Are We Missing Out?

[hldude]

YouTube Channel Video Devo

“Are We Missing Out?”
Revelation 4:8 NIV
Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.”

We have all had experiences in life where we feel like we’ve missed out on something. Maybe we decided to not go on a trip with others and then we find out all they did and we feel we really missed out. Maybe as a parent you were not able to attend one of your kid’s events. For whatever reason, you didn’t go and then something big happened and you didn’t see it in person. You feel you really missed out.

We have all had these experiences in one way or another. There are times when we wish we could be in two places at once so we don’t miss both opportunities. However, we can’t clone ourselves, so we have to decide on one or the other.

Several weeks ago, we had a prayer and worship night at church during the week. One of the songs we sang was Chris Tomlin “Holy Forever”. The chorus really caught my attention:

And the angels cry, Holy
All creation cries, Holy
You are lifted high, Holy
Holy forever

As I thought of these words, I pictured Revelation where the creatures are bowing before the Throne and saying “Holy” and they never stop! I thought about how in the past years in ministry life, I have heard off and on people talk about how there’s constant worship going on in Heaven and are we joining that praise? Or, are we totally missing out because life is just too important here on earth and we are consumed with everything on our agenda?

I am one that really hates to miss out on things that are cool to be part of. There are times that when I miss out on something and I get serious FOMO, it hits me and the emotions are all over the place. Well, I often wonder how I feel if I am missing out on just giving God praise all day long and joining with the creatures before the Throne.

Friends, if we are so consumed with life, it’s so easy to totally miss out on praising God and getting that focus in our lives. We miss out on something really BIG when we forget that our lives are to constantly be praising God, every moment of each day. Let that sink in for a moment.

I don’t want to miss out any longer. I want to constantly be joining the praise that is already going on. How about you?

 

[Hidden In Him]

YouTube Channel Video Devo

“Are We Missing Out?”
Revelation 4:8 NIV
Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.”

We have all had experiences in life where we feel like we’ve missed out on something. Maybe we decided to not go on a trip with others and then we find out all they did and we feel we really missed out. Maybe as a parent you were not able to attend one of your kid’s events. For whatever reason, you didn’t go and then something big happened and you didn’t see it in person. You feel you really missed out.

We have all had these experiences in one way or another. There are times when we wish we could be in two places at once so we don’t miss both opportunities. However, we can’t clone ourselves, so we have to decide on one or the other.

Several weeks ago, we had a prayer and worship night at church during the week. One of the songs we sang was Chris Tomlin “Holy Forever”. The chorus really caught my attention:

And the angels cry, Holy
All creation cries, Holy
You are lifted high, Holy
Holy forever

As I thought of these words, I pictured Revelation where the creatures are bowing before the Throne and saying “Holy” and they never stop! I thought about how in the past years in ministry life, I have heard off and on people talk about how there’s constant worship going on in Heaven and are we joining that praise? Or, are we totally missing out because life is just too important here on earth and we are consumed with everything on our agenda?

I am one that really hates to miss out on things that are cool to be part of. There are times that when I miss out on something and I get serious FOMO, it hits me and the emotions are all over the place. Well, I often wonder how I feel if I am missing out on just giving God praise all day long and joining with the creatures before the Throne.

Friends, if we are so consumed with life, it’s so easy to totally miss out on praising God and getting that focus in our lives. We miss out on something really BIG when we forget that our lives are to constantly be praising God, every moment of each day. Let that sink in for a moment.

I don’t want to miss out any longer. I want to constantly be joining the praise that is already going on. How about you?

Wonderful little study, HlDude.

I approach this from a somewhat different perspective, in that I constantly find myself bored with this life. But I never find the Lord boring. I only wish my worship life were back in order like it was when I was a member of worship teams. Maybe giving myself more to it again in my home life some day would help, although that's more complicated at the current time than it should be as well.

But blessings in Christ, and thanks for sharing the video.
I enjoyed it.
Hidden In Him

 

[Who Me]

I don’t want to miss out any longer. I want to constantly be joining the praise that is already going on. How about you?

We are here for a reason, just as Israel was supposed to be a holy nation, a witness to the nations of how a people could serve and worship a holy God.

So we are here.

You are not missing out in the worship, oh you're not sing in tune with the angels, but you are a life of worship and praise to bri g honour and glory to our God.

 

[Vinny37]

...

For me this song undermines prayer, flipping between prayer (as if meaningless) and other folk. Eg [Sing the song forever to the Lamb] vs [You are lifted high, holy]: to us, to Jesus, to us, to Jesus! This denigrates prayer, where focus, not switching willy-nilly, is the name of the game. We must visualise our songs, so that they’re either truly to each other, or clearly focused on deity or the deific, seeing to whom we sing. If Tomlin’s visual focus had been on Jesus, he’d have written something like [Together we sing unto you lamb]…[ You are lifted high, holy]. Likewise adjusting some other bits, such as [To the King of kings, holy] to [To you king of kings, “holy”], and [To sing the song of ages to the Lamb] to [To sing the song of ages to you lamb]. That’d unify it into a theodirectional song, taking prayer seriously, not merely mouthing it. Alternatively, it could be made an anthrodirectional song, no part sung to Jesus, but sung about Jesus, eg [Hear Your people sing, “Holy] to [We his people sing, “Holy”]. But it’s fallen between two stools.

BTW let’s note that it is not of course the name Jesus, that is the greatest name, but the name of Jesus, namely lord, since he stands as God-the-son-incarnate, in commonality with deity, with Yahweh/Lord himself. We should remember that contra the hard Sabellianism of Hillsong, Jesus is not alone God (sorry Reuben). By noting that Jesus is lifted high, by good luck or by good management Tomlin’s avoided even lite Sabellianism by implying that one higher than Jesus did the lifting.

https://archive.org/details/singings-gone-global-exploring-christian-songs is a free-access book on Christian lyricology which I’ve read a few times. It covers these ideas.

FOMO? Every time I meet one person, I’m missing out on billions more. Every time I have sleep time, I’m missing wake time. C’est la vie. Even Jesus’ life was and is limited.

I suspect that heaven is not going to be our incessant vocals, but our incessant enjoyment, which by implication will be praise to, thanks to, and worship of, deity, as we revel in his universe.