You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Isaiah 55:12 NIV Back in 1975 when our first child was just 14 months old, we used to read to him from a book titled, "Poems and Prayers for the Very Young". In that precious little volume, one of our favorites was Singing Time by Rose Fyleman. I read it so often that I eventually added a melody and wrote some verses to make it into a lullaby somewhat based on Isaiah 55:12.. Now in spite of the fact that I loved the tune, neither of our boys say they have any memories of it. But when I played it for our grandson Christian, he fell in love with the song and insisted that we record it together. This video has knocked around in my files ever since and each time I see I say, "I need to do something with that someday." Today someday arrived, and I hope that this simple recording will be fun to watch and maybe even a melody you could share with your own children or grandchildren. I did finally get the song copyrighted in 2015, but please feel free to use it with your own families as you wish. I'll send the chords and lyrics on request. Have a blessed day all!
Month: September 2023
Sunday Meditations
“He who loves the Lord, loves also the assemblies in which His name is adored.” Charles Spurgeon
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV
While we often take these verses of Paul’s letter to be his counsel for our individual lives, they are better and more fully understood when we remember he was writing to the church. What better way to go to church this morning than to carry these words as a treasure in our hearts? Pray always and give thanks together, no matter what we are facing. These two will be the bookends that hold all the rest of our meeting together and are God’s best and highest desire for us as we gather together on His special day.
Facing Failure
But Peter boasted. “No way Lord! Even if everyone fails, You can count on me!” Luke 22:33 MNVIT (My not very inspired translation) The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly. Luke 22:61-62 NIV
When in the middle of the temptations and stresses of daily life, it feels impossible to have the kind of faith that I read about with Daniel spending the night with lions, David facing Goliath and Moses the Red Sea. But when I come to the story of a disciple named Peter, I have hope. Now Peter certainly had his days of great faith, such as when he walked on water and or when he boldly confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Yet when we come to the night of Jesus’ arrest in the garden of Gethsemane, something unexpected happened. At first, Peter seemed brave as he pulled out a sword and hacked off the ear of one of the guys coming for Jesus. But when Jesus put a stop to his tactics, Peter ran away. Then from a safe distance he sneaked into the courtyard where Jesus was being held. We can’t be sure what Peter had in mind, but maybe he was hoping to find any way to free Jesus. But instead of helping Jesus to escape, Peter ended up denying Him three times.
Sadly, just like Peter, there are times when, despite our good intentions, we utterly fail. Circumstances that we hoped to change, spin completely out of our control and we are left as helpless observers. The things we thought we would never say, we blurt out and the things we never promised not to do; we do. After all our boasting about our faith, we end up falling flat on our faces. But at that moment, while we weep bitterly about our failure, remember what Peter did. He remembered what Jesus said. When three days later, Jesus rose from the dead and showed Himself to the disciples He came for Peter also. But this was a Peter who was a changed person. He had discovered that the strength of His faith did not lie in his determination, strength or ability, but on the love, power and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. He found, just as we can, that our faith does not grow from our successes, but from remembering God’s word in our failures.
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