision is a confirmation that we are trusting God to lead us in His perfect will, and not relying on our own “wisdom,” resources or strength (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Often God calls His children to change direction even when they seem to be fruitful in their current situation or ministry. The founding pastor of the church my husband and I joined after we were saved had grown that church from a small gathering in his home to a much larger congregation. Many souls had been saved under his powerful preaching and many believers were nurtured, schooled, comforted and strengthened through his role as devoted and loving pastor.

Despite his fruitfulness in that church for many years, he felt God calling him to change direction. He left to become a founding member of HELP Ministries, which now supports and trains more than 400 native missionary pastors in 48 countries on five continents! Untold numbers of souls have been saved in these native churches and through evangelistic journeys and church planting!

And the souls he “left behind” at his former church also flourished under the new leadership of the youth pastor who took the helm as undershepherd. This great man of God grew and matured in the Lord, leading countless souls to Him, feeding, training, befriending, teaching and loving his flock, and acquiring a large church campus, building a large new sanctuary and fellowship hall, and growing the church spiritually, physically and financially. Although God called him home at the age of 40, after a short but agonizing bout with widespread lung cancer, his legacy in the hearts and minds of his congregation, and the crowns he won to lay at Jesus’ feet, cannot be underestimated.

He was a great blessing to us, and we are forever thankful for the spiritual growth and opportunities to serve that we experienced under his leadership. I sang solo specials and in the choir and taught a ladies’ class, while my husband served as a greeter and usher, and helped in the sound booth.

After we had been members for 12 years, one day the new pastor preached on Acts 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

As we drove home, past a neighboring church that we passed nearly daily in our travels, my husband wondered out loud whether God might be calling us to serve Him in our “Jerusalem”—this church right around the corner from our house.

We discovered that the church had gone through difficult times because of many leaders and members dying or moving away, and we strongly felt led to help that church by transferring our membership and looking for new service opportunities there. It was a difficult decision, as we loved our church family and pastors and were thankful for our ministries. But we trusted God to lead us according to His perfect plan, and as we drove to the new church one Sunday morning we prayed that He would make His will crystal clear.

As we pulled into the church parking lot, we were surprised to see the pastor, whom we had met only once before, coming out to greet us warmly. I asked him about openings in the music ministry, and I was shocked when he said, “Would you like to sing a special today?”

Even more surprising was when he asked if I would like to start a ladies’ class. I was silently thanking and praising God for these opportunities, and for giving us these confirmations that this new church was indeed His will for us.

But God answered our prayers exceedingly abundantly beyond what we could ever imagine or think! (Ephesians 3:20). As we walked into the sanctuary for the first time, there on the back wall greeting all who entered there was a huge banner with the full text of Acts 1:8, the very verse that had led us to this church in the first place!

God doesn’t ask or expect us to always understand His plan, to know how He will provide us with opportunities, or to anticipate our destination. All He asks is obedience, for us to take that first step of faith just as Abraham did when God told him to leave behind his country, idols, power and wealth and to set out for the Promised Land (Genesis 12:1-4). May we always hear, follow, and obey His call, for we cannot begin to imagine the countless blessings (1 Corinthians 2:9) with which He will reward our faithfulness!

1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.  

Copyright 2025 Laurie Collett

No Resurrection, No Hope

 

Image from Jesus Film Project

A few days ago, while thinking about the last week of Christ’s earthly ministry, my thoughts strayed across the memory of a Holy Week many years ago, as if I had brushed up against an evil spider lurking in a cobweb within the darkest recesses of my mind.

Easter came early that year: March 27, 2005. I had been born again nearly 5 years previously, on April 17, 2000, by trusting in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6). On the Thursday of Holy Week in 2005, my husband and I were in New Orleans to compete in a ballroom dance competition.

The city, festive as always, was blooming with spring flowers and enticing with sounds of jazz and brass bands wafting through the breeze. The weather was balmy, perfect for strolling through the French Quarter and admiring the intricate iron work of the historic buildings and the precious art objects in the windows of antique shops.

We were staying at the Ritz Carlton where the competition was taking place, the elegant ballgowns and sparkling Latin dresses adorning the already beautiful interior, replete with tasteful, fragrant floral displays and Easter décor. In the city, hotel and ballroom, the people were friendly, the food was delicious, and the mood was jovial.

