Daily Verse

God’s Gift of Song – Part 1

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments

One thing that makes me sad is how in church, we often come to the lyrics of the greatest song book in the world and all we do is read it together in unison with a monotone voice. Yes, God’s word is perfect but forgive me when I say that maybe even God gets bored with the way we use it. We seem to have forgotten that this was not the way it was intended to be presented. Instead, why not think of the Psalms as songs whose melody has fallen asleep, and listen to every new melody as if it were a Psalm knocking on our door and asking for words to sing it? While singing scripture, may seem to be somewhat whimsical or arbitrary, if you try it you will soon find some wonderful benefits just waiting to be discovered. But why would God want to communicate with us this way? Maybe the answer is the same as the reason why young people pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars to listen to their favorite pop star. Back when we were teenagers, the preferred medium for us was the local AM radio station. Our favorite songs would make us laugh, cry, or feel romantic (Oh! They’re playing our song!)

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The Psalms are no different. For just a few examples of happy or sad, how about

“Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy;.” Psalm 126:2

And what can be sadder than:

“I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping.” 
Psalm 6:6.

God knows that when we laugh, cry, get discouraged or even complain to Him, that we connect with Him and with His word on a whole different level.  Secondly, singing scripture helps us remember the words. If we could go back in time a few centuries, we would discover that the printed word as we know it didn’t exist. The only copies of the scriptures were handwritten. Every copy in today’s dollars, would cost the equivalent of hundreds or even thousands of dollars. So, God found a way for His people to remember His words without books. I think of it a little like when we listened to the radio and the DJ announced a new song, someone would inevitably shout, “Hey be quiet man! You got to hear this one!” Then we would crank up the volume and sing along, while someone kept beat on the glove compartment or steering wheel. By the end of the week most of us knew every word, though much to our teacher’s chagrin, we couldn’t recall the date of the battle of Bull Run or the names of past presidents! God wants us to engage with His word in the same way. First, He calls us to engage with our hearts, then with our lips, and also with the people around us. Back in the Old Testament days, songs were written to be sung by everyone. Think of how when Moses finished bringing the people through the Red Sea, the first thing he did was to sing. But he wasn’t alone. No! As soon as he started up his sister Miriam lead all the women out onto the beach where they played tambourines, danced, and sang along. Now that was some kind of celebration! (Keep your radios tuned tomorrow for part 2) Here are a couple of scripture songs, one in English and the other Hebrew, just to give you some ideas.

God Answers Prayer

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And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”  But He answered her not a word …Matthew 15:22-23a

Did it ever feel like God wasn’t paying any attention to you? That is undoubtedly the feeling that this woman experienced in today’s verse. She cried. She begged. She fell to Jesus’ feet. But nothing she could do or say seemed to touch the Lord. Her story reminds me of the Bangladeshi people I met on a mission trip to Northern India. They could only find work breaking up gravel from the river banks in that city, because they were Muslim and not Hindi. Most of the local people would not hire them and so they were forced to take the lowest, most menial jobs. The way they were treated was a lot like this woman at first appears to have experienced. Yet, though she didn’t realize it at first, Jesus made His only mission trip abroad in answer to her prayers. 

So if it seems as if Jesus is not listening and no one else seems to care if our prayers will be answered, we have to decide whether we will continue to believe or go away? Will we continue praying or will we give up? For all of us, there comes that moment when we must decide what to do with God’s silence. This woman who appeared to have no religious background, no friends and no encouragement, gives us a wonderful testimony, of humility and patience. She shows us that not only is God listening, but that He also cared enough to send Jesus on His long trip to earth, just for you!

Your Father Feeds Them

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Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Matthew 6:26 ESV

Our younger son recently gave me a book by Pastor Tony Evans called, Kingdom Man. Though it is from a few years back, the basic principles on biblical manhood really haven’t changed. Being a bit of a bird lover, I especially enjoyed his take on this verse about how God takes care of the birds. He says, “A bird can’t just sit on a branch with its beak wide open, waiting for God to drop a worm down…” Though Dr. Evans was mainly focused on alerting men to their responsibility to work, this line inspired me with a slightly different message which I shared at Life Care Center on Friday.

First, God has given every bird its own song. Long before dawn the rooster begins his crow, in the daytime the Chickadee peeps and in the middle of the night, the owls hoot and pigeons coo. In that same way, each of us, needs to lift our voice in our own way, every day to our Father in prayer. Yes, He knows what we need, but He is waiting to hear our voice. Next, whether it be night or day, every bird, is appointed a time to look for food. Whether seeds or fish, carrion or worms, every bird knows they must to look for food. In that same way, we are each given a source of food, called the Bible. Within its pages, there are more than 7,000 promises, numerous warnings and chapters of helpful guidance for our lives. But God will not whisper the stories of Genesis in our ear, while we play golf, nor will he sing the Psalms over us when we are watching TV. It is our responsibility to open up our Bibles and seek our daily bread. In my dad’s last week of life, one of his great comforts was a nurse who came and spent time reading the Bible to Him on her night shift. Dad didn’t say, “Well I’ve lived a godly life, I know Jesus as my Savior, so what’s the use.” No! He knew that his source of strength was to be found in the pages of God’s book. Last of all, every bird has a job. Eagles build their nests, our mockingbird swoops down to harass the hawk, because it is too near his nest, and mother robin must feed an endless supply of worms to her chicks. In the same way, we all have an opportunity to serve. It is not God’s job to mow our neighbor’s lawn when they are sick. He will not bake a cake for your son’s birthday, nor will He do the dishes, when your wife needs a break. Jesus already has finished His part. Now it is our privilege to do ours, and then watch in grateful amazement as God takes care of all our needs!

I do hope you like our rendition of “His Eye is On the Sparrow. It has been a great blessing having our newest volunteer, Sharon Clark, helping me to sing. I have already put her on notice, that when we go to visit family this summer, that it will be her turn to keep the meetings going. Have a blessed weekend all!

From the top, these are Mallard ducks roosting on a neighbors roof, a group of Ibises near our community pond, a Muscovy Duck, an Anhinga drying its wings and a Great White Egret looking for lizards.