“Lifehacks” are simple, out-of-the-box solutions for everyday problems. There are websites and articles all over the internet describing various lifehacks, like lifehacker.com, mentalfloss.com, and lifehack.org. For the next few weeks I will share a lifehack with you. Tonight’s lifehack is how to create an external iPhone/iPod speaker using nothing but a paper towel tube and two disposable cups.
It’s really rather easy. First, cut a rectangular hole in the side of the tube. Make this hole as close to the same size and shape as your iPhone or iPod as possible.
Next, cut circles out of the side of each cup, near the bottom. These circles need to be the same size as the tube. Once the circles are cut out, put each end of the tube into the holes, so you have a cup on either side.
Finally, just slip your phone into the rectangular hole in the tube and play your music! Voila, it’s much louder!
There are several variations on this available online as well, by the way. This will also work with any phone that has a speaker in the bottom -- it doesn’t necessarily have to be an iPhone!
Just like there are physical lifehacks, like this speaker, there are also Spiritual Lifehacks. A spiritual lifehack is a simple solution that will help you get closer to God. Tonight’s spiritual lifehack is “Rhythm”. What is rhythm?
It’s kind of hard to define, isn’t it? We all know what rhythm is, of course, but it’s easier to show an example than it is to describe it in words. So, I looked it up in the dictionary, and it said that one of the definitions of rhythm is “A flow, repetition, or regularity”. Another is, “A specifically defined pattern of variation”. In other words, it’s a regular, repetitive, pattern of variation. In music, rhythm is based on variation between the beat and silence.
Why do you think that rhythm is important?
What would happen to our worship service if that rhythm fell apart?
So, you see the importance of physical rhythm. Spiritual rhythm is also important and, thankfully, is different than physical rhythm. This is a good thing, especially for those of us who can’t hold to a beat for anything!
So much for physical rhythm. But what is spiritual rhythm? Like in music, spiritual rhythm is a regular, repetitive, pattern of variation. However, unlike in music, spiritual rhythm’s variation isn't based on the beat and silence, but between time spent with God and time spent with other people.
Before we go into what this looks like, I want to ask a quick question. I think we would all agree that spending time with God is a good thing, right? God loves us, we love Him, so why would we want to spend time away from God? Wouldn’t it be awesome to just spend all of our time, 24x7, with God?
Absolutely, that would be awesome! That is why spending all of our time with God is our reward in heaven. Doing it here on earth, though, is against scripture.
Let that sink in for a moment. Spending every moment with God is against scripture -- at least, while we’re still alive. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus tells us to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. That’s pretty difficult if you never talk to anyone!
So, spending time with other people is important, just like spending time with God is important. So how do we keep the balance -- how can we keep the rhythm?
God knew we would have trouble figuring it out, so He helped us out with one of the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20:8-11, “8Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
There are a few things here that I think are important. First, note when the Sabbath takes place: on the seventh day. In the Old Testament, this mean the seventh day of the week. Of course, in the Old Testament days didn’t really have names, either -- just numbers. The first day of the Hebrew week was simply called, “First Day”; the second was called, “Second Day”, and so on until the seventh day, which was called “Rest”.
So, that means that Sunday is the same as the Hebrew First Day, right? Not necessarily. In much of Europe and Asia, weeks start on Monday, making Sunday the seventh day of the week.
So how are we to know on what day the Sabbath lies? The Sabbath is the seventh day; not necessarily the seventh day of the week, but simply after 6 days of work. The point isn’t that the Sabbath is on a specific day of the week, but that you establish that rhythm of resting -- both spiritually and physically -- on a regular basis. When you rest your body, you “recharge” your batteries which gives you more energy to do things. When you rest your spirit, you recharge your soul, which gives you energy to face the hardships of the day. Both are extremely important to be healthy.
In our culture, this rest is typically found when you go to church on Sunday and Wednesday. But having a spiritual rhythm is more than just going to church once or twice a week! It’s also something that you need to do daily. We call it a “quiet time”, but in reality all it is is a set time every day where you can be alone with God. While on earth, Jesus often pulled away from the crowds and activity to spend time recharging alone with His Father. Matthew 14:23, “After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,”, Mark 1:35, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”, Mark 6:46, “After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.”, Luke 5:16, “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”, Luke 6:12, “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.”, Luke 9:18, “Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, ‘Who do the crowds say I am?’”, Luke 22:41, “He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed”, and Hebrews 5:7, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.”
I’m going to blow your minds here for a minute -- Jesus is special. He’s the Son of God! But if even Jesus Himself still needed this time, how much more must we show our dependence on God in this way?! Time alone with God is essential to the spiritual health of every Christian. But time alone with God for Jesus looked a lot different than time alone with God looks like for us.
John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jesus Christ is the literal Word of God! That being the case, Jesus didn’t need to study scripture -- He was scripture. The same is not true for us, however. We are fallen, sinful, human beings. We need to do more than just pray to successfully be alone with God -- we also need to study His Word.
The Bible is God’s love letter to all of us. We cannot truly understand God’s character unless we immerse ourselves in His Word. If you don’t do this already, I highly recommend starting with a Bible reading plan that will allow you to read through the Bible in a controlled way. There are several good ones in the YouVersion Bible app that you can use. I challenge all of you to have a daily quiet time with just you and the Lord. The time you choose is up to you -- immediately after my shower every morning, I read the Bible and pray for all of you, for my family, for the church, and for anything or anyone else that is on my heart. It’s as much a part of my daily routine as taking a shower or getting dressed -- and it can be for all of you as well.
Reading the Word, praying to the Lord, and, spending time alone with Him are all easy things to do. You don’t need any special equipment, or money, or anything else -- just a Bible or Bible app, time, and the willingness to seek the face of God.
Creating these speakers from trash was easy, but it made a difference in the sound of the music coming from the phone. Similarly, having a dedicated quiet time every day is easy, but it will make a huge difference in the sound of the music coming from your soul.