But my heart was heavy, sinking like a stone to the pit of my stomach.  My thoughts could not escape the darkness of the events surrounding Terri Schiavo, a young woman with severe brain damage and a family embroiled in a bitter struggle over her right to live or to die. Her husband had moved on with his life and had children with another woman. Yet he refused to relinquish legal guardianship of Terri to her parents, even though they offered to pay all her expenses.

I was one of the very few neurologists who, after thoroughly reviewing her complex medical records and videotapes, believed that she showed signs of meaningful interaction with her environment and especially with her parents. I had signed an affidavit to that effect in support of her parents, who had appealed to the courts to have her feeding tube reinserted after Terri’s husband won the legal battle to have it removed.

But after the “Palm Sunday Compromise” on March 20, which was emergency legislation to get the case moved to federal court, on March 25 the courts refused to reinsert the feeding tube. It had been withheld since March 18, meaning that Terri would be deprived of food and water and allowed to die from starvation and dehydration.

My heart went out to her parents, for I could not imagine the agony of knowing your child was deliberately being starved to death, and watching as her body shriveled away and her eyes sank deep into their sockets. Even worse would be the feeling of helplessness to intervene and knowing that your child’s pain was senseless and through no fault of her own.

Even for me, that Holy Week was perhaps the most poignant of my life, as it so vividly brought to mind the suffering of Jesus, the innocent Lamb of God led to the slaughter and betrayed by those He loved and trusted. And the pain that Mary must have endured at the cross, not only watching Jesus’ life ebb away, but knowing that her perfect, sinless Son, the Messiah, God Himself, was unjustly condemned to a horrific death and brutally tortured by those He came to save.

Meanwhile, protesters and prayer warriors gathered around the hospice facility where Terri was dying; the media were ablaze with arguments from both sides; and the courts and legislature continued to suppress any last hope of Terri’s parents that she would be allowed to live. President Bush spoke out for legal protection of those who had no voice of their own, and the Pope criticized US law for allowing such inhumane treatment and for not upholding the sanctity of human life.

On March 27, Easter Sunday, while Christians everywhere celebrated the resurrection of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Mark 16:6, Luke 24:6, John 21:14, Romans 8:34), Terri received the Last Rites, in keeping with her Catholic background. She passed into eternity a few days later, on March 31.

Despite the burden of these events, my heart found hope anew in singing God’s praises on Resurrection Sunday, for the risen Christ is victorious over death and brings hope to the suffering and once hopeless who have trusted Him.

I don’t know whether or not Terri Schiavo was saved, for only the Lord knows the hearts (1 Samuel 16:7). I do know that had Jesus Christ, God the Son, not taken on human flesh (John 1:14) to pay the ransom price for our sins (Hosea 13:14, Mark 10:45, 1 Timothy 2:6), and had He not conquered sin, death and the grave by rising from the dead, that there would be no hope for any of us (1 Corinthians 15:13-58).

Praise the Lord, Christ arose! Now we who trust Him have a living hope (1 Peter 1:3), a blessed hope in His glorious appearing (Titus 2:13), and the assurance that when we are absent from the body, we are present with the Lord! (2 Corinthians 5:8). If He calls us home before the Rapture, We will pass through the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4) directly to our home in Heaven (John 14:1-4), where He awaits with outstretched arms!

And if we are blessed to still be living when He returns, we will not even taste death (Luke 9:27), for we shall be instantly transformed into glorious bodies like His (1 Corinthians 15:35-50), to meet with Him in the clouds and forever be with Him (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) and our loved ones in Him!

Because of His resurrection, there is hope! He is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia, Amen! 

© 2019 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives

The Only Way

 

Does God hear and answer everyone’s prayers regardless of their language, beliefs, or religion?.

God will always hear and answer “Yes!” to the prayer of anyone who realizes they are a sinner in need of Jesus as their Savior and asks Him into their heart (Romans 10:9-10). Thereafter, His Holy Spirit within the believer’s heart (Ephesians 1:13; 2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5) helps us to pray to God the Father (Matthew 6:9), in the name of His Son, even when we don’t know exactly how to pray (Romans 8:26).

