Empty messages

“My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not

its measure. I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign Lord; I will proclaim

your righteousness, yours alone. Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day

I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I

declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.”

Psalm 71:15-18

Occasionally, as I am flipping through radio stations in the car, I will hear a song that takes me
back to junior high or senior high school. I usually find that the words of the song have become
fuzzy in my memory (although I can belt out the chorus with gusto, much to the horror of my
teenage children). After a short trip down memory lane, I realize how empty the song was; how
meaningless the words, and how annoying the melody.

My experience in church is, thankfully, very different. Each year, as we pass through the
seasons of the church year, we sing the same hymns over and over. Some of them I have been
singing for my full 42 years, others are fairly new to our congregation. But all of them are
bursting with the Gospel message of our salvation. All of them point to Jesus Christ. Funny
thing, I never get tired of them. I open my hymnal while doing laundry and flip through the
hymnbook, singing while I work. I sing hymns while my youngest is falling asleep, hoping that
the last words he hears as he dozes off will sink into his soul as he sleeps. I rouse my sleeping
teenagers with “Awake my soul, and with the sun, your daily course of duty run…” (LSB 868).
They might not find this joyful at the time, but I’m hoping that these songs of faith will last
longer for them, than the empty noise that fills the airwaves for this generation.

As much as I try to shield them from all of the crazy media, reality says that I cannot be with
them 24/7. What I can do is give them as much exposure to the hymns of praise that they
will share with their own children as they continue their faith life in the church. Hopefully,
when I join them for Easter Sunday years from now, we will all sing “Jesus Christ is ris’n today,
Alleluia” (LSB 457) with hearts full of gratitude for our savior!

Dear Lord, I ask that you guard the hearts and minds of our children from all of the empty
messages from the media today. Give them the assurance of the free gift of salvation from you
and fill their hearts with “Songs of thankfulness and praise! (LSB 394)” Amen.

Just a note: Although my own personal preference is to sing the traditional hymns of the
Lutheran faith, I know many prefer contemporary worship. You can fill in the devotion with
your own personal favorite songs of faith.