Sing unto the Lord
(NIV)Psalm 12:6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
will not reach them.
7 You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Sometimes I like to sing the Psalms. Or at least I used to. My vocal cords are shot. But this is one of the psalms I turned into song.
You are a hiding place for me
You Lord preserve me from trouble
You surround me with song
And shouts of deliverance.
Blessed be the Lord God Emmanuel
Blessed be the king of Israel
You are my deliverer and evermore shall be
I bring you honor praise and glory.
When we lived in Richmond I sometimes attended a Messianic church—Jews who had found Jesus as their Savior. The music was joyfully infectious, so it was not unusual for me to sing the Psalms in this vein.
I encourage you to find a psalm and add your own music to it. Our music teacher at Little Rock Central, Lois Jean Raymond, would tell us to take our courage in our hot little hands and sing.
Some psalms have already been turned into song. Psalm 42, as the deer panteth for the water so my soul longeth after thee…” touches my soul.
I may no longer be able to vocalize these psalms nor the songs of my youth (Higher Ground, Love Lifted Me, Amazing Grace) but they will be in my heart until I die.
Do you have songs that bring you closer to the throne of the most high God? Then sing them out!
May we let the joy in our hearts burst forth in song, and may we praise the Lord our God for all He is worth.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Who Touched Me?
(NCV)Luke 8:42 While Jesus was on his way to Jairus’ house, the people were crowding all around him. 43 A woman was in the crowd who had been bleeding for twelve years, but no one was able to heal her. 44 She came up behind Jesus and touched the edge of his coat, and instantly her bleeding stopped. 45 Then Jesus said, “Who touched me?”
When all the people said they had not touched him, Peter said, “Master, the people are all around you and are pushing against you.”
46 But Jesus said, “Someone did touch me, because I felt power go out from me.” 47 When the woman saw she could not hide, she came forward, shaking, and fell down before Jesus. While all the people listened, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48 Jesus said to her, “Dear woman, you are made well because you believed. Go in peace.”
Oh how I cherish this story. Jesus goes to Capernaum to raise from the dead the daughter of Jairus, a ruler in the synagogue. The crowds are massive but suddenly Jesus feels power leave Him. What happened? Who touched Him, He asked?
The disciples were incredulous. How could anyone know who within the crowd had touched him?
The woman was fearful. What if, after finally feeling the relief of being restored to wholeness, Jesus withdrew His healing?
So she fell at His feet, expecting at the very least chastisement. Instead, Jesus called her “Daughter,” and said her faith had made her whole!
Desperation drove her but faith delivered her. She touched only the tassels hanging from His outer garment, His prayer shawl, and instantly she was healed!
May we boldly approach Jesus, knowing that a single encounter will be transformative, changing us from an outcast of society to a child of the King.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Be careful How You Listen
(NCV) Luke 8:16 “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a bowl or hides it under a bed. Instead, the person puts it on a lampstand so those who come in will see the light. 17 Everything that is hidden will become clear, and every secret thing will be made known. 18 So be careful how you listen. Those who have understanding will be given more. But those who do not have understanding, even what they think they have will be taken away from them.”
Well, this is one of those scriptures that I have undoubtedly read before, but have no memory of doing so. It is not the part about the lampstand that is hazy, nor is it the part about everything secret becoming clear. But, “be careful how you listen” in the NCV, or “take care then how you hear” in the NIV is not something I remember.
The key to this scripture is understanding the great responsibility we have in handling what we have been given. It is incumbent upon us to reflect God’s light, or that light will be dimmed; and to listen and truly understand or else our understanding will be taken away.
May we focus each day on knowing, believing and understanding that God gives to those who take care of whatever gift we have received.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Hoy Spirit. Amen.
Love in Action
(NCV)Luke 10:25 Then an expert on the law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to get life forever?”
26 Jesus said, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?”
27 The man answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.” Also, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”
28 Jesus said to him, “Your answer is right. Do this and you will live.”
29 But the man, wanting to show the importance of his question, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus answered, “As a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, some robbers attacked him. They tore off his clothes, beat him, and left him lying there, almost dead. 31 It happened that a priest was going down that road. When he saw the man, he walked by on the other side. 32 Next, a Levite came there, and after he went over and looked at the man, he walked by on the other side of the road. 33 Then a Samaritan traveling down the road came to where the hurt man was. When he saw the man, he felt very sorry for him. 34 The Samaritan went to him, poured olive oil and wine on his wounds, and bandaged them. Then he put the hurt man on his own donkey and took him to an inn where he cared for him. 35 The next day, the Samaritan brought out two coins, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of this man. If you spend more money on him, I will pay it back to you when I come again.’”
The parables fascinate me. Jesus told these stories in response to questions designed to trap Him into saying something, anything that could be used against Him. In this particular parable, there are four main characters.
A man has traveled down from Jerusalem on the Jericho Road. The pathway was steep, twisted and narrow, with many places sufficient to hide those intent to do harm. The man was beaten, robbed and left for dead.
The priest surely would stop to help. He was moved by pity, but rather than help he moved to the other side of the road. The Levite, one who served in the temple, did likewise.
But a Samaritan, a tribe despised by the Jews, saw this man as someone worthy of his help. Where the other two men, holy by all accounts, were too busy, the Samaritan interrupted his journey, tore his own garment into strips to use as bandages, spent his own funds to provide help—and all of this for a man who likely looked down on him.
The first two men had pity. But pity failed to drive these men to compassion, and lack of real compassion failed to drive them to action. Love requires action. As intentional disciples we cannot afford to look the other way, nor can we pick and choose our neighbors.
May each of us begin to see others through the eyes of God, so that our response will always be driven by love, first for our Savior and our Lord, and then for humanity.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Teach Me To Wait
(KJV) Isaiah 40:28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard,
that the everlasting God, the LORD,
the Creator of the ends of the earth,
fainteth not, neither is weary?
there is no searching of his understanding.
29 He giveth power to the faint;
and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
and the young men shall utterly fall:
31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as eagles;
they shall run, and not be weary;
and they shall walk, and not faint.
Some days I just have to start the day with my favorite scripture. And I listen to the song we sang in Youth Choir so many years ago.
There is something so comforting about songs you sang as a teen. There is something so assuring about scripture you learned at the same time.
Isaiah 40 marks a shift in Israel’s story. At first we see the Assyrian conflict, and before the dust from those battles have settled the prophet tells of the exile to Babylon.
But then, oh then, Isaiah speaks the most wonderful words of comfort found in verse 40:1—comfort, comfort my people.
Do you have a favorite scripture stretching back to your youth? How about a favorite song? Whether a hymn such as “Great is thy Faithfulness,” or perhaps a song from Children’s Choir like “We’re in the Lord’s Army,” why not spend a few minutes remembering those scriptures and music from long ago that helped establish you on the pathway to holiness.
May we each take a moment to reflect on and be thankful for the men and women who helped shape us.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Seeking Holiness 