God answers other prayers based on whether or not the one praying believes the Gospel (1 Peter 3:12; 1 Corinthians 2:14). Thankfully, the Gospel has reached many nations and has been translated into many different tongues, although there are still more places and peoples to be reached.

There are Names for Jesus in Hebrew, Arabic, the Romance languages, and all well-known tongues, but in any language, the Name of Jesus is above all other names (John 20:31) and connotes One Who is quite different from Allah or gods worshipped in other religions. There is no other name by which anyone can be saved (Acts 4:12).

Jesus was not just a good man and good teacher, but the perfect, sinless, all-powerful, all-knowing Son of God (John 11:27; 20:31; Acts 7:56; 2 Peter 1:17) and God Himself (John 1:1; 1 John 5:20), the Fullness of the Trinity (Colossians 2:9), present from the beginning of all time as the Word Who created all (John 1:1-3).

Regardless of whether people accept or deny Who Jesus is in their earthly lifetime, one day all shall bow to Him at the judgment and confess (Isaiah 45:23; Romans 14:11; Philippians 2:10) that He is God, King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 17:14; 19:16).

The Gospel is the Good News that Jesus Christ, Son of God and God Himself, took on human flesh without losing His divinity (John 1:14), and came to earth to suffer and die as the perfect, sinless sacrifice for all our sins (Hebrews 4:15; Philippians 2:5-8; Romans 5:8). He was buried and rose again from the dead so that all who trust in His completed work on the cross will have eternal life with Him in Heaven (1 Corinthians 15; Romans 10:13; Acts 16:31 ;John 5:24).

Because we are all sinners (Romans 3:23), a just, Holy God cannot allow us into His presence in Heaven without making us holy through the substitutionary death of His Son. Jesus paid our sin debt in full (Hebrews 9:26-27), so that when God looks at those who have repented and placed their trust in Christ, He no longer sees their sins (Acts 3:19; 1 John 1:9), but instead, He sees the perfect righteousness of His Son (Romans 3:20-26, 2 Corinthians 5:18-21; Isaiah 53:4-6).

The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ therefore has reconciled God’s children – those who trust in His only begotten Son – to God Himself (1 Peter 3:18; 2 Corinthians 5:18-19; Hebrews 2:17).

Jesus Himself said, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6). God’s Word clearly states that the only way to God the Father is by faith in His Son. This may be viewed as narrow in the sense that it excludes other beliefs and faiths, but Jesus Himself said that this was the case:

Enter ye in [to Heaven] at the strait [narrow] gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. (Matthew 7:13-15)

Jesus therefore said that there are many false religions, and false teachers, who appear holy but who mislead their followers into death and damnation (Revelation 20:15). He even went further to say that those who claimed to be His followers but did not have a close personal relationship with Him would not enter Heaven:

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.(Matthew 7: 21-23)

Jesus illustrated this in the parable commonly referred to as the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), but as John MacArthur has so aptly pointed out, it would be better referred to as the Tale of Two Sons. The Father in the parable represents God the Father. The prodigal son represents the sinner who rebels against the Father, insults Him, runs away from Him, wastes the resources the Father gave Him, and finally stoops so low into degradation, poverty and worthlessness that He comes to the end of himself and realizes that He has sinned against Heaven and the Father (v. 18-19).

At that point He is willing to give up his status as a son and return as a lowly servant, but the Father is eagerly awaiting his return and runs toward him with open arms the moment He sees him approaching. He kisses him and offers him His finest treasures because of His joy that His son has returned and asked for forgiveness (v. 20-22).

This represents the joy of our Father when a lost sinner realizes His need of the Savior, repents of his sins, asks for forgiveness, and places his trust in Christ. That sinner, saved by God’s grace through faith in His Son (Ephesians 2:8-9), is then transformed from an enemy of God (Romans 5:10) to His child, joint-heir with Christ (Romans 8:16-17; Galatians 4:7), and even His ambassador (2 Corinthians 5:20).

But the outcome is quite different for the other son in the parable, who represents the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. The older son said that he always did what the Father told him, but in fact he harbored resentment against the Father rather than loving Him (Luke 15:v.28-30). Rather than rejoicing at his brother’s return, he was angry that his own good deeds were not rewarded.

