A PIECE OF MY HEART...joyful noisemakers

If I could be alittle bit transparent today, I would like to admit to you that there is something that really gets under my skin. Don't judge me or hate me for it. The truth is I really, REALLY hate it when early in the morning there is some sort of loud noise outside of my bedroom window that awakens me way before it is time to be awoken!

Barking dogs, honking horns, car alarms going off, the screeching tires of the garbage truck, people walking by yelling...you get what I am talking about. Loud noises that rub us the wrong way at the wrong time of the day.

It occurred to me the other day that noises can happen anywhere. Especially the kind that rub us wrong, however, the one place that this should not happen is in church. I'm not talking about when someone drops a pan in the fellowship hall kitchen, the noises that I am talking about happens in the foyer, or the bathroom or even quietly in the pew.

Noises such as "Did you hear so and so about so and so?" "I hope that the worship leader sings at least ONE hymn today!" "I sure hope the pastor get done before the game starts!"

When the psalmist said to "make a joyful noise before the Lord", he did not mean this kind of noise. Hearing gossip, backbiting, and complaining is nothing but a loud noise to me that just rubs me the wrong way. At home, I can put a pillow over my head to drown out the early morning noise, wouldn't it be great if we could do the same thing when we hear such ridiculous noise in the House of God?

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Psalm 100:1-2

Come into His presence with singing? Many times I think we stop short on this verse and we miss the part about coming to God with a song in our heart. This is not talking about style of music...it's not about it being contemporary music or hymns. Its not even talking about if the words are on the wall or not. Coming into His presence with singing is not about the music at all, it is about our attitude!

We are to enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! But yet how many times do we allow our circumstances or the negativity of others to negate our attitude of praise? How often are we sour and complacent when we gather to praise God? When it comes to praising God, we must also use our emotions for the glory of God. Approaching Him with joy and gladness!

God is looking for some joyful noisemakers....what kind of a noisemaker are you?

And this has been a piece of my heart today!