Saturday, October 20, 2012

How Can I Keep from Singing Your Praise


From Keith,
To the Congregation.
Mark 6:31 Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.

Ecclesiastes 3:4
There is a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance!
So here we were walking the gangplank to a boat called the Hippos. My experience with hippos has not been good. So you can understand why there is a bit of trepidation in me. For those of you unfamiliar with my hippo tale, let's just leave it at I had an angry run in with a hippopotamus in South Africa over a misunderstanding about marking his territory. Back to the this adventure though.

We are heading out on the Sea Of Galilee. Fishing boats dot the waters. We are crossing from a kibbutz (cooperative agricultural community - recall Karl Marx was Jewish) to Capernaum. It was just supposed to be a three hour tour... wait, sorry, different story.




Were do I begin? We are hardly off shore when the music begins and the Spirit descends. I have never experienced anything like it. The joy and elation that came over the people was a site to behold. Our voices echoed off the mountains and the heavens as we sang at the top of our lungs...


My Jesus, my savior, 

Lord, there is none like you.
All of my days, I want to praise, 
The wonders of your mighty love.



My comfort, my shelter, 
Tower of refuge and strength.
Let every breath, all that I am, 
Never cease to worship you.



Shout to the lord, all the earth let us sing.
Power and majesty, praise to the king.
Mountains bow down, and the seas will roar, 
At the sound of your name.
I sing for joy at the work of your hands, 
Forever I'll love you, 
Forever I'll stand.
Nothing compares to the promise I have
In you.

 
And then we began to dance. I don't mean baptist style with one foot nailed to the floor. (sorry Scott) I mean like David before the Lord! We sang hava nagila (let us rejoice) a traditional Jewish folk song. 







The boats captain lost himself in the moment and the joy. He becalmed the boat, left the helm, and joined the dance.




All sense of time was lost. Our tour guide, Michael, (You kind of have to clear your throat on the "ch" sound to get it right.) who was normally pressing us on time just smiled and laughed with joy. There was not hurrying this moment.

Then the silence came. Perfect silence. We stood at the rails and looked over the sea. Peace, be still. 

The one who stilled the waters, stilled our hearts. I did not want our time to end. But end it did. We stepped across the threshold of a synagogue  in which Jesus had taught. We were standing in the place he stood and you could almost hear him whisper in the winds. But that is another story for another time. 

Quiet your heart and hear him speak.

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