Similarly, the high priests or Pharisees were “holier-than-thou” (Luke 15:2), proud of their “goodness,” and placed their faith in their keeping religious practices and customs (Luke 18:11-12; Matthew 15:1-19). But their hearts were far from God, and as a result, they would not enter into fellowship with Him in Heaven. It was the Pharisees who demanded that Jesus undergo the cruel suffering and death of the cross (Mark 15:1-15), as they were blinded to the fact that He was their promised Messiah (Daniel 9:25-26) fulfilling all the Old Testament prophecies.

It is true that God is love (1 John 4:8) and that He loves every one of us enough to give His Son to die for us (John 3:16). Every work of His hands reflects His perfection, creativity, and mastery (Psalm 19:1), but He is not “in” all of His creation any more than we could say that a master watchmaker inhabits an exquisite Swiss timepiece. Rather, God’s Word says that He indwells each of His children with the Holy Spirit at the moment they are saved (Ephesians 1:13; 2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5).

Because God is love, He blesses His enemies as well as His children. Every good and perfect gift comes from above (James 1:17), and the lost as well as the saved can enjoy the beauty of God’s creation and the benefits of His provision (Matthew 5:44-45). For those who do not pray to the Father in the name of the Son, blessings may follow the prayer, but this does not indicate that the Father hears and specifically answers those requests (1 Peter 3:12; 1 Corinthians 2:14).

Similarly, for God’s children who do pray to the Father in the name of the Son, not receiving the outcome we hope for does not mean that God doesn’t hear us, but means instead that He is giving us what we need (Matthew 7:11) for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28), rather than what we think we want (James 4:3). God grants His children the privilege of boldly approaching His throne with our requests 24/7 (Hebrews 4:16), knowing not only that He will hear us, but that He knows what we need before we even ask Him! (Matthew 6:8,32)

Anyone can become God’s child. God does not want anyone to go to hell (2 Peter 3:9), and He offers the gift of salvation to anyone, regardless of nationality, sex, or social status (Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11), who believes in His Son:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

Sadly, many refuse this gift of eternal life because they deny the Son’s divinity and completed work of salvation (1 John 5:10-13). And many rely instead on their own good works to get to Heaven, thinking that the good they have done will outweigh the bad, but this is impossble (Ephesians 2:8-9;Titus 3:5). God is perfectly holy and just (1 John 1:5), and He views sin as sin. He doesn’t differentiate “little” from “big” sins.

No one is capable of perfectly keeping the Ten Commandments, because even those rare individuals who think they don’t do any sinful deeds have sinful thoughts. Jesus said that even feeling angry at someone without just cause, or looking at someone with lust, amounted to breaking the Law (Matthew 5:22,28). Anyone who has broken even a single commandment has failed His perfect standard and deserves eternal punishment in hell (Revelation 21:8; 1 John 3:4; Romans 6:23).

Whether someone has committed atrocities like those of Hitler or done countless good deeds like Mother Teresa is irrelevant to where they will spend eternity. If a criminal is charged with grand larceny but tells the judge that he has donated much money to charity, built an orphanage, etc., a just and fair judge would not be swayed by these deeds but would still require him to serve his sentence, unless another takes the punishment and pays the price for his liberty. Thankfully, this is exactly what Jesus Christ did for us!

The sole criterion determining your eternal destiny in heaven or in hell is whether or not you have placed your faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and, as a result of that faith, have a personal relationship with Him. Trust Him today and enjoy abundant, eternal life (John 10:10) beginning here and now as His child, joint-heir with Christ, and His ambassador!

© 2012 Laurie Collett

In His Image: Reflecting the Trinity

 

The Triune God created man in His image (Genesis 1:26-27), with mind, body and spirit corresponding to God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus the Son is the express image of God the Father (Hebrews 1:3). We are made in His image for His pleasure (Revelation 4:11), so it is not surprising that our three-part nature is captured in so many different facets of our being.

Our physical body consists of three main elements: the head, body, and limbs. The head is the seat of our mind, representing God the Father Who is the Originator of the divine plan. Our body contains all our vital organs needed to maintain life, corresponding to Jesus the Son, Who is the Embodiment of the plan: the Word wrapped Himself in human flesh (John 1:14) and came to earth as the perfect sacrifice to pay our sin debt through His shed blood (1 John 1:7). 

And our limbs carry out the plans we devise in our mind, much as the Holy Spirit empowers the plans of God the Father (Genesis 1:2). Our hands can build or destroy; heal or harm; steal, or work and give to those in need (Ephesians 4:28). Our feet can be beautiful if they lead us to spread the Gospel (Romans 10:15); they can reach high places if He sets us there (2 Samuel 22:34; Psalm 18:33; Habakkuk 3:19); or they can lead us into sin. Psalm 1:1 warns us not to sit, stand, or walk in places or with people who will get us into trouble.

Our brain, which is the seat of our mind and which governs our body and limbs, can be divided into three main substructures: forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain. The forebrain includes the cerebral hemispheres responsible for conscious thought; the midbrain regulates our bodily functions, emotions, and arousal; and the hindbrain controls movement. Although this is an oversimplification because the whole brain works in concert, we can see that the forebrain to a large extent governs our mind, the midbrain regulates our body, and the hindbrain controls our limbs (which carry out actions motivated by our spirit).

The indwelling Holy Spirit empowers us to glorify God in all we think, say, and do (Colossians 3:23; 1 Corinthians 10:31) for He has given us the spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7), and in Him we live, move, and have our being.( Acts 17:28).

Below the realm of conscious thought, our brain processes sensory input providing information about our environment that allows us to respond in ways that ensure our survival.  The three senses involved in a newborn’s obtaining nourishment through nursing are touch, smell, and taste. The mother stroking the baby’s cheek causes him to turn his head toward her; the scent of her skin and milk cause him to open his mouth and suck; and the taste of the milk keeps him feeding.

The same three senses continue to be highly involved in eating, which is why food seems tasteless when we have a cold, and why we often crave food with a meaty or crunchy texture. The unique body chemistry of a loved one’s scent helps us to recognize them (Genesis 27:27).

Because of connections in the brain between areas responsible for smell, emotion, and memory, a distinct aroma may release a flood of memories and emotions surrounding a particular person or event. The scent of gingerbread baking may take you back to the love and joy of a childhood Christmas. Incense or sacrifices burned during worship (Numbers 29:36; Ezra 6:10) may remind the believer of God’s love and greatness, and He even experiences the faithful as a “sweet savour” reminding Him of the sacrifice of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:15; Ephesians 5:2).

Smell, taste and touch heighten intimacy with our spouse, and even with God Himself (Song of Solomon 2:3; 3:6,4:10-11,5:5,13,16,7:8). His words are sweet as honey (Psalm 119:103; Ezekiel 3:3), and He urges us to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8).

The loving touch of the angel of the Lord comforted Elijah (1 Kings 19:5-7), the Lord Himself touched young Jeremiah’s lips to give him the words to speak (Jeremiah 1:9), and Jesus healed the blind, mute and sick with a single touch (e.g. Matthew 8:3,15; 9:29).

God gave us three special abilities with which to communicate ideas: speech, hearing and vision, using our mouth, ears, and eyes. James warns us to be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. (James 1:19). A study at UCLA showed that up to 93 percent of how we perceive what others say is based not on words, but on nonverbal cues including the tone of their voice, facial expression and gestures. 

Yet God also intends for us to use our words wisely, refraining from “corrupt communication” and to speak only “that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers” (Ephesians 4:29). All verbal communication, spoken or written, is based on sentences composed of subject, verb, and object. To compare different things using adjectives, language uses three degrees of qualities – for example, good, better, and best.

To be in God’s will, the main focus of our communication should be to bring others to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and to encourage believers to live for Him. Before He ascended into Heaven, our risen Lord commanded us to go (spread the Gospel), teach (instruct others in His Word), and baptize all nations (facilitate their obedience to God’s will; Matthew 28:19-20).

Because the unsaved will be born again only through faith (Romans 10:17), they must hear God’s Word; evangelists must preach the Word; and believers must send forth preachers to lost people (Romans 10:14-15), Salvation has three parts: the lost hear the Word, they trust it in their heart, and they speak aloud their confession of faith (Romans 10:9-10), in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the only way to Heaven (1 Corinthians 15).

May we use our mind, body and spirit to glorify God in all we think, say and do!

© 2012 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives

Jesus Sang!

 

Can you imagine how blessed the disciples were to live with Jesus for three years – to see Him face-to-face, hear His Word from His own lips, witness His miracles, and learn from Him directly how to pray, minister, live and die?

And yet we who have been saved by trusting in His death, burial and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6) are also blessed, for His Word records many details of His teachings and earthly ministry.

On the eve of His crucifixion, our omniscient Savior knew the unspeakable agony that awaited Him –unimaginable physical pain, cruel betrayal by His closest friends and chosen people He had come to save, and worst of all, separation from His Father, with Whom He had been present continually since eternity past.

Yet rather than sinking into despair, Jesus used His remaining hours to share the Passover with His apostles; to teach them the sacrament of communion and its meaning, remembering His broken body and His blood shed for the remission of our sins; and to pray, more so for all His followers than for His own ordeal.

But between the Last Supper and the prayer at Gethsemane, Our Savior gave thanks and praised God by singing! As far as I know, this is the only recorded time in Christ’s earthly ministry that He sang! Just as He had led the disciples in the Passover celebration and in prayer, I believe He led them in the hymn of praise they sang after supper, just after He foretold His shed blood and coming kingdom:

Mark 14:25 Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God. 26 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.

What must it have been like to hear the voice of Jesus lifted in song to His Father? Jesus Christ in His earthly form was perfect in every way, as He was without sin. How resonant, melodious, expressive and clear His singing voice must have been! Although He experienced fatigue, hunger, thirst and pain as we do, there is no record that He ever fell ill, which I believe reflects His freedom from the curse of sin. There would have been no allergies, respiratory infections, or congestion to mar His perfect vibrato, intonation and range.

What a perfect example for all believers to follow, no matter whether we are trained singers in worship services or just privately making a joyful noise unto the Lord (Psalm 100:1) – to sing praise to Our Father even in the midst of, and especially in the midst of, the worst trials. In His restorative power, God can even enable the mute to worship Him in song! (Isaiah 35:1-6).

The apostle Paul and missionary Silas followed that example when they were wrongfully imprisoned, and their worship songs not only cheered their fellow prisoners but caused an earthquake that released them all from their bonds. They used that miraculous display of God’s power not to escape, but to convert their jailer and his household to faith in Christ (Acts 16: 22-34).

Acts 16:25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

Small wonder that Paul later encouraged all believers to commune with God and to uplift and teach themselves and one another with “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). Music sung with excellence and that honors God is a way to witness to the unsaved (Psalm 98:2), to encourage other believers and to worship God (Psalm 149:1-2).

The Old Testament and Psalms are filled with exhortations for believers to praise and worship the Lord in song (e.g. 2 Chronicles 5:13, Psalm 13:6). God designed us in His image for His good pleasure, including our voices (Exodus 15:1,21), ears (Exodus 10:2), and musical abilities (Genesis 4:21) to resonate freely to His glory.

If we praise God with song even when we are suffering, those who hear it shall experience our witness of being born again (John 3:3-8) and may be led to trust the Lord themselves.(Psalm 40:1-3; 14:6). By singing unto the Lord, we bless His name; show His salvation; and declare His glory (Psalm 96:1-3).

Even the earth and all of God’s creation (1 Chronicles 16:23,33) sing out in praise! The sea should roar, the floods clap their hands, and the hills be joyful together (Psalm 98:7-8). Science has recently uncovered evidence of the music of the spheres, including radio signals being emitted from the Milky Way!

Although the Bible does not record Jesus of Nazareth singing except at the Last Supper, Jesus Christ – the Lord our God – not only sings, but uses His song to express His love for and joy in His children. And in turn, we are to sing to express the joy of our salvation that we have in Him: We can sing for joy, for He has conquered sin and death and given us eternal life!

Zephaniah 3:14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 15 The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. …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.

While we are still on earth, we will continue in trials, disappointments, and tribulation. But praise God, we can sing through that heartache because of the joy that awaits us in Heaven! When that day comes and Christ returns for His children, we shall surround His throne with songs of praise from all nations, tribes and peoples! (Isaiah 42:9-12, Revelation 5:8, 14:2-4, 15:3).

Meanwhile, we can transcend from sorrow to joy in the Lord by singing His praises, just as Jesus sang to His Father as He prepared for the worst trial that ever was. Let us sing a new song unto the Lord (Psalms 33, 40, 96, 98, 144, 149), using each heartache to inspire a new perspective on praise!

© 2021 Laurie Collett

Edited and reposted from the archives

Triplets of Praise: How to Worship

 

God’s Triune nature is reflected in His creation, His attributes, the names of Christ, Old Testament worship, feasts and prophecies, and the birth of His Son. Not surprisingly, His instructions for worship in the New Testament are also triplets of praise!

God designed mankind to need Him, because only He gives us all we need: life, breath (spirit), and all things (Acts 17: 25). He designed us to be complete only when He indwells us at the moment of salvation. This occurs in a three-step process (Acts 17:27) – we seek Him (an intellectual process involving the mind seeking truth), we feel after Him (an emotional process involving the heart realizing its own emptiness), and we find Him (our spirit places its faith in Him as the only true Savior and living God).

Jesus promised that anyone who asks, seeks and knocks in this fashion will receive, find and gain entrance (Matthew 7:7-8; Luke 11:9-10). From that moment on, we are His, and in Him we live, and move, and have our being (Acts 17:28). Only then can we love Him as Jesus commanded us (Matthew 22:37), and as was foreshadowed when the Lord spoke to Moses (Deuteronomy 6:5), with all our heart, soul, and mind.

When we are born again, we place our faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15) as the only Way to Heaven. Before ascending to Heaven, Jesus Christ gave His followers (including present-day believers) the Great Commission: to go, teach, and baptize (Matthew 28:18-20). When we pray, we pray to the Father (Matthew 6:9), in the name of Jesus Who intercedes for us (1 Timothy 2:5), empowered by the Holy Spirit Who searches our heart and delivers to the Throne Room the prayers we cannot even utter (Romans 8:26).

As Jesus taught His disciples in the model prayer (Matthew 6:9-13), our prayers should include adoration (praise and thanksgiving for Who He is and for what He has done; Matthew 6:9-10,13), repentance (confession of our sins; Matthew 6:12), and supplication (petitions asking for the needs of others and of ourselves; Matthew 6:11,13). The prayer closes by recognizing that to God alone belongs the kingdom, and the power, and the glory (Matthew 6:13).

Prayer is an important part of our corporate worship, as is praise and preaching the Word. The writer of Hebrews (10:24-25) urges us to continue meeting together for worship, especially as we draw closer to Christ’s return. By doing this, we can exhort one another (to refrain from sin) and encourage one another to love and to do good works.

Paul tells us that we can do this by speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and that in addition to uplifting each other by speaking in this way, that we should sing aloud and make melody in our heart to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19).

When Paul urges us to follow the path Christ has set before us (Ephesians 4:1), He reminds us that we are rooted in one Lord, one faith, and one baptism and that God is above all, and through all, and in us all (Ephesians 4:5-6). God blessed each believer with a special role within the church body, which can broadly be grouped into three categories: for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12).

Jesus tells us that God is spirit (John 4:24), and John tells us that God is light (1 John 1:5), and love (1 John 4:8,16). Accordingly, Paul tells us to walk in the spirit (Galatians 5:16,25; Romans 8:1,4) and in love (Ephesians 5:2), and John tells us to walk in the light (1 John 1:7), Three gifts of grace: faith, hope and love (1 Thessalonians 1:3).enable believers to do this.

May we always worship God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit with triplets of praise!

© 2012 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives

Unique

  

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As a medical journalist, many years ago I wrote an article on the healing properties of rain forest plants and trees. I interviewed a CDC researcher in charge of sending teams to the Amazonian rain forest to collect samples and bring them back to the lab, where they would be analyzed for their potential role as pharmaceuticals.

One such expedition had the scientists truly excited, as they discovered that a sample of bark from a particular tree was extremely effective in neutralizing the HIV virus causing AIDS, without any apparent toxicity to human cells. At that time, there were very few treatment options for AIDS, so they sent a team back to collect more bark from that tree in hopes of producing an anti-HIV medicine.

But to their dismay, upon arrival at their previous collection site along the Amazon River, they found that the particular tree from which they had sampled the bark had been cut down by a logger. The felled tree had been hauled away, but the remains of the stump were surrounded by trees of the same species. In hopes that the healing tree’s neighbors would have similar properties, the team harvested bark from each of these, but to no avail. None of these samples proved to be effective against AIDS, much to the disappointment of not only the scientists, but to all the patients awaiting a cure.

Thinking back on these events reminds me of how everything God created is unique, and beautiful in its time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). No two snowflakes have the same design. No two organisms share identical DNA sequences unless they arise from the same parent cell; and no two humans are the same. Even identical twins, with similar genetic structure because of their origin from a single fertilized egg, have different fingerprints. As the twins grow, they become more divergent from one another in appearance, personality, intelligence and abilities because of varying environmental and interpersonal exposures.

As our Creator (Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-3) and Intelligent Designer, God made everything and everyone to be unique. He knew the details of His blueprint for each of us before we were even conceived (Psalm 139:13-16), and He knew the plans He had for each of us from before the beginning of time (Jeremiah 29:11). We are His workmanship, individually created for His divine purpose (Ephesians 2:10).

In His omniscience (Psalm 139:1-6), He knew which of us would be saved by trusting in the death, burial and resurrection of His Son (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6). He equips every believer with a unique combination of spiritual gifts, natural abilities, talents and attributes, and He places each of us in a unique sphere of influence to use these to bring souls to Him and to edify one another (1 Corinthians 14:1,12; Galatians 5:22-23; Romans 12:4-8).

Under Holy Spirit inspiration, the apostle Paul compared the church, or called-out assembly of believers, to the human body. Each member is important and essential to the well-being of the body of Christ as a whole and must be used as God intended. The eye is of no use for hearing, nor the ear for seeing. Christ is the singular Head of the body, and each member serves a needed function (1 Corinthians 12).

The human body cannot function without its individual limbs, organs, bones, muscles and other parts visible to the naked eye. Its specialized cells comprising each organ and system are also vital for human life, as are the cellular components like the mitochondria needed for energy production and the ribosomes that govern protein synthesis.

Just as the human body dies if the head is removed, the church would not exist apart from Christ, the Head (Ephesians 5:23) and Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4). The church cannot function optimally without pastors and preachers (undershepherds; 1 Timothy 3:1), deacons, teachers, musicians, ushers, greeters, nor without those who are less visible, such as administrators, hospitality planners, nursery workers, grounds and building maintenance, and security.

But within each category of servers, each member is unique. Every preacher brings to his sermon the benefit of his unique experiences, perspective, training, and abilities, as does every teacher to their class. Every pastor, deacon, counselor and mentor has gone through specific trials that God allowed into their life to provide them with empathy and experience to help others going through similar ordeals (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Every singer has a unique voice, the composite of their anatomy, vocal tract, resonance spaces, and training, colored by their emotional and spiritual makeup, enabling them to reach people responding to varying musical styles.

Provided each of these church members is saved and doctrinally sound, and that God has equipped them for a particular role, and that they are willing to commit to preparation and faithfulness with the motive of glorifying Jesus Christ (Colossians 3:23), each is of great value to the work of the church. This includes evangelism to save souls; edifying the believer through preaching and teaching; music to prepare the heart for worship; and fellowship with the brethren so that we can bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2).

But a standard of excellence and suitability should be required for every act of service. It would make no sense to allow a person with Tourette’s syndrome to be a preacher or teacher, a person once convicted of embezzlement to be treasurer, a tone-deaf person to sing special music, or someone with hepatitis to serve food.  Service opportunities should be available for every member of the body of Christ, but these should be tailored to their unique God-given abilities and experience.

Even if a local church body is blessed to have many members gifted for a specific area of service, it would be detrimental to those members and to the church as a whole to restrict their opportunities to serve. Corporate worship, teaching and fellowship time should not be dominated by a single individual but should be apportioned among those God has placed there for His specific purpose. Each member who is qualified based on their sincere faith, sound doctrine, Christ-honoring motivation and Spirit-led gifts should be encouraged to grow where God has planted them (Jeremiah 12:2), for each can use their unique abilities to reach those souls that other members could not.

If such individuals are denied service opportunities, the church may discover too late that they are missing when needed the most. What a tragedy it would be for souls to be lost because that unique believer who could have spoken to their heart is no longer able to do so, whether through discouragement, attrition, or even death. May our churches appreciate and utilize the unique position God gave each believer, before they disappear like the unique Amazonian tree that could have saved many lives!

Copyright 2025 Laurie Collett